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„Oh no! Please, not another social network“ you may think, … but if you already approach it like this, you won’t have use for it anyway. However if you feel different about it and being open minded enough to simply say: „Hell, why not? Let’s give it a try and if it sucks, I am out there!“ you are more than welcome to read on!

Back to the initial question. So, why I am thinking that Google + will have huge advantages for composers and musicians in general?
.. and please keep in mind that I am not trying to compare it to other social networks. Well know whats possible with them … and what not!

1. Circles
At first sight it might look a bit irritating, but once understood these circles make big sense.

Basically these circles are nothing more than lists you are able to create for specific people. You can create a circle for all your clients, one for all musicians you might considering hiring for your next project. You may create circles for friends and one for family. The possibilities are almost endless.

Just a few examples:
You have close friends, spread around the globe and you feel like sharing some private news but don’t feel like involving all of your clients? Simply set up a specific circle by only involving your friends!

You are looking for a guitar player to hire for your next project. Isn’t it a great option to only send a post out to your „hire musicians“ circle and leave the stream „uncluttered“ for your clients or friends?

One of your hobbies might be Lucid Dreaming and you want to share and spread your experience but also learn from other people. I am pretty your 70 year old conservative boss may „enioy“ those weird posts about flying and meeting weird creatures at strange places!

2. Hang Outs
This is really a great feature! A Hang Out is nothing less than a group video chat conference. Wouldn’t it be simply cool to hang out with your bandmates who are spread around the country and working out a new idea? Wouldn’t it be of great advantage to have a video conference between an audio director and a coworking composer discussing an upcoming project? Wouldn’t it be awesome to directly talk to your hired musician discussing that violin arrangement?

3. Huddle
Woot? Yes, a huddle is basically text chat between two or several members on your mobile phone. It works really well and gives you the option to arrange e.g. a changing meeting, letting several people know that you might be late due to a traffic jam or whatever … you get the idea!

4. The Stream and your posts
Okay, there is really lot to the stream and the way how you can post. One of the strongest features is, that you are not limited to e.g. 140 characters. You can write almost write full blog post. I couldn’t say it better than Mike Elgan did:

„Instead of saying, “I’m going to write a blog post now,” or “I’m going to send an e-mail” or “I think I’ll tweet something” you simply say what you have to say, then decide who you’re going to say it to.

If you address it to “Public,” it’s a blog post.
If you address it to “Your Circles” it’s a tweet.
If you address it to your “My Customers” Circle it’s a business newsletter.
If you address it to a single person, it can be a letter to your mother.
I’d say this is pretty revolutionary.“

I simply have to agree with him!

Okay, I hope I was able to give you a bit of an insight of what is possible. In my opinion social networking is vital, important and necessary, especially as a self employed composer. Please consider that Google + is still in beta and I am sure there are lots of awesome features to come …

In case you are reading this post on my blog: If you didn’t have a Google + account yet, I have a few invites left if you are interested.
So feel free to contact me! … and I would be happy to get connected to you. You find my Google profile link in the right sidebar!