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Google+: It's the hot social network on the block. In just three weeks, Google's competitor to Facebook and Twitter has amassed more than 10 million users, and its users are sharing more than 1 billion pieces of content daily. It's become a hotbed for early adopters, tech luminaries, marketers and businesses around the world.
Google+ isn't the easiest thing to understand, though. It has a lot of features that can confuse beginners. Even advanced users can miss a lot of the little gems and nuances that define Google+.
That's why we decided to dig into every aspect of Google+, from Hangouts to Circles, from Google+ for businesses to what's next for Google's social network. The result is an extensive guide on all of Google+'s key features, as well as an introduction to the service and the important things you need to know about it. We've included commentary, videos, photos and more in our in-depth guide. In addition, we will update this guide regularly with the newest information on Google's Facebook competitor.
So, without further ado, here is Mashables complete guide to Google+:
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What Is Google+?
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Google+ is the search giant's latest attempt to create a social network that rivals Facebook. Google launched Google+ on June 28, 2011 with a private beta. The project was led by Vic Gundotra, Google's SVP of social.
The social network is a collection of different social products. These features include Stream (a newsfeed), Sparks (a recommendation engine), Hangouts (a video chat service), Huddle (a group texting service), Circles (a friend management service) and Photos. We explain all of these features later in this guide. More features such as Games and Questions are expected to launch in the near future.
Google chose the name Google+ because it wants Google+ to be "an extension of Google itself," Gundotra explained to Mashable days before the launch. It's designed to be an improvement to all of Google, which is why the company also decided to change the iconic Google navigation bar to include a link to a user's Google+ profile, as well as a new icon that displays how many notifications a user has received, much like how Facebook handles notifications.
This isn't Google's first shot at dominating the social space. It has a long history in social media, including Orkut and its biggest success in social, YouTube. However, it's had two very big flops in social: Google Wave and Google Buzz.
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Screenshots: What Google+ Looks Like
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This gallery will provide you with a quick overview of what Google+ looks like. Keep reading this guide to learn more about how to use all of Google+'s features.
Google+ Logo
This is the Google+ logo.
Google+ Icons
The Google+ icons. Starting top left and circling to the right: Circles, Hangouts, Home, Sparks, Profile, Photos.
New Google+ Navigation Bar
All Google sites will sport the new Google+ navigation bar. It includes notifications, profile information and content sharing options.
Google+ Stream
This is the Google+ Stream, where users share content and see what their friends are sharing. It is similar to the Facebook News Feed.
Google+ Circles
Google+ Circles is Google's version of the Facebook friend list or the Twitter List. Users can select multiple friends and drag-and-drop them into groups. This makes it easier to send stuff to friends, family or the entire world.
Google+ Circles Editor
This is the Google+ Circles editor in action. Google has created unique animations for adding and removing friends through HTML5.
Google+ Sparks
Google+ Sparks is Google's content recommendation and discovery engine. Users can search different topics and find relevant articles, videos and photos. Users can then share that content with their friends.
Google+ Hangouts
Google+ has a unique video chat feature called Hangouts, which lets you chat with up to 10 people at the ame time.
Google+ Photos
Google+ allows you to upload and share photos with your friends. It includes photo tagging and a simple browser-based image editor.
Google+ Profile
Google+ Profiles are like most profile pages -- it includes basic information about the user like interests, occupation and profile photos.
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Why Should Someone Use Google+?
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Great, Google made a social network. Now you're probably asking yourself: Why the heck should I use Google+?
We aren't here to pitch Google+. Instead, we asked our Google+ followers a simple question: Why should someone use Google+?
The response was overwhelming. We got more than 500 responses on the Mashable News account and my Google+ account. Since we can't post everybody's responses, we've chosen six we believe encompass why so many people are excited by Google's new social initiative:
"Google+ is a much cleaner way to selectively share data with others. As Google integrates more of their other cloud products, like Documents, Calendar, and Reader, you're going to see it become one of the primary means of absorbing the data streaming from the Internet and sharing it with others." ~ Jason Poggioli
"It's the combination of being able to share based on (hopefully!) mutual interests with the ability to get exposure to interesting people and ideas. The relationship doesn't really have to be two way, but it doesn't all have to be public." ~ Holly Henry
"For some reason, the level of engagement is higher. Commenting and resharing seems to happen at a higher rate here (so far.)" ~ Bill Shander
"I've had a Facebook account since 2003. It's time for something more grown up that gives me more control and has a more organic user experience." ~ Sean Cooper
"The clean user interface of Google+, combined with the lack of distracting elements, or so-called features (such as all of the add-on games and apps on FB that clutter up your stream), that I never use, attract me to Google+. This, combined with the Circles feature, choosing who you share with, are the primary draws." ~ Scott Davis
"If Facebook and Twitter had a baby, they'd call it Google+." ~ Olaf Wempe
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Getting Started
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At the moment, you need to be sent an invite by a friend to join Google+. While this restriction will eventually be lifted, it's best if you ask a friend to send an invite to your Gmail account. You must use a Gmail account to sign up for Google+. Google Apps accounts are currently not supported, though the search giant plans to add support for Google Apps email accounts in the near future.
Once you accept your invite, you are taken to a page where you are asked to create your public Google Profile. Fill in information like your name and your birthday, and you are taken to Google+. If you have already filled out a Google+ Profile in the past, you skip this step and are taken to Google+.
While we go through every single one of Google+'s features step-by-step in this guide, it's always smart to know the basic commands and syntax of Google+. To that end, we have included a Google+ cheat sheet that explains how to mention friends in your posts (like you can already do on Facebook or Twitter), how to bold your text and more.
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A Video Explanation of Google+
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The following videos, produced by Google, provide a quick introduction to Google+. Check these videos out, then keep reading our guide to learn more about each of Google+'s key features.
The Google+ project: A quick look
Google provides an overview of the entire Google+ project.
The Google+ project: Explore Circles
Google+ Circles is Google's take on the friend list or the Twitter list.
The Google+ project: Explore Settings
In this video, Google explores the different settings available on Google+.
The Google+ project: Explore Mobile
Google+ will launch with an Android app. In this video, Google explores the app's features.
The Google+ project: Explore Hangouts
Google+ comes with a group video chat feature called Hangouts. This video explains how it works.
The Google+ project: Explore Sparks
In an attempt to get users to share more content, Google+ includes a feature called Sparks. It provides recommended content based on keywords or topics.
The Google+ project: Circles
In this video, Google talks about the impact of friends and social groups.
The Google+ project: Hangouts
Google talks about spontaneous hangouts in this video.
The Google+ project: Huddle
Google introduces Huddle, the company's group-texting feature.
The Google+ project: Instant Upload
Google+ for mobile includes an instant upload feature for photos and videos. They're uploaded to a private album where they can then be shared from the desktop.
The Google+ project: Sparks
Google talks about exploring interests through Sparks in this video.
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Profile
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Once you have your Google+ account set up, the first thing you should do is fill in your user profile. If you've already created a Google Profile before, that data will automatically be imported to your Google+ Profile in fact, your Google+ Profile replaces it.
When you first join Google+, it will ask you to enter a few key details, such as your tagline (a brief description of yourself), your employment and your education. It will also ask you to choose a profile photo. Once you set these details, you will have the opportunity to populate your profile with a myriad of other profile details. These include "Introduction," "Bragging rights," "Occupation," "Places lived," "Relationship," "Looking for," "Other names," "Nickname" and "Search visibility." On the right-hand side, you have the opportunity to add links that relate to yourself. Most users add a personal website or blog, as well as their Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.
While you're on your profile page, you also have the opportunity to change some of your privacy settings. You can allow people to email you from a link on your profile, and you can set this to be public, private or somewhere between using Google+ Circles (explained below).
Your profile also displays who is in your circles, and who has added you to their circles. You can change the privacy settings on the left-hand side of your profile to make this data public or private.
Google+ Profiles
Once you arrive at this screen, click on the "Complete your profile" button at the bottom fo the page.
Filling in Your Google+ Profile
Quickly fill in information such as your tagline, your employment and upload your profile photo.
Google+ Profile Options
There are a lot of different fields you can fill out on your Google+ Profile, but you don't have to fill them all out.
A Completed Google+ Profile
This is what a completed Google+ Profile looks like (I used my profile as an example.
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Circles
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Understanding Circles is essential to mastering Google+. The search giant has opted not to let you simply "friend" your friends, like you do on Facebook, or "follow" different people as you would on Twitter. Instead, Google+ gives you more control over who sees your content.
Circles allows users to drag-and-drop their friends into different friend groups, which categorizes them. This allows you to put your mom in your "Family" circle, your boss in your "Business" circle and your best friend from college in your "Friends" circle. You can create as many circles as you'd like, though making too many becomes cumbersome and diminishes the usefulness of Circles.
To add friends to a circle, all you have to do is drag-and-drop them into the appropriate circle. You can add friends into as many circles as you want. You can also select multiple friends and drag them into a circle. It initially suggests friends based on who's in your Google Contacts, but it also lets you find friends by importing your address book from Yahoo!, Hotmail or your desktop. Removing friends from a circle is simple as well: just drag-and-drop from in the circle to outside the circle.
Clicking on a circle gives you more granular control over adding and removing people. You can also rename your circle, write a short description about it, view the stream for your circle, open your circle in a tab and delete your circle.
So why should you create circles in the first place? The answer is simple: You want to share different things with different friends. You may want to share a risqué photo with your close friends, but share a link about your company's newest hire with just your business network. Google+ Circles gives you the ability to have this kind of control over both what you share and what content pops up in your stream.
Google+ Circles
The Google+ Circles screen allows you to drag-and-drop your friends into different friend categories.
Drag-and-Drop Friends
When you drag a friend over a circle, the circle expands.
Google Explains Google+ Circles
This is the message you'll receive the first time you add somebody to a circle.
Inside a Google+ Circle
Clicking on a circle lets you look at all the members of that group, as well as change things such as the membership and the name of the circle.
Playing with Google+ Circles
Here's what Google+ Circles might look like after a few minutes of work.
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Stream Sharing Content
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Facebook users will instantly get the hang of Google+ Stream it's just a newsfeed of the latest content shared by your circles. This content can be anything from a status update to a photo.
There are a few differences between the Google+ Stream and the Facebook News Feed. Posts by your friends move back to the top based on which post has the most recent comment, though eventually older posts are eventually buried in the stream. Instead of "liking" a post, you can "+1 a post this is part of Google's push for the +1 Button. You can also share posts with your circles or mute a post if it's clogging up your stream.
Updating your status is a snap all you need to do is type some content in the "Share" box at the top of your stream and choose who to share it with. You can share it with the public (all of your followers) or just share it with certain circles. In addition to text, you can share photos, videos, links and your location. Like Facebook, Google+ automatically detects the content of the links you share and allows you to choose a thumbnail from that link.
The left-hand navigation includes a Stream option where you can filter your Google+ Stream. If you want to see posts only from your business network, you just have to click on that circle under the stream. Under the Stream option is a link to Google+ Sparks, which we explain later in this guide. There's also an option to activate Google Chat for your Google+ account.
The right-hand navigation includes a link to manage your circles and a Suggestions section, where Google suggests people to add to your circles, based on who is in your Google Contacts and who your friends are following. Google also lets you start a Google+ Hangout video chat from the right-hand menu (we explain this feature in another section). You can also invite your friends to join you on Google+ from the right-hand nav.
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Sparks
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Stumped about what to share first on Google+? Want to find more stuff about your favorite animal or band? Google has you covered with Sparks, a content recommendation engine that finds the most relevant and interesting articles and videos on almost any subject you can imagine. The Spark for Android, for example, contains links and thumbnails from articles about recent Android news.
Google doesn't publish how it determines which content is the most relevant, but we imagine it uses signals from search, Google News, Google+ and others to determine which content is the most relevant algorithmically.
Google provides a list of suggested
Sent from Ismawan E. Chamdani's BlackBerry®
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