The Hangouts feature is more than
just a tool to hold casual conversations with family and friends through video
chat. Today, it can be effectively used as a video conferencing tool between
employers and their employees or among project collaborators.
To start using this feature,
first you need to log into your Google+ account and create a Hangout.
On your home page, you will find
the green Hangouts link and icon at the top right below your name and thumbnail
image.
Below the Hangouts on the right
column, you will see the invites sent to you.
On the bottom part is the Start a
video Hangout section which will expand when you hover your cursor over it.
Click the green Start a video hangout link to begin your hangout.
A new window will then display
where you can see the link to your Hangout, a box to include a message and a
box where you can add people to invite using their name or email address.
To invite people to your Hangout,
you can choose from your Circles or you add email addresses in the box
provided.
There's also an option for a
Quiet invitation. This means that instead of a bell sound, those invited will
only receive notifications and stream post on Google+. Invites for Hangouts
involving 25 people are always the quiet type.
You can also access Hangouts on
Gmail. Look for the video camera icon on the left column on the right of your
thumbnail image and the telephone icon.
When you click on the video cam
icon, a new window will show up where you can find the link to share for your
Hangout and the box to invite people. You can include the link in your email or
in a status update if you would like to share it was well via your favourite
social networking sites.
To invite participants, simply
click on the box that says "invite people." A drop down menu will show
up from which you choose the circles from where to invite people to your
Hangout. When you're done adding people, just click the Invite button below.
Once you start your Hangout, you
will immediately see who has joined. Those invited may opt to join via voice
only such that you will only hear them but not see them although they can see
and hear you on their end.
When everyone is already present
on your Google+ Hangout, you can start sharing your screen. This is ideal if
you're holding an online meeting with colleagues and project collaborators. It
is also a great way to promote new products and demonstrate how to use them as
well as show people how to use certain online tools with ease.
Take note, however, that the
screen sharing option is only available to users of the computer app. Mobile
devices do not have this option but mobile users have the ability to join a
Hangout.
Inside Hangout, there's a
Screen share button on the menu bar at the top that you can click.
Next, choose the screen you want
to share. It can be your desktop, a Google doc you have uploaded or a website
you have opened.
After you are done sharing, just
close the window of your shared screen to return to your normal Hangout screen.
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