Why G+? Well – because GOOGLE. Google owns the internet mostly. I must say that I much prefer G+ to Facebook. I find that there’s much more camaraderie there, and a lot less competition and skirmishes. I have a whole group of friends on G+ who have never signed up for Facebook at all, preferring to stay right where they are. There’s also less stress with G+ Circles than with Facebook Friending. Removing someone from a Google circle comes with none of the shots from the bow associated with Unfriending on Facebook, and it is so much easier to connect with a massive cross section of society on G+.
All your followers as well as the public can see your posts if you want them to, compared to Facebook’s changing and mysterious ways of deciding who gets the opportunity to see what you have to share. You have absolute control over who sees what you post on G+. You can share a post as Public, which means that not only do all those who have you in their circles get to see it, but any member of the public can see it too. G+ posts show up in anyone’s Google searches, so the potential for visibility is enormous. Use hashtags for more oomph.
You can share a post with a single individual, and only they will ever see it, or you can specify people to be notified of a post by email simply by adding them next to your Circles choice.
Google Hangouts allows you to have group chats – with or without video, and there are thousands of Google Communities to join, and meet new people. Again, I find the G+ communities a lot less stress than those on Facebook.
Anyone with a Gmail account automatically gets a G+ account, but you can sign up for one Google account that gives you access to all Google products . Once you have your new account, go to the Google+ Help Centre for a basic rundown on the features.
Create your profile, and load your photo and header. Try and use your real name because this makes those little Google search crawlers very happy bunnies, and once you’ve verified your account, you will be nice and easy to find.
Once you have your account, you can head over to your home page by clicking on your +Name.
Then begin finding friends old and new, and add them to your Circles. Concentrate on making lots of totally new friends to increase your platform, as well as adding those you already know. G+ Circles are nothing like Facebook Friending. You can circle anyone you like and be able to see anything that they share, and they don’t have to circle you back. Apart from the big guys, most of them will though.
Click on the Home icon to start finding your way around.
If you’re brand new to the site, and feel like you’re all alone in the dark, check out Google+ Recommendations to get you started. Click here to add me to your circles if you like, and I’ll circle you right back. We also have a couple of communities on G+ where you can pop your book and blog links. Readers Meet Authors & Bloggers, Free to Blog, and Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Lovers. They’re open communities, so anyone can join. Once you’ve figured out how easy it is, start your own communities too. It really is very user friendly, and these communities are much easier to find than Facebook groups.
Check out Communities Recommended for You, and Explore.
One good thing to remember when sharing, when you comment on any link that you post an email will go out to all your followers. If you just post it, it only hits the stream. If you want someone specific to see it, use the + and then their name, and finally choose from the selection that Google gives you. Have a go and see if you like it. If you’re an Indie, sooner or later you’re going to have to go G+ if you want to find new eyeballs.
Lit World Interviews 
Reblogged this on Jo Robinson.
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Reblogged this on galesmind and commented:
They also have fewer trolls and it is much easier to control who you deal with. Cyberbullying is much more difficult as well.
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Thanks for sharing Gale! You’re absolutely right about the trolls. So far I’ve only come across a couple of overly affectionate love trolls on G+, and nothing like the venom you see around FB.
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I started using Google + only a few months ago. I mostly use it for link sharing (both mine and others’). I am not so active but I know that building slowly can work better in the long run so I am curious to see how things will evolve in the future.
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It should be interesting to see how things are in a year or two. I think that most people who get into G+ will eventually hang around more there. FB is becoming so much white noise.
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I’ll have to consider this for my 2015 plans. Thanks.
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Pleasure! It’s definitely worth considering, and very easy to navigate.
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Very informative post, and much appreciated by this Indie author.
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Thanks Jet. It’s a brilliant place for photographers as well as Indies – something about the format and clarity makes it a pleasure zooming down the stream.
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Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
I must admit to not using the functionality of Google + as I should and must do better, thanks Jo for giving me a nudge….or three.. great information as always.
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Thanks for sharing Sally! I’m just as guilty of not making the best use of it too – it has so much potential. 🙂
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Thanks, Jo. Didn’t think I had time, but you make it seem so easy. 🙂
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It really is easy. Although time…. Finding that’s another thing. 😀
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Time…never enough! 😦
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I have always liked Google+ better than Facebook. Well done Jo. I added you to my circles. ❤
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Thanks Colleen! I’ve added you to – see you around Googleworld too now. 🙂 ❤
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Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog….. An Author Promotions Enterprise!.
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Thanks for sharing Chris! 😀
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Excuse my ignorance yet I am – and never will be – that good with PC’s. I have on the advice of a pal just set up what seems to look like a blog on Google+. Is that the same thing you talk of here? ‘Tis all confusing yet rather fortuitous I spotted this informative post. Cheers.
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That could be a Blogger account Mike. A G+ will look like the pics here. You would love Google+ and meet a lot more like minded and laid back people there, so you should have a go at getting connected. Cheers! 🙂
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I shall take a closer look – thanks for the reply; much appreciated.
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Pleasure Mike. 🙂
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I agree with you about g+ being much more appealing than Facebook. I especially like controlling who sees what I post, so my kids don’t have to see what I tell my colleagues, and my writer – supporters don’t have to see what I tell my neighbors. I also take advantage of the ability to receive notifications of posts ONLY from a few of the people who I circled, and, similarly, to filter recent postings by my circles.
People who are looking for more visibility, or for up-and-coming writers, might want to join the #SaturdayScenes community. Every Saturday, writers share something that we’re working on, and readers give constructive feedback. We have been second only to #Caturday in g+ trends on Saturday.
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True. The control is the best part. Posting in FB is like throwing something out of the window and hoping that someone you know will catch it. Is the #SaturdayScenes and actual community or do you guys just use the hashtag? Sounds fun.
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#SaturdayScenes has a community website on g+ We’d love to see you there. You are likely to enjoy it.
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Can you pop a link here in the comments? It sounds like something fun for everyone else too. 🙂
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Thanks for keeping after me, Jo, to put up a more formal invitation. I couldn’t figure out how to do so with my smart phone, so her it is from my laptop:
#SaturdayScenes is a Google+ community giving authors constructive feedback every week on work in development. You can ask to join us. Click on the link below and then click the red Ask to Join button.
https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/113661273168031586623
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I have used Google-+ for the past year and I really like the format, however, upon becoming a daily blogger, I’m considering downsize my FB page to reflect only my blogs, poetry, short stories and other writings.
I have discovered FB and Google-+ are allowing the user to be selective of who views their postings.
I have unfriended family and friends as they post their daily memoir of life beginning with awaking, the constant before and after photos of food, and the occasional posting of they cannot sleep at night.
It will be easy to write an autobiography or memoir as the details of life are available for all to view on social media. LOL
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LOL! We could write some really weird books using the things people put up on Facebook. 😀 I also think that the G+ format is so much easier than FB, and I’m definitely much happier there.
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I have been quite lazy about creating G+, I really dislike facebook’s capitalist and greedy policies and refused to create an author page there. A friend of mine told me G+ has no such thing, and the communities are gread. And after reading this extremely helpful article, I went ahead and built by long overdue G+ page. Thank you so much for writing all this information! I can’t thank you enough!
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Thank you Leona! It’s great that you’ve signed up. G+ really is a much nicer place to be than FB, and especially for authors. There’s so much going on that we right in.
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For the past few months, I’ve had issues with my password. I changed it, yet it keeps stating that the password has failed. It’s very difficult to find someone connected with Google+ to help me troubleshoot it. How do you all handle those types of issues?
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Have you tried clicking on the Forgot Password? That way Google automated will email you a new one to reset from. If you click on the Google+ Help Centre link above in this post, there’s a Contact Us page in there too.
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Yes, I did. It was as if someone was attempting to access my e-mail from locations I hadn’t been to. That was the reason I changed it. I’ll try to contact Google+ again. Thanks.
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This is very helpful Jo, many thanks. I have Google plus but no idea how to use it properly, so I need to take my time and read this and apply it as I admit to being a bit confused by it. But that’s just me being thick 😦 I have a circle (I think). Do you add people as friends or followers? Thanks for the help 🙂 ❤ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Thank for this post, Jo. Currently I only have Twitter and I have been very reluctant to go on Facebook having read quite a few blogs about how frustrating and over rated it is. I’ve also heard from quite a few people recently who have taken the plunge and pressed that delete button on their Facebook account.
I’ve been looking for a second social media site for a while and, having read you post, I think Google+ may be the answer. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction after being at this crossroads for a very long time.
Hope all is well with you and you are enjoying the Summer.
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Hi Jo,
have had a G+ account just before I started the blog with WordPress, but never used it that much, probably because I already had a big following on Facebook, and so did not really have time to discover G+, and have now lost the link. I find my job (running a charity bookshop for Help the Rural Child) time for my wonderful wife Genevieve, and the time my blog and composing a new poem each day takes so long that there is no time for either Facebook or G+, but this article makes me think that I should try and resurrect my G+ account, thanks for this interesting and inspirational post, best wishes and blessings, Charles.
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