This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Why Is Google+ So Interesting?
Let me be clear: I’m not usually in the “oh shiny!” tribe. I’m a fan of business and business communication. I love tools that improve business, and especially what I call “human business,” which means that it’s relationship-minded and yet sustainable. I’m not a “kumbaya” kind of person in that I think, “Let’s enjoy everything and keep it free and let’s be in a commune together.” I have mouths to feed, and when I evaluate a new technology, it’s often through the lens of “how can this grow my business?”
Social media and social networks are powerful tools to connect people. Period. This is true, no matter the motive. This works for big businesses I’ve spent time with, such as General Motors, Pepsico, and Microsoft. Social media and social networks are great for small businesses such as AJ Bombers (burgers) and Glynne Soaps. It works well for solo businesses, such as Joel Libava, the “Franchise King,” and Carrie Wilkerson, the Barefoot Executive. Google+ is a great tool for accomplishing all of this.
Google+ is so interesting because it’s tied to the number 1 and number 2 search engines in the world (Google and YouTube, respectively). It’s interesting because the sharing patterns in there reveal (even without any complicated tools) how information moves, who cares about it, and who’s connected to it. With just a handful of clicks and some note-taking, you can see who cared (or didn’t care) about the unveiling of a new car.
Speaking of cars, I saw Scott Monty from Ford on Google+ on the second day it was open to the public. I asked Scott why he jumped on Google+ right away:
- “This is the first time we’ve truly been able to watch a social network being born, and it’s kind of like watching the birth of a rare wild animal or a star in another galaxy. The difference between other networks that were born from within is that Google already has a vast presence across the web: platforms and services for mail, calendar, search, analytics, e-commerce, blogging, video, photo, IM, voice, etc., so that Google+ has the potential of being a connector between them all, allowing you to seamlessly move from one to the next, all while connected to the network. For businesses, the attractiveness of Google+ is the prospect of being able to deliver highly relevant content that is tailored specifically to consumers.”