Jul 24

Jul 24 Why I Just Removed Robert Scoble and Leo Laporte from My Google+ Circles

I just removed Robert Scoble and Leo Laporte from My Google+ Circles. Here’s why.

Scoble

Scoble publishes a lot and due to his large following he dominates my stream. Initially I put him in my “Usual Suspects” circle for people I don’t know but from whom I’m interested in hearing occasionally. Problem is, he’s always on and his well-intentioned comments are often followed by very little engagement from followers. Does he work hard and offer value? Yes, without a doubt. But he also knows how to use technologies as broadcast platforms and I sense that what I hear him say I hear because he’s always on and knows how to use the system, not because he’s offering a unique perspective. Just another really smart guy, in other words, who knows how to dominate the airwaves. God bless him, I wish him well, but I think I’ll try to find out about other smart people while using Google+, not just the “same old same old” who make it a job to drive social media for the sake of … their sake.

Laporte

I dropped Leo for a very different reason. I’m a big fan of his programming. He has a sixth sense about putting together programs and channels related to tech with smart people that very few people have matched. I also think This Week in Google is one of the best programs I’ve heard. It’s always interesting and insightful. In other words, I already follow Leo and his family of programming so I’m not really that interested in paying attention to a channel (Leo on Google+) that so far has just been a reflection of his real stuff. I realize that may change if he learns how to better integrate Google+ with his growing media empire but for now that’s not why I’m on Google+.

In summary, I’ve dropped these two not because they are incessantly advertising themselves but because their use of Google+ just doesn’t align right now with my own attempts to learn how to use it myself.

What do you think?