It is the new shiny object… Google+.  If you are on it, it is really obvious.  Most of the posts still seem to be about how cool it is to be there.  It seems like the majority of the links that are posted or “+1’d” are about using Google+.

And that is fine…

But it leaves me thinking something…  That since Google+ is the shiny new object in the room… the new kid that all the girls think is “mysterious”… is it getting a pass? 

Or, am I just the stodgy old dude that doesn’t like change?

Frankly, I think I do like change, but I also don’t dive on every new toy.  And I like FaceBook.  I never warmed up to Twitter.  FourSquare took me a little while, and it isn’t on the top of my mind.  There are probably 20 social networking options that I have discarded in the last few years because they didn’t thrill me.  In fact, Google Wave and Google Buzz would be two of the platforms I dropped well before they went away.

And don’t think for a minute that I think Google+ is going to go the way of Buzz and Wave.  Google+ is too good for that.

But, personally I don’t think it is the coolest thing ever…  I think we have a case of Social Media Bias.  Right now, Google+ is made up of early adopters.  And early adopters, in general, are people that like the shiny new objects.  And because early adopter love the new stuff, Google+ is in a Honeymoon phase…  it is getting the love and it doesn’t have to prove itself.

The question is this…  What do YOU think?  Is Google+ all that and a bag of chips, or does it need to bake a little longer?  Is it easier to work with that FaceBook, or is it that the users are those that are generally quickest to adapt?

Image via exceptnothing.com

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• Google+ One Month Later: What’s Next? (suburbanmen.com)
• Nym Wars: Google+’s real name policy explained using the Joker and Buzz Lightyear (venturebeat.com)
• Regarding Google Plus: A Plea For Patience (By Everyone) (vocecommunications.com)
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• Google+ – Should SMEs embrace or discard it? (questprblog.com)
• Brands Still Not Welcome on Google+ (forbes.com)
• The Google+ Conundrum (customerthink.com)
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• Facebook+: Social Networking Giant Adds Google+ Features (wired.com)
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• Are you thinking the unthinkable? Unthink – the New Social Network [Mike Turner] (ecademy.com)

via SocialMediaToday.com

What would the world be like without Twitter?

For me it wouldn’t be a whole lot different.  I jump in every once in a while, but not as often as a lot of my social media friends.

What would it be like for you?

Would that mean that FaceBook would be a different environment? Would LinkedIn get some love?  Would people remember MySpace?

How would people get their news?  One of the things that I have found to be quite interesting with Twitter is that news breaks on the network.  Of course, the news breaks differently…

Unlike the TV networks, the news coming through Twitter tends to be heavily skewed towards the small story… what is happening on the ground.  People that are experiencing “the news” post their reactions and tell what they are seeing.

So… what do you think?

Related articles

• Smart Ways of Building Your Brand with Social Media : Make Money Online. (marketersdaily.com)
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I guess we could call this Twitter Thursday…

I think that a lot of times we forget that the “Founding Fathers” were real people.  they were also hanging out on the edge of technology for their time.

Thomas Jefferson could have REALLY used a Kindle.  The guy was a reading machine.  Not to mention that he was a genius…

George Washington was a gifted leader and he wasn’t afraid to employ battlefield technology as he found it.  He recognized that the training that his soldiers could get from Baron von Steuben was beyond what he could provide… and the battle style of Francis Marion could add power to his army.

What can one say about Ben Franklin?  He was a technology freak!  Printing was probably what he was most known for, but his Pony Express concept rocked.  Letters could be posted and replied to in the same day.  The modern post office doesn’t touch what he was doing between Boston and Philadelphia in 1776…  Ofc ourse, there are numerous inventions and technologies he employed.  He would be an iPad guy…

All of them were into communications, and I would bet that they would be sporting iPhones and Androids if they were alive today.

As I study our founding fathers, I get more and more impressed with them.

We’ll skip over the inaccuracies in the tweets (Washington didn’t actually wear a wig, apparently), and focus on the guys.

Can you see the founders of this country sitting around a table in a pub, knocking back a few beers and coming up with the ideas that would eventually form the basis of this country?

Related articles

• Twitter Thursday with the Founding Fathers… (gwinnettgarageguy.com)

Not kinda… but fully on.

1 October, 2010

The venue is set to be the Gwinnett Braves Stadium… but that could change.  It will run from about 9:00am until around 5:00pm… a full day of real estate technology and social media training, learning and sharing.  Check the website.

If you’ve never been to a rebarcamp…

They are really cool events.  They are billed as ‘the unconference’ because so much runs counter to the standard conference experience.  At a normal conference, there are a bunch of break-out sessions where we all get to listen to someone tell us about a cool new product or service… usually that they offer… and how it can help our business.  Don’t get me wrong… I love going to conferences and find them very valuable.

During a rebarcamp, the break-outs are geared more towards group discussion.  I’ve found that almost every CAN have something to add to the conversation.  We all seem to have parts of the puzzle… but few have the whole box.  Some participants have incredible experiences and can answer some of the questions.  Others have their experiences in different areas.  But, one of the most valuable things to have is a question… they drive the whole agenda.

Did I mention that it is FREE?

Of course, there is still a price for free…  For attendees, that price is participation.  Dive in, meet people, share, make friends… participate.  It is amazingly rewarding.

The other cost is the cost borne by the sponsors… many of whom we are still searching.  We have a few of our sponsors signed up, but we will need a lot more before all is said and done.  Check out the site for more info on sponsoring…  We have a level of sponsorship for almost anyone!  From $100 up to $2000… you can make this a reality.

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• reBarCamp – Atlanta? (lanebailey.info)
• rebarcamp Atlanta… A Date and A Venue… (gwinnettgarageguy.com)

I am proud to say that I attended the very first REbarcamp, which was a real estate industry specific technology “unconference”.  Basically, the idea behind barcamp is that the conferees get together and create an agenda and then host the sessions.  It is an amazing peer-to-peer discussion.

continue reading "Small Business BarCamp Atlanta"

Right now there is a small core group looking at the feasibility of a real estate bar camp in the Atlanta area.  If we can put it together, the event will be held this fall… September or October is the likely time frame.

Here are a couple of posts on Active Rain with more info about #rebcATL (that is the ‘official’ Twitter hashtag for the event).

Should Atlanta have a reBarCamp?

A little more about an Atlanta rebarcamp

continue reading "reBarCamp – Atlanta?"