C’mon And Check Out Google+ on Friday, #GDay

Don’t you just love it when the people mobilize? Lately, we’ve seen the power of the people with the OccupyWallStreet protests, the Verizon customers and supporters forcing Verizon to withdraw plans to charge a $2 fee...and then there was today.

Today was an awesome demonstration of community organization at work. I spent most of the day online, including doing research. Sure, it was an inconvenience landing on sites that were on strike in protest of SOPA (Stop Online Privacy) and PIPA (Protect IP), two provocative bills pending in the Congress. But God love them, they’re supporting what they believe in.

(Oh and me, too, I signed the petition and let my congressmen know that I oppose censorship and regulation that would threaten innovation on the Web. I’ve been following this discussion a while and I don’t see any good that can come of this legislation for users of the Internet.)

But while inspired by these examples, let’s dial it back a bit and re-focus on this business, the investment industry. There’s a lower-profile and lower-key demonstration planned for this Friday that you might want to check out.

Let's Give The Platform A Chance

Last week Mike Barad, Morningstar’s business manager for the Financial Communications business, proposed an experiment to take place Friday.  

“Many of us love the Google+ platform, but the audience just isn't there yet..." wrote Barad on a Google+ post. "As a result, we continue posting to multiple platforms in a rather inefficient way.” This Friday, he suggested, instead of posting to other social sites, let’s all go cold turkey and post to just Google+.

“The result should be a day with abnormally high activity on G+, which would be a sort of simulation for what the platform could look like in the future,” Barad said.

The suggestion was directed to advisors but I’m taking part, too. I like the possibilities for asset managers to use Google+ to communicate with advisors and vice versa. Plus, I am among the millions who believe there is no underestimating Google's plans for its social platform, especially now that it’s launched Google Search, plus Your World. It's time to begin to master it.

Ordinarily I love starting a Friday morning on Twitter when I can. But not this Friday. This Friday is #GDay (yes, Google+ uses hashtags, too) so Google+—and not Twitter—is where you’ll find me. If you’re interested in “listening” to advisors and others in the ecosystem while getting to know Google+ a little better, you should check it out, too. Barad's page is probably the best place to start.