5 ways to getting started with Google+

Hear ye! Hear ye!! Google+ has arrived…and is here to stay!!! The Google+ project intends to make “sharing on the web more like sharing in the real world”.
Google+ has taken over social media & gone viral in a short span of time. It has a much quicker growth-rate than other social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter, since millions of people already have Google accounts on Gmail, YouTube, etc.
So how can you get started with your Google+ account?

1. First, signing-up! If you don’t have an existing Google account, you will need an ‘Invite’ from someone you know who already has an active Google+ account. You can then click on the link from their email & sign up.

If you have an active Google account, you’re almost there. Look at the black strip along the top of the page, where it will allow you to sign up for Google+

2. Once signed in, you need to update a Google+ profile picture. First, get rid of that default profile image (who looks like that anyway!?!) & add one of your own photos.

Try to upload multiple photos for your profile image. Google+ has a cool feature, which allows you to flip through the different photos, just by clicking on the profile image.

3. Next, fill up your bio & your links on the new account. On the “About” page, update as much interesting information about yourself as you want. This will help you connect with other similar people on Google+.

On the “Other Profiles” section, update all links to business websites, other social media sites or any interesting links.

4. The next thing you do is build up your contact-list & create “Circles”. Google will automatically scan your contact-list on Gmail or from your phone, and suggest people you may want to add. You can also find interesting people by pulling up a search of people by name, in the same profession/business, with similar hobbies or likes, in the same city or community, and even famous celebrities.

Now, you add your contacts through a simple Drop-&-Drag interface into separate ‘Circles’, which helps you identify different people on separate networks.

These circles are only visible to you. You can create as many circles, and add people to one or multiple circles, if needed.

5. Finally, spend some time & play around with Google+ as it’s the best way to learn when you get started with something new. You can share posts, comment, chat, check notifications, play games, go through life-streams, visit famous hangouts, etc.

Written By Ryan D’souza