Initial Impressions on Google+
July 1, 2011 1 Comment
I spent the better part of my evening and much into the late hours of the night last night playing around with Google+ and my initial impressions of the social networking site are really favorable. I love the circles idea, for posting content to specific groups so you don’t have to share everything with everyone. I think this has some specific utility for Nonprofit organizations and maintaining their organizational identity in the midst of a diverse constituency. Many years ago organizations would send out letters or emails with tailored messages to engage their stakeholders and donors in a way that cultivated relationships. Facebook and Twitter help with this, but it can become somewhat cumbersome trying to decide what an organization wants to say to everyone at once.
I also really like the Hangout feature. Although I don’t have many friends or family on the site yet, I like the idea of engaging in video chats and being able to integrate things like YouTube so I can share funny or interesting videos in real-time. Perhaps one of the best features is the ease with which to share videos and photos. I found the drag and drop feature to work flawlessly when uploading a profile pic and I can’t wait to use this feature some more. Maybe that’s just the Mac person within me. At any rate, the more I play with the site, the more interesting thoughts I will have about how we can use this site in the nonprofit sector and in education. Be sure to check back for more information.
About jimmysw
JimmySW 
I’m quite impressed by google+ as well – I feel a bit ambivalent about facebook for many reasons and love the ability and ease fo the ‘circles’. I have set up an anonymous blog-related google+ account and another one under my real name as I can see this having traction.
I haven’t used the video chat although all my siblings are joined up and we have our own ‘circle’ so can see that definitely being used.
In the meantime, it’s quite nice having a new toy to play with and of course, there is the issue of being ‘first in’ and feeling ‘special’ as a part of the closed beta. I expect and hope that feeling to dissipate as I think the real uses will only become better known when more people join up.