Long time readers may recall that I am a fan of Google Plus. It is a solid platform that offers some of the best tools for engagement online.
They just rolled out a new offering that I am really intrigued by called Google Communities. From a distance I like what I see because you can create public and private communities where you really foster engagement and…community building.
Since people power social media community building is something that I am really interested in and that is a big part of why I created my own Google Plus Community called Wilner’s.
If it works out the way I want it to it will become a valuable part of what I am building, but it remains to be seen how it will work or if it will be one place too many for people to visit.
Is It A Good Use of Time?
People are really busy so there is a legitimate question about whether it makes sense to ask them to spend time in yet another place. The question about whether it is a good use of time is going to serve as a big part of why it succeeds or fails.
And the way to measure that is going to be based upon something that is subjective- does it provide value? When you visit Wilner’s the goal will be to provide the value we just talked about.
It will be a place that you can hang out with interesting people and have interesting conversations. That is the goal, to make it valuable and worth your time.
Why Google and Not Facebook?
The Facebook page is still live and it will remain so. It is active and it is growing more so day by day.
The idea is to provide outposts where people spend their time. Some people hate Facebook and will never visit. Some don’t like Google Plus and some fall everywhere else.
One of the ways to figure out what works is to experiment and that is what I am doing here. Fact is much of social media and marketing for that matter is about being a mad scientist who is willing to take advantage of the dynamic environment and test things out.
Failure is Not To Be Feared
Those who fail to succeed in social media usually do so because they forget it is about people and that it takes time to build something worthwhile and solid. It takes time to build relationships and part of the way to do that is to continue to seek out ways to engage.
That is what I am doing here. I am taking a chance and asking you to walk with me down the road a little bit farther. If it doesn’t work than it doesn’t work.
Those who don’t find value will move on to wherever they choose and the rest will be a part of something. Don’t know exactly what that looks like other than to say there are lots of different faces involved.
Come join us. Come hang out at Wilner’s and be a part of the conversation.
Thank you for the invite! I am still not addicted or a huge fan of G+ as yet. So it takes me some time to see what is going in the communities!
I’ve joined your community, but I haven’t created my own yet. And I’m all for experimenting, and to me, Google + is more interesting than Facebook when it comes to technology, but when it comes to people it seems that every single person I know are using Facebook, and that’s the only reason why Facebook is still more interesting than G+ – but that might be changing soon.
Hi Jens, thus far I really enjoyed the community that we are building together. However there is only so much time during the day, so I’m struggling to determine the best way to spend it.
I started a community a few days ago. It’s for my training site members. it’s a private community. I wanted to give the students somewhere we could interact and support one another. i think that one community is all i can handle managing at the moment. 😀 but i absolutely love this G+ community idea.
Hi Vanita,
That is a great idea and I bet it will work out quite well for you and your students. I am with you, I love the communities.
I’ve joined a number of G+ communities relating to writing and they all seem to be the same. There is very little participation beyond a quick advertisement for the new person’s book.
Some people have asked for feedback, but their writing is just horrible, and I don’t like giving bad news. Who knows, maybe that is why there isn’t much talking, because all the writing is dreadful.
I found the same thing over at Linkedin. The groups became places where people would give a link to their blog post and then run to all the posts before and leave meaningless comments, so they could get meaningless comments for their posts.
It is vastly different than Triberr, where I’ve found everyone to be genuine and engaging.
I would expect that over time G+ Communities will improve, but for now it hasn’t gotten me too excited.
Hi Brian,
I think it is a mixed bag out there. I have seen exactly what you are talking about but I have also found some good groups.
I am excited about the one I formed because to me it looks like we are building something that will have substance. Would love to have you participate in it too.
People make the difference so…
Josh, I’m so glad you’re doing this. I’ll stop by, hopefully often.
Cheers!
Hi Barrett,
Great. I am glad you are a part. This should be a lot of fun and help all of us.
HI Joshua
Idea of forming a community within a community is really great.
Thanks
Sapna
Hi Sapna,
I am really glad you joined. I look foward to your contributions.