

What are we supposed to do with Google+? - whalesalad
http://log.maniacalrage.net/post/10808855537/what-are-we-supposed-to-do-with-google

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simonsarris
Since the article doesn't give much of an answer, I will:

Because it is setting with more blogging capabilities, meaning you probably
don't need a small personal blog on a one-off site like
livejournal/blogger/etc anymore. It's easily set up to both share with your
friends and share with the public, and easy for the public to subscribe to you
in a less-confusing way than having both people pages and fan-pages (like on
fbook).

I have a site and blog for serious posts (mostly JavaScript Canvas stuff) and
I used to also have a blog that only my close friends followed (it was
Livejournal). Most of the stuff posted there was amusing or interesting to me
but I didn't want to crowd out my serious blog.

On Facebook you can write "notes" but they aren't very typical. On G+ long-
form status updates (5+ paragraphs) _are_ typical so I can use it to replace
what Livejournal used to do much more naturally than I could have with
Facebook. Google+ is essentially much more of a blogging platform than
Facebook seems to be, and I really like this.

A lot of people are already using it like this (a blogging platform for
friends or the public) ie Tom Anderson (of MySpace fame):

[https://plus.google.com/112063946124358686266/posts/2ggynxog...](https://plus.google.com/112063946124358686266/posts/2ggynxogpLD)

I've never seen similar posts on Facebook, save for the very rare note.

I too had a Flickr but I don't use it anymore. Few people looked at it and
most of the images I want to post are not professional enough to post there,
meaning I'd only post maybe 1 image a month on it. With Google+ I can give my
friends more image-laden updates into my personal life. I like this. (I could
do this on Facebook too).

There's nothing wrong with keeping up both. If I think something is good
enough to share on facebook then I will post it on G+ and post a _link_ to it
on Fbook.

~~~
ScottWhigham
_There's nothing wrong with keeping up both. If I think something is good
enough to share on facebook then I will post it on G+ and post a link to it on
Fbook._

I think there is a line we have to draw though in terms of where we spend our
time - that's what's "wrong" with keeping up both. I read a quote once from
Sonny Rollins, a famous sax player, who said something to the effect that his
influences made him what he was just as much as who/what he didn't listen to.
In other words, what you ignore defines you to an extent just like what you
avidly pursue defines you. We can't expect everyone to keep up both, I think.
I doubt most people care that much.

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jbhelms
Let me ask you this. What do you do when a friend says they are on MySpace?
That is exactly how I see my friends On Facebook after I make the switch to G+
over the next few months. I will still log into Facebook to see what is going
on, but for the most part I am only keeping my Facebook account because I
admin several pages. For now I am double posting things to FB and G+, but
eventually I will stop. IMO, G+ is another social platform, just like Facebook
was when there was already Friendster and MySpace. Some people with jump ship,
some people will keep both accounts.

~~~
ScottWhigham
The key question, I think, is will you stop double posting to Facebook even if
the growth of G+ stays the same? What if, in three months, you notice that no
one is talking about G+ anymore and there is hardly any activity compared to
what it was in September - will you still move forward with the "Shut out FB"
idea?

I'm not trying to be rude so I hope my post doesn't come off that way. You
seem to be very sure about your move away from FB and that makes me genuinely
curious as to that mindset.

~~~
jbhelms
Well no, I am a fairly analytical person. If G+ dies I will not hold on just
because.

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bwooceli
I would _like_ to use Google+ as a nicely integrated social feature for my
organization using Google Apps. There are some seriously cool things we
_could_ do with it. But we're stuck without. The last time we had to integrate
non-apps and apps accounts it was a headache, I'm not eager to join + with a
non-apps account and go through all the migration hassles again.

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trollhunter
What are we supposed to do with your post?

\- Ask a few rhetorical questions that make it obvious we are confused about
something on the internet? Then answer those stated questions with ambiguous
meandering thoughts that amplify your confused state.

\- Realize that some services mean different things to different people. Use
it as it suits you best, don't try to fit others' uses to yours.

