Google+ - Posts, Circles, Sparks & Hangouts !!!

Google+ (Google Plus) is an interest-based social networking site owned by Google Inc. Launched in 2011, this platform brings together people with similar interest. Such group of people can build a community and share their ideas through photos and posts.

Google+ is unique in way in that it allows more transparency in what one shares and with whom it is shared. The Google+ menu bar is displayed on other Google services when one logs in the google account.

Some of the most prominent features of Google+ are as follows −

• Posts where one can update the status.
• Circles are used to share information with different groups.
• Sparks offer videos that users might like.
• Hangouts & Huddles are for video chat with a friend or a group of friends.

Uploading a Post:

We can upload posts on our Google+ profile easily and share it with people in our communities/circles or others who we want to share it with. When we share our post, it is visible on the receiver’s news feed. The post also appears on our profile page and people can comment, like, or share the post. We can also tag people to our post using “+ and their name.

Let’s go step by step and learn how we can upload a post in Google+.

Step 1 − Open your Google+ account.

Step 2 − On the profile page, at right bottom corner click on write icon to write new post.

Step 3 − Write the post. We can also copy paste the content.

Step 4 − Tag anyone if desired. Add the location if needed.

Step 5 − Select whether the post should be public or private.

Step 6 − Once done, click the ‘Post’ option. The post appears on our page as well as on the profile page of the persons tagged to the post.

Google Plus - Circles

Google Circles can be used to group together different people. It may different members of the family, colleagues, or a group of people having similar interest. When we add people to a particular circle, they receive a notification of being added to the circle. Members of a circle can view the posts and photos in the circle. We can also add or remove people from circles at any time. Circles help to share the right information with the right people.

For example, it is a great way to share jokes with ‘friends’ circle, while sharing business matters with ‘work’ circle. People added to circles can also be available on our Google Hangout. By default people and pages added to circles are publicly visible. However, we can change the privacy options from settings. 

How to Create a Circle?

Step 1 − Open Google+ account.

Step 2 − Click ‘People’ from the navigation menu.

Step 3 − Click the ‘Following’ tab as shown in following screenshot.

Step 4 − Scroll down and click New Circle as seen in the above screenshot.

Step 5 − Name the circle and once done, click ‘Create’.

Adding People to Circles

Step 1 − Open the profile of the person who is to be added to the circle.

Step 2 − Click the circle that the person is to be added to.

Step 3 − Click Done.

Removing People From Circles

Step 1 − Open the profile of the person to be removed from the circle.

Step 2 − Click the circle that the person is in and from the menu uncheck the circle.

Step 3 − Click Done.

Google Plus - Hangouts

Google Hangouts is a communication platform developed by Google which includes instant messaging, video chat, SMS and VOIP features. It replaces three messaging products that Google had implemented concurrently within its services, including Google Talk, Google+ Messenger (formerly: Huddle), and Hangouts, a video chat system present within Google+. Google has also stated that Hangouts is designed to be "the future" of its telephony product, Google Voice, and integrated some of the capabilities of Google Voice into Hangouts. Users can be messaged by their Google+ accounts.

This platform also offers “hangouts on Air” option using which we can broadcast live video chatting and discussions to the world through your Google+. These video chats and discussion is accessible to all. It can be edited and a copy of the broadcast can be shared though YouTube channel.

To broadcast our Hangouts on Air, all we need is −

YouTube channel − Make sure to have a YouTube account. Create an account, if there isn’t one.

Google+ profile − Make sure the Google+ page is connected to YouTube account. Nowadays they are automatically connected, however existing users should connect it to Google+ page.

Creating a Hangout

Step 1 − Open Google+ page.

Step 2 − Search for Hangouts in the drop-down menu located on the left side of the page.

Step 3 − Click “+ New Hangout”. Check and add people to be added to Hangouts.

Step 4 : Choose the format for Hangouts, i.e. either video or text hangout. We can also alter text chat to video chat any time by clicking the camera button that appears on the top of the chat window.

We can share emoticons or pictures through Hangouts. We can also add filters to the pictures and videos. When we are done chatting, click the Close (x) button.

Google Plus - Events

Google+ Events page helps in organizing an upcoming event or occasion. It helps anyone using Gmail to add certain events in their calendars. All information about the particular event can be populated with just one click.

The event automatically gets added to Google calendar of those who are invited and are already in the circles. We can invite as many people or even the entire circle/community at the same time. Click ‘+invite name, circles’ and select the privacy as ‘public’. By doing so, anyone can find the event and access the details.

Events automatically get synchronized with guests’ calendars. Everyone attending can share the photos/videos to the shared album. Guests can even inform whether they are going to attend the event or not. If there is a change in the date of the event, guests will be notified by email. They will receive a notification for the change in place, date, time, etc.

Creating a Google+ Event

Step 1 − Open Google+ account.

Step 2 − Click the ‘Events’ tab.

Step 3 − Click ‘Create event’.

Step 4 − Fill all the information about the event such as ‘Title’, ‘start/end date’, ‘location’, ‘description’.

Step 5 − Upload the cover picture. Make sure the cover picture depicts the event.

Step 6 − Check/uncheck the following options.

• Guests can invite other people.
• Guests can add photos.
• Hide guests list.

Step 7 − Add more description via ‘Advanced’ tab.

Step 8 − Invite people who we want to come to the event by clicking the green ‘invite’ button.

Step 9 − Publish the event.

Google Sparks:

Google+ SPARKS is a feature you can use to get all the info about your interests (if you can’t see it by clicking the link, here is a screenshot).

You can click on any of the images (categories) you want, and add it to your interests. I chose to type in my interests instead, and keep up with stuff I am interested in. Creating a spark “Movies” just seems like too much.

Once you chose your interests, you will be able to see a link to each of them under your profile picture. Any time you want to see what is going on in the world, that is related to your interest, click on it and you will get a page filled with news, posts, information.

For example, I can stay up to date with anything related to “blogging”,"Programming" or which ever interest I add, as you can see it in my list of Sparks.

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