G+ Circles–Good Idea for Writers or High School Revisited?

Welcome to WANA Wednesday, the day I dedicate to helping you rock it hard when it comes to social media and building an author platform. Earlier in the summer, I offered my initial thoughts on Google + and introduced you to the Inner Kristen Lamb…who happens to be a 58 year old Jewish woman from Long Island, NY.

 

Long story short, the idea of yet another social media platform had me feeling more than a tad verklempt. Tawk amongst yuhselves.

See, this is the thing. I am not a social media expert. I am the social media expert for writers. HUGE difference. I’m not here to say if G+is good or bad. I am here to relay whether G+ makes sense for writers wanting to build an author platform. So as promised….

More Thoughts on G+

Since all the Internet was abuzz about G+ and how it was going to deliver us to the Digital Promised Land of Milk and Honey, I had to at least take a look.  G+ looks really nice and wonderful, but is it worth writers pulling up stakes on Facebook and Twitter? Is it really worth building yet another platform when we could be doing something productive…like writing more great books that make money?

No.

G+, to me, is Facebook with a different skin and no ads…yet.

Oh, but they have circles.

Yes, and Facebook has lists. Writers have been all excited because they can categorize people and only share certain information with certain people. Well, um, Facebook lets us do that, too. Granted it might not be as fun and primitive as dragging people into circles…

Sorry about the head. I had to knock you unconscious so I could drag you into “People I Really Never Want to Talk to and Who I Wouldn’t Put Out if They Were on Fire Circle” without you knowing.

Am I the only one who feels weird that someone is dragging me anywhere? I think I have a digital wedgie. But that is beside the point.

The circle thing might seem cool and different, but let’s talk about why categorizing people might not work well for writers trying to build an author platform.

Careful. Circles can create cliques.

 

I think that we often underestimate other people. We often feel they wouldn’t care about a certain subject, so we don’t want to bother them with that information. The strange thing is, though, that information you are hiding is the very information that can make you unique.

Bear with me.

On G+ I assume most everyone is dragging me into a Fellow Writer Circle. Why? Because ALL I SEE are book trailers, publishing news, blogs about writing and I kinda want to slam my head in a door. One of the things I love about Facebook and Twitter (and especially about #MyWANA) is that I can get a peek into other writer’s LIVES. THAT is what stands out in the din of “What is the Future of E-Books?” and “What is Your Plotting Style?”

You know. Sometimes I just want to see a video of a cat falling in the toilet bowl. I dig baby pictures and tweets about #SockNarnia (the magical land inhabited by missing socks). I like knowing other writers as humans, too.

Frankly, G+ is boring me half to death since others are “assuming” that I don’t care about their family trip to the beach. It is this invitation into your lives that makes you stick out in my head as a person. It makes me LIKE you….and want to support you. I actually DO care about YOU.

***This personal stuff is what makes someone we don’t know eventually become a friend, btw.

I know I’m in my friends’ circles, but they were already my friends. I am on social media to make NEW friends. But I don’t sit at the right table circle.

I assume I might not be the only one who feels this way. Who knows? Maybe you have slated all the agents into an Agent Circle and assumed they don’t want to see a squirrel with its head stuck in a yogurt cup. Hey, they’re agents, not overworked humans who might like a good laugh and who might actually remember us because we talked about something other than writing, publishing, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Being professional doesn’t mean we have to be boring.

But even though I bring this up, now I feel weird exposing everybody to Spiders on Drugs because G+ is all about the circles and we are supposed to keep people in neat little boxes.

Crap! I need to be organized! Throw them in the tub on top of the laundry and pull the shower curtain. I’ll get to it on the weekend.

Circles can also create chaos.

Of course, with a zillion people all adding me at once, my Circles look like my kitchen drawer…everything is thrown in one place because I am too lazy to go through all that and organize. So if you don’t want to see Cows with Guns then just drag me into the People I Want to Ignore Circle and I will talk about you in therapy.

Oh sure, I am certain there is some G+ video to teach me proper Circle Dragging Form that doesn’t make my computer cough up a hairball, but I have deadlines to meet, blogs to write, and there is this great clip about ADHD HDTV.

Normal people who work regular jobs don’t have a bazillion people in their network, so Circle Organizing is easy. I don’t mean to complain because I am thrilled you guys have come looking for me, but you are all in ONE CIRCLE—Kristen’s Peeps (I.e. Miscellaneous). Yeah, I’m creative.

And, like my closet and garage, I will get organized…one day. Don’t hold your breath, though :D.

We Never Know Who Is Paying Attention

Just like other writers want to see some of our personal life, people in our personal life actually DO pay attention to our writing stuff. Never underestimate who is watching. One of my most enthusiastic fans works in the office of my son’s pediatrician, and she is NOT, btw, an aspiring writer. She’s bought books for all her family members who want to write and she talks about me to anyone who will listen. I am the only writer she knows, and she is thrilled to help me any way she can (Thanks, RaNae).

Oh, but what if I had just assumed she didn’t want to hear about my writing stuff?

Thing is, most people want to write a book or they are at least in awe of those who can. Years ago, before I was a published author, I used to blog on MySpace. A woman I had never met recognized my name at Dillard’s and told me she was a HUGE fan of my blog. She sold Mac cosmetics. She also later bought WANA , because I was the only writer she’d ever met.

See, when we post about writing, it helps non-writers (which is code for potential readers) start to think of us as committed, professional authors and exposes them to our…writing. That is the first step to creating an author brand. It’s also a great step toward our friends and family taking us seriously.

When we post on more personal things, we connect to those in our profession as people. We stand out in the commotion of Smashwords, deadlines, character sheets and Amazon.

Writers are Public Personalities

Oh, but what about the really personal stuff?

My advice? Don’t put it on the Internet. Period. Circles won’t protect us. As Digital Age Authors, we must live transparent lives. If we wouldn’t want our mother to see it, we shouldn’t post it. It is too easy for something to get out of control. I know G+ pops up a nice reminder, but it also tattles on the person who originally posted. So, we are depending on others to have discretion.

That is really risky.

We shouldn’t be ranting about religion or politics anyway, unless religion or politics is our platform. If we happen to be Glen Beck or Bill Maher, we can foam all we like. It helps book sales. That uber-personal stuff that could turn others off? Like whining about another rejection letter? Just don’t post it. Call a real friend. They can bring brownies.

Most people aren’t going to mind a degree of us being personal. It separates us from the bots. So long as we aren’t sharing details best left in conversations at a nursing home, it’s all good. We know you are human, and we kinda dig that.

Final Thoughts

So at the end of the day, I think G+ is nice. I just don’t see any tremendous advantages that make it worth writers pulling up stakes and moving. MySpace? Yeah, people needed to flee. MySpace turned like a crazy ex, and we needed to run away. MySpace was broken. Writers needed to change addresses so people could see our content without crashing their computers (Yes, feel free to igrore all 8 pages about MySpace in WANA–MySpace committed digital suicide 2 weeks after the book was released).

But Facebook? Twitter? I can’t really see anything they are doing so wrong that warrants a mass migration.

I think G+ is fantastic for normal people who need to segment their lives. Writers are not normal. Yeah, shocking. We need to build a massive platform to drive book sales. So our platform has to fit that end goal. Segmenting is seriously counterproductive. If you love, G+, ROCK ON! Social media has different strokes for different folks. Just be careful you aren’t alienating others by going circle crazy.

G+ has yet to deliver anything SO earth-shattering that I would advise moving…yet. I am still working with it, so maybe my mind will change about G+. My mind, however, will not change about grouping people. I think as writers trying to build a platform, we need all the connections we can get. Give people a chance. Most of the time, they will impress you.

So what are your thoughts? Have you found some feature of G+ that totally warrants mass migration and I missed it? Do you think writers should keep their writing private (along with their experiences of a fiber-rich diet)? What is getting too personal? Do you like meeting other writers as people? Or do you think it should be business only?

I love hearing from you! And to prove it and show my love, for the month of July, everyone who leaves a comment I will put your name in a hat. If you comment and link back to my blog on your blog, you get your name in the hat twice. If you leave a comment, and link back to my blog, and mention my book We Are Not Alone in your blog…you get your name in the hat THREE times. What do you win? The unvarnished truth from yours truly.

I will pick a winner every week for a critique of your first five pages. At the end of August I will pick a winner for the grand prize. A free critique from me on the first 15 pages of your novel. Good luck!

Note: I am keeping all the names for a final GRAND, GRAND PRIZE of 30 Pages (To be announced) OR a blog diagnostic. I look at your blog and give feedback to improve it. For now, I will draw weekly for 5 page edit, monthly for 15 page edit.

In the meantime, I hope you pick up copies of my best-selling books We Are Not Alone–The Writer’s Guide to Social Media and Are You There, Blog? It’s Me, Writer . Both books are ON SALE for $4.99!!!! And both are recommended by the hottest agents and biggest authors in th biz. My methods teach you how to make building your author platform FUN. Build a platform and still have time left over to write more great books! I am here to change your approach, not your personality.

Mash Up of Awesomeness

Roni Loren’s Getting the Most Bang for Your Blog

Suzan Isik’s On Not Being a Douchebag Writer on Social Media

Terrell Mims Letting Go to Climb Higher

Angela Wallace Propane Torches and “I Told You So

Anne R. Allen What Will Publishing Look Like in 2021?

Ali Dent’s Gifted vs. Hard Work

Naomi Bulger’s What’s Wednedsday Without…Time Travel?

Angela Orlowski’s Celebrate Your Milestones

Elena Aitken’s Do You Dance Like No One’s Watching?

New to WordPress? Check out the Awesome Bling Bitch Herself, Amy Shojai’s wonderful mash-up of the best WordPress How To blogs

Do You Still Want Your MTV? by Barbara McDowell

Do You Have a Pen Fetish? by Lesann Berry

List Making and the Creative Process by WD Editor Jane Friedman

Awesome post by Gene Lempp Superstition, Legend and Mystery

Piper Bayard’s HYSTERICAL Help! I’m Torn Between Two Men

Jenny Hansen’s Do Writers Need Presentation Skills?

OMG! There is SO MUCH GOOD STUFF out there, especially now that I have pried many writers from writing about writing all the time. LOVE IT!!! If I missed some greatness, feel free to post it in the comments.

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  1. I think I just developed a nervous twitch! TY for trying to keep us up on everything…now where’s that cocktail?

  2. Cliques are bad enough in the business as it is. And when people are on the outside of those cliques and ‘circles’ in not only list form, like Twitter and Facebook, but not in actual circle form…that can’t be good for self-esteem or self-confidence.

  3. I’m on Google +, and to be honest it seems kinda echo’y and boring and (at the moment) lacks the ‘personality’ (for want of a better word) of FB and twitter.

    And as for this snippet: “I think that we often underestimate other people. We often feel they wouldn’t care about a certain subject, so we don’t want to bother them with that information.”
    I couldn’t agree more. I went last week to meet the reading group at my local library and it was the oldest member of the group who asked me questions about my work and was eager to understand why I’d chosen to write about werewolves, so yes, people can surprise you with what’s beneath the surface.

    I’m almost relieved to know I’m not the only one who thinks the site isn’t currently going to add any value to my social platform. Great post, Kristen.

  4. Great points and advice, as always.

    I’m still not seeing anything major in Google+ that I can’t get through Twitter and Facebook. Except for one thing.

    Hangouts are brilliant. Easily my favourite thing about Google+, and the main reason I’ll keep using it.

  5. Loved, “I think I have digital wedgie.” Not that you have one, of course. 😉

    I haven’t checked out G+ myself yet, but you and others are making me feel OK about that. I can barely keep up with Twitter and Facebook, and don’t need to add another circle.

    1. That was my favorite line too, Amanda!

  6. Thanks for this post. It gives me permission to ignore Google + , which seems to only make me feel uncomfortable at this point. I feel like there are oodles of strangers putting me in circles, repeated content from my other social media spots, and it has made me frantic with one more thing to check each day.

    Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou.

  7. I thought it was me-I’m finding it boring. I’m trying to find people who are not writers to see what they discuss; same as I do on twitter. Mostly they are discussing how to do G+ from the technical point of view. I try to comment every once in a while, but I just don’t have anything to add to the posts. The writers are discussing writing, blogs, etc., same as twitter. Then there are the people who put out dozens of jokes one after another, or sexual-innuendo/blatant comments, or the religious comments.

    I had to look and I have you in three circles – follow, MyWANA, and WANA711.

    1. Hi Linda,
      I could not find a Twitter button on your blog 🙁

  8. I guess I don’t understand how to use G+ yet. That’s probably because I’ve barely logged on since signing up. When I do log on it’s writers posting about the blogs they’ve just written. None of the people in my personal life use it. And, there are very few (maybe 6?) who’ve even signed up, that I know of. Or maybe I’m just not in a circle they choose to share with?

    Like I said, maybe I don’t know how to use it, but there might be one or two people in one circle and one or two people in another circle I want to share with, but don’t want to share with the rest of the circle. Do I keep moving them from circle to circle every time I post something? Rhetorical question, don’t answer it. My point is, I find it far easier to share on Facebook than G+.

    Which I don’t do either, because I don’t have anything interesting to post about. Although I agree with your point that you never know who might be interested in something. I posted on G+ about an article I’d written and two people I never thought would care did.

    I’m guessing that my friends and family aren’t signing up for G+ because it’s one more site to keep track of and they’re connected with who they want to be connected with on Facebook already. G+ may be too little too late, or so it seems to me.

  9. I was the dutiful little social media puppet and created a G+ account and, like you, was commenting yesterday about how boring it is.

    I like action and adventure! I am a rebel. I’ve got an ‘ALL’ circle, and everyone’s invited!

    Great post, Kristen.

    p.s. after saying all that. I do get an awful lot of traffic to my blog through G+

    1. Well, I don’t mind using G+. I think it is nice. I just haven’t had that Road to Damascus experience.

  10. I was going to leave a comment before I even saw the incentive at the bottom of your writing – just had to tell you that this is one of the best commentaries of yours that I have read so far. Enjoyed the humor and the honesty. I don’t want to go back to the cliques of high school, and that is kinda what Google+ feels like to me. I like the quirkiness of other human beings, and I like hearing all of the day to day posts from all of my ‘friends’ on FB. Thanks for a great post!

  11. I maintain that G+ is worth checking out now for the exact reasons that writers are encouraged to blog, Facebook, and Tweet. It’s another way to build your platform. Like any tool, it’s in knowing how to use it.

    Can circles turn into cliques? Sure. But they can also be a way of seeing the information you want/need to see when you log in, so you don’t waste your social media time scanning through 100 posts that aren’t really important to you at the moment. Yes, FB has lists. But if you have a large number of friends, lists are even more of a bear to create than organizing circles.

    Just because you’ve organized people into a writer group doesn’t mean they are the only ones you share “writing related updates” with.

    One great part for someone looking to expand their platform is the ability for people to follow you without “friending” you. On Facebook, if I want to follow celebrity X, I have to hope that he wants to be followed, or remembers that I’m his first cousin twice removed. If I’m the shy type, I may not bother, since I don’t want to be rejected. On G+, I just follow who I want to see. As a writer you’ve opened yourself up to people who might be shy about “friending”.

    I feel good about how Google+ is going. And yes, I have far more than five friends, being that my previous job involved the digital media world. I’ve been circled by actors and artists who found me through others broadcasting things I’ve said – writing related and otherwise. I don’t have a “clique” on G+, but I can communicate some thoughts more effectively (every once in a while we long winded writers need more than 140 characters).

    That’s just the surface. Doesn’t even get into the privacy transparency, the benefits if you are a visual artist in addition to a writer, etc…

    Should people run away from FB and Twitter, heading for the G+ hills? Of course not. But they shouldn’t count this out as another great way to platform build.

    1. And the truth is, I agree. The problem for writers, however, is that we have to have time left over to write more books. If writers love G+ then rock on. But, there is no need to pull up stakes and flee Twitter andf FB. Also, we don’t have to be on every single last social media platform. We can pick the ones we like and do them well…and that is good enough. Thanks for the awesome comment. And, actually as an information filter is has been handy.

    2. “LIKE” 😉

  12. It’s good to hear your updated views on MySpace. With G+ my understanding is you can post stuff that all your circles can see, so your writers friends circle can still see the cute squirrel video. My problem is that I don’t yet know how to post things that are specific to each circle to make sure everyone doesn’t see it if I don’t want them to. Right now I’m treading into G+ lightly.

  13. So much good stuff to think about here. Just yesterday I decided to join Google+ because I am never an early adopter and always pay later when I realize I missed the bandwagon by 2 years. Now you say all this stuff, and I think that’s how I probably will feel in a month. You’re right, people are busy which is why there can only really be one dominant platform like this. Eventually Facebook or G+ will have to be the main thing a person uses. FB seems so strong though.

    I’m definitely on board with the idea of not putting personal stuff out there. I use FB as a public persona. There’s nothing there that will hurt me if seen by employers, publishers, enemies, etc… Admittedly, I still haven’t figured out those FB lists yet. I tried for about 7 minutes once and it didn’t work out, so I went back to my strategy of everyone can see everything I say.

    1. Everyone can see everything I say — except my mother. She is blocked from my real life Facebook wall. So she cannot comment on any pictures because Kristen, you may think you are a Jewish woman, but you have not yet perfected judgment paired with the guilt thing. Or not that I’ve seen. And I mean that as a compliment.

      I’m glad you feel that, so far, G+ isn’t offering anything so snazzy that would require me to dismantle what I’ve got going on with Facebook and Twitter. *exhales audibly*

      Because if you had said it was awesome and we had to have it, well… you know, my tech guy is away for 3 weeks at overnight camp…and it would suck for him if I had to pull him out to get things up and running. 😉

      1. ROFL!

      2. You’re slaying me, Renee, with the “sleep away camp.”

      3. Judgment paired with guilt. I dig that, LOL. Scandinavian grandmothers are good at that, too btw.

  14. I’ve now (today) read both sides of this issue, but I’m with you, Kristen. The other blogger called G+ “Facebook for adults” but it’s still just facebook with a shiny coating (and it never stays shiny). I didn’t want to be in a calling circle either and probably would turn down a kumbaya fest in a circle around a campfire. Covens have circles too, hmm. Anyway.

    Thanks for the incredible well written over view and the mashup shout out. I’m honored to be included among such great company 🙂

  15. I’m glad we have you to be our guinea pig. 🙂 lol Won’t waste my time.

    Besides, I like videos of cats falling into toilets as much as the next writer!

  16. “Writers are not normal.”

    Funny, my husband says that. A lot. You gotta be a little bit nutty to do this writing gig. Or it makes you nutty, not sure which. Dang, now I want nuts.

    BTW, I’m a 53 year old Jewish woman from Tennessee. Just saying.

    Rock on, Kristen!

  17. Thank you, Kristen– pictures and all! Always great to have a chuckle at yet another item to do in a day. Glad to let G rest on a back burner for a while. Thanks!

  18. So glad about this post. I’m totally curious about what happened to MySpace. I’ve had an account since 2004 but never used it. Even when I got to that bit in MyWANA I only went and updated the account a bit. Never really got on with MySpace…

  19. See, I like the circle idea because I post almost everything to my writing circle AND my friends/family circles. My friends and family want to be in the know on what I’m working on, I don’t fear sharing most things with other writers. But there are certain things I wouldn’t want to share with a bunch of writers that I don’t really know, like photos of my house, or conversations with my mother about family things. Same goes for things that my family doesn’t care about – like writing contests and links to other people’s blog pages. I could throw it all in one circle and call it good, but I like not annoying everyone with everything.

    Photos of dogs and cats go to EVERYONE 😉

    1. Also, I have always had a complete aversion to facebook, so that’s probably one reason I’m so Pro-G+. FB annoys the bejezus out of me.

      1. I agree with you. I’m over Facebook. Haven’t logged into my account in months because I got tired of trying to find all the things they kept shifting around with the new formats. So for people like us, giving Google+ is probably not a bad idea…since we’re not stealing time from Facebook.

        Love my twitter first and foremost though. But often wished it had an option where I could post certain things to certain groups.

    2. I can’t get my circles to work. It locks up every time. It also doesn’t say when I have already put someone in a circle until I try to drag them somewhere and the G+ chirps “This person already in this circle.” ARGH. I also have like six zillion people adding me at once. So now I have to sift through those people to find my peeps? Too much work. And all I am seeing is post after post about writing and very little personal stuff. If you are posting fluffy kittens to everyone then you are one of the few. I’m getting blitzed with book trailers.

      I think G+ is nice and if people like it, wonderful. But writers need time to write more books and at this point at least, there is no NEED–ther than personal preference–to move. Thanks for the feedback 😀

      1. I’ve definitely been blitzed with book trailers and reviews right now, but I put the people I really want to keep track of (like you, and Amber West!) in an INBOX circle so I can just view that stream of all the people I love most on G+ 🙂

        I think a lot of people who are really popular online are having a hard time with all the people circling them. The nice thing is that if you don’t recognize them, and their hovered-over name doesn’t bring up any interesting things that make you want to circle them, you can still view what they are posting in your “incoming” stream. If they post something interesting you can circle them. If they don’t, leave them there!

        And yeah, since I wasn’t using FB as a platform building tool (except to auto-post to friends when I had a new blog post) I’m not really missing it. I’ve found so many new people on G+ that I would have never connected with on FB or Twitter. I <3 it 😀

      2. Oh yeah, and for the circles thing: If you click on someone’s name in the circle area the circles that they are in should become highlighted. If not you can hover over their name and see the little green box that comes up and says “x circles” and click on that to see which circles they are already in (I do most of my circling with that little green box – I find it easier than dragging and dropping).

      3. I posted some weird, creepy creatures to G+ this morning. Do those count? 😉 I’m like Becca. I don’t tend to restrict things too much–only the stuff that I know for sure wouldn’t appeal to people (my friends couldn’t care in the least about my blog posts on writing).

        1. I just joined G+ and one of the reasons is the FB constantly changing privacy settings. Also they auto-add new features that I don’t want and they don’t inform you. I’m hoping G+ is a bit more oriented to the users who drive the platform vs the add people who pay the bills. Because the users (while they may not be paying the bills) are the reason the add people (who do) are on there in the first place.
          intern

          1. I also know many authors who don’t want to post pictures of their children to everyone they don’t know, for safety reasons. They would love two fb pages, but I guess that is forbidden and fb will boot you out for that. So G+ gives them the option to keep their kiddos off their author pages. I’m w/you though. My feeling is that if you post it, it will show up somewhere. So if I don’t want it to be seen by everyone, its not posted. Very good advice.

          2. That is actually (I think) a myth or at least FB hasn’t booted me yet. I think they will boot people squatting on a bunch of accounts they aren’t using. I have a FB page under my married name and that is where the grandparents go if they want to see copious pictures of the grandbaby. Of course, my son, known affectionately by my following as The Spawn regularly appears on my FB page and Twitter. I just don’t go around giving intimate details, like his name, date of birth, accurate age, specific location, etc. To everyone he is The Spawn.

  20. My biggest issue with Google+ at the moment is exactly that. It really doesn’t make it easy to sort through people who are already in some Circles but that you might want to add to others, or to find new people to add.

    It used to seperate suggested users by those who did and didn’t already have Google+, but now it doesn’t. I fail to see the usefulness in grouping them all together like that.

    1. If you hover over a person’s name it shows you what circles they are in (well, it tells you how many in a little green box, and if you click on that box it’s easy to add and un-add them to circles).

      1. Ah, cool!

      2. Okay, but I have 300 people I need to sort through. If I have already put them in a circle, why can’t G+ make them glow or move them to another column? If I was adding 2 or 10 people it would be one thing, but as of this moment I have 381 people I need to sort through. I am not complaining, because I am thrilled people are looking for me…but I am a tad overwhelmed. On FB I add 2 or 5 people at a time….not almost 400. And on Twitter, there is Twitter Karma to mass follow those following me. G+ and the circles are a MASSIVE time suck so far.

        1. Yeah, I definitely don’t have the problem of that many people interested in what I say!

          I’m not having the problem with the circles not glowing either. When I go to the “people who have added you” section of the circles and hover over a name/photo the circle that they are in is highlighted with a little red fuzzy line (it’s hard to see – it’s very thin).

          You could also make a public post that says “if you want to be in X circle, say so now” and then just re-share it over a few days so people can do the work for you and let you know who they are and which circle they should be in. As they answer, put them in a circle by hovering over their name (I do this weekly to make sure I’m getting people in the right place).

          Or maybe hire a circle-monkey? 😉

          1. LOL. I will get it figured out…one day. I be an expert 😛

  21. My thoughts exactly. There is nothing new or different about G+. So far, most everything is promotion, the only people who have added me are other writers (love them, but they’re already my friends on facebook), and I don’t see how it would be more fun or easier.

    To me, Twitter and FB are different — one is “chatting” and sharing information instantly, one is a bit more static but allows for on-your-own-time response. One is “talking” the other is “email.” I miss a lot of stuff on Twitter, but that’s okay I won’t miss stuff if it’s directly to me. I don’t miss anything posted on my wall.

    The ONLY real different I can see (and I haven’t confirmed this) is that with G+ you can have more than 5,000 friends. I am nearly maxed out at FB with over 1,000 requests I can’t send a notice to go to my fan page because FB bans me for 24 hours if I send more than 20 messages within X/period of time. I really hate maintaining two pages. I’ve considered having my page “personal” with my family and personal friends and the kids’ friends, except that 2 years ago (3?) I started this and to make all those changes would be time-consuming. AND if I only have a fan page, I can’t use it to post on other people’s personal pages, only their “fan” page. I’ll admit, the 5,000 friend limit drives me batty.

    I think G+ is more for other people–like if you were a teacher, you could have your colleagues in one circle and your students in another. Or if you were the athletic director for a school, you could separate your athletes by team. Or if you were working in the State Capitol and wanted people in your unit in one circle and then everyone else (plus them) in another.

    Anyway, thanks for the analysis. And if you can figure out how to get more than 5,000 friends on facebook, I will be in your debt 🙂

    1. When I teach how to build fan pages, I always recommend building the fan page off the personal account. This way you CAN send out mass invites to the people in your network. But, yeah, that is a problem and FB needs to fix that. I know the point is to protect us from spammers, but it can be a hassle for those who have a large following. Just make sure the buttons on your web site takes people to your fan page. Also try tweeting for people to follow the fan page. That can move a lot of people where you’d like them. Hope this helps.

      1. My fan page is linked to my personal account. My problem is I can’t send to the 1000+ friend requests I have a notice telling them I’m maxed out and asking them to “like” my fan page. (which I really hate asking, “Oh, if you “like” me go here.”) The one time I even hinted I was getting rid of my personal page, I had an outpouring of “please don’t!” and they were all from “real” fans (not authors, etc.)

        Word from someone in the know was that FB was not changing this. But I hope they will. Sort of like every time I get I chance, I mention that Timothy Olyphant would make a GREAT Sheriff Nick Thomas from my book SPEAK NO EVIL if anyone was so inclined to make a movie of it … I post everywhere I can on FB that they need to get rid of the 5K limit — and that I’d be willing to PAY for more friends. (Hmm, that sounds bad …)

  22. Hi Kristen! I’m glad you to hear your updated thoughts on G+. I keep thinking about it and stalling, because I’m already working hard on FB, Twitter, and my blog. I’m also participating some on SheWrites. The idea of venturing into another forum makes me tired, lol. Will I meet new people? Or will it be all my other social media friends? And like you said, we need time to write. Keeping up with others blogs takes time, not to mention researching ideas for my own. There has to be a line somewhere. But I don’t want to miss out on the opportunity, either.

    And thanks for the links. Some great ones in there!

  23. I agree totally about finding the social network that works best for you. My co-writer downloaded TweetDeck and everything and still can’t get in to Twitter. I really enjoy Twitter with it’s bite-sized links and fun little conversations to break up the day, but I’ve had a struggle building up my Facebook page.

    I see a lot of benefits to Google+ (and Lisa and I did a blog series on how to make the most of it http://girlswithpens.com/2011/08/02/how-to-get-started-on-google-as-a-writer/), but the real one is that it’s like a Twitter-Facebook love child. You have the quick moving stream of Twitter (and circles bare similarities to slotting people into columns on TweetDeck), but you have the flexibility of longer posts like on Facebook.

    I can also see two really good reasons to be on Google+
    (1) If there is a mass exodus from Facebook, I want to be prepared
    (2) I’m now getting more hits to my blog from Google+ than I ever got from Facebook

    But I’m still skeptical when people say that it’s going to replace all other social media platforms. I’ll wait and see.

  24. Isn’t the ability to combine Google+ Facebook and twitter into one feed, one spot where you can see and do what you want, worth the effort? I like the ability to have the blogs i’m following fed to me by Google Reader, get email, get my twitter and FB feeds etc. all in one place. Some FB notices don’t come through, but for a quick look at everything Google+ seems superior.

    1. Not really. For now. I find it is like drinking from a firehose. Since I cannot easily sort through 400 people who’ve added me and get them in circles, I am getting everything all at once…and I have a book due to an agent, so sitting and organizing friends is not high on the priority list when it is aleady tended on FB and Twitter. Sorry. I am getting blitzed with writing articles and missing all the fun stuff I get on Twitter and FB.

  25. Thanks for this. I’ve been testing the waters of G+ too and meh… I think I’m just overloaded already and am looking to streamline vs. add something else to the mix. If it were up to me, I’d bail on facebook too. I like twitter, I like blogging.

    And I agree with you on the circles. I actually did a post a few months back in a similar vein (and used the same mean girls pic, lol) about authors being too clique-y on Twitter. I never can understand why an author who is trying to sell books would not follow back most of the people that follow them. Yes, you don’t want to have a glutted stream, but that’s why there are twitter lists so you can divide up your stream and keep track. When an author I love follows me back, it gives me a little fangirl squee moment. So why wouldn’t an author want to do that for their fans instead of doing “no, you’re not important enough to follow because you’re not my fellow fancy NYT bestselling author friend”?

    Anyway, i digress. 🙂 Thanks for including my in the mashup as well! 🙂

  26. I haven’t even done anything on G+ since I joined except add people to circles, always the MyWANA circle. It doesn’t look like any of my other friends are on it. I also haven’t been on FB much since joining Twitter. At least I know I’m not missing much. 🙂 Thanks for the blog linkage!

  27. That’s so true about never knowing who is reading your stuff. Sometimes I’ll wish a Facebook friend a happy birthday, and they’ll reply that they love my blog and have been reading it, and will sometimes name a favorite post. Such a pleasant surprise.

    Another pleasant surprise is that G+ is not all that for writers. I’m still putting stakes down, and I don’t want to have to start over.

  28. One reason that I’m inclined to give Google+ a chance is that I don’t trust Facebook as far as I can through a mainframe. They have proven again and again that they don’t care much about user preferences and don’t respect our privacy. On the other hand, Google is busily soliciting user input and responding to complaints and desires about their product. In short, I feel a lot better about Google+ than I will ever feel about Facebook.

  29. “Call a real friend. They can bring brownies.” It’s sooo true, and much more appropriate.

    And as for being added to circles? I’m going nuts with people adding me to lists and other things I can’t remember the name of, but that seem to generate hundreds of emails a day from people I’ve never met. Please just talk to me, people. Don’t lasso me into an overloaded inbox.

    Thank you for being our guinea pig, Kristen. If you told me I had to do Google+ now, I’d give it a shot, but you’d get a LOT of bweeping.

  30. I love this post! I just don’t get G+. I thought maybe it was me that my saturation point for learning something new had been reached for the year. I’m having enough woes with Twitter and Facebook and I’ve read your book. I’m in the process of re-reading it now. : )

    Thanks for calling out some of the traps I could see with it~the whole circle thing is ridiculous. I didn’t know about the lists on FB and I don’t want to.

    • Terrell Mims on August 3, 2011 at 3:43 pm
    • Reply

    Here is another great post. I have yet to find a reason to love G+. I get the same thing you do about “book trailers and blogs on writing.” I think we have a new meme starting.

    Also, thanks for putting me in the mashup.

  31. I love hearing differing opinions on Google+. I have been using it for about a month or so now and I love it. However, I also maintain my Twitter, Facebook, and blogs. It can be incredibly exhausting.

    One thing that I have found with Google+ that keeps me coming back, is a sense of community. The majority of people who have added me/I’ve added are writers. It’s a wonderful feeling to log on and see so much support and encouragement coming from other writers, especially well known writers. My Writer Circle is twice as big as my family friends. I try very hard to not just post writing information on the Writer Circle, because I do want them all to have a sense of who I am.

    As for the migration, I would love to have more friends and family on Google+, but they, like most people, don’t want to keep up with numerous social media sites. And that is completely understandable.

    Thanks for a wonderful post, Kristen!

    1. I get that, and I love hanging out with writers, too. But, we really have to be careful that we are hanging out with non-writers (potential readers) too. I think G+ will be great so long as people are mindful to get out of the comfort zone…but that applies to ALL social platforms, not just G+ :). Thanks for the comment.

  32. Thank you, Kristen, for once again helping me with this social media “land”. I had signed up with G+ but was keeping with FB and blogging. You just validated my position.
    Patti

  33. This post resonates with me. One of the reasons I love Twitter is that I follow and have followers from mil-bloggers to home bloggers and everything in between. Yes! I want to see that funny video, or that vintage pic, or that interesting stuff from Data Flow. I learn things. I get to know what people are thinking. It’s a big world out there. You never know what’s going to spark an idea. If not for Twitter, I’m not sure I would have become aware of you, Kristen, as soon as I did. I thought… WAHOO, social media expert for writers! Happy dance of joy. Click and follow. Good post.

  34. I kind of hope G+ fails. I don’t want to invest in another social network. I’m one of the few techies who is satisfied with Facebook. That being said, it would be fun to be involved in some of the joint writing sprints I see on G+. If G+ turns into a tool rather than another platform, I would support it.

  35. Wow, thanks for this post. Perfect timing for me. I just signed up for Google+ late last night, only for the reason that a small group of bloggers are having a Hangout session today and kind of like a writing party. This is the first time, and we’re hoping it will work out, but we will check in at 11:00 (Pacific time), chat for 15 min., stop and write for 45 min., check back in and Hangout/chat for another 15 min., then write another 45 min.

    I didn’t plan to join Google+ yet, or maybe never, because I’m overwhelmed getting used to blogging and twitter. And like you, I want to get to know the people behind the blog and who I’m chatting with on twitter, and I can only absorb/get to know so many people at a time and keep them all straight. Hardly have much time to keep up with Facebook right now while trying to find balance with blogging, tweeting, and writing. A few writing challenges on twitter has been quite a motivator for me, and I’m hoping this Hangout today will do the same thing.

    As for the circles and everything else involved with Google+, I haven’t experienced it yet, so I’ll see what happens. I imagine you’re more than bit overwhelmed with 400 people joining your site at a time. Yikes! I was wondering how you can keep up with so many people on Twitter. I was going to ask you how you manage that.

    I need to go back and read your first post about Google+. Thanks for your feedback. Again, I love the humor in your post, and the “digital wedgie” made me laugh out loud.

    Gotta run – make myself look decent for this Hangout. Geez, gotta put makeup on, and I hope no one notices my gray roots. I wonder if I could get away with wearing pantyhose over my head or a paper bag? Haha! This Hangout should be interesting. Wish us luck!

  36. OMG Kristen! I’m still laughing over here about the head clubbing. I’m a newbie to the best practices of using social media for writers (regular reader of your blog waving) and wandered over to G+ to take a look. From the initial articles, it sounded super cool to be able to separate people into the circles and better tailor messages shared, but you are so right about making assumptions on who might be interested in what content. Why block ourselves from potential readers? I just reconnected with a friend from elementary school on FB last night and when I mentioned I was a blogger, she immediately piped up that she’d love to read it and anything else I write. Opened my mind up to a broader scope of how and what I share.

    Thanks for the mash-up mention! Truly appreciated. You were right there is so much freedom from not having to write about writing. 🙂

  37. I don’t really like or dislike G+ or the Circles. Actually, I do like the circles; but, besides my writing friends, I don’t have one single high school or college acquaintance on there like FB. I barely log into FB once a day, and I have to remind myself about once a week to check into G+. Twitter is my crack. Oh, and your circles probably don’t work well because you have a bazillion requests….I do want to keep my options open – for my platform, you know…..but G+ is definitely on the bottom of my social media ladder right now.

  38. OMG, I love your mash-ups. They give me a quick road to the other stuff I need to read. 🙂

    Thank you for including me with all these amazing bloggers!

    On the Google side, I went to plus.google.com just yesterday and got the message that they were full up. I’ve never been turned away by a platform before!

  39. The appealing thing about G+, is that I RT a lot of great writing articles that a typical non-writing reader could care less about. It would nice if I could only tweet these kinds of things to other writers and not flood my readers with stuff they don’t care about.

    1. But you are assuming they don’t care. That is a pretty BIG assumption. I have family and friends who are not writers and never will be and I am shocked how many times they tell me they love my blogs. People will just ignore what they don’t find interesting, but the key is to give the benefit of the doubt. We have no idea who might hold secret ambitions of being a writer, or who might like reading what we find interesting. Might make some converts :D.

  40. Wow, this is SUCH a keeper! I’m on Google+ but haven’t yet found the right G-spot or (wait, did I just say that?). I so LIKE-LIKE-LIKE what you said about it.

    Oh, and thanks huge sparkly bucketloads for the shoutout in the mash-up!

    1. I so can’t wait to read your post, Amy. Tomorrow is my day off (FINALLY!) and I’ll be catching up on writing and editing. Definitely stop over to your post.

  41. Thank you for answering another big question I had in mind. I know many are moving over to G+ but I’m up to my ears with my blog, Facebook, and Twitter to start trying a new one.

  42. First off for the record, I have five Circles (the four default and I added Writers. EVERYONE on my Google + are in the writer circle and everything I post is public. And honestly, I struggle just getting onto Twitter now and again. I don’t have the platform I should and I’ve always thought it’s because I post too much “real” stuff. Now I think I just am on to infrequently for people to “notice” me.

  43. Glad to have some inside scoop on G+, I don’t think I’m ready to add one more thing in. Already limiting myself on my existing ones so I make more time to actually write. I mean it, I bought a planner and everything. LOL.

    I will however be reading your awesome mash up tomorrow as several really helpful blogs are on there. Can’t wait!

  44. I can barely navigate my own website… I can’t entertain the thought of yet another cyber-portal to keep up with! In fact this may be my first comment ever!
    If I knew how to link your blog to mine I would do it in a New York minute!
    Any suggestions? :/

    • Tamara LeBlanc on August 3, 2011 at 6:39 pm
    • Reply

    Awesome! I’ve been waiting for your full take on the G+ movement. And it’s funny that you’re discussing it today, because just last night my 18 yr old asked, “Hey mom, have you heard of G+?”
    Me “Yep, just last week I learned about it.”
    18yr old “Are you gonna be on it?”
    Me “I’m waiting to hear if Kristen Lamb thinks it’s worth while or not first.”
    18 yr old “Kristen Lamb. Isn’t she that chic you’re always talking about? The one with the blog?”
    Me “That’s the one…um, and she’s not a chic…she’s a social networking Goddess.”
    18yr old “Um, can I have dinner now?”
    I tried to get him on the KL band wagon, but I guess he’s not quite ready for your supernatural wisdom yet:)
    So, long story short, I am sticking with Twitter and FB. I like them. They work and they’re comfy.
    Until something new comes along and you point me in that direction that is:)
    Loved the paragraph about the Mac lady. You just never know who you’re going to meet that might become a potential fan.
    Thanks for your advice!
    Have a great afternoon:)
    Tamara

    1. Just tell him I am an avid gamer and Gear Head (Gears of War). I speak fluent XBox-360 :D.

        • Tamara LeBlanc on August 4, 2011 at 1:18 pm
        • Reply

        Man, I wish I had remembered that. I will!
        Oh, and by the way, he thinks you’re smokin hot. He said that when he saw your pic:)

  45. I deleted my G profile. I didn’t know the people who were circling me and it was nothing more than another promotional avenue. I see enough of that on twitter and can filter it out there.

  46. I hate FB with a mad, mad passion. Really. I used it for a while when I was being paid to do so, but that’s the only thing that could make me do it. I haven’t decided about G+ yet. I have an account because social media is part of my job and, well, I’m a geek and have to try everything that comes along.

    That said, I share all my posts with everyone (they’re “public”, not in circles). I use circles the opposite way–sometimes, when I only have a few minutes, I want to see what my family is saying. Or if I am looking for inspiration on something, I want to see what my writerly friends are up to. For me, the circles so far have functioned as a reading tool, not a distribution tool.

    So far, I like the interface, don’t like the “real name” rules, am unimpressed with Google’s desire to link everything under the sun but don’t actively dislike it. I’ve taken a “wait and see” attitude toward it.

  47. Thanks, Kristen. I was going to shoot myself if you said you’d decided G+ was a must for writers. Just now gone over 1000 Twitter followers and didn’t want to start over.

  48. Thanks for the linkage! Everybody should read that post because Kristen wrote the best-ever comment. She sees wine bars in the Barnes and Nobles of the future–where we can sip pinot while our custom POD book is being printed. LOVE it.

    Also many thanks for #SockNarnia. I don’t know why I did not know about this.

    Why didn’t I wait for Kristin’s post before I jumped into Google+? So far I have 34 Google+ peeps. Every one is in the Writer circle. Yup.

    But at least there’s no Farmville.

    Great analysis. Thanks so much.

  49. Here’s a digital box of chocolates for doing all the grunt work for your followers. You might want to add “healer” to your CV. The mysterious rash that began to appear the first day someone suggested switching to G+, disappeared the second I finished this post. I’m still trying to sort my way through FB. Love the simplicity of Twitter. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

  50. Non-writers = potential readers. As always, amazing advice! Thank you.

    • Ruth Nestvold on August 4, 2011 at 12:45 pm
    • Reply

    I still haven’t used G+ much, but I have participated in a live conference writing session, which was a lot of fun. I also like the fact that it’s so easy to only view the messages from the “friends” I really know, not some arbitrary display of “friends” that FB decided to present me with. Haven’t moved and am not pulling up stakes, but still too early to call which I will be using more in the future.

  51. I’m VERY new to Google+. I like the stream–the fact I can read the first lines of a blog makes it much more likely I’ll read the whole thing, but it’s missing (or maybe I’m missing) little things that promote community. Like, I have no idea which of my friends are on Google+, and there don’t seem to be any buttons we can add to our blogs to get people to add us to their circles. And many blogs don’t have a +1 feature yet, so I have to manually copy/paste the blog URL to share. (Blogger needs to add a widget for this.) I think I’ll like Google+, but until there are widespread share features, I’ll probably miss adding people I want to add. I don’t see anything in it that I’m not already getting from Facebook and Twitter, but in a few weeks, I might have a different opinion.

  52. Does happy dance- I am SO glad I don’t have to change!!!

  53. Frankly, this is a relief. I’m not on G+, but I was thinking that it would be yet another thing I had to master, while still trying to write, edit, blog, tweet, FB, read, conference, query, and bathe. I’ll keep my mind open, but for now I think I’ll stick with my Facebook and Twitter.

  54. Wow, great thoughts here. I’ve been invited twice to Google+ and now I’m glad I didn’t try to add that to my already busy schedule. (I have to have time to write, people!) Yep, blogging, FB, and Twitter is enough!!

  55. It’s always so great to read something that makes sense and you never fail to deliver.

    My husband ‘invited’ me to G+ and I think I have 5 people in my circles. To me, FB does what I want it to do – interact with other people around the world, and Twitter allows me short snippets of information when I’m time stressed. I’m sure at some point I’ll attack G+ with more vengeance, but for now I’ll put my energy into my writing and the social media I know and love.

    I use lists on FB because it lets me quickly scan posts from my family, friends, writers, etc without having to slog through the ‘so and so is friends with so and so’ posts. Which, I do like reading sometimes. We’ve got to find new friends somehow, right?

    Another awesome post. Now, if I can figure out how to tweet or retweet or whatever this, I will!

  56. Thanks, Kristen! I had actually been wondering about Google+. But as you said, it’s already a lot of work maintaining other social media as a writer. It has to be worth the payoff. I’m going to keep thinking about it but focus more on what I’ve already established for now.

  57. I’m not a G+ connoisseur yet, but I prefer it over FB and Twitter. In fact, I despise Twitter. And while I’m very comfortable on FB, I have not been able to figure out how to post to only a list, without telling FB who I don’t want to post to. Maybe FB would be cooler if I could do this.
    But the thing I love about G+ is that I don’t have to approve friend requests. If someone wants to follow my public posts, then they can. If I want to add them to a circle, I can. I haven’t gotten around to adding all of these other people yet, and I may not, but right now it seems as if they’re poaching other writers’ “friends” to gain more.
    I don’t post personal information on G+ or FB, so all my posts, so far, are set as public. While I’ll let my hair down and get as personal as I’m willing on the Internet, I keep all social networking professional too. If I have to communicate with my BFF, you can bet it’s done via phone, IM or email. So if people I don’t know are adding me to their circles, who cares? in fact, I think it’s cool. You never know who might become a reader one day.
    I think G+ will be more interesting once I find the non-writers. Is it open to the general public yet? Until then, I’ll deal with the gajillions of writing article posts. Writers make wonderful readers too. 😉

  58. Dear me, I am overwhelmed but eager to learn. I am not in the loop as I am a beginner blogger but so interested in finding out more about this writing experience on line. I found your comments very well written and humourous even though I only barely graped what the heck you were talking about. I also enjoyed the reponses from your following readers. Personally, I feel like I’m coming out of a 1970’s time warp and you are trying to bring me up to speed. I’ll check in from time to time and hope that I understand more as time goes by.

  59. typo!,,,, graped should be grasped! (old school correction!)

    1. LOL….No worries about typos. Thrilled you took time to comment. When I decided to write my social media books for writers, my biggest consideration was that a LOT of writers don’t begin until their 50s. The kids are grown and now there is time to pursue passions instead of prudence. I wrote all of my lessons so that those who didn’t cut theri baby teeth on a computer keyboard could understand. I hope you check them out and welcome to my blog! THANK YOU for taking time to comment.

    • Christine Grote on August 5, 2011 at 4:22 pm
    • Reply

    Thanks for scouting out the G+ for us. For now, I’ll just stay posted. Have my hands full with writing, blogging, tweeting, and all the reciprocating I try to do.

    Thanks for this list of great posts, this might take me a while, but I’m intrigued by several and must check them out.

    • Christine Grote on August 5, 2011 at 4:25 pm
    • Reply

    I have a question for you not at all related to this post. What do you think about authors who donate some percentage of royalties to a charitable institution? I am thinking about donating money from my memoir (if I ever get it out there), to Hospice out of gratitude, not as a ploy to sell books. Any thoughts?

    1. I think it is a good idea. Jamds Rollins sold tote bags to promote his new Book “The Devil Colony” and 100% of the proceeds went to the Humane Society of North America Jim got his start as a veterinarian).

  60. You bring up some really good points! THANK YOU!

  61. Ok, Shaman, I’m actually pretty relieved. Per your advice, I won’t have to try and remember, yet another, password….ugh.

  62. Ha! This is great. I have a handful of really boring circle names, but when I post, I’m almost always just using “Public.” I have no interest in trying to figure out what others would like. If they don’t like it, scroll away. 🙂

  63. It’s Saturday afternoon, and I’m finally reading Wednesday’s email. Yep, that far behind.

    Anyway, read the post, thought about it, and decided the appropriate thing to do was to post it to G+ where everyone I know is asking “Just what are we supposed to be doing here anyway?”

    There are a couple of features that look useful. The ability to have video chats with whole bunch of people could be useful. Could. But then it could end up being just like the old time party lines.

    Wayne

  64. I ignored your advice about Myspace after trying to check it out again when I read your book. At that point in time, I haven’t logged in on my Myspace for over a year. I literally had to guess my password before I was able to access it again. Most of my friends haven’t logged on longer than that though. It’s like, we abandoned Myspace at the exact same time.

    I wouldn’t put G+ on the “mediocre” category just yet. It’s still getting its bearings in order. In time, G+ would make enough changes that it’ll be the next main social media appendage.

  65. Yeah. I’m on there, but I’m not updating a thing. I’m just a big fan of Google, but Google’s like Edison – 999 crappy experiments gone wrong, 1 AMAZING idea. Then 999 experiments gone wrong…

    And I laughed aloud @ the digital wedgie gig.

  66. I don’t know, Facebook has a lot of spam from game players and alot of them tend to drop you as friends as soon as you put up a personal picture and twitter gets crazy after you follow three people. The circle thing sounds really dumb, I must admit, outside of the moral one step forward two steps back thing, you also stand to alienate new and old friends because it just pushes your opinion out into the world. Or it could just be my own experience.

  1. […] Is Google+ a good social media vehicle for building a writer platform? Here’s social media for writers maven, Kristen Lamb’s take on it. Google+ — Good Idea for Writers or High School Revisited? […]

  2. […] Dipped-In-Glitter Author Kristen Lamb explores the latest social media trend in G+ Circles–Good Idea for Writers or High School Revisited? […]

  3. […] Have you been feeling the pressure to join  Google +?  Are you freaking out over having to adopt yet another social media platform?  Then slow down, breathe and read what Kristen Lamb, author of “We Are Not Alone–The Writer’s Guide to Social Media,” has to say in G+ Circles – Good Idea for Writers or High School Revisited? […]

  4. […] G+ Circles–Good Idea for Writers or High School Revisited? @ Kristen Lamb – Kristen shares her ideas on G+. […]

  5. […] Lamb shares more thoughts on G+ Circles – Good Idea for Writers or High School Revisited. (I don’t totally agree with some of her points, mostly because while I may drag people into […]

  6. […] In her book, We Are Not Alone: Social Media for Writers, Kristen Lamb discusses a number of social media outlets, including MySpace, which is all but dead (Kristen says to ignore those pages of her book). Since its publication, a number of new outlets have come out. The most recent is Google+, which she addressed in a recent blog post. […]

  7. […] with your potential readers. Her posts vary from inspirational to whether or not particular social service might be good for you. Definitely a blog to check […]

  8. […] you have joined Roni Loren on the Tumblr train or circled up with Patrick Thunstrom, Jami Gold and Kristen Lamb on […]

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