Should You Abandon Your Blog, Website for Posting Articles on Google Plus?
I have been watching more tech people like Robert Scoble post longer posts on his Google Plus profile. I kind of like it – You can really read the whole story and comment right there. However, with the constant scrolling action of Google Plus, I wanted to read this in a spot where i could really delve in and not get interrupted. I went over to Scobleizer.com, but the post was not there.
It made me wonder – should I treat Google Plus as another blogging platform, or should I duplicate posts?
Kevin Rose said it in the first week – He thought Google+ could make a great blogging forum. Since it didn’t have the limitations that Twitter and Facebook have, you could easily create posts that would go out to millions of viewers instantly.
But I just spent four years of my life building my brand…
I wasn’t completely convinced. I believe the best thing is for your website to be the primary point of contact and social network sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and G+ to be secondary. I know not to just post a link, because that will most likely be over-looked. I also know that with my over 2,500 followers (which grows appx 100 followers a day) on Google Plus, I need to give them a fair amount of information that is not an Animated GIF.
Practices for Posting to Your Website and Google Plus
- Make Website primary posting spot. If you have under 50 words to talk about a link or picture, post primarily on Google+
- Give Google+ some love – One or two longer posts of 200 words with links to other Plus profiles.
- When linking your website story on G+, write a paragraph about it. Something that would compel a person to continue reading
- Install the Google +1 link thingy on your site. With the new features, people can post to their circles and comment on right there.
- Don’t forget to comment back on both Google+ and your site.
- In creating a Google+ only post, use a keyword or phrase so it can be searched via Sparks.
Why Should Your Website be Primary Posting Place?
You control your content. With Google Plus or Facebook, your article gets buried real deep and real fast. I post around 20 items a day. I can set up a Spark to try and pull out that information (like mentioned above), but how long does Google hold on to that information?
I decided to look at my profile and go back as far as I could. I could scan all the way back to July 30th. However, I joined within the first 24 hours of it going into Beta. It looked like 250 posts, then it’s off the grid.
I decided to test the theory a little more. I went to Robert’s profile and scrolled back as far as I could. July 26th was his magic date. Kevin Rose (who doesn’t post that much) went all the way back to June 29th.
So is 250 posts the magic number? Can I find posts before then? If so, how?
More important, if I spend time on a 400 word or more article, I don’t want it to disappear in 250 posts. I want it to thrive for as long as it can.
Will Google Plus Eventually Cause People to Stop Building Websites?
Probably not. I could not fathom not having control of my content and I know other people feel the same way. For someone like Kevin, his updates are minimal in his grand scheme of things – therefore, posting to Google+ is neither here nor there.
Not everyone will be on Google+. Even if Twitter, MySpace, Facebook and all the other social networks implode, there are still those who will denounce Google. Worse yet, in 4-5 years (or less) another social network could come along and Google+ could be as popular as Google Wave. Then what will be of your information?
Better yet, Google decides to remove your account. Maybe a snafu causes it – still the damage is done. Whereas a website I can personally back up the data, my Google+ data is all on Google servers.
Therefore, I would highly suggest you keep your website the primary with social networks as a portal for passing the information as quick as possible. If you don’t value that data enough, or you are not trying to build a brand, then I suppose it might be the opposite for you.
You might have to find time to make “Social Network Love” to Google+. In the long run, that could increase your fanbase and your brand. A win-win situation for all.
BTW – Scoble hasn’t given up posting on his site. That man is a machine when it comes to posting things, though…