I’ve been diving into Google+ for a few weeks now looking at how people are using it, seeing for myself if this time Google created something that is actually useful and thinking about the potential of the organizing framework they established.
Google has launched a number of not-so-great things recently, so my level of skepticism was high. Google Buzz busted, Google Wave washed-out and so why on earth would Google+ be anything different. Well, maybe failure is actually is the best teacher.
First off, a short description of how Google+ is organized. As with many social networks, you can follow people (Google+ lets you put folks in “Circles”), and they can follow you back. Sharing is the norm now, liking (+1), commenting etc., etc. Nothing new there.
“Circles” are the groups you create in your profile for those you want to follow. You can name the circles anything you want, and have as many folks in the circles as you wish.
“Hangouts” are large video-capable chats. You can invite entire circles to hangout.
What is potentially a killer feature is a combination of Google+’s “Circles” and “Hangouts” and your organization’s lists.
It is very early in the Google+ universe, so speculation is rampant, and that is where I want to get to right away too. Imagine you run a non-profit organization. You have lists of donors, members, newsletter subscribers and more lists - lists are everything. These folks are probably already organized into certain groups in your databases. You probably already do a certain amount of mailings to them (email and snail mail) and you regularly ask for donations or direct action. You seek deeper ways to contact with these folks on social networks and anywhere you can. You may actually have direct phone call programs. If you have all these things, you have a large budget (or need one). Be prepared to be able to do much of all of that on Google+ for free.
What if you import your entire lists to be organized in Circles? You could have multiple variations of circles, like “donors between $25 and $50” and another group with the same donors, just in a specific region or donate in a particular frequency, or “Newsletter Subscribers” and then “Newsletter Subscribers interested in Issue X.” The potential for very specific customized interaction grows exponentially. If you run a news organization like I do, the possibilities of customized interaction through content grow even bigger.
Then you can start Hangouts with these select circles. You could organize customized video conversations for each of your circles. You could do specific donation asks. You could report directly to your community on issues relevant to your organizational mission. You can adjust your phone-call programs to Hangouts, and once Google Voice in implemented (and it will be), Hangouts could completely replace expensive calling systems.
Once your lists are duplicated in your Google+ circles interaction can be more directed and personalized, which will result in more donations, more personal connections and a deeper level of community engagement. More life-blood for your organization.
Google may have finally made it’s tipping point on the social web. We can and should have the discussion about if this is a good thing or not. Google has its fair share of valid criticism, should they be this useful? Have they earned that much of our trust? No idea.
Whatever actually happens on Google+ I am certain they have hit pay-dirt with this one. If the ideas I suggest here work or not, other variations of these ideas will work. It is only a matter of time until organizational accounts are approved and folks start experimenting. I know I will be.
I’ll end with this video about Google Voice. Watch it and think of your Circles:
Hi!, I’m Jason Barnett and my brief bio goes like this: I’m a co-founder and Executive Director of The UpTake, a video based media organization dedicated to training citizen journalists and publishing their work. The UpTake garnered a great deal of attention through it's revolutionary coverage of the political conventions in 2008 and the MN US Senate recount and trial.
Here are a few news stories about the work with The UpTake:
I live in Saint Paul, Minnesota with my wife, daughter and son, and have been a stay-at-home dad, feeling strongly that someone needs to be home to protect the cats from the two small humans
Hi!, I’m Jason Barnett and my brief bio goes like this: I’m a co-founder and Executive Director of 