I'm not sure how it happened, but I joined Google+

[dreamshark]

I somehow ended up at Google and it was asking me if I wanted to join Google+ and I realized that although I'm still not sure what their name policy turned out to be, but since I wanted to use my real name anyway I might as well join before that mystery writer in Texas grabbed it. So I'm Sharon Kahn. All they asked me for was my name and birthdate (presumably for disambiguation purposes, since they made a point of saying that the birthdate won't be public). Then people started dreamily popping into view that were candidates for circles, and it was so easy to create distinct yet overlapping circles that I kind of warmed to the whole idea.

I'm still not sure I WANT Google to be a social network. Google is my toolbox, not a "place" I want to hang out. But what the heck, I'll give it a try. I created two new circles: Minicon and Fandom. Along with those two, Friends and Family seemed to cover everybody that swam into view.

So now I've got a bunch of overlapping "circles." Why? Am I supposed to be using them like email groups? Or will exciting things start happening inside these circles that I will be grateful to be a part of? I still don't understand what Google+ is actually for.

And how did all those pictures come to be associated with my circle members? Did I add pictures to my Contact list on some long boring Sunday in the distant past? Or did Google somehow do that for me. I hope not. That's creepy.

Comments

[pameladean]

The pictures were provided by the circle members as part of their profiles. If they haven't put up a photo, you'll just get a stylized image of a head, or I think that's what it is, anyway.

I haven't figured out what to do with Google+ either. I really would prefer that LJ settle down and work right.

P.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Google might have a "do no evil" motto, but I'd like some proof. This isn't it.

K.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Well, so far they don't give me the icky feeling that I got from Facebook, but I'm not sure I exactly trust them either. As LJ has been demonstrating lately, it doesn't require actual malice to do harm - just incompetence/bad luck. Everything has bugs and security flaws.

[tesla-aldrich.livejournal.com]

I'm soooooooo not the expert on this, but nobody else has replied yet, so I'll give it a shot:

Circles are basically like custom friends groups in LJ. If you want to share your posts with a limited group of people, that's how you do it. Also, if you want to read the posts of a limited group of people, you can choose which circles appear in your "stream."

The photos are coming from your circle members themselves. For example, I have a photo of myself associated with my gmail account. If you connect with me on Google Plus (please do!) that is the photo you will see.

As to the what and why - well, gee. It's kind of like this: you write stuff and other people read it, or vice-versa. And then there's "huddles," which I haven't tried out yet and am not qualified to speak about.

More knowledgeable people should please feel free to correct me.