You Don't Need Gmail Account to Join Google+

Google+ is kind of cool.  It's similar to Facebook, but in some respects it's easier to use.  For example, it's slightly easier to upload photos.  Google+ also has other features such as multi-person video chatting and automatic linking to other Google services (Blogger, Picasa, YouTube, etc.).

There's just one thing missing: my friends.  You know how this usually ends.  If you have a cool toy, but no one will play with you, you eventually lose interest in that toy.

Where are my friends?  I sent out a barrage of invites, but only some have accepted.  When I go to Google+, I'm lucky to see more than 3 or 4 new posts each day from my existing circle people, and it's usually something along the lines of "It's boring here without my friends."

Here are some interesting numbers.

I put around 80 people in my Google+ circles.  Around 10 were already on Google+.  Around 10 specifically asked me to invite them.  I sent another 20 invites to people who already had gmail accounts.  I sent the remaining 40 invites to people who do not have a gmail account.

Practically all of the 20 gmail invitees have accepted the invite, while I'm still waiting for the first of the non-gmail invitees to accept.

Yes, you read that right.  MY NON-GMAIL FRIENDS ARE NOT JOINING GOOGLE+.

When I asked, one person said the joining process is confusing.  Others said that you need a gmail account.  It turns out that YOU DO NOT NEED A GMAIL ACCOUNT TO JOIN.  Perhaps that was true a week or so ago, but not today.  You do need a Google account, but you can access it through your favorite email account.

I just conducted a test, and here's how to do it.

Let's say you're someone who doesn't have a Google account.  You receive an invite to join someone on Google+.  You click on the "Join Google+" button from within the email.  This takes you to the "Google+ Project" home page.  You see this "Sign In" button (so far so good):

This takes you to a Google Account Sign In page:

Okay, since you don't have a Google Account, click on the "Create an account now" link.  Type in your current email (not gmail) into the following box and fill out other info:

You go to your other email site and read the confirmation email.  And click on the link within the email to activate the account.  This will take you to a site that says "Google account" and claims that your Google Account is activated.  Okay, this is the first point of confusion.  We were trying to sign up for Google+, but we seem to have hit a dead end.  So, you go back to your Google+ Invite email, and just like above, you click on "Join Google+".

This time you may come across a "verify your account" page.  What the ...?

I'm not sure if you will have to go through this step.  It may just be me trying to create a "test" account, and they're suspicious.  Since I already verified by email, I'm confused.  I'll bite the bullet and have them send me a "voice call."  (This is already more confusing than I remember when signing up for Facebook.)

Okay, once you're verified, you'll come across the "Join" page:

Type in information, click on "Join," and then you're in Google+.  All notifications will go to your already existing email address.  Enjoy!

I'd like to hear your experiences and thoughts on Google+.  Feel free to add your comments below.  If you're in Google+, what do you think of it?  If you haven't signed up, yet, feel free to express why.  And don't forget to +1 this blog post (button below).

Mel