=== GPlus ===
Contributors: dpchiesa
Donate link: http://cheeso.members.winisp.net/GplusWidgetDonate.aspx
Tags: Google+, social, widget
Requires at least: 3.2
Tested up to: 3.2
Stable tag: 2012.6.4
License: GPLv3
License URI: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.txt

== Description ==

gplus is a Wordpress Plugin.

It provides a Wordpress Widget that displays a list of your recent
Google+ activities in the sidebar.  The plugin uses the Google+ API, and
authenticates via an API key that YOU (the installer) acquire via the
Google API Console.

Because it relies on the public API of Google+ that Google documents and
supports, this plugin is very reliable and simple.  (Other Wordpress
widgets that purport to show Google+ activity have relied on
screen-scraping, which makes them brittle and unreliable.)


== Installation ==

1. Download gplus-wp-plugin.zip and unzip into the
  `/wp-content/plugins/` directory

2. From the Wordpress admin backend, Activate the plugin through the
   'Plugins' menu

3. From the Wordpress admin backend, in the Widgets menu, drag-and-drop
   the widget to your sidebar.  You can place it in any position you
   like.

4. Specify the settings for the widget:
   Title, Google+ ID, API Key, and the maximum number of items to
   show.

That's it !


== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= Where do I get an API Key? =

To get an API Key, you need to visit.
https://code.google.com/apis/console and click "API Access" on the
right-hand-=side navigation menu.

Copy and paste the API Key to the appropriate place in the Widget
configuration menu.

= Why do I need an API Key? =

You need an API key from Google so that the requests that  your wordpress
page sends to Google, will be authorized and allowed. Every time the
page loads, it sends out a request to Google, and gets the list of
activities.  Google wants to know who's asking for this information, and
the API key lets them track that.

= Will I be charged by Google for the requests? =

No.  The API key is free to get; you don't even need to ask for it. In
fact Google will just display the API key when you login to the API
Console.  I don't speak for Google, but it seems to me they use the key
only for tracking purposes.

Google may throttle the level of requests if you use this plugin on a
heavily loaded site. In that case you may need to use OAuth2.0, which I
have not yet builtin to the plugin.  But I could be convinced, for the
right price. ;)

= How do I get my Google+ ID? =

You can get it by examining a particular URL when you login to Google+.

First, you need to be on Google+.  Go to https://plus.google.com and
login or sign up.  It's free to signup. (But you already knew that,
because you are on Google+, otherwise why would you want a G+ widget?)

Then, click the link for your profile. It will go to a URL like this:

  https://plus.google.com/u/0/77373737273737373737/posts

Your id is the long string of digits in the middle there.

= Can I set the visual style of the widget from the admin backend? =

No, I haven't built that capability into this simple plugin, just yet.
Let me know if you have strong requirements in this area.


== Screenshots ==

1. This shows the rendering of the Widget in the sidebar of a WP blog.
2. This shows how to Activate gplus in the Plugins menu in the WP Admin backend
3. Configuring the settings for the gplus widget in the WP Admin backend.


== Changelog ==

= 2012.6.4 =
* fix some messages
* add donation button

= 2012.5.19 =
* minor refactoring in php module
* first checkin to svn

= 2012.5.15 =
* GPLv3 license.
* Tighten up some documentation.

= 2012.5.12 =
* initial release

== Dependencies ==

This plugin depends on and uses the published google-api-php-client,
available at http://code.google.com/p/google-api-php-client/ .

Rather than requires the installer to download this code, it is packaged
within the plugin. The google API php client is licensed independently
from the gplus plugin, under the Apache 2.0 license.

== Thanks ==

Thanks for your interest!

-Dino Chiesa