CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-06-19 21:45:21 (20 comments, 13 reshares, 40 +1s)

And Microsoft Redeems Itself
kinda

While they mention that they have listened and, most certainly, have changed some of the major issues that people were pointing out - their snark and lack of tact during the presentation probably left people feeling a bit... iffy (let's not even get into the cavalier use of the word "rape").

via Microsoft

"So, today I am announcing the following changes to Xbox One and how you can play, share, lend, and resell your games exactly as you do today on Xbox 360. Here is what that means:

An internet connection will not be required to play offline Xbox One games

After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc based game without ever connecting online again. There is no 24 hour connection requirement and you can take your Xbox One anywhere you want and play your... more »

2013-06-16 23:48:02 (15 comments, 3 reshares, 42 +1s)

JONATHAN CHRISTOPHER KENDALL   (1962-2013)

With the greatest of sorrow I, +su ann lim , have to inform you that Jonathan Christopher Kendall, my fiancé and love of my life, died suddenly last night on 15 June 2013.  Despite the incredible efforts of our friends +Suzanne Jacob +Gaynal Brierley , paramedics and ambulance personnel he could not be revived.

Jonathan lived as he believed, telling it like it is, with wit and humour, enjoying life to the hilt, with honour, directness and compassion.  I was incredibly blessed to be the recipient of his immense love, and as each other's beloved, to share unbelievable happiness for too short a time.   Jonathan, I LOVE YOU with all my heart and miss you desperately.

One of the favourite activities in his life was to engage with all you here on Google Plus.  He thrived on the intellectual challenges, soaked up  avast amou... more »

2013-06-16 04:44:04 (17 comments, 2 reshares, 36 +1s)

Yep, I took the time to make these today.

#animalcrossingnewleaf #animalcrossing #justiceleague  

2013-06-14 21:05:44 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Mustache Online Dating Site?!

THIS IS A THING, THIS IS A THING, THIS IS A THING.

via +Mashable 

2013-06-14 17:45:44 (78 comments, 20 reshares, 224 +1s)

Man of Steel was awesome

Saw the movie last night, midnight showing, showed up in my Big Blue Boy Scout regalia (re: this post is coming from a long time Supes fanboy) and am so happy they finally got it right.

Let me be clear, they got it right, but it wasn't perfect.

It wasn't The Dark Knight. Sadly.

But it was still a great Superman movie. How to rank it against the others? Hard to do. Superman: The Movie is a classic movie, no - not just a classic Superhero movie, but a classic movie, so maybe it's not fair to compare. It was clearly better than Returns, III, and IV, though. It's also one of the best Superhero movies that I've ever seen.

The pacing is a little off sometimes, and the messiah imagery was about as subtle as winning a rock-paper-scissors with a hydrogen bomb.

However... the chaotic fighting... more »

2013-06-11 18:26:28 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 10 +1s)

TIL: Hodor is a DJ

♪ Ho-dor - ♫ wubwubwubwubbbb ♪. HODOR! ♫ pew pew pew ♪ wub wubb! ♫

#got #gameofthrones #hodor

2013-06-11 17:42:54 (3 comments, 6 reshares, 12 +1s)

Jurassic Park came out in theaters 20 years ago today! At 6 years old, this was the third movie I had seen in theaters, the previous two being Fern Gully, and Alien 3 (yes, I had facehugger nightmares). This is a pretty cool article from +Mental Floss which not only has good trivia but also some movies discussing how they made those wonderful animatronic dinos (which still look marvelous today, might I add).

2013-06-11 14:36:45 (2 comments, 5 reshares, 44 +1s)

One does not simply create the most notorious villain of all time with only one actor.

#starwarstuesday   #starwars   #vader  

2013-06-11 14:34:09 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Lose a bet recently? It's ok, you can still win.
Here's a fun prank to play on the winner

Hilarious 10 step process to make sure the winner knows never to bet with you, even if they're bound to win.

h/t +Hunter Lehr who should h/t +reddit 

2013-06-11 01:40:33 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 17 +1s)

Man of Steel Sequel Fast-tracked!

BraniacBraniacBraniacBraniacBraniacBraniacBraniacBraniacBraniacBraniac, please.

2013-06-10 15:11:48 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

Thank you for a great launch! It doesn't take much to make a big impact.
Build the fund: http://bit.ly/ZqJerh

Yesterday's launch of +The LittleBigFund was fantastic. You guys shared shared shared and it was inspiring inspiring inspiring! I compiled a list of all the super nice supportive posts you made and it really reassured my team and me that we're onto something. It was especially important to us to see you guys explain #LittleBigFund  in your own words. The fact that you loved our website didn't hurt either ;)

Throughout the rest of the month we'll be expanding on the stories we told on our website. The three organizations do incredible things and we're really excited to continue to tell their story. Most of this will be done through The LittleBigFund's page, but don't worry, I'll be supporting a lot of it on my profile too.... more »

2013-06-07 14:59:44 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 19 +1s)

Bertrand Russell and How to deal with Trolls
or people who aren't trolling, but who have convictions that are repulsive to you

Beautiful and respectful shut down from the late philosopher.

#troll #philosophy #bertrandrussell  

2013-06-06 15:28:16 (3 comments, 5 reshares, 14 +1s)

Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy
starts in July!

Any +Coursera nerds want to do this with me? I've created a study group Community for you to join, too, if interested.

coursera.org/course/mathphil

The G+ Community, a study group
https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/110377023101860481654

About the Course -via the course page:

Since antiquity, philosophers have questioned the foundations--the foundations of the physical world, of our everyday experience, of our scientific knowledge, and of culture and society.

In recent years, more and more young philosophers have become convinced that, in order to understand these foundations, and thus to make progress in philosophy, the use of mathematical methods is of crucial importance.

This is what our course will be concerned with: mathematicalp... more »

2013-06-05 15:35:43 (24 comments, 177 reshares, 385 +1s)

Brilliant ad campaign by IBM

IBM created ads with a purpose. By simply adding a curve to the top or bottom of their ads - they made benches, ramps, and awnings for people to use. Creating these utilitarian ads is not only good for the public (if they use them for good, I suppose) but also a great way to attract attention for a brand. Nice job, IBM.

2013-06-05 13:27:32 (21 comments, 0 reshares, 62 +1s)

I begrudgingly accept your love, cat.

Doolittle loves to wake me up at 7am by licking the skin off of my cheeks with her sandpaper tongue. Luckily, I had my phone nearby to document the torture.

She follows up her sandpaper licks by punching me in the face until I wake up to do her bidding.

Catsitting = having a new, temporary master.

2013-06-04 16:31:12 (3 comments, 19 reshares, 39 +1s)

I love this so much.

"JWT joined with Warner Bros. and the A.C. Camargo Cancer Center in São Paulo, Brazil, to craft a super-powerful campaign designed to help children with cancer better understand their treatment and be less frightened by chemotherapy. The initiative revolves around superheroes. The game room at the hospital is tricked out like the interior of the Justice League, and colorful chemo-bag covers bear the insignia of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, transforming the oft-scary drugs into a "Superformula." Specially drawn comic books tell medically realistic tales of the Dark Knight and his friends defeating cancer-like diseases to resume their war against evil. Although it uses D.C. Comics characters, this effort is a marvel, helping kids gain knowledge, courage and faith in themselves—the ultimate superpowers."

via +Adweek andCo... more »

2013-06-03 19:29:34 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Conan chit-chats with music historian Peter Guralnick about Elvis and other early rock and roll stars. Listening to this in the background while working.

2013-06-03 03:13:34 (4 comments, 28 reshares, 85 +1s)

And this.

#gameofthrones  

2013-06-03 03:12:59 (2 comments, 7 reshares, 18 +1s)

This.

#gameofthrones

2013-05-28 18:55:12 (3 comments, 3 reshares, 17 +1s)

Yep, it's the whole album being performed. It's awesome. I can't wait to see +Alt-J in concert.

#altj #music #newmusic  

2013-05-24 18:12:27 (9 comments, 41 reshares, 178 +1s)

2013-05-23 21:14:17 (9 comments, 16 reshares, 56 +1s)

Children are terrifying.

2013-05-23 15:44:41 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 5 +1s)

The reality show I'm working on has just finished its first season and was picked up by Mike Rowe's website.

Anyone have any questions for Mike Rowe in case we get to meet at some point? :P

2013-05-22 14:36:52 (1 comments, 7 reshares, 27 +1s)

"Be the serial corrector you wish to see in the world." - Abraham Gandhi Rockefeller

2013-05-21 18:55:48 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

Google+ whiz +Ryan Crowe  is leading week 6 of our #SMMBootCamp: mbist.ro/119pE1Y

2013-05-15 19:07:52 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 13 +1s)

My Google+ for Brands presentation -- over night -- became visually obsolete. The range of emotions I'm feeling is, uh, well... a wide range.

PS. Presentation final was due today. 

Couldn't you have waited another week, Google?

2013-05-13 16:11:06 (12 comments, 3 reshares, 11 +1s)

I'm going to go ahead and be willfully ignorant and ignore the conclusion. My childhood will not stand corrected! My poor children will have no cartridges to blow into... I'm just going to have them blow raspberries at whatever machine we're using at that point.

2013-05-09 22:45:17 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 16 +1s)

ScoreCleaner - cool app that records your noise and turns it into notes
"Now everyone can write music"

This is pretty cool. I'm going to go ahead and start recording my shrieking/singing in the shower and posting the results for you all to see/hear/read/record/cover.

Is anyone actually ready for this?

2013-05-09 21:52:58 (7 comments, 48 reshares, 81 +1s)

Slow motion videos of children tasting various foods for the first time...
surprisingly heartwarming, unsurprisingly hilarious

Found via +Laughing Squid 

2013-05-09 16:13:30 (9 comments, 2 reshares, 22 +1s)

This is a thing. This is a real thing. I'm sorry for sending you to Wiki. I know I just killed the productivity of so many working people. I'm responsible for the Dow tomorrow, I'm sorry.

2013-05-09 16:10:38 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

Learn some of your favorite dances from the movies...

Also, what the heck is this Strasbourg Dancing Epidemic of 1518?? I want to go look it up on Wikipedia, but we all know what happens when you go to Wikipedia:

Once you go Wiki, you never go back.

Hmm... needs some work...

via +Fast Company 

2013-05-09 15:29:20 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Awesome Interactive Music Video from Muse

And tell me this song doesn't sound like Queen meets Michael Jackson.

2013-05-09 15:17:12 (10 comments, 31 reshares, 56 +1s)

Zach Braff responds to critics re: his Kickstarter Movie
nails it

If you have 17 minutes and care about this at all. Sit and listen to Braff's reasoning/thought process. He's got so many great points regarding his use of Kickstarter to fund part of his movie (which is NOT a sequel to Garden State)

Dig it.

2013-05-08 15:51:56 (9 comments, 17 reshares, 35 +1s)

Gotta love +Mental Floss - I'm fairly certain this video has made the rounds on G+ before, but hey - it's gotta be new to someone.

Bonus at the end: why the sky is blue!

#nerd #grammar #blue  

2013-05-07 20:41:57 (203 comments, 346 reshares, 959 +1s)

Ender's Game Official Trailer

Finally!

2013-05-07 16:21:24 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Can't tell if Wyoming or Utah is the... unique state out of the bunch. Cool way to see which videos are trending where in cities across the US.

2013-05-07 15:54:01 (5 comments, 26 reshares, 47 +1s)

Spock v. Spock! Cool commercial by Audi.

2013-05-07 15:37:16 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

Mother's Day is this weekend, and we've put together a special site, g.co/mom, to help you celebrate your mom or another great mom in your life. Visit the site for gift ideas or just to say thank you. We also encourage you to share your favorite photo or video of mom (or a note to mom) and tag your post with #herestothemoms . 

You can also tune in to Mother's Day Google+ Hangouts from +AskMen, featuring editors from +Parenting.com, for more ideas about how to make this year's Mother's Day unforgettable. More info: http://goo.gl/oLIiL

2013-05-07 15:26:31 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Brilliant Baseball Hall of Fame Rebrand
Done by +Pratt Institute Grad, +Rob Bratney

Probably no surprise if you've been following me for any length of time, but I am a huge baseball fan and also an ad man. This redesign campaign is brilliant. It maintains the 'America's Pastime' theme and still manages to elegantly modernize the hallowed organization's image.

If you're a fan of design and/or baseball - check out what Bratney has done with the in-Hall materials. I hope that we can get someone at +MLB or the Baseball Hall of Fame to recognize this work.

#baseball #addesign  

2013-05-07 15:17:40 (3 comments, 3 reshares, 7 +1s)

Hey gang, our Community and our sister Community run by +Andrij Harasewych were featured in a bit of research done by TrueSocialMetrics.

I think you'll notice that our moderation tactics have served the community well. Our engagement numbers are destroying groups of similar size. Even though our post number is low (I remove a TON of posts per day - and that's just me, I'm not even sure what the other mods are catching) we still have top-notch interaction.

Proud of everyone, and I hope we keep this going. We're proving to be a pretty elite Community here.

2013-05-07 06:59:45 (369 comments, 1398 reshares, 2268 +1s)

Use  Your Words?
another curiosity from the Internet

Fortuitously, hot dog  = thoodg. The more you know!

2013-05-06 15:37:26 (6 comments, 13 reshares, 44 +1s)

This Ad Has a Secret Anti-Abuse Message That Only Kids Can See

"In an effort to provide abused children with a safe way to reach out for help, a Spanish organization called the Aid to Children and Adolescents at Risk Foundation, or ANAR for short, created an ad that displays a different message for adults and children at the same time.

The secret behind the ad's wizardry is a lenticular top layer, which shows different images at varying angles. So when an adult—or anyone taller than four feet, five inches—looks at it they only see the image of a sad child and the message: "sometimes, child abuse is only visible to the child suffering it." But when a child looks at the ad, they see bruises on the boy's face and a different message: "if somebody hurts you, phone us and we’ll help you" alongside the foundation's phone number.
The... more »

2013-05-03 18:33:42 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 21 +1s)

Kid teaches college guys to be chivalrous

This video was created at my alma mater, +Mizzou, and this kid tries to help 'college guys' be chivalrous. The fundamental message is... be kind, not "just to girls" but to everyone.

This sort of reminds me of:

http://goodmenproject.com/about/

What I'm not into, really, is the idea that you should be a good guy because 63% of women are looking for husbands or that 'women want you to be their knight in shining armor'... you should be kind simply because you should be kind.

2013-05-03 18:13:51 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

More great press for +The LittleBigFund - congratulations +Carter Gibson for putting together such a great blog and telling our story.

2013-05-03 16:52:38 (16 comments, 82 reshares, 167 +1s)

Yes... this is funny.

2013-04-29 20:02:20 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Yes!!! I just saw Jeff Mangum in concert this January - thought it would be another decade til he came around again. Sometimes, it's good being wrong!

#neutralmilkhotel #music  

2013-04-29 19:40:12 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

Your greatest hidden talent is story telling
Read our CEO's op-ed in The Advocate here: http://bit.ly/Y92uw6

We're all gifted with experiences. Whether they're good or bad, we all experience life through certain events and defining moments. Instead of keeping those moments to ourselves, we should be sharing them. We all have the potential to be amazing storytellers. We should be using stories all the time, not data, to drive our points home. Stories help us empathize with causes and people alike. Telling them is what we're all about at The LittleBigFund.

To coincide with our first month featuring LGBT nonprofits, our CEO +Carter Gibson took to writing and op-ed for The Advocate on how his experiences helped create The LittleBigFund and why we all need to share to be understood.

2013-04-29 21:55:35 (18 comments, 8 reshares, 30 +1s)

Parents of Google+: What is the creepiest thing your young child has ever said to you?

I got this off of Reddit. I would love to see what we come up with here!

Here is one of my favorite gems from the Reddit version:

" Possibly the creepiest thing he did was one day I scolded him for misbehaving so he hid his head under his blanket. I pretended I couldn't find him by saying "Where is my little Carson?" He slowly lowered the blanket and with a dead evil stare said, "Carson is gone, I am Rick." I'm certain he's possessed. We never knew any Ricks, as far I can remember. Still don't. Never figured out where he picked up the name "

2013-04-26 15:29:56 (0 comments, 7 reshares, 25 +1s)

What if Game of Thrones used the Friends theme song?

Sigh. Poor Ned.

via +BuzzFeed 

2013-04-26 05:04:17 (2 comments, 4 reshares, 17 +1s)

Ahhh, new Vampire Weekend single!

Their new album, Modern Vampires of the City comes out May 14th!

#newmusic #vampireweekend