Google+ Hangout Apps - Spice up your face-to-face interactions

Google + Hangouts get Apps. That's right now when you are on your Google Hangout you can now add an extra layer and spice up your Hangout with amazing Apps. Google+ had launched their Hangouts API a few months ago for developers to take advantage of and build-in apps that might be useful and fun to all +ers. The result is that a whole lot of handy little hangouts web apps and being launched to give your hangouts that little extra touch that can go a long way.  Google+ hangouts with extras already came with Google documents integration, which is really good for business meetings online. The hangout apps take things to a whole new level.

Here are some of the Google+ hangout apps that have been launched

1. +Aces Hangout for playing poker with your friends
2. +Cacoo - this amazing app is what you need to conduct your business meeting online. You can share diagrams with other members in the hangout and no matter how far away everyone is, you will feel in the same room with the whiteboard. Good for for wire-framing, mind-mapping and diagramming with others.
3. Google effects -  The app is good for trying on headware, eyewear and facial hair. Just the goofy type or app you need to have fun with your pals
4. +Scoot & Doodle - add this app and you can start drawing and coloring with your friends.
5. +SlideShare - The app that lets you co-view presentations, docs and videos. This is another handy app for business and team meetings to be conducted on Google hangouts. You can now collaborate with your presentation while on a hangout. 

How to access and use Apps for Google Hangouts

Now when you start your hangout you will see a new 'Apps' button on the top of your screen. Click on it to start using hangout apps. Once you click on it you will see both feature and recent hangouts apps. It is being rolled out in a phased manner so if you don't have it as yet, just wait for a few days.


If you are a developer and would like to get started building your own hangout app, head over here to get started. Once your app is ready you can then share it with the entire Google+ community. 
Source: Apps for Google+ Hangouts  Amit Fulay - Google+

An original post by

Sociolatte

Google+ hangouts: Best for free professional, personal and group online meetings and video conferences

Source: Google+

Google+ hangouts are turning out to be the best service online for you to have your video chat and online meetings. It is totally free and all you need to have is a Google+ account. You can invite any number of people to the hangouts, but once the number reaches 10, others will be told that the hangout is now full. The good thing about using Google+ hangouts for professional purposes is because they have recently added document sharing and screen  sharing. Known as Google+ hangouts with extras. They also have a really wide-screen. You can read more about it at the company post here. To know more about how Google+ hangouts work you can read more at our Google+ hangouts guide.

So the next time you want to conduct your business meeting for free online, or simply want to hangout with friends and video chat for free, Google+ hangouts is the coolest place. 

How to use Google+ hangouts with extras

Once you start your Google+ hangout you should see a link that appears at the bottom saying 'Hangouts with extras'. Click on it and your done.

The Business application of Google+ hangouts are amazing for small business meetings and if you want to have a meeting with your clients. It is easy to set up and you can be ready to run in a minute. make sure the people you want to video conference with are all in your specific circle. Once you do that you can invite only those people to hangout with you. 

An original post by

Sociolatte

How to make free phone calls using Google+

Google+ Hangouts has a new really cool feature, the ability to make free voice calls. Currently the feature is available only in Canada and the US and people from other countries will not be able to make calls. Google+ will benefit a lot of people by adding this feature to other countries as well.


How to make free voice calls on Google+
The ability to make free phone calls using Google+ hangouts is a feature called 'Hangouts with extras'
1. Click this link to go to hangouts with extras on Google+ plus.google.com/hangouts/extras
2. Click on start hangout
3. Once your hangout starts click on 'invite'
4. Click on the phone link and you can enter the numbers of up to two participants.


With this comes the freedom to stay on your favorite social network and calls your friends whenever you want. The whole thing is so simple and easy to setup. A definite must have for people online. For people who regularly use hangouts the possibilities are limitless as to the fun that can be had with this cool feature. 

An original post by

Sociolatte

How to start a Google+ Hangout on YouTube

Google+ has now expanded and come to YouTube. Now whenever you are watching a video you also have the ability to share the same with your friends and start a hangout. It is also real simple and easy to use and you can set it up in seconds. You can now share and watch videos with your friends right form YouTube.


How to start a hangout on YouTube
1. Click on Share underneath the video you are watching
2. Click on 'Start a Google+ Hangout' located on the bottom right-hand corner
3. Another windows opens for you to add your circles and friends to the hangout
4. Click hangout
5. You're done


The YouTube video you want to share automatically starts playing and your friends and you can view the same and just, well, hangout.

An original post by

Sociolatte

How do Google+ Hangouts work

Google+ hangouts are a cool way for you to hangout with friends in your circles and if you do not have some friends in circles you can invite them as well. Now since you have your circles you can have separate rooms to hangout in. The video chat feature works like magic as it seems flawless and invite as many friends as you want and just video chat. So how how d

How to start a hangout
1. login to Google+
2. Click on the home icon
3.You can start a hangout from the stream whenever you want. You can either go to plus.google.com/hangouts or simply click the blue Start a Hangout button on the side of your stream.
4. Start video chatting

What happens once you start a Google+ Hangout
Well, the first thing is that you are asked to add circles and friends to your hangout. Since hangout out alone on a video chat is no fun. Once you have friends whoa re also online they will appear on your chatroom after you adding them. Your friends will also know you are online and can drop by unexpectadly to say hello. All this happens face to face in real-time and excellent clarity. It seems as though everyone is in the same room although maybe separated by continents. 

Once you start a hangout you can check your video, audio and microphone settings by clicking on the settings icon. If you are bored and waiting for people to join you, you can also watch some YouTube videos right inside your hangout window. 

How to join a Hangout

There are plenty of ways to find out who’s hanging out. And, joining a hangout that's already going on is easy.

You can check out your stream or the green room to find out if people in your circles are hanging out. If you see a group of people that you’d like to hang out with just click the Join this Hangout button.
Your friends may also send you the URL to a hangout in which case you can copy and paste the URL into your browser or simply click the URL link.
Since no one likes hanging out alone, it’s likely that when someone starts a hangout, they may select a group to notify. If you are in this group, you'll get notified at the top of the page. If you've been individually added to the hangout and you can chat with the person, you'll get a chat notification. (To avoid unwanted notifications, we don't notify circles with a large number of members).
When you enter a hangout, you'll see the current participants, broken down according to who is in your circles and who isn't. This way you don't have to hang out with anyone you don't like, or don't know.

Who can see you if you are hanging out

Visibility of your hangout
There are a few different ways people can discover that you're hanging out:
If you invite people to join a hangout, a post will appear in their stream telling them that there's a hangout going on, along with all the people in that hangout currently.
If 25 or fewer people are invited, they'll receive a notification that they've been invited to join a hangout.
If you invite individuals that are signed in to chat, they'll receive an IM with a link to join.
If someone invited to a hangout tries to start their own, they'll be told that there's a hangout already going on and they may want to join that one instead.
Since the hangout you're in is visible by the circles of the other hangout participants, people you don't know may learn that you're hanging out.

You can also Text chat in Google plus hangouts, this is in case you are making too much of a noise or maybe you are tired of talking and want to go the good old fashion way of just text chatting.