I’ve been playing with Google+ since they opened it up for field testing and I’m really liking it. With Buzz and Wave, I was hopeful but neither of them filled a need for me. Wave came closer to working for me but… Google+ is hitting at a time when I’m annoyed by Facebook and wanting a replacement. I’m finding it easier to carry on a conversation there. Even easier than my own blog, to be honest.
But the thing I really, truly love are the hangouts. This is basically video chatting, but I can put up a public hangout and anyone can join in OR I can limit it to a specific group of people. It’s kind of awesome that way.
So far, I’ve been inviting people to hangout while I build puppets. Today I have some writing to do, and so I’m having a writers’ hangout. I’ve played with this a little on other days and it’s kind of like hanging out at a coffee shop but I get to bring my own cats and don’t have to worry about what part of the world the other writers are in.
So… if you are on Google+ today, I’m going to try Nina Kiriki Hoffman’s method of writing dates. We’ll chat for fifteen minutes. Then at quarter past we’ll start writing for forty-five minutes. On the hour, there’s another 15 minute break for chat… Rinse and repeat.
I don’t know about you, but I have some page count to get done and having folks around makes it easier to not get distracted by my sudden pressing need to vacuum the cat.
So if you are on Google+ drop in and hangout.
[Edited to add: I’m taking a break, but hopefully we’ll do more later. I got a lot of writing done.]
For some reason I never considered using hangout to do a collective writing session. Having the group focus of knowing the others are working on their writing as well without needing to go to a coffee shop… I like it!
It was fun AND we got work done. Working in timed bursts seemed to combine the best of socializing and productivity.
Cool idea. I don’t know if I can make it, but if you’re still at it when I’m done with my errands and back home, I’m game to try it out. If not, maybe some other time.
Huh. Looks like you turned off comment editing and deleting.
Not intentionally, but it might have gone away with my last update.
Looks like I just missed the last one of this set…are you planning on making a regular schedule of these? Might be a fun weekly writing group thing.
Hi Mary….
I was wondering if you might send an invite to google+ to me … Looking forward to the new novel and wish I could have been at the puppetry thing in Portland – my partner and I moved to Vancouver BC at about that time so no such luck… Anyway take care
Greg
Huh… I barely use Facebook as it is, so I figured I wouldn’t have any reason to want Google+.
Now there’s a reason.
I’m sorry to have missed this. It sounds like it was really good and productive. I’d like to try joining sometime if you have a mind to do it again.