[mrinterweb]

As much as I'd prefer to consolidate to using Google+, Google+ is not a replacement for Twitter for me. I would like to be able to post publicly based on broad topics like #programming so that all of my friends and family that have no clue what technobabble I am rambling about would not have to see it in their feed. I created a programming circle, but that does not make my posts public if I post to that circle. As far as I know, any time you post to public, everyone who has put you in a circle sees your post. I get the impression that this is what Sparks is for, but I have not yet made the connection. Possibly I do not understand how to use Google+ yet. If someone knows how to accomplish this, please tell.

[celticjames]

With G+ it's possible to filter your output (into circles) but there's no way to filter the input. I've put all my hacker friends into a hacker circle, but when I browse that stream I get all their public/extended posts plus the posts for whatever circle they've put me in. Basically, they know I'm following, but they can't know why I'm following. I can't signal to them that I want them to put me in circle for all their hacking posts and not their pictures-of-cats posts.

I've actually started making posts that say, "If you can see this post, I'm following you because [X]."