h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

its mine too

You gonna be joining us at Port St Jackruss?

well i suspect its miles away, but i have a thought at my local

Port Street is in Manchester, the pre-meet is in there on Friday

Mr603....

"1) Small userbase: Focusing on Twitter and Facebook gives us access to hundreds of millions of people. G+ gives us access to about twelve.

2) Narrow userbase: The only people using G+ are people in the tech industry. Whereas my Gran's on Facebook."

First off I suspect that most of the users of H2G2 are "techies", so getting some more of them wouldn't be a bad thing.

2nd Its really not that narrow a userbase (they AREN'T all techies, just early adopters - lots of photographers, arty types, etc...), and is growing all the time.

3rdly small? Last count that I saw it was at the 90 million user mark, rapidly heading for 100 million, and over 285,000 were UK users (this last from http://findpeopleonplus.com/statistics, who only have 45 million people in their directory).

The figures are being 'massaged'. Google are counting any action that involves funnelling data through Plus as being "interaction".

If I search on Google while signed into an account, then I've technically "used" Google+. Despite the fact I haven't.

And Facebook don't do the same? I'm NEVER on Facebook (I have an account), but still get Facebooky stuff sent to me as if I'm using it...

BTW I wasn't pointing to "regular users" with those stats (perhaps the latter could be said to be closer to the truth ~ 45,000,000 users), just registered users.

Oh, and which stats have you seen which have been published by Google? Can you provide a citation for your latter point?

Facebook don't claim that you receiving an email is you logging in and using Facebook.

Twitter don't claim that someone sending you a Tweet is you logging in and using Twitter.

Google DO claim that you using ANY Google product while in possession of a Google+ Account is you using Google+.

Citation: http://marketingland.com/no-google-doesnt-have-a-60-percent-engagement-rate-3897

"Bottom line: Google+ does not have 60 percent and 80 percent daily/weekly engagement. Instead, those numbers represent how many Google+ users use any Google product."

Facebook and Twitter have both shown how many people regularly use their services. Google haven't shown how many people regularly use Google+. And why would they?

Of the 500 early adopters in my circles, I'd say 1/10 regularly use the site. That's a pathetic rate of engagement.

We're getting a Google+ page because it'll stick a branded image into certain searches.

We're not wasting any more time on it, because the Comms team's time is best spent elsewhere.

Here's another cracking one: http://searchnewscentral.com/20120220254/General-SEO/are-you-seriously-focusing-on-g-for-seo.html

I think what 603 is getting at is that the comms team has to currently focus its limited time where its most likely to get results. At the moment that's Facebook and Twitter.

We do have a g+ page, and we will be setting it up properly for other reasons. However at the moment pur resources need to be targeted elsewhere.

If you fancy volunteering and working with comms though, they'd appreciate the help

Pastey, you mention you do have a G+ page - I can't seem to find it to "subscribe" to.

603, there are enough arguments about G+ elsewhere, not to start another one here. I can't see where Google Massaged their figures, just where others misunderstood their figures. It actually seems to me that the figures G gave are a little on the low side, given what they are reported to mean (that 60% of signed in G+ users use a Google service each day... have I read that right? - which means there are 40% of G+ users out there signed on NOT using a G service...). The fact that G is plusizing all its services (kind of mirrors the way that FB are expanding theirs into other areas, I find the only time I use FB is when I "Like" something in order to enter a competition - this improves the likelihood of stuff turning up in a search, or did, dunno if it still works that way) means that the distinctions between using Google and using G+ may have to go away.

The SPYW stuff is interesting, as I understand it G tried to work with FB and Twitter to get their results into "personalised search" (I think they had an agreement with Twitter for a while, which ended around the time G+ started up). IIRC Twitter (and FB?) then complained when G+ started including G+ data in searches, asking why they weren't included - but refusing to open their APIs up to G to enable such a search .... <--- I may be getting some of this wrong, as its from memory of new articles from last year... (some of which is verified by this story: http://tgr.ph/yneznT, and some more by this one: http://www.allfacebook.com/facebook-google-search-2012-01, both gleaned from Google Searches for FB or Twitter "results in Google search")

IMHO none of the sites live up to the promise that H2G2 had(still has?) at start.

The G+ page was started up while we were trying to get things sorted out. At the moment we're still a bit all over the place, but we're steadily getting things together

Hang on, do you MEAN a G+ page, or a G+ account? (sorry if I've misunderstood you...)

G+ page is different to an account, its more like a corporate page/web page, where several people can edit (manage) the page at once, rather than a single account...

(e.g. Ford's one: https://plus.google.com/u/0/111717275116289870961/posts)

I mean to get both sorted out

(OK, I've set up an official unofficial 42isms PAGE on G+ - see here:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/117461512153302945322/)

OK, you've got a G+ page...

Which is a good start, but you do need to post regularly... I shall offer my services to help manage the page, if you wish, I would post a link to a lead article each day, if that suits?

Hi Argon0,

You may also have noticed that we've got the Twitter and Facebook accounts synchronised. We're still pulling them all together and trying to get sense into them

Email [email protected] and I'm sure they'll welcome a chat about what plans are, and how your offer of help can be worked in!

As I've just been made redundant I may well contact comms and offer my services.

Argon, I'm really sorry to hear about the redundancy

No worries, such is life, very busy ATM looking for a new role, there seems to be a lot of Roles which I am suitable for, or that I feel comfortable applying for anyway....