On Monday, Google Plus announced a cool change to their Plus One button (+1 button). Now, when someone rests his or her cursor on the button number, you can see other posts or pages that other people have given the thumbs up to. Check it out:
As you can see, one of my friends, Andre Arnett, is hip to Google Plus. He reads my blog and gives me lots of thumbs up, which I appreciate, Andre! You rule.
But why is this new Google Plus button going to help you get more traffic?
Because there’s nothing much stronger than social proof. If other people like what you’re doing and tell other people that they do, it’s like a third-party recommendation. It’s coming from someone other than yourself, and so, it’s kind of like word-of-mouth advertising. Don’t you go to places, doctors, hair stylists, or dentists that your friends have recommended to you first? Most of us ask around, right?
It’s the same deal.
But the new Google Plus button changes don’t take people away from the page where they are. The new link opens in a new tab or window. That’s cool because people hate to lose their places and then, try to get back and can’t. Don’t you hate that? I know I do. The only thing I see with that being a problem is that people may think that they’re leaving your site, though they aren’t. They’re just getting more YOU goodness.
However, there are apparently some design bugs that still need working out. I’m on WordPress and use the Jetpack by WordPress plugin for the buttons at the bottom of my posts, and those seem to be working OK in Firefox. But if you use a different browser, another plugin, or another blogging platform and are experiencing issues, you can report them here:
https://support.google.com/plus/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1678224
What I’m seeing in the developer forum are problems with Apple’s operating system, but not a lot more. Yet, you know how all new techy things are. You could have issues with your theme, too. Overall, though the complaints are pretty low.
That’s always good news, eh? Computer glitches give me apoplexy. When my computer starts acting weird, my husband shuts my office door and no one disturbs me until things are fixed. Cranky is a mild word for my demeanor. 
Yes, I get very cranky, and won’t quit until I find an answer, even if it means tearing things apart. And I have. And I will.
And then, if it still doesn’t work, it’s off to Best Buy for a new computer. This usually happens every two years or so. I’m a power user and just kill computers. Seriously, there are NO letters left on any of my keyboards within the first year. And I demand function. If the computer doesn’t work right, I tear out their gizzards. I change things. I improve on the design. And sometimes, I really kill them.
Yes, yes I do.
No worries with the Google Plus Button, it seems. Whew! One less cranky day on earth.
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