Screen Sharing in Google Plus Hangouts

[Sheryl Loch]

Yesterday I was involved in a Google + hangout with Brian of Hot Blog Tips and Mitch of I'm Just Sharing. We got together to brain storm ideas for the Hot Blog Tips Newsletter that we all participate in. It was a very productive way to share ideas without the hassle of emailing our ideas back and forth.

Anyway, Mitch had ask if there was a way to do Screen sharing and I told him no. Well, smack me stupid (as if that hadn't already been done). Today I pop over to ReelSEO.com and see an article titled Using Video With Google Plus for Business Pages and at the bottom of the post they talk about the New Extra Features added to G+!

Yepper doodles…you can now screen share in a G+ Hangout. All you have to do is when you start the hangout look for the text link, below the Add People and the Green Hangout button, that says Try Hangouts with Extras. Click that and you will see it load.

When a new person joins the hangout they will also be loaded in with the extra features.

Yes, I made Brad do a hangout with me so I could see how it worked. Who cares that Brad was not even home…he left his mail logged in and I just helped him join the hangout he didn't even know happened (until he walked in the door).

So what are the new Extra Features s of me testing it?

The Hangout Originator can Mute or Block other participants in the hangout! "Hey, STHU I'm talking!" *Hits Mute*

At the top you will see share screen, when you click that a new window opens that allows you to pick a screen on your machine that you would like to share in the hangout.

While it says on the side of the Hangout window that sharing Google Docs is not yet supported…if you have a regular word doc open on your machine, you can share that. But, it is like a screen shot so if you are editing the Word doc during the hangout…updates will not be shown in the hangout window. You would need to Stop Sharing Screen and then re-share the doc to show updates.

A bummer is that the images in the Hangout are small. I bet my kid could read them but I sure can't. I did not find a way to make the images bigger.

Oh holy shit…I see now as I am writing this that you CAN see me editing my Word Doc on the hangout screen. So ignore the part above where I said that you couldn't edit in live screen. See, you kept reading so you get the latest and greatest info. You also get to see that I screw up as I go sometimes. LOL!

Ok, so I pulled up a web page in Firefox and shared it on my hangout screen. Yes, it shows in real time that I switched pages, opened tabs, scrolled…everything is right there as I do it! BONUS!!!

Now, how do I get the damned shared page bigger? ARGH!

Ok, I am going to live through this, I don't need to see the shared screens…I should be happy just knowing they are there even if I CAN"T read them.

So this is a new feature being tried out on Google + and I foresee in the near future that they may give us all the capability to record and upload our hangout directly to YouTube. Oh, that could put a hurtin on the webinar sites that charge for this but, oh well.

Anyway, you all know where to find me if you want to try out these new features and have no other friends willing to talk with you. LOL!

Oh, just remember that the Extra features are in a TRIAL stage. Don't get all huffy if it isn't doing exactly what you want. I am sure they will be making it all better as we go.



Sheryl

[Isha]

This is very handy info Sheryl - thanks!

Now I just need to have a bath, wash the grease outa ma hair, get the chocolate off ma teeth, get out of egg-soaked pajamas, tch so much hard work to have a hangout

[Brian Hawkins]

That's funny, for some reason I thought I read "Green screen Sharing". I figured out we were on different subjects by the end of the post.

I thought we could already show YouTube videos. I clicked the link when we were in the video chat and YouTube loaded but my computer was degrading so bad by then I had to close it before I could see what it was for.

I wonder if PowerPoint presentations show in real time? If I know how to do a PowerPoint and actually had the software I could really entertain you and Mitch the next time.

[Sheryl Loch]

Isha, now don't go getting all fancied up for a hangout! Heck, if you start a trend like that then the rest of us will need to do the same. But, if they ever get the hangouts to include smell...then yes a shower and good oral hygiene will be a must!

Sorry I confused you Brian but I kind of did a green screen hangout with you guys. Ok so I couldn't put a pic on the green screen but, I had the screen.
I am sure you can share Power Point since you can share anything on your desktop or screen. So, I expect a real show on our next hangout.

I would like to be able to just hit a Record button in the hangout and then be able to upload direct to YouTube. That way if you had a couple of people discussing X topic then the entire conversation of all the people could be a video to share.

I guess you could try it with something like a screen capture but I'm guessing that you would NOT get all the voices because it would only pick up what was going through the attached mic of the person recording.

I'm sure they will get something worked out soon.

[Sheryl Loch]

So how easy is it to do Screen Sharing in a Google Plus Hangout...well let me show you. OMG, I sound like an infomercial!

Ok, I made fast video with pics to show you just how easy it is. So easy even a caveman (or a woman who hasn't shaved her legs this week) can do it!

Watch on youtube.com

I'm always looking for easy tips to turn into videos so, let me know if you have a tip or a question I can make a video of!

[Isha]

Damn, that's a good video, Sheryl! Just testing it & have invited you to my li'l hangout, but no need to respond, because the hangout's called "Just testing".

A LITTLE LATER:
Looks like you can't click on "Share screen" until someone actually joins you in the hangout, but was able to click on Notes and Sketchpad and "Add document". Thanks for the tip about downloading docs to one's desktop. Had a nice hangout with myself!

PS and I was careful not to shave my legs before-hand!

[Sheryl Loch]

Oh so sorry I missed it. I would have hung out with you.

My main issue with hangouts is I have to know they are coming as I normally have my USB mic plugged in and so I have to reboot with my webcam in and mic out or else they battle each other.

Glad you liked the video. That seems to be one of the popular ones on that particular channel.

Shaving your legs is a huge issue in hangouts...for some reason I hind the hairy stubble just makes things work better.

[Isha]

Hehe!