Google+

Last week while I was on vacation Google+ seemed to have exploded on the social networking scene.  This also just happened to be the first almost entirely Internet free vacation I had in a looong time.  I was on a Caribbean cruise and the .65 cents/minute of Internet time on the ship, the international roaming and data fees from AT&T, and the overall glacial pace of the network caused me to turn off my iPhone and lock it in the room safe.  It was definitely relaxing to be off the grid, but coming back I was hit with the tsunami of information. Email, RSS feeds, Facebook, Twitter, etc. all were full to the brim with information.  One of those things was Google+.

Thankfully, Neil Mehta has been looking at Google+ in the area of Medical Education. 

His first post Google+ Early Impressions – Lots to Like – A Few Things to Tweak he kicks the tires on Google+ to give his first impressions on it.  Like Neil, I like the Hangout feature and the idea of tying all things Google together. 

He also has a nice post that explains the concept of Google Circles a little bit more.  In his post Google+ Circles Simplified Neil thinks we need 2 sets of circles, one to filter the posts and the other share information.  He also links to other helpful posts about Google+ circles.  Then he provides another post on A 2 circle Google+ Migration Strategy for Newbies that might help those thinking about their circles. 

Finally his post Educational Applications of Google+ Hangout discusses how to use that feature in medical education with posting questions on Twitter for people to discuss in a Hangout session, create hypothetical video cases to launch and watch as a group in Hangout, and it could be used to discuss topics in Hangout then record the session and upload to YouTube to share with more viewers. 

Within the next few days, once I shake the sand out of my brain, I will start playing with Google+ and hopefully come up with some insights on use in medical libraries.

One thought on “Google+”

  1. Thanks for the info; it is exciting technology. We have nearly 20 campuses at Vatterott (hq’d in St. Louis) and this could be a good vehicle for our group of librarians to keep in touch.

    Now following your blog, it is excellent!

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