Google+ | Wild Hair Media

Archive for the ‘Google+’ Category

Sunday, September 2nd, 2012

1. Build Your Circles (and Privacy Settings)

Though Facebook eventually caught up with the ability to share content with some while hiding it from others, Google+ developed a simpler, cleaner interface for their privacy settings. Whenever you connect with a person simply add them to a circle of your choice. Circles labeled ‘business contacts,’ ‘acquaintances,’ ‘close friends’ or ‘social media experts’ will prove helpful when you decide to share (or hide) content from your followers.

2. Share Appropriate Content

Just as in any other social media platform, your content must engage your followers. By categorizing your users into the circles mentioned above, you’ll be able to share appropriate content with a variety of followers while hiding that same content from others.

3. +1 A Post

You’re no longer hitting a “Like” button, you’re now choosing to “+1” a post you like. Just like other social media platforms, show some love by engaging with people in your Google+ circles by hitting the “+1” button.

4. Hangouts

“Hangouts” really shine in Google+. Hangouts allows you to, yes you guessed it, hangout with people in your Google+ circles in a video chat. Think a hipper, cleaner version of GoToMeeting/GoToWebinar. Up to 9 other people can video chat at once, and Google even developed some snappy little hats, spectacles, beards and even scuba gear to make your Google+ Hangouts even more fun. Many people using the Google+ Hangout feature have completely abandoned Skype and other video chat platforms.

5. Broadcast Live

Want to take Hangouts one step further? Google+ allows you seamless integration with your YouTube account allowing you to do two tasks simultaneously: broadcast your video live to anyone on Google+ as well as record the live broadcast and automatically post it to YouTube. This feature is one of my favorite features as the interface and usability is second to none.

6. Customize Your Account

As Google+ continues to develop and grow, a variety of add-ons enable users to customize their account colors and designs to fit their personal or business brand. A favorite of ours is the Hangout Lower Third add-on that superimposes a news-style banner across the lower third of your screen while on a Hangout or live broadcast.

Question: What do you think of Google+?

Tags: Google+, Google+ Hangout, Skype, Social media, YouTube
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All-Stars at MLB Game Logging In Live

Saturday, June 23rd, 2012

Major League Baseball fans already have their calendars marked for the July 10 All-Star Game taking place at 7:30pm eastern time (via FOX) at the Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

Kauffman Stadium (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

But instead of just tuning in on July 10, it’s time to login to Twitter and Facebook as well. Why?

The Major League Baseball Players Association announced that for the first time ever players will also be logging into their personal social media accounts to post status updates, shout-outs on Twitter, and even upload photos and videos captured from their devices.

In an announcement made on MLB.com, Executive VP for MLB Business Tim Brosnan stated:

We’re thrilled to expand this effort to include the All-Star Game. This initiative will bring fans closer than ever to their favorite players, resulting in what will no doubt be the most ‘social’ events in baseball history.

For the Fans: Engagement

Die hard fans no doubt already follow their favorite players’ social media accounts, yet this level of interaction during an actual game is unsurpassed. Who needs old-school fan mail when, via social media, fans get to sit on the bench with their favorite All-Star.

For the Players: Media Skills

It would be a grave mistake to call this type of interaction a ‘trend.’ It’s here to stay and it’s only going to get more intertwined with everyday life. Pre social media, players had to ‘field’ a few microphones every now and then with an occasional press conference. Now they’re logging in, snapping photos, and uploading videos.

Last year’s “Social Media Derby” in Phoenix was a harbinger of what athletes can expect when they engage with fans. @RobinsonCano’s Twitter following grew by a whopping 84% during the All-Star game alone.

So what’s next?

Just have a look at Google’s Project Glass in the video below and imagine what could be when intertwined with sports and social media.