Google+ tips

Mute Annoying Posts

A post you commented on could quickly become popular and suddenly you find responses to it are spiraling out of control. Fear not, Google (GOOG)+ has a "Mute" function. To stop receiving updates from a post and remove it from your stream, click the arrow at the top of the post, then select "Mute this post." To unmute it, follow the same steps and select "Undo mute."

Share to Google+ From Gmail

When you're logged into your Gmail account, you'll notice a gray bar between your username and the Settings gear icon that says "Share..." This lets you post to your Google+ account without leaving Gmail.

Click on the Share button and the same status toolbar from the Google+ interface will pop out, letting you post a picture, video, link or update.

Disable Google+ Email Notifications

Once you get started with Google+ and others start to add you to their circles, your email inbox will flood with notifications. To turn off select email notifications, visit your Google+ settings page, found by selecting the gear icon in the top right of your Google+ page, then choosing "Google+ settings."

Drag and Drop from Your Desktop

There are two ways you can add photos, videos and links to an update in Google+. First, you can click the camera, video or paperclip icons, then search your desktop and folders, and upload it. Or, an easier method: Simply drag and drop the picture, video or link from your desktop directly into the share box.

Manage How Others See Your Circles

Directly under your Google+ profile picture is information about the people you have in your circles and the circles you are included in. Much like everything else on your profile page, this, too, you can edit.

From your Google+ profile page, click the "Edit profile" button, then hover over your Circles information. To edit it, click the gray globe icon. From here, you can choose whether or not you want others to see who you have in your Circles and who has put you in theirs.