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Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 244
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So, just curious. (This isn't going to be a post extolling the virtues of one over the other.)
How many of you are going to switch to Google+ and abandon Facebook? Stick with FB and never in a billion years go on to Google+? Keep a hand in each and use one for writer connections one for personal stuff with your family? Use both for both?
Me? I'm not sure. I thought I'd keep it at just writer peeps and such but then someone went and added me in on it that is neither writer nor close friend/family. I know the person, but still.
I am, however, reluctant to jump back onto Google+ today as the last time I used it I conveniently lost my internet for 2 days at the same time.
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Joined: 3/16/2011
Posts: 279
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I've been on Google+ since mid-June when the invites first started going out and I have to say, the possibilities are endless when it comes to promoting yourself and your work there.
Circles...
This isn't facebook and it isn't twitter. Unlike Facebook, you can follow whoever you want and they don't have to follow you back. It's like twitter in that respect. Unlike twitter, you can toss people into circles and post things only to certain groups.
For example...I have a circle labeled Book Country and every time one of you shows up, I'll toss you in there. If I post a new book up on BC and I only want the BC peeps to know about it, I can post an announcement just to you guys. You can't do that on twitter.
I'm using Google+ to market myself. I haven't published a book yet, but when I do I want a vast network of followers in place so when I do, I can plug the heck out of it. Since I'm a big Comic nerd, I started putting my blog posts about Marvel/Movies etc up on G+ instead of my comic blog. One week later I have a whopping 8 requests to guest blog on comic book sites. I'm not even GOOD at blogging, but I've got my little comic book circle and when I started posting comic stuff they listened.
That never happened on my comic blog. When people who work at Marvel Entertainment start adding me and commenting on stuff, it's heady.
That is the key to Google+ at the moment, you can talk to these people. Authors, CEO's, Actors, Google employees, it doesn't matter. Follow them, watch what they say that is open to the public and comment randomly.
G+ is about networking and everyone who hopes to sell themselves or a product should be networking there now.
Want to see something really cool? Go to Google+ and type in the word Writer. In the first five pages I saw several of our Book Country members. Everyone is equal on that site...for now. The longer time goes by, the harder it will be to network when the key players have 20k+ followers.
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Joined: 6/16/2011
Posts: 7
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I think I will use both, I have two accounts on both, one for personal and one for my pen name. So far Facebook has been where I encounter most of my RL personal stuff and I have only been on g+ for a day and already have a lot of contacts for my pen name bt none for my personal one.
I think it will change over time, since G+ is in beta, those of us looking to network are the ones jumping in head first. The people who are truly using social networking just to socialize are probably going to hold on to twitter and facebook a long time before deciding to switch. Until one starts to obviously loose people or one pulls way head I will continue to use all three.
As if I needed another place to loose writing time.
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Joined: 3/16/2011
Posts: 279
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I was on this afternoon and got pulled into a limited Hangout with a bunch of authors that was just amazing. Rebecca Woodhead, Jamie Ford and Anna Ravenscroft were there and very friendly. Rebecca read some of her poetry out loud and is interested in organizing readings.
Why did I get invited? I have no bloody idea.
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Joined: 3/12/2011
Posts: 376
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Just this week I got five invites. Which are the first invites I've gotten. I suppose I'll be setting it up this Friday once my on-a-deadline submissions are in.
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Joined: 3/11/2011
Posts: 156
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I know last week people were saying that Google had stopped invites because they'd sent out too many to handle. This week it opened back up and apparently if you add someone to a circle and then share to that circle, the person will get an invite if they aren't already using Google+. So things have eased up on the invite limits.
I'm still playing with it. I think the battle between it and Facebook may come down to how they handle ads.
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Joined: 3/16/2011
Posts: 214
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And there's the privacy factor.
Flakebook has really lost brownie points with me for its untenable lack of privacy. I was totally ired when they started that business of posting your responses to other people's status updates on your own wall.
That's just not right.
Maybe I don't want the entire world to know that I posted about a political issue, ya know? So whenever I respond to someone, I have to go play clean-up and remove my wall posts.
It's sheer absurdity.
Not to mention that the ads drive me crazy, too. But Google + will have to have them to some degree to be successful. That's what it's all about -- the sell.
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Joined: 8/1/2011
Posts: 4
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I agree LisaMarie about Facebook...it's gotten a little bit too much like the things I used to hate about Myspace. I hate that everything I do gets posted unless I'm ultra-vigilant about cleaning it up, I hate that if a person doesn't hit "private" on their event everyone in the world can respond to it, and I hate the app updates I get on my wall.
Yes, I block them...but there are always more!!!
All my friends are on facebook so I'll probably stay on it for a while, but make a google + account as well...maybe eventually I'll move all the way to Google.
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 26
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I think the only reason I will stick with Facebook is the number of friends I have there. Other than that Google+ is better for me feature-wise.
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Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 244
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Google+ wins out for me. As of this evening I no longer have a Facebook account. Even with my privacy settings at friends only (including searchability) I don't have a guarantee that my posts aren't visible to others. Especially with the most recent changes to the interface. After unsubscribing from everything but status updates for every friend I was still getting their likes and comments in my news feed. Meaning I was seeing the pictures (including pictures of newborns and little kids) in my news feed.
Who's to say that's not happening with my information? I rarely post on Google+, mostly because I forget it's there and it gets ignored for days on end. And frankly I'm not sure I'm ever going to jump on a social networking bandwagon again.
For now I have my blog and twitter and I'm comfortable with that only because they're very very focused and I rarely put any sort of personal pictures on there.
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Joined: 5/10/2011
Posts: 69
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I like @Danielle's idea about using Google+ for business/writing purposes. I already have an account and haven't used it too much mostly because I am so much more familiar with FB interface. @ LisaMarie has a great point about FB. All the changes they are making are no bueno as far as I am concerened.
Also, as @stephmcgee touched on in a recent blog, all the internet connectivity always put me in danger of getting too busy connecting on the internet to maintain my priorities in the "real world."
I am a sucker for connection, so I can easily lose an hour at a time making comments, reading, posting on threads, etc. when I should be writing. So, for me whichever network(s) I am a part of, I have to be super intentional about how I use my time.
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Joined: 5/12/2011
Posts: 240
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I'm on Google+ and am going to keep Facebook, but not post much there and keep myself logged out unless I'm posting. There are people I am friends with on Facebook I won't be friending on Google+ which is why I'm not wholesale shutting my FB down.
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Joined: 4/26/2011
Posts: 54
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Why why why why?? Who's initial reaction was OH FOR GOODNESS SAKES, not another social media site that i HAVE TO contribute to in order to succeed or risk disappearing into the great abyss known as failure.
I mean really? Doesn't all the pre-existing social media already suck the life and soul out of your day?
Do we really need another social site to add to our to do list as writers.
I am very unhappy about Google +. I just dont have time for it, as well as everything else.
!!!!!!
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Joined: 5/12/2011
Posts: 240
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That was my initial feeling, Annabelle, and it contributes to my desire to shut down my FB account. But I'm also thinking I might just return to blogging more and doing these pre-fab social media sites a lot less.
I do still feel obligated to keep my toes in their water, though.
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Joined: 4/26/2011
Posts: 54
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Exactly LilySea
I am enjoying my Facebook interactions, but just cant bring myself to add Google+ to the mix.
Do I have to? Please say I don't...
Plus Facebook has everything you could possible ever want. With 600 million+ user, and a group to absolutely everything you can think of, i am surprised that there would even be a need to go elsewhere.
I guess the evil overlords of TimeSuck, just want to keep us on our toes.
Annabelle xxx
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