Is Google Plus more than just high-profile hype? Take the survey!

Despite the tremendously enthusiastic, persistent support and promotion from high profile web marketing strategists, entrepreneurs and technology pundits, Google’s nascent social platform, Google Plus, appears to be sputtering. That may change with the much anticipated official rollout of Google + Pages for business. It will be interesting to see if behaviors and attitudes toward Google Plus change with the introduction of businesses to the network. If brands see value in being there, they will likely demand more from Google in terms of our data and in turn, Google will demand more from them in cash.

So far Google+ has focused on connecting people with other people. But we want to make sure you can build relationships with all the things you care about—from local businesses to global brands—so today we’re rolling out Google+ Pages worldwide. - The Official Google Blog

Just this past weekend, web luminaries Guy Kawasaki and Chris Brogan made the case for Google + for Business before the online publishing faithful at the Blog World Expo in Los Angeles.

And while many adherents crow about more “meaningful and intelligent conversations” taking place there, the real reason Google Plus can’t be ignored can be found in this video of the Brogan/Kawasaki presentation. Google giveth and Google taketh away.

The search ranking is the reason I tell people to start using Google Plus for business, because when you post to public, it shoots up very fast and gets indexed very fast in Google rankings. – Chris Brogan

Google has such advantages… I don’t see how they can’t be a success. – Guy Kawasaki

One has to wonder if the languid days of “meaningful conversations” will be well behind us when Google Plus is inundated with free e-book offers, webinar announcements, “10 reasons why…” – oh and a sure sign of the End Times for Google Plus – Purchase +1.

My Un-scientific Google Plus Usage Survey

Please humor me. Between the 44 thousand of you who “follow” me on Twitter, my 3 thousand plus Facebook connections, and the thousand or so of you who have circled me on Google Plus, I figured I could get a sense of the prevailing sentiment towards G+. So I’ve put together some survey questions that I hope you’ll take the time to fill out. I’m not a professional pollster, but I hope the survey is structured in a way to produce some useful data. PLEASE pass this on if you think it is a useful survey.

While Google Plus appears to have plateaued, it would be unwise to dismiss the platform as another yet-to-be-shelved social effort by the internet behemoth. I have an account there and visit daily, posting nearly as often. Still, I have yet to find my groove Google Plus, which makes me skeptical of it’s long term success. Because as any good blogger knows personal experience is a reliable bellwether for any web technology (/snark).

Facetious (mostly) confirmation bias aside, I am curious if there is anecdotal consensus about how people are using Google Plus and how they plan on integrating the less than mainstream network into current or future content strategy. One thing we can be sure of is that Google has plans for how online publishers – individual to corporate – integrate Google Plus into their content strategy. My aim here is to gather data on how YOU plan to, or are currently using Google Plus. As always, please leave your thoughts in the comments. What am I missing here? What would make the survey better? And PLEASE share this. Survey results will be released Wednesday ~~October~~ November 16th.

Please Take the Google Plus Survey:

Thank you for taking the time to finish the survey! Feel free to +1 the post or share it in any way you see fit. For the record, I’m not dismissing Google Plus. I’m just not sure how I will embrace it – but I will – because I don’t think it’s going to be just another shelved Google project.

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Tagged as: blog world expo, Chris Brogan, content marketing, google plus, google plus survey, google plus usage survey, Guy Kawasaki, Jim Long, social media, social network, web strategy

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Anonymous

Survey is a bit wonky. Fill out ALL the areas or just do them one by one and keep hitting submit? What if I fall into ALL the categories? Well, we all know the Internet isn’t ready for prime time yet, so why should online surveys be any better? Thanks!

newmediajim

Jeff it’s less a factor of the internet and my clumsy, amateur attempt at wrapping my analog brain around the Formidable plugin.

Brenda S

Don’t forget those of us who don’t fall in to any of the categories in the first question. I may be on most of the social media outlets but I would say I am far from an enthusiast. All those social media conferences and the chatter about them in my tweet stream makes me want to hit people.

newmediajim

well i find you VERY enthusiastic maybe i’ll add “other”
Anonymous

No punching.

Anonymous

I blame the Internet. Do hope my responses helped, though.

newmediajim

well i’m liking the graphs that Formidable produces! your responses helped a lot. thank you Jeff!

http://conniereece.tumblr.com conniereece

I’m using Google+ a lot like I used Twitter in 2007-08. I have purposely kept my circles limited (following a total of 600 people across circles). And I have purposely not followed all the “usual suspects” in social media. Instead I’ve focused on connecting with new people–artists, writers, photographers, and social media peeps I haven’t met elsewhere.

I find myself using Twitter less and less, simply because the noise filters are not as good IMO — or I just need to be ruthless in unfollowing people. I may not post on G+ every day but I’m always commenting on something and having some decent conversations.

newmediajim

Hello Connie! My concern is that Google Plus wont’ remain uncluttered for long with the introduction of business. What do you think?

http://conniereece.tumblr.com conniereece

But, just as with Twitter, it is up to YOU to control the clutter. I doubt I will ever circle more than a handful of biz pages, so the biz clutter will not appear in my stream. The problem arises when people feel the need to add back everyone who adds them. G+ is at least more manageable than Twitter (at least until 3rd-party apps forced Twitter to create Lists). You can click any circle to only view the posts from that group of people. Only following 600 people, I can still pretty much read my Stream, which is akin to my “home” page for Twitter (and too much of a firehose.)

The real question IMO is how many social networks will people actually use? I’m pretty much down to Facebook and G+ — and you know what a huge Twitter fan I have been.

http://www.ann-sense.com/ Ann Marie van den Hurk, APR

I’m very interested to find out the results of your survey. I think your connections on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ most likely cover the spectrum of the social media users. Only two additional data points I’d like to have seen was gender and age range.

I actually like Google Plus because it lacks the clutter of Facebook and I can expand an idea beyond Twitter’s 140 characters. I like the idea of circles not friends or followers giving a sense of more community. That all said, I hardly use Google Plus and I force myself to check it every day. I’ve invested too much in Facebook to walk away and that’s where my family is. Twitter remains my favorite social media platform because of the people I’ve met and the crazy fast paced sharing. I think many of us are suffering from social media fatigue and there is only some time/energy in a day.

newmediajim

good advice on those data points! It’s pretty clear that surveys aren’t my strong suit. i’m going to ad some things and try to get all of the questions on one form so there is only one submit button. it will be interesting to see how Google Plus evolves along with my attitudes toward it.

http://www.ann-sense.com/ Ann Marie van den Hurk, APR

Ha, I have a whole book on research for public relations. Nice and heavy to keep a door open. I have cracked the spine though. ;0)

I see that you added the gender. Will this make your data from those of us who took the survey pre-gender add invalid? Or are the questions independent of each other? I’m interested in the age and gender because of all the discussions around who is on Google Plus. Is it male-focused. Older folks using it.

http://pop-pr.blogspot.com Jeremy Pepper

Repeating what I said on FB, I haven’t been on G+ since July and don’t care. It’s not a social network, it’s an engineering company’s – who looks down on marketing and other “touchy feely” disciplines – their take on social networking, so not that social.

Sending out for you.

newmediajim

I’m really fence sitting right now Jeremy. But i tell you of three places where I posted this link, where do you think I’m hearing crickets? I’m sure the Pluserati would tell me I’m “doing it wrong”, but so be it.

http://pop-pr.blogspot.com Jeremy Pepper

I LOVE the expression “you’re doing it wrong” because it says to me “I have no idea what I’m doing but can play the expert by telling others they’re doing it wrong” ….

No, not surprised at all.

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http://twitter.com/cln0103 Christina Nowacki

OK Jim – I’ve duly spammed my twitter, FB & G+ folks. This should be interesting! I’m dabbling in an SEO project to try to generate a second source of income so this is pretty interesting to me.

Personally, I use Social Media for fun. You were one of my first “media” twitter follows because you were so wisely one of the first to consistently interact with followers. Consequently I’ve kept you on my friend list all along while dropping others along the way as my lists grew larger. Obviously I have missed the mark by not adding you on FB & G+ Facebook is still the #1 place though I am on G+. I have about 5 friends who abandoned FB altogether when G+ came out. I have dozens of friends who refuse to use G+ (the anonymity thing). I see the advantages & disadvantages in both. Mostly I think that G+ just came along too late in the game. FB has dominated for so long that I just don’t see people moving away. There is too much history there.

newmediajim

Thank you good Internet citizen!

http://twitter.com/SarahVatDell Sarah Vela

Hi Jim! To clarify… I just took the survey, and replied “no” to I will start a G+ page for business, because *I* won’t, but my employer already has. I’m just not involved in managing it.

newmediajim

Hiya Sarah! Glad you stopped by an participated

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http://twitter.com/tonia_ries Tonia Ries

Hi Jim – interesting post & look forward to seeing the survey results!
Jouni Koskinen

There’s no compelling reason to switch to it from facebook/twitter nor does it provide anything new for me that those two don’t have. There’s no proper API –> No apps, no support from common mobile clients like tweetdeck, no nothing, no multi-SoMe-sharing tools on sites support it.
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http://ItsDifferent4girls.com Linda Sherman

I just participated in the Google+ usage survey from @NewMediaJim I think I’m under the wire for results to be published tomorrow.
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