Wednesday, August 10, 2011

another one bites the plus



I know some of you are on google+ (G+) already.  Maybe you circled me or I circled you.  That's great if we can go round and round.  I've enjoyed drawing circles and loops.  Do you doodle?  I do doodle.

If you are not on google+ this circle talk might have you going in circles.  It's the method of controlling who you are following and with whom you are sharing stuff.  Much easier that Facebook.

Here's a great little song (Do you remember Queen?) that puts these ideas to music.  I found it on G+.  If you are on G+ or not give it a listen - it's fun (oh slight warning - it was put together by Break-dot-com and their stuff tends to be R rated type stuff.  This clip has a few terms that might be slightly offensive).






Speaking of offensive, one of the lines in the song is "do I add you to my circle of pricks".

Now the term didn't bother me, but I was puzzled why anyone would create a "circle of pricks".  Since it was puzzling, I asked people on G+.

One of the people in my blog friend circle answered my puzzle. (BTW people don't see what your circles are named so you could create Dante's circles of hell if you wanted to name them that)

Aimee (I just love the variation of that name Ami, Amy, A-spell-it-whatever) answered that she has people who would harass her if she didn't circle them.  However she does not really care to read their stuff.

I call it relationship gaming.  Maybe Aimee will stop over here and comment - then again maybe not (who knows what circle she has me in???).

Oh one more G+ thing.

During my last virtual visit to Bearman Cartoons blog.  I notice he had added this G+ bladge on his sidebar.  Of course I wanted one too.  I asked him and he directed me to this site - widgets plus.

Hey here's my latest bladge - My G+ place.





23 comments:

Maevrim said...

Aimee here. ;) Actually, someone (possibly more people, but one I've known of) actually use Dante's circles of hell. Another I've seen is the 7 deadly sins.

The system I use is based off expanding circles: 0.0 General Circles (Me, Everyone I'm Not Just Watching), 1.0 Family, 2.0 Close Friends, 3.0 Peers, 4.0 Local, 5.0 Friends, 6.0 Outer Friends ("probation" circles, like people who circled me that I want to find out about), 7.0 People I'm Just Watching. Each section has sub-categories, like 1.0 is Family, but 1.1 is my family and 1.2 is my husband's. The 5.0 section has the most circles so I can be specific with whom I share things. The 8.0 circles are ones who didn't fit elsewhere (AKA "that one" I mentioned earlier.)

You're in the 5.0 section--5.0 Friends and 5.2 Internet Friends, as well as 0.1 Everyone I'm Not Just Watching.

Yeah, it's totally a game--the thing is, we play the same game no matter what the medium.

"Yes Mom, I got your card and I loved it!"
"Oh no, this is *exactly* what I wanted for my birthday."
"Of course I'll visit when I'm home."
"I'm sorry, I was in the shower when you called and totally forgot to call back."
"Of course I read your posts on Facebook."

It may not be right, but we all do it. We all have people we're obligated to keep happy, even if we don't always get along. About ten years ago, I threw my hands in the air and decided I didn't want to ever deal with someone I didn't like ever again. The thing is, society can't function that way--we *have* to deal with people we don't like, daily. And though I may not get along with someone completely (or at all right now) I've found there's generally little reason to burn bridges, because situations and opinions change.

Then again, others have the luxury of living closer than 14 hours from their families and can afford relationship-wise to not have them on their internet. ;) For me, this is the only way I get to talk to 90% of my family.

tracismixedbag said...

I haven't done it yet, I think I am waiting to be caught up on all my correspondence and hanging out with my friends (I haven't had time to do that recently.) I do have to say I'm curious so I may do it soon.

lisleman said...

Thanks for the explanation.  I was hoping I might get you stop by and say hi.  This is much more than I expected.  You have a real system going with the circles.  You don't work for NASA or something do you?  Are you a software programmer?
You are very very correct in the burning bridges advice.   And yes the world would be so much nicer if we could just get along and agree to disagree.  I didn't live near my family for about 10 years.  Then I moved in the area.  15 or so years later  they moved away - what's up with that?   We do live in a very dynamic world and this electronic social networking stuff will be changing it for sure.
thanks again.

lisleman said...

Let me know if you need an invite but I'm sure you have G+ connections.
I still have FB and will for family pictures and updates.  Who knows if enough family members move over to G+ I would probably leave FB.  The G+ interface is nicer.
thanks

Maevrim said...

Haha! NASA--no. Programming--yes. But the breakdown of circles is based off someone else's idea, so I can't take credit. I just like having everything specific and organized.

That's where online interactions are so different: you really can choose with whom you will interact and build relationships. Where I grew up, you didn't get a choice--your neighbors were your neighbors were your small-town, nosy neighbors. If you didn't like someone, you still had to sit two pews away from them every week or depend on them for vegetables. After moving around to different cities and finally settling in suburbia, all my dreams of having neighbors with whom to visit who didn't live 40 acres away were dashed. With the exception of my octogenarian neighbor to my right, no one really talks unless there's a problem (well, then he's always telling me how bad our yard looks. But he does it nicely.)

It's crazy how far apart everyone is spread now. I have friends all over the world; when I was a child, I always wanted a pen-pal somewhere foreign. I was horrible at writing, though...which is why social media has helped me such a great deal. It's so much easier to drop a quick thought to twitter than to remember everything to write in a letter later. Maybe that's why my memory is so awful (that, or the fact that I am multi-tasking 20 hours of the day.) Anyways, even here in the DC metro area, my closest *good* friend lives 30 minutes away on a low-traffic day.

Once I decided to start talking to my family again, it was Livejournal/Xanga that let me do that. Things I couldn't say over the phone could be written, and even my relatives with no email (at the time) could check it.

My husband and I met in World of Warcraft; we joke that our first date was killing bugs in Scarlet Strath. It sounds so scary to people when I say that--too many unknowns, meeting someone online! The thing is, people are always people and have always been this way. Earlier in the previous century, one of my great-aunts (I believe it was, been awhile since I heard/told this story) was introduced by letter to her boyfriend's army friend while he was overseas. They courted through letter only, and he proposed. She agreed to marry him while he was on leave (furlough? My brain isn't working right now.) and he came home for a short while. Long story short--someone had been intercepting the letters, and came to her pretending to be him. They married a few hours before the real guy got there--thankfully, once everything was discovered the marriage was annulled and she married the right guy (I should check with my dad, he knows which family member this was.) But yeah...nothing new under the sun.

All that to say yes, electronics and social networking are changing the world, but it's never going to be anything that people weren't capable of (or have completely done) before.

Maevrim said...

I wish my family would move over; I couldn't even use facebook today because it wouldn't load. That, and I desperately need to be able to mute single posts. **grumblegrumble**

Pseudo said...

I dread learning another internet thing.....  Having a hard time carving out blogging time alone.  

frau said...

Love the G+ song too funny! I'm really suppose to be looking for a PT job but between FB, Blogging, G+ , Twitter and Words with Friends who has time!! But if my Hubby ask...spent all day online searching....or Pinning are you doing Pinterest?  

Bearmancartoons said...

Now if someone could start a website that shows who circled you earlier but have since uncircled you.

oceangirl said...

thank you for highlighting this lisleman, it certainly would be nicer if there are more of us at google +. and i want that bladge too! and thank you bearman for directing us to it.

oceangirl said...

rats! now i am faced with the dilemma again. if only my name is jane:)

Kristina P. said...

I have resisted joining. I just don't need one more social media thing in my life.

lisleman said...

Maybe that is one question better left unknown.

lisleman said...

I don't know if I caught you at a good time or just started a discussion close to your interests.  One of the best characteristics of blogging is the info exchange in the comments.  Have you ever posted about this mind-boggling wedding disaster?  What an interesting story.
thanks

lisleman said...

I know what you are saying.  When I first joined in G+ I actually thought I would be using it mostly for interacting with online friends and not  many ones I know in real life.  So I quickly used my online Lisleman name.  I have connected with family and RL friends since.  I know everyone's situation is different and I believe yours is much different than mine.

Maevrim said...

If you want to change your name, you can do it once every 30 days.

Maevrim said...

I really should, though I need to get the details from my family first.

I just had a rather embarrassing thing happen on facebook the last two days. My husband and I have been digging around on Ancestry.com to build our family tree, and I was so excited to find pictures of my great-great-grandmother. I posted them to facebook, everyone's talking about how great it is, and my grandmother goes "that doesn't look like any picture I have of Grandma." :X Rather not have that happen again.

It is something that I wax philosophical on a lot (in my mind) but I also just like to talk.

lisleman said...

No I'm not on Pinterest but I have seen it.  I guess it is growing too.  I also skipped twitter and now that G+ is here, I'm glad I did.
thanks

Antares said...

Useful or timewaster?

lisleman said...

I find it useful but of course you can catch yourself deep into some discussions and wonder where the time went.  I think of it as a better FB which is useful if you are careful about it.
good question thanks

joanna jenkins said...

Oy, I'm so far behind I'm still not even sure what Google+ really is.  I'll have to add it to my "to-do" list.

Cheers, jj

Mrs4444 said...

Thanks for reminding me--I need to prune my circles. Did you read the post about "capturing perverts in a circle." That really cracked me up. 

lisleman said...

Did you post something about "capturing perverts in a circle"?   I didn't see it on your blog. 

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