Google has been pushing its social network, Google Plus, for a while now. Looking at different means to make the adoption grow. Here in Nigeria, they had an offline celebrity hang out which is aimed at bringing celebrities online. This should in turn make their fans come over to Google Plus. News just in has it that one more feature that has been exclusive and hard in development is now open to the whole world. It is Google Plus hangout on Air. It allows you to broadcast yourself to the world using Google Plus. According to Chee Chew, Engineering Director, Google introduced Hangouts On Air last year to a limited number of broadcasters, enabling them to go live with friends and fans, for all the world to see. See below for excerpt of the blog post:
Since then, this small community has grown the feature in lots of creative ways. And they’ve made one thing crystal clear: when groups of passionate individuals can broadcast live, together, the results are truly remarkable:
[youtube 3pmSWh2BQco]
Today we’re excited to launch Hangouts On Air to Google+ users worldwide. So if you have something to say—as an aspiring artist, a global celebrity, or a concerned citizen—you can now go live in front of a global audience. With just a few clicks, you’ll be able to:
- Broadcast publicly. By checking “Enable Hangouts On Air,” you can broadcast your live hangout—from the Google+ stream, your YouTube channel or your website—to the entire world.
- See how many viewers you’ve got. During your broadcast, you can look inside the hangout to see how many people are watching live.
- Record and re-share. Once you’re off the air, we’ll upload a public recording to your YouTube channel, and to your original Google+ post. This way it’s easy to share and discuss your broadcast after it’s over.
Interesting. Just as I am, I’m always excited about trying out new technology toys. I am going to go hard on this and share my experience. It sure looks like a tool that celebrities will be looking to use. The only doubt I have is the fact that not so many users in Nigeria can connect to a PC or use a smartphone that can stream or connect to hang out. How will they respond to this new feature? Like NollyWood Channel on YouTube of Iroko Partners, will they be using the Hangout on Air basically to connect with their fans outside Nigeria where there’s access to large bandwidth and more people have access to computers. Is this what Google needs to cement the deal and bring more users in Nigeria and other parts of Africa to start using Google plus? Are the Nigerian celebrities as excited about this feature and are they going to use it? In case you have not heard, Channels TV hosted a Google hangout session with Elrufai. But that was before today’s launch of Google Plus hangout on Air. It is What Obama and Desmond Tutu used during their Google hangout. What is your take on this? Do drop your comment and let us know if this excites you. For the full blog post on this feature, click here. Image credits: Google hangout
