The Ultimate Hangout Prank...

I am in Google+ Hangouts all the time and some people do some annoying things. Don't you just hate it when someone leaves the hangout for an extended period of time? Well here's what you do to teach them a lesson. This is a harmless, but funny prank if done right... lol. 

I Call this prank: Black Boxed

• Have everyone in the hangout load the Hangout Toolbox (hangout app)

• Have everyone download this: Blocked Overlay

• Load the overlay through the Hangout Toolbox and enable. (Make Sure Everyone Does It)

• Enjoy the reaction on their face when they return. (TIP: Save as a preset for quick access)

You can definitely be creative in hangouts and if you have a prank please feel free to share, they are a lot of fun.

I also would like to thank +Michelle Li +Stormy Henderson +Kim Beasley +Kyle Salewski +Anthony Ramos +Danielle Best for participating in this prank.

Google+ Now vs. 1 Year Ago...

Recently, I saw a post from +The Verge asking readers if they use Google+ more now than they did six months ago. It sparked an ideal and I decided to view my usage on Google+, for as far back "publicly" that I could find, to see my habits on this platform. I used a service called ALLMYPLUS to acquire the graph above, and I chose to go as far back as possible for public posts. ALLMYPLUS has some great information about your habits on Google+, and it graphs them in a way to easily let you find old posts and photos.

Looking at this information I had to look back into the changes that +Google+ has made. Some things in the past 12 Months Google+ has:

• Google+ Communities and Photos
• Google+ app for iPad available now in the App Store
• Google+ for Android: polish and performance
• Toward a simpler, more beautiful Google+
• Search, plus Your World

Why has Google+ been so successful? If not for these things, I believe it's people like +Vic Gundotra and other Google Employees listening to their users. Community Managers like +Natalie Villalobos using the service and being in the trenches with their users really shows that connection. I definitely have increased my usage on Google+ and I continue to do so. One trend that I continue hearing from Vic is, "It's Only The Beginning." So I cannot wait to see what's in store.