My daughter and I like to play with Legos. We can spend hours constructing, playing, and then destroying, only to repeat the process over again ad nauseum. But among her hundreds of Lego pieces are a small number of generic Lego imposters, given to her as part of a birthday party goodie bag. Called "Best-Lock" blocks, they look similar-ish to Legos, but they don't fit with the actual Legos, despite a burst on the box that said "Works with other brands." This may be true, just not with Lego brand Legos. Anyway, it's frustrating for us when we reach for the imposters and they don't fit with the Legos. The imposters are pushed to the side, thrown at walls, and cursed.
The point?
Google+. It's not Facebook. But it's Facebook-y enough to appear to function like Facebook. But it's not Facebook, dig? You can import your Facebook news feed somehow to Google+. But it's not Facebook. I curse it as an imposter, and push it to the side.
I could (and probably should) write about the "good" of it--yet another way for your organization to boost its online presence! Yes, there is probably a way to integrate this into your social media portfolio so that it can be updated with your organization's latest stuff. But instead, I'm finding it hard not to roll my eyes and give you a really heart-felt recommendation: Go read a good book. Visit a museum. Play Legos with your kids. Or, professionally: Go visit a patient floor and watch your nursing staff do great things. Talk to a visitor and ask them how they are doing, or if they need any help.
In spite of my day job and the benefits of social media to our organization, I'm having a hard time seeing Google+ as anything other than another super-trumpet with which more noise can be made about whatever, personally or professionally.
My patience with these tools is growing thinner each day, and sounding a lot like: Yes, you can create your own noise maker, but does that automatically mean we need to use it? I say no. Professionally, with a good Facebook page, you're covered. Unless Google+ rises up and overthrows them. But that seems about as likely as Best-Lock overtaking Lego.
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