As you’ve probably noticed from my previous posts, I have quickly become a huge fan of Google+. I think it steps up to the plate when it comes to certain features.
However, there is something I think could be improved — allowing people to choose which circles they get put into.
Here’s what happens right now (to the best of my knowledge): Currently, you can add people to your circles. They have no idea which circle they are added to. This means that you are receiving their content in your feed, for that circle.
They are notified that you have added them, and they can then put you in their circle (you have no idea which one, if any).
Now, say you want to post to your circle about Dogs. It will get sent out to those who have you somewhere in their circles.
However, if that person has not added you to their circles, even if you have added them, they will not see your post.
As of right now (perhaps by way of getting around this), many people are making their posts public, ensuring that everyone is able to see what they’ve written or shared.
I think the confusion comes in, and it’s definitely there for me, too, because by “sharing” with a circle, it’s easy to slip into the belief that you’ve actually shared with as many people as are in the circle — but that’s not the case if they haven’t added you or aren’t frequently looking at your circle.
Does that make sense?
I think that most people are mutual “adds”, in which case, it’s a moot point. This is especially true if you’re an authority in your niche or area of expertise.
But Mari Smith brought up a good point — what if we could have people “subscribe” to a certain circle? That way, it would be a true message to market match because people will have indicated that they want to receive information, from you, about a certain topic.
It’s very likely that this will be a feature when business profiles are launched on Google+.
Thoughts?
Jenn,
Thanks for the info …I didn’t know that.
I like Mari’s idea, but that might cause some resistance/hesitation on the subscribers part (“do I really want to subscribe to this guy’s/woman’s circle?”).
A simple solution may be to include the name of the Circle the person has added you to.
Ray
Hi Ray,
I think you’re right — some are hesitant to subscribe to something. On the other hand, our goal is to make it so that people WANT to subscribe.
Guy Kawasaki (I believe it was him) and some others with large followings have asked people to outright tell them what kind of circle to put them in — sort of a preliminary opt-in, of sorts.
Of course, if a person is new or is just making their way in the social media space, it won’t be quite that easy.
I would definitely like it if there were public “circles” people could put themselves in — that would be different from anything else out there, and very cool.