Is Anyone Else Confused by Google+ Gaucho Plus at GCC

Confused may not be the appropriate word, but I’m still trying to figure out +Gaucho Plus. It’s strange. I’m following with my personal Gmail account on G+, but I get a digest of posts to my work Gmail account which doesn’t have G+ turned on. When I click the links in the digest, I get to Groups with no group because it’s my personal Gmail and not work. So it seems like it’s really just a Google Group and not G+ at all.

In addition, I hate digests in email. I have to deal with this with my Google Reader RSS feeds. The G+ digest only gives you a headline of the post and not the whole post, so I have to click through, which by the time I actually get to the news, I’m over it. I click the headline (1 click) and it scoots me down the page in the email where I get one sentence that says “So in So shared a post with you” and a More link. I click the More link (2nd click), and the post opens in a Google Groups window, but only after I go through the trouble of switching from personal Gmail Groups to work Gmail Groups. But that’s my problem for having a personal account. At the end of the post in Groups there is a pretty View Post button, so finally I’m going to get to G+, which is what I thought the point was.

So I click the button (3rd click), and I get a choice this time. I get to choose which account I want to use: personal Gmail or work Gmail. Okay. I can handle this. At least it’s acknowledging that I have two accounts and wants to work with me. I choose personal (4th click), and I get an error message. Rats! Click back (I won’t count that click) and choose work Gmail this time (5th click). I get the same error message. Double Rats! By this time I’m over it. I know how to get to G+ to read posts. What the heck is the digest for? It’s obviously not working for me. I need to figure out how to turn that off. My guess is it’s not possible.

I’m sure there will people who will say, well if it’s work, why are using your personal Gmail account. That’s a good point. I actually don’t use my personal Gmail email for work; however, we all know that Gmail is more than email. For years I’ve been using Google Docs and Google Voice for work. And I’ve established a very good work pattern with how it all works together. Docs for sharing and collaborating with my colleagues and Voice for calls and texts with students. It has been a perfect blend for more than 5 years now. But now work Gmail is butting in on my synergistic work flow. Over a year ago I set up my personal G+ account and have happily circled and connected to over 200 people in 11 circles, and even more in the various Communities I’ve joined recently, including all the GCC Communities. I’m not willing to call a do over for Maricopa. So personal Gmail (except for email) IS work, and at this point I’m sticking with it. There will be no second Alisa Cooper on G+ unless it’s another person all together.

I can only handle so much social media. I already have multiple Twitter (personal + classes), Facebook, Diigo, and G+. I do my part for spreading knowledge across the globe. It’s too much work to consider just one more, and if I have to choose, I’d rather continue to be open to connect with the world instead of just Maricopa.