Now with Google+ ACTION!

A happy "end-of-the-world 2012" new year to you all!

I thought I'd make an post pointing out a few things.  First and foremost, I'm happy to announce that Google+ support in Blogger has gotten a lot stronger recently.  On the left, you'll notice that I figured out how to connect my profile.  In addition to showing my picture and intro, those links and the one at the bottom of this post will take you to that profile (I hence removed most of my other links to Google+).  I've actually been meaning to write about my thoughts on Google+ since I registered in early July, and I welcome support like this across the Google board if it means easier use of the social network that I feel is closer to an evolved Twitter than a Facebook rival.

Second, I freshened up the look of my Blogger page a bit.  Not that it was looking particularly dated, but I wanted at least a slight change and I really like the color scheme on this one.  While I was at it I updated some information and links on the left as well.  Actually, the big refresh came with my entrance into Google+, realizing that I didn't need to keep as much information public as I thought I did (like a link to my Facebook).  So I moved it to my public Google+ Profile, but only available to those I add to my circles.

Third, and perhaps most pertinent to the survival of this blog, I've decided to put myself on a weekly writing schedule.  Truth be told, it's not like I haven't done this before (lol), but this time is a little different (they're all different aren't they?).  I'm finally more or less caught up on posting pictures and videos, for one.  On a more personal note, I finally feel a lot more in control of tasks and projects that I've given myself, and it's put me in a better mood, like I'm satisfied with life or something.  And with the Google+ support came, as Google so beautifully put it, "the makeover [Blogger]’s long deserved."  In the background it definitely shows, and gives me more motivation than a New Year's resolution was going to.

Fourth, I want to direct your attention to a previous post that I made about places to follow me and my travels in Japan if posting does get slow here.  Allow me to update that list:

Pictures (and videos) on Picasa - high-quality pictures since January 2011, and going strong with over 40 albums now.  I really love how I can easily upload videos into the same album as pictures, and even better than that how they automatically show up in Google+ so that I can tag, caption, and encourage commenting as I wish.  I virtually stopped using Photobucket after 2010.
Videos on YouTube - interesting videos that I want to share with the world.
Statuses on Twitter - the easiest way for me to share my adventures, so I tend to use it the most.  Unfortunately for many of you reading this, as my Japanese level increases so does the use of it in my updates.  However, my Twitter feed goes to my Facebook too, so if the demand is there I will make the effort to translate my Japanese posts.
Pictures and videos on Facebook - to my Facebook friends, I hope you've noticed by now that I've been making a big effort to caption and tag every freaking thing I post there!  If you want stories from Japan that's probably the best place to look, so please comment. :)

Fifth and lastly, this year is looking to be quite an exciting one, and it has something to do with my fiance Jasmin. ;)  I'm looking forward to writing about it if I can keep on top of this schedule once and for all.

I'll leave it there for now.  This blog isn't a failure yet!  Hope to write a lot more in the coming weeks, especially if I'm continuing with my plan to leave Japan at the end of July.