2 The Next Level

Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category

I am a huge LinkedIn fan and have used this social network to connect to many of my prospects and customers.  If you have not heard someone posted over 6+ million passwords to a message board. They didn’t say if these were user names and passwords but here is the official response from LinkedIn on what you should do now.  ”Taking Steps To Protect Our Members”

I still have confidence in LinkedIn and I am sure they will take the steps to figure out how to correct this and make sure it does not happen again. In the mean time I would suggest to all my readers and viewers that you change your password in LinkedIn NOW. For those of you who don’t know how to change your password, I created a Step-by-Step Youtube video that will help you change it.  Please take a look a the video below and if you are still unsure what to do please don’t hesitate to leave me a comment below or email or call me and I will be happy to help you.

Thanks for your support.

JB

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Flowtown – Social Media Marketing Application

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Flowtown – Social Media Marketing Application

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It took 40 days and 40 nights for Noah to see dry land back when his Ark was the only thing on earth above water. Google+ literally weathered the storm of past failures by becoming the fastest social network to reach 25 million users in history. It took Facebook nearly three years to reach 25 million visitors and Twitter taking roughly 30 months to reach the same visitor amount of visitors.

I first highlighted G+ when they hit the 10 million users in 10 days. Since then, I have all but abandoned Facebook and my Twitter use has dropped to next to nothing. For those of us who have been  using Google+ from almost day one, we have already seen the light and its getting better one circle at a time.

So If you still think Google is just a ship passing in the night. Check out the video below by Epipheo Studios. Enjoy.

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I have to say I am very impressed with Google+ so far. It has a lot to offer technogeeks like myself. But can it go mainstream like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.  Before being invited to try Google+ I spent most of my time on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, in that order.  Now the order is more like Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Here is a great visual aide on how to explain Google+

Facebook+ Twitter+ Tumblr = Google+

What I like most about Google+

Something so simple yet so amazingly complex is ones circle of connections to people and to the world. We all have many circles relationships we come across  in our daily lives. Google has made this shape the backbone of its social network. These circles serve as a visible way to organize, share and secure information with only the people you identify. You can create and name as many circles as you like, yet none of those whom you put in these circles knows what circle you have placed them in. They also don’t know that they have been placed in the same  or different circles.  With this concept you don’t have to worry about mistakenly sharing the wrong information with someone who may not like it or may take offense by it. If you really look at it, it’s kinda like Social Segregation at its finest.

What I like least about Google+

There may be 10 million plus using it now but they are still limiting it to invitation only. Google has done this with almost all of it’s services, and I kinda understand it but that does not mean I have to like it. The invites are also currently limited to those who have a gmail account. So if you have anything else you will be forced to create a Google profile that requires you to have a Google gmail account.

What I think still needs some work

Google has taken video conferencing 2 the next level with their new “Hangout” service inside Google+. Creating a Hangout was very easy and made you take notice of how cool it is to get together with some of your friends face to face via the Internet.  The audio was impressive but the video was a little choppy and delayed.  You also only get to speak to 10 people at once. I say this only because 10 is currently the maximum number they have right now and I can’t really fathom video chatting with more than 5 people at one time let alone 10. Can you imaging a video conference session with say more than 20 people?

What I think will make Google+ even more appealing.

Google launched a native Google+ mobile app for all of its Android users right around the same time they launched the service. The app makes Google+ even easier to use and even adds a group chat service called “Huddle” to the mix.  Most smart phones still don’t have a front facing camera so I understand why the “Hangout” service is currently not on the Android app.  Although I do think they will add this feature when they release the mobile app for the iPhone and iPad. Google+ is probably working on integrating their Hangout service with the iOS “FaceTime” feature.  When this happens I think Google’s mobile subscribers to Google+ will skyrocket, taking that 10 million plus number in 10 days to record heights.

Why I think you should try it once you get invited.

Google has put a lot of thought behind this new social network. They have definitely learned from their many mistakes and failures of the past. (see: Why Is Google Not Afraid To Fail?) Google has also seen what has worked successfully for other social networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. All of this work by Google has allowed us all to benefit from what Google+ has brought to the table.  Is Google+ a “Facebook Killer”? only time will tell.  I suggest you check it out for yourself and make your own comparisons. Google+ is by no means the perfect social networking site, especially with the current invite limitations. Yet I can’t help but think that some of the ex employees of MySpace who currently work for Twitter or Facebook are secretly thinking, “OH SH**, Not AGAIN!!!;-)

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