Merge Google+, Facebook & Twitter With The Help Of G++ [Chrome & Firefox]

merge facebook and google plusThe spotlight of the social networking realm is currently on Google+. It’s still very young, but the user growth is amazing. The latest data says that there are already more than 18 million Google+ users out there.

While most people are busy comparing Google+ with Facebook, and trying to figure out which one they should choose and use, there are those who have built tools to combine all of these social networks together and have the best of all worlds. One of these tools is G++, a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox which will help you put your Facebook and Twitter stream into your Google+ interface.

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People have put time and effort into building their Facebook universe, so most Facebook users might reject the thought of switching to another social network and rebuilding their universe from scratch. Keeping and updating two social networks simultaneously might also be a tedious effort for some. With G++, you don’t have to make the choice.

To put your Facebook and Twitter streams in your Google+, visit the G++ site using either Chrome or Firefox (or both), and click the “Add” button to download and install the extension.

merge facebook and google plus

Your browser will ask for your permission to do the installation, click “Install” to confirm it. Then sign in to your Google+ account to see the extension in action.

merge google facebook

After your Google+ stream page is loaded, you will see three checkboxes at the top of the page: Google+, Facebook and Twitter. All you have to do to enable or disable the stream is to check or uncheck the boxes according to your preferences. You can even disable Google+ and view only the Facebook or Twitter stream via the Google+ interface if you want to.

merge google facebook

The first time you enable Facebook and Twitter, you will be asked to authorize G++ to access your accounts. First time users have to go through one activation process before they can continue with the second account.

merge google facebook

To activate Facebook, you have to disable the pop-up window blocker. To allow the pop-up window only for this one time activation process, click the “Log In | Facebook” link in the warning window.

google plus twitter integration

After the authorization process, you will be brought back to the stream page. Make sure the boxes are checked, then click the “Refresh Stream” button to fetch your streams from Facebook and Twitter.

google plus twitter integration

You can quickly distinguish the entries by the color and the small logo at the top right corner of every entry. Aside from viewing the streams, G++ also allows users to retweet Twitter entries, as well as Like and comment on entries from Facebook.

google plus twitter integration

The advantage of combining Google+ with Facebook and Twitter is the ability to post to all these accounts at once. All you have to do is type what you want to share (along with images, videos, links, and location tags), check the Facebook and Twitter boxes next to the “Click to Post to FB/Twitter” button, then click the button.

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To check whether the extension is functional or not, I immediately went to my Facebook wall and I saw that the post was already sitting there.

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The post also appeared in my Google+ stream page – both the Twitter and Facebook version. I saw a comment to my post from one of my friends. I clicked the “Comment” link, typed my reply, then clicked the “Submit” button. A moment later, my reply appeared under the comment, as if I was using Facebook in its native environment.

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You can easily disable G++ if you want to by checking one of the on/off boxes at the top right corner of the web interface.

merge facebook and google plus

After playing with G++ for a while, I think that this is a very useful tool. But, if I could request one thing to the developer, it would be the ability to connect to other popular social networks.

Are you a social network freak? Do you think you need G++ to help you keep up with your Google+, Facebook, and Twitter account? Do you know of other similar alternatives? If so, please share your thoughts using the comments below.


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Jeffry Thurana

An Indonesian writer, self-proclaimed musician, and part time architect; who wants to make a world a better place one post at a time via his blog SuperSubConscious.

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Hide 38 Comments

  • Hanif August 11, 2011
    0 likes

    nice. it will save our time.

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  • bluehz August 11, 2011
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    Doesn’t seem to be working

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  • Krzysiek Drozdowski August 11, 2011
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    I confirm bluehz’s observation – it doesn’t seem to work, at least under Firefox 6 beta 3. I disabled AdBlock, just in case, but to no avail.

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  • Nolongervalid August 11, 2011
    0 likes

    Google Plus is a Google product….use Chrome.

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  • Anonymous August 11, 2011
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    I use Chrome, and it doesn’t work… :(

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    • Snipr806 August 18, 2011
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      It works in Chrome and Firefox. I switched back to Firefox because Google keeps making updates to Chrome causing extensions to stop working. The issue I have w/ any extension is when posting from Google+ and clicking on add link, then adding comments -When posting from Google+ to Twitter and FB it will only post comment to FB/Twitter. Instead you must add link to comments section causing it to post link twice to Google+

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  • Trevor Lenten August 11, 2011
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    works great :)

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    • Anonymous August 11, 2011
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      Which browser do you use?

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      • Miss M August 11, 2011
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        Working fine in Firefox. Did have to specifically allow pop ups and cookies, then refresh my G+ page.

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      • Trevor Lenten August 12, 2011
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        I use Chrome. I had to allow pop-ups in adblock plus for it to post to FB/Twitter.

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  • Adam MUO Fun August 12, 2011
    0 likes

    I needed to switch my profile language to English and disable Facebook Disconnect extension. The latter will be difficult limitation for me :(

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  • Joel Pinto August 12, 2011
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    Hi, there. I got excited with your post, downloaded the application but it is not working. I am not really a tech-savvy guy, so there is little I can do by myself to find out what it is not working. Can anyone offer me a hand? Should I simply uninstall it?

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    • Anonymous August 15, 2011
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      Hi Joel,

      Can you be a bit more specific about your system? I tried the extension using Chrome 13 and Firefox 5 under Windows 7 and Mac 10.6.8, and found no problem.

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  • Colleen R.W August 13, 2011
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    I’ve been using Start Google Plus for Firefox, which works fairly well. I’ll stick with that for now.

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  • Mark @ Make Them Click August 14, 2011
    0 likes

    There’s no Firefox download, or at least it doesn’t work.

    Clicking the Add To Firefox option just downloads the chrome extension, there is no Firefox extension.

    I’ve checked, checked and double checked and the FF simply isn’t there.

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    • Anonymous August 15, 2011
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      If you open the G++ page using Firefox, the download button should lead you to Firefox extension. I downloaded the extension using Firefox 5.01 and everything works fine.

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      • Mark @ Make Them Click August 15, 2011
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        Thurana,

        all I get is a zip file titled gpp_2_2.xpi.

        When I extract the files there is only a Chrome extension in it and no instructions on how to install anything.

        Normally with a FF extension you just click the Add to Firefox button and it installs automatically.

        It’s very confusing.

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        • Anonymous August 15, 2011
          0 likes

          Hi Mark,

          Maybe you could try to open the .xpi file from Firefox (‘File – Open’ and choose the file). I hope this workaround could help.

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          • Mark @ Make Them Click August 15, 2011
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            Thurana,

            thanks for that, did the trick

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          • Anonymous August 15, 2011
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            Glad that everything works fine.

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    • William V. Borkowski August 18, 2011
      0 likes

      Instead of selecting download choose open w/ firefox. It will install and works.

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  • Anonymous August 14, 2011
    0 likes

    Doesn’t work in 3 diff versions of FFox. Text is chopped in half. No way of disabling Twitter stream in Google+ once it is enabled. I uninstalled it in frustration

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    • Anonymous August 15, 2011
      0 likes

      I tried the extension using Chrome and Firefox both in Windows and Mac, and everything works fine. I don’t know why it doesn’t work for some of you guys.

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      • Anonymous August 15, 2011
        0 likes

        Well I installed it in FFox 5.01,6beta and 7a2 and all three of them have the same problem.  The G++ text and check boxes that should be at the end of the Find People line is wrapped around and is chopped in half. I enabled the Twitter integration into Google+ and then could not disable it. I unchecked the box for integrating Twitter in Google+ and did not remain unchecked.

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        • Anonymous August 15, 2011
          0 likes

          Well, I don’t know what happened in your system. But based on your description, I think the page (or extension) does not load completely. Usually, this is caused by unstable internet connection, corrupted extension, or because something prevents the page to load properly (maybe one of the other extensions?).

          You might want to try to redownload and reinstall the extension, and also try to disable other extensions to narrow down the problem.

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          • Anonymous August 15, 2011
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            Well I tried it again and this time I was able to get it installed properly. However I am still having problems with FFox 6 beta, which by the way will be released this Tues. I enabled the Twitter stream and there is no way of unchecking Twitter feed and keeping the check mark removed. The only way of removing it was to delete the gplus cookies from FFox. That prevented the Twitter stream from appearing in Google+.

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          • Anonymous August 15, 2011
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            Let’s hope that the problem will go away in the final version. :)

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          • Anonymous August 15, 2011
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            Usually with Firefox this close to the release the code between the existing beta and the released version is very close to identical.

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          • Anonymous August 17, 2011
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            Decided to remove the addon from Firefox Aurora. I just want to be able to send to Twitter WITHOUT seeing my Twitter in Google+. I can not do that with this extension. There is no way of disabling Twitter feed in G+ and still be able to post to Twitter.

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  • Mark O'Neill August 14, 2011
    0 likes

    It works fine for me. I am using Google Chrome on a Windows 7 computer.

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  • William V. Borkowski August 18, 2011
    0 likes

     I switched back to Firefox because Google keeps making updates to Chrome causing extensions to stop working. The issue I have w/ any extension is when posting from Google+ website and clicking on add link, then adding comments -Clicking post to Google+, Twitter and FB it will only post comment to FB/Twitter. Instead you must add link to comments section causing it to post link twice to Google+

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  • AWM August 20, 2011
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    Another developer request – the ability to select FB pages to post to vs. personal profile only. 

    Also, I have to remember to keep my Google+ posts to <140 characters in order to post to Twitter.

    Not convinced I will use this for these reasons, esp since already have the ability to connect Google+ to these accounts via my settings.  Only thing i'll miss is the ability to integrate these other streams into my Google+ stream… but i can live with that.

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  • Christopher Lee September 22, 2011
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    There is a Firefox download, click on the “Add to Firefox” downloads the plugin to your computer as a .xpi file and you will then have to then install it from the “Add-On” page of Firefox by clicking on the gear icon and select “Install from a file”.

    It’s a little quirky as in that you have to click on “G++ Share” to publish your posting to FB/Twitter and then click on “Share” to publish within Google+.   But it works with AdBlock Plus and Pop-up Windows disabled (you need to allow it to open that first pop-up to enable the FB integration, but that was it).

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  • Rjsamarques September 23, 2011
    0 likes

    Does it also post images in Facebook?

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  • Brainiak October 15, 2011
    0 likes

    It doesn’t seem to work with Firefox 7.01

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    • Tina October 17, 2011
      0 likes

      Brainiak,

      did you check out the comments further down from Mark? He had the same issue, but it worked with Jeffery’s suggestions.

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  • Brawo Access November 9, 2011
    0 likes

    All you need is chrome, work perfectly.

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    • Mark @ Make Them Click November 9, 2011
      0 likes

      but if only Chrome would ever work properly.

      Still waiting for a stable release.

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