Can we ignore mobile app growth of 1000% and by $56 billion in the next 3 years?

I am excited by the marketing potential for small businesses using smart phone apps and social media. Specifically RSS news feeds combined with collaborative niche small businesses. This link share the growth potential..

Sunrise daily photo

Welcome Nandi

Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an
American campaign: "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux".

Interesting comment on mobile app in marketing: "So whether it’s a small business or large corporation, organizations are moving beyond social media and going mobile because the added connectivity doesn’t just bring in consumers, it brings in cash".

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Arild can take photos ;-)

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Tonights sunset was beyond epic...this is my hometown 3 hours ago. I will post the view behind me some other time. Nuclear stuff...

+Chris Brogan just said, "I am an emotional eater. When I'm upset, I eat. When I am disappointed in myself, I eat. Eating is that most socially accepted of drugs". (Thanks for reminding me Chris)

If everything is in the mind then what Chris is doing and what we are doing when we indulge; we are projecting our anger, frustration or whatever emotion at our bodies or the people and things around us. In the meantime the issue is not outside of the mind.

Everyday I walk along a few beaches in Simonstown with my dog Geeno and catch a glimps of the sunrise with my cell phone camera

I don't know Philippe Browning vice president of advertising and operations at CBS but I agree with him on QR codes:

“QR codes have an added barrier with a download and although we are interested in it and have experimented with the technology, it doesn’t have the same value of a text," he said. http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/database-crm/10946.html

"The teachings of the world are the product of a split, unconscious mind. Once you have that you have compromise; and once you have compromise, you no longer have the truth." DU

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Great Google+ Tip

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[Plus Tip]

How to structure and format your lengthy posts

One of the appealing features of google+ is the ability to write lengthy posts. Combine that with the excellent commenting system and we get ourselves a very functional blogging platform.

There is also one very under-used or mis-used feature which if used properly could do wonders for the bloggers/writers among us: rich text formatting!


Often times I see very long posts that are a giant block of text with no formatting or structure applied to them. They might contain top quality content but since they are not presented in an appealing way, mosts users do not bother to read them. Hence, they just +1 the post and leave it at that. The author of the original post then wonders why do their posts not get the recognition they deserve.

This is also true with posts from some of the power users. A good example would be +Tom Anderson's following post: bit.ly/mZ9IQT. I love reading Tom's posts. He genuinely understands social media and writes very thoughtful posts about it. However, I noticed that he does not format them properly. If you would look at his articles you'd see they get hundreds of +1s, re-shares and comments. That might seem like a lot but it isn't compared to the thousands of people that follow him. With that many circlers, Tom deserves more recognition for his posts.

Google+ offers us the chance to get rid of the ridiculous TL;DR (too long; didn't read) culture on the internet. But that will only happen if you make your posts easier and simpler to read. Your readers should be able to take one look at your post and see exactly what it is about.

In order to make content publishing more effective, I've created a sample template of a formatted post on g+. There are many ways to structure your g+ posts but I'll just share the one that has proven to be most effective for me.

Before I present the sample template to you, lets quickly recap the three different formatting options that are available to you in google+:

Bold: Any text between two asterisks (*) becomes bold when you post

Italic: To make a piece of text italic, put it between two underscores (_).

Strikethrough: Text between two hyphens (-) gets the strikethrough effect.


Now that we know what types of formatting we can apply to our text, lets look at the template that I use for my lengthy posts.

____________________________________________________

[Category/Title of Post]

Additional Title

Intro paragraph #1 ....

Intro paragraph #2 ....


My post will be dividied into the following sections (this is like a table of contents):

Section 1 | Section 2 | Section 3 | ...


****************************************
1. Section 1
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Praesent lacus magna, rutrum vel posuere et, sodales in orci. Nulla vel est ipsum, quis pharetra metus. Etiam interdum purus in sapien porttitor quis porttitor ipsum suscipit. Cras fringilla, felis a pharetra fermentum, diam est feugiat turpis, sit amet convallis quam lorem eget dui:
- bullet 1
- bullet 2


2. Section 2
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Praesent lacus magna, rutrum vel posuere et, sodales in orci. Nulla vel est ipsum, quis pharetra metus. Etiam interdum purus in sapien porttitor quis porttitor ipsum suscipit. Cras fringilla, felis a pharetra fermentum, diam est feugiat turpis, sit amet convallis quam lorem eget dui.


3. Section 3
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Praesent lacus magna, rutrum vel posuere et, sodales in orci. Nulla vel est ipsum, quis pharetra metus. Etiam interdum purus in sapien porttitor quis porttitor ipsum suscipit. Cras fringilla, felis a pharetra fermentum, diam est feugiat turpis, sit amet convallis quam lorem eget dui.


Conclusions (brief summary of what was said, thank yous for reading and requests for feedback)

Cheers,
Your Name
****************************************
Permanlink to post: (use a URL shortner like bit.ly)

____________________________________________________

I've set up a RAW template file on Google Doc with text that you can paste directly into your Share box to format your posts exactly like above: bit.ly/gp_template_doc

To see what a proper long post based on this template can look like, please visit the following link: bit.ly/gp_early

The idea behind the template is simple: make your posts attractive and more readable for your circlers. A well-formatted post stands out. This is why I almost always use a [Title] for my posts. If the articles are lengthy, I divide them into Sections and list the section headings at the beginning of the post so that users know exactly what's to come.

A good Conclusion is always necessary in any form of writing so that the readers can recap what they've read. In the end, thank your circlers for reading your post and request them for feedback.

Finally, after publishing your post, use a URL shortner to add a Permalink to your posts in the signature. This way when it gets re-shared, users can click on the permalink to get to your post directly instead of having to go to your profile first and then looking for it manually.



With that I conclude the article. Thank you for reading through. I hope the template will help users achieve effective and quality content publishing.

Cheers,
Ahmed Zeeshan
****************************************
Permalink to post: bit.ly/gp_template
RAW template file: bit.ly/gp_template_doc


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

#Reshare Tags: +Alida Brandenburg +Natalie Villalobos +Robert Scoble +Mickey Mellen +Ryan Crowe +Yonatan Zunger +Jacqueline Passey Mason +Kelly Ellis +Alireza Yavari +Linda Lawrey +Daria Musk +Pete Cashmore +Craig Kanalley +Trey Ratcliff +Johnathan Chung +Guy Kawasaki +Louis Gray

I have this bright e-business concept I want to start. How do I proceed?

In all modesty (LOL), I thought it is a bright idea but only believed it when others, who should know, agreed.

I proposed it to an startup expert.

After contemplating the concept for a while he came back with the verdict:

- you have a brilliant idea.

- the idea is based on a unique concept.

- the idea is not based on proprietary technology.

- the idea can be copied after you have done the education and seeding.

- huge business guys will be copy and spread it faster than you can.

- you may want to low-key-phase-it-in on your own but we will not invest.

This is where I need your advice. What are my alternatives?

Your comments are appreciated.

Johan Horak
Permalink http://bit.ly/pQiiZd

Two ibis birds waiting for the rising sun in a cold and wet simonstown (iphone)

"if nothing is outside of your mind, then to judge it is to grant it power over you, and not to judge it is to withdraw it's power over you" DU http://amzn.to/q7sNOj

Mobile Marketing interests me and I laugh when I read this:


But Google and the rest of the major Internet brands have a couple of key problems when it comes to addressing the local advertising market. For one, they lack much of the local content that would attract local advertisers.

This is where I have a solution but I need help; Read more her http://bit.ly/pQiiZd

I have a simple solution that can address the local content issue.

Johan
P.S. If this interests you as well leave a comment and lets talk. Or share it with your circles.
Permalink http://bit.ly/nOPGAL

I am listening to Pretty Bellinda on http://www.lmradio.net/streaming.html

"you cannot be a little bit pregnant. If you choose to forgive wholly; you cannot choose to keep a few small grievances"

The sun came up again.

"You dream of a desert, where the mirages are your rulers and tormentors, yet these images come from you." Disappearance of The Universe

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Pigs life

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Resting on the street, smoking, drinking, and letting a pig sleep on your chest
Source: http://twentytwowords.com/2011/05/03/resting-on-the-street-smoking-drinking-and-letting-a-pig-sleep-on-your-chest/

Simonstown's long beach

The sun kissing our village

*I believe small tourism operators make less money because of their limited offer.."

I also believe their is a solution for the limited offer and that's by collaboration or in becoming a small tourism broker within their niche. I have written the following article for you to critique.

"The body's suffering is a mask the mind holds up to hide what really suffers. It would not understand it is its own enemy; that it attacks it self and wants to die." ACIM From Lesson 76

Go to any webpage and auto add all the Google Plussers to one of your circles

If you are not invited to a group yet or if you have; then you may want to add the people on the group to one of your circles. Here's a Chrome extension that will save you lots of time

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This is great for new people to Google+

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Welcome new Google+ users!

Experienced +ers, please share this to help out the newbies!

■ A wonderful Startup Guide to Google+ by +Saidur Hossain that has already been translated into 31 languages. This consists of 49 photos/slides that describe how to use the service. It has been shared more than 10,000 times on Google+. *http://bit.ly/oi7mFu*

■ Google Plus 101: How to Get Started (good blog post for beginngers by Rana Shahbaz): *http://bit.ly/q8awN0*

■ The Google+ Guide created collaboratively by users in Google Docs: *http://bit.ly/oTyxaq*

Millions of new users will be joining Google+ in the coming days. The doors are finally open. Google's home page invites everyone (over age 18) to try this service out. But for a new user, whether you have a "best thing since sliced bread" experience or a "ghost town" experience, depends on learning a few simple things and applying them.

Early Google+ users remember how fun it was to discover new features, shortcuts, and tips, and share them with each other. At one point, 120 users collaborated and compiled a Google doc that contained the best tips. There is a link to it below.

Here are some additional resources that about getting started on Google+. Some of them may be slightly out of date because Google+ is evolving and improving so quickly, but I've just reviewed them all to make sure they are still valuable - and they are. Hope they are helpful to you and all your new friends here.

■ The Complete Google+ Cheat Sheet: http://bit.ly/nKZABx

■ Smaller Cheatsheet for navigation and editing: http://on.mash.to/ppEyi5

■ Mashable's Complete Guide to Google+ (July 16): http://on.mash.to/omVWlV

■ +Craig Kanalley's 15 Tips for Newbies (July 13): http://huff.to/qorPyx

■ +Keith Barrett 10 Tips for Public Hangouts (Sept. 3): http://bit.ly/nu1Uv8

And finally, here is a run-down by Geek.com of the major updates that Google+ made to its hangouts yesterday: http://bit.ly/pKvP6H

More links to additional resources are provided by +Johnathan Chung at http://bit.ly/reF3GP.

Finally, if you try Google+ and feel skeptical at first, please follow +Tom Anderson who has the best posts nearly every day here on Google+, and also read this excellent article that he wrote for TheNextWeb entitled "How Google+ will succeed and why you'll use it whether you want to or not." http://tnw.co/nn7Uwn (Tom founded MySpace and as guru +Robert Scoble says, "he gets social at a level even I can't approach.")

Google+ is here to stay. It will be a permanent social layer on top of Google's other web properties which are already used by one billion people each month.

By investing a little time and effort to set up and organize your circles and to install Google+ apps on your smart phone, you will soon find that Google+ empowers you to personalize your stream and your sharing like never before.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Please add a comment below if I'm missing a very helpful resource for beginners.

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A nice way to use psychology to get attention to Google+

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This video is spreading on Facebook. The funniest thing about it is that it will lead a ton of new people to want to try out Google+ :)

(This video is currently a staffpick at CollegeHumor.com)

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Google+ Tip

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Some more tips and tricks for using Google+ search:

* Saved searches are like streams When you hit the "Save this Search" button, you're creating a new stream that shows up below your ordinary streams. Circle streams are built around groups of people; search streams are built around common interests. So if you save (e.g.) "BBC Sherlock", what you're saving is a stream of people who are interested in that show. It can be a great place to meet people, and to talk about the things you care about.

* You can use hashtags like #plustips Hashtags are just strings that begin with a # symbol, but people use them to identify subjects or topics of interest. Stick those in your posts, and you can search for them, too. (For example, check out the searches for #plustips or #storycircle) And hashtagging is a collaborative effort: if you add a hashtag in a comment, that tags the post as well.

* You can share searches The URL you get when you do a search is just https://plus.google.com/s/<whatever>. You can share this link around and other people get that same search stream; they don't have to be logged in, or even Google+ users, in order to see that link. (Of course, if you aren't logged in, you'll only see public content)

And of course, we're working intensely on making Google+ search a more and more powerful experience. We want to turn these searches into a place where you can find your (and your friends') content, where you can find people, and where people with common interests can meet and talk -- and there's a lot more in the works to make that happen!

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Lovely photos

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Oregon set !

The clouds created a nice frame as the sun cleared over the mountains and beach this morning - taken with an iphone

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Google+ Tip

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New Google+ Users - Soon you may find that you are being circled a lot, because you are being noticed in your posts and comments, and while you may not make a decision as to whether you want to circle someone back right away (and no, you don't have to circle everyone back that circles you), you may wish to take a look at the list of people circling you that you AREN'T circling or circling yet.

Notifications can get overwhelming sometimes, and sometimes we overlook this notification, intending to get back to it. While you can go to your Notifications link in the left sidebar, using the dropdown and only show those notifications about being circled, that can require a lot of scrolling after a while to review them all.

An easy way to see all of these people in one place, is to simply go to your Circles page, click on "People who have added you" tab, click on the SORT dropdown and choose "Not yet in circles". It's that easy and quick. Then you can take a look there at who you may have overlooked.

Also, INCOMING in your left sidebar, is people who have circled you, and sharing with you, but you haven't circled them back. It's another place to take a look at interesting people to circle back.

More about Incoming here: http://goo.gl/2KAAZ

Note: Ignore means you will not see posts from those who have circled you in your incoming or in notifications. They will still be able to follow your posts however.

More about "Ignore" here: http://goo.gl/CO2tC

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Google+ Tips

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Google Plus Noobs, Welcome! <3

I've gotten a few e-mails this week asking me what I'd tell new Plussers to keep in mind while exploring the network. So, new Plussers, here is what I think you should do (but always remember that this is your network and you should do what you want on it):

Set up your Circles for reading and for sharing.
You know how Google starts you off with Acquaintances and Following and Friends and Family, etc? All of those are Streams just as much as they are Circles to share with. When you post things to the Family Circle, only the people in that Circle see the post. Great! Makes sense. But did you know that when you click "Family" in your Stream list, only posts from people in your Family Circle show up? Circles = Streams. Lightbulb!

This will make more sense as you get more familiar with the platform, but if you start thinking of your Circles as reading tools and not just sharing tools from the beginning, you will have a much easier time managing the flow of content you read. Make big and little Circles for reading if you want to try to categorize them. I have a free-for-all Main Stream and then lots of categories for more focused reading. Yes, it's work, but it's worth it.

Find awesome people and interact with their posts.
Add +Natalie Villalobos and +Tom Anderson to your Circles. Put them in your Main Stream. These two Plussers are truly interested in the community on the network, but it's not just the content they contribute that makes them great. It's about the conversations happening on their posts and their level of personal engagement with those conversations.

G+ isn't just about broadcasting or just about private networking. It's about interactivity and engagement, whether that's done in public or in private Circles. Public conversations here are amazing, and private sharing is kept relevant by the use of Circles.

There are a lot of amazing people to follow on G+, but Natalie and Tom are great hubs from which you can explore anything in the community that interests you, whether you're into geeky stuff (Tom's G+ posts led me to +Mike Elgan, who is one of my favorite tech writers now) or whether you're a foodie like +Alida Brandenburg, who I found through Natalie.

Use comment threads to direct your exploratory efforts!
The Google Plus Search feature is amazing for new users and I think a lot of us wish we'd had that about 90 days or so ago, but it's not your only source for finding interesting people. Comment threads on highly active profiles like the ones I mentioned above are a fantastic source for great new people to follow.

When you go to a Tom Anderson post looking to get in on the discussion, you might want to tear out your eyes because within minutes there are hundreds of notes from hundreds of people. But stick with it anyway. Skim. See a funny comment or something really thoughtful that catches your attention? Why don't you add that person to a "Potentially Interesting" Circle? When you're bored and looking for new content, that Circle will be unpredictable and ... well, you know. Potentially interesting. When you read something you like in there, add that person to your Main Stream. When you read enough stuff you think is lame from one person, take 'em out of your Circles. It's your show. Tailor it to your own interests!

If people you don't know Circle you, don't freak out!
Consider this a new source of "Potentially Interesting" people. You don't have to Circle anyone back, and you can read all of the posts they share with you in your Incoming Stream. Same principle as before: if they entertain or interest you, add 'em! If not, Google has ignore and block features.

If nobody Circles you, don't freak out!
And don't start spam-sharing your posts with people to beg for attention, either. It's kind of obnoxious.

When people Circle you, it means they are either interested in what you are saying publicly on your own Stream, or they are interested in what you might have to say in the future based on a comment you made or something in your profile. You are not obligated to entertain anyone on G+, but if you want followers for some reason, work for their attention in an authentic way. Interact with others, give your time to others, and others will want to return that sentiment to you. If you don't ever broadcast a single thing via your Stream but you comment thoughtfully on other people's posts, you are still the backbone of this community and your "Follower count" is irrelevant. I promise.

You don't have to post publicly, but if you do, try not to feed any trolls.
Don't waste your time with people who drive you nuts -- there are tons of awesome people waiting to interact with you elsewhere. Your public posts are your territory and you're free to set your own rules for how people behave in your comment threads. Don't tolerate anything you don't want to tolerate.

If G+ starts feeling like too much work, go outside.
We often get out what we put in, don't we? If managing your Circles seems too hard, consider simplifying them. If reading your Streams starts to feel like it's frying your brain, go get some Vitamin D in the great outdoors (but please wear sunscreen). When you come back, you might suddenly have a super awesome idea for a great public post (Tom Anderson once came back from floating in the ocean to tell us all about an epiphany he had...while floating in the ocean). Or you might have something particularly insightful to add to someone else's post. Or you might realize your Circles are set up in a way that's totally ridiculous and you'll find a system you like and everything will be epic from now on. Who knows? Taking a break and unplugging is really important, whether you feel legitimately overwhelmed or just a little frazzled from information overload.

Own your experience.
This is your network. Google made the tools, but you are the driving force behind the site. How you use this platform is up to you. Experiment! Play. Be social. Be creative. Enjoy yourself. Don't take anybody's crap, and always remember that words on a screen can't hurt you unless you let them. Inspire someone. Help someone who knows less than you, especially if you don't usually like doing that. See how much appreciation and interaction you get back for it. People are fundamentally good -- I don't care if you disagree -- and so far, this network has only proven that to me over and over. I hope it does for you, too.

When in doubt, ask!
:)

What advice would you give a new user?

I just love this quote from the Disappearance of The Universe

everyone who comes to this world is delusional or else they would't think they are here in the first place

The Italian

Walking my dog on the beach trying to find interesting sunrise shots with my iphone-limted camera, my dog started barking for attention and I decided to grab a few of him.

He is called Geeno the Italian Grey

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Something to consider

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Google+ Overlooked Setting - Many people are overlooking an option here in your settings page, to set your preference for auto- approval of photo tagging and this is VERY important. As a result, people are discovering themselves "tagged" in photos that are absolutely not them.

So .. Go look here: https://plus.google.com/settings/plus ,

SCROLL down, and look in that section shown in the image below. You may find that someone, anyone is set to auto tag you without your approval. Either set it to a circle you trust (family or otherwise?) or remove ALL that are currently auto-approved by leaving it empty so that no one is there. Then, you will be notified if someone tags you and you must either confirm or deny/delete the tag. It won't remove a photo or image but you will remove yourself as being tagged in that image.

If someone has tagged you maliciously, block them. Then they can no longer tag you. You can also remove ANY current tags of you in photos or images by going to Photos of you, in your photos tab above and deleting the tag. Again, it doesn't remove the photo but it does remove the tag. While you should, by now have seen notifications when you are tagged, regardless of your settings, you may have overlooked the notification. So be sure and check your "Photos of You" section.

While in your settings, set all of your other preferences. This section is always available to you via the Gear icon, upper right in the black bar.

My wife and three dogs decided to walk with with me this morning

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Tips

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#tips #facebook

Stop Facebook from tracking you

I live in Germany and recently as you might have heard on the web, we here banned the facebook like button. The reasoning behind it was that facebook tracks users without their knowledge while they're on a site which has the like button embedded (yes, your data is sent to fb even if you don't click the like button).

I am not saying that you should now remove like buttons from your site but I think the choice to be tracked or not should be ours. Every user should have control over how and where their data is used on the internet.

Today I came across this chrome extension which puts power back in your hands. Facebook Disconnect stops fb from tracking the webpages you go to. It works like an on/off switch. Visit their download page below for more information.

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love this

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Google+ Business Profiles

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"At Ad Age's Digital West conference last week, Christian Oestlien, group product manager for social advertising at Google, announced it's close to unveiling Google+ business profiles that will permit companies to create pages and circles like those of an individual user of the social network."

"Last month, Google+ announced plans to dole out verification badges to celebs and public figures. Asked whether a similar process will be rolled out for brands, Mr. Prosser all but confirmed it: "We're not announcing anything yet, but you can see a good example by looking on the consumer side with what we've done for celebrities."

Asked how Google+ plans to police the network for authentic and inauthentic users, Mr. Prosser said it is taking a few different approaches. If companies notice that a logo or profile is being improperly used, it can report the profile to Google, which will respond with what it calls a "soft takedown." The user will be given a few days to change the name or appeal the finding before Google takes further action, but even if the person is found guilty there won't be other ramifications; it won't shut down Gmail or other services for the user.

Beyond that, Mr. Prosser said Google is using a "consumer-operations team that does work -- both algorithmically and through people -- to prevent folks that are trying to take on fake identities."

I hope you are having a great day. Here in Simonstown it's cloudy and calm ;)

9/26/11

A few "granola" photos while taking a walk with my limited iphone camera

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How To Share A Circle

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#googleplusupdates

Starting today you can actually share your favorite circles with others! So if you’ve got a great Photographers or Celebrities circle, for instance, then you can share a copy with your friends.

To get started, just click on a circle from your Circles page, and click Share.

(Importantly: when you share a circle, you’re only sharing its members at that time. Also: the circle name is always private to you, and any changes you make afterwards are private as well.)

Let us know what you think in the comments!

Video Transcript

Hi, my name’s Owen, and I’m an engineer on the Google+ team.

One of my favorite parts about circles is how they help me control who I share with, as well as what I read. In fact, many of you have created lots of great circles around topics that interest you (like Photographers) to bring lots of great content to your stream. In these cases, we've heard that you actually want to share your circles with others. Both to save your friends some time, and to connect them with interesting people and content.

Today I'm happy to announce that we're launching exactly that feature. We let you take the circles you've created, and share them with others! Let me show you how it works.

From your circles page... select the circle you want, add a comment, and then share it.

When your friends receive your circle, they can then pick and choose who to add to their own circles.

Note that when you share a circle, you're only sharing its members at that time. The circle name is always private to you, and any changes you make to your circle afterwards are private as well.

We hope this new feature helps you share and find lots of great content in Google+, while still giving you important controls over how you read and share. Thanks for listening, and please keep sending feedback!

A few 'boring' sunrise iphone photos taken on my daily walk.

Yesterday was spend on many important things like studying ACIM and fixing up my new business Facebook page

1) I created a nice but simple copywriting type welcome page for non fans.
2) As soon as visitor became a fan the page refreshed and they were offered a subscription to my newsletter.

Thanks to +Derek Halpern for sharing the process and reminding me of sales people have long known that when you get people to say yes once, it's easier to get them to say yes twice. ;-)

Derek used Static HTML: Iframe tabs to create his page. It's free and easy if you are willing to study the process. http://www.viperchill.com/facebook-fan-page/

But I decided try and simplify the process by used the no brainer beta from http://www.shortstackapp.com (they have a free option to 2000)

The shortstackapp has many cool tools; for example the ability to add a MailChimp subscribe box to your page that only become visible when the Like button was clicked.

What did you do yesterday?

Sharing Long Links On Google+

How do you do that?

I am using Google's Link Shortener for Chrome http://goo.gl/WFwhv

Google+ Translation

I have many people in my streams speaking any possible language. Did you notice that Google+ has a instant translation service for you. +Anne-Marie Valton reminded me that I never shared the Chrome extension that makes this possible http://goo.gl/brLcQ

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Hangouts: pretty amazing

I have not used it much but I am impressed with the potential.

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Has anyone tried the new Hangouts On Air and Hangouts with extras as announced by +Vic Gundotra last week? (Gotta get myself camera ready today so I can test out the latest Hangout iteration!) I'm curious if any G+ member can now broadcast a Hangout accessible/viewable by all G+ members and do desktop sharing? Or, are these features only available to a select few peeps like the fab +will.i.am . for now? :) The ability to have a larger audience and do desktop sharing is an incredible new development for G+ - very exciting to see! Basically Google+ Hangouts will be a major competitor for webinar companies!

Again at my early morning spot waiting for the sun to rise (iphone camera)

My friends and you are in my mind

When I saw this I thought this analogy is applicable.
Because it's so true it's also funny :-)

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Cat loves being thrown

I'm not sure you should try it at home though...

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+Google+ Tips
Thanks +Jake Easley

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The Rules of Google+


1st RULE: You must talk on Google+.

2nd RULE: You MUST talk on Google+.

3rd RULE: If someone says "hello" or asks a question, you must reply.

4th RULE: As many people to a post as possible.

5th RULE: Share and share often.

6th RULE: No whining, No fighting.

7th RULE: Conversations will go on as long as they need to.

8th RULE: If this is your first night at Google+, you HAVE to share.

With so many new G+ users, I thought we should bring on some humor. Lighten the mood. Feel free to share this. ps - I use PS for what I use PS for, so this was about the best I could come up with.

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If You Use Facebook

Then read this article on privacy issues. Thanks +Richard MacManus for sharing it.

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Frictionless sharing in Facebook (automated sharing of what you read, listen to or watch) may turn out to be a masterstroke. But people rightly concerns about it. In this post I reviewed the pros and cons, so that you can decide for yourself whether to enable it.

I hope you a great and fun day. This is what my morning looks like. Calm and cloudy with lots of great whites prowling the shallow wsters for hard headed brits like the one who list his left foot on Wednesday

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Facebook truth

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The difference between Facebook and Google+

+Chris Pirillo says it all in two sentences: "Facebook is where you connect with old friends. Google+ is where you make new friends."

How's your apparent day? Our village is windy and overcast

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Great Google+ Tip

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#dummiestip

If you want to expand the size of your favorite circles, do a search on Google+ for your circle's name and you'll find others that are also sharing similar circles. Just add those circles to your existing circle and it will naturally grow.

I did this with my existing "Facebook Employees" circle and now have a list of 78 Facebook employees on Google+. Are there any others I missed?

Jesse Stay shared a circle with you.

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Have Fun. Take a Smile Today!

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[Feel-Good Friday]

Good morning, noodles! Take a smile. I have plenty to share. :)

Windy cloudy and cold. Not a day for nature photos with a limited iphone.

At least my italian greyhound sat infront of the lense.

Have fun and remember: "love holds no grievances" :)

How's your Google Chrome and Google+?

Mine hangs ;-(

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Love This Rolling Stones Song

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A brilliant day to your all

I took these photos today. As you can see clear and crispy cold (with my iphone).

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Facebook Ads More Relevant

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This new ad unit is one of the things I've been working on. We're slowly but surely making social advertising better: More relevant ads, designed to generate more conversations amongst friends about brands.

fooling around with purple

I took this sun rise photo and fooled around. Then I saw this flower shot I took a few days ago on thought they match. Purpe it is then.

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Some important things to realize about Circles, Sparks, and the overall philosophy of Google+.

When posting, Circles are for restricting access to posts you make. They're a privacy control. Circles only control who cannot see what you're posting, they lock people out. Circles are not a good way to post certain content to people who are interested, because you have no control over, and no idea, how they have you circled. They may have you circled for your political posts even though you only have them in a board game circle, in which case they're not interested in your post anyway and you're wasting your time restricting access to only them.

When reading, Circles are for defining your relationship to people. Circles are not related to content of posts, if you put someone in a circle called Politics they can still post on any topic they like. You can add a science professor to a Science circle but it he may only talk about rock climbing, and then you'll see rock climbing posts in your Science circle. Instead, circles are relationships. For instance, if you want to see posts only from your family, use a Family circle. If you want to read posts about a particular topic, that's what searching and Sparks are for.

Some people primarily post about certain topics, like technology bloggers for example, so you may add them to a circle to see what they are going to say without having to search for it. You would do that if you find the majority of their posts interesting (in other words, they're an interesting person to you). If they are in a circle you will see their posts whether or not you are interested in the topic of a particular post.

To summarize all of that, Circles define relationships, they do not relate to content. It usually doesn't make sense to add someone to a circle that only occasionally posts on a topic you are interested in.

Sparks are for finding specific content. You enter some keywords like a typical Google search and G+ returns posts that match that search. It returns people in your circles first, so you will see posts from people you care more about, but it finds all public posts. Also, note that all of your circles have the same priority in the results, people in your Food Critics circle appear at the top with Family, if their post happens to match your search. Google+ has no way that I know of to read only certain content from only a certain group of people, I don't think that's what it's designed for. Sparks have other limitations, for one they only search for keywords but the Google+ community doesn't use Twitter-like hash tags, so you don't find all of the relevant posts you could find. Maybe Google will eventually let you set filters on specific circles, but as of today this is how it works. It may be that tags will become popular instead, which seems more likely to me.

Based on all of this you can conclude that Google+ primarily encourages open and public conversations, the privacy controls are effective but mixing content filters with privacy is not. I think some people are having a hard time getting used to the concept of the public conversation, particularly coming from sites like Facebook, which hasn't had a public forum at all (until recently, in response to G+, but users there understand it even less than here).

Like many people I've added lots and lots of people to circles lately, due to circle sharing becoming available, and I've seen my stream become busy and confused as a consequence. It doesn't make a lot of sense to have so many people in circles, it makes it harder to find the content I actually do care about. I've even had people in these circles request that I only post to them things that are interesting for them, which is simply not how Google+ works. I'm hoping by sharing a little of what I've learned that maybe I can help people understand a little better how to use Google+ effectively.

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If you are a blogger

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Why I am still betting my future on Google+

If you haven't noticed yet, my blog at http://scobleizer.com isn't the same. It has no life. It's just a reprinting of some of the most interesting stuff that happened elsewhere already.

Most of the tech press is like that too. Yeah, they are trying to play games to get us to come and visit their little islands of content, but the action has moved away from blogs.

My ATTENTION has definitely moved.

On my screens I have five screens:

Google+.
Facebook.
Twitter (I use the Twitter Mac app so tweets scroll down the stream).
Quora. I see interesting news break there, which is interesting because it's a QA site.
Hacker News open too. The nerdiest amongst us hangs out there (programmers, etc).

What I'm noticing is Google+ gets the best stuff first. And this is "with no one on it." (That claim cracks me up, a new post shows up every 20 seconds, 24 hours a day, and that's with following only 5,000 people here).

So, my inbound is already higher quality than pretty much anywhere.

Blogging is about telling a story. Google+ lets me do that "good enough" (yeah, I wish I had more typographical controls, and ways to embed pictures into the text, and stuff, but I bet that's coming as Google+ and Blogger get rethought and moved together).

That said, out of 1,000 average users how many of them use Google to search for content? Nearly every one. How many have advanced enough social graphs on Google+ or Facebook or Twitter to bring good content to them? I'd say fewer than 100.

So, it is still VERY IMPORTANT for content producers like me to be on Google. I see it everyday. My videos get more views after a month, due to Google and other search engines, than they do in the first day (which is when you'd see them on social networks).

Guess what? Google+ items are the best way to get my media into Google search. I'm already seeing that. Now that there's a search engine here on Google+ it's even a bigger deal.

Facebook doesn't understand search. Not yet, at least. They do understand capturing emotion better, which is due to them using terms like "friend" and "like." Those are emotion capturing terms, which is why most people's social graphs are better, stronger, and more interesting on Facebook than they are on Google+ (already most people have circled users that don't bring any value in here, which is why you see complaint after complaint of no engagement, no content, no users. They are all wrong, but to them I'm wrong. What really happened there is Google failed them due to its inability to capture emotional ties properly).

Which brings me to this picture.

How do you best capture the EMOTION of your time? Blogging? Not for me anymore. Tweeting? Not for me anymore (I will continue being there, mostly to let people who won't leave that system know what I'm doing and where I'm doing it -- it has turned into a UI for my Facebook and Google behaviors). Facebooking? Yes. I'm still there and will be for forseeable future at http://facebook.com/robertscoble

But my hub is Google+.

Now, what do I do with my blog? I have some ideas:

1. Use it to give certain readers a low-noise place to follow what I REALLY care about. If I post it on my blog you know I've thought it out some more and have something deeper to say than if I said it here.

2. Use it as a "backup" for my content and ideas. That way if Google or Facebook decides to block me, or limit my participation here somehow you still can find me (Facebook kicked me off the system for a day a few years ago, so this is still a fear of mine).

But other than that, what is my blog for? Monetization? Nope. My bosses are very willing to pay me even if I give up my blog completely. Branding? Does having a big logo help anyone? Really?

How is your view of a blog changing due to this battle between Facebook and Google?

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Great Business Card Idea

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New business cards! The result of some fun UX research and design.

I am my wife's go-for

And I have to populate her website with nice holiday homes in and around Cape Town. Today I got to add this one on Clifton's Fourth Beach.

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Google+ Spammer Stopper Tip

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Hole in Google+ Sharing Being Exploited by Spammers?

I just found what seems to be a hole in Google+ that makes it really easy for spammers to use the service to push email notifications to people who don't follow them.

(By the way, I found this hole because I actually just got a spam email notification advertising some kind of Greek tourism thing via G+, from a spammer who seems to have taken advantage of the trick).

Basically the hole provides an easy way to email anyone who has a Google+ account, without having to know their email address. You don't have to spam them, Google+ will do the spamming for you, courtesy of default email notification settings that are overly permissive.

Below is my hypotheses of how the hole works and how to fix it. Please double check this and help me verify that this hole exists and works the way I think it does. (NOTE: This has now been verified by third-parties).

Here's how it works:

1. First the spammer creates an account in Google+ (it could be a legit or dummy account).

2. Then they create a spam post.

3. They share this post directly with various people they want to target by typing their names in as individual recipients of the post. Google+'s type ahead matches any names to accounts and enables the spammer to share directly with those parties -- even if they don't follow the spammer.

4. The targeted recipients receive the spam post via an email notification sent to them by Google+. (NOTE: even if recipients don't follow the sender in any of their circles, they will receive this notification in their email inbox).

How to plug this hole:

The hole exists because the Google+ Email notification settings default to notify you by email whenever someone shares something with you directly.

One solution would be that this default should be set to the opposite: to not notify you.

But that's not a good solution, because you might actually want to be notified by email of shares by some people you follow (i.e. people other than spammers).

A better solution would be:

1. Change the G+ notification prefs, so that they default to only notify you by email of anything shared directly with you by people you follow.

2. As for people you don't follow yet, that could be a separate notification pref, and should default to not notify you by email of anything shared directly with you by people you don't follow. You could change this if you wanted to, but this is the most polite default setting.

An alternative, but slightly less flexible, solution would be to just prevent sharing at all with people who don't follow you. Don't even make it an option, and don't provide notifications for such shares. That would be essentially like Twitter's DM policy: you can't direct message someone who doesn't follow you.

Note that just like in Twitter, in G+ you could still do a "mention" of someone by citing them in a comment or post, without direct sharing with them. G+ could also prevent "mention spam" by giving the user two notification settings for mentions as well:

1. Change the G+ notification prefs, so that they default to only notify you by email of any mentions of you by people you follow.

2. As for people you don't follow yet, that could be a separate notification pref, and should default to not notify you by email of mentions of you by people you don't follow. You could change this if you wanted to, but this is the most polite default setting.

HopStop punting mobile, “Last year, 5 percent of users came from mobile, this year it’s more than 40 percent"

Emotion and the Cormorant

The symbolic meaning of nature always intrigue me. My friend +Kate Spreckley had a dream about me drowning in water. It's not as bad as you may literally take it.

She said I need to get out of my emotional bath of water..... And that I should go and read what the symbolic meaning of the pelican. I did and found some meaning in the cormorant as well.

_The cormorant is closely associated with the pelican and their symbology as animal totems is quite similar. The diving motion of these birds represents plunging into our emotional depths and digging deep to bring understanding to the surface of our awareness. In order to dive underwater, the cormorant must swallow small stones. This holds powerful symbolism for us.

We must be willing to accept new ideas, attitudes, and ways of living to truly know ourselves. Cormorants lack the oil found on most bird-wings and must therefore dry their feathers often. When swimming and diving, their feathers become water-logged and they could sink. Can't our emotional nature behave in the same way? We must lift ourselves from the stress and tension we can sometimes experience with our emotions._ http://www.whats-your-sign.com/symbolic-pelican-meaning.html

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This reminds me of a lesson I am learning.

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People are so funny. They spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't need, to impress people they don't like.

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Funny

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Hangouts Are Popular

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His Holiness the Dalai Lama will have a conversation with Archbishop Desmond Tutu by live video over a Hangout as part of the Inaugural Desmond Tutu Peace Lecture in Cape Town, South Africa, on October 8, 2011, starting at 10:30am South African time (GMT+2.00). A link to the Google+ Hangout will be available approximately 20-30 minutes before the event begins.

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Little Aspiring Oscar

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Meet Cody, He has an amazing story and incredible spirit. He's my new Hero. Who's yours? Cody's website is on here - if you can shoot him whatever support or promotion you can. Thanks!

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http://deaddrops.com/

Fab.Com Driving Referrals With Huge Offers

Here's my referral link.

http://fab.com/ndyrgf

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My Dog Packed For Mars

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Star Wars
All Terrain Armored Transport (AT-AT)
Fantasia de Halloween de animal de estimação. Só espero que seja confortável.

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Google+ Tips

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How to Optimize Google+ Profile for SEO by +Kristi Hines

"Let’s start with the hottest new social media network of them all – Google’s own Google+. Whenever you are filling out your Google+ profile, be sure to note the following areas of information that will enhance the search optimization of your presence on this network.
SEO Title: Your Name – Google+
Google+ is all about the personal branding, and they insist that you use your real name for your profile. So don’t try to stick keywords or business names in your profiles – not yet at least!
Meta Description: Your Name – Your Headline + Your Occupation
The Meta Description for your Google+ profile is a combination of different pieces of profile information, starting with your name followed by your headline (the line below your name), your occupation, your first employer listed, and then your introduction text. So make sure that the first 160 characters count by writing a great headline and occupation title. Also make sure those areas are set to be seen by anyone on the web.
Extra Search Tidbits: Your Links
From what I can tell, the links within the introduction content as well as the ones under other profiles, contributor to, and recommended links are all dofollow. So don’t shy away from anchor text as this is a prime Google property!" - +Kristi Hines

One Kings Lane raises $40M Series C

VIDEO:Online 'Flash' Sales Grow for Home Decor

Flash sales and shopping apps may help holiday sales

Ed Perkins on Travelocity, VoucherCodes.com Flash Sale Offerings ...

From Runway to Web in a Flash

Viva Fashion: Bi-Lingual Flash Sales Site Aviesta.com Growing | FashInvest ...

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Amazing Wordpress Plugin

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Bloggers! This is a SICK WP plugin that puts your public G+ posts (and the comments too) on your blog... freakin' awesome!

Flash Sales Site News Fab.com

With these apps, Fab.com shoppers can quickly browse the latest flash sales, drill down into item details and make purchases on the go. The apps will notify users when a new sale kicks off and when an item in their shopping cart is expiring.The app also comes with handy sharing mechanisms for Facebook and Twitter (natch) and a calendar of upcoming flash sales.

The Six Principles Of e-Commerce

–Sell Everywhere – Be Seen and Be Shopped
–The Long Tail – Target Niche Markets
–Decentralized Content Generation – Data from the Community
–Personalized Shopping – Make It Fun to Shop and Easy to Buy
–Mash-ups– Integrate and Collaborate
–Data is King – Collect a Wealth of Opportunities

Facebook Apps

Facebook upends mobile landscape by opening doors to app developers - Mobile Marketer - Social networks

There's a lot I need to understand about this. +jesse wright explained more here Jesse Stay - Google+ I'm still really baffled by the lack of pomp and… - http://goo.gl/SahNi

Does this mean that I can get an app developed within FB for my online sales site using the above and have all the millions of people on FB can find it and use it within the Facebook app?

Interesting article on how mobile payments will affect all; even brick and mortar

American Express exec: Mobile and commerce on collision course - Mobile Marketer - Commerce - http://goo.gl/ToHdB

Mocking Up Websites

I have been asked to create a mockup for a new online business. I think I know a lot about social media and psychology making people like, know and trust you. But mockups! O. No. Very little. So I got going on a crush course and investigated many possibilities:


Using powerpoint 10 Minute Mock Prototyping - Tips for PowerPoint - Kris Jordan - http://goo.gl/VDRWM (dated with broken links)

Top 3 FREE Wireframing and Mockup Tools – Lumzy, Mockup Builder and Tiggr Compared and Reviewed http://goo.gl/ZW4gO (not all are free anymore)

10 Completely Free Wireframe and Mockup Applications - http://goo.gl/n32c (Not all free anymore).

Interactive Prototypes with PowerPoint - Boxes and Arrows: The design behind the design - http://goo.gl/qWSLb

My likes are App Sketcher http://goo.gl/u4Vk6 (Not free, and no collaboration. If they can do this.....then it will be number one)

My favourite out of the 30 I tried was the free http://lumzy.com/

What did I like?

http://lumzy.com/ goes beyond a simple mockup. If you have three horizontal tabs you can associate "content" with each tab. And they have simple drop down menues. App Sketcher can do this, it looks nice, but the logic to set this up is a but cody for a non coder like me.

Verdict: Lumzy because of the above and easy collaboration. Yes it's free. But that's a bonus.

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I am reminded of the Pelican Again

_The pronounced bill of the pelican contains a pouch used for fishing and drinking. Bills, and particularly large bills, represent self-indulgence, holding, and the capacity to take in a great deal. Pouches speak of containment, security, and transportation.

If the pelican is your animal totem, it's highly likely you have an impressive ability to take in a lot of information at once and digest it all with relative ease. Pelican people are expert travelers too, able to travel light, and you're likely to have the travel bug in that you'll fly at the mere whisper of adventures ahead. Pelican people may also hold many thoughts to themselves, reluctant to be outspoken about their opinions.

If this sounds like you, the pelican can help you digest all this information you're taking in, and also facilitate ways for you to "spit out" the great ideas you have and speak your mind with confidence._ http://goo.gl/A8Am0

Thanks for sharing. I friend shared a dream with me about me and suggested I read up on the pelican http://goo.gl/Uz4jn

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Animals

Is Google trying to copy Groupon?

I suppose if it can be done it will be done.

How To Get Many Kisses

Hi +Jennifer Boesch Fricke. I have no idea what you do or how you can personally use autoresponders. But I just love the idea to use it to cultivate relationships with clients and potential clients.

+Darren Rowse wrote a nice article on how to use autoresponders. I am interested in how small off line businesses can use autoresponders to educate their clients with regards to services they provide or just to set the owner up as an expert.

Most business people expect to get the kiss on the first date. I tried it. And got a smack. It took a lot of giving and building trust before I got the kiss. This is where an autoresponder can help to get the trust and then many kisses ;-)

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Great Read

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GOOGLE+ IT'S ALL ABOUT QUALITY

Let me show you how incredible Google+ really is. Yesterday I made a simple post for a faster understanding of Google+ that got extremelly viral and got 5000 shares in less than 24 hours: https://plus.google.com/u/0/106393478695568433143/posts/K2mCT7cSboj (video for Ripples - http://youtu.be/yF_hydqYj90)

Now keeping in mind that I'm not a popular one, having houndreds of thousands of followers (like +Larry Page, +Sergey Brin, +Vic Gundotra, +Robert Scoble and so on) the fact that my message was viewed by tens or hundreds of thousands of people... it's truly amazing! (They probably really liked the post since very influential users like +Natalie Villalobos, +Yonatan Zunger, +Victor Bezrukov and +Denis Labelle shared it. BTW, thanks again guys.)

AND WHAT'S THAT HAS TO DO WITH ME?

That depends on what are you using Google+ for. You might be a person that on the long run wants somehow to increase it's brand awareness, you might be an average user looking to keep in touch with friends/family, have fun and learn new things or you might use Google+ for education. Now let's take it one by one.

I. THE AVERAGE USER

If you are an average user, using Google+ for keeping in touch with friends/family, have fun and learn new things, you should understand that

1. The activity on Google+ is truly amazing!
2. Google Plus is so much more interesting, entertaining and useful than any other social network.
3. Google Plus has more than 40 million users
4. Privacy settings are great!

For better understanding, read why I believe Google+ is better than Facebook here: https://plus.google.com/106393478695568433143/posts/iXxm2zta8gK.

Also, read how to make your friends join Google+ here: https://plus.google.com/106393478695568433143/posts/gxPbiuVxEEG and 10 Steps To Create An Awesome Google+ Profile http://www.almostsavvy.com/2011/08/16/10-steps-to-create-an-awesome-google-profile-how-to-plus/ (by +Irene Koehler)

II. EVERY USER

Google+ is not just another social network. Google+ is an identity "platform" for Google and it's THE social network. As +Bradley Horowitz indicates, "right now you have separate profiles and logins for Blogger, Reader, YouTube and Gmail. That will soon end, to be replaced with a single account and a single login." http://venturebeat.com/2011/11/03/google-plus-is-not-a-social-network/ via +Tom Anderson.

IGNORE GOOGLE+ AT YOUR PERIL (by +Rebecca Davis)
(http://blog.ogilvypr.com/2011/11/ignore-google-plus-at-your-peril/)

1. My friends aren’t in G+” is no excuse.
2. +1 could fundamentally change the way we use the web.
3. “Interest orientation” may make Google+ an ideal vehicle for thought leadership & social business.

You should:

1. Open your mind.
2. Engage as an individual.
3. Get clear on your company’s “interests.”
4. Get creative
5. Stay tuned. Google brand profiles are near on the horizon. This is where it gets interesting.

THE SMARTER SOCIAL NETWORK (by +Kristin Martonik)
(https://plus.google.com/u/0/115831514397226473247/posts/HnN6zM9rD8u)

1. The collective intelligence of the growing Google+ user pool is astonishing
2. G+ has attracted scores of brilliant people who likely had shunned previous social platforms
3. G+ is the perfect balance for comfortably connecting with interesting people

WHY GOOGLE+ HAS BECOME MY PRIMARY SOCIAL NETWORK (by +Fernando Fonseca https://plus.google.com/u/0/107863796156749531232/posts/3UYMZrqhEpc)

1. Ripples have shown beyond any doubt that users are using circles and that a lot of sharing and discussion happen within those.
2. G+'s users are here to share and discuss and they actually engage. I never have experienced the amount of engagemen_t that my content generates here on Google+ and that, in a way, absolutely _inspires me to create more content, be that a short one liner or more in-depth posts like this one.
3. Google+ has become not only my primary social network but also my canvas to produce new content that I then spread across other networks.
4. Google+, in these few months, has brought me knowledge, food for thought, inspiration and also a great platform to keep in touch with friends and business associates and I can't wait for the new things that the Google+ team has in mind for all of us.
5. The interaction that Google made possible with those that are developing, trouble-shooting, designing and managing Google's products here on G+ is nothing but unique. This democratization of access should be a case study to all social networks out there.

DON'T BE EVIL (OR SNEAKY)

I love Google's motto "Don't Be Evil" (meaning you can make money without doing evil - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_be_evil) and how they plan to profit by not being sneaky but by adding transparency and putting users in control: http://www.datamation.com/networks/how-google-will-profit-by-not-being-sneaky-1.html - by +Mike Elgan

III. USING GOOGLE+ FOR EDUCATION

Hangouts could be the new “Office Hours” - see the world's largest Google+ hangout with Stanford professors +Peter Norvig and Sebastian Thrun: https://plus.google.com/108640673873589796416/posts/ceBoZE4mURU via +Louis Gray.

IV. GOOGLE+ FOR BRANDS

Very soon we'll see the long awaited Google+ Brand Pages as well. And the new ripples, Google apps availability, What's hot section and the hangouts with extras are features that will bring social conversion to the next level for Google Plus business pages and also more possibilities on Google+ to teach, learn, work, and play. (https://plus.google.com/u/0/106393478695568433143/posts/KawvKy4KGSS)

As I was saying in other posts, your influence is very important if you want to increase your brand awareness and measuring statistics, conversions and influence it's very important for somebody willing to increase it's brand awareness.

Best time to post on Google+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/106393478695568433143/posts/cw5SFy6jyWd,
reaching your audience easier https://plus.google.com/106393478695568433143/posts/S1W9Cn8Zcic
getting to be more influential https://plus.google.com/106393478695568433143/posts/DyjDykThWD8
and Social Media Analytics for G+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/105279625231358353479/posts/RuKgeRQH4wz
are things that can not be ignored.

CONCLUSION

Not only that Google+ it's already great, but it becomes better and better, the Google+ team rolling out new features on a consistent basis. What I also love about Google+ is that everybody is free to give feedback like I did in the post "Introducing filters for a better What's hot section" https://plus.google.com/u/0/106393478695568433143/posts/6w4eHzuoEbk

I could go on and talk about Google+ for days, but this post got really big already. What I'm actually trying to say is that Google+ is not just another social network... Google+ is the future!

Whether you like it or not, Google+ it's still all about quality, it still grows exponentially, it still is extremelly useful and entertaining and it still gets more and more activity every day!

Love it, preach it, share it!

PS: Feel free to give some feedback on the original post: https://plus.google.com/u/0/106393478695568433143/posts/drsnunqbFT6
Other useful posts: #gvgpUseful

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THE TOP FIVE SIX WAYS GOOGLE+ WILL TAKE OVER THE WEB

1. YouTube
2. Google Maps and Places Pages
3. Calendars
4. Picasa
5. Blogger

Expect Blogger, Picasa, Google Calendars, Maps and Places with G+ brand pages to all carry the G+ brand as Google greases the wheels and warms the web up to the new Google+

Read the complete article by +Chris Lang: http://goo.gl/Wr0Cz

I would also add:

6. Google Chrome
Especially with extensions like Google+ Notifications - http://goo.gl/j3zgq meant to view notifications of Google+ activity, anywhere you go on the web and Google +1 Button - http://goo.gl/gUPSS meant to +1 and share a web page, anywhere you go on the web. Both extensions will keep us more connected to Google+.

Any other ways Google+ will overtake the web? Comments on the original post: http://goo.gl/Y0EGW

Picture source: http://goo.gl/oWfBa
Other useful posts: #gvgpUseful

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Hello World and welcome to the Google+ page. We are delighted to be part of the fast-growing community that has developed around Google+. This page will be a primary channel where we can directly connect with you, hear what you are thinking, and share with you new updates on the product, the community and upcoming events.

We’re just getting started, and we would love to continue the conversation here with the launch of pages - a great way to connect with brands, organizations, and businesses you love most.

A few of our favorites can be found within the shared circle below. For more details about everything about pages visit the Official Google Blog post:

Google+ Pages: connect with all the things you care about
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/google-pages-connect-with-all-things.html

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Biking Memory

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The Bike Tree - In 1914 a boy went to war and left his bike chained to a tree. - Nearly 100 years later, this is the outcome...

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Owner Or Not? Compare Google+ to Facebook

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GOOGLE's vs FACEBOOK's TERMS via +L'ammiraglio Valerio

This is a must read. You find what you see in the picture under these links:
http://picasa.google.com/intl/en_us/legal_notices.html
http://www.facebook.com/terms.php