I’ve been writing so much about Google+ for work and now I think it’s time to write about it for my personal blog.

Google+ (pronounced as Google Plus) is the newest website joining the social networking sphere. This latest endeavor of Google is actually called the Google+ Project, which is a combination of products they created in a single social media sharing platform. Google says that Google+ isn’t aimed at replacing what’s present (ehem Facebook) but would only like to repair/enhance the way people share today.

“In this basic, human way, online sharing is awkward. Even broken. And we aim to fix it,” as posted in a blog  by Google about Google+.

Lately, I can’t help but think that Facebook feels threatened by Google+. I bet you know the new video/chat feature they rolled out recently, however, here in the Philippines, I don’t think it has been fully implemented yet. That new feature is pretty much similar to Google’s Hangouts feature on Google+. Anyway, I think I have to write a separate post for that.

Learn more about Google+ and its features.

How to Join Google+

Now you have a little info about what Google+, here’s how you can join the newest Facebook threat, rather… social networking site.

I created a Google+ profile for my boyfriend so I would know what you are going to go through when you read this post.

Step 1. Make sure you have a Google Account. Gmail is the easiest.

I think anyone that’s interested in Google+ would at least have a Gmail account. If you don’t have one yet, sign up then proceed to Step 2.

(FYI: I’m not a fan of Google Pilipinas. If it’s your default webpage for Google, I suggest changing it to Google.com in English so your Google+ account won’t be in Filipino.)

Just click the link that says “Google.com in English.” Your Google webpage should be like the image below after clicking it.

If you notice, the navigation bar should have a black background. When that black navi bar first came out, a lot of people said it looked hideous. Well, it’s actually one little move Google had to make for Google+. It’ll look cool then.

Step 2: Sign in to your Google Account

Click the sign in link that’s on the upper right most side of Google. You can’t miss it.

This should be the next page you’ll see. Fill out the needed information then hit “Sign in.”

Step 3: Create your Google Profile

After you’ve signed in, you should be back on the Google Homepage. For this blog, I borrowed my boyfriend’s Gmail account. Your email should be right where the “Sign in” link was earlier.After that, click on the drop-down button in between your email and the cogwheel and the following options should be available to you, as show in the photo below.

Click the “Create Profile” link. Then the photo below should show you what you’re supposed to see next.

Some of you may already have a Google Profile (you’ve made before) and you might already have access to Google+. I don’t know how it happens but that was what happened to me. Anyhooo, keep reading and you’ll find yourself again in one of these steps/images. But if you see the image above, then click “Create my profile.”

Fill out the three required text fields. In this example, I grabbed a photo from my boyfriend’s FB page and uploaded it here. 🙂

Once you’ve clicked “Create profile & continue,” fill out the other details of your life as seen on the picture below.

You can then Click the “Done editing” button on the top (it’s with the red background across the whole page.) That’s the end of you’re part.

Step 4: I invite you to join Google+

PLEASE READ MY UPDATE MESSAGE BELOW REGARDING STEP NUMBER 4. 🙂

Since I’m posting this blog on how to join Google+ (and you’re reading it,) I guess I should invite you to make your dreams come true. XD Just leave a comment on this post and I’ll get back at you as soon as I can.

EMAIL FORMAT: Post your email in this manner so you won’t get spam messages: your.email[at]gmail[dot]com

You can read this blog post on how to invite multiple people to join Google+. Just follow the instructions and you should be fine.

Step 5: Accepting an invitation

This is the most exciting part! If I invite you, you should be able to receive an email from me. It kinda looks like this image below.

If you read the blog post on how to send Google+ invites, you should be able to understand how my boyfriend received this. Click “Learn more about Google+” and tadaaaaaa!

 This is how your invite should really look like. HIT JOIN! 

Step 5: Jump Up and Down. You’re on Google+ !! 🙂

Okay, no need to jump up and down. But you may if you want to. XD This is what you should see once you’re on Google+. You can start exploring Google+ and add friends to your Circles. (Don’t forget me!)
There you have it! Phew! XD Hope you find this post very useful. 🙂

I’m really exited about Google+.

BTW, Google+ is still on a “field testing” stage. Send your feedback to contribute to Google+’s greatness. 🙂 Google discourages businesses and other non-human entities from creating Google+ Profiles as this field test is intended for human use only. They will be releasing Google+ business pages soon that will have useful features that businesses use on a day-to-day basis. So hold your horses! 🙂

UPDATE August 08, 2011:

Google has now released a new feature making it easier for people to add people on Google Plus! This lets your skip Step Number 4.

Click this link to get invited to Google+

You still need a Google account/profile before clicking the link. This makes your life and my life easier. 🙂

P.S. Sorry the photos weren’t edit (at all) and thanks to my boyfriend for lending me his account. hihi 😀

Love,
Kist