![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Last night, I shared a shorter, simpler version of the following information in the comments to a friend's post on Google+. However, I think this may be of help to others who are still trying to figure Google+ out, especially those who are on LiveJournal or Dreamwidth, so I'm posting it on those services, as well as sharing it on Google+.
Most descriptions of Google+ compare it to Facebook, but when it comes to posting and how your posts are shared, I think G+ has more in common with services such as LiveJournal and Dreamwidth, than with Facebook. So, for those of you who are familiar with LJ or Dw, here's a short overview of who will see your posts.
( When you share something on Google+ ), you get to choose who will see your post by selecting to make it public; limiting those who see it to one or more of your circles, or one or more email addresses; or even by sharing with only yourself.
To share your post with the world, leave the green Public button in the list of those who can see your post (or, if it's not visible, select it from the list of options). This is the equivalent of selecting "Everyone (Public)" from the Show this entry to: list when posting on LJ or Dw.
To the right of the Public button, you'll also see +Add more people. This is an option that is not available on LJ, Dw, or Facebook. You can use this option to specify one or more of your circles, but since they will already see your post, that would be a bit redundant, unless there's something I'm missing. The real power of this option is that you can add the email addresses of people who are not yet on G+ and they will receive an email with your user pic, the full text of your post, and a link to your post on Google+. Note that during the Beta period, the recipient(s) may, or may not, recieve an invitation to join G+; once G+ goes live, they should recieve an invite.
To limit your post, click the x on the right side of the Public button. Now, you'll see the text, +Add circles or people to share with.... When you select +Add circles or people to share with..., you will see a list of options that include a list of your circles (e.g. "Friends", "Family", etc.), "Your circles", and "Extended circles". Note that, depending on how many circles you've got, some of your circles may be hidden and you'll have an option to see more.
To share your post with everyone who is in any of your circles, select the "Your circles" option. This is the equivalent of selecting "Friends" on LJ, or "Access List" on Dw.
To share your post with everyone in your circles and everyone in their circles, select the "Extended circles" option. This option is more like the "Friends of friends" privacy setting in Facebook and, to the best of my knowledge, has no direct equivalent on LJ or Dw.
To share your post with a more limited selection of people, click the x on the right side of the Public button (and any other visible buttons for circles or people you don't want to see the post), click +Add circles or people to share with..., then specify those with whom you want to share by selecting the circle or circles for those people already in your circles, typing the names of people already on G+ (you'll see a list of people from which you can choose) and adding the email addresses for those not yet on G+ (emails for your Google contacts will be listed, so, if you are a Gmail user, you probably won't have to type the entire address). This is the equivalent of selecting "Custom..." on LJ, or "Custom" on Dw, and actually offers you more flexibility than either of those services.
To create a post that only you can see, simply remove all circles from the +Add circles or people to share with... box by clicking the x on each button, then enter your G+ user name. This is the equivalent of selecting "Just Me (Private)" on LJ or Dw. (For those of you on G+ who saw the original comment that spurred this post, this is a correction to the information I gave there.)
I hope this rather long-winded explanation will be helpful to people who are still trying to figure out G+. So far, I've been very pleased with my experience at Google+, which encourages me to Follow ("Friend" on LJ, "Read" on Dw) anyone I find interesting, to share tidbits with my followers as I might on Facebook or Twitter, and to create the deeper sense of connection that the LiveJournal and Dreamwidth services foster. Of course, there's more going on here, with the addition of Sparks, which act similarly to RSS feeds, the impending integration of other Google services, and the evolution of Google+ in response to our feedback.
If you think you might be interested in participating during the Beta, let me know and make sure I've got your email address, and I'll try to send you an invite. No promises, since Google is the gatekeeper, but I can certainly put in the request and this will automatically put us in each other's circles.
Most descriptions of Google+ compare it to Facebook, but when it comes to posting and how your posts are shared, I think G+ has more in common with services such as LiveJournal and Dreamwidth, than with Facebook. So, for those of you who are familiar with LJ or Dw, here's a short overview of who will see your posts.
( When you share something on Google+ ), you get to choose who will see your post by selecting to make it public; limiting those who see it to one or more of your circles, or one or more email addresses; or even by sharing with only yourself.
To share your post with the world, leave the green Public button in the list of those who can see your post (or, if it's not visible, select it from the list of options). This is the equivalent of selecting "Everyone (Public)" from the Show this entry to: list when posting on LJ or Dw.
To the right of the Public button, you'll also see +Add more people. This is an option that is not available on LJ, Dw, or Facebook. You can use this option to specify one or more of your circles, but since they will already see your post, that would be a bit redundant, unless there's something I'm missing. The real power of this option is that you can add the email addresses of people who are not yet on G+ and they will receive an email with your user pic, the full text of your post, and a link to your post on Google+. Note that during the Beta period, the recipient(s) may, or may not, recieve an invitation to join G+; once G+ goes live, they should recieve an invite.
To limit your post, click the x on the right side of the Public button. Now, you'll see the text, +Add circles or people to share with.... When you select +Add circles or people to share with..., you will see a list of options that include a list of your circles (e.g. "Friends", "Family", etc.), "Your circles", and "Extended circles". Note that, depending on how many circles you've got, some of your circles may be hidden and you'll have an option to see more.
To share your post with everyone who is in any of your circles, select the "Your circles" option. This is the equivalent of selecting "Friends" on LJ, or "Access List" on Dw.
To share your post with everyone in your circles and everyone in their circles, select the "Extended circles" option. This option is more like the "Friends of friends" privacy setting in Facebook and, to the best of my knowledge, has no direct equivalent on LJ or Dw.
To share your post with a more limited selection of people, click the x on the right side of the Public button (and any other visible buttons for circles or people you don't want to see the post), click +Add circles or people to share with..., then specify those with whom you want to share by selecting the circle or circles for those people already in your circles, typing the names of people already on G+ (you'll see a list of people from which you can choose) and adding the email addresses for those not yet on G+ (emails for your Google contacts will be listed, so, if you are a Gmail user, you probably won't have to type the entire address). This is the equivalent of selecting "Custom..." on LJ, or "Custom" on Dw, and actually offers you more flexibility than either of those services.
To create a post that only you can see, simply remove all circles from the +Add circles or people to share with... box by clicking the x on each button, then enter your G+ user name. This is the equivalent of selecting "Just Me (Private)" on LJ or Dw. (For those of you on G+ who saw the original comment that spurred this post, this is a correction to the information I gave there.)
I hope this rather long-winded explanation will be helpful to people who are still trying to figure out G+. So far, I've been very pleased with my experience at Google+, which encourages me to Follow ("Friend" on LJ, "Read" on Dw) anyone I find interesting, to share tidbits with my followers as I might on Facebook or Twitter, and to create the deeper sense of connection that the LiveJournal and Dreamwidth services foster. Of course, there's more going on here, with the addition of Sparks, which act similarly to RSS feeds, the impending integration of other Google services, and the evolution of Google+ in response to our feedback.
If you think you might be interested in participating during the Beta, let me know and make sure I've got your email address, and I'll try to send you an invite. No promises, since Google is the gatekeeper, but I can certainly put in the request and this will automatically put us in each other's circles.
