Google+ Stories

Google+ Stories

Google launched Stories in May of 2014.

Do “Stories” Really Work?


  • The first problem with Google+ “Stories” is there doesn’t seem to be any way for the user to trigger their creation. Either Google+ makes them, or it doesn’t. 
  • The second problem is that Google+, not you, initially decides the content. At first blush, that sounds good, since it supposedly will omit photos that are duplicates or out-of-focus, leaving only the “good stuff” visible to you and whoever you decide to share a “Story” with
  • And the full-screen view available in a “Story” makes the photos even larger.
  • But unlike a printed photo book, the photos in a “Story” are cut-off when they overlap from one “page” to another.
  • Supposedly you can always delete photos the Google+ selected, and add more photos from the source that Google+ used (e.g., your Picasa Web Album).
  • Google+ doesn’t always seem to accept your choices for what photos to include, if one’s “edits” don’t sync to the version of the “Story” that’s up in Google’s “Cloud.”
  • And there’s no way to move photos around within a “Story” or resize them.  Google+ arranges them by date and time taken.
  • Unfortunately, there is no detailed “Help” for Google+ “Stories.” 
  • If the photos in your Picasa Web Album weren’t geo-tagged by your camera at the time they were taken and you add them manually later, Google+ doesn’t always take the info.  

Finding Your “Stories”

  • You need to have a Google+ Profile in order to have “Stories.”
  • Then click on “Photos” in the drop-down box on the left side of your Profile Page, and then on “More” in the center top of the page, and finally on “Stories” under that.
  • If Google+ has created “Stories” for you, you’ll find them there.
  • If you don’t have any photos associated with your Profile, you’ll have to upload them.

Editing “Stories”


  • To edit a “Stories” that Google+ has created, select the one you want to edit, then click on the blue “Edit” button in the top right-hand side of the “Story.”
  • The first thing you can do is change the cover photo and “Story” title.
  • You can then add photos to or delete them from your “Story.”
  • Start “paging” through your “Story” and click on any photo to edit it. (You may need to use Google’s Chrome Web browser for some editing functions.)
  • If you don’t like the photo caption click on the caption (not the photo) and change it.

Viewing on Apple Mobile Devices


Sharing Options


  • Google+ “Stories” are “private” by default.
  • You can share a Google+ “Story” on your Google+ Profile or send it via e-mail to those in your Google+ “Circles.”
  • But if you click on “Sharing Options,” you’ll just get an empty box with no instructions as to what to put in it, nor any ability to type anything in the box.
  • If you copy the url and email, it won’t link to the story and the recipient will see the Google login screen
  • So how do you make a “Story” available to the “public”? Apparently the only way to do so is by leaving the green “Public” “button” in place when you “Share” the “Story” to your Google+ Profile.  Then if you click on the image for the “Story” and select “Sharing Options” you can edit a list of those with whom it will be shared.
  • But the only way anyone can find the “Story” is by going to your Google+ Profile page, which is what you’ll have to do if you want to get a link to that “Story” so you can send it by e-mail or post it on Facebook or Twitter. - See more at: http://talestoldfromtheroad.com/2014/06/13/new-google-stories-photo-scrapbooks/#sthash.uQNFwirh.dpuf
  • Posting the link on Facebook will produce a thumbnail image from the cover of your “Story,” but Facebook users won’t see the title of the “Story” and when you hit the “Post” button the “Story” title will appear below the photo.
  • If you’ve got a Website or blog, you can also embed the “Story” into it

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