Digital Always Media Inc.
: Search, Social & Analytics :

Aiming to take the wind out of the sail of Facebook’s announcement of changes to their Newsfeed later today, Google announced three changes to their social media platform yesterday.

The most noticeable change is the re-sizing of the Cover Photo button. The photo size can now be up to 2120 by 1192 pixels and in 16:9 ratio – over twice its previous size. It’s a pretty noticeable change that takes up a large portion of the screen:

Early criticism points out the uselessness of the improved Cover Photo, but it makes sense: it’s an easy way to demonstrate individuality while simultaneously sharing your interests with friends and family.

The About section has also changed: its format has been adjusted visually into a more compartmentalized block-style, which is easier to get an overview of the profile’s contents and change them. This formatting has also been applied to the Local section, making it easier to see your reviews:

An interesting element that is particularly helpful is the subtle inclusion of colour to reflect the review itself – The emerald green colour indicates an Excellent review, while the olive reflects Average, and orange denotes Poor. The Local section also uses a map to indicate the location of the reviewed organizations, which can be found at the top of your Local page.

This formatting will be rolled out into the newsfeed in the coming weeks, and as it’s based on customer feedback, so it’s not too surprising that the new style seems similar to Facebook:

Google Plus’ aptitude to adapt to its users’ needs and expectation is what really set it apart; its changes are actually in the interests of the users (ahem, Facebook). It will be interesting to see how, in the coming months and years, how Google Plus will evolve.

Ripples – The New Metric of 2013

Ripples are an interactive feature that tracks how posts or URLs are shared through Google and the Google Plus network. Valuable to both users and marketers, the Ripple feature demonstrates not only what we’re sharing, but how, when, and with whom.

Launched in fall 2011, Ripples has stayed relatively below the radar for the last 18 months. However, with the obfuscation of older standard metrics and changing values in the industry, many SEOs are looking for new insights into user behaviour. This feature may be the answer to finding more in-depth information into user behaviour, but be mindful that Ripples only show publicly shared pieces, so it’s not going to be 100% accurate.

How it Works

You can access the Ripple of a post or URL through the small arrow in the top right corner of the post. As per the image below, the View Ripples function is at the bottom of the drop down menu.

When you view the Ripples, you’ll be brought to the visual overview of sharing for the URL in question. The circles are known as Spheres of Influence. Influencers are exactly that: people with a wide influence, whom many people share the URL or link through.

For instance, this is a Ripple graph for a link posted by Rand Fishkin. At the top is the URL in question: You can see the people who shared it directly from him are included in his circle of influence, as well as whom they shared it with. With some Ripples, the amount of individual shares is so high that the graphic is more difficult to read. Using the zoom function on the left will correct this.

Similar to Rand’s post, this ripple shows the amount of sharing in both the post of origin, as well as the amount of single shares. If you use the zoom function, you can discover the specific people who are sharing the article or URL. It also allows you to follow and discover more through the Ripple.

 There is also additional information below this graphic that demonstrate the staring process, and help you quantify it for your clients. The Ripple function tracks the comments associated with the post, shows statistics about how it was shared, and how it was shared over time. The interactive spread timeline demonstrates how the link was spread and by whom. The statistics are also able to breakdown the languages it is shared in, as well as animate the sharing process for the visually inclined.

Why Ripples Matter

Ripples are an important and undervalued marketing tool. It is one of the few, FREE ways of quantifying user interaction and behaviour. It’s important to remember this is an indication of how users are spreading and sharing information; not on-page behaviour, but rather the driving force that leads to it. The Ripples statistics give you an interactive timeline of sharing, names of influencers on the URL or post, the languages it was shared in and how it was spread (length of sharing chain, number of shares per hour, etc).

Ripples are not just useful to SEOs and marketers; burgeoning writers and webmasters can benefit greatly from this element. With SEO keyword reports being made irrelevant, this should be one of the easiest ways online marketers can quantify user behaviour and better tailor their online marketing efforts for their clients and their own business. Ripples can uncover Influencers, targeted subjects or keywords: it’s a perfect research tool to determine what is and isn’t working. With Google pushing G+ into prominence and 500 million registered Google+ users, can you afford not to?

The Hangout feature is possibly the most useful and underrated elements of Google’s social platform. Its versatility and ease of use make it ideal for both professional and personal work.

For use on computers, tablets or mobiles (through the Google Plus app), there are two functions in the Hangout section to serve your needs: Hangouts and Hangouts On Air (HOA). Both options serve distinct groups, and allow you to choose which style will best suit your needs. There are certain elements within the Hangout feature that make it both useable and fun.

How to Start a Hangout

On your Google Plus page, choose the Hangout icon from the left menu. It will lead you to a menu of current Hangout On Air that you can choose from, or you can start your own by clicking the red button in the top right corner of your screen. From there, you will be brought to a list of people in your circles, with the left hand side of the pop up screen resembling this:

Attendees are not limited to computers: You can dial people in via the telephone – calls to USA and Canada are free, other countries are very affordable (see below for some examples) if they can’t patch in with a computer.

 Simply follow the prompts for friends via computer, telephone, and Enable Hangouts on Air (if desired, more on that below), and start your Hangout. You can even name them to make it easier for your friends (ie. ‘Computer Talk’, ‘Bronies United!’, ‘I (heart) the OHL’).

What’s the Difference between a Hangout and a Hangout On Air?

Hangouts

With the ability to host up to ten people (1host, 9 guests), Standard Hangouts are a great place for personal, corporate or private calls. You can collaborate in documents with screenshare, use the effects and dial in attendees via the phone. This style of hangout is NOT indexed and saved to YouTube – lots more privacy than the Hangouts On Air (HOA) version.

Hangouts On Air (HOA)

The HOA function offers benefits that the regular Hangouts can’t. It can have an unlimited members; it allows for bigger groups to congregate and share. Unlike the Hangout, it is public; Indexed and saved in the host’s YouTube account for future reference, you can upload as many videos as you’d like. Unlike most uploads you’re not capped at 15 minutes; videos can be up to three hours long. The ability to upload immediately is bonus, as it will allow you to push your new content as soon as it’s online.

What are some of the useful tools in Hangouts?

Screenshare

The ability to screenshare is perfect for remote meetings; having a visual aid can bring clarity to both the user and members of the Hangout, increasing efficiency and improving your results. Note one of the few drawbacks of the Screenshare option is that it is not available on phone-based hangouts. In my tests with both tablets and mobile Hangouts, only the tablet was successful with the screenshare feature.

When choosing the Screenshare option, the source documents are not limited to Google Drive. Choose the Share option in your window: you are presented with a selection of sources to share – including your desktop and open windows. The quality depends on several factor, like screen size and resolution, but in the tests I did with tablets, it was fine. This feature would be ideal for a private presentation or sales call when an in-person presentation is impossible.

A Bit of Fun with Google Effects

Effects – sounds, hats, eyewear, facial hair – adds fun element to an on-air call. Similar to the Effects offered in the , you can make some seriously comical combinations. Self respect might be optional.

One of the interesting aspects is how the facial recognition software comes into play with the Effects feature in Hangouts. There is a number of combinations to use in Effects, and the additions gleefully follow the movements of your head as you talk and interact. The interesting feature is that they will only attach to a human face.  While testing this, I tried several mediums to see the extent of the technology. Portraits, paintings, and comics, as long as they held to the traditional ratios of a human face, all worked wonderfully, regardless of size or angle.

The Far Side comics or Modigliani paintings, due to their elongated features, were not recognied, nor were figurines, or felines. My cat Tycho was kind enough to help me experiment – you’ll see what I mean.

Why Use Hangout?

There are many benefits of the Google Hangout feature. Unlike other screensharing softwares, this is both free and clear; the delays are minimal and the screen clarity is far superior to even paid services. The ability to be indexed into YouTube creates an easily accessed history that requires almost no effort on your part. This also makes it easier to share and promote through social media and websites, while allowing you control of its content and production. Unlike Yahoo’s On the Air service, you can’t share on Facebook and Twitter in real time, but its ability to index immediately, and have unlimited members far outweigh its lack of social sharing.

Google has also shown its ability to accept feedback and make the changes that customers want, particularly in regards to screen size. Originally, the screen size in HOA was a¾ sized screen with another smaller screen underneath. This previous incarnation was deemed too unprofessional, and was criticized for being so. Google wisely fixed this late last year and switched to a defaulted full screen; it’s only served to make Hangouts superior in usability to their competition.

Why Google Hangouts Matter To Your Business

There are many elements of the Google Hangout feature that are beneficial to your business. First off, it’s FREE – great for small business and entrepreneurs. Secondly (and more importantly), it’s a comprehensive, easy to use tool that can readily grow your business presence online. Regular use of the Hangout tool for remote meetings allows you to expand your hiring field, regardless of geographic location. Screensharing capabilities that are this clear and easy to use make remote training a breeze.

Regular additions to your YouTube page are easily promoted through a comprehensive marketing and communications plan, allowing you to grow your fans or customer base. Perfect for discussions or demonstrations, the HOA service is useful to anyone regardless of interest or profession. The HOA function can be used many different ways:

• A product demonstration for a sales pitch
• Professional workshops and presentations
• Language lessons
• Educational lectures
• Giving a cooking lesson
• Concerts or performances

All these things are possible with Google Hangouts On Air. Increased production values via apps increase professionalism and quality of these videos, for those requiring more polish but lacking editing skills.

Whether it’s through the use of Hangouts as a conference and screensharing tool, or by using the Hangouts On Air videos on YouTube to educate current and prospective customers, the Hangout feature is one that should be an integral part of your professional development and success.

The community feature is exactly that – an ability to discover, interact and become a part of various communities in the Google Plus world.

With a wide variety of interests and groups to choose from, it’s a great way to increase interactions with others, while learning more about a subject that interests you. If you’re just discovering the Communities function, Google automatically generates subjects of interests that it believes will interest you.

In addition to the generated list in the Discover Communities, there is an ability to discover more specific communities by using the search function, located in the top right of the screen. You can search almost any subject you want: Keto diet? Yes. Cats and Kittens? Of course (this IS the internet!). Firefly? Absolutely!

How to use the Communities feature

Regardless of the search topic, you’ll be provided with up to 20 communities to choose from. The search parameters also show differentiation within those basic search parameters, giving you the chance to find exactly what you want, or find things you didn’t realize you were looking for. Like canines? Search for the term ‘dogs’. You’ll find results for Newfoundland dogs, Shelter dogs, cute dogs: the search results can help you discover ideas beyond the basic terms.

With an ability to start discussions, post links and ask questions, the Communities function includes several functions that make interaction more user friendly and an automatic sort function within the specific Community posts that allow you to quickly access the desired information.

You can gain information about the Community in the left and right columns. In the left column under the photo, you can determine the number of members, the type of group (public or private), a list of filters, and a small About section that better explains the reason for the group.

The tags list is a particularly useful feature. Similar to filters, they are tags that are applied to posts for easy access in the future. It makes searching for relevant subjects easier in a sea of posts, especially when the community is large.

On the right, you’ll find the actual list of members and their photos, as well as a list of Hangouts and Upcoming Events that are relevant to the group.

Why does it matter?

Part of the genius of the Communities feature is the fact it increases user time on the platform, allowing more ad impressions and possibilities of conversion. It also creates the possibility that the G+ platform will become more essential to people’s day-to-day needs. And with Google incorporating G+ pages into Search results, it is an opportunity to increase your rankings. But it also depends on your needs.

As an entrepreneur or business, the Communities function is an ideal place to research current and potential markets, gauge customer interest and create interactions that form lasting, positive impressions. It’s an opportunity to create and manage branded online content. As a consumer, it is a community with similar interests and concerns to yours. It is an opportunity to find news, products and like-minded people.

How can this help your business?

As we enter 2013, social media interaction is becoming more important to search results. The industry is moving away from basic traffic or links, but instead is moving towards content marketing as one of the most valued metrics in Search.

Part of the opportunity social media presents is genuine interactions with current and potential clients, while increasing brand awareness (and hopefully your bottom line). But it is a double edge sword: you can put yourself, your business or brand out there, but if you create an online presence and then ignore it, your brand will suffer. Consistent, quality interactions will set you apart from your competition. Interactions are also a good metric to measure for brand interest and potential success.

For instance, if you search Communities for ‘Vacations’, you will see 20 results. But look more closely at the result list: in addition to listing the title, it also lists the members, amount of posts and amount of followers. What does it say to you as a consumer if you see a brand start a group and then do nothing with it?

One of the challenges with e-commerce is consumer trust: having a legitimate site, with decent branding, consistent interaction and secure fiscal processing (where applicable) are all elements that online brands should take into consideration when increasing their customer base. It’s safe to say that if a customer doesn’t believe in your brand or product, they will not support you or your website. Consistent content is one of the best ways to increase customer’s trust for a site, as it is assuring sign of legitimacy.

GreatBritishVactions.com is an effective example of this: They have only four members (three, not including them), and have contributed nothing to the page. There is a tonne of opportunity for this group (there’s lots to see in the UK), so why aren’t they doing something? And if that’s how they ignore this opportunity, what else aren’t they doing? That sort of doubt is the difference between abandonment and conversion.

Conversely, Costa Rica Vacation group has interactions AND members. The numbers might not be huge, but genuine interactions don’t have to have huge numbers to be that influential. Consistent interaction is often more beneficial than huge numbers, and it also provides an opportunity for them to improve (but that in itself is a whole other post).

The image functions in G+ have many more functions than its social media predecessors. This installation explores the many functions of G+’s Photo section, and shows you how to make the most of it.

 Geo-tagging and location mapping

If Exif information is available in your pictures (usually embedded by digital cameras), G+ provides the option to allow the location mapping to be added to your photo and available to those who can see it. This information is opt in: if you’re not comfortable with the ideal, you don’t have to do anything to protect your privacy. This function is particularly good for tracking movements in an unfamiliar environment. You can select this option on specific pictures, or apply it in the album settings. To apply it to an entire album, open the album, select the More”” button and select the “Hide Location Data for This Album” option. You can use the same item to show the data, if you’d prefer to.

 I recently used it on pictures from a recent trip to New York City – I loved all the places I discovered, but wouldn’t have been able to find them on a map otherwise. Now, I have the ability to revisit these gems on my next trip. Having said that, I have noticed that geo-tagging is inaccurate in some photos, so use some common sense when using this function for mapping purposes.

Tools –Creative Kit

One of the most surprising and comprehensive elements of the photo functions is the Creative Kit. Organized into simple drop lists across the top of the viewer, it incorporates all fun and surprising functions that no other social platform uses all at once. Easily accessible by choosing the image, the ‘edit photo’ button can be found among the basic buttons in the top left corner, as seen below. There is also a wand Icon for auto fix, if you’re pressed for time. The rotate and garbage bins should be self explanatory.

Along with the more basic functions like crop, sharpen and resize, there are filters similar to what’s made Instagram so popular, as well as blemish and shine control, and a sunless tanner. In addition to this, you can also add speech bubbles, gooify the image, and add hats, masks and even mustaches. There’s even a function to pixelate faces – Perhaps ridiculous, but so many options have never been offered by a single platform.

Explore the possibilities…. (I’m probably going to Hell for this).

Facial recognition (auto and otherwise)

Another helpful function of Google’s picture function is its facial recognition software. When you upload images, it can detect your identity based on previous pictures of you in its database. When you upload an album, the algorithms detect faces and automatically circle them. It asks you to tag each person, but as you continue to add photos (even ones at different angles); it tags everyone for you – a huge time saver! Tagging manually will still be required at times, but in the future expect to see this less and less.

Album layout and reorganization ability

When you select an album to view, it opens into a dynamic layout to give you an overview of the entire album, as opposed to the one-by-one viewers. It creates a collage based on picture size, but can be easily reorganized. In the album’s collage view, pictures are presented smaller than their original size, but selecting the individual photo will restore its actual size.

If you’d like to reorganize the album, open the album, select the “More” button on the right hand side of the screen, and choose “Organize Photos”. Then simply drag and drop photos into the preferred order. This does take a while to get used to, but it’s a superior way to get a true overview of an album’s content.

 Profile pictures

Similar to Facebook, each name is accompanied by a photo on posts and lists. Profile pictures are an important element in Google’s burgeoning facial recognition and verified identity initiatives.  It’s also a common way for friends and family find you in the search results.

But the lack of ease in changing the profile image is one of the elements in G+ that needs work. Unlike other social networks, you lack the option using a toggle to make any photo your profile picture. You are able to change the photo by going to your home page and scroll over your profile picture. A bar with Change Profile Photo will appear. Click on the bar to bring you to a pop up window for images, with an option of four sources of photos – Upload, Your Photos (all the albums), Photos of You, and Web Camera. From there you can choose the preferred photo, crop it appropriately and go from there.

Scrapbook vs. cover photo option

Early adapters, when they opened a profile, had a scrapbook of photos beside their profile picture. You were able to choose a selection of photos. Recently, it has changed to a cover photo option similar to Facebook. Like the Profile Photo, if you want to establish or change the image, scroll over the area and choose the ‘Change Cover Photo’ bar, and choose your preferred photo from the list of options. It is also easy to reposition the photo without changing it: just click and drag the photo to its preferred position.

Authentication

Possibly the most important function in the Google Plus platform, Authentication is an integral part of Google’s future plans for Das Internets. If you write and post regularly to other sites, your photo and a link to your profile will appear in the search results under the title. A list of sites you contribute to will also appear in the About section on your profile.

Local reviews

All reviews you contribute to Google Reviews are attributed to you, and can be found on your About page, just about your Site Contribution area. It is similar to the Authentication, it keeps a list of the Google Reviews you written over the years:  like all things on the internet, they are there forever – at least here they’ll be centralized, regardless of the type of business or service you review.