Google+™ Companion

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 10475 Crosspoint Blvd. Indianapolis, IN 46256 www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-1-118-18646-6

Manufactured in the United States of America

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Credits

Acquisitions Editor

Aaron Black

Project Editor

Kristin Vorce

Technical Editor

Todd Meister

Copy Editor

Lauren Kennedy

Editorial Director

Robyn Siesky

Business Manager

Amy Knies

Senior Marketing Manager

Sandy Smith

Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Richard Swadley

Vice President and Executive Publisher

Barry Pruett

Project Coordinator

Sheree Montgomery

Graphics and Production Specialist

Andrea Hornberger

Quality Control Technicians

Lindsay Amones Melissa Cossell

Proofreading and Indexing

Steve Rath Penny L. Stuart

I’d like to dedicate this book to my sisters, Vic and Wendy, for putting up with having a mad little tech-obsessed monkey running around the house. And for loving it nonetheless.

Of course, to my mum and dad; and to my grandparents: the ones still here and the ones looking after me from on high (I am still practicing my French).

As this book is about social networking, I’d also like to dedicate it to my friends, some of the best people I’ve ever known (in no particular order): Will, Luke, Nick, Kendall, Simon, Toby, Emma, Helen, Alex, David, Heidi, Sarah, Ben, Toni, Matt, Kate, Jenny, and Joy.

Above all to my wife, Rosemary. Thank you for putting up with me.

And to my cat, Amber. Thank you for scratching me and biting my toes. It takes my mind off work.

About the Author

Mark Hattersley is an unabashed tech enthusiast who loves computers and gadgets — mostly because he’s a geek but also because he believes that good technology has the power to unlock people’s creativity, give them unparalleled freedom of expression, and grant them the ability to communicate with like-minded people around the world.

Mark is editor in chief of Macworld UK, and he runs a number of tech-related websites and print magazines, including Macworld, Digital Arts, MacVideo.tv, and iPad & iPhone User.

Mark is a huge advocate of social media networks, not just as a way of keeping in touch with friends (important though that is), but also as a means for disparate groups of people to hook up, organize around causes (some harmless, others important), and find common ground in the real world with people they might otherwise have never met.

Mark has seen the rise of Facebook and Twitter, and the fall of MySpace; he loves LinkedIn and was one of the first people to recognize the potential of Google+.

Mark lives in London with his wife Rosemary and their cat Amber. Now that this book is finished, he’ll be found in Skyrim on the Xbox for a while.

You can follow Mark on Google+ (http://goo.gl/h16t3) and he promises to be happy to chat about tech, random things happening in the world, and the joys of pet ownership all day long (you may have to suffer cat photographs).

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Kristin Vorce for tireless copyediting, production prodding, and fantastic advice when my writing style gets out of hand. Also to Todd Meister whose sharp-eyed technical writing advice and support has made this book immeasurably more accurate. Finally, to Aaron Black for convincing Wiley to commission a book on Google+. This book would not have seen the light of day without all of you.