Google+ 101: How it is making me a better photographer

Google+ has recently seen a large influx of members since it was opened to the public, at just about the same time as the most recent Facebook changes/upheaval.
I had a Google+ page for several months in beta, but had never really spent any time there to learn how it worked or how to leverage it.

Two recent Google+ changes make that a lot easier now.

1. Circle Sharing: You can quickly add to your networks people who have similar interests to you.
2. #Hashtags: Google+ (as of yesterday) now supports Twitter style hashtags which allow you to quickly search for similar items within the real-time stream.

I've been using Google+ to find Black & White photographers and also other users who use Canon equipment. I've also been sharing these finds as circles with my networks to help us discover each other.

A quick tour of Google+ will show you the variety and the quality of the work there from some famous and some not so famous (at least yet) photographers.

Be sure to check out the rest of my photography at http://genebowker.com/

Are we friends there yet?