Google’s social platform, Google+, has a feature called “Circles” that allows users to put various different people in specific groupings or lists.
This feature is intended to:
- Share relevant content with the right people
- Follow content posted by people you find interesting
Why Circles are private
No one in a circle can see who else is in the circle. They also don’t know what you’ve names the circle, or how many other people are in it.
This makes sense when you think about the real life “private circles” we all have in our minds:
- People we look up to
- Our closest friends
- Potential project partners
- Crushes
The people in these circles usually don’t know they’re in the circle. Some might eventually know (potential project partner becomes project partner), or they may never know (crushes).
Circles are not Groups
Jeremiah Owyang wrote an informative post on Google plus, but I have to disagree with his comment about Circles being a newer version of Google Groups (I can’t image Google not eventually adding Groups into the Plus mix).
Groups are very different from circles in three important ways:
- All Group members know the name of the group
- All Group members know the purpose of the group
- All members know who’s in the Group
A more accurate comparison to Circles would be Facebook friends lists, or private Twitter lists. People you add to Circles have no idea what you’ve named the Circle/List. See how Ross Mayfield visually explains Circles in a series of slides.
How to see who a post was shared with
If a post was shared only with specific people or circles, you’ll see “Limited” in top right of the post. When you click on that, you can see the total number of people who received the post. This doesn’t tell you what Circles people are in because posts can be shared with multiple Circles, and even combinations of Circles and individual people.
How to add other users who commented on a post
To add users mentioned in a post, all you have to do is over over their avatar. You’ll see their name, a short blurb (usually where they work), which of your circles they belong to (if any). Additionally, you’ll see “Add to
How to change the order of my Circles
This tip from David Svet: To rearrage the order of your Circles, use your space bar: 1 space for some, 2 for others, 3 for some.
For more basics on using Google Plus, see this video.
![[Free Webinar] Facebook for Executive Staff](http://www.johnhaydon.com/wp-content/themes/headway-2013/media/cache/images/eplus-post-18286-leaf-164.png)
![Facebook Edgerank Explained by Batman and Robin [Infographic]](http://www.johnhaydon.com/wp-content/themes/headway-2013/media/cache/images/eplus-post-18091-leaf-164.gif)
![Facebook Edgerank Explained by Batman and Robin [Infographic]](http://www.johnhaydon.com/wp-content/themes/headway-2013/media/cache/images/eplus-post-18091-leaf-540.gif)
![How To Post Smart And Successful Facebook Page Updates [Infographic]](http://www.johnhaydon.com/wp-content/themes/headway-2013/media/cache/images/eplus-post-17839-leaf-540.gif)
Nice effort, very informative, this will help
me to complete my task. Thanks for share it keep it up.
The circles are a great feature to have
I like them. I’m still trying to figure it out though. From this article does it mean the circle names are entirely arbitrary?
I’m going to assume it will be a matter of time until you can create a “group” circle or whatever they coin it, and users can join the circle.
Unless you are the kind of person who puts all your mail in the Inbox
and leaves it there, “Circles” is OBVIOUSLY the way to go. If it is too
complex for you, it’s not required. Family, close friends,
acquaintances and salespeople are probably the only categories most
people need. How is that “too complex”? Surely this is simpler than
going to different websites with different passwords and different User
Interfaces. I know to be properly critical you have to find fault but I
don’t see this as one of them.
thanks for the post!
But plus should be communities/groups….that is a must
[...] grande novita’ sono i Circoli: Google+ permette agli utenti di mettere persone diverse in gruppi diversi, di modo da [...]
[...] What are Google Circles and how do I use them? by John Haydon http://www.johnhaydon.com/2011/07/what-are-google-circles/ [...]
[...] ?????? ??????????? ??????????. ?????? ??????????? ???? ??? ??????? ???????????? ???? [...]
[...] impressive thing about Google+ is their feature called Circles. With this feature you can arrange your contacts in Circles. For example you can keep all your [...]
[...] has become both a blessing and a curse.. I had way too many circles and they were hard to manage. What are circles? Read John Haydon’s explanation here.. In mid August I began tightening up my circles, deleting some and creating a more streamlined [...]
dear all pls explain to me in good way .. how is use google cricle and what are useage while i will use google cricle …:-)
[...] bin ich etwa der einzige, dem diese Kreise [...]