Presentation for the San Francisco Chapter of SLA, January 19, 2012. The presentation covers Google +: what it is and how you'd use it to find and share information.

1. GOOGLE + = ?
Scott Brown, Owner
Social Information
Group
January 19, 2012
SLA San Francisco
Chapter
1
© 2012 Social Information Group

2. Google + = ?
What makes it unique
Some ideas on mining it for information
Tracking people, organizations, topics
Managing your own information
What’s next?
AGENDA 2
© 2012 Social Information Group 2

3. GOOGLE + = ?
3
© 2012 Social Information Group
© fotolia 3

4. • Google’s version of a social network
WHAT IS IT? • “Professional Facebook”
• Integrated with Google stuff – even
more so now
Kindle for iPad/iPhone
4
© 2012 Social Information Group 4

5. WHAT IS IT? A brief history
•
Launched June 2011
•
Quickly gained 40 million users
•
Originally focused on individuals
•
November 2011: Launched business
pages
• Estimates are 62 million users as of
December 2011, with hundreds of
Kindle for iPad/iPhone day
thousands joining every
• As of January 2012, results integrated
into search
5
© 2012 Social Information Group 5

6. The latest – G+ results added to
WHAT IS IT? Google search results
Kindle for iPad/iPhone
6
© 2012 Social Information Group 6

7. Why do people keep “adding me to
WHAT IS IT? their circles”, dammit?
• Any G+ user can an add anyone
else to their circles
Kindle for iPad/iPhone
7
© 2012 Social Information Group 7

8. Why do people keep “adding me to
WHAT IS IT? their circles”, dammit?
• Any G+ user can an add anyone
else to their circles – see?
Kindle for iPad/iPhone
8
© 2012 Social Information Group 8

9. WHAT MAKES IT
UNIQUE?
9
© 2012 Social Information Group 9
© fotolia

10. FEATURES • Profile
Kindle for iPad/iPhone
10
© 2012 Social Information Group 10

11. FEATURES • Posts/discussions (aka Streams)
• Photos
Kindle for iPad/iPhone
11
© 2012 Social Information Group 11

12. FEATURES • “Hangouts”
Kindle for iPad/iPhone
12
© 2012 Social Information Group 12

13. FEATURES •
•
“+1”
Circles
The special stuff
• Pages (as opposed to Profiles)
• “Sparks”
• “Ripples”
Kindle for iPad/iPhone
13
© 2012 Social Information Group 13

14. +1 = Endorsement
14
© 2012 Social Information Group 14

15. Circles
15
© 2012 Social Information Group 15

16. Circles
16
© 2012 Social Information Group 16

17. Google + Pages
17
© 2012 Social Information Group 17

18. Google + Pages
18
© 2012 Social Information Group 18

19. Google + Sparks
19
© 2012 Social Information Group 19

20. Google + Ripples
20
© 2012 Social Information Group 20

21. SOME IDEAS
21
© 2012 Social Information Group 21
© fotolia

22. SOME IDEAS • Use +1 as a new kind of social
bookmarking service
• Like Facebook with Delicious
capabilities
• Sparks as an alternative news search
• What’s being shared the most?
• Ripples to see connections and
influencers
Kindle for Find and follow people and pages
• iPad/iPhone
of interest
22
© 2012 Social Information Group 22

23. • For sharing information
CIRLCES
• For finding information
Kindle for iPad/iPhone
23
© 2012 Social Information Group 23

24. How are companies thinking about circles?
24
© 2012 Social Information Group 24

25. TRACKING
25
© 2012 Social Information Group 25
© fotolia

26. • Thought leaders
PEOPLE• Industry leaders
• Organizational people
Kindle for iPad/iPhone
26
© 2012 Social Information Group 26

27. ORGANIZATIONS • Organizational page(s)
• Competitor pages
• Competitor employees
Kindle for iPad/iPhone
27
© 2012 Social Information Group 27

28. Tracking organizations
28
© 2012 Social Information Group 28

29. • Thought leaders (again)
TOPICS• Saved searches
• Industry circles
Kindle for iPad/iPhone
29
© 2012 Social Information Group 29

30. MANAGING YOUR OWN
INFORMATION unprofound - Jim
30
© 2012 Social Information Group 30

31. MANAGING Settings and privacy
• Circle visibility
• Profile visibility
• Sharing options
• Include personal
search results?
31
© 2012 Social Information Group 31

32. MANAGING Profile view
32
© 2012 Social Information Group 32

33. WHAT’S NEXT? unprofound - Jim
33
© 2012 Social Information Group 33

34. WHAT’S NEXT Recent developments
• Of course, G+ search results
• Multiple administrators for
organization pages
• Watch for new developments
34
© 2012 Social Information Group 34

35. THE BIG QUESTIONS
Will it last?
Impossible to say.
Remember 35
Google Wave?
© 2012 Social Information Group 35

36. THE BIG QUESTIONS
Will it kill Facebook?
Impossible to say.
36
© 2012 Social Information Group 36

37. THE BIG QUESTIONS Finally:
Should I bother with it?
Yes.
37
© 2012 Social Information Group 37

38. THE BIG QUESTIONS Finally:
Should I bother with it?
Why?
• Adoption is massive
• Information is being shared – and you
can leverage it both for finding and
sharing
• It’s still evolving
38
© 2012 Social Information Group 38

39. TAKEAWAYS Next steps
• Check it out – without logging in.
• Sign up.
• Create some circles of interest to you,
and see how it works.
• Keep watching it.
39
© 2012 Social Information Group 39

40. THANKS
Scott Brown
Social Information Group
Email: scott@socialinformationgroup.com
Twitter: @scbrown5 and @socialinfo
Google +: Scott Brown -
stevensource5@gmail.com
LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/scottrbrown
http://www.socialinformationgroup.com
40
© 2012 Social Information Group 40

41. SOURCES & READING • Google + : http://plus.google.com
• Google + support (including “how tos”:
http://support.google.com/plus/?hl=en
• Google + social network lets firms have their
own pages:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-
15625577
• With Facebook in crosshairs, Google + opens for
business: http://adage.com/article/digital/google-
open-business/230862/
• Google Plus pages for libraries:
http://joemurphylibraryfuture.com/google-pages-
for-libraries
• Is Google + a Plus for Information Pros? The
Information Advisor, September 2011
41
© 2012 Social Information Group 41

42. SOURCES & READING • Google’s results get more personal with
“Search Plus Your World”:
http://searchengineland.com/googles-results-
get-more-personal-with-search-plus-your-world-
107285
• Google to provide personal search results:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-
bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/01/11/BUM81MN9J
V.DTL
• 3 successful Google + pages and why they
work: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/3-
successful-google-pages-and-why-they-work/
42
© 2012 Social Information Group 42