I’ve thought about keeping my mouth shut about Google Plus. It’s really tempting to just…not get into that conversation. Who has any freaking clue what it’s going to kill or who’s going to be using it six months from now? No one.
But I can’t resist. Must. Give. Two cents. Does narcissism know no bounds?
The thing is, I’m amazed at how quickly I went from non-plussed (heh…I’m funny sometimes) to holy cow, this is the best thing ever. To the point where I’m starting to suspect that my Twitter feed is a jumbled mess in comparison (blasphemy!) and that Facebook is the most inefficient waste (which is a bit of an exaggeration, but still). And just a couple of days ago, I was perfectly fine with them.
I blame these stupid circles!
First of all, I am going to forever be calling it Googley-Poo because of Chuck’s awesome article on his initial reactions (hat tip to Cali for sharing. I laughed forever.) And at first I shared his frustration with circles — who really wants to categorize every single person they’re following? It seems…hard. And…I don’t wanna.
But I could totally see the value. I can share my family stuff with other moms and dads who will nod in appreciation at the cuteness. I can share stuff with the folks that are doing the Hot Dates…and only them. I can pay more attention to what our clients are doing. I can pay less attention to anyone who I don’t have any kind of connection to. But again…hard?
Well, it’s turning out to be not hard at all. Probably because it’s about starting completely over. I’m not having to go through and categorize 5,000+ Twitter followers. I’m not trying to “migrate” anything or obtain ridiculous numbers. It’s new. I’m starting fresh. I’m starting intentionally. And I can take all of the stuff I’ve learned (good and bad) and apply it to the way I use this new network.
And also because Google Plus makes adding people to circles so extremely easy and fast. If you already have them created, it just falls right into your workflow. If you don’t have them created, you’ll be going more than a little bit nuts trying to figure out where to put people.
It’s circle time! Gather ’round children.
My epiphany was when I discovered that there are really two “types” of circles that I needed to create. One type for listening and one type for sharing. And then I have a third type for bookmarking that I haven’t started using yet.
I also did a little naming kung-fu to get the same types of circles to show up alphabetically together. Examples, you ask? Why sure!
Circles for reading
Nearly everyone I follow has a main “thing” that they talk about and are interested in. And it’s pretty simple for me to decide what that is on the fly (except for people I’m test-driving…more on that later). Circles I’ve created for that:
- *Respect: This one has an asterisk next to it so that it shows up at the very top of my circles. Kind of like in Gmail when you have a label that you want to show up at the top of the list for easy access. This circle is for people that I respect in a deep way. People who consistently help me to grow with the conversations that they have and the things that they share. It’s really important to me to surround myself with people who grow my thinking rather than repeat the same things I tell myself all the time.
- *Weekly: This is a circle of people who I’m interested in at the moment. And I update it weekly (hence…the weekly part).
- a | Art + Design: This one has an “a” in front of it to keep it with the other like-minded circles. Pretty much everyone I follow goes in one (rarely more) of the “a” circles.
- a | Business + Marketing: Funny, there are SO many people in this circle. It makes me laugh. We’re all marketers marketing to…each other. Makes a strong case for getting outside of your social networks to reach new clients and customers.
- a | Social Change: People who make a difference.
- a | Web + Tech: Nerds like me.
- a | Writing + Publishing: Professional writers/publishers/people in the book industry.
I’m sure I’ll add more as I get to know more people on Google Plus, but I’m asking myself, “Is this a topic I’m really interested in that adds to my knowledge and experience?” before creating a circle for it. Or before adding someone to a circle for that matter.
Circles for sharing
These are more toward the default circles that Google Plus starts you out with. Right now, mine are as follows:
- b | Acquaintances: Notice these are all “b” circles. To keep them together, you know. These are people that I know in real life but that I’m not close to.
- b | Clients: So that I can keep up with them more closely and regularly.
- b | Collaborators: People I’m currently partnering with/have partnered with in the past/am talking about partnering with in the future.
- b | Friends + Family: Mostly people who have no idea what I do for a living and think I speak another language (it’s baby pictures for them, all day).
- b | Hot Daters: So I can keep an eye on the people in the Hot Dates group (and send updates to them and only them). I’m also thinking about using the “Hangout” feature with them in the future…I think that’d be a cool way to do an impromptu live video Q+A session.
- b | Local: So that when I’m posting about the amazing restaurant that I’m at, I’m sharing it with people who actually care and can use that information.
- b | Loves Jesus: I’m really aware and respectful of other beliefs/backgrounds/hurts/skepticism around “religion” (I hate what that word means to so many people), but I would love to be able to share stuff I’m reading/experiencing in my spiritual life with people who won’t find it irrelevant or judgmental (judgmental-ism is something I both loathe and am hyper-aware of).
- b | Met in Person: People who I enjoy online that I’ve actually met in real life. These connections are usually stronger than the internet-only ones that I have (though not always).
- b | Moms + Dads: Again, so I’m sharing pictures and family stuff with people who won’t be bored to death by it.
- b | [name of studio goes here]: Haha…I’m not quite ready to spill the beans on the new name for S.Joy Studios. But it starts with a letter somewhere between M and T.
This is a list for our team. I can’t wait to try using it for collaboration. - b | Test Drive: People that I’ve found that seem interesting, but that I don’t know yet. As I get to know them, I’ll either remove them from the Test Drive list (if their info isn’t relevant to me) or I’ll put them in a more permanent circle.
Another thing I’m thinking about: Having a circle for folks who are subscribed to my sneak peeks list. That way, I can share behind-the-scenes info with them in a more impromptu way than an email list allows.
I. Am. Excited.
You can add me/see what I’m doing with it here. Are you on Google Plus? How are you using it (or not) so far? Am I the biggest nerd ever? (Don’t answer that.)
Posted on July 14, 2011 at 4:57 am 
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Funny, I categorize all the people I follow in Twitter into lists. I use Tweetdeck and the lists are columns. I think if I didn’t do that, I’d go nuts trying to follow the stream.
But in Google, I can see how it works differently because there is also a push. People in my circles can see stuff that I send to that circle even if they aren’t following me (though it’ll show up under “incoming” or somewhere that they may never check.
JoVE
Yeah, that’s definitely the big difference…you can not only read things from certain groups, but you can SEND things to certain groups. And I’m feeling like the managing G+ circles is a whole lot easier for me than Twitter lists, but maybe that’s because I’m doing it from the start.
The article is helpful. I am trying to give G+ a fair shake… it’s just there are some things I haven’t wrapped my head around and wishing there was a way to do certain things (which there probably is but I haven’t figured it out yet). Then there is the issue of will it replace Facebook or is it just another thing on the social media to do list? Le sigh.
Yeah, there’s definitely a learning curve to using the features that make it *better* (if you’re just using it like FB, there’s little learning curve there, but then…what’s the point?
I have to categorize people from where I met them. Otherwise, I get too confused about who they are and what history we’ve shared.
Yes, only the pentultimate middle child would care about the shared history. *shrugging*
Great! post though! Nice to see how you think, thus how to clarify my thinking!
No, I don’t think you’re the only one, Claudia. That’s one function of the “b” circles, and I’ll probably extend that as time goes on.
I’ve all but sworn off Twitter and Facebook. They’re kind of like ex-boyfriends now who are still desperately trying to be my friends after I married Google+ (and I will be very sad if my new husband dies). I like that you mention starting the new network ‘intentionally’, it’s how I’ve looked at it as well. A fresh start where I can more effectively use the time spent there to reach who I actually want to reach rather than just throwing the information out there and hoping the right people see it.
I love that Circles are so easy to make and use. And I think I’ll be stealing some of your organization structure. I admit there is something strangely therapeutic about wiping the slate clean and putting everyone into their places. And I say, more like scream, yes to the sneak peeks group!
Lastly, have you tried out Hangouts or Huddles? Wonder what your opinion is there.
I’m with you, Keeshia! I’d be sad if G+ dies too, but my hunch is that it’s here to stay. And maybe that’s just partially because I *want* it to now.
I haven’t tried Hangouts…and what’s a Huddle? (Just goes to show that we’re ALL walking blind in this space. Except maybe the folks at Google!)
Huddles are like group texting. It’s in the Google+ App so if you don’t have an Android for now you’re left out. My only issue with Google+ right now is the way the Hangouts camera works.
The whole starting over thing? I totally get it. Cleanse me, make me pure! I’ve been on Twitter less and less and FB more lately. I can’t really say why.
I’m kind of toying with the idea of moving to only *one* Social Media site. It’s too much work keeping three different sites active all the time.
And LinkedIn? You’ll be the first to go. I still don’t get you. I’m not interested in creating the perfect resume or trying to find a “job.” And I’ve never “dipped into” LinkedIn to find a resource for someone because I already know the people I would recommend anyway (hint: it’s not based on transparently reciprocated ego-feeding “recommendations”).
But now Googley-Poo comes along and looks very promising. It feels less cluttered.
I dig the circles because:
1. They’re private. Nobody else knows which circles I put them in.
2. I can put people in multiple circles.
3. It doesn’t depend on reciprocity (I won’t feel bad not friending someone I don’t even know but who will wonder why I didn’t friend them when I friended that other vague acquaintance we both share who also has nothing in common with either of our ideals, businesses, shared likes/dislikes, or need to hook up with divorced hotties).
4. My parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in one neat little place where I can post pictures of my toddler but not the four martinis I had in half an hour at New York, New York.
Sarah, if you’re the biggest nerd ever, I’m standing next to you with a silver medal.
100% with you, David. Especially on LinkedIn. Uggh. Maybe we can share the gold medal?
I too am excited about circles. On the other hand, they’ve made me realize that privacy is nearly all about *exclusion*.
To be concrete, I have two major hobbies online: geeky tech stuff and ultimate frisbee. I’ve already had the corresponding circles for quite sometime, but I recently realized that public is definitely the way to go with my posts regarding these topics. I very much want to err on the side of more unexpected people being piqued by these posts than someone feeling antagonized by the “extraneous” traffic. This is especially true since I’m never going to choose to “notify” an entire circle about my hobby findings.
The nub of it is that the potential benefit of someone really appreciating your post without you having had that individual in mind as an explicit member of the audience is a much more drastic upshot than the cost of such a person being bothered by having to skip (literally just scroll) past that post in their stream viewer. The corresponding rule of thumb is “make a post as widely visible as possible” (unless you’re choosing to “notify”). Since I have no shame about my hobbies, there’s never a reason for me to choose anything but public visibility.
The only time the circle is crucial is when there are certain individuals or kinds of person that I really don’t want to see the content of my post; circles are for exclusion. My personal thought is: why am I posting such content on *The Internet* in the first place? Draconian, I know, but I think it’s the bottom-line.
– The techie in my mind says that the way forward, then, is for subscribers to be able to train a “not interested” filter; much like spam filters. Their feed aggregator should provides ways for them to maintain clutter and provide (semi-)automated assistance.
Embarrassed to say that I don’t have a Google+ account. Anyone like to invite me? I would be grateful! Thanks.
Don’t be embarrassed; I’ve seriously only been on it for a couple of days. Just sent you an invite.
Sarah, I love your circles system and will be adopting my own version of it ASAP. Thank you once again for being my savvy guide to all things online. _/I_
This is incredible. I’ve been sitting around wondering about what to do about “sharing” vs “reading” circles — and by sitting around, I mean procrastinating on the issue — and you just fixed my issue for me with your brilliance.
You’re brilliant.
Wow, Sarah, you get the double win today!
I woke up this morning, logged on to my Google+, went “meh” and shut it down about 4.3 seconds later. Then I read your post and tried G+ again. This time the sun came out, birds started chirping and my outlook on life improved tenfold.
Thanks for the handy tips on using Circles. I honestly had no idea you could do that, so I copied you and created an Art+Design circle and plopped you and Naomi Niles in it. Bam! Dig it. Very cool. That in itself is way better than Facebook and Twitter combined in my opinion. Which tells you what I think of Facebook and Twitter.
That’s the first win.
Second win is you introduced me to Terrible Minds. That is one seriously twisted and funny dude. I wasted my entire day on his site, when I wasn’t wasting it on the Google.
Good on you!
Cheers and onward and keep kickin’ it and all that…
Charlie
Hm… Letters between M and T would be “ister”, of course. I pity the fools, by the way.
I am going to hire a private detective to find out which circle I am in.
And this post is just one more reason why I love you.
I think G+ is here to say and I’m totally with you–after falling into Twitter and facebook and merely coping it’s actually refreshing to start with a clean slate (that’s so easy and fun to use).
I’m totally going to adapt your a/b method. Genius!!!!!
Ahhh! I loove this way of using circles!
Also, I totally want to be in your “Loves Jesus” circle so I can see what you’re reading/thinking about.
I never would have thought of a circle just for that, but you’re totally right: I need one! I tend to keep quiet about the spiritual books I read (or conversations I have) for fear of offending or being exclusionary, but Circles fixes that.
Thanks bunches!
[...] these Circles will pretty much define your experience on Google Plus, you definitely want to read this great post by Sarah Bray in which she lays out a pretty neat system for setting up and categorizing [...]
I am so enjoying the circles. Love your post. Oh, found you on Devina (unplugged). I’m a subscriber. I definitely need to make a “loves Jesus” group also.
Thanks for your thoughts, and how you’ve organized those elusive circles. I just got started with G+, and it’s a little intimidating. I feel it’s more repetition…how many networks can a person really engage in??? I’ll try to follow you to see how your experience pans out.
I love this article you wrote on Google +! I know I want to get involved, but it just seems like I have been lost and haven’t known where to start with it. I keep hearing all these great things, but haven’t known how to do it. So this is good to know how to categorize and get people organized , and thank you for the hope that it will make sense one of these days!
Cheerio
-Melissa E Earle