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In just six months, Google Plus has exploded from zero to about 100 million users.

It can seem a bit daunting (particularly if you’re coming from other social networks and wondering what the fuss is, and how to find people.

To help fix that, I’ve put together a list of tutorials and helpful tips for finding your way around.  There are also links to lists of people to circle, and a handy infographic cheat sheet.

Google Plus Information from Google

The Official Google Plus blog

Google’s Google Plus page

Add Google Plus to Your Blog

Make Google Plus banners for your profile

Google Plus feed widget – automatically posts your Google Plus posts to your blog

Finding People to Circle on Google Plus

Cool People on Google Plus

Circle count – the most popular people and pages

Photography circles

Graphic designers on Google Plus

Web developers on Google Plus

Authors and writers on Google Plus

Find some “fire hoses” on Google Plus; people and organizations who post a lot. Depending on your interest, this could be +Alex Grossman (movies, books, politics), +Robert Scoble (technology), NASA (space exploration), or +Jaana Nyström (Google Plus and social media). If these don’t suit you, use the search box at the top of the Google Plus screen and search by topic or hashtag (such as photography, wine, music, etc). Then comment on their posts, and check out the other commenters. Circle them too.

Google Plus Tutorials and Tips

Google Plus Cheat Sheet  (thanks to Scott Davison for finding this)

Google Plus introduction

(Thanks to James Fierce for the following list):
About Google+
Google+ The Starter Pack
Google+ The Early Adopter’s Guide
Google+ The Etiquette
Google+ For the Average Facebook User
Circles: Dividing, Nesting and Prioritizing
Google+ Startup Guide – Picture Version
Private Messaging on Google+
Bookmarking/Saving Drafts using Private circles
Create Instant polls in Google+

Google+ for Business: How Google’s Social Network Changes Everything book by Chris Brogan (aff link).

Personalized Search Results

Google post about Google Plus Search Your World – the new tool that includes results from Google Plus when you search for something

Google Plus Search your world -more personal results (which can be turned off if you prefer).

Hangouts and Videos

Record short Google Plus videos

How to Use Google Hangouts

Email me privately for personal help.

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Propaganda posters at the Library of Congress – Many are out of copyright, but check to make sure.

20 sites for free stock photos

30 free business card design templates

Valentine’s Day graphic tutorials

 The real life of a designer- what you think you do, and what the rest of the world thinks

Email me privately for personal help.

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Writing has become more than words.  With the arrival of ebooks, ipads, smart phones, and tablets, books can now have words, photos, illustrations, videos, and interaction (like quizzes, comments, or sharing features).

To take advantage of this, you’ll need some extra help.  These tools can turn your plain book into a

Red Staple - still in beta, but this tool will help you upload your .doc text, format it for e-publication, add video, images, and links.

Of course, unless you’ve been in a writing cave, you’ve probably heard of Apple’s new ibook author app.  It’s free, runs on Lion, and includes drag and drop images, interactive photo galleries, and free templates.  The books are gorgeous.  There is a catch – if your book is free, you can do as you like; if you sell it, you have to sell the full version (with the formatting and the interactive features), on the ibook store.  If you sell it elsewhere, you’ll have to reformat everything.

Or, publish a vook (I believe they have an application process – closer to a “standard” publisher).  Vooks also include video and interactive features.  I’ve linked to a Vook FAQ page here (warning: there’s an auto-start video!).

Oh, and Happy Birthday Charles Dickens.  You can download Dickens’ books for free (sorry, no videos included).

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Today I’m focusing on writers, because without words, we’d all have to grunt and make faces at each other.

Writers deserve to get paid (see Harlan Ellison, if you don’t believe me).  However, how much should you charge?  Check the Editorial Freelancers Association for the going rates for editors and writers.

The Freelancers Union has a free contract creator tool. You have to be a member to get it, but that’s free too (and comes with lots of useful discounts, as well as a “rate the client” board). More details about the contract creator on their blog.

Ever have a client bring in a third party (oh, my brother-in-law used to write for his local woodchuck hobbyist magazine, I want to let him look over your copy).  Ugh!  Here’s a tip from Lori Widmer on how to handle third-party reviewers (lots of other good tips too).

For people who are entitled to comment, you might try jotform – it allows feedback with animated screenshots (helpful for reviewing and editing websites).

Email me privately for personal help.