Does Google Know All? Google's ways of encouraging my on-line participation.

For the past couple of months I have had quite a busy off-line work/life situation.  Sad to say, I've had little time to tinker with code, write blog posts, keep up with my tech journals (the short stack is now growing into a little pile), and attend to the people I follow on the web.

I'm not totally off the grid.  

While walking my dog, I check Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, peek at my email. To be social, I quickly retweet, "like",  comment, or post a pic from time-to-time.  

Things just aren't the same.

Google noticed.

I hadn't been checking my Analytics account, and Google let me know.   I hadn't been nurturing my blog as in the past, and I guess this was a cause for concern.  I was amused that Google was prepared to delve deeper with short survey!

Yes, Google, I have been neglecting you.

Although I regularly check Facebook, I ignored the Google Plus world.  So today, I decided to take a few steps to get back on track.

I saw that a number of people had added me to their circles.  I added a few back.  

I noticed that many people shared similar interests in technology, and sighed, longing for the days when I was taking interesting graduate computer courses and happily working on innovative projects.....

I perked up when I noticed that Google Plus had a "recommended communities" feature.

I was curious.  What sort of communities would be in store for me?    Could Google really read my ming?!   :  }

Well, maybe.  Almost.   

And I am thankful.

This was the nudge I needed -  a huge rabbit hole for me to explore:

There were more communities to consider, but scanning through the recommendations, I could see that Google was pretty much on-target regarding the technology interests.    

Google was off a bit regarding my educational and assistive technology interests, which I'd expect to see represented in the array.   

I'm still a school psychologist in my "day" job.   Early retirement is an option for me someday. When I do, I know I will devote more TLC to my NUI/interactive multimedia tech-related passions.  

Google, now you know!



RELATED
Google+ Communities
Join a Google+ Community
Google launches restricted Google+ communities to let businesses make conversations private or invite-only.  Emil Protalinski, The NextWeb, 11/5/13
Google Plus Communities-Complete User Guide
Martin Shervington, Are you commoogling, 3/6/13

Link: "The Old Internet Neighborhoods" -Message Boards, Forums, Chat Rooms, RIP? +more

In skimming through my RSS feeds today, I noticed that that Google+ has generated quite a bit of reflection about the evolution/revolution of on-line communities over the past week or so. In the article below, Virginia Heffernan reminisces about the days of the digital networking before the spread of broadband connections and Smartphones:


The Old Internet Neighborhoods
Virginia Heffernan, Opinionator, New York Times 7/10/11


Thanks to Bonnie Bracey Sutton for the link!


Here are some visual reflections related to Google+:

-Stephen Downes


-Brooks Bayne

-Abid Shaikh
-Abid Shaikh


SOMEWHAT RELATED

Google+ is Awesome, Facebook Maimed, Twitter Mortally Wounded?

Keith Kleiner, Singularity Hub, 4/6/11

What is Your Plan for Google+ Experimentation and Exploration?
Beth Kantor, Beth's Blog: (How Networked Nonprofits Are Using Social Media to Power Change)
7/7/11
The Evolution of Cyberspace: Virtual Worlds
Craig Harm, Sendsonline.org, 1/22/11
Throwback to the 90's: How Social Networking is Moving Back to Private
Lydia Leavitt, The Next Web, 10/17/10
Google+Facebook Extension Integrates Facebook Viewing and Updating on Google+
David Galloway, Lifehacker, 7/9/11
Note:  Apparently there was some problems with the extension, as mentioned in the update of the above article:"Update: We've learned that this browser extension has a lot of privacy violations and are retracting our recommendation of this extension. Please visit this Reddit post to find out detailed info on the problems and how to uninstall the extension from your system."  
David Galloway linked the following article from his post:
Facebook blocks Google Chrome extension for exporting friends
Emil Protalinski, ZDNet, 7/5/11

Update: I'm using Google+ , link to a good article on the topic - WAS: I want to explore GooglePlus. I've been invited, but Google won't let me come inside to play!

Update:  I am exploring Google+,  in the meantime, take a look at the following article:

Google+ is Awesome, Facebook Maimed, Twitter Mortally Wounded?

Keith Kleiner, Singularity Hub, 4/6/11

My recent blog post linking to an article about Google + and education was found by someone searching for "Google Plus". It was the fourth link in the search.   

I've been invited to join Google+, but Google isn't ready to let me in to play!

Interesting article about Google Plus and Social Tools for Schools (Audrey Watters, ReadWrite Web)

I've been invited to Google Plus, but can't play there yet until further notice.  In the meantime, I'd like to share an interesting article about the potential for Google Plus for use in education settings:


Google Plus: Is This the Social Tool Schools Have Been Waiting For?
Audrey Watters, ReadWrite Web, 4/2/11)


Thanks to Stephanie Richardson for the link!

Link: Learn more about Google +

I'm writing this post from a cruise ship, so I'll write more about Google's spin on social networking upon my return. In the meantime, take a look at the Google+ "Learn more about Google+"site!


I also plan on writing a few posts about tablets, as I'm a new user of an iPad 2. BTW, Garage Band on the iPad 2 is awesome.