A short two weeks ago we had a first look at Google+. Many of you are in there experimenting with circles, new tips that come out daily, and gravitating to following or adding those people you already know from other networks.

Or maybe you had a "wait and see" approach and are finding the time to jump in now.

Just like in other social networks, your experience may vary depending on who you follow, friend, or add to circles. With one big difference — since this is a brand new slate, you get to do a couple of things differently:

1. organizing your connections based upon what you learned on other networks
2. testing how you like to participate with content, comments, and conversations

I participate in social networks differently, and I change my content mix up depending upon my personal development (as in learning), and connection (as in meeting new people) goals.

Because settings vary with people, I published how I do it to have a handy place to point people to as a reference and guide. I'm still experimenting with Google+. However, my core philosophy applies there are well.

It's simply to:

• be helpful
• be in conversation
• connect ideas and people

Which is why I thought you'd enjoy meeting new people on G+. In an iteration of the follow Friday already popular on Twitter, here are my Friday+ Five:

Product strategist +AJ Kohn shares fresh content and understands the value of conversation. We met on FriendFeed and GoogleReader a while back and I have enjoyed his POV on many topics, including some that are clearly a point of passion: iterative product development, design and user experience combined with quantitative analysis.

His latest G+ quotable: "Reading a lot does not make you an authority. Understanding a lot might."

_____________

A technology-loving comedian who works at The Onion is a must in your circles. +Baratunde Thurston is as quick, articulate, and engaging in person as he is online. I had the good fortune of meeting the "cast" of The Onion at The Read Write Web 2Way Summit this past June. I was impressed.

He's documenting his book writing on G+ and his stream is filled with original thinking. Plus, I like the crisp and fresh writing when he shared posts.

His latest G+ quotable: "plus-nation, this is one of the coolest, geekiest articles i've ever read."

_____________

The cool thing about the next suggestion is that I just met +Lynette Young in real life. She's known as @LynetteRadio pretty much everywhere across the web. A self-described tech geek and very social person, she's looking for a partner to expand her firm — and opportunities.

Lynette is very active in the Philadelphia tech community, as organizer for PodCamp Philly, and other initiatives and just an all around smart person.

Her latest G+ quotable: "[people] want to have conversations and relationships with other people. Figure out how to add value, create entertainment, earn trust, and enrich the lives of the people around you – both online and in person. Be human. Be compassionate. Be you."

_____________

The first time I mentioned her name, Google+ wouldn't pull it up. Could it have been because of the @ sign in there? Jokes aside, +Sarah Vela is a rare combination of dry humor and sharp observation.

She's also the Social Media & Community Sr. Advisor at Dell.

Here latest G+ quotable: "Here come the "social media consultants" on Google + who add me to their circles and then IMMEDIATELY try to connect with me on LinkedIn. Hey, SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERT YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG."

_____________

Next up is a software engineer from Belarus, now living in Zürich, and a Googler. +Ihar Mahaniok was one of the first to share information on Google in my G+ stream and I love the fact that he posts in two languages.

His posts are a combination of slices of life, images, links, and conversation threads. He talks about Google, world news, tech, and more.

His latest G+ quotable: "I've run a little Facebook/Google+ comparison, posting three same posts here and there. Posts were neutral, not about G+.

Stats for these three posts in total:
FB: 2 comments, 3 likes
G+: 40 comments, 28 plus-ones

I think the decision is obvious: I stop posting to Facebook, and post only to Google+ from now. (I don't compare with Twitter because engagement is really difficult to measure there.)"

***

And there you have it, my Friday+ Five.

When I asked "what is your main passion?", many of the responses said people.

Who are your Friday+ Five recommendations?

UPDATE: You can follow the recommendations of others also on the thread in G+.

 

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