Google + Companion

Google + Companion Author: Mark Hattersley John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2012 ISBN #978-1-118-18646-6

As writers, it behooves us to know a tad bit about social media sites, and what they have to offer. Google + is making huge inroads in the social media venue,and what better person than Hattersley (Editor in Chief of Macworld UK)to help us navigate this new and rich territory. I am someone who is not exactly tech savvy - and not exactly too worried about that. I look for articles, books, and videos that will help me make best use of the sites that I work with (as well as best use of my time). I love Hattersly's mindset - that technology helps people to unlock their creativity. Well said!

This 279 page book is organized into sixteen highly usable chapters, with an appendix of resources that includes links to the Microsoft Safety and Security Center, a strong password generator, articles like 5 Steps To Branding Your Social Media Profile, and much more. The chapters address issues like what is Google +, why it should be sued, how to set up a profile, how to navigate Google +, what circles are, and howto use them, how to hang out with your friends on Google +, how to upload and manage photo's, what is 1+, and how to use it in conjunction with Google +, how to manage Google + settings, using Google + on a mobile device, managing privacy and personal information, and much more! There is an index at the end of the book, and each chapter is broken down in the Table of Contents so that even someone like me can pick up this book and immediately go tot he section that will answer my questions (and I do have a lot of them!).

Each chapter takes you step by step through the information, including screen shots where appropriate. In this case a picture is worth 1,000 words, and then some! This book literally is a companion - you sit down in front of your computer, book at your side, and easily accomplish your goal - whether it is setting up a Google + profile, adding friends, creating a circle, creating a business page (yes, there are person and business pages!), uploading photo's ... whatever you want to do, this book will walk you through doing it!

Things that are very important - that we don't even think about - are addressed. One such thing that slowed me down was working with the Google + bar. Had this book been available when I first joined Google +, I could have saved a ton of time!

This is one book that is staying right by my computer!

(c) July 2012 Bonnie Cehovet