Google has announced another innovation for Plus and the idea has this writer impressed. They are taking the use of webcams one step farther.
When Google Plus became available the idea of Hangouts was cool but if you wanted to talk monitor to monitor you could always Skype someone (Plus users remember Skype, don’t you?). It was THE platform to use with those adorable little webcam thingies most laptops and portable pads now come with. The problem with Skype though was each person had to have an account and schedule a time to meet up. Not an impossible situation to work with and many did. With Hangouts right on your social network though, if someone you know is hanging out you could simply pop in, see what’s going on and enjoy a few minutes of fun. It’s convenient and you don’t need a special account to use it.
How many of us have seen, or even uploaded, things we’ve created with just our webcams onto YouTube and shared it with the world? It wasn’t always the easiest thing to figure out how to produce it, save it to your computer and then upload it, but with determination and the right software you could do it: and to our infinite enjoyment the past few years, millions have.
Now Google is taking the webcam and YouTube capabilities right into your Plus site!
According to +Shana Gitnick, an engineer at the G+ Photo team:
..we’re making video a bit more fun by letting you record and share videos of yourself using your webcam. To get started, click the video icon in the share box and choose Record Video. Once you’ve authorized Flash to access your camera, you can start recording. And once you’re done, the video appears as an attachment to your post — ready to share with your circles.
Can you imagine the potential applications? Plus Pages for brands / businesses can have their spokesperson talk to you. Individuals could speak about what their passion is instead of attempting to convey it with written words. Those with visual talents could share with their G+ family. The possibilities are endless! Yes, we’ll even have a few posts made late at night or during chemically induced euphorias that shouldn’t be shared to those outside of close acquaintances, but since the videos will be saved in your photo album they could always be redacted in the clear light of day.
For me this new option shows Google continues to be on the cutting edge of ‘social’, which must be putting some pundit’s nether covers in a bunch, though I’m sure they’ll figure out a way to defame it. That is until some other more popular social site incorporates the same or similar alternative on their particular platform.
Let’s talk about it… What’s your thought on this new option? Will you try it out?
It is so easy to upload to YouTube anymore.
It seems like anyone in the business and markets socially would likely have a smartphone. I’m not sure there is a smartphone that doesn’t upload straight to youtube and even Facebook.
What I appreciate about Google is being able to do everything on one platform.
Google makes everything easier. Interested to see how Google+ turns out over the next 3-5 years.
Google is making things easier and I for one am thrilled about that! There may be bugs to be worked out and changes made but the past 9 months have shown they are serious about their new media.
Thanks for commenting Manny!
I believe that this is a first step into the right direction. In a first step it will be nice to share some “quick and dirty” video. However, should Goggle choose to also include the possibility of some simple online editing it could become very powerful indeed.
Christian when they offer online editing (which they probably will) this will really take off.
Thanks for commenting!
I totally agree – I really wonder how far they will take G+ I have recently created my own blog (www.productivity-toolkit.com) and I felt wit was (for me) a steep learning curve with a self-hosted WP blog – Maybe G+/blogger is going to become an easy to use and more powerful blogging platform in the future….
Hi Grace!
This is a great addition not just to G+ but the web in general. I’m in the process of compiling a list of reasons or what G+ can do vs. what FB can’t sort of thing because none… NONE of my FB friends have even tried +! THIS will definitely be on the list. Thanks!
Roger, good luck with getting your friends to try out G+!
Grace
OMG! Another slap in the face of Facebook !! Google rocks !!!
How is this different from what you could already do, for years, on Facebook? I’ve been recording videos on Facebook directly from my webcam for a long, long time.
It’s different because it’s a new option for G+. With over 200 option changes in the last 6 months as G+ grows this type of information is good to talk about and share so users are aware.
Appreciate your reading and commenting
Grace
Sorry, when I read the words “another innovation” I was looking to find something unique or differentiating.
Stephen’s response above seems to indicate that he thinks this is something Facebook does not have. I just wanted to make sure readers understood this is not a feature unique to Google+.