Wow...

Which way will it go? (Hopefully "out")

Nothing more enjoyable than teenage attitude.

Now, that's a good use for a barcode scanner

I'll continue watching...

Remember number 12... though how you discuss that with your kid is for another time.

RESHARE:
I think I may need to remember this...

Reshared text:
Brilliant.  Brilliant!

Please let me remember this when my kids are old enough to use the internet.

And please don't let this post give +Mark Giddens any funny ideas.

I've finally found it...

Not sure if she knows the meme


or just posing because i laughed

only twenty years from the start of internet images... i think the www will be CERN's biggest legacy (not the Higgs Boson)

An aspect of the Higgs Boson... go gauchos!

I'm continued to be amazed at how fast computing is growing

Finally... justification for goofing off... :-)

It is amazing what competition creates... nicely done MS

RESHARE:
More hard to follow words, but ones to hear for sure.

Reshared text:
Gaining mastery over our destructive propensities, through the exercise of awareness and self-discipline with regard to our body, speech, and mind, frees us from the inner turmoil that naturally arises when our behaviour is at odds with our ideals. In place of this turmoil come confidence, integrity, and dignity - heroic qualities all human beings naturally aspire to.

RESHARE:
Enjoy every moment...

Reshared text:
Given the scale of life in the cosmos, one human life is no more than a tiny blip. Each one of us is a just visitor to this planet, a guest, who will only stay for a limited time. What greater folly could there be than to spend this short time alone, unhappy or in conflict with our companions? Far better, surely, to use our short time here in living a meaningful life, enriched by our sense of connection with others and being of service to them.

Boy, if I was in the market for a phone, this would be it. First true competitor to the iPhone... same across all networks.

The moment I knew last night's episode of Game of Thrones was going to be epic...

Nothing like that new car smell

Who thinks I should reply to this?

Love this... so good

(thanks +Michael Kling)

CISPA must be stopped!

RESHARE:
Thank you +Tim O'Reilly

Reshared text:
President Obama says the magic words: government creating a platform

It's really nice to see President Obama using the metaphor of government as a platform. Here's the money quote in the Rolling Stone interview:

"The free market is the greatest generator of wealth in history. I'm a firm believer in the free market, and the capacity of Americans to start a business, pursue their dreams and strike it rich. But when you look at the history of how we became an economic superpower, that rugged individualism and private-sector dynamism was always coupled with government creating a platform so that everybody could succeed..."

Thinking of government as platform rather than an end-to-end solution provider is a way to resolve the conflict between left and right in politics. It's clear that government is too big, and yet the problems that we need to solve collectively are still bigger. The notion of government as a platform focuses government on doing the things that only government can do, building key infrastructure that will catalyze the private sector.

We saw this platform dynamic with smartphones. Before the iPhone, smart phones worked a lot like government procurement. The manufacturers and the carriers got together in a back room and figured out what they thought people needed. Phones came with 20 or 30 apps. But when Apple figured out how to turn the phone into a platform, there were hundreds of thousands of apps delivering ideas that no one at Apple had imagined.

Examples of government as a platform include the Interstate Highway System, GPS, and open data. (For example, at the local level, governments opening up transit data feeds enables transit data in google maps or 3rd party smartphone apps far more effectively than if governments tried to build all these apps themselves.)

But I think President Obama is right when he also points to social safety nets as part of government acting as a platform. Continuing the quotation above, he says:

"But when you look at the history of how we became an economic superpower, that rugged individualism and private-sector dynamism was always coupled with government creating a platform so that everybody could succeed so that consumers weren't taken advantage of, so that the byproducts of capitalism, like pollution or worker injuries, were regulated. Creating that social safety net has not made us weaker – it's made us stronger. It liberated people to say, "I can move to another state, but if I don't find a job right away, my kids aren't going to go hungry. I can start a business, but if it doesn't work out, I'm going to be able to land on my feet." Making those kinds of commitments to each other – to create safety nets, to invest in infrastructure and schools and basic research – is just like our collective investment in national security or fire departments or police. It has facilitated the kind of risk-taking that has made our economy so dynamic. This is what it means for us to live in a thriving, modern democracy."

I think that's right. But it's important to design these safety nets so that they are enablers rather than replacements for private sector activity. Designing effective platforms is hard, and there's a history all through the computer industry of platform providers choking off innovation on the platform by doing too much.

What Lao Tzu said about government 2500 years ago still stands:

"When the best leader leads, the people say 'We did it ourselves.'"

RESHARE:
What a great vision...

Reshared text:
We think technology should work for you—to be there when you need it and get out of your way when you don’t.

A group of us from Google[x] started Project Glass to build this kind of technology, one that helps you explore and share your world, putting you back in the moment. We’re sharing this information now because we want to start a conversation and learn from your valuable input. So we took a few design photos to show what this technology could look like and created a video to demonstrate what it might enable you to do.

Please follow along as we share some of our ideas and stories. We’d love to hear yours, too. What would you like to see from Project Glass?

+Babak Parviz +Steve Lee +Sebastian Thrun

Curious about the "codes" you see on reddit???

AMA -- FTFY -- TL;DR -- NSFW

This post discusses those

Who knew that Tebowing would work???

Currently playing...ah, my first concert without parents...age 14 at the Hollywood Bowl

Take it...

RESHARE:
too cool

Reshared text:
Ever wish you could see the strands of genetic material that make you...you? You can, and there's no fancy lab equipment required. In this NOVA video short, learn how to extract your own DNA using just a few common household items.

"I've always believed the web is more than a network of machines, it's a network of minds that's evolving into a collective intelligence and global conscious. Look at this, everyday you see it. It's extraordinary... We see this in moments crisis and tragedy and joy. And it is the web that unites us in sentiment and action." ~+Eric Schmidt

Wow, NdGT just amazes me.

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/qccer/i_am_neil_degrasse_tyson_ask_me_anything/c3wgffy

Oh reddit... you are a constant source of entertainment

Some new terminology for those that work in tech.... (I think I may be nopping right now)

Great example of the fear mongering that has begun

Now that guy is using his head.

Had a nice thought as I was walking into the office today....

I have a mobile (Galaxy Nexus) with NFC (Near Field Communication), and a keycard with similar technology that I use to access the office. Why can't I use my phone as an "access" card?

Get on that internet...

OK, as I then went to look for a image... I found this one from back in the day (we're talking 2008 here), so it just looks like I'm impatient, it'll be here before you know it.

RESHARE:
I wish more would really HEAR his words

Reshared text:
The creation of a more peaceful and happier society has to begin from the level of the individual, and from there it can expand to one's family, to one's neighborhood, to one's community and so on.

I pledge to go dark on the 18th as well. Do you?

Music is the virus... and the virus is airborne...

What a great tag line, and what a great concept. Any musician out there must be on this... A subscription service for individual artists.

Walking around the corporate campus today, I captured this quick little video. If you have never walked amongst the Monarchs, you are missing a beautiful sight.

(but now that I've shared, you can feel like you have)

RESHARE:
Optical illusions are fun... this one is particularly interesting (which I guess is why I'm sharing it).

Remember, perception is not reality, or is it? Does a green circle truly appear?

Reshared text:
Stare at the + sign. Don't let your eyes move off that + sign, no matter what you see! If your eyes move, go back to looking at the + sign.

I seem to have lost track of who on Google+ first pointed this out. Sorry, but thanks!

He may be on to something....

Google -- you are too funny.

search for "do a barrel roll"

Do you think I look happy that it's Friday?

deadmau5 - focus on the group experience...especially when "solo"

Love this comment from the third world about the increase in public intelligence.

http://www.reddit.com/r/history/comments/lmhoh/0_the_decline_of_violence_may_be_the_most/c2txu2k

RESHARE:
Perfect graphic

Reshared text:
Any questions?

Good stuff here...

Thank you +Mathew Honan for putting to words what so many of us feel.

Been there, done that. Whatever. It's cool.

RESHARE:
It's getting close.

Reshared text:
It arrived today! Congratulations to +Andy Rubin and team!

Been hearing this a bit (iOS 5 is nice though)

Today's view

Enjoy every moment...they go fast

Warmups... Gonna be a great game. Go Gauchos!

The Ds upset me too

Let's understand what is going on here. When a merchant asks you "debit or credit" at checkout, this impacts how much money the merchant collects. If you say "credit" the bank gets a percentage of the transaction (say 3%). But if you say "debit" there is no bank fee to the merchant. This is what the merchant would prefer as it appears like "cash" to them. (this is also why you are starting to see two price listings for gas "cash / credit")

So, when you use the debit functionality, the bank is not receiving any compensation for that service, which is fine as they may have felt that providing that service to their customers was a requirement of banking. Bank of America (my bank in full disclosure) apparently has changed their mind. (we shall see how the free market reacts)

But I don't want government telling me to be angry, how about explaining it instead? Saying, if you are a BofA customer, call and explain why you feel it is unfair that they charge you for that service. (and fox, instead of making it a piece designed to make the reader upset, try educating... oh wait, I think I see why social media will be so important)

#nationalrational

RESHARE:
This is huge....

You can share your circles now!!!

Reshared text:
There are thousands of Googlers on Google+, naturally. I've got more than 250 in one circle, from Google+ leadership to product managers, engineers, Web advocates and developer relations. Here are some of the sharpest and most fun people you'll find who impact this service and many others you use every day.

Louis Gray shared a circle with you.

Random Thought

The problem with self service checkout is that people have to queue to checkout, and we people are slow and easily frustrated. The checkout (and bagging) should go on with each cart as you walk the store, you request a final review before you leave that presents you with a more useful receipt (one that helps you verify you got everything) and all you do is pay and leave.

Wish I could "just make that happen."

RESHARE:
This post from +Tom Anderson talks of a different world...a world where conversations and discussions occur with groups of individuals with different communication styles... wait that is not so different than what goes on for each of us...

I guess it is the scale that differentiates the worlds, but the core statement is that we need to foster a true dialog and right now is the best chance for building that capability is here.

Commenting on any post that already has more than 10 responses is painful. I want to follow the conversations but it is a series of individual thoughts that have implied connections but nothing obvious to the casual observer. This needs to be addressed to bring comments up to the caliber of the post.

One of the first things I sent in via that "feedback" button on the bottom right was to implement nested comments and an example of this is reddit, where in addition to nesting, there is ranking (which we have here with the +1 -- use it). When comments are ranked, you as a late arriver can quickly see the "best" thread to follow.

So, hit that +1 often, and use the feedback, and engage.

Ok, back to waiting for costco to open so they can fix my tires.

Reshared text:
A few days ago, I suggested that the "best feature" of Google+ may be the users themselves (http://bit.ly/nm84Dv). Could the type of users assembled here be changing in the last few days? Well, opening up to the "public" (vs. requiring that users receive an invite from a current member) has resulted in a few "objective" changes.

Check out socialstatistics.com -- this site, built by a third party developer, tracks the circle counts of Google+ users. Before G+ opened to the public, I was in the #10 position, just about to pass +Leo Laporte & +Robert Scoble. Then, in one 24 hour period, I shot up to #5, growing by 28,000 people in one day. (Formerly I'd been growing by about 400-800 people per day, depending on what I posted, perhaps). Put simply, this shows that a ton more people are signing up. (On I side note, I think all of us are going to be ousted by Hollywood celebrities and musicians who are naturally growing even faster. +Briney Spears grew by 98,000 in one day -- 3 times as fast as me. Hey Brit!)

In any case, less objectively, what does this mean for Google+? I'm not so sure. So far I've seen a lot more one word, short phrase responses to my posts. I've seen a little more spam (maybe 3 or 4 comments out of 100). I've seen a little more "Tom, please fix MySpace!" (maybe 1 out of a 100) And I've seen quite a bit more "internet" spelling. :-) (hehe) Other G+ users have already noted the quality of responses on my Facebook posts compared to my Google+ posts: http://bit.ly/neP9jG If we don't want that quality of response to decline here at G+, what can we do about it? Any thoughts?

The culture of the community can influence some things -- i.e. do as I do. If we continue to behave the way we have -- engaging with each other in more meaningful ways, then perhaps the "newbies" will catch on and do it as well. But I think this only goes so far. This would only work if G+ was growing in a more measured fashion, instead of like gang busters, which it appears to be.

So that makes me wonder what sort of "features" or tweaks to the comment section might encourage longer & more thoughtful responses? Maybe a way to simply sort comments by some combination of their length, +1 counts, or a poster's "reputation"? Facebook does something like this with its public comments product -- i.e. the plug-in that websites like Techcrunch use to allow people to comment with their FB profiles lets you sort by social ranking. But to do something like that, you sorta have to introduce "nested" comment threads, otherwise people will be responding to each other and things will not be in order once they've been sorted by "ranking" rather than chronology.

So if Google cared about this -- and I'm not sure they do -- would they be willing to change the way comments work on all G+ content to try and encourage better conversation? Maybe it's something worth testing only on large users like me. (Hint +Vic Gundotra +Natalie Villalobos -- I don't mind being a guinea pig.) Testing on some big users would mean that it wouldn't disrupt the flow of G+ but one could see how it works / feels in practice. Anyway, just a thought... But this thought comes from a very deep place. As some of you can probably tell, I've really enjoyed my time here, and I'm a little worried it's going to be harder to enjoy if I post and I get 500 responses that say "RIGHT ON TOM!!!!" and then my comments are closed (since we are limited to 500 comments per post).

When I say I'm not sure Google cares about this issue, that wasn't meant as a dig. Wanting to talk about things the way I do is just my preference, and it's certainly not shared by everyone. Maybe, like Gandalf's watch, what I'm hoping for is an anachronism? Is it anachronistic to want this kind of communication in today's Internet, with so many people online, and communities needing to grow large enough to fuel the business purposes for which they were created?

Note: I'm posting this in the middle of the night to try and slow down the responses to it and see if we can get some more thoughtful ones. I haven't truly thought through how this "problem" can be addressed. Frankly I'm too darn tired (only slept 3 hours last night), and hey, worrying about these kinds of thing isn't my job anymore. :-) So really, I'm only raising the question. Hope someone has good answers. :-) And, yes, I know that pairing images with my stories often creates two dialogues about one post. But hey, doing that is kinda my little invention here on G+. I've seen people complain about this, but usually the image comments explode at first and then die down a bit. And I like to keep the discussion "light" at the same time it's serious.

So picture this

I receive a text this morning:
Fwd: test
from number: 555-7742. I don't know that number and I pause for a second thinking what is the game? Why did I get this text?

Now, I notice something (my number is 555-4472)... Oh, so I text back:
You mixed up the numbers... 4472 7742 (you reversed the 4s and 7s)

Now, as I was walking in to the office, I started thinking about the other person's experience... hmm... "this new phone is awesome... it knew I made a mistake"

RESHARE:
Tips on searching

Reshared text:
Here's a few tips and tricks on the freshly launched Google+ search system.

• "Sparks" aren't gone, they're now just way more awesome. We include them, appropriately ranked, along with people and posts from Google+ in your searches.

• We have several ways to control and narrow your results. You can restrict your query to Everything, People, Google+ posts, or just Sparks. You can also switch between "Best" and "Most Recent" which can give very different results.

• You can save a search by using the "Save this Search" button to track your favorite interests. This is like how Sparks worked, but now you get the the best of the Web and the best of the Google+ community in one stream.

• Searches have shareable URLs: You can send someone a link like https://plus.google.com/s/donuts and it will work. In fact they won't have to be signed up to Google+ or even signed in for the search to work.

Damn -- Search is LIVE.

I strongly encourage everyone to watch this speech (20 minutes).
It got going for me about 8 minutes in.
Key (approximate) times:
08:08 Begins talking about direction.
11:29 Nice point about the tax code
12:50 !!!!
14:22 Begins addressing "class warfare"
16:30 Best quote
And now for the G+ question... who out there is talking Politics? That appears to be a community that is under represented, anyone out there talking it up?

RESHARE:
A friend just said:
"*sigh* Another Monday. Where do I start?"

How about with a trip around the world... (the lightning about 30 seconds in is my favorite part)

Reshared text:
Usually I like to say something about the stuff I share. I think this pretty much speaks for itself. Looks better than sci-fi, but it's "real" :-)

RESHARE:
Wow... This guy is posting from orbit. too cool.

Reshared text:
One of the last pictures I took yesterday - Aurora Australis - the southern lights - dancing with the constellation Orion. An amazing moment.

Nice episode tonight Daily Show.

Question time... Taking a bath and washing your hair... Do you use fresh water (start the tap) or rinse with existing water in the tub?

Amazing how clear things become when you make them relative.

(thanks reddit)

When watching football with the boys last night... I questioned: WHY was President George W. Bush present for ANY 9/11 remembrance? It happened under his watch, and he screwed up the response too!

Oh wait, I see why he needs to be there. So we can talk about this.

Thoughts?? Get honest with me here.

And it begins AYSO = All Your Saturdays are Over...

Quick watch (just over 4 minutes) that leads to this quote at the end:

"I can't promise my child a world without bias, we're all biased, but I promise to bias my child with multiple perspectives"

When you can see from other's perspectives, you'll become more empathetic.

I'd totally prefer this to the audio on any awards show

from here: http://www.rickygervais.com/thissideofthetruth.php

Enjoying a classic

So, I'm walking away from my son's (12 & 10) room tonight, when I hear this odd sound:
"ahhhhhhh, essssss, ahhhhhhhh, esssssss"

I go back in thinking, that's odd, better check on them.

It's my younger son making the noise, so I ask if everything is OK, and he smiles and says "yes, I was just pulling a peter griffin"

Loved that, one of my favorite Family Guy references, so I googled it... this is the query I used:
http://www.google.com/search?gcx=c&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=pulling+a+peter+griffin

Not very many hits, but the I followed the first link to a video of a kid doing the same thing...(for posterity, I am going to link to the video that was the number one result, but only had 38 views at the time of this writing).

I know this reference, and got it right away, but yet searching for the phrase "pulling a peter griffin" did not have a bigger result. I believe it will in the future.

Just a random story from my night...

Holy Crap, my hands started sweating just watching this.

On a personal note, I take inspiration from this video to overcome those moments when you feel "stalled out" and "paralyzed." Time to finish this climb.

Google is rolling out a suggestion list for new users, but I bet some of the current users could find some interesting people there too.

Yummmm.

A full days worth of calories in a single serving.

RESHARE:
Yay for new work from +Neal Stephenson

Reshared text:
First copies of the UK (left) and US (right) editions. Not sure why the UK ones are always thicker. I've always been interested in the different approaches taken by US and UK publishers to cover art. Both of them know their markets and do a fine job of reaching them, but evidently tastes are very different.

RESHARE:
This quote connected today...

Reshared text:
Someone once asked the Dalai Lama what surprises him most. This was his response:

“Man, because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived.”

via +Rachel Wolfe

Oh, you know what would make for a good stream to fill a circle? My Facebook feed...

I'm so average... every size but mine in stock.

Capitalism will never fail. It has Socialism to bail it out.

I was struggling with the question if this was worth posting or not...

RESHARE:
This example of commitment helps explain why Apple did so well upon his return.

Reshared text:
Icon Ambulance

One Sunday morning, January 6th, 2008 I was attending religious services when my cell phone vibrated. As discreetly as possible, I checked the phone and noticed that my phone said "Caller ID unknown". I choose to ignore.

After services, as I was walking to my car with my family, I checked my cell phone messages. The message left was from Steve Jobs. "Vic, can you call me at home? I have something urgent to discuss" it said.

Before I even reached my car, I called Steve Jobs back. I was responsible for all mobile applications at Google, and in that role, had regular dealings with Steve. It was one of the perks of the job.

"Hey Steve - this is Vic", I said. "I'm sorry I didn't answer your call earlier. I was in religious services, and the caller ID said unknown, so I didn't pick up".

Steve laughed. He said, "Vic, unless the Caller ID said 'GOD', you should never pick up during services".

I laughed nervously. After all, while it was customary for Steve to call during the week upset about something, it was unusual for him to call me on Sunday and ask me to call his home. I wondered what was so important?

"So Vic, we have an urgent issue, one that I need addressed right away. I've already assigned someone from my team to help you, and I hope you can fix this tomorrow" said Steve.

"I've been looking at the Google logo on the iPhone and I'm not happy with the icon. The second O in Google doesn't have the right yellow gradient. It's just wrong and I'm going to have Greg fix it tomorrow. Is that okay with you?"

Of course this was okay with me. A few minutes later on that Sunday I received an email from Steve with the subject "Icon Ambulance". The email directed me to work with Greg Christie to fix the icon.

Since I was 11 years old and fell in love with an Apple II, I have dozens of stories to tell about Apple products. They have been a part of my life for decades. Even when I worked for 15 years for Bill Gates at Microsoft, I had a huge admiration for Steve and what Apple had produced.

But in the end, when I think about leadership, passion and attention to detail, I think back to the call I received from Steve Jobs on a Sunday morning in January. It was a lesson I'll never forget. CEOs should care about details. Even shades of yellow. On a Sunday.

To one of the greatest leaders I've ever met, my prayers and hopes are with you Steve.

-Vic

RESHARE:
I have not been on /. for a while now, but the site was a big part of the turn of millennia for me.

Reshared text:
Thanks for 14 wonderful years everyone.

There has been a lot of chatter out there over the "Real Name" policy of Google+

Then +Madonna . hit, and here come the comments again. Looks like "celebrities" get a pass. While I agree to that, what I don't agree with is "celebrities" having others do their posting for them. Look at this snip from M's posts.

+Jeffrey Steele seems to thinks that people should post in the first person.


(oh, and could whoever is posting for M please pass along my belated birthday wish)

My stream was filled with info about this update:
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/doing-more-with-1-button-more-than-4.html

This is going to be huge, and watch FB update their "like" button shortly.

Finally, a study of interest...

RESHARE:
Yep... Of course I don't have the base, but the interaction is there.

Reshared text:
Why am I a Google+ Fan? Well, let's look.

I posted a link to my blog about Facebook's new features at 11 a.m. on both Facebook and Google+.

Here's what I posted on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/scobleizer/posts/255658977787753 Here's what I posted on Google+. https://plus.google.com/111091089527727420853/posts/UaK31dbh4R7

What's the results?

On Google+ I got 46 + 1's. 84 shares. 100 comments. So far.
On Facebook I got six likes. So far. NO comments.
On Twitter I got 11 retweets. So far. Very few comments back other than "nice post."

Says it all, really.

RESHARE:
Nice image

Reshared text:
Source Credit: http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/inpictures/2011/08/201182191115411122.html

Third wheel for sublime and 311. But hey, it's going to be a good show.

Don't put catsup on the walls

Alright google mobile folks... Why can't I at least star a post I've read so I can find it to share later (since you cannot share from mobile yet)?

And end with a classic..

A good start

Cleaning out the garage, I stumbled across some of my early music...

RESHARE:
Should be a good book. I like how he points out positives of sharing, versus the usual negative association of "loss of privacy."

Reshared text:
Here's a promotional video for my upcoming book, Public Parts.

RESHARE:
Let the games begin.

Reshared text:
Happy gaming (if you like that sort of thing!)

RESHARE:
An interesting read.

Reshared text:
The number of people following me (or following you) is actually irrelevant.

Here's why.

I've been watching the folks on the top 100 list. http://socialstatistics.com/

Most of these folks don't actually PARTICIPATE or put up good content. Heck, the number one guy hasn't even posted at all.

While it's great for my ego and brand to be on this list I really wish I had never seen these numbers. Why not? It puts in place a bad game.

Huh?

See, anytime there's numbers there's a game that evolves.

Humans love numbers and they love games.

So, why is this a bad game?

1. You can't win the game. Why? The deck is stacked against you. More on that in a second.
2. Since this game is one of the only ones on Google+ to play, entire sites like http://socialstatistics.com/ have already sprung up to play.
3. It doesn't reinforce good behavior. Why isn't +Trey Ratcliff #1 instead of Mark Zuckerberg? Trey actually puts freaking awesome content up nearly every day and PARTICIPATES here. While Trey is on the list, he deserves more followers than I do and certainly more than anyone else on the top 10. At least if Google were paying attention to the community that's building here.

What would have been better? How about some sort of participation score? Klout gets a lot closer to this than a follower number score. Why? Because Klout looks at how much resharing happens, how active you are, in addition to how many followers you have (and it even measures real followers vs. bots).

So, why is the deck stacked against you?

See, when the first people joined the system, it studied our following behavior. Truth is most heavy social networking users, like me, "collect" the biggest "personal brands." You know, folks like Leo Laporte, Zuckerberg, Brin, Pirillo, Kawasaki, etc.

These are NOT necessarily the best examples of users of a system and they get followed on each system (I am following them on every single social network out there that I can find them on).

The neat thing is with circles I can start putting them into their own circle, so they don't pollute my other circles. Look at +Leo Laporte for instance. His main stuff he's been doing here lately is just location checkins. No value at all and just adds noise to the system (that's another problem Google needs to fix, why these things need to be in our feed just makes no sense to me). But I follow Leo because, well, he's Leo and I've been following him since 1995 when I helped him run his chat room when he was on KGO radio back then.

So, where am I going with this?

This "most followed" list is actually very corrosive to Google+'s reputation. Why? It's a list that many people will use to check in the health of the system.

If Leo Laporte and Sergey Brin don't use Google+, that must mean it's not being used very much at all, right? That's the way journalists will look at this.

The deck is stacked against you.

Why do I say the deck is stacked against you? Because, even if you are brilliant and put the best content possible into the system (say that you're a better photographer than Trey Ratcliffe and participate here more) there's no way you'll get more followers. Why not? Because each new user that comes in here is given a bunch of people that Google+ suggests to follow. This suggestion list is algorithmic (which is an improvement over how Twitter did theirs) but because this list is based on the following behavior of those who came before you, there's no way new users will ever catch up. Heck, if +Ashton Kutcher can't even get onto the top of the list you KNOW it's stacked against YOU.

So, how would I fix this if I were +Vic Gundotra or +Bradley Horowitz (the two guys who run Google+)?

I would buy Klout. Put a Klout score on everyone's profile.

Then I would split the suggested lists into topics. Sort of like Quora has different topics, and different recommended follows. Look at Quora, while it recommends me for Tech http://www.quora.com/Technology?q=Tech it does NOT recommend me for being a wine expert http://www.quora.com/Wine?q=Wine and the Wine experts are different than those it suggests for cars, etc.

Truth is Quora has its own Klout-style score that it's keeping for each user (it's mostly invisible, although if you're active on the system long enough you can figure out where you stand in each topic).

Anyway, this is all a way of saying, "hey Google, we need a new game here and we need it fast." Oh, and +Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten (the guy who keeps that top most followed list here) is there any way to come up with a better list that more accurately reflects who actually is putting good content here and getting engagement rather than who is just merely popular and a usual suspect?

For instance, http://www.recommendedusers.com/ has a better idea (although, because it's human done, this list is imperfect for other reasons) by putting up recommended followers that are more based on both topic, and on actual participation. Thanks +Alireza Yavari for doing that list, although I should be on the journalist list (I do more tech journalism than most other people, for instance) which shows this list is incomplete because it relies on humans to add to the list.

What do you think? It'd be interesting to see what community managers think, too.

Anywhere in the world in an hour. Launch was delayed today, scheduled for tomorrow (from Vandenberg)

The updated London 2012 logo

"we need Germany to save Europe? "