Google Plus is one of the most popular social networks today with users increasing rapidly every month. Here are some Google Plus tips to help you get the most out of it. If you are a new user, these tips will help you get started and learn the ropes, Even if you are long time user, you will still find these useful.
Some Really Cool Tips
To make a draft of a post, just make a draft circle or just share it to yourself. The nice thing about Google Plus is that you can make lengthy posts and then edit it later if you want. But if you want to tag your buddies in Google Plus posts, just use the “+” or “@” prefix followed by your friend’s name. Your post now has a link to your buddy’s profile.
Here is a cool tip for those who want to move their Facebook contacts into Google Plus. It is true that Facebook does not permit direct export and import of their contact into Google Plus. It isn’t just Facebook but also its apps; they don’t allow you to do it either. But you can use a Yahoo account to get around it. Start by importing your Facebook contacts into Yahoo and then transfer them to Gmail and that’s it, because your Gmail contacts will appear in Google Plus.
If you want to integrate Twitter and Facebook into Google Plus, there are plugins for Firefox and Chrome that can do it. Now if you want to use Google Plus search engine with Google Chrome just open Chrome. Look for the spanner icon and click it and choose options. Look for the Manage search engine under the Basic tab. You will see the all the search engines that Chrome is using. To search in Google Plus profiles just add Google+ profiles in the textbox.
More about Google Plus Circles
The circles are used for grouping your friends into clusters, and you can select what content to share. This allows you to organize your friends into family, colleagues, and close friends and so on. Google Plus has default circles built in including Following, Acquaintances, Family and Friends, so you don’t have to make one from scratch. The Following feature is similar to the one used in Twitter. Keep in mind circles are private and no one will know which circle you placed them in. They cannot even see the name of the circle.
Hangouts
These are video chats that may consist of up to 10 people. It is similar to Skype but comes with a social network component. By combining this with Google Calendar you can set up Hangouts. If you are a businessman or run an NGO you can use Google Plus Hangouts to conduct meetings. With Hangout you and your friends can watch the same YouTube videos.
On Facebook you use the Like feature to let your friends in something that you find interesting. In Google Plus you will put a +1 on it. Unlike Facebook Likes which get buried when something new shows, your +1 will still be there.
These Google Plus tips and tricks show you just how powerful this social network can be. It is not yet as well known as Facebook or Twitter true, but it is increasing in popularity rapidly, so don’t get left behind.
Know Your Guest Author:
Alan is the free lancer writer of many technology sites and he loves to share his knowledge on Google Plus.