I was not an early adopter of Facebook; I joined in January of 2009.
I was not an early adopter of Twitter, either; I joined in May of 2009.
It’s a new experience for me to be an early adopter of a social media platform, although after hearing all the buzz about G+ for over a week, I felt a (little) late to the party when I finally got in yesterday.
So far, I have more questions than answers.
Since I haven’t used my gmail account much, I am not sure how to find people I know on Google +. I have certainly found some people I know, and I have invited others to join. I am sure that part of it is a patience thing: people are joining all the time and we will connect on Google Plus eventually.
So far, the best strategy I’ve seen is to let people know I’m there (via Facebook and Twitter). Or to ask who’s using G+ and then look for them.
I just figured out how to create a shortened URL for Google +, through a Twitter friend. I love the way people are diving in to help each other figure out the platform and are willing to share what they know. (If you’re on G+ and want to grab a shortened URL, you can do so here or here.) You can find me on Google+ here: http:/gplus.to/BeckyRbnsn
To me, so far, Google+ is capturing the magic of social media: exploring, sharing, giving, helping, connecting. I am looking foward to seeing the new possibilities and the new potential of this platform.
I am also (more than a little) concerned about how to integrate one more social media network into my life. What will I give up? How will I budget my social media time?
For now, I am investing time in learning because this could be REALLY big.
“What’s next in social media?” is always the big question. For now, at least, Google Plus seems to be what’s next. (I have previously resisted new platforms like Four Square and Empire Avenue; I joined Quora but haven’t really used it.)
I am especially interested in how Google+ will integrate businesses. For now, I’ll wait and see, ready to dive in as soon as they unveil a business solution.
Tell me something! Are you an early adopter? How long have you been using Facebook? How long have you been tweeting? What criteria do you use in deciding whether to join a particular social media platform? Are you using Google Plus?
Want to read more of my thoughts about Google+? Check out my latest post at 12 Minute Social Media Playbook.
I am the founder/CEO of the Weaving Influence team, the author of Reach: Creating the Biggest Possible Audience for Your Message, Book, or Cause, and the host of the Book Marketing Action Podcast. I’m a wife and mom of three kids, and I enjoy running, reading, writing, coffee, and dark chocolate.
I wasn’t an early adopter of anything except Gmail. I was a Blogger and we received the first invitations I think. I’m also a G+ early adopter and trying to figure out how to navigate it and integrate it with my existing social networking sites. I’m excited about the potential, but the lack of invitations is making it a really slow process for me, and the momentum is waning. We need more people on it to ignite the excitement of discovery!!
Tammy,
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I agree that it would be cool if more people could get in, but I also like the time to learn (slowly) without being bombarded. Interesting to hear how you got your invite; I had been curious about who got invited first and how all that worked.
So happy to have you comment here. I’d love to see you here more often. 🙂
I’ve been on here since Sunday and since most of my friends weren’t able to get on either, I looked around on Twitter to see what people were saying. I’ve found a few tips from various people, but the coolest thing I’ve seen by far is the Google Doc that several people are helping to edit and write as a informal ‘user manual for G+’found here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cUjZ_7rlAmKRDVB6GXId73h_eUdXGKdjtSff0svbaz0/preview?hl=en_US&pli=1&sle=truehttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1cUjZ_7rlAmKRDVB6GXId73h_eUdXGKdjtSff0svbaz0/preview?hl=en_US&pli=1&sle=true
It shows how people are willing to interact with one another and help each other and make Google+ better.
P/S I’ve been following & enjoying your blogs for a while now, but as a silent spectator. Keep up the good work! 🙂
Maria —
Thanks for sharing the document and thanks for your kind words about this blog! I am glad to know that you are here and that I have your support! Looking forward to fun times in G+ with you. Thanks for finding me…
Becky
Hey there Becky
When you speak of budgeting your time between social media networks I can relate. a number of months ago (I forget when at this point), someone suggested I join christian.com I was hesitant at first because that’s just another thing to log into, check, and keep updated everyday – in addition to my blog, Facebook, twitter and I MySpace (which is now defunct I heard). It took a bit to come around and sure enough, its one I barely check these days. I don’t know if I will join Google plus or not. I’ll wait and see how this turns out first. Have a good day, Tim Bits
Tim, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts here. If you’re curious about budgeting social media time, please visit me at http://www.12minutesocialmediaplaybook.com
Becky
I certainly was not an early adopter of Facebook, and even later came to the Twitter game. However, I’ve been an early adopter of just about all of Google’s projects from Google Wave and Buzz (Epic Failures in My Opinion) to Gmail, Chrome, Calendar, Docs, and the whole nine yards.
After the Buzz and Wave failures I wasn’t sure I’d be wasting much time on G+. However, I’m glad I got the invite. After arriving I was instantly impressed with the “find friends” feature. My first challenge will be dumping “friend and follower” terminology for “Circles” terminology. I loved how you can just drag and drop people into certain “circles.”
Other terminology that will have to change is “like, and favorite.” No more. Now we have to give things a +1 if we approve. I noticed today that rather than simply giving people a +1 it adds the total number to help you understand how popular an item is… nicely played google.
There’s more to learn. I’m going to start experimenting with media next week. But I think Google finally has a test run that will actually get off the ground and give twitter and facebook something to think about.
One drawback, which I’m sure is coming… is Twitter/Facebook connect. At some point Google+ will have to implement this feature if it hopes to overcome Twitter and Facebook. Nobody is going to quick Facebook/Twitter cold turkey.
Right now, the only drawback I see with Google+ is I have to post my thoughts twice. Get that connect feature in there and google… you’re all mine.
HI, Becky,
I’m finding people to add in my circles by going to people already in my circles and checking out who all are in their circles. I call it “circular reasoning”. 😉
Ok. I know. Bad pun. But I’ve found some pretty cool people that way and am enjoying the discovery process of exploring G+.
As far as dividing my time, I think I’ll be spending most of it on Twitter and G+. I really like the way I can organize things there.
Anyway, my $0.02. Have fun being an early adoptor. 🙂
Actually, the logic that you used to find people makes perfect sense. That’s actually how I found many of the people that I follow on Twitter. Same logic, just different terminology.
How many social networks? Just the ones that work. That sounds so wise, but it’s really the hard part. Facebook isn’t going away it’s already too big, but I think Google+ will be right for some people because of slightly different feature set. Business folks, like me, will probably have to use both.
I’m on Google+ now thanks to you!
Welcome! I’m glad to help. 🙂
Becky