This is the latest version of Google + A Collaborative Document as of July 13,2011. I will update this section with the new versions of the Document every few days.

Here’s the original and most up-to-date version:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cUjZ_7rlAmKRDVB6GXId73h_eUdXGKdjtSff0svbaz0/preview?pli=1

A Collaborative Document:

(or how 120+ people wrote a book at the same time)

Note:If you’re not here to edit (and your url ends with /edit),please allow more editors in by using the preview only url:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cUjZ_7rlAmKRDVB6GXId73h_eUdXGKdjtSff0svbaz0/preview

Google+:a collaborative document

Translations

This document is offered in the following languages:

• Chinese (in progress,see discussions)
• German (not yet finished)
• Russian (not yet finished)

What Is It?

Google+ is a tool you can use to organize your online contacts. You can upload your pictures and videos to share with friends,join in on a group video chat to plan your next outing,or just hang out!

Google+ is not just a social network,it is a sharing network.

Video:A Short Introduction To Google+

In-depth articles on the history,genesis and imperatives behind Google+

• Inside Google+ — How the Search Giant Plans to Go Social,Wired magazine
• Google+ contributor and Mac pioneer talks with CNET (Q&A),CNET
• Google’s Six Front War by TechCrunch

Terminology

+Circles

Enable you to organize contacts into groups for sharing across various Google products and services. Although other users can view the list of people in your collection of circles,they cannot view the names of those circles. Organization is done through adrag-and-drop interface.

To understand Google Plus and Circles better,go to the Settings Gear and select Profile and Privacy. Look for “See how your profile looks to other users.”Type in a user name from different circles and click Preview to see what your profile looks like from the specified user.

Video:Circles

+Sparks

A front-end to Google Search,enabling users to identify topics they might be interested in sharing with others. “Featured interests” Sparks are also available,based on topics others globally are finding interesting.
Sparks is a great way to find information to help in your professional development towards building your e-capability,all information is current and reliable.

Video:Sparks

+Hangouts

Used to facilitate group video chat (with a maximum of 10 people participating in a single Hangout at any point of time). However,anyone on the web could potentially join the ‘Hangout’if they happen to possess the unique URL of the Hangout.

Video:Hangouts

+Huddle

Huddle is a a group messaging feature available within the Google+ mobile app. Rather than sending text messages to each person in a circle the user sends Huddle messages to the group. This can be advantageous when trying to setup where and when to go out.

Video:Huddle

Google+ Mobile

Accessing Google+ on one’s Mobile Phone or Device (Currently Android and Web Only)

Download the Google+ mobile application from the Android Market. Once you launch the application it will ask which account you wish to sign in with,select the account.

Enable Push Notifications

• Google+ mobile app —Launch Google+ on your phone,press the menu button and go to Settings. Enable or Disable notification/vibration/ringtone for Google+ and Huddle notifications.
• Google+ (plus.google.com) —Click the ‘Options’ cog in the top right hand corner of the screen and select ‘Google+ Settings’. Under ‘Set delivery preferences’,add your mobile number and choose Push Notifications or SMS Notifications. Then in the ‘Receive Notifications’ section,choose which notifications you would like to receive by selecting the checkbox in the phone column for each item.

Getting Started with Google+

Tips

• Google+ can be accessed from http://google.com/+ or http://plus.google.com or http://google.com/plus or,for mobile device,from http://m.google.com/plus.

• To share Google+ posts click the “Time link” button and use the Google Shortener Extension for Chrome browser and share posts to Blogger,Tumblr,Facebook and others

Creative ways to use Circles

• Create an “*Inbox” circle and include the people you’d like to see every post from. The friends,family,and acquaintances circles are on top by default.

• Create a “Read later”circle and include no other person (Google+ calls it an empty circle). When you see a post you want to read later,share it only with the “Read later”circle. Then when you have some time,open that circle and read through (and delete) the saved posts.

• Similarly,create an (empty) “Drafts”circle. When you have an idea for a post,but no time to write it,draft a rough version and share it to the “Drafts”circle. Edit the draft by using “Edit this post”from the drop down menu. Then,when the post is complete,copy it to a new post that you can then share to your circles and delete the draft post.

• Yet again,create a similar (empty) circle called “Bookmarks” so you can go back and find that tidbit of information to read and use again and again.

• If you would like to mute future notifications on a particular post you can do so by opening notifications,then opening the particular notification you wish to mute. Look at the bottom right hand corner of the notifications box. There will be an option to mute that notification.

Formatting

Google+ uses the follow character operations to perform italicizing,bolding,or striking through text:

• _ italic text _ ➜ italic text
• * bold text * ➜ bold text
• - strikethrough text - ➜ strikethrough text

• _*italic bold text*_ ➜ italic bold text

Formatting symbols only work when the formatted string is encapsulated by spaces,therefore surrounding the symbols by parentheses or brackets escapes the formatting.

• [_ italic text _] ➜ [italic text]
• ** bold text ** ➜ *bold text*
• _()(*- strikethrough text -*)()_ ➜ ()(*-strikethrough text-*)()

• foo_*italic bold text*_bar ➜ foo_*italic bold text*_bar
• **cough** ➜ *cough*

Shortcuts

Note:These shortcuts apply to the desktop version of Google+ only.

• @John Doe or +John Doe ➜  (press @ or + to link to a person in a post or comment) but they must be a google plus member for this to work otherwise the hyperlink of their name just turns into plain text.

• After you post,click the little drop-down arrow (▽) in the upper right of the post to disable comments or disable re-sharing (i.e.,for things you don’t want to spread beyond your specified audience).
• Press “q” to go directly to the chat box
• Press <Tab>,then <Enter>after writing a comment on a post to quickly submit it. (faster than clicking the Post Comment button every time)
• Press <Tab>twice and then <Enter>to cancel writing a comment.
• Press space to drop down a page. (Applies to all web pages)
• Press <Shift>+space to move up a page. (Applies to all web pages)
• If you want to post directly to specific friends,just type the first letter of their name,a drop-down list will appear,keep typing until you see their name,then select the name and click to send message or begin chat. Alternative quick step,if necessary,click to remove existing “addressees” (i.e. Public,Circles,etc) so that the post is addressed to no one. The in the message area using the + or @ technique described above,start typing their name until you see it,select it,and it will then be included in the message as well as the addressees.
• While moving through posts using ‘j’ (next post) and ‘k’ (previous post),you can start     a comment by pressing <enter>.
• Use the mouse scroll wheel to navigate through photo slideshows

Privacy

A core element of Google+ is its privacy features,which have been integrated deeply into the product. Google+ gives users extensive control over these features.

• Click edit in your profile to change which circles can view what personal details. Your name,gender,and profile picture have to be public,everything else can be restricted. You can also opt out of appearing in the search results here.

• If you would like to send a message to another user,just put their name into the destination field of your posting. If the recipient is not a user of Google+,enter their email address. To save typing the email address every time,you can add them as a contact on the circles page.

• If you want the permanent link to a post,click on its timestamp to see the single post. You can copy the URL from your browser to share the permalink (alternatively,you can select “Link to this post” from the drop-down menu at the top left of the post)

• You can link directly to your profile using http://profiles.google.com/<yourdefinedprofilename>.
• There are also non-official shorteners that use the profile number you can find when viewing your profile. (For example go to http://gplus.to/)

• To understand Google Plus and Circles better,go to the settings gear to Settings ->Profile and Privacy. Look for “See how your profile looks to other users.”Type in a user name from different circles and you will be able to see how your info is shared according to those circles.

• There is a shortcut for this under the EDIT PROFILE button on a user’s profile page. It’s a greyed-out “View profile as….” box. Click on each section to see how each person or circle will view each area:About,Posts,Photos,Videos,+1s,Buzz

The Interface

Home

Label #1:Here is your list of Circles. Clicking a circle will change your feed by showing only the posts of those within the clicked circle. To undo a circle click in order to view posts from all circles,click the word “Stream” in this section. Furthermore,the act of clicking a circle will automatically change your share tags to match the selected circle. This is done so you don’t have to always manually type the circle name when sharing,and can be witnessed by attempting to share something new while having a circle selected.

Label #2:Sparks will monitor interests or trends for you and it will update your feed with those interests as events occur. Your spark interest keywords are visible to you only,unless you manually share them. (See section:“Add interests to my feed / Sparks?”)

Label #3:Google+ chat. You can explicitly control what circles see you signed on. (See section:“Edit my chat contact list?“)

Label #4:Tabs to switch between the Home,Photos,Profiles,and Circles panes.

Label #5:Search for existing Google+ users by name. If you search for a topic or location in the “Find People” search bar,you will get a list of profiles matching the keyword(s) anywhere in their public profile. Great way to build a special interest circle around specific topic or subject matter.

Label #6:Google+ User Settings

Label #7:Notifications counter. Whenever someone mentions your profile,posts in a thread you have as well have posted in [can be muted,see section “Mute a post / thread?”],tags you,etc.,this counter turns red and the number changes from 0 to the number of notifications you have. Click it to view the list of notifications in a hovering sidebar.

Label #8:Temp

Label #9:Here are suggestions of people that you may want to add to one of your circles. The suggestions are based upon the email contacts and the circles of people in your circles.

Label #10:Launch a hangout to video chat with up to 9 others at a time.

Label #11:Temp

Label #12:This is your feed,which is a collection of posts from the circles you are in and from your Sparks interests.

Label #13:Temp

Label #14:Temp

Photos

…

Profile

Label #1:This is the current person’s profile picture. Clicking on a profile picture will rotate through all the user’s previous profile pictures.

Label #2:Send email to individual.  This can be removed by editing your profile.

Label #3:People the individual is sharing their information with.

Label #4:People that share their information with the individual.

Label #5:View the current individual’s posts.

Label #6:View the current individual’s about information.

Label #7:View the current individual’s photos.

Label #8:View the current individual’s videos.

Label #9:Temp

Label #10:This spot is for post and share history of the individual that the profile belongs to.

Label #11:Edit your profile.

Label #12:View how your profile looks to the public or another individual.

Circles

Label #1:Temp

Label #2:Temp

Label #3:Temp

Label #4:Temp

Label #5:Temp

Label #6:Temp

Label #7:Temp

Label #8:Temp

Label #9:Temp

Label #10:Temp

Label #11:Temp

Label #12:Temp

Hangouts

…

How Do I…

Edit my Google+ real name?

You can go to the following URL:

https://www.google.com/accounts/EditUserInfo?hl=en

or in case the link fails follow these directions:

In the top right,click your account name.

Then click “Account settings.”

Once in the Account overview pane,click “Edit” under your primary e-mail.

It is here that you can change your first name,last name,or various other bits of information. Name changes here will affect the name shown on your profile.

Create a Circle?

First make sure the Circles tab is selected by clicking it.

Doing so should take you to the circle page.

Click the center of the circle seen on the left.

A window pops up. Enter the desired name of the circle and when done,click “Create empty circle.” Note:Names of circles are not visible to others.

Delete a Circle?

First make sure the Circles tab is selected by clicking it.

Then right click on a circle,and select “Delete circle.”

Send a Private Message?

First make sure the Home tab is selected by clicking it.

Then click within the “Share what’s new…” which is where you will type your message.

After typing your message,make sure to click the x’s on any tabs down below. If you do not have any tabs below,do not worry. These tabs control who will receive the message.

Click “Add circles or people to share with…” to add the circle or person you want to message.

Type the name of the person or circle,and Google+ will check to see if the given entity exists. Once the name comes up selected,click it or press Enter.

If the entity does exist,Google+ will replace the typed text with a colored tab containing the circle’s or person’s name. Otherwise the entered text will be cleared because no match was found.

All that remains is to hit the Share button! And off the message goes!

Tag someone or mention them within a post?

In a comment box,type + or @ followed by the person’s name. A box should appear containing the matching name (if the person exists). Note:Typing the name too fast may make the box disappear causing the mention attempt to fail. In the event this happens,backspace all the way back up to and including the + or @,and try to repeat the attempt again.

Once the name becomes a tab,you’re done! Posting the comment will send a notification to the person that they were mentioned. The notification is sent regardless if a person mutes a thread.

Hide the people I have added to circles/have me in a circle?

Putting up walls limits the social experience,but to do so:

First make sure the Profile tab is selected by clicking it.

Click the “Edit Profile” button.

Then click anywhere on the circles section. The section should be highlighted in a light blue hue.

A window will show allowing you to control the visibility of your circles,down to the individual circle level. Once you are done editing,click “Save” followed by “Finished Editing” to get out of profile editing mode.

Mute a post / thread?

Muting a post will stop notifications from that post and hide the post from your stream. Muting does not stop mention notifications in which you have been mentioned by name (See:“How do I … tag someone or mention them within a post” section).

If the post is in your stream,click the (▽) arrow,to reveal a menu.

Then click “Mute this post.”

Once the post has been successfully muted,a red “Muted” appears by the post name line.

Unmute a post / thread?

If a post is muted,a red “Muted” appears by the post name line. Furthermore it will not appear in your stream once muted so you will have to go to the profile of the person that originally posted the post.

Once the muted post is found,to unmute,click the (▽) arrow to reveal drop down menu.

In the drop down menu,select “Unmute this post.“

Edit my chat contact list?

Hover over the “Chat” section on the left until an arrow (▽) appears.

Select the arrow (▽) and then select “Circles”

Select or deselect whichever circles you want to be visible to when you’re signed into Google+ chat. When done,click “Save.”

Provide Feedback to Google?

Please review the known issues listings prior to sending feedback.

In the bottom-right side of every Google+ page should be a “Send feedback” button,click it to initiate the procedure.

A window should appear allowing one to use Highlight to select the area in question [if need be] and Black out to remove any overly private areas that you wish not to be included in the screenshot. Type up your response text and click “Preview” to proceed in submitting the Feedback.

Add interests to my feed / Sparks?

Interests followed by Sparks are for your eyes only,and are not visible to your circles. To add interests (or trends you want to follow),do the following:

First make sure the Home tab is selected by clicking it.

Then click the word “Sparks” on the left side.

You’ll be able to enter your interest here and search for it.

After you have found a suitable interest,click “Add Interest” and it gets added to your Sparks list as seen below:

Template [Do not Erase or edit,yet,copy instead]

IMG [Picture borders are 3px,black;Please add a border. It makes it easier on the eyes otherwise pictures blend to the background of the page]

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IMG

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Advanced Tips and Tricks

Chrome Tricks

How to Search inside Google+

Add Google+ search to Chrome.

1. Open URL:chrome://settings/searchEngines

2. Add new entry with following values:

(Search in posts)

- Column 1:Google+ Posts

- Column 2:post

- Column 3:{google:baseURL}search?q=site:plus.google.com inurl:postsgoogle_ad_slot = "5992587512";google_ad_width = 160;google_ad_height = 600;//-->