Complete Google+ Setup Guide – 7 Google Plus Tutorials

Google Plus has been released and I have spent a lot of time digging into the system’s features to come up with a guide to get you off the floor and running with Google+ in no time.

This article will serve as the overview article, the steps below include 7 tutorials, each tailored specifically for that particular step.

1. Turn Off Google+ Email Notifications

The first thing you will probably notice once you start using Google+ is the super annoying email notifications that you get whenever anything happens on Google+. Google Plus provides a great notification system within the web app itself so there is really no need to receive notifications by email as well.

Steps to Disable Email Notifications or Updates:

1. Click on your name in the top right of the screen and click on Account Settings:

   

2. Click on Google+:

   

3. You can now manage your Google Plus notifications settings in this area:

   

The built in notifications panel in Google Plus is really helpful. You can see all your recent notifications and when you view one of them, instead of going back to the main notification screen, you have the option to go directly to the next most recent notification or the next oldest notification. Facebook is kicking themselves for not adding that feature!

2. Import Your Friends into Google+

Google+ may seem a little empty without anybody to follow.If your friend are already using Google Plus, you can find them by searching for them in the “Find People” search box (pictured below), or you can import them from your email or Facebook account.

You can import your friends to Google Plus from Yahoo, Gmail and even Facebook.

Here is the easiest way to invite or add friends / people to Google Plus:

1. Add all of the email addresses that you would like to invite to your Gmail or Yahoo email account.
2. If you want to invite your Facebook friends, import your Facebook contacts into Yahoo Mail.

   

3. Go to Google Plus and click on the “Circles” link.

   

4. Create a circle to add your friends into. I created one called “Facebook Friends”.
5. Drag all of the people you want to be added to Google Plus into that group (you can select as many as you’d like at once).

   

6. Go the the Google Plus “Home” section.

   

7. Start writing a new post, or status update and @mention the friends you want to invite. They should get an email invitation within the next 30 minutes! Enjoy!

   

3. Begin Adding Friends to Your Google+ Circles

So now that you’ve added some friends to Google+, it is time to organize them. Although this step may seem unnecessary, it is important to understand that Google+’s privacy controls are much more complicated than Facebook and Twitter.

What Are Google+ Circles?

One of the most innovative features in Google+ is the ability to group your contacts into different “circles“.

You have the option of using the default circles provided by Google+ or creating your own, customized circles. Every time you post a stream update, you have the option of choosing which circles can see that update.

This means that you can have a circle for each of the following:

• Acquaintances
• Co-workers
• Family
• Famous People
• Friends
• Fraternity Brothers

The list could go on forever!

What Advantages Do Google+ Circles Provide?

1. Provide a great way to organize contacts.
2. Allow the user complete privacy control.

Contact Organization in Google Plus Circles

As mentioned earlier, a user can create as many circles as he or she wishes. The user can then add contacts to the different circles. A contact can be in multiple circles at once.

Just because you have added someone to one of your circles, doesn’t mean that they have added you to one of their circles.

In short, Google+ allows for one-way relationships (like Twitter, unlike Facebook).

Privacy Control Using Google+ Circles

The privacy control options that Google+ Circles allow are incredible. When a user posts a stream update they can choose to send the update to:

• Public- Anyone who has included you in one of their circles or anyone who views your profile, even if they haven’t added you to any circles
• Your Circles- Everyone who is in at least one of your circles.
• Extended Circles- Everyone who is in a circle of someone in one of your circles (try going over that one in your head a few times!).
• Specific Circles- Choose specifically which circles can see the post and which ones can’t.
• Specific Contacts- By mentioning someone with the @ symbol and then their username or email address, you can post to specific people or even one specific person (personal message).

I personally think that the ability to have complete control over who see what posts in Google+ is the most beneficial feature of the new social media network. You no longer have to hesitate before adding your Mom as a contact. Just add her to the family group and be cautious of what you post to them!

Creating a Custom Circle in Google+

1. Click on the “circles” tab.
2. Move your cursor over the circle that says “Drop here to create a new circle“.

   

3. Click “Create circle.“.

   

4. In the window that pops up, give the circle a name of your choosing.
5. Add as many people as you would like to your new circle.
6. Click the “Create circle” button in the popup window.

Adding a Contact to a Google+ Circle

1. Click on the “circles” tab.
2. Click on “People in your circles” or “Find and invite“.

   

3. Click in the “Add a new person” box.

   

4. Enter the email address and the name of the person you would like to add.

   

5. Choose which circle you would like to add the contact to.

   

Once the contact is in at least one circle, you can find them by looking through the “People in your circles” area. You can then click and drag them to any additional circles that you would like that person to be a part of.

4. Configure Your Google+ Privacy Settings

I’m sure you’re excited to start posting stream updates but before you do that, it is important configure your Google+ profile privacy settings and learn how to customize who gets to see your stream updates. Like I said earlier, privacy controls in Google+ are very complicated and you will be glad that you learned all about them before diving right in.

What privacy settings do you need to worry about in Google Plus?

1. Who can see you profile information and what information is available for them to see.
2. Who can see your steam updates and how can you control it.

Protecting Your Google+ Profile Information

1. While in Google+, click on the dropdown with your name in the top right corner and select account settings:

   

2. Click Profile and Privacy.
3. Next to the Public profile information section, click Edit visibility on profile.
4. Next to each profile item there is a globe icon that, when clicked, allows you to edit the visibility for that particular item:

   

5. You regulate privacy by managing which Google+ “circles” are allowed to view each profile item. After clicking on the globe, click on the dropdown menu in the box that appears and select custom:

   

   From here you have complete control over that particular profile item’s privacy settings. If you only want family to see your email then add all your family members to a circle called “Family” and in your email privacy settings, make sure that the only group that has access is your family group.

   By doing this you can manage privacy settings for each profile item individually.

   Managing Your Google+ Stream Updates

   Your stream updates are managed in a similar way to your profile items. You can specify exactly which circles of friends, or even which individual friends, have access to each and every stream.

   To post a stream update navigate to your Home tab and click in the text box where is says Stream:

   

   Notice that you have an option to Add circles or people to share with…. Use that area to specify exactly who you want to be able to read that particular stream update.

   You can also mention people in the same way that you can on Twitter. Use the @ symbol followed by their Google Plus name or their email address.

   To verify that you have configured the privacy settings properly, make sure you learn how to view your profile as others see it in Google+.

   You’re now ready to use Google+ and control who has access to what!

5. Send Your First Private Message in Google+

Now that your friends are imported, your circles are organized and your privacy settings set to your liking, you are reading to start messaging your friends. You may have figured out how to send a private message in step 4 but as it is one of the most common questions I’ve been asked since the release of Google+, I’ve decided to include it here.

In Google+, both public and private messages are sent from the exact same place. When a user posts a stream update, they can decide precisely who receives the message.

If you want to send a private message, just @mention the person or their email address in the stream update and make sure that “public” and none of your circles are added.

Sending a Private Message in Google+

1. Click on the home tab.

   

2. In the Stream area, click “Share what’s new…“.

   

   Share Whats New

3. Use the @ symbol followed by your friend’s username or email to add them to the stream update.

   

4. Make sure that the public tag is not added and make sure that there are no circles added to the message.

   
   If the public tag and my “friends” circle was added to this message it would look like this:
   

5. Click Share and your message will be sent!

6. View Your Profile as Someone Else in Google+

You’ve probably discovered by now that I wasn’t lying when I said the privacy settings in Google+ were a little overwhelming. The best to way to find out whether or not you’ve configured them correctly is to view your profile as someone else. It’s pretty easy to do in Google+.

How To View Your Profile As Someone Else in Google Plus:

1. Click on the “Profile” tab.

   

2. Click in the text box on the right side of the screen that says, “View profile as…“.

   

3. Type the name of the person that you would like to view your profile as or select “Anyone on the web”.

   (Unfortunately Google Plus does not yet allow you to view your profile as a circle.)
   

If you need to double check and make sure that you’re using the right privacy controls before you post a stream update, this flowchart will help you do exactly that!

7. Learn How to Use Shortcuts in Google+

Now that you’ve got the basics down, its time to learn some shortcut keys to make you the fastest Google+er (I kind like how that looks) of all of your friends!

Google+ Shortcut Keys

Key	Action
J	Scroll down to next Google+ stream update
K	Scroll up to previous Google+ stream update
QQ	Pressing Q twice moves your cursor the search box in the “chat” section of Google+
Space	Scroll down stream by regular intervals
Space + Shift	Scroll up stream by regular intervals
Enter	When a stream update is selected Enter moves your cursor to the comment box
Enter + Tab	Submit comment
@	@ followed by a username is used to mention someone in a post or share the post with them

Formatting Text in Google Plus

Key	Action
*	Use the * symbol to denote the beginning and end of bold text- *This would appear bold in Google+*
_	Use the _ symbol to denote the beginning and end of italics text- _This would appear in italics in Google+_
-	Use the – symbol to denote the beginning and end of strikethrough text- -This would appear in strikethrough in Google+-

Source: http://ansonalex.com/tutorials/complete-google-setup-guide-7-google-plus-tutorials/