Thank you.

OT, but I can't resist. The local newspaper "Helsingin Sanomat" (the largest newspaper in Finland) recently had a comparison of the different sites and projects. They also presented their findings in a tablelike format, including columns "pros" and "cons". I think the summary of Google+ was quite accurate:
pros: it's not Facebook
cons: it's Google

I personally think that the way to go is small independent sites (you can even host your own with Open Source software, if you don't want to trust your stuff with somebody else), which can exchange information when necessary using open standard protocols. It's long way to go before we get there, but I really dislike services like FB and G+ which take your data and do who knows what with it without telling you.

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Offending ad removed

Diaspora would have been cool, but I think it's lost its opportunity. As it is, I trust Google more than I trust Facebook, so I'm on Google+. Though I really don't use social networking sites all that often.

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We don't know who we are; we don't know where we are.
Each of us woke up one moment and here we were in the darkness.
We're nameless things with no memory; no knowledge of what went before,
No understanding of what is now, no knowledge of what will be.

Hey, no worries. And we are probably the same level at Go. Lol.

I am surprised the number of bloggers pointing their blogs to their g+ accounts. No doubt it is hot right now, but that seems a little premature.

I wonder if google+ will be more successful than baduk.pro. It is convenient having google chat, gmail, google reader, and google calendar (plus the other stuff I don't use as much) so easily accessible.

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be immersed

A couple of first impressions that I have:

1.) It's not clear to me how to send new messages to people when they haven't yet made posts (like you might with a "Wall" on Facebook).

2.) I really like how the google services are integrated into the site.

3.) I'm not sure that I like that you can add people to your circles without approval. I see people that have added figures like "Mark Zuckerberg", and it seems a bit odd. It takes a bit away from the concept of a "Friend" that exists in Facebook, because there is no approval needed. The same goes for associations that you're affiliated with. You can enter fake information about yourself quite easily (though, this is not entirely avoidable).

4.) All in all, it's pretty similar to Facebook...

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be immersed

It seems like they're trying to toe a fine line between almost totally asymmetric (Twitter, blogging) and almost totally symmetric (Facebook). So now someone can broadcast to thousands and also send more targeted stuff to close friends.

Edit: A completely ridiculous usage error.

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Occupy Babel!

Are there any way to send private message on Google+?

And how can I see who I invited?

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求而不得
舍而不能

A couple ways. One, make a circle with just one person in it. Since you can have multiple people in multiple circles, you can use this to talk to as many or as few of your contacts as you want in a stream. Two, use Huddle to send a message to a single person. Three... use email.

As for seeing who you invited, I.. don't know.

at the top right of the screen... if you click share, you can send to circles or to single people...

*EDIT*apparently the option is there in the stream section too... just select circles or individuals you want to receive the post...

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I'm thinking...

thanks

Had my first stream on Google+ for game invitation and it works

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求而不得
舍而不能

Are sparks unique to the individual user? For example, if I have a spark that queries "igo", for example, at a given time, do I get the same set of spark results as another user that has the same spark query?

The reason I ask is, if different users with the same spark query get the same spark result, it seems a bit silly to make a lot of posts about it if people that share the same interest will see the entry anyway.

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be immersed

The eastiest way to send a message to one person: Type the message as if it is a normal update. Then in the little box below, take out any circles, and just type somebody's name. Poof! Off it goes to them!

I'm quite pleased with Google+ so far. And not just because I like the name. As soon as they make it practical to set up page for businesses, bands, etc., I'll probably set up a KGS page. I might even post something there, who knows.

I'm currently working as a teacher at a high school in Japan, and since the introduction of smart phones more and more of my students are trying to "friend" me to the point where I'm starting to become uncomfortable with it.

So I guess the benefit Google+ has over Facebook, in that regards, is that I can be friends with my students online but not expose them to the entirety of my personal life.

You can use the facebook "Lists" feature to help with this. It's not as convenient as G+ circles, but it does work.

IMHO the best feature of Google+ compared to Facebook is that you can edit your posts. Very handy for correcting the usualy typo that you realize just after clicking "send" .

Actually, no, that's the second best feature. The real best feature is that there is no Farmville, Mafiawars, ... That's a real missing feature in Facebook, they only have a workaround implemented (ignore button). But somehow, I have the suspicion that they'll remove that feature from Google+ at some point

It's been said by many that Facebook is not just an application, but represents the 3rd generation of the internet (1=internet, 2=browser+www), and in some ways that's true, with its fundamentally different level of interconnected-ness, removal of anonymity, and rich platform for developing new functionality.

Whether this new generation is a good thing remains to be seen. I think the way it is presented by Facebook it has some significant downsides, including:
it's content is walled off and cannot be uncovered by search engines
Facebook as a commercial entity gets to decide who is allowed in, and who can create new applications on this platform
The ability to control who gets to see what is seriously lacking

I'm not sure that G+ will be able to solve these (and other problems), but I'm curious to see how things develop.

If anyone have a few spare invits, I would love to get one. Thank you very much
raphael.giudici(at)gmail.com

Thank you Chris for the invit