We talk a bit about the realities of “unlimited” data plans. We dive into the ins, outs, and available options for hosting a personal blog. And we address a listener concern: what to do when you want to share a Google+ meetup with someone local to you.
Good episode – I have to say that I can’t figure out how to use Google+. I have facebook and I like it for finding out local events and group activities. I have noticed that often local places will advertise or promote smaller functions only through FB or twitter and as an unschooling parent this has come in handy for some neat-o activities of interest. I also catch up with what friends are doing on FB but I don’t like it when people use FB as their main form of communication because it is way to easy to miss stuff there.
I started a Google+ account because a friend asked me to join up but most of the people I know are not yet on Google+. I listen to you guys talk about all of these things you do on Google+ and I don’t know where you do these activities. I couldn’t even figure out how to upload a profile photo to my profile, it just put it in an album. Maybe you could talk about google+ in general sometime? I’m probably the only one who doesn’t understand it though. I’m not social media savvy.
There are other blog places that you do not need to know how to code, just drop and drag type places such as blogger and tumbler. LiveJournal is that way to some extent however I personally did not like LiveJournal.
Didn’t understand half of what was said but it was still interesting, good show guys.
Good show as always.
WTF Chuck? Half of GWC doesn’t use True Names on G+. Shame that you’ve cut yourself off from your audience like that.
Of course, you can still follow “Lady Gaga” and others who proudly bear their birth names.
Hey – I was pretty clear that my views don’t align with others. And I’m not “cut off” from those people. I can see their information in my incoming, and I believe I mentioned that 90% of what I post is public anyway, meaning they can see it if they choose. Speaking of: how many GWCers do you follow on Twitter? All of 'em? Do they follow you? How “cut off” are you from them?
I think this shows just how little people really understand the fundamental differences between G+ and other popular social networking systems. The way G+ allows information to be shared or not shared creates not just one or two different dimensions of use, but exponential dimensions of use. Each way we apply the constraints differently creates a whole new sheath of options from all other settings.
Such a system has advantages. By careful application of available tools, I can render what you see as a black and white area between FOLLOW and NOT FOLLOW into infinite shades of gray – a system much more analogous to our IRL social networks.
There are disadvantages to G+, too. Lots, actually, the foremost of which is that it’s not really intended as much as a social networking system as an identity system. I agree that there’s a place for such a system, but I’m not yet convinced that G+ is positioned in that place. Time will tell.
Also: Lame swipe, sir. That’s what’s known as a straw man argument. I don’t follow Lady Gaga, either. (In fact, she doesn’t appear to have an account under that name, at least not one I can find with a quick search.)
Finally:
Despite all the thrashing about pseudonyms, there’s some truly interesting and productive exploration going on right now in terms of exactly when and where use of pseudonyms make sense – and that’s a good thing. Clearly there exist some cases where it’s best for one to know that one’s dealing with known entities, and it’d be a shame to limit the 'net to only situations that support pseudonym use. For the record, I’m not convinced that networked blogging/SNSes are such a situation, so I suspect G+ may change significantly in the future, either accepting pseudonym use or changing its format to serve as solely an identity site. And though I’m not convinced of Google’s current methodology, I do suspect that such an identity services could offer value online.
A handful, as with most of the communities I follow there. More to the point, I follow every active GWCer on G+. Are you really not following most of the mods?
There are disadvantages to G+, too. Lots, actually, the foremost of which is that it’s not really intended as much as a social networking system as an identity system. I agree that there’s a place for such a system, but I’m not yet convinced that G+ is positioned in that place. Time will tell.
Yeah, that’s their line now. It’s also BS. The engineering behind it proves as much. Hell, my profile information was pulled from an earlier product that didn’t have such ToS.
Also: Lame swipe, sir. That’s what’s known as a straw man argument. I don’t follow Lady Gaga, either. (In fact, she doesn’t appear to have an account under that name, at least not one I can find with a quick search.)
She did, although the account is marked ‘private’ at the moment. In lieu of that, I give you 50 Cent.
The ‘swipe’ wasn’t at you, but Google, since it clearly shows that they’ll make an exception if you’re famous enough. Unfortunately, that precludes people like Ms. Gaga or Mr. Cent from establishing themselves early in their career, if they were relying on G+. And that’s probably the least important use of pseudonymity.
Clearly there exist some cases where it’s best for one to know that one’s dealing with known entities, and it’d be a shame to limit the 'net to only situations that support pseudonym use…
And though I’m not convinced of Google’s current methodology, I do suspect that such an identity services could offer value online.
We have those. Paypal, Amazon, etc.
The thing with Google is, we aren’t the customers. We’re the product. Unless and until they give me a reason to pull out my credit card, they don’t need to know who I am.
Thanks for answering my question with practical advice, Juan! And Chuck, thanks for answering my question with, “well, you could get a mixer…” It might happen. Yeah! And monkeys might fly out of my butt.
But seriously, thanks both of you for another entertaining and informative cast.
That’s a very interesting theory, Chuck!
Thanks for taking my bullshite call and spinning it into another informative, educational episode!
Being one of the people who doesn’t play by the rules and use my real name on G+…when they call me out on it I’ll just delete the account. When I joined to connect with GWCers most of them wouldn’t know/remember my real name anyhow.
This is actually a larger problem with G+. Most of the people that are in my circles, I don’t know who they are. “GreyAndorian?” Known him for years. “Charles Smith?” Who the hell is that?. I slot them into a circle based on who we have in common.
So where do people blog? I use LiveJournal which has decent IP rules, is clean and easy to use, and a lot of my friends are there. I hate Facebook and have not looked at Google+.
Link to the Pimp You Blog thread: http://forum.galacticwatercooler.com/showthread.php?14386-Pimp-Your-Blog&p=391745#post391745
Yeah it is. I have had several people add me but I don’t know who they are. So I just ignore it unless I think their picture/avatar looks familiar. I’ve even had to block a few that were obvious spammer types and those that are just adding everyone to their circles…counting coup with the # of contacts like folks do in FB to have a higher friend count.
I had a blog idea for which I had purchased a domain name but had yet to get off my ass and make it happen. After hearing this episode I finally got the motivation to do it. The result is linked in my sig right now. Not sure how many people will find it interesting, but I’m glad to finally have it out there.