Google+
We've all been hearing the buzz about Google+, so I just had to jump in. To be honest, the last thing any of us really needs is another social network. It takes a lot of time to set up, and a lot of time to keep connected. But as a lover of marketing, I just had to check it all out.
There has been great debate whether Google+ will replace Facebook or replace blogs or even replace Twitter. I'm not sure, but I do have to say that it feels like a merger of a lot of what's already out there. It has a lot of elements of Facebook and Twitter, so maybe we'll all find ourselves sticking to just one platform. I just know that we've all invested so much time on both of those platforms that it'll be hard to give them up.
Blogs are a different story in my mind. I don't think Google+ will replace the blog -- if anything perhaps more people will start using Google's blog platform instead. A blog is like a piece of real estate. It's yours. It's not public domain like a social network is. Just my perspective.
The fascinating part is how Google+ is being launched. Not on a mass scale at all, but all through social networking and buzz. A short list of highly influential people were sort of "chosen" to initiate the platform and then they built it out from there. It's kind of hard to get in right now. I don't think that's so cool to be honest, but it's interesting to see a "brand" get built exclusively through influencers and to track how quickly it grows from there. Especially when that "brand" is a social platform. I'm just glad I knew one of them!
Am I glad there's Google+? Not sure. I love new things, and I love innovation. There certainly are some new bells and whistles that I plan to try out over the next few weeks. I think it's cool how you can organize your friends and followers and even group chat with them. Gives us a way to truly communicate with special groups of our "people" in very customized kinds of ways. There's some good functionality built in. But at the same time, do we really need one more of these little guys?
Are you in Google+? What's your experience? Jim.
Jim Joseph
President of Lippe Taylor
Author of "The Experience Effect"
There has been great debate whether Google+ will replace Facebook or replace blogs or even replace Twitter. I'm not sure, but I do have to say that it feels like a merger of a lot of what's already out there. It has a lot of elements of Facebook and Twitter, so maybe we'll all find ourselves sticking to just one platform. I just know that we've all invested so much time on both of those platforms that it'll be hard to give them up.
Blogs are a different story in my mind. I don't think Google+ will replace the blog -- if anything perhaps more people will start using Google's blog platform instead. A blog is like a piece of real estate. It's yours. It's not public domain like a social network is. Just my perspective.
The fascinating part is how Google+ is being launched. Not on a mass scale at all, but all through social networking and buzz. A short list of highly influential people were sort of "chosen" to initiate the platform and then they built it out from there. It's kind of hard to get in right now. I don't think that's so cool to be honest, but it's interesting to see a "brand" get built exclusively through influencers and to track how quickly it grows from there. Especially when that "brand" is a social platform. I'm just glad I knew one of them!
Am I glad there's Google+? Not sure. I love new things, and I love innovation. There certainly are some new bells and whistles that I plan to try out over the next few weeks. I think it's cool how you can organize your friends and followers and even group chat with them. Gives us a way to truly communicate with special groups of our "people" in very customized kinds of ways. There's some good functionality built in. But at the same time, do we really need one more of these little guys?
Are you in Google+? What's your experience? Jim.
Jim Joseph
President of Lippe Taylor
Author of "The Experience Effect"