This comment from one of the people in my genealogy circle on Google+ got me scratching my head:"Interesting it says I have so many followers, but I do not see anyone commenting on the information I am placing for others to use and read. This concerns me if I should stop reporting information for Genealogists to share and use.".
I responded "Don't give up.I think we need to get into the habit of giving plusses to acknowledge posts of interest to us. I think that only a small number of those in our circles read posts religiously. Even if I only get a couple of +'s I feel that my posts have been useful and when I get comments I am really chuffed."
After dashing off that comment on my phone I reflected on my social media accounts and the Likes, Comments, Plusses and Shares they get. I blogged in 2010 about how I think Blogging is a two way street, this holds for all social media. Social Media platforms are tools for communication and collaboration, but the communication should be two-way, those who do not avail themselves of these features are missing out on some exciting opportunities to connect and learn.
My experiences with Google+ are similar to those of my genealogy contact, sometimes my posts get no plusses, comments, or shares. I wonder if anyone out there is actually reading them!
I hadn't before considered using the +1s and comments I get on my Google+ posts as an evaluative measure of the things I post. I feel that a post is successful if a couple of people give it a +1 this indicates to me that they feel the content has been worth posting or that they have simply read a post , if they comment then I feel that they really value what I shared or they want to connect, if their comment adds an opinion or extra information then I feel that my goals for posting have been well and truly fulfilled and if they share it then I think that is is also very worthy.
I am not sure whether monitoring these is a valid measure because I believe many people read without acknowledging the value of a post to them. I am going to take more notice of the way people react to my posts on Google+ and try to work out which subject matter is causing a reaction from my contacts.
I have over 700 people in my Google+ genealogy circle. I wish I could see how many people are actually reading my posts as I would hazard a guess that only about 10% of these people are active plussers who read most of the posts directed to them. I think only about half of these regularly acknowledge that they have read a post by plussing or commenting. The remainder of those in my genealogy circle may have joined Google+ for other reasons so never really read the posts that are directed towards them.
Have I got it all wrong? What percentage of posts in yor stream do you read? Do you regularly hand out plusses and comments? What are your criteria for giving plusses and comments? Do you feel that most people miss the point about two-way communication via social media? Should my genealogy contact and I give up on posting?
