Five Things I would like to see in Google+ (an open letter to Vic @ Google)

Ok, Vic... I am a big fan of G+.... but here are small things I would like to submit as feature requests for G+ 2.0.

1. Integration into GMail.  I love Gmail. But one thing I am not good at is keeping my contacts updated. I know the guy from Plaxo is sitting right behind you - so I assume this feature is done, and your just teasing us... but if it's not - please make it happen. I would like my friends in G+ be automatically available in my Contacts (and their info be automatically updated if they update their profile).  And even better, would be to automatically categorize them in my contacts by the circles I create. So if I have a FRIENDS circle in G+ - you create a category in my GMail Contacts called Friends (and put the contacts there).

I'll even you give you a buzz word "Social Mail" - make sure you give me a shout out on Techcrunch next time.

2. Allow me to Share my Circles.  It would be cool to be able to use Circles as "groups"... for example if I create a circle called "My Softball Team".... to be able to share my circle (e.g. ask people in the circle to join - like a group). This would automatically create a circle on their account, and allow them to post to the same people.  I feel this could be a cool way create "relevant streams".... instead of just having general circles (like Friends, People at Work, etc).... streams that have relevance to more than one person (e.g. softball team) - will have more relevance to those people in the group.

3. Ability to increase or decrease posts from people in my circle. I realize this may be done in the algorhythm - but it would be cool to manually tell you which friends I want to hear more from, and which ones I don't want to hear from so much. Much like the "Mute this post" function, just simply put something that says "I want more" and "I want less" ---- and then my streams will be more enjoyable. Some people in my circle I like, but if they post a hundred times a day - I start to look for the "remove from circle" button.

4. Vanity Link to my Profile.  It would be nice to have a simple URL to point people to my Profile... instead of plus.google.com/797987987969687685   ... something like plus.google.com/richswier would be nice.

5.  Create a Follow Me button - I am sure this is coming with the G+ API...but it would be nice to have a "Follow Me" button to embed on a website or blog - so people can easily add you to their following circle.