Google+ is a recently released social networked that rapidly grown & competing with Facebook already. This Social Networking alternative is yet in its beta testing & many more stuff is yet to come on it. Here some practical uses of Google+ that you can integrate rather than wasting time on it.
For The Student
Google+ hasn’t been around long enough to have a track record in the classroom. But some of the features Google has incorporated into the Google+ platform look very promising for use by students. The ability to group people into a unique series of circles means that, unlike Facebook, students could place their teachers or professors into one special circle dedicated to education.
This may work very well for dialogue between student and teacher about assignments, especially in scenarios like online education where the computer is a large part of the educational experience anyway. Not only can students group professors into one circle; they can create additional circles specific to each class and coordinate classmate communication from the appropriate circles.
For The Teacher
In similar ways that Google+ has great potential for students, educators can also reap some great benefits as well. Google has already scored big hits among teachers with the ability to collaborate on documents, spreadsheets and even PowerPoint presentations with Google Docs. Google+ is another way for teachers to work more efficiently, all within one social network. In much the same way that students can categorize their circles according to teacher and class, teachers can create a specific circle for each class they’re teaching.
Rather than just posting assignments to the school or university website, teachers can send messages directly to specific classes. Additionally, if students are having difficulty with coursework or need extra direction, incorporating the element of social media into the equation makes sense. Most students tend to have a presence in social media and might be more likely to dialogue with educators in the context of social media.
For The Office
Using Google+ in the office allows professionals to craft tailor-made messages to specific co-workers or to entire departments. Facebook never really had great potential for this. Even with the ability to message groups individually, Facebook tends to be a more casual social network and nobody wants to accidentally send their boss or coworker a message or status update which might be perceived as unprofessional.
The Google+ circles keep mishaps from happening. If you’re working on a group project you can create a circle that contains just co-workers who are involved. When your project is over you can re-arrange circles and co-workers quickly. The ability to send targeted and professional communication to the appropriate circles means that co-workers don’t get status updates which are meant for close friends. This can happen easily with Facebook and can look unprofessional at best and can be extremely embarrassing.
For Professional Networking
The Google+ platform has the potential to function much like LinkedIn. Instead of using two or three different social media sites, Google+ looks like it may have the potential to streamline all of those functions into one efficient site. Being able to group professional contacts according to circles makes the ability to categorize based on specific job title or company very easy. In addition to grouping according to job or skill, Google+ makes grouping according to relationship type very easy as well.
Many professional contacts on a LinkedIn page may only be professional, while others may also be casual acquaintances. Being able to group individuals allows for more targeted networking as well as job searching. The ability to follow someone on Google+ means that, in much the same way as a Twitter feed, you can follow people with whom you’d like to network. So if a Google+ user is really interested in pursuing a job opportunity with a specific company, following Human Resources through their Google+ page is a great way to stay informed of new openings.
