Those who use Google+ on a regular basis are treated to an array of options and features that (in my humble opinion) put other social networks to shame. Yet it seems that, while we have been watching our Hangouts on Air and enjoying our Communities, we have begun to take some of the less flashy but equally if not more valuable features of Google+ for granted.
As with any relationship, sometimes a little time away can bring perspective. The moment of clarity for me came while I was cruising around Facebook last Friday afternoon (yes, I still have an account…and yes, I still look at it!).
As I scrolled through my Facebook News Feed, a shared post from one of my work friends caught my attention:
The ability to view ALL of your friends’ posts. In the order they were posted. Without excessive algorithm-applied filters. In other words, this letter is asking Facebook to acknowledge the capacity of the user to make their own decisions about what they do or do not want to see in their News Feed.
It doesn’t get much more fundamental than that. After all, the heart of social media is in how it has empowered Internet users as thinkers, as professionals, and as individuals.
Social media is about putting the user in charge of their own experience.
Social media users are empowered by their ability to make decisions on the content they read, the people they follow, the posts they share. Empowered users drive the Internet forward, into brave new worlds of conversation, ideas, and technological development.
Because of the empowered user base that has begun to dominate the Internet, one of the best things that a social network can do is to give its users the ability to customize their own experience. Customization options mean that:
- When a social platform (or an individual who posts on it) becomes overwhelming, you have the option to tone it down.
- When you don’t want to miss a message from someone you care about, you have appropriate means to be made aware of it.
- If you have a post that should be shared with a more limited audience, you have the ability to easily set those restrictions on what people can see.
- If you’re a content publisher or blogger who wants to give your dedicated readers first access to your latest publication, you have an avenue to let them know.
Customizing Your Google+ Experience
No social network is perfect, but Google+ has offered us many opportunities to customize the way we consume and share information—it’s just a matter of learning how to do it.Google+ Circles represent a powerful tool for customization. Google+, rather than encouraging us to put all of our friends into just one default list, has by design urged us to create lists that mean something to us. Circles are not unlike Facebook and Twitter lists in some ways, but there are a couple of specific features that make them especially valuable.
For example, in last week’s #MarketingMonday article here on Google Plus Daily, Greg Trujillo talked about taking control of your Google+ Stream and reducing the clutter that you don’t want to see—from editing “noisy” people into their own stream to reducing the noise from communities.
On the flip side, however, if there is a person or a group of people that you want to hear from more consistently, Google+ also gives you the ability to emphasize the people that you want to hear from more often. You can adjust the settings on any given circle to show “MORE” posts in the home stream, and even set up notifications so that you never miss a post from someone in that circle.
(Side note: as an advocate of social media balance, I’d suggest using that whole-circle notification option sparingly, otherwise it can quickly become overwhelming. Keep that circle SMALL—just include the Plussers whose posts you know you. Fewer than 10 people would be good, unless the people you choose only post on Plus sporadically.)
Equally importantly, if you regularly publish articles, videos, or blog posts on Google+ (especially for marketing purposes), it is possible to set up a notification circle that you can use to inform your readers when something new has been published. This contrasts strongly with Facebook, which now pretty much requires you to use paid advertising in order to make sure that your fans hear your message.
In the interest of empowering your fellow users, it is important to allow people to opt IN to your notification circle. No one wants to be overwhelmed by messaging, so Google+ etiquette dictates that you put the word out and allow your readers to choose on their own whether they want to be notified whenever you have something to say.
Google+ has been gracious enough to pay attention to the needs of the user, and give us a highly customizable social media experience that we can take advantage of both for casual use and for business promotions. You can’t customize it in every way you want to, but the opportunities available are phenomenal.
How have you “created your own” Google+ experience? Tell us about it!
Equally importantly, if you regularly publish articles, videos, or blog posts on Google+ (especially for marketing purposes), it is possible to set up a notification circle that you can use to inform your readers when something new has been published. This contrasts strongly with Facebook, which now pretty much requires you to use paid advertising in order to make sure that your fans hear your message.
In the interest of empowering your fellow users, it is important to allow people to opt IN to your notification circle. No one wants to be overwhelmed by messaging, so Google+ etiquette dictates that you put the word out and allow your readers to choose on their own whether they want to be notified whenever you have something to say.
Google+ has been gracious enough to pay attention to the needs of the user, and give us a highly customizable social media experience that we can take advantage of both for casual use and for business promotions. You can’t customize it in every way you want to, but the opportunities available are phenomenal.
How have you “created your own” Google+ experience? Tell us about it!