Pål Basso shared “Managing information overload on G+”
Lately I have overheard the discussion on the issue of pinpointing what is shared in circles and that many complain about inconsistency in the type of information they receive in posts from circles made based on interest. The flow of information many of us get thrown at us may at first look seem human impossible to handle, so thank god for computers. They help us sort and do many tasks at once, even manage our vast G+ streams. It’s time to get in control with minimal effort.
I shall be the first to admit that the flow of information I receive each and every day may at first glance seem overwhelming to me and anyone peeking at it over my shoulder. The flow of information is so vast that it feel like a firehose directed at a teacup. I cannot absorb it all and if I try, I will probably break my mind down to something that resemble a bowl of oatmeal porridge more than a brain. Most probably I’m far from alone feeling this way.
People in your circles of interest man to often post “fluff”
So what to do? The main stream flowing faster and faster as you add new people to follow, and you desperately try to sort it in to circles that will make sense to it all. Some based on interests and some based on people you find interesting for several reasons, but it still do not seem to help. People in your circles of interest man to often post stuff that is far from the topic of interest that made you make that circle. Well, guess what? People are still people and most of us has many sides to our lives and may share them out on a social. It may actually happen that a scientist at Cern share funny-gif or a post about his or hers vacation at Sunburn Beach.
So, what can you and I do to clean up this mess and get some system in this madness going on here on G+? You may have noticed the increased use of #hashtags in posts lately. It is getting increasingly common for a very simple reason, sorting on topics. When applying a #hashtag you set a topic on your post that not only defines it but also categorize it. Pretty neat, huh?
Google is still the worlds most powerful search engine, so use it. Search for a hashtag in the search field on top on your G+ page and get the stream for that tag. If the tag satisfy in its content you save it. You then get it as saved a search that in many aspects acts similar to a circle stream. You may also pinpoint that you want selected hash tag from a selected circle to narrow it further down and, voila, you got an amount of posted information that is manageable to a human being.
But hey! I am still following thousands of people, and even saving hash tags do not help me? I have done all this? Thats a good and valid point and it can be handled in a swift and efficient way. If you use Chrome, every dedicated G+ user should use that, then you can get extended functionality with the add-ons offered. Personally I grew fond of G+ Hashtags add-on. It gives you the possibility to favorite your hashtags, get a count of how many of the different hash tags that is in your streams and, most important of all, let you mute hash tags that is not of interest you or you feel is spamming your streams. You get it for free from the Chrome web store here:https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/elpbjkmmckiobkfmdboeldkbijddkfgc?hl=en-US
I hope this will help you get all sorted out and give you an even better G+ experience and let you engage more in posts that is of interests to you. +martin shervington’s post: “7 steps to creating circles and throwing them like diamonds into cyberspace”: https://plus.google.com/u/0/114918475211209783081/posts/aXxJBdsn3aH , may also be of interest for further reading on how to get sorted and organized on G+. I will also recommend following +Ivar Choi Espedalen and+Mark Traphagen They both post interesting articles regarding G+, how to enhance the experience and get what you want from it.