All in all the implementation of Shared Circles has been a great boost to the recently public G+ community. It has been interesting to watch circles evolve as they jump from network to network, and of course it has been a great way to learn of engaging users. There is one feature however I would like to see added: managed public circles. While plenty of well-constructed circles have passed through my stream (+Kol Tregaskes in particular has done a great job of highlighting excellent ones) I would like to see a slightly different take on shared circles. When a user chooses to share a circle I would like to see an option to “manage a public circle” (perhaps a check box on the ‘Share Circle’ prompt). As it stands now, when a circle is shared the recipient only sees the members as of that time. Some of the best members of the G+ community treat circle construction as an art form and are constantly adding and refining membership. As +Louis Gray (who has been discussing Shared Circles at length on his blog* and stream) pointed out the other day, +Robert Scoble “meticulously” builds his circles and as a recipient you are assured a steady stream of quality posts. If I selected 25 users from a shared circle of 250 and then a few weeks later an updated version is shared (of which there is no certainty of happening), it is difficult to tell what changes are made, who the new additions are, etc etc. If “new” users have been “discovered,” I want to know about them. By comparison, with a Managed Public Circle a user could choose to either 1) subscribe to a 1-to-1 copy of the circle and when changes are made by the “Manager” they are automatically reflected in the copy or 2) users can choose to subscribe to select members from the circle and when changes are made to the Managed Circle they can be notified on their circle page (see picture) and then decide to accept the changes or not.
It’s possible I may be alone in wanting to see something like “managed circles” and it’s also possible not many users would want to bother managing them. However, if I am being honest with myself, I know it would take me an exorbitant amount of time to construct and maintain a circle like Robert Scoble. I’m not trying to flatter the guy; it’s just a fact. And in my opinion there is definitely value in a managed distribution channel. I wouldn’t want it to be my sole stream of information as my tastes are unique to myself, but without question there are times when I would want the option. Shared Circles have opened the door and introduced many G+ers to the larger community, no reason not to notify everyone when someone new walks in.
* http://blog.louisgray.com/2011/09/network-effects-and-power-of.html
View in Google+
