Google Plus enters social media world and lives in Oregon

In late June, Brett Crosby, director of product marketing at Google, sent Eric Peterson a golden ticket, a VIP pass, an exclusive request -- an invite to joinGoogle Plus. Peterson declined the invite with a tweet: "I got an invite to join Google+ today ... and deleted it. You are too late to make a difference,@google, sorry."

Launched on June 28, Google Plus is the Web's newest, biggest social media craze. And despite what Peterson -- who's no social media slouch -- originally thought, Google Plus quickly affected at least one slice of the social media world. It already has at least 10 million users, said Katie Watson, senior manager of Global Communications & Public Affairs for Google. Paul Allen, founder of two genealogy websites and a self-described "Google Plus unofficial statistician," uses his own formula to measure the amount of users on the site and estimated last week that there are a little under 18 million.
Either number includes an uncalculated handful of Oregon residents who have joined Google Plus. But exactly what effect the site has had -- and will have -- on social media and the Internet is still hazy.

Eric Peterson - whose Google Plus profile is seen here - is the founder of a Portland-based company called Twitalyzer, which analyzes businesses' social media impact on Twitter. Peterson was hesitant to join Google Plus at first, but has since joined and thought of ways his company might change is businesses gain access to their own profiles and the social network continues to increase in popularity.

Peterson, who lives in Portland, changed his mind a day after rejecting the initial invitation and signed up.
"I sort of hung my head low, apologized to Twitter and started to add people to Google Plus," says Peterson, the founder of Portland-based companyTwitalyzer, which calculates how businesses reach out to their customers through Twitter.
Although his company relies on the prosperity of Twitter, Peterson has completely immersed himself in Google Plus. He says he now spends the majority of his social networking time on the new site.

The fresh face of social media
But many still wonder: What exactly is Google Plus, and how has it changed the social media world? Paul Boutin, a Los Angeles-based freelance technology writer for The New York Times, has spent the past few weeks researching that question.
Boutin says he has found a trend: people who think their Facebookaccounts have gotten too bulky, junked up with friends they don't know, status updates they don't care about and pictures they have no interest in seeing. For many, Google Plus is a fresh start.
"Google Plus has already become a place for people who want a Facebook-like experience but without the forced sharing," he says.

This is an example of a "circle" on Google Plus. Users can customize their own groups of people they follow on Google Plus.

Boutin cites the "circles" feature of Google Plus as being particularly creative. Google Plus allows users to customize the list of people they follow by adding them to a circle, or a category, so users can easily share content they post with only the people they wish. Users can also filter which circles' content appears on their home page.
In a recent New York Times post,"How to Hide From Annoying People on Google+," Boutin recommends appeasing annoying Google Plus users by adding them to a circle just to get them to shut up. Because people can't see which circle they're in or what circles a user has, he suggests titling it "Frenemies" and promptly ignoring it.
A privacy feature similar to circles is available on Facebook, but it's more difficult for the average user to activate because it's not a main component of the site like with Google Plus.

Google Plus Dictionary

Google Plus (Google+): A new social networking website, launched by Google on June 28, that has 10 million followers, according to Katie Watson, a Google spokeswoman

Stream: A list on a user's home page of all of the posts by people a user chooses to follow

Circles: Groups of Google Plus users an individual follows; Users can choose what information to share and with whom they wish to share it, based on personalized categories. (i.e., friends, family, colleagues)

Hangouts: Video chat sessions that can occur with many users simultaneously

Sparks: Categories of popular topics where users can look for stories and posts to share in their stream

+1: A button that appears next to Google Plus posts and Google search results; if users clicks the button, it means they like the information, agree with it or want to share it with others.

Huddle: A feature accessible on Android, iPhone or SMS devices with which users can chat with multiple people through instant messaging

University of Oregon professor Kelli Matthews teaches a large lecture class called "Strategic Social Media" in UO's School of Journalism and Communication. She will add Google Plus to her curriculum, she says, as an example of how her students should examine their social networking interactions.
"You really have to think strategically," she says. "'Who is this person to me and what do I want them to know?'"
The names of Matthews' circles already run the gamut, she says -- "students past and present," "family," "academia," "Eugene," "knows stuff shares stuff," "work friends," "friends," "acquaintances" and "randoms." But when classes resume, Matthews plans to add even more circles as a way of grouping her classes so she can share class content.
Matthews says she is also excited to use the hangout feature, which allows multiple Google Plus users to video chat via webcam. With Allen Hall, home of the journalism school and Matthews' office, being remodeled, she says conducting office hours virtually will be more convenient for her and her students.
Peterson's company, Twitalyzer, could change because of Google Plus, as well. Additional services could track business engagement on Google Plus -- that is, if businesses are permitted on the site.
As of now, Google does not allow businesses to create pages because the site is set up for personal accounts only. But over the next few months, Google will experiment with a small number of businesses to see how they will integrate into the social network, according to videos and messages that Christian Oestlien, who works for the Google Plus project, has posted on his Google Plus page.
"Everyone deserves the right to change direction," Peterson says of the possibility to expand his company to Google Plus. "We would maintain our commitment to Twitter and move into analyzing Google Plus accounts as our customer asked us to."
Peterson hopes Twitalyzer can be the first company to meet demand when it comes, but he acknowledges Google has a track record of conducting its own extensive data analysis.

A substantial following
It took three years and two months for Facebook to reach 20 million users. Google Plus made it at least halfway there in a little more than two weeks, Watson says.
"The people have spoken," Boutin says.
However, neither Boutin nor Matthews thinks Google Plus will overtake Facebook. Matthews points to MySpace as a social network that was once more popular than today, but still has a substantial amount of users -- 50 million, according to DoubleClick Ad Planner by Google-- including a strong niche market for bands and musicians.
Facebook says it has more than 750 million active users. Some Google Plus users have complained the new social network isn't busy enough.
"I'm using it but no one is there yet, so pretty much you can hear crickets most of the time," Maria Linger wrote on The Oregonian's Facebook page. "Social media only works when there are others to be social with," Tori Ashresponded.
Google Plus is working on that.
Allen, the unofficial Google statistician, wrote last week that Google Plus has not yet marketed through any of the company's other media, but that it plans to do so by integrating circles into every Google program.
"When that happens, you will likely see millions of people joining Google Plus every day for some period of time," he wrote.

Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/living/index.ssf/2011/07/post_15.html