Google + will delete all non-public profiles 7/31/11
And here we go with a big sticking point about Google+. Many individuals are still not that crazy about how “public” Facebook makes their lives. Google+ is particularly scary for these individuals.
I understand that. In the 1990’s I was proud of the fact that you could search Alta Vista and Yahoo all day and never find me. I was offended by the intrusive questions on the census and I am the last person to fill out every single field of a form I am handed for whatever reason. I am telling you this to tell you that I understand. I don’t like being “public” either. That’s part of my unwillingness to store all my digital possessions in the cloud. But that’s another rant.
In the world of Google + you will not have a choice of whether or not you want your profile to be public. You CAN control many of the parts of your profile but your name and gender will be public or Google will simply delete them.
So why did I create this profile? Why should you? Well, in my case I am in business for myself. I want people to find me. And, I want them to know about me the things I think are important. So I filled out the profile and said all the nice things about me I wanted to.
The reality is that the Internet has a lot of information about you already. If you did anything that hit the public records you can be looked up. Filed bankruptcy? Yep. Got arrested? Yep. In some states even a traffic ticket is listed publicly. So all those things you never want to see again (including that acrimonious divorce) come right up for anyone who looks. Why not create a public profile – or two or three – that counter that? Why not balance that version of yourself with a nice LinkedIn profile and some glowing words on Google+ ? While you are at it, start a blog and tell your family what you really think. Just kidding!