Labels
Posted by

GooglePlus - The bigger picture

Here's a secret.
I understand GooglePlus ... You (probably) don't.

You may have already have decided that you "hate" GooglePlus, I get that, but without the full picture you'd have been premature. You would allow yourself to change your mind though wouldn't you?

Deciding whether one likes or dislikes something should be done with as much understanding as one can glean, right?

See the bigger picture ...

Rather than try to explain how to use GooglePlus I thought I could just show you about a few days worth of my posts; with some notes about my intention in making each.

Some were posted publicly and some were made privately. It's this invisible activity that's impossible to "see" from outside GooglePlus looking in.

This list of posts is pretty quick to scan through. Each entry contains a link to the post, though links to any private posts will not work if you were not a part of the audience that the post was shared with.

Try not to focus on what the each post is about, but consider instead the post's scope.  Here goes ...


My intent: discuss a suggestion I had for GooglePlus in the private Google+ Beta Tester Community
  • Post visibility: Limited
  • Post type: Community
  • Potential audience: Undisclosed 
  • Post activity: Twenty people.
Notes: I'm being cagey about potential audience for this post. People outside of the beta program could take a number and consider that means X or Y, which it probably doesn't.
The idea of talking about the platform with enthusiastic GooglePlus users, Google developers and Google product managers is an intriguing prospect. Even if it's not always as rosy or functional as it could be.



My intent: to share highly relevant content with a very specific audience.
  • Post visibility: Public
  • Post type: Community
  • Potential audience: +80k
  • Post activity: around seventy people.
Notes: I was at Goodwood Festival of Speed (for work). I snapped a photo of two Mustangs, old and new, while heading back to the hotel: which I then shared with ... people who like Ford photos.



My intent: while out of the office I wanted to discuss a topic with work colleagues, who might be interested.
  • Post visibility: Limited
  • Post type: Community
  • Potential audience: Undisclosed
  • Post activity: an active discussion between me and two other people over a couple of days. 
Notes: Why not email? Well it wasn't a high priority, but was possibly relevant and interesting for community members, (people I work with) to have visibility of. Only active participants continue  to receive further notifications.



My intent: share some public live content from behind the start line at Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Notes: I use Friends+Me to tweet some GooglePlus posts. Specifically I have it set up to tweet my public (non-community) GooglePlus posts with a link back to the GooglePlus post, where most of the conversation tends to be.



My intent: share a picture of someone with that person.
  • Post visibility: Limited (but not locked)
  • Post type: Standard
  • Potential audience: One
  • Actual audience: One.
Notes: I took a photo of Davy, which he asked to have. All my photos go to GooglePhotos so I created a link and shared that just with Davy in my "OutBox" (collection).



My intent: share a nail-biting England world cup match with online friends.
  • Post visibility: Limited
  • Post type: Standard
  • Potential audience: "My Circles"
  • Post activity: Nine people.
Notes: My Circles in this context means only the circles I include in "My Circles".
For example I work on social in an automotive position currently, so I follow the activity of a lot of automotive brands: but those brand profiles are exclude from "My Circles" - TL;DR only standard profiles from people I like, know, or interact with regularly could have seen this post.

Once the match was over the post was "closed" by turning off further comments.




My intent: share a fun out-of-office update with work friends.
  • Post visibility: Public
  • Post type: Community
  • Potential audience: 42
  • Actual audience: six people.
Notes: I'd hoped to get more comments and photos from work friends watching the same game elsewhere TBH, but comprehension and enthusiasm for Sea Containers Social is still building. If you work in the building and haven't heard about it yet come and see me and I'll help you get set up.



My intent: request approval.
  • Post visibility: Limited
  • Post type: Standard
  • Potential audience: three approvers (currently)
  • Actual audience: three people (currently).
Notes: this is a very nerdy but beautiful solution for ticking a box.
I wrote about this a bit before, unless you're a full on geek / nerd you won't appreciate what an excellent flexible solution to a common problem this is.





My intent: bang my head against a brick wall.
  • Post visibility: Limited
  • Post type: Standard
  • Potential audience: One
  • Actual audience: One

Notes: sometimes I see people moaning about how GooglePlus is shit on Twitter and I'll try engaging with them privately on GooglePlus. Because it's possible and potentially interesting, if people thought about it.
Twitter does not have the same flexibility or communication potential. Can you link to a DM? Lock a conversation, open up a private conversation, finish one? No.



My intent: tease future content with the Ford Photo Community.
  • Post visibility: Public
  • Post type: Standard
  • Potential audience: +80k
  • Actual audience: +50 people.
Notes: the playful split image nature of the post works better on mobile than desktop, as it does on Instagram too.



My intent: monitor a potential online issue.
  • Post visibility: Limited
  • Post type: Standard
  • Potential audience: four
  • Actual audience: zero
Notes: of the four people I mentioned I am not aware if any have made choices about how notifications are delivered to them. The post was probably seen by one or two people, but I received no indication directly whether that was the case. The potential issue did not escalate.



My intent: shared a video in the video category in the Ford Photo Community.
  • Post visibility: Public
  • Post type: Community
  • Potential audience: +80k
  • Actual audience: four people.
Notes: the video share was more a test of YouTube's mobile App which offers an improved experience for different video formats like square or vertical video on mobile.



My intent: fun.
  • Post visibility: Limited
  • Post type: Standard
  • Potential audience: One
  • Actual audience: One
Notes: fun stuff with someone I work with.



My intent: collective fun.
  • Post visibility: Limited
  • Post type: Community
  • Potential audience: Undisclosed
  • Actual audience: One.
Notes: this was actually a link-share of a public post.



My intent: provide requested information.
  • Post visibility: Limited (locked)
  • Post type: Standard
  • Potential audience: One
  • Actual audience: One
Notes: passwords and IT support. The stuff of dreams.



My intent: help someone.
  • Post visibility: Public
  • Post type: Standard
  • Potential audience: sixty one
  • Actual audience: eight people.
Notes: my Meanwhile on Twitter collection is default following off. Meaning is something I do more just for fun than for an audience. It's like my Squeezing Your Head or Me & ... collections which,  unlike default following on collections are not followed by default when people who follow my profile.



My intent: share my hangover.
  • Post visibility: Limited
  • Post type: Standard
  • Potential audience: "My Circles"
  • Actual audience: four people.
Notes: shared an unlisted video of my flaming cocktail from the night before. With "My Circles" i.e. the people (not brands) I follow.



My intent: engage in a private conversation with a person I saw on LinkedIn.
  • Post visibility: Limited (not locked)
  • Post type: Standard
  • Potential audience: One
  • Actual audience: One.
Notes: I saw a B2B marketing course Ad on LinkedIn with text which read: "Improve Your Google+ Skills". The GooglePlus section of the course was very basic and I wondered if the person who was promoted (Luan Wise) would be reachable on GooglePlus. She responded. We had an interesting conversation and plan to chat further.



My intent: poke a friend about their entry onto Instagram.
  • Post visibility: Limited (not locked)
  • Post type: Standard
  • Potential audience: One
  • Actual audience: One.
Notes: I stopped posting personally on Instagram over two years ago, because I like people being able to share my public content without taking it.
I've used a default-following-off collection to post edited images since then, which are public posts which can be shared and are also tweeted.




My intent: demonstrate private social communication.
  • Post visibility: Limited (not locked)
  • Post type: Standard
  • Potential audience: Two
  • Actual audience: Two.
Notes: I enjoy real-world conversations about social, during which people are often nonplussed when I insist that Facebook is basically anti-social. Person A (you) cannot share a private post to an audience which includes person B (me). While having such a conversation, out on a Happening London meet up, I shared a private (social) post with the two people I was in conversation with, one of whom I have not met previously. Without using a any private token like an email address or mobile phone number etc.




My intent: highlight what the "Focus Letters" looked like to colleagues.
  • Post visibility: Public
  • Post type: Community
  • Potential audience: 42
  • Actual audience: two people.

Notes: lots of people I work with have been involved with the "Focus Letters" which stopped off in London. I'd shared it on Happening London and thought some, who might not get to see the installation in person, might be interested.




My intent: private fun.
  • Post visibility: Limited
  • Post type: Standard
  • Potential audience: One
  • Actual audience: One.
Notes: silly, but fun stuff, with a work colleague.



My intent: geeky fun.
  • Post visibility: Public / auto Tweeted
  • Post type: Standard
  • Potential audience: +12k
  • Active audience: seventeen people.
Notes: just for fun I posted in binary. I am not sure this would garner a response on other networks TBH, but people on GooglePlus like a challenge.
It kept me entertained while I walked home, after which I closed the post.



My intent: talk to an influencer.
  • Post visibility: Limited (not locked)
  • Post type: Standard
  • Potential audience: One
  • Actual audience: One.
Notes: outreached to the only tech writer who uses GooglePlus.
I did not hear back, but TBH they probably get thousands of such private message attempts daily, subsequently I'll likely fall outside what they have allowed for notifications.



My intent: highlight content usage to colleagues.
  • Post visibility: Limited
  • Post type: Standard
  • Potential audience: Undisclosed
  • Actual audience: no activity.
Notes: more a heads-up than a discussion post. No activity to indicate the number of community members who saw the post.



My intent: highlight my view that the term "social media marketing" is made up of two different things.
  • Post visibility: Public / auto Tweeted
  • Post Type: Standard
  • Potential audience: +12k
  • Actual audience: fourteen people.
Notes: I'd really quite like to talk to "marketing" people more often: but marketing people don't generally do social.



My intent: rolling my eyes at a LinkedIn video Ad for Facebook video Ads.
  • Post visibility: Public / auto Tweeted
  • Post type: Standard
  • Potential audience: +12k
  • Actual audience: six people.
Notes: do people want ads in their stream? I like a social stream that's Ad free.



My intent: share a yummy London eating experience with London foodies.
  • Post visibility: Public
  • Post type: Community
  • Potential audience: 96 plus Twitter
  • Actual audience: two people.
Notes: this community is part of the Happening London Community Network. Which has the makings of something interesting, but isn't there yet. Community posts are shared on Twitter and appear on the Happening London site.




My intent: shared a new feature I spotted in GooglePlay Music.
  • Post visibility: Public / auto Tweeted
  • Post type: Standard
  • Potential audience: +12k
  • Actual audience: fourteen people.
Notes: more engagement on GooglePlus than on Twitter.




My intent: shared a change I spotted on Instagram (web).
  • Post visibility: Public / auto Tweeted
  • Post type: Standard
  • Potential audience: +12k
  • Actual audience: six people.
Notes: whenever I spot changes in the way social media channels work I tend to share that info in my "Social Media" collection.

TL;DR

  • 40 Posts listed
  • 14 are public posts
  • 10 are community posts

There are two different views about GooglePlus as a platform.

1: GooglePlus Non-users - Outsiders
People "outside" of the platform looking in can see only public content. Their understanding about the platform is build around what they can see, which is not the larger picture.

2: GooglePlus Users - Insiders
People who use GooglePlus. People who use or have used GooglePlus can be more informed than outsiders, but in reality many "users" are not really insiders.

Many post publicly only, with the belief that doing so has an effect on their search engine placement.

Actual "insiders" are people who use the platform across the full spectrum: from public posting to one-on-one private posts and everything between. That's part of the bigger picture.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts