How to Tag Friends and Send Private Messages On Google+
From the get go, Google+ has stepped up to become the best of all social networks out there. Google has worked endlessly to develop, implement and tweak features that benefit all users no matter how invested they are in social networking. However, one of the features lacking in Google+ so far is the ability to direct message or private message other users.
Currently there is no way to do this directly, you have to utilize the tagging system to get a message across to another user. This short guide will walk you through how to use the tagging system and how to send “private messages” on Google+.
How To Tag Your Friends on Google+
Whenever you post an update to your stream, whether it be a status, picture or video, you can choose who to share the update with. This can be your various Circles, the public or just random users on Google+.
If you click “+Add more people,” you can either select a Circle or you can type in a name or e-mail address.
If the person is not on Google+, the status will be updated to them. If they are on Google+, it will appear in their stream and as a notification when they login.
If the person is on Google+ but does not have you in their Circles, the update will appear in their Incoming Stream.
For this example, I will share a test update to myself. Once you choose the recipient or recipients to tag in the update, click “Share.”
If I head back to my stream, I will see the post on my Stream. You will see the sharing status is limited. Click on “Limited.”
You will then see who the post is shared with. In this case, this update was only shared with myself. This will be the case if you share a status with one person or several.
How to send private messages on Google+
In order to send a “private message” on Google+, all you want to do is create a status update and tag the person you want to “send” it to. It really is that simple.
Since Google+ does not have a built-in messaging function at the moment, you have to rely on tagging users to send a private message or simply using GoogleTalk or a Hangout from your Stream. For the time being, this is the only way to private message someone on Google+.
Will Google+ implement a real messaging system?
There has been a lot of talk in the technology community about whether or not Google will implement a real direct messaging system. Google+ is all about bringing people together and features such as Huddles, Hangouts and the gaming system are all ways to go about that.
Some users still want that one on one interaction that seems to be something Google has stayed away from so far. For now, the only way to have a private conversation on Google+ is to tag the user you want to talk to.
See Also:
- Google+ Circles Become More Useful, Users Can Now Share their Circles With Friends
- Google+ Adds Map Sharing, What Else Can +Snippets Feature Do?
- Now you can Ignore Irritating People on Google+, See how the Ignore feature works
- Google+ Games Updated – Get Comments, Live Stream Update and Keyboard Shortcuts
- Google+ Adds Games But If You Hate That, You Can Hide Them
- +Photo Zoom Extension Zooms In on Photos Within Your Google+ Stream
