If you’re like me and are using Google Apps for your mail, docs and calendar – you’d be pretty frustrated by getting left out of the cool new things Google releases now and then.

Google+ is the most recent, and high profile such release.  Until today, Google Apps account users could not sign into Google+, so if you’re like me, you used an old @gmail account to get going.

Today, Google announced some new enhancements to Google+ including Apps integration.  So, how do you get it working?  Read below for a step by step guide.

You’ll be sick of this screen if you’ve tried to use Google+ with your apps account.

Importantly, this assumes you know how to “manage your domain” and have access to that system.

In your webmail today, you’ll notice the Manage this Domain link is now a floating box at the bottom right of screen.  Click that.

Next, enter the Organisation & Users tab on the Menu, and go to Services sub-tab.

Scroll down in the list of services, you’ll see Google+, with a big red NO switch next to it.

Once you flick that switch, you’ll get a very scary warning, about the things you’re enabling to happen with Google+.  The button to click is even “Leave Google+ off” and a text link is what you need to press to enable it.

Hey presto, you’re red switch is now Green!

You’ll find it won’t work immediately, however, after about 5-10 minutes, you can go to “http://plus.google.com” and you’ll see the annoying error is replaced by a login prompt.

Login, set your profile, and then – start telling all the people you’ve already got in ‘circles’ in another profile, to join the new one:)

You can follow me on Google+ here: https://plus.google.com/104927224568675065176/posts