Hanging Out with Google+
Last week I participated in a Google+ HIRL (Hangout In Real Life) event. This event provided the opportunity for locals in the Kansas City area to get mini-sessions on how to set-up and use Google+. If you would like to see more about it, follow the hashtag #LearnG+KC. In case you don’t know what a hangout is, Google+ has this really cool feature where you can “hangout” with 10 people – share your screen and/or documents and see each person FOR FREE. (Think Skype on steroids with free features.)
This real life hangout allowed 100+ people to gather, network & learn together. What worked for this event was that it provided a social atmosphere – food, drink, & networking along with a give-back to SafeHome (entrance fee was $5 or 5 canned goods for the non-profit). According to recent stats on G+, the site is 63% male, but this HIRL attracted women along with the men.
I have to admit that G+ is not my favorite social media site, but it’s growing on me. It is GOOGLE for gosh sakes, so it has incredible power and searchability. It allows for tagging words by using a #hashtag (Like Twitter) which makes it easier to use for subject/conversation searching. The more I use it, the more I can see how it will give Facebook a run for its money going forward if Facebook doesn’t start playing nice with the pages.
I have personally challenged myself to be more consistent on G+. Just like any other “new thing” – the more you use it, the easier it becomes. In my opinion, G+ is a bit clunky and not very intuitive, but the only way to get over that is to keep using it. Google is really trying to make it easy for you to get started and has some great easy-to-watch videos that walk you through how to set-up your profile: http://www.google.com/+/learnmore/
In my training classes I always give a CANnon Do® (something simple to do to move forward with social media). The CANnon Do® for this week is to spend 10 minutes each day noodling around and becoming more familiar with Google+. Let me know your thoughts. In the meantime, do you use Google+? Have you tried a hangout yet? Let’s extend ourselves by engaging with and exploring Google+.
