Google+ users have been waiting with bated breath after Google announcement on Wednesday that it is rolling out a significant redesign.
The very snazzy Google+ redesign has arrived!
The overall layout and feel of the site has been completely revamped. Giving the platform a very fresh and open feel. It’s increased the users ability to customising profile pages, pictures as well as introducing a variety of new features.
New Features:
Drag and Drop Navigation: I love this, it gives users the ability to prioritise their navigation bar according to how they use Google+. I use Pages a lot and never use games, so now I can drag the pages link to the top of the list and hide the games link.
Explore Page: This seems to be the “What’s Hot” section re-branded. Perhaps we’ll see integration of the “Nearby” section.
Trending On Google+: Hash tags have been very popular on the twitter platform and their usage has been increasing on various other social media platforms. Google+ have added a handy at a glance menu, that will surely encourage users to #hashtag away!
Profile Photo Options: You now have the choice of the 5 square scrapbook photo or a larger 940 X 180 pixel banner photo, a la Facebook Timeline.
Priority Chat Menu: The gtalk chat menu has been given priority real estate on the right hand side of the page.
Personally I’m enjoying the new layout, it’s fresh, crisp and clean. That said, of course it’s not perfect. I’m not impressed with the large amount of white space on the right hand side, designated to “Trending on Google+” and “Gtalk Chat”. I personally never use google chat in the browser as I have it running elsewhere, so this is dead space to me.
I find the Stream slightly too spaced out vertically, and would prefer if the stream width was adjustable to reduce the dead space on the right hand side.
During my random wanderings of the internet, I came across this infographic by BlueGrass on Chris Brogan’s blog. I’m a massive advocate of the Google+ experience so for me this infographic contains some pretty interesting facts and and useful information.
Google+ is not a social media platform, it’s users are generally highly intellectual beings and share valuable, meaningful and engaging content. It’s like an interactive Reader, instead of subscribing to RSS feeds, you subscribe to the community!
Social Media can be a fun and exciting way to engage your customers and the wider community. As a business it could become your greatest asset or you your biggest downfall. No matter the size of your business, whether it is a start-up or a global entity, it is vital to be fully aware of your reputation management requirements.
Publishing content on the internet is forever, coupled with the ease in which it can go viral makes it vital that all business’ provide comprehensive guidelines and policies for the way employees are to use social media.
A perfect example of what happens when a business doesn’t provide guidance to their employees is this storify article by David Hall.
Oakenco Administration is a provider of Virtual Assistant Services to Small Businesses throughout Australia.
Specialising in assisting small businesses to increase their brand exposure and engage a wider audience and through website accessibility, content optimisation and online community development via social media platforms.
