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Google invites users to share their expertise over video Helpouts
Word broke in late July that Google might launch Helpouts -- a Hangout-based video platform where folks could charge for lending assistance over video -- in about a month's time. Like clockwork, Mountain View's officially announced the platform, but it isn't a free-for-all just yet. Page and Co. are inviting people with expertise in different topics to offer their services when the solution opens for business. The search giant has published a form allowing self-proclaimed experts to toss their hat in the ring for an invite, and lists categories including Arts and Music, Computers and Electronics, Cooking, Education, Fashion and Beauty, Fitness and Nutrition, Health and Counseling along with Home and Garden. Fittingly, Google's own help documents for Helpouts have gone live as well, and they give us a few more details. First, users will have to submit a listing for their services, which Google will review just before hanging out with them over video to get acquainted and ensure their live feed is in tip-top shape. If you're a medical professional, you can offer your expert opinion to the masses as well, but Mountain View will confirm you've got the proper certificates and licenses in order. Once that's done, interested customers will be able to check a pro's availability and schedule appointments. Folks can offer their skills for free or charge for sessions, but both parties must use Google Wallet for the transaction, and Google will apply a 20 percent fee (yes, even with credit card payments). A launch date for Helpouts is MIA, but you can sign up to be notified and provide a helping hand at the source.
PSA: White House to host 'We the Geeks' hangout tomorrow at 12PM ET
In the spirit of San Diego Comic Con, the White House is set to host a special geek-themed Google+ Hangout tomorrow, July 19th, at 12:00 PM ET to celebrate the geniuses pioneering real-life superhero-style technology. The event, part of its "We the Geeks" series, will cover recent innovations in materials science that could potentially take us to infinity and beyond, like impenetrable liquid armor, self-healing and touch-sensitive synthetic skin. Joining the Hangout are notable experts including (but certainly not limited to) James Kakalios, author of The Physics of Superheroes, Nathan Landy, a Duke University graduate student working on an invisibility cloak and Nate Ball, host of PBS's Design Squad Nation and inventor of the Batman-like Ascender. Got a question for these real world Tony Starks? Share it via Twitter or Google+ using the hashtag #WeTheGeeks.
Google Hangouts On Air updated with live broadcast rewinding and instant YouTube uploads
Did helping granny set up that Netflix account cause you to be late to your friend's big On Air Hangout? What would've been a calamity last week is but a minor hitch now. Earlier today, Google updated its live video streaming service with a new set of "highly requested" features. In addition to restarting a broadcast at will, recordings are now available on YouTube immediately after an On Air Hangout ends. As for you hams, video quality has been improved for mobile devices, so you'll look your absolute best no matter which screen your adoring public is watching you from. As a caveat, Google notes that you may experience some delays when setting up a broadcast, but it feels like a small price to pay given the upsides.
Astronauts on ISS to shoot the breeze in Google+ Hangout, answer your questions
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station and right here on terra firma are clearing their schedules for a Google+ Hangout on February 22nd, which will be the first NASA-coordinated Hangout with the ISS. Between 11 AM and noon ET, astronauts will answer questions previously submitted via video clips and those streaming in from the space agency's Facebook page, Google+ and through Tweets tagged with #askAstro. NASA isn't saying who'll snag live face-time with the spacefarers during the Hangout, but it is asking folks to upload unique and original questions in clips of 30 seconds or less to YouTube by February 12th. Yearning to have a query answered? Hit the jump for the full submission details.
Google+ update offers seasonal cheer through 18 new features: improves mobile apps, hangouts and events (updated)
If Google+ communities didn't fix those social network blues you've been feeling recently, perhaps a bumper edition of new features will. When the mobile app update goes live later today, you'll be able to edit your profile through it as well being updated on what's happening through new content notifiers. Subscription options will also expand to include Google+ Communities. Google will now give full-sized image back-ups when uploaded (up to 5GB are yours for free), while any Android Jelly Bean users will be able to share their photospheres directly from the phone app. Support for gifs is also included, as well as birthday reminders in Google Now and a new lock screen widget. Hangouts has been put on a data diet, and Google+ Vice President of Engineering, Dave Besbris reckons it should now offer a smoother experience even on low bandwidth connections -- you'll now need only 150KB to connect to Hangouts on this new setting. Only hanging out with yourself? Well the new interface won't show that depressing strip of black and will instead fill the screen with your own video. In Events, you'll be able to send messages to individual guests, harass them check that they've read the invite and even invite more party-goers by inserting the event URL into emails or instant messages. It's also now easier to replicate your previous events and have Google fill in the rest of the details. You can expect the Android app update to hit your device later today, but until then, visit the source for Google's full explanation. Update: Looks like iOS users will be getting a little more Google love this week. They'll also be getting a Google+ app update with community functionality and new conversation cards for shared content. Again, the refreshed version is set to arrive later today
Google+ on Android gets its turn at a UI remake, extra Hangout and photo features in the bargain
Did you see the Google+ 2.0 update for iPhone and wonder if Google's attention had drifted away from its own baby? Don't fret, as the Android app has just been given similarly loving treatment. The interface shares the reworked stream look that we saw on iOS while keeping the swipe-to-switch category filters that Google+ has used from the start. There's even small rewards for having to watch your iPhone friends go first: you can now start a Hangout video chat from the main menu, get ringing Hangout notifications, download photos directly from conversations and edit your posts after the fact. The new look has already proved polarizing, but if you're the sort who revels in the purity of a Google social network running on a Google platform, you can now try the overhaul for yourself.
Android Developers ready to hangout on Google+
The mobile ninjas over at Android Developers have announced a new medium for advice, collaboration and training: Google+. The collective will use the social networking site to help developers "meet, share, and connect with the people behind the Android developer experience." Programming tips, SDK announcements and training offerings are all on the menu, and the group is promising to hold weekly "broadcast office hours" for live Q&A using the Hangouts feature built-in to Google+. Hit the source link to invite the coding co-op into your virtual circle of choice.
With new privacy controls onboard, Google+ opens up to teens
The world's teenage population can pontificate from a new digital platform, now that Google+ has decided to open its doors to high schoolers. Google+ VP Bradley Horowitz made the announcement yesterday, confirming that anyone old enough to own a Google account can now join the social network. In most countries, that applies to anyone older than 13 (previously, Google+ had been restricted to the 18-and-over crowd). This expansion also introduces a new set of privacy controls for younger users, who will be warned every time they try to publish a public post, and can only be contacted by those in their immediate circles. If a teen joins a Hangout, moreover, he or she will only be able to receive audio and video from those in his or her circles. Find more at the link below.
Google brings free voice calls to Hangouts, really wants you to hang out
Google's Hangout feature has just become a little more Hangout-y, now that the folks in Mountain View have integrated free voice calls within Google+. Available to users within the US and Canada, this new "extra" feature allows social networkers to place calls directly from a Hangout, allowing the recipient to remotely join in on the conversation at hand. To set it up, all you have to do is start a Hangout, hit the "Invite" button, and dial up your friend's number. Users can also use the feature to place individual calls without setting up a Google Voice account, though they'll need one if they wanna talk to someone overseas.
YouTube adds Google+ Hangout button, lets you share videos with a click
Hangout video sharing is one of Google+'s more appealing features -- not that we use it often, but when it comes to things to do in an online social gathering, watching YouTube clips would certainly rank near the top. Now you can launch Hangouts directly from YouTube, rather than heading over to Google+ and pasting in a link. Sure, it's a simple tweak that probably took less than an hour to code, but it's a clever addition nonetheless.
Google+ users can now send email invites, brag about being into the service before it was cool
Google's exclusive little club just got a little less exclusive. As promised, the search giant's shiny new social network Google+ has opened up, giving users the ability to invite friends via email. (If it's not working on your system yet, trying logging out and then logging back in.) Existing users, it's time to start building out those Circles to avoid the sort of accidental social networking shenanigans Google is working so hard to curb. Everyone else, we're sure you'll be getting one in your Gmail inbox soon enough. In the meantime, how about prepping yourself by reading our detailed hands-on? Update: Looks like they've been shut down again. It was fun while it lasted! [Thanks, Ryan]
Google+ invite received, we go hands-on
It's hard to argue with Google's track record. The company has scored a hit in nearly every space in which it's dabbled: search, email, ads, office software, etc. There's always been one glaring exception to this rule, however: social networking. The company hasn't made much of a dent in a world dominated by Facebook (and, once upon a time, MySpace and Friendster). For Google+, however, the company dove in with both feet, launching a multi-faceted service that brings a lot to the table with features like Circles, Hang Out, and Huddle. Is it enough to end Google's streak of misteps in the social world? Join us as we take a dive deeper into Google's latest attempt to find out.%Gallery-127373% %Gallery-127362%
Google launches all out social networking assault with Google+ (video)
Social networking has long been Google's white whale. The company has done plenty of dabbling in the space, releasing Orkut, which has failed to catch on in the US, and rolling out Buzz to the relative indifference of its massive user base. Announced today after seemingly endless leaks, Google+ represents a major push for the software giant. The service began showing itself to a smattering of users last night, as a black bar across the top of various of the company's properties. A "+You" button on the far left of the bar currently brings you to the service's landing page, offering a tour of the many features that fall under the Google+ umbrella. Get to know the services better after the break.
