Echoing David Blanar, and many others.

Echoing David Blanar, and many others.

Originally shared by David Blanar

It's been an emotional roller coaster this week and taken me a little while to put my thoughts together on the news about G+.

I'm glad people are finding workable alternatives. I wish them a smooth and seamless migration. I'm not ready to leave and don't (yet) feel the need. But that may change.

I've not met Mike Elgan though I have many times appreciated his words and ideas through the years; I fully expect he would be great to have a beer with. But I profoundly (and respectfully) disagree with his conclusion:

Social is dead and we can - and should - retreat to our blog safe spaces.

(See his excellent and thought-provoking post: https://plus.google.com/+MikeElgan/posts/gNz2B2Rw7uV)

This ghettoised approach will never work for me. Nor do I think it desirable on a societal level. Is social dead? That seems dramatic, even if worth seriously discussing. We need public commons and shared spaces that are not under the aegis of our personal domain names. I feel pretty strongly about this.

Maybe in time I'll share a little bit more about my feelings and experience with G+ as an insider. But for now, the below fairly reflects where I'm at.