Google+ - A Ghost Town?

Here's a link to an interesting study about Google+ which suggests that users aren't really engaging with it. Google claim the study is flawed because the study doesn't take into account 'private' content. What do you think? Do you use Google+? Is it the ghost-town that some claim it to be?


Our view is that it was always going to struggle against existing social networks until it offered something that, to the casual user, was different. Pinterest, for example, has done this; it may end up as a passing fad, but by concentrating specifically on the sharing of images organised in a particular way it has created a 'new' form of social media. It allows people to interact with other people in a way that's different to, say, Facebook*. Google+ is different to Facebook, but the differences aren't as immediately obvious to the casual user. This means that they're having to learn how to use a new interface in order to achieve something which, in their mind, they can already do elsewhere.


We'd be interested in your views on this.


*Of interest is the fact that whilst it is easy enough to share Pinterest content on Facebook, it is harder to do the reverse; at the time of writing you can't easily 'pin' images from Facebook to a Pinterest board.

Social Media Stats

If you're interested in social media then you really should be following Cara Pring's 'The Social Skinny'. She's got her finger firmly on the pulse of what's hot and what's not in the world of social media and, being Aussie-based, it's slanted so that it's relevant to you and I.

Anyway, her most recent post is a great one to browse through whilst you have a cup of coffee. It looks at social media statistics for the current year, and it's a real eye-opener:

99 New Social Media Stats For 2012

Essentially it says that if you're a user then your favourite brands, products and organisations are out there trying to engage with you, and you could be missing out on interesting things they have to say or offer. Who would have thought, for example, that I would have got the chance to skydive because I responded to a post on Facebook? And another post has netted us a family day out, on Mother's Day, no less, at the Illawarra Fly. Businesses want to give you stuff, and all you have to do is engage with them on social media.

And if you're a business, then you're missing out on a way to reach, and interact with, customers and potential customers.

Read through the stats and consider what you could be doing to improve how you use social media.

(And, on the subject of Mother's Day, don't forget that we do vouchers for IT coaching - give your favourite mother the gift of computer confidence!)

NBN And Wireless

This is an interesting piece on how some wireless networks may already be set to eclipse the speed of the fibre-based NBN.

In our experience fibre/cable-based internet access is a lot more reliable than wireless, but that may just be a feature of this particular area - the escarpment seems to do odd things to wireless signals. And the article does have a last paragraph caveat:

"Given the network has only been in place since late last year and most Telstra customers do not have the technology to access it yet, it is possible 'The West' was also the only user connecting to 4G in the area at that time. As more users sign up, congestion is likely to affect speeds."


So, probably a non-story, somewhat akin to 'testing' the travel times a new motorway offers by driving on it at 2am rather than Friday evening rush-hour.