Google__ The Missing Manual - Kevin Purdy [23]
Link. This icon is supposed to resemble a couple links of chain (get it?). When you click it, a text box appears so you can type out or paste in a link to a website. You don’t have to type http://www at the beginning—oreilly.com or npr.org works just fine. Once you hit Enter or click “Add,” your link shows up at the bottom of your post, with the title of the web page, a short description of it (pulled from the text of the page), and a thumb-nail image. You can click the arrows at the top of the thumbnail to choose from other images on the page you linked, or click the X to not include an image. Similarly, you can click “Remove description” to axe the text under the link; it’s good to provide some context for the page, but not if it’s gobbledygook.
Location. You don’t have to type, paste, or select anything to add this extra—simply click the red icon that looks like the place markers used in Google Maps, and Google+ determines your current location automatically. The location may be very specific, with GPS-like coordinates, or more general, like “Omaha, NE.”
“Wait,” you might be asking, “my web browser knows where I am?” Yes, but not unless you give your browser, and whatever site is asking, permission to estimate your location, and not in any particularly scary way. Most modern web browsers—Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and newer versions of Internet Explorer—let websites politely ask for your location. So when you click the Location icon, you may see a message from your web browser asking if it’s okay for Google+ to figure out your whereabouts. If you agree, the site pulls in information about your IP address (the unique string of numbers assigned to your computer by your Internet service provider) and (if you’re using a wireless connection) the details of your WiFi router. With these numbers, Google+ can usually figure out what neighborhood you’re in. (If you’re using a mobile device that connects to cellular towers and has a GPS chip, the location is much more specific; Chapter 8 has more info.)
As noted above, you can add a location to a post even if you’ve already added photos, a video, or a link.
TIP
If you get partway through a post and then decide you don’t want to include that photo, video, or link anymore, click the X button in the upper-right corner of the extra’s box to wipe the slate clean and remove the extra you attached. To remove your location, click the X on the right side of the thin location box.
Posting on Google+, or any social networking site, is a good way to learn how to best convey your sentiments. As you experiment, you’ll learn what gets a reaction (positive or negative) from your friends and contacts. If you want to get a discussion going, for example, pose a semi-open question: “What do you listen to when you’ve got a whole lot of household chores to crank through?” That works a lot better usually than just posting “Ugh, chores!” The same goes for photos, videos, and links—the more informative and interesting they are, the more likely you’ll get responses and have your posts shared more widely (Sharing Others’ Posts).
NOTE
You can also post to Google+ from a text message sent to a special number. See Chapter 8 (Posting to Google+ via Text Message) for details on writing posts via text message.
Mentioning People in Posts
You can casually mention people in your posts as much as you like: “Mom just made the best peach pie!” or “Just got back from hanging out with my buddy Jim—good times!” But, confusingly, Google+ uses the term mention to mean something really specific: directly addressing