Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Tech Savvy: Google+ Your Next Event or Meeting

If you're a geek like me, then you were probably getting curious looks from your coworkers during Google's I/O conference just like I was. Having the live stream playing for a few days, I absorbed a fair amount of interesting news about Google's offerings for the year. Though the new Nexus Tablet stole most of the thunder, Google+ had some interesting evolution.

For all those who are living in the 21st century, you may have been inundated with Facebook invitations to various events sometimes relevant and other times annoying. With this in mind, I tread carefully in recommending any online-based invitation solution. However, Google has found a way to outdo the juggernaut known as Facebook.

Google+
I'm assuming most people reading this know what Google+ is. If you don't, it's a social media platform developed by Google. Some people think of it as Google's effort to dethrone Facebook as the world's premiere social media platform. I, personally, am not so sure. With nearly a billion users, Zuckerberg's brainchild is unlikely to see a great threat from any newcomer to the social game.

If you use Google+ already, you may notice that it leans more towards a Twitter-like functionality which may indicate Google's real strategy: offer you a conversational way to keep in touch with your friends and family, while offering a clean interface for content and news consumption.

Like many people, you may be saying, "I have Facebook, Twitter, and a few other social medias already. I don't see the need of another one." This is fine if you are only considering your personal involvement. But if you are responsible for driving traffic to your business website, then you may want to reconsider. Think of this: the root word of Google+ is Google. Google is responsible for ranking your website based on thousands of factors including social media presence. Wouldn't you assume that they would calculate Google+ into that algorithm? They do...  majorly.

That said, it would be prudent to incorporate Google+ into your arsenal. If your business uses Google Apps already (like mine does), then you will be able to use your business email address to create the account.

Google+ Events
Now to the new feature I'm really excited about: Google+ Events. During this year's I/O conference, Google introduced a new "Events" feature within Google+. What really made this stand out to me was its integration into the Google Apps ecosystem. When you're invited to an event, you can see your availability before you select whether or not you're attending. This is assuming you keep your Google Calendar up to date.

Also integrated is the "Hangout" feature. While this doesn't have an obvious use for business, it allows you to have video chats with attendees of the event. If you're a business with employees spread around the country, this will give you an easy means to teleconference. You could essentially treat your next sales meeting as an event, invite all your employees and those who were out of the office could use their smartphone, tablet, or webcam enabled computer to dial in and see what's going on.

Interestingly, that integration is seamless if you have Google Apps for your business. When I create an event, I can select "circles" of friends, family, colleagues, or whatever I've set up. However, since I'm using my work email, it automatically includes my business "circle." It will send out the invitation to all people who have an email address for our company. If a particular employee hasn't signed up for Google+, it will email them a notification anyway. 

The Events functionality also offers maps, various sharing options, and great implementation within the Google+ mobile app. Attendees can also comment, attach photos, and keep in touch with the buzz of the event. 

Have any other ideas on organizing your business using technology? Let us know in the comments below.

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