I joined Google+ in July of last year. Like most people that were around then I was still trying to figure out exactly what the heck was going on and how I should use this new service. Until a few weeks ago I was bouncing back and forth between Facebook and Google+ trying to determine which offered the most satisfying feedback. That’s when it hit me. I mean really hit me.
Facebook will never be as engaging as Google+. Google+ will never have as much noise as Facebook.
I won’t be scrapping one in favor of the other but I will use them in very different ways. Actually I sat down and looked at all forms of social media that I use and have decided to manage them better but for now I’m going to focus on G+.
I looked over a tutorial list by +Shamil Weerakoon. There was a ton of information to digest but the end result of most posts were the same. I was doing it wrong. I was circling people for the wrong reasons, I had a mess of circles with no purpose, and the things that mattered the most to me weren’t represented in my circling habits. The next step would have to be a soft reboot. No sweeping changes or a large starting over post, nothing dramatic, just a small change. It worked!
I wrote an open letter to Google+ describing how I felt about the service and stated my intention to work with G+ to craft the best experience possible. Then I stopped posting. I let that be the first thing any new people would see. Nothing really happened, a few +1’s but no hordes of new circlers. Once I found a shared circle of business people, CEO’s, Innovators, Entrepreneurs, and Leaders I started part 2 of the process listed in the tutorial. I added them all. Not only that but I started to engage with them. I read every post in my stream for two solid days and noted who posted what and slowly filtered out the stuff I didn’t like. I removed about 8 people from the circle of 500. Some of them even added me back.
Next thing I know my post was getting more +1’s, a few comments, even a share. I was driving traffic to my profile without writing anything new. Best part of it all I was actively engaging with more people in a field that I have a great interest in. Not just random stuff either actual conversations with personal interaction. The way I had always hoped G+ would be. Mission accomplished for phase 1 of my Google+ restart.
Moving forward I hope to add a circle of writers, authors, editors, and publishers. That is more along the lines of a hobby for me but I do it with passion and could interact with professionals and learn even more about writing more gooder. Just kidding.
Seeing as this is only my second post since the reboot it will also be the very first share of my new tumblr account. I didn’t like LiveJournal so it has been replaced with this. I’ll update my information to include a link for anyone that want to follow along here as well. Not exactly sure how I’ll use this space but I’ll figure it out.
