Showing posts with label applications. Show all posts
Showing posts with label applications. Show all posts

Thursday, May 28

The Language Of Plussing

 
Holy cow I have some old posts on here. It's still an interesting read because G+ just closed down a few years ago. We not only plussed but had Circles of friends that we'd trade to get more numbers. Technology grows in leaps and 
bounds!





The Language Of Plussing

We go on social networks to be social but how do you find other people in the big bad stream? And why should one bother to plus?

Google is a big network when looking to connect with someone. That’s why Google came up with the +1 social shorthand to track each other.

When using any language it’s important to learn the basics. The technical term pinging is what Google calls plussing and whether you know it or not you do it every day.

What if you want to talk to a person?

I have hundreds of friends in the stream so how do I find just one?

To send a post to a person type a + and the person's username immediately afterward. After typing 2 or 3 letters a menu will pop up to choose from. You can send one or more usernames on the same post it’s up to you. Unless it’s a very common username the menu should pop up quickly. Common usernames can be harder to find because the list is long.

You can send these posts public, private, or both but check before you post privately to make sure you aren’t overlooking the public setting. You can send a private post out to someone that way by accident so watch it!

People in your circles come up first when pinging someone so if you have a hard time finding the username on the menu go and add the person to a circle and they will be there next time. Always give a person time to see their notifications and answer.

How can a person tell if I plussed them?

If I can’t find their plusses how can I expect them to find mine?

You are beginning to use notifications and they will do the same looking through their notifications and will see that you did. Always give them time to see your messages because we all use notifications differently. If someone just won’t answer and it really bothers you take them out of your circles it wasn’t meant to be.

In your settings, you determine how you want to be notified and what you want to be notified about. Your settings are important and if you haven’t looked at them yet I would suggest you do so now and see how your notifications are set up. They are the most useful tool on G+ use them right and they will serve you.

I want them to see my post or comment right away!

Just because a friend is online doesn’t mean they are watching for you like a hawk so what can you do?

Don’t wait if you want someone, in particular, to see your post or comment ping them on it. I make a practice of plussing (pinging) every time I do anything on G+ because my friends will see it faster in notifications.

Why give people plusses at all?

Other people don’t plus so why should I?

It’s true that people are lousy at pinging each other I see it every day but why let that ruin your online experience? Communication skills are everything on a social network just like offline and the better you are at it the more people will want to include you!

Try going without talking all day offline and see where that gets you. You can be sure your friends will miss out on a lot but you don’t have to.

Here are a few examples of what the language of plussing can tell you.
  • +1 on a post-I like it! 
  • +1 on a comment-I saw your comment and am letting you know. 
  • +1 on a comment-I liked what you said but don’t want to comment. 
  • +1 on a comment-I agree with you! 
  • +1 and Reply (ping) about the same comment-I want to add or answer this and here’s my comment to see. 
  • +1 on anything-Going to tell Google your preferences, likes, dislikes, and other things about you. 
If you watch people that do plus you will see successful people who move effortlessly around G+ communicating freely and using it to their full advantage. Follow their lead.

Everyone on G+ waits to get plusses don’t fool yourself. As a newbie remember how you felt when you got your first plusses? How did it feel when you got no plusses?

If you hate a post or dislike a person you certainly wouldn’t want to plus them but maybe they shouldn’t be in your circles anyway.

By using this social shorthand to navigate G+ you will have an easier time finding your friends and understanding what’s going on. Your friends will know you appreciate their posts and I have found as a side effect of plussing often you get circled often.

It’s a plus-plus situation. (Wink, wink.)

Sources: My knowledge of G+, G+ and search.

Running In Circles

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This animated Gif is a good example of how our circles interact on Google Plus.

Using circles and following have been misunderstood by newbies. Choose a circle and you're viewing everyone’s content in that circle at that time. Change your circle and you have a different view.

Follow someone and you're following a person's single profile but you'll be putting them in a circle. Circles are used to group your friends and interests so you can find them easier.

You will find yourself asking:

How many circles should I have?
If someone adds me do I have to add them back?
Why have circles at all?
Will someone know when I circle them or when I don't?

These are just a few of the questions that could have you running in circles but armed with a few facts you will be using them to your advantage.

The Secret Of Circles

Circles are groups of people you decide to follow. If you follow someone it’s making them a daily friend because you will see their posts when you use that circle. You don’t have to ask them to be your friend or wait for an answer you can build and use your circles immediately.

You want to make your circles about friends, interests, or what you want to see online because whether you trade them or not it’s your own unique view of Google+. Each circle you make will offer you a different view of G+ than the Public stream. It depends on how many circles you make as to how many “views” you’ll have.

Don’t worry about what other people are doing they are doing the same thing and no one should take this process personally. Google+ was designed to be used this way and anyone who gives you grief about it should be blocked.

Facts About Followers

Followers are people who decide to circle you by personal choice. It’s what the other side is doing while you make your circles. It’s not the number of people you follow it’s the number of people who follow you that counts. When you start to gain followers you are notified as to how many on your profile.

You get followers by posting great content and giving out good conversation. You can’t buy, beg or borrow followers they have a mind of their own and you must learn what they want to get them.

People will try to encourage or ask people to follow and plus them. Not a good idea it can backfire when people decide you are begging for it. When you follow or unfollow you can be as fickle as you please about it.

It’s a fun challenge to post good content and accumulate followers. I like finding and creating rich content and getting as many followers as I can. There is no award for having thousands of followers just the satisfaction of networking with awesome people.

Some Things To Remember
  • Circles can be deleted if they aren’t working just start another.
  • You can follow G+ without any circles and you will still gain followers.
  • If you delete a circle it’s not personal. 
  • Some of the people with the most followers don’t circle anyone.
  • You can have as many circles as you want.
  • Followers are people who have circled you.
  • Include yourself in all your circles, everyone does.
  • No one has a say about who you follow, circle and who you don’t.
  • Having thousands of followers does not ensure popularity. 
Miscellaneous Facts

Learn how to block someone and use it liberally. There are new people to meet and life is too short to deal with strangers who mistreat you. Some people join social networks (like bullies in the real world) who only want to hurt or start arguments with you and if you let them you are playing into their sick schemes. Use caution, block but don’t be afraid of people most of them want to engage agreeably.

Have fun! Keep On Bloggin'!

Friday, October 28

To Code Or Not To Code

I coded this.

What if you could design and publish HTML websites without writing code or using templates to do so? A website where you can focus on creativity alone to put exactly what you want on your website. Adobe has made this possible with (codename) Muse.

Muse, now in public beta, is for graphic designers that want to design and publish unique, professional HTML websites without worrying how to write code. So far 300,000+ designers have already downloaded Muse and have been very pleased with the results.

Check it out for yourself at the Muse website. First, watch the video called Meet Muse for an introduction to Adobe’s brainchild. On their site, you can also Get Muse to try out and they have video tutorials to watch if you need any help learning how to use it.

To see what can be done without code take a peek at the Muse Site Showcase to see how others are using this program to make fantastic one of a kind websites for themselves.

Right now to design your own website you have to know one of the many programs (besides HTML) to do so. As well as Blogger works when you design your site you still have to work with a choice of already designed templates that they offer and follow Google’s policies.

There have been plenty of times I tried to embed content or applications on my websites and had problems. Wouldn’t it be great to forgo this and put what I want to on my website with nobodies policy but my own? If you have a website or are thinking of starting one then I’m sure you agree.

Keep On Bloggin’!

Wednesday, September 14

Twenty Brilliant Quotes


I love good quotes! I have an application on my Android phone called “Brilliant Quotes” and it’s free so if you have an Android you may want to check it out.

Get inspired!

1. “Advertising is legalized lying.” H.G. Wells

2. “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Helen Keller

3. “Be sure to put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” Abraham Lincoln

4. “Ideas come from everything.” Alfred Hitchcock

5. “Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.” Bill Gates

6. “I accept chaos, I’m not sure whether it accepts me.” Bob Dylan

7. “Moral indignation-jealousy with a halo.” H.G. Wells

8. “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” Buddha

9. “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” Charles Darwin

10. “To be honest, one must be inconsistent.” H.G. Wells

11. “You’ll never find a rainbow if you’re looking down.” Charlie Chaplin

12. “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” Woody Allen

13. “A truth that’s told with bad intent beats all the lies you can invent.” William Blake

14. “The schools ain’t what they used to be and never was.” Will Rogers

15. “Cynicism is humor in ill health.” H.G. Wells

16. “When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable.” Walt Disney

17. “It is good to love many things, for therein lies strength, and whatsoever loves much can accomplish much, and what is done with love is well done.” Vincent Van Gogh

18. “Hell, there are no rules here-we’re trying to accomplish something.” Thomas A. Edison

19. “Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.” Douglas Adams

20. “Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.” Plato

Do you know a good quote? Share it with us in comments so we can read it.

Keep On Bloggin’!

Tuesday, May 10

Improving Your Blog With Gadgets


Blogger has gadgets and widgets to use but what are they and which should I use? Actually, they are the same thing and can do wonders for your website. If familiar with code you can write them yourself.


A Gadget is a portable chunk of code that can be installed and executed within any separate HTML-based web page by an end user (people using the gadget) without requiring additional compilation. They do many different things. 


They are derived from the idea of code reuse. Other terms used to describe gadgets include widget, badge, module, webjit, capsule, snippet, mini, application, flake and more. Gadgets usually but not always use HTML, DHTML, JavaScript, or Adobe Flash. 

End users primarily use widgets to enhance our personal web experiences or the web experiences of visitors to our personal sites.The use of widgets has proven extremely popular, where users of social media are able to add stand-alone applications to blogs, profiles and community pages for free. Widgets add utility in the same way that an Android smartphone uses applications.

The developers of these widgets often offer them for free which gives them a form of sponsored content where both parties gain. This can pay for the cost of the development.

Blogger can use gadgets from all kinds of websites not just what's listed which is the beauty of using these ‘portable chunks of code’. Because the coding is all very similar I have found gadgets from other websites that I was able to ‘tweak’ to use on my website. (By tweaking I mean changing the code a bit so it does work.) 

If you’re looking for new ideas for Blogger or your website, One Gadget At A Time is the site to read. It explains everything you need to know to use awesome gadgets. You can use just about any of them as long as the ‘embed code’ works. (Sometimes if they don't a few tweaks and you can get it working, the code can be a little different depending on what version of the code required.)

There’s a big difference between some gadgets and others. Compare them and see what I mean. The best place to find the coolest gadgets is by searching online there's so many to use for free

You have a Blogger website so why should you have to deal with gadgets? Because gadgets are not only for fun they can give you important information about your website's statistics. These gadgets tell you who’s following you, how many people visit your website, what kind of comments you get, the friends you make and so much more. 

When you have a new website although they're already set up you need to go and install certain gadgets to make it complete. Make your website "pop" by experimenting with movement, looks and colors. Some gadgets help get your point across and convey the "mood" of your website. To be successful you must attract readers and your site is only as good as your last reader.

“If we could only pull out our brains and use only our eyes.” Pablo Picasso

That would hurt like mad Pablo! Lol!

Keep On Bloggin’!