Google unveiled its top secret social network on June 28th and it already has 10 million plus users. If you have received an invite and don’t know where to start or just want to know more about it, these 34 quick guides, tips, and tricks should help you learn everything you need to know.
Google+ Guides
1. Google+: The complete Guide. via Mashable.com
2. How to make the most of Google+. via Lifehacker.com
3. Getting started with Google+ via MakeUseOf.com
4. Getting started with Google+. via ChrisBrogan.com
5. Everything You Need to Know About Google Plus and Photos. via Wired.com
6. This Is What It’s Like to Actually Use Google+, Google’s New Social Network [Video]. via Lifehacker.com
7. Google+ explained in 5 short videos. via BusinessInsider.com
8. Concerned about privacy? Here are 5 settings you need to know.
Google+ Privacy: 5 Settings You Need to Know. via CIO.com
9. Still not sure about G+? Chris Brogan gives a good breakdown about what you need to know about Google+.
10 Things CMOs Need To Know About Google.+ via Forbes
10. Concerned about the photos you post to G+?
Getty Images Says Google Plus Terms of Service is “OK” via ReadWriteWeb.com
11. A how-to guide about Google+ created by users and hosted on Google Docs.
Google+ Tips and Tricks via pcworld.com
Google+ Tips & Tricks
12. Sync your G+ updates to other social networks including Twitter and Facebook with Agent G.
Sync Google Plus to Twitter, Facebook & Identi.ca with Agent G via ReadWriteWeb.com
13. Do you want to read your G+ updates in a RSS reader? You can by creating a RSS feed for your Google+ profiles.
HOW TO: Make RSS Feeds for Google+ Profiles via Mashable.com
14. Here is a quick reference guide to some G+ tricks and tips.
Google+ Cheat Sheet via BuzzFeed.com
15. Lifehacker shows you how to use G+ to post your status updates to Facebook. All you need is your Facebook mobile email address and a separate G+ circle.
Update your Facebook status via Google+ without an extension. via Lifehacker.com
16. This video shows you how to easily transfer your Facebook friends to Google+.
How to easily transfer your Facebook friends to Google+ [video] via Alltop.com
17. Your G+ account is tied to your Google profile. Google will not allow anymore private profiles after July 31st.
There Will Be No More Private Google Profiles After July 31 — Here’s What That Means. via BusinessInsider.com
18. Move2Picasa is a web service that will move all of your Facebook photos to G+.
How To Move Your Facebook Photos To Picasa (Soon, Google Photos) In A Flash. via TechCrunch.
19. You can use G+ to help build your personal brand.
5 Ways To Build Your Personal Brand On Google+. via OpenForum.com
20. Do you use Evernote to help stay organized? Now you can share G+ content directly into Evernote.
Share Google+ Content Directly Into Evernote. via Evernote.com
21. Add a Google+ widget to your blog or website for people to follow you.
Google Plus Widget via widgetplus.com
22. Add a G+ widget to your WordPress blog for linking directly to your Google+ profile.
googleCards via WordPress.org.
23. You can share something you find on G+ to your Posterous, Tumblr, or WordPress blog.
Create a circle and add your posterous email address. Then when you find something your want to post, share it to that circle and make sure the Also email box is clicked and G+ will post to your Posterous Blog – this would also work with Evernote and any other email based tool.
Tip and instructions via John Jantsch.
24. How to publish your G+ public feed to your WordPress blog.
I’m sure badges and widgets are coming for G+ but until they do here’s how I published a mini G+ feed on my blog.
First - find you profile #. Then simply use this tool from plusfeed to create an RSS URL with your # -http://plusfeed.appspot.com/yourprofilenumber here, this is an RSS feed for my G+ public feed only (you can actually do this for any public feed if you wanted to publish other people’s feed)
Next I took the RSS feed above and burned it at Feedburner (I know, another Google property.)
Feedburner has a feature called BuzzBoost that makes it pretty easy to republish an RSS and produces the code you need for your widget.
Take that code and create a text widget in WordPress, place it in your theme (you might also add a link back to your profile) and that’s it.
Tip and instructions via John Jantsch.
25. Simple way to give the illusion of an embedded slideshow here on G+.
Upload a series of slides as individual jpegs into a single album on the photo tab and then share the album and the first image shows with a series of images below – make sure you upload them in the order you want with first upload being first slide. Here’s an example.
Tip and text via John Jantsch.
26. Export and backup your G+ stream and +1 sites with Google Takeout.
Google Takeout via Google.com
27. Find public G+ hangouts to join. gphangouts offers a directory of public Hangouts anyone can join. The site shows when the Hangouts are starting and topics to be discussed.
gphangouts via Lifehacker.com
Google+ Extensions and Downloads
28. Download the Enhancer userscript to show the unread item count for Gmail, Reader, and Calendar to G+. It works with Firefox, Chrome, and Opera browsers.
Google+ Enhancer Adds Unread Item Counts for Gmail, Reader, and Calendar to Google+ via Lifehacker.
29. Usability Boost is a Chrome extension will make the Google plus pages flow quite nicely visually. It separates posts and comments. It’s small CSS changes that put the focus on the content. It also fixes the position of the Google navigation bar at the top so it does not get out of sight when you scroll down.
Usability Boost for Google Plus via Chrome Web Store.
30. Google+Facebook is a Firefox and Chrome extension that allows you to connect with your Facebook friends right inside Google+. The extension puts your Facebook news feed into your Google+ interface.
Firefox Add-on: Connect with your Facebook friends inside Google+ via Technology Cloud.
31. Surplus is a Chrome extension that allows you to post and respond to your G+ circles without having to visit a Google site.
Surplus for Chrome Puts Google Plus Everywhere You Browse. Via Lifehacker
32. GTools+ is an extension that allows you to customize the layout and also adds functionality to Google services. It adds a notification counter for Gmail and also Google Reader on the Google+ bar and also allows you some tweaks for your account.
GTools+ Adds Customization Options to Google+ via NirmalTv.com
33. Google+ Ultimate is a Chrome add-on that completely changes the look and feel of Google+.
Google+ Ultimate via Lifehacker.com
34. Google+ Tweaks is another Chrome add-on that changes the layout and design of G+. Safari and Firefox users can use the Adhik addon.
Google+ Tweaks and Adhik via Lifehacker.com
35. Google+ Manager is a Chrome and Firefox extension that adds shortcuts for common Google+ actions.
Google+ Manager for Chrome and Firefox via Lifehacker.com
Just for Fun
1. Do you need some G+ icons for your website? You can download some for free.
Google+ icons. via Dribble.com
2. There is a new G+ URL shotner, G.co, is coming soon.
Google Buys G.Co To Create An Official URL Shortcut For Google Products. via TechCrunch.
3. Google+ for businesses are coming soon.
Over 36,000 businesses may have already signed up for Google+. via TNW.com
4. Is G+ a Facebook killer? Mark Zuckerburg doesn’t think so.
Mark Zuckerburg explains why Google+ won’t beat Facebook (yet). via BusinessInsider
5. Don’t try to put a G+ add on Facebook. Facebook will suspend all of your campaigns.
Google+ Ad On Facebook Is Banned. via TechCrunch.
6. Even though the search giant Google created G+, you can’t search within Google+. But that will be fixed one day soon.
Why Can’t You Search Google+ On Google+? via TechCrunch.
7. How good are G+ Hangouts. They must be good because Dell wants to use them for customer service.
Dell wants to use Google+ Hangouts for customer service. via Gigaom.
8. Google+ might not be a Facebook killer but it does have some killer features.
Five ways Facebook can fight back against Google+. via Macworld.com
9. Will G+ affect Search Engine Optimization?
7 Google Plus Data Points That Could Change SEO. via IgniteSocialMedia.com
How Will Google Plus Affect SEO? via ReadWriteWeb.com
10. Google Plus Doesn’t Need to ‘Kill’ Anything to Be a Winner. via allBusiness.com
11. Google announced it has 10 million Plus users and 1 billion items are shared each day on G+.
Google+ officially tops 10 million users via CNet.com
12. Find the top 100 most popular Google+ users according their followers.
SocialStatistics.com
13. Download the official Google+ iPhone and Android app.
iTunes Link and Android Market Link.
The bottom line
While you might be hesitant to try and learn a new social network, Chris Brogan recommends to think of it as “communication backbone” instead of a “social network”. It allows for private collaboration and works with email instead of replacing it.
Google+ is still an infant with new features on the way. Will Google+ last? I am not sure but Google is definitely committed to it. It will impact search and at the very least you should set up an account for your business once business accounts are supported.
Have you tried Google Plus? What do you think so far?
And be sure and follow me on Google+.
{ 2 comments }
Wow, this is a great post to bookmark. Thanks, Bryan. I notice you don’t have a +1 button yet. Porque no?
Gracias Ryan. I guess I need to add the +1 button! I did install the Google+ Add to Circles plugin on my another of my blogs, it works well.