25 Google Plus Resources, Articles, and Reviews to Help You Get Started

Google+ (or is it “Google Plus”?), the search giant’s big social initiative, has arrived and there’s a lot to learn. Google’s answer to Facebook has been in the works for a year and has been delayed several times due to disagreements about its design, purpose, and execution. Facebook’s threat to Google’s domination of the Web was a wake-up call that ignited the development of the new social platform. Even though Facebook’s traffic seems to be slowing in the U.S. and Canada, the network’s exponential growth frightened Google’s leadership into taking action. When Facebook discovered the company’s plans, it went into  “lockdown” for 60 days and focused on completing new features like Facebook Groups, Facebook Messages, and Facebook Places.
Google refers to Google+ as a “project” rather than a product, stressing that its goal is to make Google itself more social rather than being a standalone social network that competes directly with Facebook. “It’s ‘Plus’ because it takes products from Google and makes them better and ‘project’ because it’s an ongoing set of products,” said Vic Gundotra, Google’s senior vice president of Social. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably, well, a duck. And Google+ looks like and quacks like Facebook in many ways.

I’ve jumped into the Google Plus fray to try it out and determine what potential benefits it offers social media marketers. If you’d like to connect with me on Google+, I’m happy to include you in my circle!

25 articles, resources, and reviews to help you understand the basics of Google+

1. Google+ Unveiled: 9 Things You Need to Know
   A handy guide for learning all about Google+ features.
2. Facebook vs. Google+ [Infographic]
   A nice side-by-side comparison.
3. A Walkthrough of Google’s New Social Network, Google+
   Screenshots of Google+ features that show you the basics of the platform.
4. Getting Started With Google Plus
   A screencast by Chris Brogan that shows what to do.
5. Circles, Hangouts, Sparks: A simple guide to getting started in Google Plus
   While experienced social media users will have an inherent understanding of the of the similarities between Google Plus and other social media platforms, there are several unique features to Google’s new service.
6. The Google Plus 50
   50 thoughts about Google Plus, also from Chris Brogan.
7. How To Use Google Plus
   At its core level, Plus is not that much different from other social networks, yet there’s also so much more. How do you get started with Google Plus? Here’s a breakdown of the nuts and bolts.
8. Google+: The Complete Guide
   Google+ isn’t the easiest thing to understand. It has a lot of features that can confuse beginners. Even advanced users can miss a lot of the little gems and nuances that define Google+.
9. Google+ Guide: All You Need to Know about Google+
   A detailed guide which explains all the basic and advanced features such as UI, Profile, friends, chat, spark, features.
10. 28 Google+ Tips to Enhance Your Google Plus Experience
    A list of handy tips and tricks.
11. Google Plus: 8 Quick Tips and Tricks
    Google Plus (aka Google+), Google’s new social network, might offer the right mix of sharing and privacy to woo you away from your Facebook account. If you don’t know how to use it, though, it’s just a confusing mess of circles and contacts.
12. Your Google+ Guide: 15 Tips For Newbies
    What exactly are these “Sparks” and “Circles”? And what are the other key features of Google+? How can you make the most of your Google+ experience?
13. Google+ Improves on Facebook
    Google+, Google’s social network, has easy-to-use privacy controls and allows video chats with as many as 10 people.
14. 19 Essential Google+ Resources
    A collection of tools, reviews, and tips
15. 61 Google Plus Tips, Thoughts, and Requests
    Enough said.
16. How to Create Google Plus Profile Custom URL
    Interested in adding the new Google Plus to your social media repertoire? Be sure and grab a custom URL for your Google Plus Profile.
17. 5 Things Small Businesses Must Know About Google Plus
    Google+ (also known as G+, Google Plus or Plus) is the biggest trending topic online these days. So, what is it and why should you care about it?
18. How Will Google Plus Affect SEO?
    Officially, there’s no official indication of how Plus will affect SEO, but plenty of speculation and some obvious hints about where things may be headed.
19. Facebook engineers bring Google+ Circles to Facebook
    Four Facebook engineers have built Circle Hack, which lets you build friend lists on Facebook exactly how you build Circles on Google+.
20. Google Plus vs. Facebook: 6 Things Google+ Has That Facebook Doesn’t
    As the title suggests, this is a rundown of how Google+ is different from Facebook.
21. Google+: Where all the guys are
    Google+ is the equivalent of Alaska in the social networking world. At least two sites tracking Google+ user demographics say males make up more than 73 percent of the site’s users.
22. By the Numbers: Google+ the Biggest Social Network Launch Ever?
    Two-week-old Google+ has 10 million users already. That’s an enormous number, and makes it likely that Google+ has had the fastest out-of-the-gate velocity of any social network ever.
23. Google+ and its two-pronged relevance problem
    Google Plus has got off to a great start, but it faces two problems – both related to relevance.
24. Paul Adams: Seeing Google+ In Public Is Like Bumping Into An Ex-Girlfriend
    “It was like when you first see her you have a moment where you have a niggle of regret and wonder for a split second, but that quickly passes when you remember why you broke up with her.”
25. What MySpace’s Tom Anderson Thinks of Google+
    Tom Anderson, best known as the default friend on MySpace during its early years, co-founded MySpace with Chris DeWolfe in 2003.

Have you found any Google+ resources around the Web that you think are particularly helpful? Please share them!

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