The Google+ Project or Google Circles launched on 28th June, 2011.
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| Google+ is an essential part of my business, with other Google tools. |
They've come a long way since.
From the official Google blog announcing the launch, written by +Vic Gundotra:
+You: putting you first, all across GoogleThat’s the Google+ project so far: Circles, Sparks, Hangouts and mobile. We’re beginning in Field Trial, so you may find some rough edges, and the project is by invitation only. But online sharing needs a serious re-think, so it’s time we got started. There’s just one more thing—really the only thing: You.You and over a billion others trust Google, and we don’t take this lightly. In fact we’ve focused on the user for over a decade: liberating data, working for an open Internet, and respecting people’s freedom to be who they want to be. We realize, however, that Google+ is a different kind of project, requiring a different kind of focus—on you. That’s why we’re giving you more ways to stay private or go public; more meaningful choices around your friends and your data; and more ways to let us know how we’re doing. All across Google.When your invite arrives we hope you’ll join the project. But it’s entirely up to +You.
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| First Public test post 30 minutes before the actual launch was by Yonatan Zunger, the chief architect of Google+. This post is shown in time zone GMT+3, actual post was posted 9.38 AM California time. |
+Yonatan Zunger posted about the birthday and the launch:
I started using Google+ four years ago today
I don't mind being called a First Generation User: I got an invitation and joined very soon after the Beta version of the platform was published in 28th June 2011.
I have written numerous posts and articles about Google+, spreading the word and helping people to "get" GooglePlus:
What I’ve enjoyed most in Google+ is the lack of status updates like ‘I had an omelet for brekkies’ or ‘I became Mayor of Thingummybob in Be-Square’.
Circle judiciously: Choosing carefully who you place in circles and which communities you join can bring you a rich home stream. You don't have to circle anyone back, choose those whose content you find interesting. After managing your circles well and choosing interesting people and pages to follow the standard of posts in your stream will be fun and educational depending on your tastes, ranging perhaps from tech to religion, humor to science and all sorts of news. And of course cats.
For the newcomers to Google+ the place might look like a desert. Your stream is empty, your friends haven’t joined in, the whole place feels strange and even its UI is a bit baffling. Where to start?
Don’t try to please anyone on Google+ but be yourself.
Fill in you profile. Write about the things that interest you, share links and videos that you find amusing or intriguing. Post stuff with good content, as that is what the public is looking for.
I started on Google+ with no-one I knew, even today only a handful of my friends are here.
I'm no techie or celebrity, just an ordinary middle-aged female from Finland. Love sharing my thoughts and photographs, posting (hopefully) interesting content, engaging in conversations and helping out Goobies (G+ newcomers).
Some thoughts on the difference between Facebook and Google+
In Google+, people chat, share ideas, post photos and videos, stay in touch and share personal news, plan meetings and get-togethers, send birthday and holiday wishes, do homework and business together, find and contact new & long-lost contacts, friends and relatives; review books, recommend restaurants and support charitable causes. The list goes on and it also includes getting and giving validation and emotional support, lots of informal learning and exploring personal, academic and future professional interests.
In fact, there’s very little of human life that doesn’t get expressed in a social network site. It’s sometimes called a “social utility.” Like a power grid, it provides the supporting infrastructure for the constantly changing everyday activities of millions of users, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
In effect, the “product” called Google+ is a living thing that changes constantly. Unlike the media we parents grew up with – books, newspapers, and even radio and television – it’s extremely “user-driven,” the collective product of its millions of users’ lives, updated spontaneously, moment by moment around the world and part of the social Web that increasingly mirrors all of human life.
Especially in the earlier days there were strong opinions, mainly based on how people had been using Facebook and Twitter. I had (and still do have) my own ideas and thoughts, here is a Google+ post from 2012 which I have updated slightly and which I think is still valid:
Google+ is part of the Interwebz: Here is a great "Infographic" about the real time traffic happening all the time!
Click the image to open the interactive version (via Penny Stocks Lab).
Google+ Help Center - Answers most of your questions
Google+ Help Community - Answers the rest...
The impact Google+ has had in my life - By +Jaana Nyström
Looking back:
Introducing the Google+ project: Real-life sharing, rethought for the web
Fill in you profile. Write about the things that interest you, share links and videos that you find amusing or intriguing. Post stuff with good content, as that is what the public is looking for.
I started on Google+ with no-one I knew, even today only a handful of my friends are here.
I'm no techie or celebrity, just an ordinary middle-aged female from Finland. Love sharing my thoughts and photographs, posting (hopefully) interesting content, engaging in conversations and helping out Goobies (G+ newcomers).
Some thoughts on the difference between Facebook and Google+
From Google: What is Google+?
Google+ is literally Google with a plus. The "+" is the social networking it adds to all of Google's other services, including Gmail, YouTube, and Blogger. Google+ brings popular social-media features like comments, photo- and music-sharing, video chat, etc. to your social circles. It's basically what any user chooses it to be, from an ongoing conversation to a platform of self-expression, with tools for making it as individual or collective as you want.
What do people use Google+ for?
In Google+, people chat, share ideas, post photos and videos, stay in touch and share personal news, plan meetings and get-togethers, send birthday and holiday wishes, do homework and business together, find and contact new & long-lost contacts, friends and relatives; review books, recommend restaurants and support charitable causes. The list goes on and it also includes getting and giving validation and emotional support, lots of informal learning and exploring personal, academic and future professional interests.
In fact, there’s very little of human life that doesn’t get expressed in a social network site. It’s sometimes called a “social utility.” Like a power grid, it provides the supporting infrastructure for the constantly changing everyday activities of millions of users, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
In effect, the “product” called Google+ is a living thing that changes constantly. Unlike the media we parents grew up with – books, newspapers, and even radio and television – it’s extremely “user-driven,” the collective product of its millions of users’ lives, updated spontaneously, moment by moment around the world and part of the social Web that increasingly mirrors all of human life.
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| Live Hangouts on Air are a great way to broadcast your message! |
How should people use Google+?
Especially in the earlier days there were strong opinions, mainly based on how people had been using Facebook and Twitter. I had (and still do have) my own ideas and thoughts, here is a Google+ post from 2012 which I have updated slightly and which I think is still valid:
Click the image to open the interactive version (via Penny Stocks Lab).
Links:
Google+ Help Center - Answers most of your questions
Google+ Help Community - Answers the rest...
The impact Google+ has had in my life - By +Jaana Nyström
Looking back:
Introducing the Google+ project: Real-life sharing, rethought for the web
Facebook's Newest Challenger: Google Plus
3 years of Google+ - Infographic
Happy Birthday Google+! Thank you for being my window to the world!
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