google+

[dawgdoc]

I also am able to share an invite or two. Artouk or jtaylor, if either of you still need an invite, send an email or PM. Same as the others above.

Like it was suggested by a couple above, I started a LMUsers circle.

[SimonTS]

If anyone wants to add me to the LMUsers circle (I have no idea how to find it in G+ any other way) I am https://plus.google.com/101725245198257698004

And if anyone wants an invite, I've also got invites available at the moment.

[Reorx]

Google are generally better trusted to deliver a decent product, I can see this taking off. Not quite sure it's for me but it may turn into a social issue where it's just easier to join that constantly resist.

I dunno... resisting is pretty easy... not joining requires no effort...

[dawgdoc]

Simon,

I just added you to my LinuxMint Users circle. The circle was not there to find. I created a new circle for the purpose.

This separation of groups of people keeps it so that you do not have to hear how many miles I have bicycled today. Or how many lives I saved because the parachutes I packed opened successfully.

[dawgdoc]

Perusing some Google+ profiles of users w/ common interests I came across numbers indicating that Google+ is expected to surpass 10,000,000 worldwide users tomorrow.

[Elmacus]

I need invite: edited*

Sent from Android using tapatalk.

[SimonTS]

I'll send you an invite, but you might want to remove your email address from that post

[Coaihim]

I can share a few invites too.

I do believe "circles" are not global. In other words, you create your own circles, for no one else to see, from the people you know.

[myrjon1]

have some goggle invites pm your gmail address

[Elmacus]

Got it.
PM me for invite and circle.

[psykotik]

...so they will flock to a Google branded network, even if it's just the same as Facebook.

from xkcd.com sometime last week

Google+ should over throw facepoop. Hopefully because there is no such thing as FARMVILLE on google+
and i hope it stays that way.

[dawgdoc]

I can be found here: https://plus.google.com/103198857718269795435/about

and added if you choose to.

[Kendall]

I'm also on there. Search for "Kendall Weaver" and you'll find me.

[dawgdoc]

Facebook is fighting back with Microsoft's help. This article at TechRepublic by Debra Littlejohn Shinder discusses the alliance between Facebook and Microsoft and its ramifications regarding Google.

The point of the article:

Takeaway: A close partnership between Microsoft and Facebook may just be the unholy alliance required to thwart Google and their plans for world domination.

An article at eWeek estimated that as of July 11 there were 5 to 9 million US users of Google+.

The TechRepublic article says how Google has "upped the ante" with new and improved functionality. Part of the new is the Hangouts, online video chat. Recall that Microsoft invested 1/4 billion dollars in Facebook back in '07. Facebook is using that in its attempt to fight back with it's own video chat service. They are going to incorporate Skype video chatting but seem to be pulling their punches. The article says

The Facebook video chat functionality allows you to interact with only one person at a time, and you must be friends with that person. With Google+, you can “hang out” with up to 20 other members in a virtual video-enabled chat room, and you can chat with people who aren’t necessarily in your circles.

The author thinks Facebook's video chat is not yet incorporating group chat because this is a pay extra feature with Skype. She goes on to say that MS will have to participate at a greater level to bring Facebook upto Google's level in competing on other than a social networking level.

If Microsoft incorporated Bing search, Office Web Apps, Windows Live Hotmail, Xbox Live video, and other services it already has into Facebook, Zuckerberg’s social network would have a much better chance of countering Google’s moves.

How about that for some food for thought. See the full article for more detail.

[dawgdoc]

For those of you who use Chrome as a browser, this article at Mashable may be of interest 5 Chrome Extensions That Improve Google+. The extension titles with description are:

G+ Count in Title -- Adds notification count to the document title in the page tab.

G+ Extended -- Additional shortcuts for G+. Including +1 (+), share (s) and expand comments (e).

Helper for Google+ -- Get desktop notifications on new posts. Share Posts via twitter. Translate posts with Google Translate.
Linked #hashtags. Search in posts and profiles directly from your omnibox.
+Comment Toggle -- Allows you to hide/show comments on Google+

Extended Share for Google Plus -- Extends Google+ to share to Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

[Goggles2114]

The lack of farmville and integration attracted me to Google+.

Now, fears over manditory integration aside I have to say the profile creation process feels very privecy friendly. After all you get to pick what, if anything, you share and with who. Plus each time you post you get to decide who sees it.

The circle thing is a vast improvement over facebook's 'friends or everyone' system.

However if a farmville like system ever crops up I am leaving. Period.

If anyone is interested I can be found here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/116748891402435741369/about

[zerozero]

I'm in as well, just look for ami x, still learning how to use it though

[MALsPa]

Google+ sounds pretty good, but I'm gonna pass on it. I'm okay without that sort of thing.

I dunno... resisting is pretty easy... not joining requires no effort...

Yep.

[linuxviolin]

Google +? My God! Another useless and silly cr** by Google this time...

[Kendall]

Google +? My God! Another useless and silly cr** by Google this time...

I wouldn't go so far as to call it useless and silly. I already know of businesses that are incorporating the "Hangout" functionality to facilitate inter-office communication, and are already showing productivity gains as a result. The post/comment structure isn't as powerful as Wave for whiteboarding and project management, but it's close. I'm mostly interested in seeing how well it integrates with Google Apps for Business in the future as this could be a major revolution in business communication. I'm probably going to shift the vast majority of the internal communication in Peppermint over to Google+ in the coming weeks in order to take advantage of a lot of it's functionality. Anything I can do to consolidate communication into a solution that offers more availability with less effort with advantageous as it frees up a lot of time for working on actual projects.

Of course you're free to disagree with me and write it off as a load of uselessness, but as a business owner I spend a lot of time thinking about the overall efficiency of my business. Tools that ease communication and integrate well with the other tools we're already using are more valuable than you think. Of course I could be wrong and the only way to do real business is with land lines and fax machines.