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News: Photographer Brings Google+ to the Real World with Photowalk

In a gesture to bring the social qualities of Google+ into the real world, photographer +Trey Ratcliff invited his Google+ followers to join him on a photowalk this past Thursday, held on the Stanford University campus. Over 150 people showed up to take pictures with fellow Googlers and Google+ users, and to socialize in "real life". This group photo was taken by professional photographer +Peter Adams.

News: Google+ Updates Name Policy—Still No Pseudonyms

As Google+ became available to more people, it started running into issues of accounts being suspended due to names that did not sound "real". According to Google+'s community standards, names that users "commonly go by" were encouraged, but not pseudonyms. Those who were using pseudonyms in their Google+ profiles quickly found themselves suspended from using Google+.

How To: Manage Your Google+ Circles Without Going Crazy

Circles. They are both the best thing and worst thing about Google+. They're great because they allow you to fine-tune who you're following and who you want to keep in touch with, making it easy to keep your family and friends separate from each other. On the other hand, they can be a pain to maintain, and you can easily become overwhelmed from the "noise" of popular posts, which make it hard to concentrate on some of the people you want to focus on. But if you invest a little bit of time in ...

News: Fix Your Google+ Frustrations with 18 More Chrome Extensions

Antimatter15, author of the popular Surplus Chrome extension, was suspended from Google+ for using a pseudonym instead of a name that fits Google's community standards. As such, he's no longer supporting the extension, and if you're using it, now might be a good time to find a replacement. It's a reminder that nothing on the web is guaranteed to work forever. Luckily, there's no shortage of innovative coders whipping up creative and useful Google Chrome extensions.

Google+ Pro Tips Round Up: Week 4

Last week, I demonstrated how to go a little deeper into your Google+ profiles, photos, and introduced cross-posting. This week, I'm highlighting a bunch of different unofficial resources that have sprung up that will help improve your Google+ experience, and give you the latest updates on Google+ Photos.

News: +Tyler Neylon Creates 50 Models with 50 Legos

+Tyler Neylon, a programmer and mathematician currently specializing in iOS app development, recently posted a fun project to his Google+ profile: 50 designs with 50 LEGO pieces, a set of 51 photos. Given a small 50-piece Lego set this past Christmas (well, Tyler admits: "...58 [pieces], actually, but many of them are very small, as you can see"), he craftily stretched his imagination to create 50 different models, though the kit included instructions for only 3.

How To: Enhance Your Photos in Google+

Like Facebook, Google+ is a great platform for sharing and viewing photographs. Many talented photographers have already uploaded their portfolios, and in addition to easy album sharing, Google+ offers something Facebook does not—simple editing features for enhancing your photos upon uploading. Below, how to instantly upload via smartphone, plus a quick run through of the basic editing tools available.

How To: Download Your Data with Google Takeout

While we're waiting for Google to sort out the mess over suspended Google+ accounts, it's a good reminder that you have the option to download much of your Google+ data with Google Takeout. Google Takeout, created by an internal Google engineering team marketed as the Data Liberation Front, is a free service that provides a handy and easy way to download data from your Google+ stream, your contacts and circles, and other information in a zip file.

News: Games to Appear in Google+ Stream

Confirmed! Those of you who have been waiting (or dreading) the announcement of social games in Google+ can now look forward to them showing up in your stream. The anticipated games have yet to show up, but Google has confirmed that APIs will be made available for third party developers to access Google+, much like Facebook allows them.

Google+ Pro Tips Round-Up: Week 3

Now that you can invite anyone you want to Google+, the floodgates are open. If you've been bummed out about not being able to share the joys of Google+ with your friends and acquaintances, make use of that handy envelope icon the right side of your stream page. Just enter the email addresses of the people you want to invite, and hit the "Invite" button.

How To: Get Your Suspended Google+ Profile Reinstated

Last week, we discussed whether Google should require you to use your real name for Google+ profiles. Google is working on eliminating fake profiles, and in the process, they've booted some real people, including actor +William Shatner. If you find out that your Google+ account has been suspended, you can appeal the suspension and get your profile reinstated.

News: Getting to Know Google's Community Managers

So you've added Google insiders, celebrities, and authors to your circles, but you want to know who you can reach out to for help when it comes to Google overall. Luckily for you, there seems to be a Community Manager for almost every Google product. If you've got an issue with your Google Account, just contact them via their Google+ profile!

News: Google+ for iPhone is Finally Here!

Just announced by Google's Senior Vice President of Engineering +Vic Gondotra, Google+ has finally arrived for the iPhone! Many people have been waiting for this for a while, and it seemed like it would be held up forever in Apple purgatory, but now it's available for the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and the iPhone 4. Support for iPad and other Apple iPhone devices is in the work, so be patient. You can download it directly from the iTunes store.

News: The First (Real) Celebrities Arrive on Google+

One of the coolest things about Twitter is the fact that you can get direct access to some of your favorite celebrities, and have one-on-one conversations with them in less than 140 characters. With Google+, you can have the same advantage, but you don't need to feel constricted by the 140 character limit. Although Google+ has been weeding out fake accounts, they do not currently have a system for celebrities to verify whether their accounts are legitimate or not.