Google Plus

Google+ is in a rare spot on the net these days. It's the only service I'm aware of where you can do just about everything -- publish, chat, stream, email and blog. You can even use it as a social network. G+ allows you to stream live and hold group chats up to 16 people. When you stream live it's called a hangout and you invite people to join in. One great feature is that it is also broadcast on YouTube and it is archived there when the session is complete. Back in the day with YouTube if you had a producers account you could have videos above the alloted 10 minute limit. Now with G+ this feature has been expanded to full length features. When you are in Hangout mode you are able to chat,screen share,and share documents all during your live stream. This can be a great real time collaboration tool. Webinars, meetings and just having fun with family and friends are possible all in one place. You also have the ability to post to Facebook and Twitter. With the use of some RSS feed tools, which we will discuss in a later post, every time you publish it can reach your social media. Most of us know of blogger and what it does but it adds to the overall power of G+. One of the least known services is Google Talk(voice). This feature gives you an online phone service with good features including call screening. You also can make calls from inside the Gmail client and from your cell phone. If you want to have a presence outside of your cell phone number this could be a great app. Overall G+ is a good place to start for an overall communication suite.