This question came to my mind when analyzing the discussions between the people defending Google+ vs the (mostly) journalists that “don’t get it”. Is there a human need which is better covered by Google+ that has so many people suddenly posting lengthy discussions about the most disparate topics that you can find in this platform? The motivation principles of Mastery, Autonomy and Purpose described by Daniel Pink might be part of the answer.
There is an excellent video based on a TED talk done by Daniel Pink on the topic: RSA Animate – Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. According to the theory, while the efficiency of repetitive work can be increased by additional monetary rewards, when it comes to intellectual work there are 3 major motivation principles:
Autonomy : Freedom to do work your own way to achieve the goals set. Have the choice of technique and direct your own tasks. Look for ways to navigate and improve your life on your own.
Mastery : Extend and expand your abilities and capabilities. Try to achieve flow in your work: the point where the relationship between the person and the task is perfect. Improvement is the goal. Adjust your work tasks to ensure you have clear goals, you can get immediate feedback, and the challenges are well matched to your abilities.
Purpose : Work in purpose of some greater objective. How does what you do fit within the big picture? Is the world a better place as a result from your work? How can you give back to society? Is what you do ethical? Do something that matters, do it well and do it in the service of a cause larger than ourselves.
Let’s now evaluate how the act of posting ideas on G+ fit within this framework, and how it compares to alternative platforms.
Regarding Autonomy: Writing in Google+ is something that you choose to do. You also choose when to do it, how much to write, the language to use, the pictures to include, whom to share it with. You definitely have lots of control here. The advantage of Google+ over other platforms was originally that you could decide whom to share these posts with. Facebook has identified this weakness and closed the gap by allowing you now to post to different groups. The barrier of entry has also been reduced. You don’t need to create a blog with all the configurations that it requires you can just click on the “Share what’s new” entry and start typing away. You can also seed your article from an existing post, or any content that can be found on the internet.
On Mastery: G+ is web surfing taken to the next level. It is not only navigating through random pages, but finding like-minded individuals posting comments on the items you read. While this was true from blog and news sites, this feedback was confined to their own sites. You could not post in the WSJ site an article you found in the NYTimes. This interaction with like-minded folks puts you in state of flow almost automatically. You start learning new stuff right away, and the knowledge is internalized when participating in the discussions. It also keeps the flow status by allowing you to pace the speed of learning to what you can take. This is not something that you have on other platforms, and the main reason is that in Google Plus you can select to follow anybody, while in places such as LinkedIn, Facebook and others, there was expected to be a two-way relationship for this exchange to take place. While these other platforms have taken steps to remove this limitation, their users are already trained to think on the “friending” lines.
Finally Purpose: Most of the posts you come across in G+ are trying to serve a larger purpose. Maybe it is beautiful pictures showing the glory of our world, while sending the subliminal message that we should take care of it. Or it could be all the news about scientific discoveries that will increase the well-being of humanity. Not to mention all posts on social movements going on in the world, and calling for an improvement on the conditions of life of the many. Google+ gives you a platform to give back to humanity: to spend some effort trying to improve our world.
Taken from the point of view of these 3 motivators for intellectual activity, Google+ is a platform that allows you to use all of them in the most complete and holistic way. I have read about many people that were not actively blogging or creating content before G+, and for which this platform has opened the doors of collective creation.
What has been your experience when creating content for G+? Do you consider that the factors delineated above are in-line with your motivations for posting?
For me, I already have a feeling that Google+ will be bigger than Facebook. However it goes, I know it’s a good thing to have a plan B.