Your Google+ Tips and Topics for Sept. 13th
1. The Hangout On Air Applause App
2. View and Plus One Photos in Your Community
3. Google+ “It Ain’t Dead Yet!”
Another New HOA App... (cue “Applause!”)
“What is it that we’re living for? Applause Applause!"
It's found alongside of the Q&A and Showcase app on the the video place holder.
These trio of apps, when opened, fill the screen with an expanded video player that hides the event page.
Note that the Applause app is enabled by default.
If you’ve been following me for awhile, you know I’m not fond of these apps. They inhibit social interaction on the Event Page.
What’s Google trying to tell us?
If you’ve been following me for awhile, you know I’m not fond of these apps precisely because they inhibit social interaction on the Page.
As a host, you have to decide your priorities.
Is the immediate interaction important or are you more interested in the YouTube views (which can be embedded anywhere.)
The Event Page is our Live Recording Studio.
The interaction from our audience, be it in the comments or displayed through the Comment Tracker, adds spontaneity and energy to the show.
I think I understand where Google is going with these new apps: Q&A, Showcase and now Applause.
They don’t want to anchor the HOA videos in Google+.
They’re focussed on the YouTube end and want to encourage views and engagement there (or anywhere the video is embedded).
That’s where the ad dollars are.
Perhaps they should offer this as a YouTube app instead of a HOA one.
You can find details on the new Applause App as well as others on the Hangouts On Air apps Google support page.
When creating a Scheduled HOA Event, be aware that the Applause App is turned “ON” by default.
If you don’t want to use the app for your broadcast, turn it off.
Check to make sure it’s “OFF” before you open (start) the HOA.
As with the Showcase and Q&A app, you’ll need to instruct your audience how to detach the expanded player window from the Event page so as to move it out of the way.
When the App is activated, the host and participants inside the HOA don’t see or hear anything different.
For Viewers:
Only viewers can like or dislike the Hangout On Air through the Applause app. But everyone, including participants and hosts, will see where people liked or disliked different parts of the broadcast. (on video replay)
Below the broadcast window, click the thumbs-up icon to show approval and sound the “applause” or the thumbs-down icon, to indicate that point in the show sucked and release the “Boo’s”.
People in the broadcast won’t hear either, so don’t worry about hurting their feelings.
They also won’t know who applauded or boo’d (unless you’re the only person in the audience.)
See what people like or dislike
You can see what other people liked or disliked during the broadcast through the graph below the Hangout On Air.
Green area: This shows where people liked what was said or shown in the broadcast.
Red area: This shows where people disliked what was said or shown in the broadcast.
Click the circles along the line to go to that part of the broadcast to see what people liked or disliked.
Or you can click a specific point in the broadcast's timeline to see what people's opinions were for that part of the Hangout On Air.
Do you plan to use the Applause App?
View Community Photos On Single Page
H/T Danielle Buckley
This is pretty cool especially if you have a Community that is very visually oriented: photography, science, nature, art...cats.
At the bottom of the left menu is a new icon that when clicked will open a single page where you can browse, plus one and comment on photos.
Google+ Is Still Very Important To Being Found, Followed & First (among your friends)
I want to leave you with another terrific excerpt from Mark Traphagen from his Stone Temple article: Google Author Authority in Search Gets Personal.
The article is about authorship, authority and the how Google is making search more personal.
“If you have worked hard at building a significant following on Google+ and have been posting well-optimized content there that is likely to be relevant to topics for which your audience searches, you may gain a significant advantage in search exposure to that audience.
Continue to build your authority in your niche via your content, your social web presence, and your real-life opportunities. Google is working on ways to figure out who matters in topical areas. You want to be one of those people.”
Have a great week and don’t forget to drop by our HOA lunch Table Tuesday as the Lunch Bunch returns after it’s summer siesta.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
If you found it helpful, please share with your friends.
Check out our Google+ Tips & Topics Community and catch up on past LunchBunch shows on my YouTube channel or Google+ Page.
