Another social network. Another thing to learn. Another, another, another. Sigh. Is it worth your time? Well, that remains to be seen. However, for those of you willing to explore this new platform, here’s a cheat sheet with five of my favorite features, tools, resources, etc. Consider this the first version of The Small Business Owners Guide On How to Use Google+.

How do I find my friends?

You can always import CSV or Vcard files. Here’s a quick video that shows you how to do it. For those of you that want to find peeps outside of your existing contact list , you can find 947,996 (and counting) peeps currently using Google+. This cool search feature allows you to find targeted peeps based on relationship, gender, what they’re looking for (networking/dating/friends/relationships), how many followers they have, how many people they follow, occupation, if they’re on Twitter and/or Facebook, country, state and city. I like this. I like this a lot.

Who will see what I post?

Many thanks to Mari Smith who shared this awesome bit ‘o scoop:

How to Get A Cute Name:

If you’re uninterested in being referred to as https://plus.google.com/102526748011723940559/posts and you want a cute name instead, you should know, at this point Google+ isn’t offering cute names (also known as vanity urls). However, our friends at http://gplus.to/ have created a work around. Go to this site and enter your cute name wish along with your really, really long current name and voila, your dreams will come true.

Cheat sheets. Where are the cheat sheets?

Many thanks to genius Simon Laustsen for creating this faboo little piece of Heaven:

Don’t Clog Up My Over-clogged In-Box. And Please, Allow Me Some Personal Space:

This is a great little how-to that demonstrates how to opt-out of unwanted notifications and protect your privacy.

Are you still waiting for your invitation to the Google+ party? If you want to get in and see what all the fuss is about, comment below with your email address and I’ll hook you up with an invite. If you’re already in and have discovered other additional tools/resources/features that we all need to know about, please comment below and share your thoughts! And if, after reading this, you feel a little smarter and more equipped to dominate the universe, please comment and tell me all about it. In other words, I want you to comment. I really, really want you to comment. So please, do.