Like everyone else, Convions are chomping at the bit for the coveted Google + invite…and to actually get in once we get that invite. Client Support Manager Cynthia Balusek was one of the first to get past the virtual bouncer and through the Google + door. Now she’s making a cameo appearance here on Connection Cafe to share her initial impressions with you.
Many thanks to my friend Betsy, I did get an invite to Google +! And I’m lonely. I have less than 10 friends. But looking at what this could be, I’m pretty impressed.
First, the Circle concept. Early on in my Facebook history, I decided that I would accept any friend request that came from actual people I know. I’m quite the Facebook woman of ill repute – I’ll friend anybody. That has brought me to a place where I have more than 500 friends, and I really can’t say anything. I’m friends with family, coworkers, clients, neighbors, people who were jerks to me in high school – anyone that asks. That also means that I really inhibit what I post. I had a bad day at work – probably not going to mention that since the CEO is one of my friends. Annoyed at the neighborhood kids because they keep playing in the street and I nearly ran over one again – probably not going to mention it because the neighbors are my friends. Having separate circles would give me the freedom to actually share my real thoughts.
And I guess that I could have not friended anyone I wasn’t actually besties with, but the fact is that Facebook and it’s social sharing has been extremely helpful. Convio has a D.C. office and being Facebook friends with my coworkers in D.C. (like Betsy) makes me feel closer to them – I can’t see them daily, but I get to see what funny and awesome people they are daily on Facebook. I know my neighbors better because I can see what they are up to. I’m a terrible, terrible correspondent – I hate personal email and so infrequently respond – but Facebook allows me to but tidbits of my life up and keep people that I don’t see as often as I would like close to me.
The second thing is the blending of private and personal, which could be a bad thing. To me, Google + combines the best things of Facebook (possible exclusivity) and the best things of Twitter (it’s all out there, all the time.)
I was a Twitter user about two years ago, and I still have an account. (Follow @cbalusek.) But I don’t do much with it. I use it some most recently for work and that’s about it. Oh, and I tweeted to unlock some Angry Birds levels. A large part of why I don’t use it is because I’m so freaking overwhelmed by it. When I go look at my Twitter feed, I get about 20 updates an hour. And I’ve reduced the number of people I follow down from 200 to 123. Still, these people are chatty! And I know Twitter has lists now, but since I can’t see who isn’t in a list, I can’t easily sort people. I think that Google + starting with Circles will make this easier.
However, there is still a main feed that shows everyone. And this is where I could get back to Twitterville. I almost starting following an industry expert for the portion of the software industry in which I work. And I noticed she’s posting 5-6 times a day. If I started Circling her and anyone else I don’t have a personal relationship with, this could become Twitter 2.0 for me.
And finally, Google + is just beautiful. BEAUTIFUL. I mean, look at my Facebook profile:
And look at my Google + profile:
I’m assuming some Google ads will appear at some point, but so far the base is so nice. I’m so relaxed looking at.
So, I guess the question is, will everyone join in? Will my 500+ friends migrate to Google + even though I can’t even get my husband an invite today? Will I maintain statuses on both until they do? Will Google + go the way of De Lorean – beautiful, but doesn’t catch on?
My gut feel is Google + is a De Lorean, but then again, I told my boss in 2001 that I didn’t want to attend Mac training because that technology would not be transferable in my career, and here I am typing this on a MacBook Pro I can barely use.
Related Posts
Get Updates
Get nonprofit articles, best practice advice, fundraising ideas and invaluable industry reports and webinars delivered for free!
By Guest Blogger on Jul 12, 2011
Tagged: communication Facebook fundraising Google internet Non-Profit nonprofit Social Media