One complaint many had with Google+ was the inability to filter those in the incoming stream who had a tendency to post…a lot. Google heard our pleas and added the ability to ignore those prolific posters who post items that some would prefer not to read.
All you need to do is look at your incoming stream, see the person you don’t want to read and click ignore. It looks like this.
Why filter?
A few weeks or so ago I wrote a post on Google+ for another blog. In response someone wrote a comment that was along the lines of, well aren’t you full of yourself. Also, the person suggested I should remove myself from the Internet altogether. Apparently this person took exception to my wish that Google+ had a filter. Such are the risks of sharing on the web.
Here’s the thing. People use social media in different ways. For the most part, I use social media to learn, educate, and network. Other people use social media to talk about their day, or to share things they find online such as moving gifs, or for other purposes. All of these uses are valid.
If someone has circled me on Google+ because she is interested in law practice management, but in return she posts about blue-bellied widgets, and I am not in the least interested in blue-bellied widgets, am I going to circle her in return? No, I’m not. And if I am interested in purple widgets, and circle someone on Google+, should she circle me back if she has no interest in law practice management? No, she shouldn’t.
This is exactly why Google+ has implemented the incoming stream and the ignore feature. The incoming stream will help me determine if someone who circled me is posting about purple widgets or blue-bellied widgets. And in return, I can simply circle one and ignore the other. This enables me more easily to read future people who choose to circle me, which lets me quickly decide if I should circle them. And people can do the same for me. If I cannot decide I just can leave the person in my incoming stream.
To me, this is the point of social media. Not to friend, follow or circle as many people as you can and to have them do the same in return. But to find those people who will expand your horizons in a way that is relevant to you; whatever that might mean.