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Google Plus

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Google Plus: Is it going to help your search results?

So…while trying to set-up my profile in Google Plus…I am trying to work through securing my profile name just like on Twitter and Facebook. Basically securing my own Google Plus URL with BobbyRettew. In the process of researching, I felt like my account had gone through all the initial set-up steps…so I thought I would Google myself to see if/how this new social network would appear in the search results.



This is what appeared above.  It was the 4th item listed in the Google search results. Wow, below was my LinkedIn, Facebook, then Twitter account profiles (in respective order). So recap this, this is the order of what appeared in a Google search for “bobby rettew” after having a Google Plus account for 30 minutes:

  1. BobbyRettew.com (My Website) – Established in 2008
  2. rettewcreative.com (My Business Blog) – Establish in 2009
  3. BobbyRettew.com/about (The About Page on my Website) – Established in 2008
  4. Google Profile (Which is my Google Plus Account) – Google Profile established in 2008 and Google Plus in 2011
  5. LinkedIn (My LinkedIn Profile) – Established in 2007
  6. Facebook Account (My Personal Facebook Page/Profile) – Established 2007
  7. Twitter Account (My Twitter Profile) – Established in 2008

Notice the difference in dates of set-up and between Google Plus and the rest of the Social Networks, and how fast it generated a top search result. Look what information was presented for my Google Profile/Plus account:

It you notice, immediately people can see a few things:

  1. My Google Plus/Profile Picture
  2. Where I am located
  3. Where I am working
  4. My Tag Line
  5. Link to my Personal Blog
  6. Link to my Twitter Profile
  7. Link to my Website

All of this was immediately established based on the creation of Google Plus account. So…this immediately provides an immediate portal for people searching my name to the places to connect with me! Now, look at the order from left to right of the links below my tagline. They correspond to the order I created my links in my Google Plus account.



Ok…so now I get it. This is showing a direct relationships between my Google Profile/Plus account and how I can be found via a simple Google search. This has me thinking…thinking through the ROI for me of having an account. Now, have to figure out what the ROI might encompass from investing time in this new Social Network.

Tomorrow…I will release a post about Circles in Google Plus. It is pretty cool what you can do with these things!

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Google Plus: Working thru all the Hub-bub? WHY?

So I just received an invite and I working through Google Plus and checking it out. As I login, I have noticed a few things:

  1. It is just another social network, another place to interact with people online.
  2. As I am creating my profile, it is pulling a lot of my information from my Google Profile. So if you have an up-to-date Google Profile, it is going to populate your Google Plus profile based on this information.
  3. It is basing your network of connections from contacts in your Google Account. Google Plus uses the term “Circles” as a name for your networks, and can be based on how you set-up your Google Contacts.
  4. It has a stream similar to Facebook, allowing you to make an update and include a picture, video, link, or location.
  5. Reminds a bit like Google Wave as far as the interface design and fluid interactivity.
  6. I am thinking through the business application for enterprise level usage such as Facebook Pages.
  7. Wondering how and when I am going to use this social network and if it makes sense for me? I am active on Twitter for both personal and business, Facebook for both personal and business, LinkedIn for business…so wondering where this makes sense for me? If at all?
  8. The digital media interaction looks fluid, specifically people are posting animations and other interactive media with ease.
  9. Google Plus looks like another extension of my personal Google Account. Yes…it is pulling information from my Gmail, Contacts, YouTube, Picasa, and Profile Accounts from one single Google login.
  10. Since you have to have a Google profile to have a Google Plus account, a Google Business account cannot accept an invitation currently. Yes, BobbyRettew.com is self hosted and also uses Google products such as Mail from Google. So when I log into my BobbyRettew.com Google Account…I cannot create a Google Profile. Thus, the Google Plus invitation sent to my Bobby@BobbyRettew.com email account would allow me to accept the Google Plus invitation. My Google Plus account is via my BobbyRettew@gmail.com email/Google login.

So here ya go…my initial thoughts after playing with it for about 15 minutes. This is purely a surface level overview…nothing strategic yet. Still thinking through and wondering the if, how, and when about this social network. Bottomline…everyone is raving, but do I really give a dang about investing time in another place to interact with the same group of connections. Or…maybe this social network will open a whole new place for new relationships and new interactive experiences.

Bottomline…I think it is still another place for Google to try to make a play on Social Networking; leveraging all the other technologies that are already in place for an individual’s Google Account.

Take away for me (since I am a tech geek)…it is going to be fun for a while. But eventually it will have to bring value beyond the honeymoon for me to engage along with all the other social outlets.

So tomorrow…part two of three posts: “Google Plus: It is going to help your search results?”