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Matt Decuir | Dallas, TX

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Dallas Fort-Worth Social Media Marketing Meeting featuring Giovanni Galucci

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Last Monday, I attended the Dallas-Fort Worth Social Media Marketing Meetup. Giovanni Galucci (@Giovanni on Twitter) was speaking on Google Plus. Anytime you can hear this guy speak, it will always be good. He is a wealth of knowledge, but is also very entertaining. The other thing I like is that he speaks from experience, and not just what everyone is saying. He shares his techniques and tactics that he’s learned, and not just things that other people have said.

Social Media Expert | Giovanni Gallucci
Giovanni Gallucci Self Portrait (via His Google Plus Profile)

I also was interested in hearing what he had to say, because he wasn’t speaking on whether or not you SHOULD be using Google Plus, and how you should be testing the waters; He was speaking on why Google Plus was a bona fide product, why it is here to stay, and how he, in only a few weeks, has learned to optimize the network and has used it to re-brand himself.

The main things I took away from Giovanni regarding Google Plus was that with “Circles”, which are the bread and butter of the social network, we are creating a keyword-rich relationship database for Google. For instance, Giovanni ranks number 3 organically for “social media expert”. If multiple people circle Giovanni in a “social media expert” circle, that may signal Google that Giovanni is a social media expert, and if someone is searching for one of those in Dallas, he may be pushed to the top of the results. Likewise, if Giovanni is circled under similar terms, say “marketing guru” or “digital media king”, that MAY let Google know that “Social Media Expert” and “marketing guru” and “digital media king” are all somewhat interchangeable. Therefore, it is all the more important to optimize your profile to be found in Searches.

He also informed us that one of the reasons why Google Plus was built was that over 70% of the information within Facebook is closed off to search engines; by building a system that is more open, Google Plus can build a huge social database.

Giovanni later shared that, while he still wants to be known as a “social media guru” he is also very interested in photography; he would like to grow his photography business, and to start ranking organically for that. One of the main ways he is using Google Plus is to start ranking organically for Photography. He’s doing this almost exclusively through EXIF and Meta Content hidden within pictures.
He said that if you do anything related for photography, photographing events, or anything like that, it is ESSENTIAL that you have an EYE FI card. It has allowed him to own searches for certain events before local news outlets can. Even with sporting events, he can own searches for a Texas Rangers game before the first inning is over.

This, he said, is why meta data is so important for Google. Some don’t want to optimize their content for keywords; they’re afraid that their readers will catch on and become angry. Giovanni then explained that that is what is perfect about the Meta data within photos; it’s something that the reader can’t necessarily see, but search engines can, and it a great option. He also made the point that if you’re not doing it, other people might be, and may be stealing your rankings to beat you.

Another tip that Giovanni gave us, which I found the most interesting was that, while some people prefer to have private profiles, it’s better to have a public profile; It’s better to GIVE Google your information up front, so at least it is correct, than to hide it from them, and force them to piece it together.

All in all, I gained a TON of information from Giovanni regarding Google Plus, and how I can use it in the future, and incorporate it into my social media routine.
Giovanni is everywhere; here’s Giovanni Gallucci’s website, his social media and photography blog, his twitter profile, and last but not least, Giovanni’s Google Plus Profile.

Why Google+?

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Matt Cassem is a 33-year-old, socially-oriented, crazy person who tends to have pretty specific opinions (mostly uninformed!) about a variety of things. He hails from Tampa, FL where he spends his days avoiding the sun, and blogging about whatever he sees fit at Sarcassem. He’s also a Google+ super-user. He should get a badge. In this guest article, he gives some tips on how to use Google+ to newbies, and why it is now his preferred social network.

Matt Cassem - Google Plus Super User

There’s been much frothing at the mouth regarding Google+ recently with people tossing out pretty bold statements such as, “This will kill Facebook!” or “Twitter’s dead now!” Whilst sensational, those are a little premature. Certainly Google+ is a strong entry into the social media realm, but it’s still in diapers, and its effect on the arena of social media/networking/etc is certainly yet to be seen.

If you’ve been kicking around the idea of trying out Google+, or if you’re just not convinced Google+ is anything special, I’d like to try and take some time out of your busy, little day and tell you why I think you should (at the very least) give Google+ a try.

The first thing people usually say is, “Eh, I just don’t get it.” That’s normal, since anything tech-related can seem daunting at first. I assure you, if you can use Facebook or Twitter, you can use Google+ just as easily. Yes, you might have to “read the instructions” as it were, but you can do that in less than 5 minutes.

Google+ is not really social networking (defined as using social media to connect with new people and keep up relationships while developing new ones) as it is social sharing. The concept is Google wants to make it easier for you, and more natural, to share your thoughts, discoveries, pictures, and videos with the people you know.

How’s that different from Facebook?

Well, it’s not so much different from Facebook as you might imagine, but that’s not a bad thing. What Google+ has managed to do is take the things that people use Facebook for and made it more simplistic. They took the distractions out of the way. Gone are the games that clog your wall. Messaging is integrated into your Google+ stream.

That said, one of the differences between Facebook and Google+ is a feature called Sparks. Sparks allows you to indicate your interests, and Google+ finds you relevant materials related to those interests and delivers them right to you. That’s something Facebook doesn’t do unless you count the targeted advertising.

Speaking of advertising, there are no ads whatsoever on Google+. Don’t let that be the main reason you switch, though, as you know Google is in the internet advertising game. I don’t expect Google+ to remain ad free for long.

The biggest difference between Facebook and Google+? Much more tightly controlled privacy. You control who sees what. While you can’t lockdown every, single, square inch of real estate on your profile thereby making it invisible, you can make it invisible to search engines, and you can ensure the only thing someone sees when they look at your profile is your picture and your name. That’s it.

If you have a thought, video, picture, or anything else to share, you can choose to share it with a single person, several people, or everyone in the world. It’s really, completely under your control.

Those are just a few things that make Google+ different from Facebook. Notice that I did not say it made it better. That’s a matter of opinion.

Ok, so what about Twitter?

Here’s where Google+ really gets interesting. It’s my opinion that if Twitter doesn’t change it’s offering and quickly, it’s in real trouble. Twitter’s main claim to fame is the ability to get information out very, very quickly. Sure, there’s some social networking aspect to it, but it’s difficult (at best) and clunky to use it for that.

Where Google+ has an advantage (and I’d say a BIG one) over Twitter is in making the sharing aspect entirely more social than before. I’ll break it down like this.

If you’ve used Twitter, and that’s your main way of sharing yourself and your thoughts and favorite things with the world, then you’re going to LOVE Google+. Here’s why:

  1. Threaded conversations– how many times have you seen someone respond to someone else in your Twitter timeline and thought, “What the hell are they talking about?” You might have an app that lets you see the conversation in a view form, but if not, the website kind of lets you do that…if the people involved used the reply button/link.In Google+, you can reply in line with the actual post so all responses and comments are kept together without having to worry about someone not doing it correctly.
  2. Sharing with specific people or groups – When you had a tweet that you wanted only a certain person to see, you had to either @ reply to them or DM them. If you wanted to send a tweet that only a certain groupof someones could see, you were out of luck.With Google+, you have the freedom to share your post privately with as few or as many people as you’d like. YOU choose.
  3. Directly embedded media– until recently, Twitter didn’t let you see even pictures that were shared without clicking on a link that took you to a separate website. While the images are inline now (depending on how they’re uploaded), they’re still pretty small, and you have to blow them up a bit to see them.With Google+, all media (videos, links, pictures, etc) are directly imbedded in the post. No need to futz with outside media hosting.
  4. Easier “list” management– Want to see tweets from specific groups of people? Well, you could create lists in Twitter, and then you could view the tweets from just that group of people, but there was no way to message those people as a group; it was one-way communication.With Google+, you group your contacts/friends/whatever into “Circles” (example: co-workers, bowling buddies, family, etc) and you can not only read everything that just those individuals share but you can also share posts easily that only those people in that specific Circle can see!
  5. Hangouts– With Twitter, unless you used an outside service, there was no way to video conference with any of your Twitter buddies. You had to use a service like Tinychat or Skype to do so, and if you wanted to video conference with more than one buddy at a time, it was going to cost you.With Google+, you can host a “Hangout” which allows up to 10 people to video conference at once for free! It even has a unique UI which tracks the person talking and puts them front and center while shrinking the others a bit to keep the focus on the person speaking.

    The coolest part? You can even watch a Youtube video together at the same time without leaving the Hangout!

  6. No character limit– With Twitter, you had to confine your thoughts to 140 characters or less. You also had to make sure that other Twitter users’s names were counted in that 140 characters. That made it tough at times. It was also difficult to have a meaningful discussion with someone about a sensative topic without being misconstrued or misunderstood.With Google+, you have no such limitations! You can make sure your thought is fully articulated, and if you need to, you could even take the discussion into Google Talk (directly embedded into the Google+ site!) for a more real-time chat.

Wow. That’s a pretty hefty list, and I’m sure there are more reasons why Google+ has the edge over Twitter at this point in time. Being a heavy user of both Facebook and Twitter prior to joining Google+, all I can say is I still use Facebook (it’s for people I truly know and spend time with), but Twitter has fallen off my radar. It’s just not nearly as fun as Google+ is nor as complete, in my book.
If you need some resources to help you get a better feel for Google+ and how it operates, I urge you to check out one of the most comprehensive resources for Google+ on the internet at http://www.ansonalex.com.

Come on. Don’t be shy! Don’t be afraid! Give Google+ a shot! You’ll be glad you did!

Google+: Will It Kill Facebook?

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Over the last week, there has been much chitter-chatter about Google+. I’ve seen headlines dissecting Google’s new social-sharing platform from all angles. Some have said that, some griped about a privacy flaw in Google+, which isn’t really a privacy flaw at all, and still many others (myself included) griped that, though Google has done a good job of creating a large amount of buzz, Google+ won’t be successful if invites are continued to be rationed, and people can’t connect with their friends because their friends can’t sign up.

And many others have asked the obvious question:

“Will Google+ Kill Facebook?”

Though the short answer is NO, here’s why I think Google+ isn’t a Facebook Killer, in three easy steps:

    1. Facebook is kind of a commodity in many lives around the globe. Some people love it. Some people hate it, but not enough to do anything about. When many people wake in the morning, the first thing they do has transitioned from turning on the TV, to checking Facebook. At this point, it’s become a part of the common American’s everyday life.
    2. Though it resembles Facebook in a few ways, I don’t think “KILLING FACEBOOK” was Google’s intent when they started the Google+ project. I think they wanted to create an attractive, compelling social-sharing platform, that catered to and fixed a few of the problems some users had with social networks, while creating a different user experience than the ones already out there.
    3. I feel like if Google+ will diminish the value of any social network, at this point with what we’ve seen, I believe it will be Twitter, not Facebook. Especially with the “Sparks” feature. With Sparks, you get a feed that is highly personalized, with topics that you select – it’s everything you want, and nothing you don’t, whereas with Twitter, it’s one large stream, and can get convoluted at times. Also Twitter is a few blurbs, but it’s mainly links to content that takes you out of the ecosystem. With Sparks, The user gets to see the rich media in front of them, and stays in the ecosystem.

All in all, though I haven’t had a chance to get my hands dirty with Google Plus, I’m also not writing it off and saying it will go the way of Orkut, Buzz, and Wave. It seems like they’ve learned from their mistakes, and the early adopters, including Tom Anderson (co-founder of Myspace), seem to love it. And that is always a good sign for the future.