OK, so I have now been on Goolge+ for a whole day. Or is it 2 days? Maybe 2 days.
I have found my friends and added them to Friends. I have found various people I have spoken to online before, either at great length over many years or on a few random occasions, and added them to Acquaintances.
Now I am being added to other people’s circles. But I do not know why.
In Facebook people will request friendship and leave a note, like “enjoyed your comments on the discussion about the 6 fingered nun who could type 120 words a minute”. On Twitter people just follow you and that seems OK, you ignore them mostly …… (ok, I speak for myself, I never really got the hang of Twitter).
But in G+ (previously known as Google+, and before that, Google Plus – the name evolved today as the day drew on) it seems harder to know what to do with these people. Should you add them to a circle, or not? If not, then you will unlikely hear much from them again, but know that they are watching you ……..
So, my plan: Google+ League Tables. Or maybe a better name, Circles of Trust (for some reason I can only think of Meet the Fockers when I type those words).
So I create a new Circle called “Strangers”. Everyone I do not know goes in there. Then as time draws on, if I get to know them through G+ and maybe communicate and collaborate outside of G+, they can be promoted to Acquaintances.
If in time we move from a relationship of collaboration to celebration, they can be moved into the prestigious Friends.
So, that is my plan. I will probably get more confused as a result. I may make a sub group for friends in time, and have Techy Friends and Normal Friends. Or not wanting to upset anyone, Google+ Friends and Friends.
Some people can be in both circles maybe?
The way I have so far used Circles is to share things with people who I think are interested. It is not always easy to decide who is interested, an Acquaintance could find a personal photo funny and it could strike up a relationship which could lead to a Friend-ship. But they may be blocked out from that Circle, never to join.
What is good about G+ is that nobody can know what group they are in. So if you create a group called “Geeky Freaks I Would Hate To Really Meet“, nobody will know! I promise you all, I have no such group. Or do I? 🙂
I guess it is work in progress. Meaning, I am making it up as I go along and will probably change everything without thinking at anytime. But then, that is how I work.
