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Health & Fitness

Have you been to the Google+ Site Yet?

Is Google+ worthy of the plus in its name?

I watched my gmail. I waited and hoped.

But nope, I wasn't one of the lucky ones Google invited early to try out its new social networking site, Google +.

I wrangled an invite anyway.

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See, when you're addicted to Facebook and Twitter already, what's another one, right? Especially when I can connect all three accounts and clone myself.

It's almost like a techno echo when I see my tweets on my Facebook page, and my Facebook comments on my Twitter stream. Kinda cool.

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I've grown into a promoter. I've promoted friends' romance novels, whether self published, indie pub'd or traditionally pub'd. One of my blog posts is reposted this week on a New Orleans content site, to coincide with the Southern Goth Festival this coming weekend and with the green vegetarian restaurant movement going on there.

I've also started a Twitter chat with a new feature on my blog, #DesignWrite, about reclaiming your own working space within your home. Get out of the back bedroom, repurpose the dining/formal living room and make it a space for you!

So Google+, what do you offer a busy networking junkie like me?

Circles for sharing:

You put everyone into circles: Family, Friends, Acquaintances, Following and more. I made one just for the four of us, but the Family circle includes cousins and in-laws. I like having the ability to make that private circle.

When you post your promotion or your thoughts ("...the pearl fell out of my wedding set Saturday!) You have sharing options: To Family? Friends? Followers? Or to Public Everyone?

You opt IN versus Facebook's opt OUT. Very nice feature.

Sparks: It's like StumblUpon in your sidebar. You type your interests and up pops suggestions. Coupons, anybody? A variety of newsfeeds appears for you to add. Now Google+ here imitates Percolate. Oh, don't know Percolate? Read on...

Have you ever been at a total loss of something to post? That white box mocks you, "Ha ha! You thought you were so interesting when you started this, didn't you? Now your mind is empty … Empty! Surrender or die!"

Well, never say 'die' to a Woman With Words.

You can read your saved Sparks items and post your thoughts on them, for those days when the paint drying and the grass growing are about the only molecules moving in the heat.

That's how Percolate works ... except you have the option there of replying to your friends' opinions in a conversation stream there.

Haven't tried the photo adding on Google+ yet, but here's MORE to love:

Know that funny +1 that appears on your blog's share bar with the T and the F and the RSS and the SU and... and...

If you give a +1 to a friend's entry—post or photo or anything—that item moves up in the Google search page. Something to do with algorithms & stuff...

Told you I'm a Woman With Words, not numbers.

You can +1 on your favorite blogs and do the same; just on Google+'s site, your +1 moves that person's name that much further up.

That's about all I can share about Google+ right now ... just started it Saturday night, so I need to become better acquainted with it. And it is still in Beta, so there are still hiccups to solve. But it is easy to learn and to use, so don't resist trying it out!

But... remember MySpace?

Watch out Facebook. Just sayin'.

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