The smartest scientific minds of our planet in ONE picture!

This image is just mind-blowing.  It was originally captured in 1927 at the Solvay Conference, attended by some of the most brilliant scientists in history. Notable attendees included Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Marie Curie, Erwin Schrödinger, Werner Heisenberg, Wolfgang Pauli, Paul Dirac and Louis de Broglie. More than half of the attendees went onto win the Nobel Prize in either Physics or Chemistry. Marie Curie actually won the prize in both fields. She remains the only scientist in history to have done so.

The original picture is black & white but a Swedish female artist successfully colorized it and posted it on reddit where it became an instant classic. Not only that, she's made it available on the internet for free.

This one definitely deserves to be shared further for the world to print and put up as a poster. A more epic gathering cannot be imagined.

Hi-Res Download: http://i.imgur.com/ifAMi.jpg
Artist's Website: http://forrifarg.se/

#photography   #mindblown  

Maya Calendar 2.0 is here
with bonus 7000 years!!

#lol   #endoftheworld  

Android? :O

Different Densities of Liquids

Via Reddit at: http://i.imgur.com/Kp3RA.jpg

*Wall-E and Eve grow up"

Here's some concept art for one of my favorite animated films. I am not sure why Eve suddenly has legs or how wall-e grew a Gatling gun but it still looks pretty awesome. I like how they're defending the plant.

#fanart   #walle   #pixar   #movies  

iOS 6 Maps
be careful

#lol   #apple   #iphone5  

The Dark Knight Trilogy Explained
would love some re-shares on this one

The amount of negative reviews received by The Dark Knight Rises completely baffles me. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate negative reviews if they actually have a point but movie-goers are basing their criticisms on plot-holes which don't exist! Was TDKR too smart for the average movie-goer? I really don't think it was.

As one user on reddit aptly put, people were spoiled by The Dark Knight; that film was lightning in a bottle that couldn't possibly have been replicated. Ultimately, people went into this film expecting something transcendent, something magical, something that would shatter every preconceived notion of what a superhero movie could be. Maybe they didn't realise that was what they were hoping for, but it was. When the film inevitably could not satisfy those hopes, it came down in a thundering cacophony of disappointment unseen since Episode I (maybe that's hyperbolic, but only time will tell). People are reacting out of grief, and a little bit of embarrassment that they could allow themselves to be so emotionally invested in something that is, ultimately, just a movie about a guy dressed as a bat.

Being a die-hard fan of Nolan's masterpiece I want everyone to see why The Dark Knight Rises wasn't just a movie about stopping a bomb from exploding. It was so much more than that and fit in perfectly with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

Initially I thought about writing a plot explanation myself but then I found this beautiful piece on reddit from user freedomnexttime which does the trilogy complete justice. It is a must read for any one who has seen the Dark Knight Trilogy:

"Nolan’s Batman films are often praised for how they mesh topical socio-political commentary with explosive super-hero action. Batman Begins focused on poverty vs. opulence, corruption in authority, the failure of law and order, and the nature of justice as opposed to revenge. The Dark Knight mixed comic book icons with themes of post-9/11 anxiety, the breakdown of civility and decency in the face of chaotic terror, and the question of “how far is too far?” in dealing with overwhelming threats. Finally, The Dark Knight Rises examines notions of assumed power vs. true power, the need for hope in the bleakest of times, and liberation from and revolution against the constraints of capitalist society. Although the topical nature of these three films certainly adds to their overall cinematic quality, there are a series of more personal themes prevalent throughout the trilogy, the importance of which may be overlooked in the process of viewing each film as a contained story. The core element of the trilogy-the fall and rise of Bruce Wayne – is a personal character arc defined by duality, rage, grief, redemption, and finally acceptance and ties with the evolution of Gotham City as a whole.

In order to fully grasp the true quality of the storytelling craft inherent in Bruce Wayne’s arc, one must first understand the nature of the man and the mask as three intertwined yet separate entities. Bruce Wayne is not a complete human being – there is a part of him that was ripped away the night his parents died and he has replaced that lost innocence with what Bruce and Alfred refer to as “the monster” (“I am using this monster to help people” – BB). The third piece of this persona is the symbol of Batman: the ideal that the people of Gotham associate with the name, and which in the end inspires them to act on behalf of their city. This symbol is what Bruce was originally hoping to establish, and transcends the identity of any one man.

The Bruce we meet in the prison at the start of Batman Begins is fueled by the desire for vengeance. As we learn in a later flashback, he was denied the closure and satisfaction of murder Joe Chill and so he has put himself in a position where he is guaranteed to be accosted by criminals on a daily basis; he can exact what he believes is the closest thing to vengeance he is ever likely to have. Every criminal he beats is Joe Chill to him. As Ra’s al Ghul says when he first finds Bruce, “you have become truly lost” (BB). Bruce beats these fellow prisoners out of necessity to quell the rage of his darker half; he himself takes no pleasure in the action because he already knows the truth in his heart: that Justice and Vengeance are never the same. It is this truth, learned from Rachel Dawes, that inevitably puts Bruce and Batman at odds with the League of Shadows.

Just as Bruce molds his monster into a productive force, Ra’s al Ghul and the League of Shadows aimed to mold Bruce into the figurehead of their twenty-year old plot to eradicate Gotham from the face of the earth. The League helps Bruce create the physicality of Batman and his methods of fighting crime. They give Bruce the tools to confront his grief and anger and use them as the driving force behind his developing second persona. Most importantly, they give him the will to act in the face of apathy and overwhelming odds. The rift between Bruce and his mentors forms when they also attempt to convert him to their own ideal of uncompromising justice. Deep down, Bruce has already developed a sense of morality from Rachel. He combines this with his training, and gives his monster and ideal: there is always hope, and that with dedication and perseverance, Gotham can be brought back from the brink of darkness, just as Bruce was. He gives his darker half a face and name, and saves his city from annihilation. In the wake of his victory, however, he learns two truths about what he has done in bringing Batman to Gotham. The first, from Rachel, is that the Bruce Wayne has become the mask that hides the monster. Batman is now the crutch that Bruce relies on. In using it to move past his parent’s death and save the city from the League, he has given it much more control. The second, from Gordon, is the escalation: Batman has the capacity to inspire hope and action in the people of Gotham, but he also makes Gotham a target. His presence will serve as a beacon to draw out madness worthy of fighting a man dressed as a bat. This realization is expanded upon in The Dark Knight.

The Gotham City the audience sees at the beginning of The Dark Knight is much cleaner that what we saw in Begins. Though the key figureheads of the mob are still at large and Crane’s drugs are still making a small circulation, Batman, with the help of Gordon, is making definite progress in cleaning up the city. The emergence of Harvey Dent as the public face of Batman and Gordon’s crusade builds hope in the people of Gotham. Dent also inspires Bruce in a more personal manner. When Bruce sees Rachel with Harvey, he realizes that Rachel will not wait forever for Batman’s fight to end, and so Bruce begins to look for ways to put Batman to rest so he can be with Rachel. He puts his faith in Harvey as the one who can continue the push for justice when Batman is gone. Likewise, Harvey relies on Batman to do the things that he, as an elected official and the “White Knight” of Gotham, cannot be associated with. The Joker also sees the importance of Harvey Dent as the figurative spirit of Gotham. When Harvey survives the explosion that kills Rachel, the Joker takes advantage of Harvey’s shattered emotional state and converts him, leaving a corrupted perversion of the man that once stood for hope and justice. Bruce is spared a fate similar to Harvey’s by once again relying on the monster, this time to such a degree that Bruce Wayne is all but consumed by his alter ego. However, there remains a faint shadow of the man that clings to the knowledge that Rachel had chose him over Harvey, and so Alfred burns Rachel’s letter in order to preserve what is left of Bruce Wayne. Ironically, Harvey gives in to his twisted sense of vigilante justice because he wrongly believes himself to be like Batman in taking matters into his own hands.

In The Dark Knight, the Joker is the antithesis of Batman in his own philosophy that anyone can be brought down with the proper push. Harvey Two-Face is the proof that the Joker is indeed right. As he stands over Harvey’s body, the monster (and what is left of Bruce ) realize the true nature of what they have created with Batman, and what they now must do with this symbol. Batman and Gordon cover up Harvey’s actions and allow his untarnished legacy to become the symbol of hope that Batman was meant to be because he was the hero the people believed Gotham needed, and Bruce decides to reward them for that faith. The true hero of Gotham adopts the consequences of Harvey’s actions and becomes a symbol of darkness.

The Dark Knight Rises is the conclusion to two stories that began the night Martha and Thomas Wayne were murdered: the intertwined salvations of Bruce Wayne and Gotham city. In Begins, Bruce dedicated himself to ensuring that Gotham would never produce someone like him again. In The Dark Knight, he learned that Batman would be whatever Gotham needed it to be, even if that meant standing as the paragon of the darkest depths of the city’s soul.

Despite being the longest of the three films, The Dark Knight Rises features less of Batman than the other two. The film is not about Batman; it is about what Batman has inspired in the people of Gotham and Bruce Wayne’s personal journey toward a life without his alter ego. Eight years after Bruce hung up the cowl, the legend of Batman has become infamous among the people of Gotham, though some remain stout in their belief of his original ideal of hope. However, although the essence of Batman is now beyond any one man, Bruce still relies on his monster. He has added his grief over Rachel’s death to his original grief over the loss of his parents and is unable to move on with his life. He believes that Rachel would have chosen him and so dwells on what might have been. For a time, he attempted to do good as Bruce Wayne by investing in a clean energy project that would help the world. When he learns that the reactor could be reprogrammed as a weapon though, he shuts the project down. Bruce and Batman have learned the hard way what happens with the malicious take control of another man’s tool for good. Bruce thought that Harvey Dent was ideal replacement for Batman until the Joker turned him into a monster. Similarly, Thomas Wayne built the Gotham rail system as a means to aid the people of Gotham, but Ra’s al Ghul almost managed to use that system to deliver Gotham to its own destruction. So, Bruce shuts down the project and hides away with his grief. The buildup, established over the previous two films, adds complexity to the plot of the third movie, which could otherwise be seen as a deceptively simple stop-the-bomb story.

Bane claims to be “Gotham’s reckoning.” His aim is to fulfill Ra’s al Ghul’s original plan of destroying Gotham, which the League of Shadows sees as the pinnacle of decadence and injustice, even more so now that it’s “peace” is based on a lie. Bane is also Batman’s reckoning; he plans to exact brutal revenge on Bruce for possessing the arrogance to fight against what the League of Shadows believe is the natural order of things. Bruce and the monster are lured out of retirement even though Alfred is correct when he tells Bruce that he isn’t Batman anymore. At this point, it’s not about being the symbol. It’s about indulging the monster and, hopefully, dying in his quest to save the city. Alfred tries to make him realize there is another way besides death, and that the more victorious action would be to keep on willing. Bruce created Batman as a mean to move on from his parents’ death, but in truth, Batman was only a distraction and an indulgence to Bruce’s rage. Learning to live without Batman would be acceptance of life, but Bruce doesn’t feel he can do that until he gives himself to Gotham. Even knowing that Rachel chose Harvey does not help Bruce realize how he can stop. The catalyst for Bruce’s final push beyond his pain is Selina Kyle. Bruce falls in love with her and finally has a reason to not want to be Batman anymore. Selina wants a clean slate and a new life, and she helps Bruce realize that he wants that too. He challenges her to believe in something beyond herself, as he had to do when he first became Batman. Even after she betrays him to Bane, he still believes in her because he needs redemption for the trust he put in Harvey Dent. Bruce’s inspiration eventually draws her back to Gotham, where she kills Bane and saves Bruce. Bruce brings out redeeming qualities of Selina and in doing so saves himself.

When they first meet, Bane sees through Bruce’s anticipation of his own death, (having undergone similar training), and so he breaks Bruce and throws him in a pit to rot and watch the extent of his failure. In that hell on earth, Bruce learns to embrace the basest of human instincts: the fear of death. He leaves the monster behind and rises from the darkness of the pit, now at last a complete soul. Bruce proved Rachel’s letter wrong: he no longer needed Batman. Gotham did, however, and so Bruce puts the mask on one last time. Bruce Wayne, armed with the will to live, defeats Bane at the end of the film. He only wears the mask because of its necessity to the people of Gotham.

Batman’s effect on the people of Gotham in The Dark Knight Rises is best exemplified by two characters: John Blake and Commissioner Foley. At first glance Foley’s arc could seem like an underdeveloped cowardice-redemption-heroic death subplot. When viewed against a broader context though, Foley is quite important to the theme of the film in that he represents most of the people of Gotham. John Blake was always a believer; he didn’t believe that Batman was the killer most people made him out to be, and sought him out when he knew the city needed the Dark Knight to return. John was exceptional, and for this reason he was chosen to carry on the legend of the Batman. Foley is the average citizen. He believes Batman is a villain because that’s what he was told by Gordon, the only talking witness to what actually happened. When Bane took Gotham, he sheltered himself and relied on Bane’s false hope, again because that’s what the authority had told him. He didn’t trust Gordon about the bomb because Gordon had been revealed as a liar in the Harvey Dent murder. But when Bruce lights the flaming signal, Foley is inspired with the will to act. He takes up arms, fights, and ultimately dies defending his city. Foley embodies the victory of Batman; the people of Gotham were possessed with the will to act and therefore had overcome Thomas Wayne’s failure. Foley shows what Batman was and is capable of as a legend and an inspiration for good.

By the end of The Dark Knight Rises, John Blake is frustrated with the limited authority and facilities provided by law enforcement. He did not have the means to lead the citizens to safety or stand up against those obstructing the bridge that led out of the city. After witnessing the extraordinary feats that Batman was able to achieve, Blake knows that the Dark Knight would not have let this barricade stop him from doing what was right. Blake realizes that he cannot accomplish enough as a police officer, or a detective, and gives up on the system. Thus, he makes the perfect candidate for the heir to the Batman legacy after coming to the conclusion that becoming a vigilante is not just about taking the law into your own hands, but about having a righteous will to act. In order to save Gotham, Batman did not answer to anyone other than himself. But even though the idea of Batman was always about circumventing the law to do the right thing, it was never about being above it. This entity set its own standards, and thus became more than just a vigilante- it became a true inspiration for Bruce Wayne, who worked tirelessly to devote himself to the ideas that Batman created. But how is Batman’s philosophies not influenced by the whims of this man?

Although Bruce as a man embodied Batman, it was not his choice that the legend of the Dark Knight began. The Dark Knight was never about a single man- it was always about the legend of Gotham City. Gotham created this entity the night that it stole away the innocence of a young boy, who had no choice but to give everything he had back to its citizens. If Gotham created Batman, then that means that Batman is the true representation of the city. Although the fact remains that Batman is one person, the point of the mask is that anyone could be Batman. And if anyone could be Batman, then that means that all of Gotham is Batman.

Time will be kind to TDKR, but only when people are able to sit back and view the trilogy as a whole, as a progressive story with evolving themes.

I usually don't ask for re-shares and I know it is a long article but I think this reddit user's explanation deserves to be put out there for everyone to read.

Source via reddit: http://bit.ly/U5vIIe

The Edge of the World

Your new desktop background (1920x1200) from reddit at: https://i.minus.com/ibrHQbXXriHxim.jpg

#wallpaper   #desktop  

Ring Clock | A Mechanical Beauty

Ring Clock is a mechanical ring, which displays the current time. It has three rings for displaying the hour, minutes and seconds. The current time is highlighted, and there is an indicator so the wearer can know which way to put it on.

I #want  the Black Metallic one so bad.

Source: http://mmminimal.com/futuristic-genius-ring-clock-mechanical-jewellery/

In the not too distant future...

#lol   #iphone5   #android   #apple  

Left Brain vs Right Brain

» Left Brain:
I am a scientist. A mathematician. I love the familiar. I categorize. I am accurate. Linear. Analytical. Strategic. I am practical. Always in control. A masters of words and language. Realistic. I calculate equations and play with numbers. I am order. I am logic. I know exactly who I am.

» Right Brain:
I am creativity. A free spirit. I am passion. Yearning. Sensuality. I am the sound of roaring laughter. I am taste. The feeling of sand beneath bare feet. I am movement. Vivid colors. I am the urge to paint on empty canvas. I am boundless imagination. Art. Poetry. I sense. I feel. I am everything I wanted to be.

Do you have a dominant side to your brain or do you have a good mix of both? I feel there is always one side which stands out for everyone.

WiFi Internet Signal Strength Problems

True story! :(

Heaven and Hell defined... in the European Way

#lol   #stereotypes  

#mindblown

The.Best.Phone.Manual.Ever.

Samsung you're doing it right. More and more companies need to do this.

#lol #mindblown

English is a Crazy Language

I love this play at words to show how English is. I mean in what other language do people RECITE at a PLAY and PLAY at a RECITAL?

PlayStation 4 Announcement

Okay so the #PS4  was announced and this is how I feel it was arranged at the Sony Headquarters. #lol

comic via reddit at: i.imgur.com/HzLkrtS.jpg

Marvel's Next 10 Movies

I am ready! Are you?

#photography

It's a Mantis... on a Bike! - via http://bit.ly/HNt7xA

Meanwhile at the Doctor's

Batman wins! #lol  

via i.imgur.com/P0fHu.jpg

#celebrities #photos

Rare photos of the old and the dead

I stumbled across this huge rare collection of pictures. It's almost surreal going through them and realizing that most of these very famous people are not among us anymore :(

Also, Clint Eastwood looks so bad-ass! My favorite picture is the one of Chaplin and Einstein. Which one is yours?

via reddit at: imgur.com/a/QyU0e

"Look, Simba. Everything the light touches is our kingdom."

This is one of my favorite wildlife shots and it has The Lion King written all over it. So majestic and moving!

How to Give Back to the World

#lol   #comic  

#lol

Ironman

Makes sense.

via Darke Shard at http://darke.deviantart.com/#/d1gxhcf

Mind = Blown!

I actually have a headache now. Amazing illusion though.

#lol

True Story!

#lol #piracy

It's a valid question!

via reddit at: i.imgur.com/s8mug.jpg

Possibly the Best Balcony View Ever

I don't know where this was taken or who owns this balcony but I would love to be standing there right now looking out at the world.

via reddit at: http://i.imgur.com/LqgEe.jpg

#photography   #mindblown  

A Map of The Best Movies of All Time

Oh boy, I'm printing this and hanging it up in my room. I wish they'd have this map at all stations of the London Underground.

Hi-Res Version: http://i.imgur.com/Wc3yh.jpg

Trust me, I'm an Engineer
#lol  

#northkorea #lol

Launch? - The internet responds to North Korea's fail today.

#gaming #projectglass

Gaming with Google Glasses

As gamers, we've all been looking forward to a spectacular gaming future based on augmented reality. Well, here's a fan-made video of what Battlefield would be like with +Project Glass.

ಠ_ಠ

via: +Aaron Wood 

#endoftheworld  

The Two Wolves

#wordsofwisdom  

#wordsofwisdom

Think more, Talk less

As Stephen Hawking said, "Quiet people have the loudest minds."

#lol

#attackofthecute

Baby Chameleons

via reddit at: http://i.imgur.com/N6dS3.jpg

#lol

T-Rex problems :(

The Out-of-Office Reply

As a person with a desk job that involves using a desktop for most of the day, I can confirm that this is VERY true. #lol  

#want

Please eat me too shark pillow thingy :O

That didn't go quite as planned... and it was well-deserved!

via: http://img.leprosorium.com/1554680.gif

#epicfail   #lol  

What I Think vs What I Say
 
My mind is usually a mixture of all sorts of thoughts and musings. It lacks much needed coherency and as a result what I express in the end is only a fraction of what I am really thinking.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen!

#lol  

When Cosplay Beats The Original

This shot was taken at the Long Beach Comic Con of a Joker fan dressed as The Joker from The Dark Knight. The resemblance with Heath Ledger's Joker is astounding. In fact he looks more like Heath Ledger's Joker than Heath Ledger himself. Crazy, right?

Here's a side-by-side comparison: http://i.imgur.com/uunvi.jpg

Mind = Blown!

Moon and Venus Over Switzerland
by David Kaplan

Sometimes a morning sky can be a combination of serene and surreal. Such a sky exists here as viewed from a snowy slope in eastern Switzerland. Quiet clouds blanket the above scene, lit from beneath by lights from the village of Trübbach. A snow covered mountain, Mittlerspitz, poses dramatically on the upper left, hovering over the small town of Balzers, Liechtenstein far below. Peaks from the Alps can be seen across the far right, just below the freshly rising Sun. Visible on the upper right are the crescent Moon and the bright planet Venus. Venus will remain in the morning sky all month, although it will likely not be found in such a photogenic setting.

*Source:* http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110202.html
*Hi-Res Download:* http://i.imgur.com/fpFqe.jpg

#earthporn   #photography   #mindblown  

New Stills from The Hobbit released

After TDKR fest I am now eagerly awaiting a return to my first love in cinema: Middle Earth!

A lot of people aren't happy with Peter Jackson making three films out of The Hobbit but I am glad he is doing so. He puts so much care and effort into bringing us the beauty of Tolkien's world and its characters. I mean just look at these stills from the movie, look at their costumes, look at the cast... everything is spot on.

So if he is making a trilogy again with the same devotion as last time and bringing us that magic from the books together with the most heart-warming soundtrack... then I'm certainly in!

#thehobbit   #anunexpectedjourney   #lordoftherings  

The Human Eye is Beautiful

These are some mind-blowing extreme close ups of the human eye. At this scale they look like the surfaces of some unknown planets. I'm in complete awe.

via photographer Suren Manvelyan: www.behance.net/paronsuren

How our Solar System really moves

Being a part of the Solar System, we always view it from a fixed perspective. As in, we don't really imagine the Sun (the center of our solar system) to be moving too.

But let's say we "zoom out" a little bit then we'll see an extraordinary trajectory of the Sun and its planets. This GIF shows a high-speed simulation of the motion.

via reddit at: http://i.imgur.com/Z7FpC.gif

One does not simply walk into Mordor

Just discovered this on #googlemaps. I love these Easter Eggs that google has in its apps and services.

#theavengers #avengers

Young Avengers

WANT!

via reddit at: i.imgur.com/ViJSp.jpg

#lol

What do you call an Alligator in a Vest? - via reddit at: bit.ly/xt6FKj

Mind = Blown!

#pencilart  by http://cerkahegyzo.deviantart.com/

#mindblown

I watched 101 Dalmatians a long time ago but my jaw just dropped when I saw this picture.

This Illusion will melt your Brain!

#cannotstoplooking   #mindblown  

#googleplusupdate

Sending a Private Message just got easier

One of the problems we had with google+ initially was that to send a private message to someone you would have to use the normal share box to share with just that person. This was not immediately obvious to all users.

Google+ has now added a simple button on your profile that people can click to send you a message directly. Clicking it pops up a box where you can either just send to that person or you can add more people/circles to the converstion.

Thank you, team google+!

Dragon Baby

Possibly the most epic GIF in the history of GIFs. Via reddit at: http://i.imgur.com/7f5zB.jpg

#lol

Just Married!

I guess I've found the girl I want to grow old and remain young with. Now you know why I've been AWOL for the past 3 weeks.

Here's to the years ahead. :)

The Complete House Stark

Sorry, Jon :( #gamesofthrones  

Google+ | The Starter Pack

As we’ve seen with the recent posts going around, Google+ users are increasing like never before in the history of Social Networks. Some figures say we’ve hit 10 million already!! However, I’ve also seen that after signing up, most new +ers go idle and do not log back in to their account. This is certainly true of the 70% of my friends that have joined the network. Therefore, these massive numbers don’t mean anything if people aren’t actually using the network. This is also evident from the fact that I keep running into the same people in comment threads across the network.
The reasons behind this issue could be:

- 750 million people on the internet use facebook. They are well acquainted with the layout of facebook and hence trying out a new network means a transition with a learning curve. Upon joining Google+ they see an interface which looks similar to facebook in some ways but at the same time they do not immediately see where everything is. They click around for a minute or two and then log off.

- Early adopters of google+ have had a head start and that puts off the new +ers. A friend of mine that joined a couple of days ago saw that I already had 1000 followers. They feel as if the G+ community has already been formed which makes it tougher for them to join in. They don’t know who to follow. I can fully sympathize with them on this because in my opinion this is very much like starting your college one month late. Your classmates that came on time already got the chance to get to know each other and become friends. You on the other hand will feel left out and would need to do something extra to join the circles that have already been formed.

I’m sure there can be many other reasons to explain this issue and they’ll all vary from person to person. But the most important conclusion you can draw from all this is that there is a great need for a Google+ Starter Pack which will allow our new friends to join g+ at a run. That way they can integrate into the already massive g+ community as smoothly as possible and contribute to it as eagerly as the rest of us.

I’ve attempted to create such a starter pack for the benefit of e-mankind regardless of their background in social media. It is important to realize here that the starter pack should be concise, clear and very simple to use. Otherwise, too much reading will add to the learning curve that we’re trying to reduce here. So here it goes:

****************************************

Dear Fellow +ers,

Hello and Welcome to the next sensational product on the internet! Google+ is packed with features to make your online social experience more enjoyable and manageable. This Starter Pack is designed to make you feel right at home with your new g+ social account. The guide is divided into five main sections:

Structure of G+ | Friends on G+ | Privacy | Who to Follow | Invite new Friends


Structure of Google+
When you login to G+ for the first time, you will be brought to the welcome page: http://i.imgur.com/IXYEe.png. At the top of your page you will see 4 buttons next to the Google+ logo. These buttons divide g+ into 4 main parts:

Stream
- This page is very similar to your news feed on facebook. On the left you can choose to look at different news feeds (streams) of your friends lists (circles)
- In the left sidebar you will see the Google Talk widget that you can use to chat with your friends. You can do 2-way video calls with it too.
- Again on the left, you will see a block titled Sparks. With sparks you can get interest-based content from the internet through google.
- On the right you can click the green button to start a Hangout. Hangouts allow you to have 10-way group video calls… Yes, you can have a video call with upto 10 people at the same time on google+ all for free!!
- You can share any type of media with the Share Box in the center of the page.

Photos
- This section of google+ presents you with photos of you and your friends arranged in a neat and elegant portfolio
- You can create albums here and share them
- All your photos are stored on Google Picasa where you get unlimited storage space
- Your photos are stored and displayed in a very high resolution and quality unlike facebook
- You can edit/tag your photos and add stunning effects to them from within google+

Profile
- Your profile page has everything about you
- The page is further divided into 6 sub-sections: Posts, About, Photos, Videos, +1s, Buzz
- Click on the blue Edit Profile button at the top right to begin setting up your profile
- Use the View Profile As field to see how your profile will look to other people depending on your privacy settings

Circles
- This section allows you to manage all your online social relationships
- The idea behind circles is that you share different information with different social circles based on your relationship with them in real-life. Google+ circles allow you to build the same relationships online
- In a way, circles are similar to friend lists on facebook but they are far easier to manage
- Create, edit, rename and delete circles from within this section easily
- Select, drag and drop friends into circles according to your preferences


Friends on Google+
- With google+ you don’t need to wait for someone to accept your friend request
- Simply move your mouse over a person’s name and add them to your Circles. Now, whenever that person shares content publicly or directly with you, you will see it in your Stream section.
- If that person also adds you to their circles, then they will see your content in their Steam that you share publicly or with the circle that you've added them to.
- So if someone is following you and you don’t know them, then you need not worry because you don’t have to add them to your circles and they will only see what you share publicly with the whole internet i.e. If you share something with your circles exclusively then they won’t see it.


Privacy on Google+
- Here on g+, your data is your own. You can download all of your content on plus thanks to the Data Liberation offered by google: https://plus.google.com/settings/exportdata
- You don’t need to follow people you don’t know and consequently they will not see information that you share exclusively with your circles or specific people.


Who to follow on Google+
Since g+ is still in field trial, you won’t find all your friends on here... but don’t feel let down by that. The beauty of g+ lies in its community which you can easily be a part of. Here are a bunch of people that you should add to your relevant circles to bring your Stream to life. These +ers share exciting content publicly that will enhance your g+ experience:

- Google+ Team: +Vic Gundotra +Natalie Villalobos +Matt Cutts +Bradley Horowitz +Frances Haugen +Toby Stein

- Google+ Tips: +Jacqueline Passey Mason +Mickey Mellen

- Influential: +Robert Scoble +Ben Parr +Tom Anderson +Brian Swetland +Pete Cashmore

- For LOLs, Awesomeness and Geekiness: +Chris Pirillo +Felicia Day +Alida Brandenburg +Randall Munroe +Chris Cho +Wil Wheaton

- Mouthwatering Photography: +Trey Ratcliff +Thomas Hawk +Lauren D Rogers +David Hunter +Colby Brown +Terje Sørgjerd

- Celebrities that actually post: +Alyssa Milano


How to invite your friends to Google+
- In your Stream section, in the right side-bar you can see the option of sending invites directly to your friends: http://i.imgur.com/PF0c9.png
- If you don’t see the above option, you can send invites indirectly by sending a message from google+ directly to your friend’s Gmail address. Once they get the message, they will be able to join. If they can’t then ask them to try again in a few hours and it will work: http://bit.ly/q7AMRV


That is all you need to know to setup a profile on Google+ and to become an integral part of the social network.

Optionally, if you’re looking for some further excellent #plustips that can fully exploit the power hidden in Google+ then I suggest reading the following posts:
- Google+ for the average facebook user - http://bit.ly/gb_fb
- Circles: Dividing, Nesting and Prioritizing - http://bit.ly/gpcircles
- Use tagline as a status message - http://bit.ly/nBhjaI
- Copy one circle into another circle - http://bit.ly/rh1AuS


I hope that helped you settle right in to the Google+ Community. If you found this guide useful, then please share it with your friends to help them out too.

If you have any questions or need help with any g+ features, please bug me anytime.

Cheers,
+Ahmed Zeeshan

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Permalink to Post: bit.ly/gpstarter
Google Doc version:


This article is also available in the following languages:
Spanish - bit.ly/gpsta_ES (translated by +Carlos Medina Gallego)
German - bit.ly/gbsta_DE (translated by +Christian Losert)
Finnish - bit.ly/gpsta_FI (translated by +Jaana Nyström)
Afrikaans - bit.ly/gpsta_AF (translated by +Eugene Niemand)
Malay - bit.ly/gpsta_MAL (translated by +Naim Omar)

If you wish to contribute a translation for another language please read this post: bit.ly/gp_trans


Other Google+ articles from me:
Google+ | The Etiquettes - bit.ly/gp_etiquettes
Google+ | The Early Adopter's Guide - bit.ly/gp_early
Google+ for the Average Facebook User - bit.ly/gb_fb
Circles: Dividing, Nesting and Prioritizing - bit.ly/gpcircles

****************************************

Note to fellow readers:
> Please do leave feedback. It helps to improve the article and starts a healthy discussion.
> Please feel free to re-share the post.

Found myself a shirt for Halloween and it's creeping me out big time

#halloween2012   #halloweencostumeideas  

Google+ | The Circles: Dividing, Nesting and Prioritizing

There have been many articles and posts explaining the use and power of circles but there haven't been any decent and practical examples to demonstrate that. Therefore, inspired by the excellent ideas of +Chris Cho and +Jacqueline Passey Mason, I've reorganized, prioritized and nested my circles. This is to show you the true potential of circles.

First, we need to understand that a Google+ Circle has two main functions, sharing and streaming:

Sharing (output): This is content that you publish. Depending on your real-life relationship with your contacts, the information you share will not be the same for your different social circles. At the same time, your social circles may overlap. This means one person may be a part of two different circles at the same time.

Streaming (input): This is content that your contacts stream to your Google+ homepage. Streaming is different from sharing in the sense that streams depend more on your interests rather than your relationships.

Hence, to achieve more control over your circles, I believe it is necessary to divide them between sharing and streaming.

Since, my sharing circles can overlap, I decided to further nest and prioritize them based on my real-life relationships with the people in my contacts list. On the other hand, my streaming circles are interest based. Hence, they're sub-divided by interests and do not necessarily need nesting.

Now, to achieve all this in Google+ is simple. Here is how I did it:

Sharing Circles
1: Friends
1.1: Close
1.2: College
1.3: High School
1.4: Others

2: Family
2.1: Favorites
2.2: Immediate
2.3: Extended

3: Work
3.1: Department
3.2: Colleagues
3.3: Clients

4: The Internet
4.1: Added Me
4.2: Google+
4.3: Influential
4.4: Who?

Streaming Circles
s: Google+
s: Android
s: Influential
s: Movies
s: Tech Talk


This arrangement now makes my sharing and streaming a lot easier to manage:

- If I want to send out information I will only use the sharing circles. If I want to share with my College and Close friends, but not my High school friends, then I will tag 1.1, 1.2 but not 1.3. If I want to share with all my friends I will just tag 1 because it contains everyone from 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4.

- Similarly, if I want to know what my contacts are saying about Android, I will click on the s: Android streaming circle in my stream. If I want to know what my Family has been upto, I will click on the s: Family circle and so on.

Using this method will give you all more control with how you share and view information on Google+. While other social networking sites have also offered similar subdivision of contacts, they are by no means as easy and simple to use as on Google+.

I have also attached a screenshot to show how the prioritizing and nesting looks on Google+.

Thank you for reading through.

Cheers,
+Ahmed Zeeshan

****************************************
Helpful Feedback

+Alma Whitten (regarding nesting automation): If you want Circle A to contain Circle B, it's easy to select all of Circle B and drag it into Circle A, and since it de-dups you can do this kind of mindlessly to keep it fresh. What you can't do is define Circle A as containing Circle B so that if you remove someone from Circle A they're automatically removed from Circle B. So far I'm finding that okay though because when I'm removing someone it tends to be person-centric and it's easy enough to manually remove them from both.

(an empty circle for note-taking): This idea has been widely publicized on Google+ so far. The concept is simple where you can use an empty circle to save any ideas/bookmarks/draft-shares/pictures/posts for easy access later as per your convenience.

****************************************
Permalink to Post: bit.ly/gpcircles
Google Doc version:


This article is also available in the following languages:
French - bit.ly/gpcir_FR (translated by +Monsieur John)
Spanish - bit.ly/gpcir_ES (translated by +Varun Dadlani)
German - bit.ly/gpcir_DE (translated by +Susanne Ramharter)

If you wish to contribute a translation for another language please read this post: bit.ly/gp_trans


Other Google+ articles from me:
The Etiquettes - bit.ly/gp_etiquettes
The Early Adopter's Guide - bit.ly/gp_early
The Starter's Pack - bit.ly/gpstarter
The Average Facebook User - bit.ly/gb_fb

****************************************

Note to fellow readers:
> Please do leave feedback. It helps to improve the article and starts a healthy discussion.
> Please feel free to re-share the post.

Received a new shot from my wedding photographer today and had to share it with you guys on google+ :)

#photography

Lucky Strike!

Eight bolts of lightning hit the iconic Bay Bridge in San Francisco in a spectacular once in a lifetime moment captured by photographer Phil McGrew

Read more: http://bit.ly/IlG9Rq

#harrypotter

The magic will never end

Just another day at Justice League Head Quarters

#lol   #comic   #batman   #spiderman  

Instant Condensation

Throwing boiling water into the air at 30 degrees below freezing point.

via i.imgur.com/HwMRw.gif

#mindblown

Feel like a musical genius
http://www.sembeo.com/media/Matrix.swf

This music maker is the most fun thing ever. Apparently it has been around a while but I just discovered it via reddit. Prepare to lose your next few hours of productivity.

Click the link to start: http://www.sembeo.com/media/Matrix.swf

Meanwhile at Disneyland

Now that Disney owns Lucas Films, this gif has become surprisingly relevant.

#lol #disney 

#mondays

November

As the cold and rainy weather settles in, it gets even more difficult to get up for work.

#gaming #lol

Shit Gamers say to their Girlfriends! - NSFW

Here's one for all us gamers. It's hilarious and true. Watch out for the FUS RO DAH bit!

Love iPhone? Buy Samsung :)

#samsungvsapple   #lol   #smartphones  

Oppa Gotham Style

Dear Google+, I was away on vacation for the Muslim festival of Eid. But here I am back again with Batman going Gangnam!

#lol   #gangnamstyle  

Downtown Dubai

Snapped this at sunset next to the Dubai Dancing Fountain. You can see the famous Burj Khalifa in the background too.

+Trey Ratcliff any photography advice would be more than welcome, Sir. :)

Watch this guy BEAT Snake

Up until today I had no idea the classic mobile game, Snake, could be beaten. But this mindblowing and mesmerizing GIF shows a flawless game. I'm watching it on repeat.

Epic stuff! I got so tense when I watched it for the first time. 

#mindblown  Source: http://bit.ly/XGUzrQ

A Baby Polar Bear

Happy Friday everyone!

#apple #useful

Apple Knots

My headphones are always in some annoying knot. This would help.

image via reddit

Trailer Debut: Iron Man 3
#ironman3   #movies  

#lotr #thehobbit

The Hobbit - Production Video #4

Peter Jackson brings us the 4th behind-the-scenes production video of The Hobbit. I've loved the last three videos that he did from the film set. It's an amazing experience seeing how much detail, skill and technology goes into the making of this upcoming epic!

I can't frikkin wait for the final movie.

Hairdos for Every Day

#lol   #comic  http://chaoslife.findchaos.com/follicle-follies/

China will build the Tallest Building in the World... in 90 Days!!?

No, it's not a joke. According to the construction company, the skyscraper will be built in just 90 days at the unbelievable rate of five floors per day.

Read more at: http://bit.ly/UrzlrN

#mindblown  

#lol

One Sammich to rule them all!

Google+ | The Early Adopter’s Guide

Note: This guide specifically targets the Google+ Early Adopters, Bloggers, Social Media Enthusiasts, Photographers and All Users with a following of 1k+. However, other users are more than welcome to read through, provide feedback and re-share.

It has only been 4 weeks since Google+ went into field trial. Us social media enthusiasts and early adopters flooded in like this gif: http://bit.ly/iZGosF. In this short span of time g+ has taken over our online presence. Why? Because g+ offers us a publishing platform catering to our social needs like no other network before it:
- The posts can be as long as you want them to be while holding videos and pictures.
- Feedback here is instant and meaningful. For example, Photographers have found an excellent following here. They can publish pictures in elegant portfolios as well as share their skill and technique with other photographers.
- There are no spams.
- I’ve never been a fan of blogging and hence never had a blog/website, but Google+ makes me want to write, publish and share!

And the list can go on for much more I'm sure.

The issue I want to highlight and possibly solve is that even though most of us know how to work google+, we still don’t use it to its full potential. It is important we do so because:
- It will make our presence on google+ more organized and manageable both socially and individually.
- It will increase our rewards on the time we invest into google+.
- Our followers, especially the new comers, rely on our knowledge of the system for guidance and support. The google+ community managers are already swamped with support requests so surely we can help out with what we know.

For these reasons and more, I believe that there is an unknown but very real need for a guide that will fully unlock the power of g+ for the early adopters and social media gurus. We are quick to provide Google+ with a list of features that we would like to see but we ourselves aren't even using the complete set of features that have been giving to us. Using them properly will show you that most of what we need is already in here just waiting to be discovered.

The guide is divided into six main sections:

Circles | Sharing | Commenting | Chrome Extentions | Sparks | Educate


***************************************

1. Circles
a) Organization
I know of quite a few users on here that are popular; they follow a lot of people and are likewise followed by even more. However, they are of the opinion that even though they really need to sort out their circles, they would rather not because it’s a hassle and there is no time. Instead they just put everything into one or two circles and share everything publicly.
I humbly refuse to agree with that. Granted that it can be a hassle to sort out 10k+ people but if you are spending 12 hours a day on google+ then you definitely have two hours to invest as a one-time investment to organize your circles. Doing so will save you a lot of trouble in the future when the list of your followers will grow even further. Circles are the most powerful feature of google+ in my opinion. If used in the right way, they can make the sharing and reading experience a 100 times more efficient and manageable. How? Here is one way to do it using Dividing, Nesting and Prioritizing: http://bit.ly/gpcircles

b) Etiquette
More importantly, managing circles is also a matter of etiquette. Even though people are following you, that does not necessarily mean they’re interested in all the things you’re posting and would rather not have you clogging their stream. However, they’re still interested in some of the information you share relevant to their interest. Therefore, I would suggest creating circles meant purely for interest-based sharing. For example: Mobiles, Movies, Books, Music. Then poll your readers; let them know that you have created the above-mentioned circles and will be posting to them accordingly. In response, they should let you know which circles they want to be a part of based on their interests. Afterwards, add them to your interest-based sharing circles accordingly. This way you will accomplish two things:
- You will be filtering content automatically so that your readers get information from you that they’re interested in specifically.
- You will add your readers to your circle. Even if you’re a famous actress or a social media guru with 50k followers, you adding your readers to specific circles makes them happy and lets them be a part of the google+ community. An inspiring example of this is +Trey Ratcliff setting up his photographers circle. Think of the world of good that will do to the aspiring amateur photographers.

So, don’t just amass followers. Add them to circles based on interest. That way content will be filtered and people will feel wanted on here. This is something I am working on too by setting up my Movie Maniacs circle.

c) Bookmarking
So much content is being generated on here that it’s hard to keep track of it. A bookmark circle is one of the most popular tips being shared on g+. Surprisingly though, a lot of people haven’t created it yet, and if they have then they don’t use. Create an empty circle called Notes or Bookmarks and bookmark things in it by sharing content with that circle only so only you will be able to see it. I find this an excellent way of saving long articles I’m typing as drafts or to go through interesting content on google+ as per my own convenience.


2. Sharing
a) Content Filtering
One of the important aspects of sharing was already mentioned above with content filtering using circles. So to recap don’t share everything publicly, rather use Interest-Based sharing with the help of content filtering that is made possible by circles.

b) Formatting / Layout
A brilliant aspect of google+ is the ability to format your posts. And yet it is so under-used. When you’re posting something, take the time to format your text and lay it out in an aesthetic way. This will make your posts more readable, presentable and will definitely attract more attention. A well formatted post stands out in the stream. Furthermore, add helpful text so people can give one look at your post and tell what it’s about. Here is what I try to do mostly: http://bit.ly/pz1wTU. Some note-worthy tips from that link:

- Give a bold category heading at the top. It further helps filtering based on interests.
- If you’re sharing a link/picture/video then give your own description of the link even if it silly. It gives readers something to talk about in your comments and gets a discussion going.
- Keep it precise but make sure the users get all the necessary info at a glance. For possible ideas please refer to the link above.

c) Re-sharing
Don’t re-share a post straight away. Space it out. If someone popular with 50k+ users just shared a post publicly then that means tons of people see it already. So you re-sharing will clog the streams of users who already got it the first time and will be counter-productive. The better thing to do would be to wait thirty minutes so that the original post has disappeared down in the streams. Re-sharing after that time-period will spread the message more efficiently because users who missed it the first time will now get another chance to see it.

d) Crediting
Always give credit when you re-share what someone else posted. That is a big question of etiquette. Doing so will earn you respect on the network. The aim is not to earn followers and +1s, rather it is to allow everyone to share original and quality content.


3. Commenting
a) On other posts
Don’t just post your own content. Interact with other users on the network. Only then will you become social on this network. Go through your stream. Comment on other people’s posts. Discuss. That “Incoming” circles stream is there for a reason. It is most definitely not to block out people that have followed you. You are not the only one sharing interesting content on Google+. Therefore, see what the users are posting and provide feedback to them for it. This will also earn you more respect on the network and people will look forward to having you online.

b) On your own posts
After posting something, do not leave what you just shared for other people to comment on. As mentioned earlier, the great thing about google+ is you get real-time genuine and helpful feedback. So respond to people when they leave comments by +mentioning them. It is the least you can do. This will not only show them you actually care about what they have to say and but it will also make them feel integrated too. You needn’t respond to each and every one of them but make your presence felt in the comment threads regardless of the number of followers you have.


4. Chrome Extensions
Google+ has an excellent, clean and functional UI. It is pleasing to the eyes. There are some handy extensions for Chrome that make the Google+ experience even better. Here are some of the ones that I use and would strongly recommend them:

Google+ Photo Zoom: http://bit.ly/rurhrR
Replies and more for Google+: http://bit.ly/pMH2GB
Usability Boost for Google+: http://bit.ly/pPXWa1

There are lots more out there. If you have some really helpful ones to share then please link them in the comments. I will add them here as necessary.


5. Sparks
Sparks is the most un-used feature of google+. I agree that there are some flaws in Sparks that need to be ironed out but it still provides an easy way of looking up the most popular content on the internet relevant to your interests. So create Sparks for yourself. It is a great way to find content not just for you but also for your Interest-Based circles.

Some sparks that I’m using so far are: Android, The Dark Knight Rises, Movies, Google+, WTF, Samsung Galaxy S II, etc. If you have more terms for Sparks, please do leave a comment and I will add them here.


6. Educate
As the well-settled adopters of google+, we now have a responsibility to the social network. We’ve all wondered and written about whether google+ will last long and eventually be a big force in the market both for companies and individual users. But what we don’t realize is that the network has to spread through us. I already mentioned in my previous article, Google+ Starter Pack (bit.ly/gpstarter), the average facebook user (AFU) uses the internet strictly on a personal level to share with a small group people within their real-life social circles. If they browse the internet for looking up content related to their interests, they either use their facebook stream, follow a popular twitter account or lurk on sites like reddit.

This AFU is now giving Google+ a try thanks to the invite system opening up recently. However, when they come here they see a large community of well-settled users, like me and you, who have a relatively huge following compared to theirs and who publish regularly. As a result, they feel blocked by a learning curve making it harder for them to become a part of the g+ community. We as Google+ early-testers can help bridge this gap by guiding these people with what we already know about the network. Here is what you can do to play your part:

- I’m sure you’ve all come across posts/tips both on googIe+ and elsewhere that helped you with your first few days on the network. Include this collection of articles and tips in the About section of your profile. The Introduction textbox is most suitable for this as it allows formatting and embedding of links. New users always look at About sections of other users. Therefore, any helpful tips and articles found there will greatly assist them with getting started smoothly. If you can’t find a good collection of articles then you can use mine:
Google+ | The Starter Pack - bit.ly/gpstarter
Google+ for the Average Facebook User - bit.ly/gb_fb
Circles: Dividing, Nesting and Prioritizing - bit.ly/gpcircles

- In a similar way, use the Introduction text-box to advertise any Interest-Based circles you created for sharing. Users can then message you and request to be added. Again, this will help them with getting integrated into the community while immediately exposing them to content relevant to their interests. For ideas, please look at my Introduction text-box: http://bit.ly/zeeshan_about. If you know of other helpful About profiles, please do share in the comments below.


That marks the end of the guide. Indeed, there are many ways of using Google+ and each person utilizes the available features as is most convenient and suitable to them. However, in writing this guide, I hope to show you all that Google+ offers a lot more than we actually see at the moment. Exploiting the true potential of g+ will do wonders for you and the community in terms of content, management and integration.

Thank you for reading through.

Cheers,
+Ahmed Zeeshan

***************************************

Permalink to Post: bit.ly/gp_early
Google Doc version: bit.ly/gpearlydoc



This article is also available in the following languages:
Italian - bit.ly/gpear_IT (translated by +Mario Pacchiarotti)
Spanish - bit.ly/gpear_ES (translated by +Michael McConnell)

If you wish to contribute a translation for another language please read this post: bit.ly/gp_trans


Other Google+ articles from me:
Google+ | The Etiquettes - bit.ly/gp_etiquettes
Google+ | The Starter's Pack - bit.ly/gpstarter
Google+ for the Average Facebook User - bit.ly/gb_fb
Circles: Dividing, Nesting and Prioritizing - bit.ly/gpcircles

****************************************

Note to fellow readers:
> Please do leave feedback. It helps to improve the article and starts a healthy discussion.
> Please feel free to re-share the post.

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