I'm Shallow And I Know It

I have to preface this post with this message: I love Google Plus. I have made many friends there and I love that I can always find inspiring, interesting, humorous, educational posts with a click of a mouse, any time. I've learned a ton over there about a multitude of topics and consider it a rich resource. Like any place in this world, though (our jobs, our neighborhoods, schools, Facebook, the mall, the circus), we're going to find some people who make us feel uncomfortable; we just have to learn how to avoid them.

Also, here is a little background on G+ to help you

*On Google+, you can post to Public, which means the whole world can see what you wrote.
*You can also post to a particular person or circle you created (just family, only people you work with, etc.)

So, you're in complete control of who sees what of yours on G+.  If you don't want strangers to see your posts, you don't add them to your circles, even if they have added you to theirs.  If someone adds you to a circle but you aren't interested in seeing their content, you can block them (the old-fashioned way) or "Ignore" them (You won't see their content any more, and they won't know that.)

***

Recently, on Google Plus, I commented that I don't just circle anyone who circles me. In fact, I'll put it right out here and admit that I am shallow when deciding whether or not to share my content with someone.  Just because someone has added me to one of his/her circles does not mean I have to reciprocate. I'm not just going to flood my stream (like a Facebook wall) with random crap from strangers. And because I don't have all the time in the world, I often cut-to-the-chase and simply click Ignore, rather than clicking through to the person's profile to see if I wanted to circle them back. On what do I base this trigger reaction? Profile pictures.

For example, here are a number of Plus profile photos of people who circled me and inspired me to click "Ignore" almost immediately, without even visiting their profiles:

Now, let me add that I don't fault people for appearing unstable, but I do fault people who don't have the self-awareness to know that their photo makes them look like a serial killer does not make the best first-impression.

This guy looks normal, no? That's what I thought, until I saw his name:

 

"---- Is Single" 

Who does that?! 

(besides that guy, I mean, and yes; I took out the letters of his name)

Then there was this guy...

Again, I'm not judging the appearance; I'm judging the self-awareness thing. (That suit is hideous!)

Camera angle is everything in a profile photo. 

It can mean the difference between friendly and fiendish....

"Hi" and "High"

And then there's this guy...

 

I'm not even going to get into the profile pics of scantily-clad women in suggestive poses; I have enough of my own photos like that. (just kidding, lol!)

So, yes; I'm shallow, if shallow means happily-married, sober, and discerning.

If you are the owner of one of these profile photos, feel free to message me for a free consultation on how you, too, can give the appearance of being normal in your profile pic.

While writing this post, I made a point of actually looking at the profiles of these plussers, and I stand by my  decision not to circle them back, and not because any of them actually are serial killer; we just don't have a lot in common.


Update: Today, I was added to this guy's circles (in case you're curious, the circle is called People with a Sense of Humor, or something like that).

Masterfully, Seth's profile photo demonstrates "creepy, but in a silly way." I'm happy to report that I checked out his profile, he seems normal, and I have added him to my "Seems Normal" circle.