This guide explains how to create a Google+ community. This guide explains the privacy options and how to create your community. This could be a great option to create a shared space for collaboration and sharing in your class or your working team.

Before getting started, make sure that you have a UConn Google Apps account, that you upgraded your account to public services, and you have created and logged into your UConn Google+ account.

Community Privacy Options

Before you create a community, review the privacy options above, and choose which type of community you need (Choose your privacy options carefully, as the only way to change them later is to delete the community and create it again from scratch.).  This Google+ help page describes the various privacy options and the steps to create a Google+ community. For most purposes selecting the option to create your community as “Private in your domain – Moderator approval needed to join” will meet most users’ needs.

Creating Your Community

1. On Google+, hover your mouse over the top left to expand the Google+ main navigation.
2. Click the communities icon.
3. Click the Create community button at the top right.
4. Decide whether to restrict your community to people in your organization and click the corresponding box.
   If the first options you see are Open and Private, it means your organization has chosen to make your communities restricted, by default. If you want to let people outside your organization access your community, and you know that your organization is ok with that, click change at the top of the dialog box. Otherwise, just go on to the next step.
5. Decide who can see members and posts:
   • If your community is restricted to your domain, choose whether it should be Open (anyone in your domain can see members and posts) or Private (only approved members can see members and posts).
   • If your community is not restricted, choose whether it should be Public (anyone can see members and posts) or Private (only approved members can see members and posts).
6. Enter a name for your Community.
7. Pick your final option:
   • If your community is Open or Public, choose whether or not a moderator must approve members.
   • If your community is Private, choose whether to make it findable via search. Members of Private communities must always be approved; if a Private community is not searchable, only invited people can join.
8. Click Create community.

Next Steps

Add a photo

Your photo will be the first thing people see. Pick a photo that represents the purpose behind your community.

Set a community photo in the “Edit Community” section under the Actions menu.

Complete the About section

The About section is the primary place for new members to learn about your community, so use this opportunity to:

• Describe the purpose of your community
• Set clear expectations around posts and discussions
• Add any additional information or relevant links

Invite people to join

Follow the steps and share with your circles to invite people to join:

1. While in your community, click Actions to open the drop-down menu.
2. Select Invite people.
3. A share box will open. You can write a message to include with your invitation.
4. Add names, circles, or email addresses of the people you’d like to invite.
5. Click Send.

Learn more about how to manage a community.