Relationships on , but most of them are with real people--family, friends, co-workers--that I also interact with in real life. It can ruffle feathers and get a tad uncomfortable when I drop someone from my social network, but Google+ gives me a couple options to handle removing someone from my social network in a more gentle, acceptable way.

On Facebook, the concept of 'Friending' always seemed a bit awkward from the beginning. I mean, many of the people in my Facebook social network are my friends, but many are simply acquaintances, or they are members of my family. As weird as 'Friending' everyone is, 'Unfriending' someone just seems blatantly rude. It feels like a very official, and public rebuke of my value as a human being.

With Google+ I have three options at my disposal that I can use instead of just and possibly creating unnecessary drama. I can mute an individual post, place the individual into a "black hole" Circle, or ignore the user.

Mute a Post

If you generally don't mind someone, but they post something annoying that seems to get a lot of comments, and shares and seems to hog your Stream it can be frustrating. If you don't believe me, just try adding to your Circles and you can experience firsthand the impact it can have on your Stream when a post gets tons of comments.