Go "On Air"

Just sitting down with a Budlight Lime, ya ya I know what you are thinking but if you knew all the crazy beers I had tried over the weekend you wouldn't blame me for being so boring. (Voodoo Donut Maple Bacon Ale...do I even need to list any others?)  I thought after the last post and with today's announcement by Google it would be a good time to continue the talk of video.  


Today Google announced a long awaited feature of Google Hangouts On Air is rolling out to all the Google Plus users.  I am not sure people understand just quite how huge this could potentially be.  First, for those of you that aren't familiar I will give you a brief rundown of what it is.  

Google Hangout is a video conference of up to 9 guests plus yourself.  It is available through your computer/tablet/smart phone.  The reason it is called a hangout and not some other video conference nomenclature is it was originally designed for their social network.  You are probably like most people, especially if you have stumbled upon my blog :), but if you are sitting at your computer or maybe at the couch there is a good chance you have your laptop with you.  Well, why not just click on a hangout so your friends can just drop by and say Hi.  You start a Google Hangout and those that you choose to share it with will see that you are available in their social stream.  You can choose to join or not, but it is a unique way to just open up your "door" to your friends and even strangers.  The problem with a hangout, until now, was that it was limited to just 10 people.  So, if you had...oh I don't know...someone like Sandra Bullock hosting a hangout there would be about a billion people wanting to join.  Now with the "on-air" feature the hangout will be broadcast over youtube for others to view but not participate.  And it is this seemingly little feature that could change the face of video communication in the near future.  

The amount of equipment and personnel it takes to broadcast a news cast or even a sporting event to the world is INTENSE!  Well, a Google Hangout just opened up the availability with nothing more than a cellphone to broadcast yourself, your show or whatever shenanigans you want to the WWW.  Thats right, anyone with a computer and your link will be able to watch your "show".  Think about what this could potentially mean for just a second.  The reach of youtube is enormous.  Imagine this is a school environment.  Sick kids may not even have to actually miss class (sorry kids).  Simply login to youtube and watch the broadcast of your class...AND...be able to participate and ask questions through the hangout (limited to 10 though).  Take another example, how about a brewery.  I have been to several that offer home brew supplies and even instruction.  The best they were able to do was to include a video on their website, which was helpful but what if you have a question?  The interactive nature means they can still offer the videos but have a live person available to help through a hangout.  If the event is big enough they can just broadcast over youtube and let everyone else share learn from the 9 people's questions.  


There are all kinds of other cool features to a hangout.  You can dial people into it if they don't have a webcam...they can at least still participate.  You can collectively watch a video together or collaborate on a document together.  Think of your next web conference or conference call.  Each person is theoretically diligently scribbling down meeting notes.  What if everyone was face to face and the meeting notes where shared between them.  Each person being able to add to the notes as you go along.  No more, "I must have missed this or I misunderstood that".  


This could just be HUGE...


after all of that and not a single sip of beer...guess i'll get back to it...just really excited about the potential here.