CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2012-09-11 14:40:13 (2 comments, 3 reshares, 9 +1s)

Starting today, you can download the official +YouTube app for iPhone and iPod touch from the App Store. Find everything you love on YouTube even faster, and share it with the people you want. More details in the blog post below.

2012-08-14 23:56:53 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 10 +1s)

BIG NEWS for HOA Users .. It seems HOAs are NOW Available in ALL Countries except:    China, Thailand and Vietnam .. according to: http://support.google.com/plus/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2571696

2012-08-11 19:02:30 (2 comments, 4 reshares, 12 +1s)

Very helpful video about Hangouts

2012-08-11 19:01:28 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 13 +1s)

Google Plus Stories YouTube Channel... submit your story

Did you know that there was a Google+ Stories Channel on YouTube? A Place where people can get their story told in amongst great company?

Link: http://www.youtube.com/user/GooglePlusStories/Custom?x=home

I'll admit, I missed this! And I'm a YouTube / G+ Fan! Whoops!
It looks like it was started May 24, 2012 and it features cool Video Stories about people and how they interact with/utilize Google Plus.

There is a place where you can fill in a form or send an email describing your 'story' and I'm guessing that you may get a reply from someone at Google+ if they want to take it to the next level.

Since +Sarah Hill is so prominently featured and her TV station as well, perhaps she can tell us how it works!

I subscribed to the YouTubeChanne... more »

2012-07-11 20:26:32 (1 comments, 4 reshares, 9 +1s)

The New hashtag for hangouts is #hangoutposts  created by Google ..
https://plus.google.com/u/0/s/%23hangoutpost/hangouts

2012-06-28 01:04:40 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Clickable chat names
Not sure if this is new, but it's pretty handy. The names within a Google+ chat pane are now clickable and leading to the about page of the person you are chatting with.

#googleplusupdate  

2012-06-28 01:01:02 (0 comments, 12 reshares, 15 +1s)

Clean up your circles  * Recycle Google+ *

Today I found I couldn't add some people I wanted to add, so I asked for help.  +J.L. Btwee pointed me toward an app that let me clean out the inactive plussers (is that an oxymoron).  You can set a "no posts since" date and remove the folks who don't post.  I went back three months and cleared out several hundred.  

The app from Chrome is called Uncircle Inactives+ and is found at https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/dhcfgcecigkknnimiljlbcjmnbeeodhl?hl=en-US.  

2012-06-28 00:59:36 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

Here is a video showing the features of the new Google new Events feature
http://youtu.be/ChKNk2GixwI

2012-05-11 10:42:51 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 9 +1s)

Improved Suggestions in +Google+
Seems like when searching for people in your circles, you now get suggestions on who to add based on your profile data!

#GooglePlusUpdate

2012-04-12 13:14:50 (3 comments, 31 reshares, 30 +1s)

Tutorial for Your New Google+ Stream
The following guidelines and tips are based on the image attached.

01. Both the Google Logo and the Home button directs you to your Main Stream.
02. Go to your Profile.
03. Circles - Manage them into Circles of your wish.
04. Photos
--> Hover over the button to Add New Photos, To see the Photos from Your Phone OR View All your Photo Albums.
05. Pages button.
--> Hover over the Pages to button to switch between the Brand Pages you Admin or Manage.
06. More Extension, when extended shows the rest of the buttons
In may case; Explore, Hangouts, Games.
>> Explore : Shows what's new on Google+ and the What's Hot posts.
>> Hangouts : Displays LIVE hangouts to Join, and Hangouts... more »

2012-04-12 13:12:56 (5 comments, 6 reshares, 19 +1s)

In this video I show you how to change the circle buttons at the top of the stream to make it quicker and easier to see just what you want.

Intro Music by +Anthony Mitchell

2012-04-11 16:50:57 (8 comments, 6 reshares, 13 +1s)

Toward a simpler, more beautiful Google

We've just begun the worldwide rollout of a more functional and flexible version of Google+. We think you’ll find it easier to use and nicer to look at, but most importantly, it accelerates our efforts to create a simpler, more beautiful Google.

You can read more about it here:
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/toward-simpler-more-beautiful-google.html

#googleplusupdate

2012-04-06 19:14:08 (1 comments, 10 reshares, 14 +1s)

One of the best tips I have to help you get circled is to fill out your profile.

I know that I made sure my profile was filled out fairly early on in my G+life. But it seems that not everyone has found that elusive Edit Profile button.

As part of a wee series I've called Quick tips on Google+ (Quick videos under 4 minutes... this one under 2... Just!), here's the next video.

A super-quick guide on the basics of where to edit your About section of the profiles. Ideal for those that are only displaying whether they are male or female and want to spice things up. ^_^

I have recorded another, fuller version of this, but I've not finished editing it, as it's over 18 minutes long. I'm not sure if people would find it as useful as the basics to get to the editing section. Let me know in the comments if it'd help and also what quick tips... more »

2012-04-06 19:09:30 (2 comments, 8 reshares, 13 +1s)

Top 60 Posts About Google+ from the Past Week
Special thanks to +CircleCount for special tool(announcement coming soon)

1. Google+ | How to structure and format your lengthy posts - By +Ahmed Zeeshan > http://goo.gl/xKGiw
2. How to get noticed and engage with people? - By +Dolidh Young > http://goo.gl/cwYMg
3. 14 Ways To Learn How To Helpfully Ride The Coattails Of Google+ influencers. - By +Johan Horak > http://goo.gl/HuPXR
4. Google+ Circle Management and Stream Behavior - By +Adam Simmons > http://goo.gl/4ELxC
5. Google+: Designed for Introverts? - By +M Sinclair Stevens > http://goo.gl/uN9rH

=======================================================
6. Get free Google+ Guide By +MakeUseOf - By +Rahul Roy > http://goo.gl/S85CU
7. How do you "get ahead" on Google+? - By... more »

2012-04-02 17:45:58 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

Some people have seen the drop down arrow go away for switching between pages. Here is another way to get to your pages easily without the drop down.

Easily Page Switching on GooglePlus

2012-03-23 22:34:37 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 5 +1s)

Add people to circles right from notifications in Gmail

We've made a small tweak that improves Circle notification messages in Gmail. From now on whenever someone adds you to a circle, you can add them back right from the Google+ notification email. Just mouse-over the "Add to Circle" button and pick the circles you want, or create a new circle. The button will show you if this person is already in your circles. Check it out and let us know what you think.

2012-03-23 17:47:17 (0 comments, 4 reshares, 9 +1s)

Graduating another extra: making phone calls from inside Hangouts

In the past few months, we’ve graduated two widely-used features from Hangouts with extras to the main Hangouts experience: screensharing and Google Docs. Today, we’re excited to announce that we’re graduating a third and very popular feature -- the ability to call a phone number from Hangouts. Calls to the US and Canada are free, and international calling rates are super, super low (www.goo.gl/TWv2L)

To dial in someone:
- When you’re in a hangout, click on the “Invite” button and then on the “+telephone” link.
- Enter the number you want to dial, and hit “Add.” (Note: You can only call one number at a time. Dialing a second phone number will replace the existing call.)

As always, let us know what you think in the comments, or via the “Send feedback” button!
#googleplusupdate... more »

2012-03-13 21:01:11 (6 comments, 10 reshares, 17 +1s)

#googleplusupdate #googleplusphotos

Rearrange photos and move photos between albums

Hi, I’m +Isaac Sparrow an Engineer on the Google+ Photos team.

Rearranging photos and moving them between albums are two of our top feature requests. Today, we’re excited to launch an album organizer so you can better tell the story of your photos.

To get started, open one of your albums and select Organize album from the Options menu. With the album organizer you can:

Sort photos by time: Click Order by date to sort all photos in the album by the photo date, from earliest to latest. Click it again to sort them from latest to earliest.

Reorder your photos: Select the photos you want to reorder and drag them to their new position in the album. You can also move selected photos to the start or end of the album by clicking Move totop... more »

2012-03-12 20:43:52 (0 comments, 6 reshares, 10 +1s)

Keeping up with Google+ on the go just got easier. We launched a newer, cleaner design of the Google+ experience for mobile web and support for 60 locales. Now it is easier to find, enjoy, and share the content you care about in Bengali, Icelandic, Swahili and more!

Check it out at plus.google.com on your mobile browser - you should see the updated web app if you're on an Android, iOS, or Blackberry 7 device.

If you run into any problems, you can report them by selecting Send feedback from the gear menu on the Home screen.

#googleplusupdate

2012-03-09 18:59:29 (5 comments, 6 reshares, 5 +1s)

Google+ Hangouts: making it easier to invite others

Hangouts are great for catching up with the people you care about, and today we're making it easier to invite your circle of friends to join you.

Once you're inside the hangout, you'll see the familiar "invite" dialog on one side. On the other, however, you'll now see pictures of people in your circles:

- Those currently online appear higher in the list, making it easier to hang out right away
- You can also hover over a particular person to see their online status
- Simply click on a person's face to add them to your invite list

Once your list is set, just hit the "Invite" button to invite your friends to your hangout.

#googleplusupdate

2012-03-07 23:18:38 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Updates to Ripples: 60+ languages; see how links get shared
#googleplusupdate #ripples

Back in October, we launched ripples to help visualize how public posts get shared on Google+ (http://goo.gl/6qhVu). Today we're rolling out two improvements that bring ripples to more people, and more types of content. Check out a new ripple (http://goo.gl/6se8K)!

1) Like the rest of Google+ (http://goo.gl/1eSl0), ripples are now available in over 60 languages. So whether you prefer Viwimbi, Strengir, or Jeka, you can now watch the content you care about flow across the network.

2) Ripples can now show you how links get shared, not just individual posts. Take +Sundar Pichai's recent post about Chrome for Android, for example (http://goo.gl/u60O7):

- Before, ripples would only display activity around Sundar's specific post.
- Today, because Sundar... more »

2012-03-03 00:38:25 (5 comments, 28 reshares, 27 +1s)

Three Easy Steps to Start Using Google+! (Highlights)

As a new user of Google+ there are three items of “Housekeeping” that you should take care of before you jump in. The first thing you should do is Edit Your Profile , every section and in every tab. Permissions have now been expanded so that you can define each section independently of another, so you need to adjust those to suit your online privacy needs. You control your privacy on your profile. One example now is that you can turn on the email feature and choose which of your circles can see and use it. (More on circles in a moment)

Next, click on Google+ Settings on the upper right in your Google black bar (the gear icon), and adjust your email and other settings you will find there. While there, glance at the other settings, and you’ll notice too that the Help section from the Gear dropdown isOUTST... more »

2012-03-03 00:24:40 (5 comments, 3 reshares, 8 +1s)

Jazzing up your Chats with some fun formatting is a piece of cake! Today's #ChatTip is using the command "/me [expression or statement]" results in italicized "[your name] [expression or statement]". So, "/me is making jazz hands" = "Katherine is making jazz hands!"

2012-03-03 00:07:39 (2 comments, 4 reshares, 11 +1s)

Check out the awesome new features in Hangouts! Friday afternoon just got a lot more fun!

2012-03-01 23:48:06 (2 comments, 3 reshares, 8 +1s)

☺ Google Docs Presensation Tip - Wide Screen work around.☺

PowerPoint and Google Docs Presensation creates slides in 4:3 format
● 10 x 7.5 inches - 720x540 pixels.
PowerPoint also does 16:9 wide screen.
● 10 x 7.63 inches - 720x405 pixels.
════════════════
☹ Google Docs Presensation does not do this now.
► Google Plus hangouts are in the 16:9 wide screen format.
════════════════
If you want to make a Google Docs Presensation in the wide-screen format this is how you cando it.
● Create a single slide in PowerPoint.
● Go to Design then Page Setup and chose "On Screen Show 16:9" click OK and save it.
● Import in to a Google Docs Presensation.
☛ To make more slides you can use "New slide" or "Duplicate slide".Also all the Themes will work in the new wide format.

demo:
https... more »

2012-02-22 12:38:46 (0 comments, 21 reshares, 22 +1s)

GOOGLE+ OUTPACES TWITTER ON BRANDS

Brands are now getting more traction on Google+ than on Twitter, even though the 140-character channel recently launched brand pages to make itself more attractive to marketers, writes Steve Mullins.

Over on Google’s Google+ network, though, there was far more moving and shaking, with +H&M and +Burberry each picking up 280,000 new users in January.

http://brand-e.biz/google-outpaces-twitter-on-brands-says-socialbakers_19875.html
.

2012-02-17 22:10:48 (35 comments, 106 reshares, 152 +1s)

An update on what has been changed on Googleplus this week.

1. You can now adjust the volume of What's hot (http://goo.gl/d2nlU)

2. The Circles page has a new look & better suggestions (http://goo.gl/aL5sY)
3. New iPhone app with Instant Upload (http://goo.gl/Lexdw)
4. Hangouts now support right-to-left languages (http://goo.gl/uzByw)
5. You can now "find interesting people" on the right-hand side of your stream
6. New layout photo lightbox in response to your feedback (http://goo.gl/a7juy)
7. Find My Face notifications (http://goo.gl/N0l1l)
8. Gangs of Boomtown is now ready to play on Google+ (http://goo.gl/AwVXe)

Thanks goes to +Vic Gundotra

2012-02-14 11:03:53 (0 comments, 14 reshares, 20 +1s)

Google+ Circles: cleaner look & feel, better suggestions
#googleplusupdate #circles

The Circles page is great for customizing your existing connections, as well as discovering new ones, and today we're excited to roll out improvements along both dimensions.

First, you'll notice that Circles are nicer to look at, and much easier to use, including:

- A new left-hand navigation menu
- Quick access to your email address book(s)
- Circles that shrink in size on smaller screens

Second, and building on earlier work by +Simon Tong, +Jeff Dean and +Sanjay Ghemawat (http://goo.gl/1fhF1), we've made lots of improvements to "Find People." Simply type the name of a person or page you're interested in, and we'll suggest related individuals and organizations to add to your circles.... more »

2012-02-10 08:23:40 (2 comments, 4 reshares, 17 +1s)

When I woke this morning and checked my stream I noticed something had changed overnight!! It seems the Google team have made a slight interface change and have put more of a prominence on Starting a Hangout.

The Icon has been moved from halfway down the right-hand side to the very top (see the image). This is obviously a move to encourage more people to start a hangout, by making it more obvious.

Next great move would be to include some sort of My Hangouts or Hangout Canopy style feature into the interface itself. Thanks Google+ Dev Team

+Chee Chew +Vic Gundotra

2012-02-09 09:13:03 (7 comments, 2 reshares, 5 +1s)

Google+ Android app gets a speed boost

Today, we’ve made available a new version of Google+ for Android that includes significant performance improvements across the board, so your stream and photos (and just about everything else) should load more quickly.

In addition:

- The "What's hot" stream is now available
- You can see who has +1'd a post or comment
- Photos in "From your Circles" scroll for-e-ver
- We truncate lengthy posts and comments in stream view

And as always, you can grab the latest version of the app from Android Market here: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.google.android.apps.plus

We're excited to hear what you think, so please keep the feedback coming!

#googleplusupdate

2012-02-08 13:08:43 (12 comments, 17 reshares, 24 +1s)

#googleplusupdate #googleplustips #sms

GOOGLE+ via SMS Is Currently Available in 32 COUNTRIES!

How To ❰ set up Google+ via SMS ❱ + ❰ SMS Commands ❱:
1. Go to https://www.google.com/settings/plus
2. Click Add phone number.
3. Click Send verification code to verify you entered your phone number correctly.
4. Enter the verification code and click Save.
5. Select the notifications you want to receive via SMS.

Now you can Share your thoughts in the Google+ stream via SMS by texting your update to your personal system number. Optionally, you can also add a security PIN for extra security and avoid spoofing of text messages.

SMS Messenger and posting is currently available in 32 countries:

#Afghanistan : AWCC
#Algeria : Nedjma
#Angola : Unitel
#Bahrain : Viva, Zain#Came... more »

2012-02-05 11:13:20 (19 comments, 7 reshares, 19 +1s)

Thank goodness for that, Picasa Web Albums now has a g+ share button. My tip, 1, Upload an album to Picasa 2, View online and 3, Click Share.

For those who don't know, g+ photos is Picasa. Just the URL looks a little different: https://picasaweb.google.com [I have many posts in my stream on the g+ photos v Picasa debate]

2012-02-04 08:41:33 (4 comments, 5 reshares, 11 +1s)

Link to original post
Feb 3, 2012
#googlplusupdate #posts

A new long requested feature just appeared in the stream. Whenever you see a re-shared post it will now contain a link back to the original post.

the "post" in the line "originally shared this post" is the link back to the source.

It is still rolling out and appears not all over the place yet

cc: +Florian Rohrweck

2012-01-29 22:00:51 (4 comments, 14 reshares, 28 +1s)

Google+ photo management tips and tricks

Sometimes you want to do something that the standard Google+ photos interface doesn't allow you to do, but fortunately there's work arounds for most of them.

Do note these aren't necessarily easy to do, so unless you edit your photos before posting them and have something of a portfolio on Google+ these might not be worth it for you.


Moving photos without losing it's comments and +1's

What happens to me quite often is that I post a photo directly in a post and I have no idea if people will really like it or not - perhaps this is partially inexperience or maybe I'm just to close to the subject matter to judge if it is a really great photo or not.

However I like having my most viewed photos in a Portfolio album, so the way I moved them if they do get a lot of comments,... more »

2012-01-29 11:49:24 (3 comments, 21 reshares, 27 +1s)

Here is a basic guide on how to use GooglePlus. It will guide you through all the basics of what you nee to get you started.

This guide was out together by myself and +Saidur Hossain

Google+ Start-Up Guide

2012-01-28 09:22:29 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

Now that +Google+ is open to 13+ here are some links that will make very interesting reading to both 13+ and 18+

Google+ Safety Center
http://www.google.com/+/safety/

Google+ Teen Safety Guide
http://www.google.com/support/+/?hl=en&p=teen_safety_guide

A Parent's Guide to Google+
http://www.google.com/support/+/?hl=en&p=parents_guide

Google+ For Educators
http://www.google.com/support/+/?hl=en&p=safety_for_educators

Privacy Resources
http://www.google.com/support/+/?hl=en&p=privacy_resources

Digital Reputation
http://www.google.com/support/+/?hl=en&p=digital_reputation

Anti-bullying Resources
http://www.google.com/support/+/?hl=en&p=anti_bullying

Other Resources... more »

2012-01-28 00:34:40 (4 comments, 18 reshares, 16 +1s)

Now that +Google+ is open to 13+ here are some links that will make very interesting reading to both 13+ and 18+

Google+ Safety Center
http://www.google.com/+/safety/

Google+ Teen Safety Guide
http://www.google.com/support/+/?hl=en&p=teen_safety_guide

A Parent's Guide to Google+
http://www.google.com/support/+/?hl=en&p=parents_guide

Google+ For Educators
http://www.google.com/support/+/?hl=en&p=safety_for_educators

Privacy Resources
http://www.google.com/support/+/?hl=en&p=privacy_resources

Digital Reputation
http://www.google.com/support/+/?hl=en&p=digital_reputation

Anti-bullying Resources
http://www.google.com/support/+/?hl=en&p=anti_bullying

Other Resources... more »

2012-01-27 15:26:00 (0 comments, 8 reshares, 8 +1s)

Find Shared Circles that include You - now even better ;)

http://publiccircles.appspot.com/incircles

To make the listing of shared circles that included You are now more readable.

We included the avatar image of the author who shared a circle and the published date is now also included. The listing is sorted in reverse order of the published date, so you can see the newest shared circle on top of the listing.

I hope you like it. But we have even more to come.

2012-01-24 11:21:08 (1 comments, 12 reshares, 16 +1s)

Pages Step up your game and get Verified
Here's how: http://goo.gl/tDAQf
If it checks out and you qualify, Fill out the form and Submit

That's what +Easytouch did and they are smiling from Ear to Ear ..

2012-01-23 21:09:24 (5 comments, 1 reshares, 11 +1s)

Toward a more inclusive naming policy for Google+

With Google+, we aspire to make online sharing more like sharing in the real world. And during the Google+ signup process, we've asked users to select the name they commonly use in real life.

Since launch we've listened closely to community feedback on our names policy, as well as reviewed our own data regarding signup completion. The vast majority of users sail through our signup process -- in fact, only about 0.1% submit name appeals.

When we analyze the set of all name appeals on Google+, we find that they generally fall into three major categories:
- The majority (60%) of these users want to simply add nicknames.
- About 20% of appeals are actually businesses (who are inadvertently trying to set up their business as a Profile, rather than using Google+ Pages which were intended for this purpose.)... more »

2012-01-22 13:33:13 (6 comments, 3 reshares, 10 +1s)

pio dal cin - 1:35 AM -
Live Streaming Hangout on the topic " Suggestions on how to make Hangouts easier to use" from an idea of +pio dal cin and +James Lawson-Smith
Seats will be limited to ten but we will go on a rotation so that anyone who wishes to make a suggestion on how to improve the Hangouts based on his/ her own experience will be welcome to do so to the +Google+ people who will be hopefully joining us.

Everyone will have a two minutes time limit, so to give more people the chance to participate to the event.

Leave your name in the comments so we know if you want to be part of this hangout. A link will be sent out five minutes prior the start of the Live hangout

2012-01-22 09:18:13 (3 comments, 15 reshares, 8 +1s)

Posted by +Gabriel Vasile:
GOOGLE+ and SEO - a guide by +AJ Kohn.

This comprehensive Google+ SEO guide covers every aspect and angle of Google+ and how it impacts search.

1. Google+ Search

Most of the attention is on the integration of Google+ in Google search results. However, internal search on Google+ is a fascinating product and lays the groundwork for search integration.

a. Google+ Search Facets
b. Google+ Search Results
c. Google+ People and Pages Results
d. Google+ Search Spam

2. Search+

Search+ transforms your search results based on the connections, interactions and activity you have on Google+. It is the largest search personalization effort ever attempted by Google.

a. People and Pages
b. How are People and Pages selected?
c. Google+ Posts
d. Google +1 Button... more »

2012-01-13 15:14:12 (0 comments, 19 reshares, 15 +1s)

Google+ Your Business

Some great examples of how business are using their +Pages to great effect.

Thanks +Mashable

2012-01-13 15:02:21 (1 comments, 12 reshares, 16 +1s)

All My Google+ Guides in One Post

Here are links to the most popular guides I've written to using various features of Google+. Lot's more to come in the days ahead, and thanks so much to all of you who share them!

1. How to Get Yourself Featured in New Google Search plus Your World Personalized Search http://www.virante.com/blog/2012/01/11/get-yourself-featured-in-new-google-search-plus-your-world-personalized-search/

2. How to Show Your Google+ Profile Photo in Google Search Results http://www.virante.com/blog/2012/01/08/how-to-show-your-author-photo-in-google-search-results/

3. How to Add Administrators to Your Google+ Business Page http://www.virante.com/blog/2012/01/04/how-to-add-administrators-to-your-google-business-page/

4. How to Verify Your Google+ Brand Page with Google... more »

2012-01-08 16:57:58 (5 comments, 31 reshares, 30 +1s)

TOP 100 MOST POPULAR CHROME EXTENSIONS AND APPS FOR GOOGLE PLUS

Ok, so this is the updated top of most popular chrome extensions for Google+. These are the most used extensions and apps dedicated to g+ that I found until now in the chrome web store. Did I miss an extension or made a mistake? Then leave me a comment on the original post. Please share this to help the g+ community.

1. Hover Zoom (215,030 users) - http://goo.gl/yrHOA
Enlarge thumbnails on mouse over. Works on many sites (Facebook, Twitter, Google, Flickr, Reddit, Amazon, etc).

2. Google +1 Button (166,957 users) - http://goo.gl/LKO1Y
+1 and share a web page, anywhere you go on the web.

3. Google+ Notifications (95,554 users) - http://goo.gl/UQhIh
View notifications of Google+ activity when signed in, anywhere you go on the web.

4.... more »

2011-12-29 17:23:21 (6 comments, 4 reshares, 14 +1s)

Google+ Tips: #1 - Back up for FREE all of your photos and docs to your FREE Gmail account(s)

I've done this for years. Any time I have photos or docs - instead of paying for something like Carbonite, or using Cloud storage services - I send copies of everything from myself to myself. I've used this for home and work - and it's an easy way to not lose photos and docs when something happens like a computer blowing up or dying.

I've had that happen before - even with a surge protector - two computers instantly died - and all those photos not backed up were lost. Using Gmail - I give all of my pictures unique names and even put hashtags and titles in each email. Later - retrieval is instantaneous. As well, not that Gmail works well with Picassa and everything is being integrated - it's nice to have everything in one place.

No, I don't advocate... more »