So you have successfully created your Google Plus profile, still getting the hang of it, and want to know the inside details and working of Google plus. If you haven’t joined Google Plus yet, try requesting an invitation for Google Plus here and read our guide on setting up your Google Plus profile for the first time.
What Is Google Plus And How it Works?
Google Plus is a new initiative from Google, which aims to simplify your social sharing experience and connect with people who matter to you in real life. But wait! Don’t we already have Facebook, Twitter and dozens of social sharing sites already?
Yes, but Google plus takes a different approach towards social sharing, and this guy has better privacy control on the features provided.
Don’t you hate it when a random friend adds you to a stupid Facebook group? Do you go mad when you receive tons of spam mentions on Twitter? They are all public and anyone can find it via a simple search [@your_Twitter-handle]. Are you fed up with people who mass tag you in photos and videos, which really gets in the way of your social privacy? You don’t want to remove those friends from your social life, it’s just that you want to prevent them from doing the same nonsense over and over again.
Enter Google Plus same social sharing and connections but no more fiddling with user privacy. In Google Plus, your friends or followers will have to take prior permission from you, if they want you to tag in a photo or video. There is no Wall so the question of spam links and malicious apps being posted on your profile is burned to death.
If you tag someone in a post, and share it only with him, none else can see it. Not even mutual friends !
How Circles In Google + Works
Everything in Google + works through Circles.
A Circle is an identifier for the network you create and it is visible to you only. You can create as many circles as you want, and add friends to one or more circles that you have created. No one except you will be able to see the name and visibility of your Google Plus circles.
The best thing regarding Google Plus is that Google will automatically scan your email contact list and Android contacts and suggest you people whom you might want to follow. You may add these people to your circles through a beautiful and intuitive drag-and-drop interface.
If you want to follow a celebrity or a famous person on Google Plus, simply search for his name on the search box and add him to a circle you have created. Again, this circle is visible only to you so you can safely name it anything you want.
Your Google Plus Life Stream
Your Google Plus life stream will contain updates from all the people whom you are following. This includes photos, status updates, videos and comments from people whom you have added to your Google + circles.
Filtering Updates From Specific Circles
On the right pane, you will notice that all the circles are listed one after another. Click the name of a circle and you should see the filtered life stream, containing updates from people who have been added to that particular circle only. This is super useful and helps you to stay in touch with family members, and friends, so you never miss out catching up the updates of quietpeople among those who are highly active on Google plus.
Your Google Plus Notifications
On the top right corner of your Google plus profile, you will notice a sleek notifications button. This little kid will continue monitoring your Google plus activity and alert you whenever someone comments in a post you commented earlier, someone replies to your status update or tags you in a photo uploaded by you.
Further, you will see a brief preview of which of your friends are participating in a discussion within your circle. This is really nice and quite similar to Facebook, the only difference here is that there would be no notification like Mr X tagged you in a photo. Anyone who wants to tag you in a photo will have to obtain your prior permission, which is very very useful and a godsend.
Chat With Plus One Buddies Or Email Them
Every social network has an option to send instant messages to their followers and friends and Google Plus is no exception. The chat widget is placed down the bottom of right pane where you can click the name of a person and send him an instant message right away.
Contrary to Facebook and Twitter, there is no way to send private messages to your Google plus friends and contacts. Instead, there is a handy option called Email’ placed right below the profile photo of your Google Plus friend, click it and you can send a private message directly to his email inbox.
Please note that your friends can choose whether he wants to allow you to send him an email or not. In some profiles, you may not find the Email Meoption, this is because the person has customized his email settings to suit his needs.
Controlling Email Notifications
For all your Google Plus activity, you will receive email notifications to the email address you used to sign up for Google Plus. Individual notification settings can be toggled from the notifications page
Google plus In Android
Android users can install the official Google plus application using this link. Here are some screenshots of Google plus application for Android
There are a lot of other tips and tricks for Google plus which you should learn. We are still digging out more features, settings and shortcuts for Google plus, come back soon!