Mr. Google: Martin Shervington

If anyone is ever stuck on how to use certain elements and recent changes in Google Plus, +martin shervington is your go-to resource.

This is perhaps the most generous and giving man on the Internet. If you can't get enough of his resources on his website, YouTube channel, or Google profile page, then there are more on his +Plus Your Life! community.

+Cynthia K Seymour and I had the pleasure of interviewing Martin on +Virtual Newsmakers on Friday. I'm sure you will find a wealth of tips to help you plus your life.

Storytelling Fail

"I'm so crap at storytelling."

That was a tweet I saw from someone, and I admit, as a writer, content marketer, and publisher, it hit home with me.

Finding other people's stories--not a problem. It's my own storytelling I could improve on.

Practice makes perfect.

+Alexander Sokolov posted a cool moving photo on Google Plus:

The image made me laugh and think about my horse Nahanni.

When a horse makes up its mind to go somewhere, no human(s) are going to stop it with a rope. I know this first-hand, and the lesson cost me $75.

Nahanni and I were attending a riding clinic and waiting our turn to go into the arena. I was caught up in watching the other group executing the drills, and by chance, glanced over at my horse with someone else's halter half down her throat. She was bored and decided to eat it. I grabbed it and yanked it away, then foolishly slapped her (more like a light tap) on the nose. Well, any point of contact with her in the way of a slap (or hitting her with reins), no matter how hard, and she'd go into Stubborn 101 mode. When I realized what I had done, it was too late. She started backing up from the fence she was tied to--with two measly pieces of leather. I pleaded with her to stop and tried to pull her back as I desperately worked to untie the reins--which was impossible as she had pulled them so tight, then snap! But of course, once she broke free, she just stood there. She got her point across. I had to borrow a set of reins to finish the day, then stopped in at a saddlery store on the way home to pick up a new set of reins. They were bloody well woven rope and an elephant wouldn't break them. She'd have to break the bridle before those reins broke. The ironic part is those reins had leather straps at the end of them, which I had to take great care to make sure they didn't slap her by accident.

The moral of the story is find a story to tell and maybe keep a spare set of reins.

Do You Have A Name In Social Networks?

The Artist Formerly Known As Prince

Findability is something we should probably think about when we are picking a Twitter handle, Skype name, or Facebook page.

If you've ever been in Foresquare, you'll notice very few people use their full name. Add to the fact that a lot of them don't use their own image. It's just a tad frustrating when you are trying to find people to connect with--or if they try to connect with you.

Karen with the kitten avatar and no explanation--who the heck are you?

When a lot of us first joined Twitter, using a crazy name or a different avatar seemed kind of clever, in our own minds. The thing is, the longer you use it, the more connections you have, the more you are stuck with it. It doesn't always make sense when you switch your personal use of Twitter to professional later on.

It's the same with an email address.

If you set up your profiles in 2009, chances are it is too late to change. You are stuck with it. You can change your avatar, but not your name. They are all taken.

Why is this a big deal? (Hey, I'm no better. My other gmail is gridironchick.)

Lately, I cleaned out my two Twitter accounts, unfollowing a host of followings that were not serving me any value. (Their day-to-day activities about having a coffee and putting the kids to bed did not interest me as much as the meaty information and links I get from others.) That exercise took some time and the one thing I noticed was that identifying people was a crap shoot if they didn't use their name, their likeness, and especially if they did not post any information about who they were. Zap! If they protected their tweets, zap! Please. Anything you have to say cannot be that interesting that you have to put a lock on it. Stay out of social networks then and don't waste our time. Just saying.

It felt good to clean house and fine-tune the followers that were more specific to the purpose of each of my Twitter pages.

I'm using a similar philosophy in Google Plus. Instead of blanket following everyone, although I still do that to a certain degree, if someone is not giving me anything worth looking at, or continually posts offensive content, I feel no guilt whatsoever in zapping them.

However, if I've zapped someone I knew and liked because I couldn't identify them by their avatar or name, please accept my apologies.