CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-03-31 13:35:22 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Happy Easter

May all you eggs be sweet,
your rabbits cute,
and your surprises fun.

2013-03-11 19:44:20 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Sometimes it is the simple questions that lead to amazing discoveries.

2013-03-05 17:50:27 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Roy Kerr is a great character, and fully deserves to be awarded the Einstein Medal.

2013-02-26 08:32:08 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Link to the now hidden Google Circles

https://plus.google.com/circles

I have found that since Google has hidden the Circle page behind the "Find People" page, the link to circles doesn't always show up.
Therefore I am making a note so that I can get back to it easily, and I am making it public incase anyone else has the same problem and needs the link as well.

2013-02-21 08:34:02 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Building cities of the future now

This is something the Christchurch, New Zealand should really have taken the lead in, considering that most of the city needed (and still needs) to be rebuilt anyway.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-earthquake/

Two years ago, I missed it by just a few hours, I had been back to visit Christchurch over Christmas and New Year.
The moment that I saw what had happened after landing back in London, is one of those moments that you never forget.

I really hope that there is still time for them to act and recreate the vibrant city that I remember and grew up in.

2013-01-23 20:51:43 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Let it snow...

It is time to put on the warm coats, the waterproof boots, and enjoy the snow before it all melts away.

2013-01-07 15:57:41 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

What will the potent combination of social and mobile bring in 2013?

1. The mobile wallet
2. Mobile ads
3. Celebrity spam
4. Global megaphone for gossip
5. Mobile and social news
6. Digital addiction clinics
7. Mobile controlled accessories

What do you think should be added to the list?

2012-12-31 20:35:11 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Happy New Year

May 2013 be better than 2012, bring you more opportunities, magical moments, unexpected surprises (in a good way), interesting revelations, and more of both what you want and really need.

All the best for 2013

2012-12-28 22:27:27 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 7 +1s)

Take Flight in 2013

2012 is coming to a close.
Time to reflect over what we have done, consider what is to come, and plan for the coming year.

- What is it that you want to achieve?
- How can you take the first step towards that goal?
- When are you going to take that first step? (Hint: The correct answer is....  NOW )

A dream is just a dream, until you take the first step.
Create your dreams!

2012-12-24 13:35:43 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Merry Christmas

I hope that everyone has a wonderful day, whether the weather is +30 or -30 degrees C.

2012-12-17 13:50:12 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

UK budget cuts see really, really old trains being pressed back into service on the London Tube. 

Well, sort of...

2012-12-16 17:27:52 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Is it too early for New Year's Resolutions yet?

Start re-engaging back here on Google+, there is a lot of great stuff that people share.

Right now is as good a time as any, so I am re-starting with this post.

Now, if you have already thought of some New Year's Resolutions, how about starting them early, that way you will already have completed the hardest step.
Starting...


The photo below was taken on a walk a few days ago, while the frost was still clinging to the ground, the air crisp, and the sun sulking low in the sky.

2012-04-02 20:02:38 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Yes, we are moving house. Now here comes the snow.

Funny little fact. For the past 7-8 years, every time that my wife and I move, it has snowed. It hasn't mattered what time of year it is, or country we are in, each time we have moved it has been with snow falling or walking through it, up to 80cm.

This time with the last week being lovely and summery here, I thought that maybe it would be a first, and we would move at Easter in the warm sun. Opps.

I hope you wanted a white Easter. :-)

2012-03-15 10:00:01 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

I don't remember anything like this in the UK!

2012-03-12 16:02:45 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

New +3 Button?

Getting all the new toys +Gideon Rosenblatt ? Well you deserve it.

2012-03-12 15:51:14 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Under 2K, Interesting, Original People Circle

Looking for some new voices? People who share good content, but who don't have huge circles of people already following them?

People in this circle:
* have less than 2,000 people circling them
* have interesting and original insights and content they share publicly
* engage others in civil, respectful ways that build community

I spent a bunch of time curating this circle to try to make sure the people in it meet the above criteria. This is a good group of folks.

My goal in sharing this circle is to help give some interesting people a bit more visibility here on Google+. I think it's important that we bake that kind of opportunity into the culture of this network. If people work hard to share good content and engage well with others, they deserve a chance to get recognized. +Liz... more »

2012-03-11 11:23:36 (3 comments, 2 reshares, 9 +1s)

It's Sunday, do this....

2012-03-09 22:28:50 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

Great New Book for Making The Most Out of Google+

One of my favorite business book authors, +Guy Kawasaki just released (today) a new book about Google+ called “What the Plus! (Google+ for the Rest of Us).”

I started reading it last night, and I have to say, Guy just has an amazing way of making everything just make sense. Plus, I really love some of his research and insights into why you should be on Google+ in the first place, and why you need to really learn how to make the most of your presence on there. Really insightful, informative, and written like only Guy can.

You owe it to yourself to check What the Plus! out (for a limited time it’s available as a FREE downloadable PDF or you can get the Kindle or iBook editions for just $2.99).

Here’s the site (with download links): http://whattheplus.com

2012-03-08 17:56:42 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Would you strap a battery to your head?

Sharper. Calmer. Without fear and without doubt...
At that point I almost fell off my chair.

When an article starts with the sentence "Have you ever wanted to take a vacation from your own head?", I knew that what I was about to read would probably be controversial. It has some very bright potential, about focus and getting into the flow, but also some very dangerous aspects to it as well. Well worth a read if you are interested in human potential or the mind. Also the link to the New Scientist article contains more information.

In one flick of a switch, she lost her critical reasoning abilities, had no fear about what she was doing, and had no doubts about doing it.
In the right trusted hands, in a controlled setting, this could be amazing for accelerated learning,
but in the wrong hands...

2012-03-07 20:04:38 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 16 +1s)

Today as I was going about my business, trying to get where I was going before the rain came down, I spotted a tree in bud, with just a couple of them open. I happened to have my camera with me, so I pulled it out quickly and got a quick snap off. No sooner had I done that, the rain came down, removing any chance to try again.

I think that the picture has turned out ok, but it really reminded me that you never know when an opportunity is going to present itself, and sometimes, when it does, you have to grab it with both hands.

2012-03-05 14:52:34 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 7 +1s)

Public World

Here's the problem, Google+ and Facebook have similar functions with a totally different purpose. Facebook is a place you would go to see what your family/friends are up to, this is called the existing social graph, where small group of people share information about them to the people they know. While on the other side of the fence, Google+ focuses on the creation of an interest graph, where a person shares to a large group of people (public posting) based around the discussion of shared interests.

Public sharing is the key, ask +Mark Traphagen, +Denis Labelle, +Gideon Rosenblatt and +Gabriel Vasile. The only post I keep in my circles are personal family pictures, which I keep in my "Family" circle, the rest are in the wild. This is where Facebook is scrambling with their "Open Graph" and the area where Google+ already won. The exciting... more »

2012-03-04 11:23:12 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 2 +1s)

10 Ways Happy People Choose Happiness
I summarised the 10 points, article link below if you want to read it all. What has been a happy moment for you?

1. Choose to be the best YOU can be. – never try to be better than anyone else, but never stop trying to be the best you can be.

2. Choose to be around the right people. – spend time with nice people who are smart, driven and like-minded. Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you.

3. Choose to focus on what you have, not on what you haven’t. – being grateful for the goodness that is already evident in your life will bring you a deeper sense of happiness.

4. Choose a good attitude. – what often screws us up the most in life is the picture in our head of how it’s supposed to be. And the reason so many of us give up is because wetend to loo... more »

2012-03-03 11:03:52 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Welcome to all the new people who are circling me right at the moment.
Thank you.
Please give me a little time to catch up, and I will see you soon.

2012-03-03 10:50:33 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

How to Create Engaging Content

Recently I spoke with +Derek Ross about some of his posts about #Android and why they weren’t getting the type of interaction he was looking for. +Derek is an original content creator and a great resource for all things related to #Android.

After taking a look at some of his posts at the time, I noticed that a lot of things he was posting were unembellished hyperlinks--simply a link to a website and the default snippet without any sort of summary or call to action.

I asked +Derek to check out how +Mike Elgan was doing his posts and asked him to try embellishing and perhaps uploading a picture instead of just attaching a hyperlink. Lastly, I encouraged Derek to ask his audience a question or give them a call to action.

After his next few posts it appeared that his engagement picked up. So by embellishing with your own stylea... more »

2012-03-02 08:55:20 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

A heartfelt smile coming your way in the morning can make all the difference.

:-)