Google Plus has been around for at least five months or so, and has taken off faster than any other social network ever has. Meanwhile, companies and organizations have been waiting anxiously for the service to allow them to have pages like Facebook does. Initially, the network only allowed for individuals to use it. It’s only been in the past couple of weeks that Google+ allowed other entities to have a presence. Needless to say, everyone jumped aboard as quickly as they could…and were, often, very disappointed. Chances are, your library will be, too. Here’s why:
- There is no way to add more than one administrator to the page. For example, I currently administer OPLIN’s Google+ page; if I’d like to share the responsibility, too bad. If I get run over by a bus, OPLIN’s in trouble–there’s no one else who will have access to the page.
- It’s incredibly easy to post to the wrong account. If you’re the administrator, you have to login to Google+ as yourself in order to post to your library’s account. Google+ makes it way too easy to post something to the wrong account. You may, inadvertently, end up posting something to your library’s account that was meant for your personal one, and vice-versa. The user interface for switching is hard to find and gives few or no clues about which account is currently active.
- If you share a personal account, in order to have more than one admin, you can’t tell who posted what. Personal accountability, when you’re working with an organization’s public voice, is critical. If someone posts something they shouldn’t have, how will the library know who it was?
What does this mean to me, Laura?
- Go ahead and get that Google+ page for your library. There’s no reason to put off claiming a presence there.
- However, go forth with eyes wide open. Make sure you’re very clear on who the administrator will be, BEFORE creating the page, and know plainly who will be making updates making that account.
- Realize that Google+ pages is in a very primitive stage right now. Undoubtedly, most or all of these issues will eventually get resolved; there’s too much pressure in the social media sphere right now for Google to ignore them forever. Keep your ear to the ground, especially for announcements about the ability to add more than one administrator.
