D'awww, Hurricane people!
seen in Hoboken, NJ

Please reshare , maybe we can reach some people who are out there and they can do the same in their community.

PS: Just to clarify, this is not something I did for people, I'm not even the one who took the picture. I hope you are all enjoying the sense of unity and kindness emanating from such a 'small' deed.
h/t +Maddie Grant (from posting this on your FB)
#hurricanesandy  

Oooo. This is awesome. I tried counting heads, but when you focus too long they go away... sadly, I doubt this is the way it would work in real life... you'd probably lose count because they'd be eating you.

Use  Your Words?
another curiosity from the Internet

Fortuitously, hot dog  = thoodg. The more you know!

Jokers. Kind of chilling, really.

I'll just leave this here... "Babe, I'm Gonna LED You!" -- Impresionante!

My contribution to the flood of pastels, pinks and reds. Happy Valentine's day, all!

Here is the artist's tumblr: http://benkling.tumblr.com/post/17532466656/because-people-have-requested-a-photoset-heres
thanks +Will Carter for pointing it out. Also... here is his G+ profile, +Ben Kling (but he hasn't posted since November, soo...)

What if Dr. Seuss had written and drawn Star Wars?
http://twentytwowords.com/2010/12/07/what-if-dr-seuss-had-written-star-wars/

Apparently this is a couple of years old but I bet it's going to be new to a few of you. Am I turning into your Stream's Star Wars nerd? I hope so.

Also- Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Scientists pour molten aluminum into ant colony to study ant architectural patterns
In other words: THIS. IS. AWESOME.

I appreciate how they make sure to film the Prof. saying that he does't take the death of the ants in the colony lightly, and that they openly address the sacrifice of ants for the betterment of science (though, will this science benefit other ants?), instead of trying to gloss over it.

Here is the book written by the prof. in the video, so you can see what his research leads to:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Fire-Ants-Walter-Tschinkel/dp/0674022076

But let's face it, I'm no friend of ants. They caused pre-teen, summer camp-going me some major issues when they'd bite me or try to add their protein-rich bodies to my lunch. Anyway, that doesn't matter. Check out the awesomeness that is the ant colony casting when it's finished!

Go Science!

#sciencesunday #scienceisawesome  

PS: Reddit has awesome stuff, connect with me on there - http://www.reddit.com/user/doctorcrowe

Did... did Richard Dawkins just say... "[Scientific Method] works, bitches"?

Ender's Game Official Trailer

Finally!

Still enjoying my New York vacay. Heading down to Wall Street/South Street Seaport today. In other news, Photoshop is still fun:

Hey Internet, what did you do toda.... oh.

Designer makes amazing MLK Jr mural out of Rubik's Cubes

"Designer +Pete Fecteau  constructed a huge Martin Luther King Jr. portrait called “Dream Big“using 4,242 officially licensed Rubik’s Cubes. Measuring 5.8m x 2.6m x 5.7cm and weighing 454kg, this artistic endeavor was possible due to Kickstarter.com, where the artist raised the necessary money for this project. A series of fortunate events led to the creation of this interesting portrait. The designer was volunteering for ArtPrize and wanted to come up with a creative project to enlist. He literally dreamed this project and participated in the competition, being placed in the top 50 out of 1,700+ pieces entered. On display during the 2010 ArtPrize competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the large portrait took 40 hours to create and an additional five and a half hours and 6 volunteers to install. It took $9,000 to make and the artist had an unsuccessful attempt to sell it."

Found at freshome.com

Thanks for pointing out that Pete was a G+ user, +Michael Bernstein  !

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas day/Holiday season! I'll be heading up to New York this afternoon! Yesssss! And because I missed out on all of the funny stuff going on in my stream today - here's a little bit of funny for you. Star Wars, of course.

New PSY song. Know about it before your friends do.

#gangnamstyle #psy  

More Banksy goodness. Does anyone know any other awesome graffiti artists - or artists who put in those 'installations' - like having a whole field covered in powered light bulbs... or the roadside lined with umbrellas?

#banksy #graffitiart  

Nope, I can't do it.
C'mooon, sure you can

I'm going to get off of this motivational kick in a second or two, but check out these guys:

"Charles B. Tripp the armless man and Eli Bowen the legless man. Both men traveled with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circuses." - http://blackandwtf.tumblr.com

And I mostly fumble my way through motivational speeches/blogs so I'm just gonna say, if you think something is holding you back: c'mooooonnn. Sometimes you just need a c'mon, and sometimes you need more. If this is one of those times you need more. Well, just enjoy the picture for what it is.

G+ Tip: Rules of Ripple Club
a few rules I've discovered about Ripples so far... and a Real-time Ripple experiment

obligatory: Do not talk about Ripple Club (but actually do talk about it - this is key for the experiment!)
1.) Ripples are only for Public posts.
2.) Ripples for Public posts only exist going back to Aug 31 (as far as I can tell).
3.) In order for a post to have Ripples, it must have been re-shared publicly at least once.
4.) You can share a Ripples page by linking to it: (ex: +Robert Scoble post - https://plus.google.com/ripples/details?activityid=HS7L4gtGf2j)
5.) The Ripples function is in your dropdown menu - is it not there? See #3

Experiment

Think we can see Ripples happen in real time? Here's what I'd like us to try:

- Reshare this post (publicly)
- Open up the Ripples for this post in a separate window - and then reshare the post (it's a useful post anyhow).
- Watch to see if we can see the bubbles pop up as they are being reshared!

Princess Bride/Game of Thrones Mashup

Seriously, Kevin Arnold has it totally right.

#gameofthronesseason3 #princessbride  

Yes... this is funny.

This guy sounds exactly like Ian McKellen... genius. Genius.

#LOTR #Queen  

*G+ Tip: New users (and old users) - The Comprehensive Beginner's Guide to Google Plus
a constantly updated post that is also a great guide for non-beginners

+Johnathan Chung is a sociologyplus.com team member and a well-respected Google+ content curator. His early Google+ Resources Guide continues to be one of the best guides to Google+ that I have seen. Along with +Ahmed Zeeshan's lists , I consider Johnathan's list to be the golden standard for any user, new and old. This is, of course, my opinion.

I know there are a bunch of new users looking for Google+ help - this might be your best starting point. Simply click on the link below and you will be taken to Johnathan's resources guide - you won't even have to leave Google+.

Please give Johnathan some kudos and show him you appreciate his efforts (if you do) by commenting, +1'ing, and resharing (which will help other new users).

After familiarize yourself with the basic tips - we have some advanced tips that are easily searchable on our website: (http://sociologyplus.com/category/tips-resources/guides/)

In Johnathan's guide, you'll find over 100 posts leading to different resources that include but are not limited to:
photo sharing
privacy
posting etiquette
circle management
starter guides
and tons of other helpful users who are dedicated to enhancing the user experience

Other useful posts and resources
maintained by Ryan
------------------------------------------------

"Google+ ISN'T Facebook" by +Christina Trapolino
https://plus.google.com/102615863344410467759/posts/Yyao6stEp7h

"Why Are You Here?" - Figure out what you want from Google+
https://plus.google.com/115516333681138986628/posts/8gxabAgrp7w

+Ahmed Zeeshan 's Profile Page - another master Google+ content curator
https://plus.google.com/103030116155431184588/about

Google+ new user welcome group run by +Ardith Goodwin
https://plus.google.com/108112557629934458248/about

Google+ Startup Guide Slideshow by +Saidur Hossain
Google+ Start-Up Guide

"How to Gain more Followers" - and why this shouldn't be your goal.
https://plus.google.com/115516333681138986628/posts/Am3eWFfGWZu

* www.RecommendedUsers.com - a "finding people" site run by* +Alireza Yavari

group.as - a public circles site run by +Daniel Treadwell

* www.PlusCrunch.com - a Google+ news/opinion site run by* +Jay Acunzo

* Googleplus.wonderhowto.com - a Google+ news/opinion site run by* +Kimberly Lau and +Bryan Crow (no relation)!

* www.Plusheadlines.com - a Google+ news/opinion site run by* +Brian Krassenstein

If you know if any site or resource that needs to be added, feel free to add it in the comments

https://plus.google.com/114424163811716070551/posts/QXJGeE55sHG

G+ Tips: Stop Waiting for Your Life to Come to G+
the importance of encouraging your friends and family to adopt G+

So, Floodgate occurred -- can we talk about it like that? The Floodgate? Is that right? Not like... the floodgates were opened... but like Watergate. Floodgate.

Anyway... Floodgate. We have a huge number of new users and I am still seeing a ton of people saying - "my friends and family aren't here yet..." or... "I can't follow bands" etc etc. "I'm bored here. I don't have a use for it yet."

Well, yeah. Totally legitimate reasons to be bored and disenfranchised. What I would like to suggest, then, is: if you want those aspects of your life here... well go ahead and try to get them. I mean, you might fail - you might say to your favorite aunt - "it's fun! We can do Hangouts - share articles about ____" and she might say, "You know - it's just too much for me to learn". And yeah - that might happen.

Well, ok, keep on going. Go out and find your favorite local band - let them know how easy it is to share a multimedia experience on G+, talk about how people are exploring the platform... how they can reach a huge audience... how they can find other bands - get fans in other countries... or do a Hangout concert like +Daria Musk .

minor digression (anyone interested a local band sharing circle/community?)

Alright - so now you have these guys here... what else do you wanna do? "Well, I wanna show my best friend who moved across the country a bunch of my photos and movies... and yeah, he wants to reunite with our group of friends"...

After a little bit of work... you might start to see those things you miss from Facebook (that personal connection) come over here... and hey... that's great if that's what you wanted. The cool thing this leads to is being able to watch them branch out and discover new things (if that's what they're interested in doing) and it helps add to the overall community (if you're interested in that).

You get the idea?

So here are a few takeaways:

1.) You're going to get out of this platform what you put into it... it is my belief that if you're putting forth real effort, and you have a goal in mind... that you're going to increase your chance of finding value in the platform.

2.) Don't wait for things to happen for you. This follows takeaway 1 - I feel like gambling on whether or not someone or something will fall in your lap is not your best bet.

3.) Reach out! Bring what you like about other social networks here!

4.) Google+ lends itself to exploration... and discovery This is very important -- you are able to find people all over the world and connect with them in a way that has previously been very difficult... forums, true.. but how many do you need to join to accommodate all of your interests? Twitter - ok, but the limitations may prevent you from getting the most out of those connections.... Facebook? Not really... more of a personal thing... unless you're looking for brands or celebrities... although, FB isn't too shabby.

This is by no means a complete list... I'm not promising this will work... nor is it useful for everyone. As my amiga +Christina Trapolino says, "Own your experience". Make G+ what you want it to be for you. But if you're not willing to put in the effort to create/own your experience... don't get mad at G+ for it, right?

Also - let me tell you this -when I've helped individuals in the past - it usually gets easier after your initial energy expenditure. Knowing more people = more stuff = more discovery = new interests... and so on and so forth. It does get easier, it does pick up!

Zombies beware

I see no reason to stop being green during the zombie apocalypse.

This blew my mind...

Probability of your being born: one in 10^2,685,000 ("your" being born meaning YOU specifically, not any old human)

As a comparison, the approximate number of atoms in the known universe is 10^80.

Via +Kevin Burger "Looking at the comments, I'm not sure I read the same article as everyone else. The article I read was a calculation of the odds of your exact family tree meeting, and reproducing with the exact sperm and egg all the way down to your birth. It had nothing to do with the probability of life in general."

*Also - the definition of "miracle" given by the author did not mention divinity at all. Don't like the religious connotations of "miracle" - find another word for it.

#miracleoflife  

Game of Thrones on Facebook

We need more of these, stat!

My mama told me when I was young: always start out your Fridays with an animal pun
... when your mother gives you advice like that, you just go ahead and do it - who knows what the alternative might be!

An oldie, but a goodie. Happy Friday, all!

Perfect! Have you seen this +The Walking Dead AMC and +The Muppets ?

Well, when you're right - you're right.

Happy Thanksgiving

While this holiday is relevant only to North Americans (and people who are erstwhile curious about North American holidays) I certainly hope the spirit of the holiday (no, not the wholesale slaughter of a land's aboriginal peoples like some would posit) will infect all of us and we can take time to reflect and say, "Yeah, I guess I'm doing alright."

Anyway, enjoy the pervy humor below!

#thanksgiving  

Communities Memes Album

Just because they're hilarious. I'll be tagging the people who created the meme!

If you're uploading a meme you'd like to be included - tag it #communitiesmemes - or you could send it to me directly. Please don't get crazy. I'll do a max of 3 per person.

(PS: I do have a job, and it may be awhile between album updates. Also if I incorrectly tag you, let me know)

#communities  

=/

#seriously?

Before you introduce Star Wars to someone...
read about Machete Order

The viewing order: Episode IV, V, II, III, VI (Ep. I is left out intentionally)

Alright - are you about to have kids who are old enough to appreciate a good story line? Have you met one of the 10 people on Earth who haven't seen Star Wars? This is a pretty interesting experiment introduced some time ago about re-ordering the way you watch the old/new trilogy to get the best storyline experience.

Quick, I need to try this out with someone!

#starwars #nerdgasm #geek  

That's about right.

I am playing with +Schemer and enjoying this picture: have +The Muppets seen this?

Must have.

Don't mind me, just getting ready for nerd Christmas
Chewbacca's ready!

Just imagine what would happen to the other reindeer if they didn't let Chewie join in their reindeer games...

"I'd suggest a new strategy, Prancer - let the Wookie win."

#starwars #christmas #wookie #chewbacca  

It doesn't matter what side you're on or if you believe there are 'sides' at all... this is going to be funny (bitterly humorous or light-hearted, either way) to you at some point today.

(this primarily applies to the American Plussers- but I certainly will not alienate the wonderful International Plussers, whom I cherish)

#scotus #aca #obamacare  

Deer thinks: "Oh, a new friend!"
Cat thinks: "...soon..."

G+ Tip: Read this article! This article from Lifehacker (drool, Ilovelifehacker) is an article that aggregates and explains some more advanced functions for those +Goobs who are beyond the "getting started" themed posts. Learn how to change the G+ layout, update G+ from anywhere, and use keyboard shortcuts to move around. The article also verifies the last tip I shared - Unlimited Picasa storage space.

http://lifehacker.com/5822167/how-do-i-make-the-most-of-google%252B

RESHARE:
G+ Tip: Bookmark this post!

Incredible list of Google Plus Resources compiled by +Johnathan Chung - please make sure to thank him (via +1/comment/reshare) for his hardwork!

Reshared text:
Google Plus Resources

NOTE: This is obviously not meant to be an all-inclusive list, just some links accrued in my measly corner of the G+ world. There was no specific "criteria" to what has been included; just links I stumbled upon or found to be helpful and useful. Original authors' links have been included when possible. A lot of information is probably definitely repeated within the detailed guides, but some of it is not.

I am sending this list to +Mariva H. Aviram to include in a public Google Document (http://goo.gl/4zRc6) so that updated information will be available when the link is re-visited later on (instead of scouring the web for fragmented re-shared posts). Essentially, it is a compilation of compilations (how's that for being meta). Please copy/paste that link instead of re-sharing this post. The info below is only included for your convenience, and as mentioned, this info will be added to that document soon (if it's not already there).

+Melody Lynn has also recently compiled a "MothaLode" list of resources (http://goo.gl/f99RB) that will hopefully be assimilated into Mariva's document soon.

There is a mind-boggling myriad of excellent content out there, so keep creating and sharing, particularly with newer users of G+.


Last Updated July 20, 2011

STARTER ITEMS:

Google+ Cheat Sheets 1 & 2 by Simon Laustsen (many translations available): http://goo.gl/3yRnh , http://goo.gl/k2I2c
New User Orientation links compiled by Dain Binder: http://goo.gl/Nd3tY
Google Plus 101: How to Get Started blog by Rana Shahbaz: http://goo.gl/jB8zP
Google+ Starter Pack by Ahmed Zeeshan: bit.ly/gpstarter
Transitioning from Facebook to G+ by Ahmed Zeeshan: bit.ly/gb_fb
How to Upload Your Address Book of contacts by Paul Lindner: http://goo.gl/BKzJZ
Infographic Comparing Features of G+, FB, & Twitter by Blogging Innovation: http://goo.gl/IndXV

MORE DETAILED GUIDES and G+ INFO:

How Do I Make the Most of G+ by Alan Henry from Lifehacker: http://goo.gl/rlLjR
The Complete Guide to G+ by Mashable's Ben Parr: http://mashable.com/2011/07/16/google-plus-guide/
Collaborative Google Doc Google+ Manual: http://bit.ly/gplus-tips
Unofficial Google+ Wiki by Szabolcs Feczak: http://www.wikigpl.us/
GooglePlusTips Wiki by Tangient LLC: http://googleplustips.wikispaces.com/
Local SEO Guide's Google+ Tips & Shortcuts by Andrew Shotland: http://www.localseoguide.com/google-plus-shortcuts-tips/
Unofficial Google+ Blog with G+ News & Tips: http://googlepluses.blogspot.com/
Google+ Survival Guide for Photographers by Colby Brown: http://goo.gl/Q2VDY
Google+ | The Early Adopter's Guide by Ahmed Zeeshan: http://goo.gl/5ZWix

MANAGING PHOTOS:

Official Picasa Web Albums FAQ - Free storage limits: http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=1224181
Google+ Terms of Service illustrated explanation by Ryan Estrada: http://goo.gl/oWJ00
Ways to Transfer Photos from Facebook to Google+ by Johnathan Chung: http://goo.gl/vBrl6
How to Rearrange the Order of Photos in an Album by Ryan Estrada: http://goo.gl/QCyQ2

MANAGING CIRCLES:

Dividing, Nesting, & Prioritizing Circles by Ahmed Zeeshan: http://bit.ly/gpcircles

HANGOUTS:

Where to Hangout at Google+ - Announce or schedule a public Hangout: http://www.gphangouts.com/
Programs that allow 2 simultaneous videos to be shared of computer desktop & person (e.g., for teaching tutorials) are ManyCam for Windows, ScreenFlow or CamTwist for Mac, and WebCamStudio for Linux: https://plus.google.com/117131320813354732027/posts/7KBUrKAdiaR

WAYS TO FIND PEOPLE and G+ STATS:

GPlusSearch by Rich Knight. Search G+ posts, G+ profiles, Buzz, & Google Reader for specific content: http://gplussearch.com/
Social Statistics - Top People and Most Popular Posts by Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten: http://socialstatistics.com/
FindPeopleOnPlus Directory searchable by demographic information: http://www.findpeopleonplus.com/ *GPeep's G+ People Search* by region, country, job, and other tags: http://www.gpeep.com/
Unofficial Google+ Recommended Users - Discover people to follow: http://www.recommendedusers.com/
Women of G+ founded by Lynette Young: http://www.womenofgplus.com/
Google+ Plusalyzer - Analytics by BuzzRank (alpha stage): http://plus.buzzrank.de/

LISTS OF PEOPLE:

PlusOnes list of employees at Google (updated from Craig Kanalley's list), IBM, Dell, & Foursquare: http://plusones.in/
List of Google Community Managers (not just G+) provided by Natalie Villalobos: http://goo.gl/6gf01
Facebook Employees list compiled by Craig Kanalley: http://goo.gl/daZOX
Twitter Employees list compiled by David Eckoff: http://goo.gl/eMh9x
61 Users Google+ Photographers Need to Know by Jarek Klimek: http://goo.gl/EXTR6

EXTENSIONS & TOOLS: (More options can be found in detailed guides above)

Four 3rd-party Google+ Profile Link Shorteners: http://gplus.to , http://plus.ly , http://mygpl.us , http://circule.me (Spanish)
Unofficial Google+ User Feed by Russell Beattie: http://plusfeed.appspot.com/
Extensions+ Google Doc compiled by Mana Ionescu: http://goo.gl/Xbkww
Google++ Extensions by Micah Wittman: http://wittman.org/google-plus-extensions/
Exodus to G+ by Jack Carter & Albert Nichols: http://cirbio.com/exodus/index.php

SUGGESTIONS & FEEDBACK:

Use the Send Feedback button in the lower right-hand corner of your browser.
Offical Known Issues Page for reporting problems or bugs: https://www.google.com/support/profiles/bin/static.py?page=known_issues.cs
Unofficial Feature Requests can be voted on here: https://www.google.com/moderator/#16/e=9fe9f
Ideas for Integrating G+ with Gmail can be sent to Manager of Gmail Development, Mark Striebeck: http://goo.gl/vuarH

OTHER:

Official Data Liberation Blog - Can export +1's from websites (+1's from the Stream and comments will be coming in the future): http://dataliberation.blogspot.com/2011/07/something-new-on-google-takeout-menu-1s.html

This is a test.

Depending on the outcome, I may post something useful about this later.

cc: +matthew rappaport (let's see!)
#lol #gif #omgadog #dog

RESHARE:
For those of you visually attuned followers - a great guide for G+ etiquette!

Reshared text:
Should you +1 or share this post??
a tutorial written by +Ryan Estrada and illustrated by +Inder Singh

Dear +Google,

Why haven't I turned metal yet!?

Sincerely, Ryan Crowe

image via +Brian Solis ' blog on +Pando Daily

Dove parody... guys describing themselves

'I'm like a... white Denzel Washington..."

via +Mashable 

RESHARE:
G+ Tip: Read and bookmark this post by +Melody Lynn - Google+ 101

Melody has kindly taken the time to compile a single post full of useful information and articles. Do this: save this to one of your bookmark circles - it's a quick way to reshare with future Google+ Goobs!

Reshared text:
Google+ 101 a.k.a. The MothaLode o' Google+ Info & Resources for Goobies (goobies = g+ newbies)

Heyheyhowdyhihello ya'll! I keep seeing a lot more new people rollin' in daily, in addition to some friends I've invited on G+ board. I've seen some excellent info flowing around out there that has made my navigation through this wonderful new playground this last week effortless, entertaining & fun (as it should be;). I wanted to extend a welcome to all the new G+'ers ~wavestoyooknowwhoyouare!!~, and make a compiled list of all the info & resources I've ran across thus far. One Stop Google+ Info Shopping. I will add to this as I see more. Also? If you know of any good ones I've missed on this list please feel free to ad them in the comments and I'll edit this post accordingly.
_________________

Google+ 101: Getting Started by: +Rana Shahbaz - http://bit.ly/nZLOdL

Google+ Guide: 15 Tips For Newbies by: +The Huffington Post - http://huff.to/rj5mTk

Tips for Newer Users of Google+ by: +Robert Scoble - https://plus.google.com/111091089527727420853/posts/j9gkEgzY5zB (<-- one of my favs)

For the new G+ users in the crowd by: +Dain Binder
Google+ Terms and Translations - http://goo.gl/h5iOm
G+ Cheat Sheets and Tricks - http://goo.gl/CsQjH (<-- one of my favs)
Fully Edit your Google+ Photos - http://goo.gl/Svgne
Google+ Chrome Extensions - http://goo.gl/1drVx
Invite People to G+ - http://goo.gl/IPbfx
Google+ is not Facebook - http://goo.gl/fb/6Ky9F

Google+: The Complete Guide by: +Ben Parr - http://mashable.com/2011/07/16/google-plus-guide/

HUGE Google Docs List of Google+ Resources (via) +Mariva H. Aviram
https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1CZO_ZiW4-HVJa0xvF0Aa1zjN_89ewYY6Lg4RkRMcUFU&pli=1#h.sios1tjoimeh

G+ PeOple who have been Great Guides:
+Ryan Crowe
+Craig Kanalley

Thanks to all of you kind enough to be way-showers to a goob like me!
_________________

Now then?.. Can I make one more crazy mel suggestion? Don't read all this. I surely didn't (gliiick=???) Gloss it over, scan it supahcrazyquick (thank goodness for that speed readin' class G-ma insisted on for me in 2nd grade;), and Jump In! It's truly the best way to learn. Weeee~~!! \o/

Happy G+in' Ya'll!!

Whoa, meta.

No, Jon.

Genius

Never Oreo drydock again.

+Jochen Greif has come up with a unique way to separate your circles. Make sure to show him some love. This is his rather lengthy (but still useful) guide. I hope the tl;dr crowd will settle down and read the whole post!


Jochen's Tutorial for managing circles

For all of you having problems how to manage their circles, here's my current solution so far:

*AWESOME
*Drafts
← *INBOX
← Following
← Google Inc.
← Interesting
← Tech Stuff
←→ Friends
←→ Mainz
←→ Opoloo
→ Business
→ Known people
→ PEN
Read later
Strikes

I guess that one needs some more detailled explanation, so here we go:


1. Use arrows to mark incoming and outgoing circles

Usually there are 3 use cases: (1.) Reading the stream (incoming stuff), (2.) posting and sharing to people (outgoing stuff) and (3.) empty circles for specific purposes.

So I prefixed all incoming circles for reading with a left arrow ("←", ASCII-Code 27) and all circles that I use to target my audience with a right arrow ("→", ASCII-Code 26) symbolizing outgoing posts. Also there are some circles that fullfill both purposes, managing my target audience as well as containing incoming "streamers". Those circles get the prefix "←→". Now we have the cases concerning all reading/writing covered.

In addition to the nice visual recognition for incoming and outgoing, the circles are automatically ordered, making it easier to manage your streams.


2. Sub-Circles and Container-Circles

As you might have recogniced already, there is a circle named "← *INBOX". This is a sort of container circle, which holds all people from my incoming circles at once. Optionally you can place individual people in here that don't fit in any of your other incoming circles. The Inbox is the main circle for reading my stream, filtering out everything that I don't wanna read contantly. Oh, of cource you can also exclude users from the circle ;)


3. Special circles

So far we've covered circles for reading your stream and circles for managing your target audience. But there's more you can do with you're circles:

AWESOME: This one is an empty circle, containing not a single person. It is used for collecting posts that are... uhm.. AWESOME! :) If you have a post that you want to keep over time - compare it to some sort of bookmarking - just share this single post with your *AWESOME-circle (or whatever name you will give it).

Drafts: You know the problem? Just writing a long post, and in the middle of it your Mom, girlfriend, or whoever calls and wants your attention. Damn. That's where your "Draft"-circle comes in handy: just share your unfinished post in this circle to finish it later. Remember to leave this circle empty, too ;)

Read later: Same situation as with drafts - you get interrupted and want to finish you're reading later, but without the need of searching it in the depths of your stream? Share it with your "Read later" circle, and do what the name implies :)

Strikes: Oh yes, this one is my dark side of circles. People that I followed earlier and are now spamming my streams with mindless stuff go in there. From time to time I examine the stream for this circle, and if the people in there keep spamming, they vanish from my circles completely or move to the blocked ones.



Ok, so far so good. I hope that I could give you some helpful tips or suggestions what you can do with your circles. More to come :)

In order to celebrate the new Profile look, I made a new Cover photo! Hope you enjoy! (PS: It may "lag" the first time through, but gets smoother - it's a fairly large GIF).
  #Profile #coverphotohacks #coverphotoeditor #coverphoto  

I was going to write my own how-to, but these people have done it... and they have pictures!
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-an-Animated-GIF-from-a-Video-in-Photoshop-CS5

Ladies and Gentlemen, your Sun!

According to the space agency, NASA's (SDO) "captures a shot of the sun every 12 seconds in 10 different wavelengths." The video features images from the past three years, "at a pace of two images per day."

"There are several noteworthy events that appear briefly in this video. They include the two partial eclipses of the sun by the moon, two roll maneuvers [by the observatory, as it changes position], the largest flare of this solar cycle, comet Lovejoy, and the transit of Venus. The specific time for each event is listed below, but a sharp-eyed observer may see some while the video is playing."

— "00:30;24 Partial eclipse by the moon
— "00:31;16 Roll maneuver
— "01:11;02 August 9, 2011 X6.9 Flare, currently the largest of this solar cycle
— "01:28;07 Comet Lovejoy, December 15, 2011
— "01:42;29 Roll Maneuver
— "01:51;07 Transit of Venus, June 5, 2012
— "02:28;13 Partial eclipse by the moon"


via +NASA and +NPR

#science  

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G+ Tip: New Users and Old Users - Save this link
http://sociologyplus.com/2011/09/23/google-tips-guides-and-resources/

The SG+ team is very lucky to have +Johnathan Chung . His exhaustive Google Plus guide is the most complete (and now, most organized) guide I've come across. Thanks also to +Christopher Watson and +Mike Miller for being the tech-heads who helped make it happen.

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The Ultimate G+ Collection: A Treasure Trove of Google Plus Tips, Guides, & Resources

Here is an extensive database of Google+ resources that I put together for both newbies & power users. I'm sure there is something new to discover for everyone :)

The collection is large, so I decided to break it up into 11 sections and have it hosted on sociologyplus.com, a new website I contribute to about the sociology and culture of Google+, as well as other Google+ related events and information.

This collection is not meant to be all-inclusive (although it does contain a lot!) It is meant to be more of a reference or respository of G+ goodies and tidbits to browse through when needed, not something to read from start to finish.

What's in this collection?

For newer users of Google+, it may help to skim through Section 1 on "Getting Started" and pick several items from "Overview" to look through. The remainder of these resources can be referred to as needed after you become more comfortable with Google+. If you're already familiar with G+ and all the guides that have been shared, you may find Sections 6, 7, and 8 to be most useful.

SECTION 1: GETTING STARTED (http://goo.gl/syrqi)

"Quick Start" is composed of 1-2 page high-yield infographics containing the minimal technical information useful for the simplest of G+ experiences. This is for individuals who like the least amount of introduction and who like to learn as they go.

"Overview" contains G+ tips, personal recommendations, user experiences, and describes the overall G+ environment in a way that is more elaborate than “Quick Start” but less comprehensive than the full "Guides" section.

SECTION 2: GUIDES (http://goo.gl/GgidI)

"Beginner Guides" have step-by-step walkthroughs, descriptions, and advice for the most important basic features of G+ to maximize your experience quickly without getting too involved or potentially overwhelmed. This is a well-rounded introduction to G+.

"Comprehensive Guides" contain an enormous amount of dense information, some of it repeated within other detailed guides. If you are looking to learn the in's and out's of G+, read through these to pick up on everything from basic to advanced tips and tricks.

SECTION 3: CIRCLES (http://goo.gl/WGvnh)

Delves into circle management and maintenance. It is important to stay organized with circles because they determine how your information is presented in the Stream and how privacy (“who sees what”) is controlled.

SECTION 4: PHOTOS (http://goo.gl/sy2sS)

Items on uploading, sharing, organizing, and customizing pics.

SECTION 5: HANGOUTS (http://goo.gl/btUyc)

Many examples of creative uses of Hangouts and Hangout resources.

SECTION 6: FINDING PEOPLE (http://goo.gl/o1HA9)

Provides a list of sites for where and how to search for G+ users based on a variety of criteria and interests. Some of these sites are also useful for maintaining and sharing public circle lists and for viewing user statistics. "List Names" section is composed of aggregated lists of people found in particular G+ niches and communities.

SECTION 7: BLOGS & NEWS (http://goo.gl/0jQzW)

Provides general and comprehensive information focused on what's happening in Google+.

SECTION 8: EXTENSIONS, TOOLS, & APPS (http://goo.gl/1FyBK)

These tools are meant to enhance or modify the G+ user experience. Some browser extensions may stop working properly when Google makes updates and changes to G+. Please note: use of these extensions and services are "as is" and at your own discretion. Several extensions may ask for permission to access your browser activity and G+ profile.

SECTION 9: PRIVACY (http://goo.gl/NSPGY)

Provides resources to maintain privacy and security on G+.

SECTION 10: SUGGESTIONS & FEEDBACK (http://goo.gl/1TLNk)

Ways to provide constructive criticism to Google for improving G+.

SECTION 11: GRAPHICS & ICONS (http://goo.gl/Gi3Cb)

Contains Google Plus-related fan art, graphics, icons, and desktop wallpaper.

G+ Tip: Ready your pseudonyms!
Google+ ready to Support pseudonyms

I got dibs on Superman!

" Apparently the issue is technology, resources and the atmosphere the company wanted to set with Google+. The company wanted to create a community focused on real names, but now it realizes that some people have legitimate reasons to use pseudonyms . "

http://mashable.com/2011/10/19/google-to-support-pseudonyms/

Window Washers cheer up kids at the Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh by dressing up as superheroes

I just saw this! Ah, humans, we're so awesome sometimes!

(apparently this happened some time ago, http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/10/24/window-washers-give-childrens-hospital-patients-a-superheros-surprise/ )

RESHARE:
I'm up too early. And this is neato.

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                         Electric Car for Disabled

The Kenguru electric car is unlike any other EV, if for no other reason than it doesn't have a seat. That's because the Kenguru is designed to be driven by people in wheelchairsThe Kenguru has a range of between 70 and 110 km (43-68 miles) and costs around $25,00
YouTube : Car for disabled persons

G+ Tip: Link to a post directly
This one has managed to slip by some people - and I've been seeing it show up in my "Incoming". To link directly to a post you simply have to click on the time stamp which is located above the post. It looks like:

Ryan Crowe - 12:18 PM - Public/Limited

If you clicked on the 12:18 PM - you will be directed to the permalink. That's the post's home! (Don't you wanna go to your home, ball!?)

Basic tips are still useful to the floods of people joining the site and will be even more useful later this month when G+ is opened to the unwashed masses! If you know anyone new to the site (I'm guessing we all do) please be sure to find a +Goob guide somewhere on G+ (I have several links to "getting started" guides in my feed history) and share those guides with your amigos. Remember, there is still nothing blatantly obvious about the site - share and reshare anything that you would have found helpful upon your first visit. "Be excellent to each other".

PS: I will not apologize for the Happy Gilmore reference (or B&T!)

G+ Tip: Get this IPHONE App

It's finally available all of you Apple people. Have fun!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/google/id447119634?ls=1&mt=8

Invaluable Google+ "Getting Started" Circle
There are a great number of Getting Started lists, and this is the most recent (as of the time of this post) addition to that "genre". These selections are based on comments made on a post by +Melody Lynn (linked at the end of the post). I added a few of my own favorite Plussers, too.

This Circle features a robust amount of users, but not so many that it's overwhelming. This Circle is not only useful for those "Getting Started"! So, share and reshare and have fun reading the great posts by these prolific users! Of course, feel free to make additions to the Circle.

Embarrassing Edit: It has been brought to my attention that I called the Circle "invaluable" and proceeded to include myself in it; I assure you this was not intentional (but chuckle-worthy). If you take issue with that, please add the Circle and remove me from it. Also, there are many many many many people who deserve to be in this Circle for so many reasons. Please mention them in the comments and add them to your own version of the Circle. They'll appreciate it and so will others!

• +M Sinclair Stevens
• +Jeff Dean
• +Vic Gundotra
• +Ahmed Zeeshan
• +Jaana Nyström
• +Natalie Villalobos
• +Pooja Srinivas
• +Carter Gibson
• +Gabriel Vasile
• +Johnathan Chung
• +Amanda Blain
• +Robert Scoble
• +Tom Anderson
• +Christina Trapolino
• +Mohamed Mansour
• +Linda Lawrey
• +Denis Labelle
• +Ardith Goodwin
• +Linda Dee
• +Melody Lynn
• +Michelle Marie
• +Rehan Ahmad
• +Tom Rolfson
• +Elizabeth Edwards
• +Barbara Nelson
• +Giselle Minoli
• +Dave Gray
• +Valeria Maltoni
• +Terrence Lui
• +Jack C Crawford
• +Mari Smith

My Additions
+Gerwin Sturm
+Cliff Roth
+Sarah Hill
+Peter McDermott
+Brian Krassenstein
+Craig Kanalley
+Cam Meadows
+Daria Musk
+Kayla McKinney
+Kaylee Goins
+Ayoub Khote
+Kimberly Lau

Should have included, but didn't, so you can...
+Daniel Treadwell
+Alida Brandenburg
+Andrea Kuszewski
+Alireza Yavari
+Aaron Wood

This list (minus my additional sections) was compiled by +Michael Delgado :
(https://plus.google.com/u/0/102536991536106306279/posts/6P6qPAMm8d4)
based on a post by +Melody Lynn:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/114326903094745477264/posts/UiB84BrQx21

Slow motion videos of children tasting various foods for the first time...
surprisingly heartwarming, unsurprisingly hilarious

Found via +Laughing Squid 

RESHARE:
This is pretty nuts!

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I couldn't resist these.
Hope they keep you busy
2 of 3

Stare at the + and the faces will turn into monsters

RESHARE:
Hehehe.

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Dammit! I have no idea where my fire-proof umbrella is.

Found via +BuzzFeed , laughed via mouth.

The Ewoking Dead!

Yesss... nerdpopculture mashups are the best!

#starwars #walkingdead  

I see what they did here...

(stolen from George Takei's FB page)

RESHARE:
This is pretty neat!

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!!

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Moon and Venus over Switzerland

Sometimes a morning sky can be a combination of serene and surreal. Such a sky perhaps existed before sunrise 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://earthspacecircle.blogspot.com/2012/11/moon-and-venus-over-switzerland.html

G+ Tip: Add this Circle - "People's Choice" Top 50
a diverse starting point for people looking to fill out their streams

Everyone needs a good "getting started" circle, so this is good for a reshare or two.

Based on this list: http://www.recommendedusers.com/peoples-choice/

+Alireza Yavari of Recommendedusers.com posted an interesting question awhile back (like 7 years in Google+ time) and asked the question:

"Who are the users who share the most interesting and valuable content on Google+ ?"

This is the list that was created based on the answers to that question - only Alireza knows for sure how many people answered the question, I don't know specifically, but he publicly intimated that he received thousands of answers... but that's not what is most important about this circle from my point of view.

What is probably the most important aspect of this circle is that you get a lot of diversity - this is useful for new Google Plus users or those who haven't really filled out their stream - or for users who are tired of getting shared circles with 250 people who talk about the same thing (which are useful in their own right, and I'm not knocking themed circles at all).

Here you'll find some of your usual suspects like +Robert Scoble +Mike Elgan and +Tom Anderson -- but also other great photographers, artists and up-and-comers with whom you might not yet be familiar.



Alireza has another list in the making - the same question with the caveat of a current/limited Follower limit of 1,400 people. So keep your eyes open for that!

Ryan Crowe shared a circle with you.

G+ Tip: Want to send a private message?
Want people to know you are sending them a private message in G+ ? Some people aren't always aware of who the "Limited" tag applies to! Until Google fixes this functionality simply add (+username) (private) to the beginning of your posts. Bold the (private) label with the text bold feature which is an asterisk on each side of the intended message. It should look something like (Private) - if you know of other ways to make this more apparent, please feel free to share your own tips in the comments!

EDIT: +William Washco says, "Disable reshare, so you don't accidentally add someone you don't intend to [see] the conversation." - Thanks!

BRILLIANT.

found via +PR Daily 

Needed caffeine. Found coffee puns instead. I'm winning and losing right now.

#Puns #coffee

RESHARE:
I hope this is real.

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I love social reciprocity. This should help cement what each of these actions means to the user.

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All three are bomb-diggity, but of course Share is the best!

+James Cordeiro +Shahram Khorsand +Jacqui Kimmel +Peggy Fitzpatrick +Paul Biedermann +Christopher Van Dunk +Jimmy Castillo +Juan Pablo Hurtado

+Duracell is doing it right
handing out free batteries to Hurricane Sandy victims w/o power

Duracell hands out free batteries, Duracell is making power available throughout the week to the residents of Lower Manhattan and Hoboken, NJ. Trucks will be located at Battery Place and Little West Street and in front of Hoboken City Hall from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. for those who need batteries.

#hurricanesandy #duracell  

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+Ben Parr Mashable Editor-at-Large (via his profile) has written this "Complete Guide" - this is a great place to start from someone who is used to writing to large audience! Awesome!

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My 4000 word guide to Google+ is up. Please share it with EVERYBODY!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Morning all, I posted this last year on V-Day and it was quite popular. I thought I'd share it again!

My contribution to the flood of pastels, pinks and reds. Happy Valentine's day, all!

Here is the artist's (Ben Kling) tumblr: http://benkling.tumblr.com/post/17532466656/because-people-have-requested-a-photoset-heres

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Sleep over

More funny: http://goo.gl/M48qJ

G+ Tip: Get to know each other. Socialize.

At the behest of +Mike Elgan - I would first like to ask, where is everyone from? Make sure to reshare so we can get as many places as possible! And feel free to say a little more about yourself. This is a good opportunity to add some people to your Circles and find people around you. Make a "Local" circle!

Currently: Columbia, MO by way of Chicago, St. Louis and Atlanta.

Returning to my Tip: we are on a social network - yes? While some people prefer to use social networks and more specifically the current incarnation of G+ as a newsfeed in silent/tranquil bliss; I would imagine that a lot of us are here to socialize.

I have been in awe at some of my tips that have been reshared by people in other countries - I see "my tip" and then an entire paragraph in a foreign language. Pretty cool and unique in the sense that I rarely see this on Twitter and almost never see it on Facebook (except Russian, but I'm a Russian grad student, so that's where that originates). Luckily, Google Translate has allowed me to connect with these individuals - one being +Deise Lemos Almeida (who talked with me in Portuguese earlier today!)

Right now, I have more Followers than I can Follow back - and I have fallen behind in adding people to Circles (le sigh). I would like to add you to my Circles if you are interested in talking with me and connecting beyond reading the tips/opinions that I post! I imagine many of you might enjoy "meeting" new people as well. So, do the damn thing - talk to people - we all have the opportunity to chatt with people from all over the world. The only requisite for connecting with them? The desire to connect.

PS. Avoid a thread consisting of nautical puns. I'm pretty sure I had about 4 or 5 people uncircle me for my crimes against good humor.

G+ Tip: How to Gain More Followers
and why this shouldn't be your goal

A "Brief" Introduction
Hello. For about 700 of you, this post will serve as an introduction to the smirk-y kid who was stuck in between +Robert Scoble +Louis Gray and +Linda Lawrey in that People's Choice list that went around earlier this evening. Some of you have had me in your Circles since July 9th, and knew me at first as GPlusTips and have thus seen me pump out some 300+ pieces of content. Those in the latter group may smile knowingly when I give this warning to those who belong to the former group: I tend to write novels. --- also, please feel free to introduce yourselves, I'm excited to get to know everyone.

This has been a pretty wild 7 weeks. I have been lucky enough to be constantly supported by the G+ community, to have my posts shared and reshared, to connect with some fantastic people, to take part in some amazing projects -- and start a few of my own. Most importantly, to me, is that I've been able to help people figure out how to use and enjoy this magnificent beast that we know as Google+.

The Question
A few weeks ago, almost all at once, people started to contact me privately and asking for advice. They wanted (and still want) help for a variety of different reasons... to accomplish a wide range of personal and unique goals. I started to get a rather inordinate amount of people asking how they could gain more followers. I wasn't sure how to answer that question, and so I sort of gave inadequate answers that probably left my poor Followers more confused than before.

The Problem
I've started to see this question appear publicly and have seen some important G+ users attempt to answer those questions in a general sense. Often times it boils down to: try and be an active part of the community, surround yourself by people with your interests - carefully curate your circles, take part in conversations and so on. I believe these answers are quite good, and I've given similar if not exactly the same advice from post to post, time and time again. However, I was never certain that these tips were ever complete... there is something missing.

I finally realized what I think has been the "missing" tip:

Don't let amassing Followers be your goal but rather a means to a much more important end; exploring your passions.

This is what is tripping many people up. Having a huge number next to your name is equated with social media success - we have seen this on Twitter... Facebook... Tumblr... et al. So what? What is important about having a ton of people Following you? With Google+, we have the chance to start clean - instead of amassing Followers for the sake of amassing Followers - why not amassing Followers for the sake of a personal goal. Maybe you want to share awesome gluten-free cooking recipes... you're an amateur photographer looking for feedback... you want to teach people how to saddle a horse... you have a stunning and varied gif collection... you want to engage in critical analysis of zombie apocalypse escape plans...

Ok then, having a lot of Followers provides you with a ton of benefits... you have more people to engage with - a host of unique perspectives - community encouragement. Guess what... if you're going out and talking about what you love - and you share that same passion with others... you won't have to go out and find Followers.

They'll find you

Don't Try So Hard

It is my theory (and my practice) that if you are genuine in your interactions and in your passion for whatever it is that you have passion - and that you actively make an effort to engage with others - and ignore the numbers entirely... that you'll get a lot more out G+. But... I could be wrong, let me know what you think.

Watson Edit: My good friend +Johnathan Chung is always watching out for me - if you're not a fan of my wishy-washy approach - +Robert Scoble posted a more concrete list of things you can do to gain more Followers. Enjoy :)

Robert Scoble's "Want more followers, here's the mistakes to avoid"
https://plus.google.com/111091089527727420853/posts/DYYfTb3f6jQ

Incredible nanotechnology - self-healing plastic skin!
nice job +Stanford University 

Material scientists at Stanford may have created synthetic skin better than the original. The plastic skin is conductive, sensitive to touch, and capable of repeatedly self-healing at room temperature.

and

The plastic skin has cyborg potential beyond its application in prosthetics. As ExtremeTech noted, in the long term, the plastic might be used to make self-healing electronic devices, or you might even elect to replace your fingertips (or other piece of skin) with the synthetic, bionic equivalent.

Mario Map of the World

So, which castle do you think Peach is in right now? North Dakota... New Zealand... Greenland... Russia... Poland... Saudi Arabia... The Outback?

RESHARE:
Via +Mike Elgan - New Cheat Sheet Infographic - enjoy all, very helpful!

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Complete G+ Cheat Sheet. Nice!

G+ Tip: YouTube tab allows more visceral sharing experience
How creating/sharing playlists on YouTube can open up opportunities to socialize in more meaningful ways

After reading: What have I missed? What are you planning to do with this new feature?

This just happened!

One of the best things about Google+ that I've mentioned again and again and again is the ability to have meaningful conversations that aren't limited by your relationship to another person being somewhat substantially existent offline (like Facebook) or being connected to the fetters of 140 characters (Twitter, obviously).

But wait... we just got the ability to open up a YouTube playlist and remain ON Google+ while we watch it...

Shut the front door and get to the point!

Have you ever asked a question on Google+? Have you ever answered one? Have you ever tried to show someone... something ? Let's say that I was a part of a burgeoning Google+ mambo dancing community, and I was discussing the benefits of New York style mambo over Puerto Rican style mambo and someone said, "Wait, what's New York style mambo?" - instead of just trying to explain the difference(s) - you can say, "Well, let me show you!" - and then you can share a playlist of Eddie Torres' New York style mambo lessons right there - no need to leave the site - no need to rely on your words to explain something that simply needs to be seen!

For me - I like to help people use Google+. I don't know how to make videos though, this is a playlist I would have shared with folks from the beginning that has a few tutorials and also some other interesting videos.

Also - this is useful for people who simply cannot articulate an answer to a question that you've asked. This is frustrating, because you can tell they KNOW the answer, but they just don't know how to... teach, maybe.

Show off your personality/interests without annoying people

I can use myself as an example for this one. A couple of Tuesdays ago - I started Tu(n)esday - where I share 3 tracks via YouTube. My ability to share has just grown and will allow me (if I remember) to share not just 3 tracks but an entire playlist. Because my tracks are a part of a playlist now - I can make themed playlists - I can customize the order in which they should be played etc.

If I had tried this before and created one long post - I could have only shared ONE video on G+ and the rest of the videos would have had to be links... so people would have to go back and forth just to see my playlist... not likely to happen.

Starting conversations here instead of on YouTube

We all know how those YouTube comment sections can get... fairly wild and ignorant. Now, when you share something worthy of conversation, you are sharing it with people with whom you want to speak about that video. You were able to do this before, for individual videos, but now you can do it with playlists... for example... you can have a playlist made up of Joaquin Phoenix's descent into pseudo-madness and talk about merit of such an experiment... or of course tell him to stick to Gladiator-type movies.

Also, according to +Moritz Tolxdorff:
https://plus.google.com/117596712775912423303/posts/7Xrfq4NRvm4

Youtube is getting an UI update soon. You can check it out before the official release with this trick.

1. Go to http://www.youtube.com
2. Press Ctrl + Shift and J to open the Developer Tools
3. Click on the "Console" Tab and enter
document.cookie="VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE=Eg7GsyKWzk8";
4. Reload the website and enjoy the new layout.

G+ Tip: Read this article on Upcoming G+ Features

Article (below) written by +Brian Krassenstein via +Matt Mastracci
visit the link to see pictures of the code on one of my favorite Google+ website www.plusheadlines.com


"Last night, and early this morning, a man named Matt Mastracci, was diving into the Google+ code in order to find a way for users to utilize the “Circle sharing,” feature before it actually rolled out to them. What he found was quite surprising. In several posts he made over a few hours span, Matt has revealed several pieces of code, which suggest many new features in the works for Google+ users. Here is a rundown of what he found, thanks to several posts on Google+, as well as his own blog post here.

Google Voice/Google+ Integration

It appears that soon users will be able to call other users on Google+ without having to reveal their own phone number. Perhaps there will be a “call” button on everyone’s profile, only available to those you have in specific circles. Here is a look at the source code that Matt found.


Google+ Wall Writing

It also appears as if users will soon be able to write on each other’s walls, sort of in the way that Facebook allows you to message people on their walls. The only difference is that, according to the code, and Matt, the messages will only be available to the person whose wall it is. This could equate to a faster way to message individual users without having to +”their name”. Below is a quick look at the code in which this feature is found.


Google+ Experts

Google may be about to roll out a product called “Google Experts,” which functions inside of Google+. It appears as if users will be able to ask experts questions, and the questions will function in a similar way to how posts on Google+ already function. This could be a Google Quora competitor integrated into their new social network. Below is a look at the code in which these features reside.


Google+ Privacy Presets

Privacy has been a major concern for Google while rolling out Google+. After the disaster with Buzz, they knew that they needed to get this one right. It appears that they will be implementing a Privacy preset box sometime in the future. Below is what it will likely look like once implemented. Thanks again to Matt.


New Photo Viewing Option

Last but not least, Matt also came across code suggesting a new option while viewing one’s photos. Users can now click to view photos from their messenger. If you recall, “Messenger,” is now Huddle, meaning that users will be able to view only the photos which were sent to them via messenger. Here is a look at how the new option will appear within one’s Google+ photo section.


Nobody knows when these feature will roll out, however, they seem to be coming along with surely many other new features in the works on Google+"

RESHARE:
+Ahmed Zeeshan released this G+ starter pack for all of the +Goobs out there 2 days ago! Wish I would have seen it then! This is another "Getting Started" post that is extremely well organized. Keep it bookmarked in a Bookmark Circle!

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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

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

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

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

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

- 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

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

Note to fellow veteran +ers:
> Please leave all feedback regarding the starter pack in the original thread here. It’s hard to track comments on posts elsewhere. I will incorporate your suggestions into the starter pack as best as I can.
> If you want to be a part of the “Who to follow on Google+” section or know someone who should be, please leave a comment prefixed with #whotofollow and your suggested category.
> If you want to have your plustips included in the article, please leave a comment prefixed with #plustip and the link to your tip.

Internet argument hangovers are worse than alcohol hangovers. You wake up feeling dirty, cheap, and you can't even say it was beer talking. You just want to say to yourself: "come on - you know better".

Everyone loses, folks. Everyone loses.

G+ Etiquette Tip: Avoid PlaG+rism. Give credit where credit is due.

This is a pretty common topic when you see posts regarding G+ etiquette, but, let's discuss what we can do to combat "PlaG+rism". When you see something that you think is worthy of a reshare - simply reshare that post. If you want to add a little commentary to the post - you can do so above where you've posted it (for an example, see 80% of my posts). Adding your own commentary is a good way to make a post your own and still crediting the OP, it adds to the discussion and perpetuates engagement and it also takes away from the sting of seeing something reshared over and over again if you have Circle duplicates or have people who run around in the same G+ micro-communities.

Why is it bad to ignore the OP (original poster)? If you share without crediting the source, you're basically touting about someone else's cleverness as your own. In the academic world, this is called plagiarism (and is more serious in that realm, which is why I've added the little G+ in the middle of it to avoid mixing it "srsbizness" if you catch my drift). All you have to do is allow that OP's name to stay on their original post when you reshare, it's so easy to give a nod to that person's content (which is obviously of use to you if you plan to reshare). Taking it without shooting some +1/share love to the OP is just not cool.

Furthermore, if they have created a piece of media this is doubly... triply... quadrup...ly... important!

Also, if you see someone with duplicate/possibly stolen information - don't immediately assume that they are doing that on purpose... they might not know (or believe) that this etiquette is a faux-pas. Instead of cussing them out/belittling them or what have you, simply post where the information came from in the comments!

If you want to be extra cool, you can even tag the OP in your commentary - this sort of action produces a notification that is different than a "reshare" notification - this is just an extra step to let the OP know that you are appreciative of their thought(s) AND will allow them to rejoin the conversation based on their original post... they might even post a follow-up which will heighten or increase the usefulness of their own idea(s). What are your thoughts?

Zach Braff responds to critics re: his Kickstarter Movie
nails it

If you have 17 minutes and care about this at all. Sit and listen to Braff's reasoning/thought process. He's got so many great points regarding his use of Kickstarter to fund part of his movie (which is NOT a sequel to Garden State)

Dig it.

More Bad Lip Reading

"Dude, you slapped a fish... you punched it."

G+ Tip: User-Generated Shared Circle Google Doc
a great resource for finding circles

While I'm not sure this is much different from group.as - this is a spreadsheet that is being constantly updated by G+ users... the spreadsheet gives the name of the shared circle, the author, the amount of users in the circle, categories and links to the post in which the circle was originally shared.

I suppose, then, the main difference is that you also get the benefit of following the OP commentary on that post and the discussion that takes place in the comments of that post...

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ao1OX3UN25EvdHRWR3lwWXQ0a0RhWnFuWml5RnJHdkE&hl=en_US#gid=0

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Awesome +LEGO 

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This reminded me a lot of +Carter Gibson's post about giving a shit about your customers.

Plus, it's LEGO. I love LEGO.

G+ Tip: Revisiting Old Tips
"New to you" is alive and well on G+, and also a Content-based introduction

Over the last few days (thanks to Floodgate), I'm sure many of us have seen a pick-up of activity, Followers, new faces, and maybe... a new vibe. What does vibe even mean? Do we use that word too much? It feels... different. I kinda like it.

Well, I want to sort of welcome folks again - a lot of people been finding me via different resources - and I haven't been able to say hey on an individual basis as much as I would like! So, if you're just now Following me - and are new to the Google+ platform - I have a little list of old posts that might help you get started/think about some stuff/ figure out the way the platform has been working in its early stages... also, these are some of my favorite articles of mine not because of the article itself, but because of the conversations attached to the articles... read the comments!

Some of these links are fairly old, and even some of my not-so-new Circlers may have missed them. I encourage you to interact with and reshare these posts - they aren't dead :).

(these are in no particular order. I've included the dates and a brief description of the link)

New users - Figure out what you want from your G+ Experience - Sep 20
https://plus.google.com/115516333681138986628/posts/8gxabAgrp7w
In this post I give advice on how to go about getting what you want from the G+ platform

Save this link - The Ultimate Google Plus Guide via +Johnathan Chung Sep 24
https://plus.google.com/115516333681138986628/posts/HyiTUVkxkcf
_Johnathan is one of the sociologyplus.com team members, and more importantly, the writer/compiler of the best Google Plus guide that you can find: the gold standard for all future guides.

How to Gain More Followers - and why this shouldn't be your goal Aug 30
https://plus.google.com/115516333681138986628/posts/Am3eWFfGWZu
This post was written in response to a trend of posts that I saw where people were asking how they could gain more Followers. I argue that quality interaction is better than the little number next to your "Added to Circles" section of your profile

The "How Did you Find Me?" Exercise Aug 23
https://plus.google.com/115516333681138986628/posts/W5qNjt1zrdi
A very important community building exercise/experiment I ran about a month ago. I say it's important because it lead me to come up with my original idea for sociologyplus.com

Using Google+ for Social Good Aug 11
https://plus.google.com/115516333681138986628/posts/8zaUJ7q9QDc
_During the London riots, I created another account called "London Riots Help" and later had to change the account name to +Ryan Crowe (my union jack account) to avoid being shut down. After my experience running that account - I blog about the strengths and weaknesses of using Google+ as a tool for social good in a crisis situation ( +Beth Kanter you might like this).

Keep Track of Who is Following You - Finding Jobs, Contacts, Conversations Aug 17
https://plus.google.com/115516333681138986628/posts/4CpUbSqTcQu
I talk about the importance of being aware of your networks and how to leverage those things if you're more business minded

G+ Etiquette Tip: A Few Reasons to Credit your Sources Aug 16
https://plus.google.com/115516333681138986628/posts/cBRwZiRz7mL
The importance of sharing, resharing and crediting your sources is examined here. Making sure to acknowledge those who have helped you find things on G+ has become a very important and expected interaction within the early G+ community. It's one of things that I would like to see become commonplace as the platform grows in numbers

Give Credit where Credit is Due July 18th
https://plus.google.com/115516333681138986628/posts/BHL9uDPMkLB
This is the early form of the article above... interesting maybe to see how some thing still fit and to watch the evolution of an idea

Stop Waiting for your Life to come to G+ Sep 23
https://plus.google.com/115516333681138986628/posts/eMQrA64FcHt
One of my most recent articles about creating the experience that you want on G+

Accurate.
stolen shamelessly from George Takei on FB

Ohhh my.

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Ooo neat! I want one.

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THE SOLAR-POWERED SHIP THAT CIRCUMNAVIGATED THE WORLD

On Sept 27, 2010, the MS Turanor PlanetSolar set sail from the port of Monaco to become the first solar-powered ship to circumnavigate the globe. On May 6, 2012, 587 days, 28 countries, 3 oceans, 11 seas and 60,006 km later, the PlanetSolar team achieved just that.

http://www.planetsolar.org/

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Can't resist a Pooh pun.

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A Day In The Life

G+ Tip: PreFab circles are coming... called "Groups"

Shared circles, a concept thrown around by many a G+ user, have apparently been a part of the plan all along. I am not surprised by this; shared circles were one of the first things I noticed missing and it would be ridiculous to think that a team built by Google to design their 3rd social network attempt would overlook this obvious social element!

While the article doesn't go into how these Groups will work - I theorize that they will work similarly to the PreFab circle concept I laid out some time ago. That is: users will be able to prepopular circles based on whatever criteria they deem appropriate, label that group and then provide a link (or some other means of sharing) that entire group with another user.

The groups will have many control options that I can see being a mirror of how Google Docs are currently moderated. I imagine there will be the option to allow anyone to edit and access, allow everyone to access (but not edit), and of course private access. Group messaging? Sure. Notifications to someone added to a Group? Probably. Though, that might get annoying for high-profile users.

What else would be useful for a Group management dashboard?

http://allthingsd.com/20110721/frid-ge-acquired-by-google-to-build-groups-in-google/

Story of my life.

G+ Tip: Interact with this post: The "how did you find me?" Exercise
Encouraging interaction, personalized tagging and community building

Hello all - full disclosure - this is to satisfy some of my own burning curiosities . However, the way I am going to ask that you respond to this post will benefit those who choose to read through the comments. I'd love to see more power users utilize this great community building exercise. I believe that with proper/widespread interaction - these sorts of posts will be building blocks for generating user-approved communities.

Note: The following exercise requires a little time - it might be useful for you to comment - answering 1 question, and come back to fill out the rest when you have more time/energy.

Here is what I'd like you to do if you have the time, and/or patience. Of course, any comments are welcome even if you don't do the 5 steps. I understand that this might be a lengthy endeavor.

1.) How did you find me? - Was it another person/thread/re-share/off-site/etc. (no biggie if you don't remember)
2.) What sorts of users/interests do you follow on G+? How do you interact with these users or interest groups? Circles? Sites?
3.) List at least 3 other users that you find useful - try to connect them with your interests in #2.
4.) Tag at least one person to whom you think this post would be useful. For example, if you have a photography friend - say: Hey +Friend some of this info might help you out.
5.) List at least 1 interesting G+ User who has LESS than 4k Followers.

Why is this useful?

Let's go by the numbers:

1.) It will help me to thank those who are namedropping me - returning appreciation is such a valuable apart of the G+ community, that I'd hate to miss thanking people/groups. By listing the source - you will also inspire them to come to the thread and take part... this should be like a snowball effect... more tags, bigger community involvement.

2.) This will allow people to see if they should follow you! When you start describing the manner in which you interact with users/groups etc... you will be able to show that you can be a resource for finding other users/pieces of content that are relevant to your interests if not just a conversation buddy. For example: I like social media news - I follow Mashable employees, and popular bloggers - I often interact with them via posts/reshare their information and join them in hangouts.

3.) This is sort of an expansion of #2. It helps create a community around your interest or a power user who is related to your interests (just see the amazing communities that surround +Christina Trapolino +Trey Ratcliff or +Mike Elgan ). Now, not only will people be able to add you to their (whatever) circle, but they can start building that circle and filling it with hand-picked recommended users.

4.) Personalized interaction is so key on G+. Why is it so easy to pull individuals into a conversation? Perhaps the answer isn't as important as the reason that the question was asked. By inviting a specific individual to a conversation you are encouraging that person to interact and providing a specific call to action. Vague advice like, "Find people" isn't a great motivator for some.

5.) Explore the non-"power" users. There is clearly a popular and well followed crowd on Google+. Supreme power users like +Robert Scoble +Tom Anderson +Chris Pirillo et al see thousands and thousands of Follower additions probably weekly. And they deserve it (at least the ones I mentioned - Zuck probably doesn't). But leave those people up in #2 and #3. There are tons of G+ users with AMAZING talents and things to say that simply get left out in most "List your top 5 favorite user" posts. So, find your favorite users with under 4k - and tell us a little about them. I bet they'll appreciate it!

Watson Edit: I added "(no biggie if you don't remember)" to question 1. I hope that does't stop people from going through the rest of the exercise :)

I added "Of course, any comments are welcome even if you don't do the 5 steps. I understand that this might be a lengthy endeavor." via suggestion by +Youssef Hachhouch - to make this an all interactions welcome sort of post.

Added the "Note" - to encourage interaction even if time doesn't permit the full exercise.

In my quest to document all Internet curiosities:
goats yelling like humans might be one of my favorite Internet oddities

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G+ Tip: Tagging upgrade! AND possible G+ upgrades watch

Thanks to +Mickey Mellen for posting this. Excellent upgrade! Sorry to drop two on you so quickly - looks like Google is making changes today. I'll keep an eye out and inform you as quickly as I can!

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Google just dropped an awesome but subtle tagging upgrade on us. When posting a comment, the +person search feature will now find previous commenters in that thread first, then show matches from your circles, then search the rest of Google+.

Before, it would only search your circles and then the rest of Google+, often making it difficult to tag someone in a comment if they weren't already in your circles.

Awesome!