Google+ Communities
When Google+ first launched, photographers were some of the first users. At that time, it was easy for us to find each other because there were not very many users. However, as Google+ began to grow, the call for an easier way to connect with individuals with similar interests and passions grew louder. In December 2012, Google responded to the feedback and released Communities to the Google+ universe (Figure 19).
Figure 19. The main page of the Travel Photography Google+ community.
A Google+ community is a place where users can connect and engage with other users based on focus of the community. Communities for HDR photography, black and white photography, and even Android photography have popped up on Google+. Of course, communities are not limited to photographic subjects. If you are interested in backpacking, cooking, or learning Spanish, you have a good chance of finding a community to suit your needs.
Colby’s Quick Tips
Currently, you do not have the ability to post to both a community and your public stream on Google+. Subsequently, every time you post to a community, that post will appear on your main Google+ profile, although it will not be sent to the streams of your followers.
To create your own community, follow these steps.
1. Click the Communities tab in the Google+ navigation bar on the left side of your screen.
2. Click the red Create a Community button in the upper-right corner of your screen.
3. Choose to create a Public or Private community (Figure 20). Ultimately, there are four types of communities:
• Public Communities:
• Public. Anyone can join.
• Public/Moderated. Anyone can ask to join, but each person must be approved by a moderator or community owner.
• Private Communities:
• Private. This is the same as Public/Moderated, except that all content from the community is private.
• Private/Hidden. These communities cannot be found on Google+ via search and are not visible to the public.
Figure 20. Creating a Google+ community takes only a few minutes.
4. Name your community and decide if users need permission to join.
5. Click the Create Community button in the lower right of the screen.
Once you have created your Community, you need to set it up (Figure 21).
Figure 21. Setting up your community correctly will help new members.
1. Write a tagline that describes your community.
2. Add an image to the community profile thumbnail.
3. Fill in the About section of your community with information that other users might need to know.
4. Add more topics/sections to the categories to help organize posts in your community.
Colby’s Quick Tips
You can create a community for any topic. Are you a member of a local photo club but can’t find a community of photographers in your home city? Or, are you working with other photographers on a collaborative project? Start a community!