Let's Discuss Google+

[zipred]

I don't use any social media and thus far have successfully avoided Google+ , Facebook, etc. In fact I am repulsed at the thought of wasting time with it.

I love my Androids, yet it is apparent Google is pushing Google Plus, harder and faster than ever before. I do have my full name and phone number verified for Chrome / Google Play App purchases in the Play Store. It appears that it's only a matter of time before we're forced to have a Google Plus Profile.

I dread this, and wonder what others who feel the same are doing to avoid Google+ ?

Your thoughts, comments and experience is welcome.

 

[funkylogik]

I love it. None of my friends (in real world) use it so its not really a social thing for me.
Its great for interests/hobbys.
Theres loads of "communitys" for certain interests. A lot of great android communitys.
Basicly it is what you make it. Join communitys that interest you and follow (add to your circles) people who write interesting things and your news feed will be full of stuff that interests you :thumbup:
P.s, theres nothing forcing you to actively use your G+ account so dont worry

 

[recDNA]

I don't use any social media and thus far have successfully avoided Google+ , Facebook, etc. In fact I am repulsed at the thought of wasting time with it.

I love my Androids, yet it is apparent Google is pushing Google Plus, harder and faster than ever before. I do have my full name and phone number verified for Chrome / Google Play App purchases in the Play Store. It appears that it's only a matter of time before we're forced to have a Google Plus Profile.

I dread this, and wonder what others who feel the same are doing to avoid Google+ ?

Your thoughts, comments and experience is welcome.

I don't use it at all. All I lose is the ability to rate apps on playstore. I actually used to have Google plus and Facebook but deleted both accounts. I'm married. What good is it? LOL If I were single I'd rock every conceivable social app.

 

[saptech]

I use them, but mostly use G+. The one thing about Google is they are co-mingling all their stuff together, such as G+ & Youtube. I really don't want it like that. It can be set to not show each other's info but it can be hard to find to change.

 

[Stuntman]

I've been using G+ since shortly after it began. I have no complaints about it. There was quite a bit of backlash when Google decided to roll YouTube into G+.

 

[funkylogik]

You can uncheck the share to g+ box on youtube though or choose who it shares with.
I kinda like the integration. Im not ready to use hangouts as my sms app though and im in two minds about the google Photos gallery app which just seems too tied into g+
I dont understand why people dont want a g+ account though. If you dont want to use it, just switch off notifications and dont use it

 

[boathead]

i visit it every now and again, if only to see if maybe this time i'll understand what is going on. i don't get it. never had facebook, and i'm not into the social thing, but i do like the hobby stuff. but i have trouble navigating in it.

i am dumb.

 

[funkylogik]

Lol boat just go to the menu and hit communitys then search for whatever youre interested in and join or ask to join it
Actually add me and youll get lots of cool stuff in your feed :-D

 

[zipred]

I love it. None of my friends (in real world) use it so its not really a social thing for me.
Its great for interests/hobbys.
Theres loads of "communitys" for certain interests. A lot of great android communitys.
Basicly it is what you make it. Join communitys that interest you and follow (add to your circles) people who write interesting things and your news feed will be full of stuff that interests you :thumbup:
P.s, theres nothing forcing you to actively use your G+ account so dont worry

I liked your informative post. There's so much negativity on the web these days, it is very refreshing to read a well balanced entry like yours.

I can see the advantages you've pointed out, which I was actually hoping to hear since I truly like Android as implemented on my Nexus 5, and want to take advantage of all that is worthwhile.

Thanks funkylogik

 

[funkylogik]

No problem man :beer:
ive told this story a few times on here so sorry to people who've read it lol.
Our cat fell out of our 3rd story window a few months ago at like 1AM and was quite badly hurt. We couldnt get a vet at that time so i put a post on G+ asking for advice. My post got reshared and reshared and honestly within 10minutes i was chatting to an actual vet on the other side of the planet.
It has its trolls of course but there seems to be a lot of genuinely nice helpful people on there

 

[mwmarczak]

I use google +/google hangout as an alternative for skype, better quality sound and video

 

[funkylogik]

yeah video calls are great on Hangouts. What alarmed me tho was when a complete stranger in italy called me!
He had added me to his circles but i hadnt added him.
My 11yr old nephew uses android and i dont like the idea of some creepy grown man video calling him

 

[wyelkins]

I did my best to avoid G+, but it finally starts to grow on you as more people and groups use it. Now, I find it pretty handy. Much more useful to me than Facebook, which is mostly for keeping in touch with people I have not seen in 30 years. Google+ has a lot of groups associated with Various Roms, and Android which I like. I kind of avoid the YouTube integration, but I even use that sometimes.

 

[funkylogik]

Yeah its excellent for roms. A lot of the dev teams are much more hands-on and interactive on g+ and theres far less rude people than XDA
The XDA and Cyanogen communities are exceptions!

 

[Stuntman]

I use Google+ and Facebook. There is a significant difference between the two.

FB is where I connect with people I actually know. Friends, school mates, family, etc. are on FB. Most of these people share personal updates like vacations and other social events with other people I know.

G+ is where I connect with people with whom I share interests with. Most of these people I have never met before. I explore G+ and find people who share the same interests with me. I add them to my circles and my feed mainly contains stuff I am interested in reading about. There are also the Communities feature where I can join to discuss specific topics I am interested in.

These two social networks are different and do not overlap very much. People I actually know are mostly not on G+ and are only on FB. The people I actually know generally don't share the same interests as I do and not at the same level as I. Neither of these can replace the other for me.

 

[funkylogik]

^ exactly this ^

 

[codesplice]

I joined up on Google+ the second day of its closed beta. I fell in love with it and deleted my Facebook account a month later. I haven't looked back.

FB is where I connect with people I actually know. Friends, school mates, family, etc. are on FB. Most of these people share personal updates like vacations and other social events with other people I know.

G+ is where I connect with people with whom I share interests with. Most of these people I have never met before. I explore G+ and find people who share the same interests with me. I add them to my circles and my feed mainly contains stuff I am interested in reading about. There are also the Communities feature where I can join to discuss specific topics I am interested in.

Very apt description. I've often described FB as "people I know, whether I want to or not" and G+ is more "people I want to know." It's easy to find people who share your interests and provide quality content. I've "met" a lot of great friends through Google+, and even met a few IRL when they were passing through my town or I through theirs.

I love the level and quality of interaction and discussion that you can find on G+. I've never before encountered any other online community where groups of strangers can have mature, thoughtful conversations on controversial topics without it eventually degenerating into a flamefest.

 

[zipred]

No problem man :beer:
ive told this story a few times on here so sorry to people who've read it lol.
Our cat fell out of our 3rd story window a few months ago at like 1AM and was quite badly hurt. We couldnt get a vet at that time so i put a post on G+ asking for advice. My post got reshared and reshared and honestly within 10minutes i was chatting to an actual vet on the other side of the planet.
It has its trolls of course but there seems to be a lot of genuinely nice helpful people on there

Thanks for sharing this story.

First off as a Cat & Dog lover who has both, I know how close we get to our pets. I hope your Cat survived and is doing well now.

Second it helps illustrate ways of using Google Plus.

 

[zipred]

I use Google+ and Facebook. There is a significant difference between the two.

FB is where I connect with people I actually know. Friends, school mates, family, etc. are on FB. Most of these people share personal updates like vacations and other social events with other people I know.

G+ is where I connect with people with whom I share interests with. Most of these people I have never met before. I explore G+ and find people who share the same interests with me. I add them to my circles and my feed mainly contains stuff I am interested in reading about. There are also the Communities feature where I can join to discuss specific topics I am interested in.

These two social networks are different and do not overlap very much. People I actually know are mostly not on G+ and are only on FB. The people I actually know generally don't share the same interests as I do and not at the same level as I. Neither of these can replace the other for me.

I have a rather high profile position, I say that modestly, thus I've avoided social media simply because I don't have time to respond to large numbers of people. Ironically I wish I did have the time as I'm a very outgoing person that enjoys good conversations.

My question... Is there a way to use my first name only, or better yet, how do you manage your identity?

Any and all suggestions greatly appreciated, especially since I've now decided to try G+ but want to setup a proper profile while retaining a bit of anonymity.

I'd really like suggestions when it comes to a username or whatever Google requires. Especially since one can't view G+ until AFTER one's profile is complete. Or at least that's my understanding.

Thanks in advance to all who post

 

[codesplice]

My question... Is there a way to use my first name only, or better yet, how do you manage your identity?

You can use your first name and last initial (or last name and first initial). (from https://support.google.com/plus/answer/1228271?hl=en)

 

[MLSS]

G+ is okay....
It is a battery and resource hog.

 

[imdeb]

google plus indeed a great social networking site of google,if you do own any business and have a site for that then you must use google plus not only for traffic,but also for seo.As google take special care of engaged google plus profile on it's search results.

 

[zipred]

Now that Vic has left and rumor has it that the team is being reassigned, is Google+ dead?

What's your take on this?

How will you handle your Google+ account?

Here's an article:

Google+ Is Walking Dead | TechCrunch

Your feedback is appreciated

 

[codesplice]

Now that Vic has left and rumor has it that the team is being reassigned, is Google+ dead?

What's your take on this?

How will you handle your Google+ account?

Here's an article:

Google+ Is Walking Dead | TechCrunch

Your feedback is appreciated

Take everything that TechCrunch publishes with a healthy amount of skepticism. As far as I'm concerned they are the least-reliable source of tech-related news. TC is far more interested in generating traffic via click-bait headlines like that than they are with accurate, honest journalism.

No, Google+ is not dead. The team is not being reassigned. Social will continue to be a primary focus for Google.

 

[codesplice]

Related: https://plus.google.com/107022061436866576067/posts/SgBHxsy1KM1

Google+'s Yonatan Zunger: Google+ Remains a Crucial Asset

People are asking for a clear word from top people at Google+ about the future of Google+. You couldn't get much clearer than this statement today from the Chief Architect of Google+ +Yonatan Zunger*(from a comment on this thread:*http://goo.gl/edKRmt

"...the press has ludicrously overstated (read: made up) the situation. G+ is just as much a crucial asset as it was a month ago: social is critical to our success. It doesn't compete for ad-watching time; people aren't thinking "gee, I could either spend time with my friends, or go click on some ads." Instead, it boosts people's investment in the system, helps them know other people better, and helps us in turn know them better, so that we can help them do a wide range of things. I'm not afraid about our ability to make money.

"Also, contra TechCrunch, Bradley [+Bradley Horowitz, G+ Product Head] wasn't demoted at all. If I had to stack-rank the org, I'd say that before this, he was the #3 guy at G+, and now he's the #2 guy. Bez [+Dave Besbris*] was always there, he just didn't do as much publicly visible stuff. (cf my post about him)"