Sharing, Resharing, and Commenting on Google+ Posts

By Jesse Stay from Google+ For Dummies, Portable Edition

When you begin using and posting on Google+, you'll occasionally want to share links and images, reshare others' posts, comment on their posts, and mention others in your own Google+ posts. You may also wonder how to get others commenting on your own posts more frequently.

Sharing links and images in Google+

To share a link, click the link icon in the post box. You can also paste the link inside your post to automatically attach a link to your post (see the following figure).

Sharing a link on Google+.

To share an image, click the image icon in the post box. You can then choose to upload a new image, or if you’re on a phone, upload from your phone’s camera (see the next figure).

Sharing an image on Google+.

Resharing others’ Google+ posts

To reshare other friends’ posts, click the Share button under the post (see the following figure). A new pop-up box appears, allowing you to add your comments to their post. Add something engaging that gets people commenting, and post it to your stream. This can be a great way to get people commenting and circling you!

Clicking Share to share a friend’s post.

To get to the original post of a person that is being reshared, there is currently no permalink (a unique link) back to the original post. Instead, you have to click on the original poster’s name and find the post in their stream.

Getting people to comment on your Google+ posts

If someone joins Google+, and they find that it’s quiet, usually it’s because they’re not circling the right people or posting the right content. Other times it’s because they’re not getting people to circle them. Here are some quick tips for getting more comments:

Create engaging, thought-provoking posts that entice people to comment (questions are always great).
Comment, and comment often, on others’ posts. They’ll remember you and start to respond (assuming your comments are engaging).
Follow interesting people and share their content. Tag them with your thoughts on the content and end with a question.

Mentioning others in Google+ posts and comments

Replying to people in a comment thread on Google+ is easy. Just start by typing a “+” (plus) sign and then start typing their name. A drop-down list appears allowing you to select their name. Then type your comment in response to the name and they’ll get a notification that you mentioned them. Use this technique almost any time you want to bring attention to someone else on Google+.