Google Plus Hangouts For Local Businesses – Reader Question

One of my G+ Jedi Members asked how local businesses, you know, real brick and mortar Mom And Pop type stuff using Google+ Hangouts On Air for their business.

I felt this one as worth answering publicly.

*** Reader Question ***

How can a Plumber or Restaurant use Hangouts On Air?

I can’t say as I want to watch a Plumber fix a toilet live unless it’s my own toilet, but a Restaurant?

Cooking lessons anyone?

Food shows about new entrees?

Le’ts get the bartender (better yet a male and female of the 20 something very attractive variety) both behind the bar and have them pour the Winter drink specials.

You already have well dressed, smart people for your show. You already have a beautiful, branded backdrop for the Hangout broadcast. Restaurants are well lit, and it is easy to shoot this kind of Hangout in the morning before the regular staff comes in. You could even stage some of the staff in street clothes at the bar in the background, really make it seem like THE fun place that I want to bring my wife or date.

Mmmm I can just about taste the Bailey’s / Beam and Coffee now.

Get them back behind the bar to again pour the spring specials.

Believe me, I was a GREAT waiter back when, and if you own a restaurant you are already up to here in fantastic actors that crave the spotlight.

But if you have clients that #1 are way time challenged and #2 way tech challenged, then this is a opportunity for you to handle the camera work for them and get paid on some extra consulting hours.

Got more questions about how Hangouts on Air can be used for business? Ask below and I will do my best to show you the way. – Chris

WADM8GCV8E95

How To Watch YouTube Videos At Double Speed

Here’s how to watch that hour long Hangout interview video at up to two times the speed of the normal YouTube play rate


Watching YouTube video at double speed (click for full size)


Screenshot of watching YouTube videos at double speed

Fun tip of the day: To watch YouTube videos faster or slower, activate the HTML5 mode ( youtube.com/html5 ) and then use the settings “cog” below the video.

You can try this out now on the video below

How To Make Money With Google Hangouts Video on YouTube here…

NOTE: If you want to embed the player, you will have to use the iFrame code, not the old object flash embed code, since again, this is an HTML 5 tool, not a flash tool.

Thanks to John Mueller of Google Switzerland for this awesome tip.

Important

Videos with ads do not support double speed, since they are still in flash.

Below are the notes from the Google Experiment.

Supported Browsers

We support browsers that support both the video tag in HTML5 and either the h.264 video codec or the WebM format (with VP8 codec). These include:

  • Firefox 4
  • Google Chrome (WebM)Opera 10.6+
  • Apple Safari
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 9
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, 7, or 8 with Google Chrome Frame installed (Get Google Chrome Frame)

Notes

Fullscreen support is partially implemented. Pressing the fullscreen button will expand the player to fill your browser. If your browser supports a fullscreen option, you can then use that to truly fill the screen

If you want to find videos with WebM formats available, you can use the Advanced Search options to look for them (or just add &webm=1 to any search URL)

Additional Restrictions

Videos with ads are not supported (they will play in the Flash player)

On Firefox and Opera, only videos with WebM transcodes will play in HTML5

If you’ve opted in to other testtube experiments, you may not get the HTML5 player (Feather is supported, though)

Be sure to let your own viewers that they can watch your videos at a much faster frame rate to save them time and get more views.

How To Watch YouTube Videos At Double Speed

Here’s how to watch that hour long Hangout interview video at up to two times the speed of the normal YouTube play rate


Watching YouTube video at double speed (click for full size)


Screenshot of watching YouTube videos at double speed

Fun tip of the day: To watch YouTube videos faster or slower, activate the HTML5 mode ( youtube.com/html5 ) and then use the settings “cog” below the video.

You can try this out now on the video below

How To Make Money With Google Hangouts Video on YouTube here…

NOTE: If you want to embed the player, you will have to use the iFrame code, not the old object flash embed code, since again, this is an HTML 5 tool, not a flash tool.

Thanks to John Mueller of Google Switzerland for this awesome tip.

Important

Videos with ads do not support double speed, since they are still in flash.

Below are the notes from the Google Experiment.

Supported Browsers

We support browsers that support both the video tag in HTML5 and either the h.264 video codec or the WebM format (with VP8 codec). These include:

  • Firefox 4
  • Google Chrome (WebM)Opera 10.6+
  • Apple Safari
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 9
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, 7, or 8 with Google Chrome Frame installed (Get Google Chrome Frame)

Notes

Fullscreen support is partially implemented. Pressing the fullscreen button will expand the player to fill your browser. If your browser supports a fullscreen option, you can then use that to truly fill the screen

If you want to find videos with WebM formats available, you can use the Advanced Search options to look for them (or just add &webm=1 to any search URL)

Additional Restrictions

Videos with ads are not supported (they will play in the Flash player)

On Firefox and Opera, only videos with WebM transcodes will play in HTML5

If you’ve opted in to other testtube experiments, you may not get the HTML5 player (Feather is supported, though)

Be sure to let your own viewers that they can watch your videos at a much faster frame rate to save them time and get more views.

Growing Up Google = Google+

Growing up Google is the game changer that other social networks and even Microsoft Office just cannot compete with. Here’s why…


Google Apps logos

I think we can all agree, Google’s stategy is always a long tail one. This school year millions of college students and staff returned to campuses to continue the process of the next generation of young professionals growing up Google.

“Growing up Google” was a phrase we coined two years ago when we waited patiently for Google Buzz to embrace Google Apps users. That began with top Ivy League schools like The University of Notre Dame switching to Google Apps for Education.

In the olden days…

It used to be that a college student went off to school armed with a Mac or a Windows machine with Microsoft Office installed as a college prerequisite. Much like my early computer experience, it was a Microsoft one. Today, it takes no more than any modern browser and that means even Internet Explorer 9.

So, while Office spreadsheets still are vastly more powerful than online spreadsheets and no speaker in his right mind will show up to a show expecting to display his PowerPoint presentation from an online source like Google Docs, the thumbdrive is still king.

But this summer when I spoke numerous times, I created my bullet points using Google Docs and Gdrive and exported such in PPT format to my thumbdrive. Laptops take a beating on the road, so I had set up my entire needs on Google Drive. Makes sense this will work massively well for the next generation of Google users that work from the cloud exclusively.

Currently, it is a must for writers publishing thru any publishing house to create each chapter in Microsoft Word, then bounce attachements back and forth between up to five editors from acquisition, assigned editors, the technical editor to the final production staff.

But even that is changing now too, and it is changing at the college level as I saw today in this Google+ post via ReadWriteWeb.

David Copeland wrote:

“Making my students switch from MS Word to Google Drive not only eliminated the headache of incompatible versions and big email attachments. It’s made them better writers.”

That change has occured as skilled writers and corporate collaborators grow up using these tools every day and that usage is growing quickly. Growing up Google in fact.

Here’s The Proof From Google Stats Today

  • More than 20 million students, faculty and staff worldwide use Google Apps for Education.
  • 400+ universities are posting lectures and/or full courses online using YouTube Edu
  • 600,000 staff from the Philippines Department of Education will now be using Google Apps. Universities across the continents are signing up for Apps, including schools in Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Africa
  • More than 500 schools and districts went back to school with Chromebooks this fall
  • Seven of the eight Ivy League universities and 72 of this year’s top 100 U.S. universities (as determined by 2013 U.S. News and World Report’s ranking) have gone Google with Google Apps for Education

Bottom line, this is like what any new product does, kinda like tobacco companies in the 70’s. Get the youth hooked and wait for the naysayers to retire from influence. Just like Facebook did by starting with colleges in the prior decade.

The only question left is this: “Will it work for Google Apps like it did for Mark Zuckerberg?” You tell me…

Google Plus AuthorShip Emails – Top Five Reasons Why You Got One

OK, so Google Authorship Emails went out today, why did you get this, what does this mean to you, your blog and authorship in Google Search Results?

image of Google authorship email...

#5 You already set up authorship, this is a reminder…

You already set up your authorship links or verified via email, the way many have tried to teach you over the last year on this blog and all over Google+. In this case this is a reminder of the fact that yes, it is working, you have not broken it by doing something like adding SEO software or changing blog themes and or adding a WordPress plugin that may break authorship.

#4 Another reason for this email is marketing.

If you have not heard of Google+ Authorship and author thumbnails appearing in search, you will today. I guarantee there are already tons on G+ posts on this, Tech Crunch and Mashable and all the others too. Good work Google!

#3 You are a guest blogger on another site.

If you got one of these emails and you are writing for a blog with multi author / blogger authorship set up on the site, congrats. If you are guest blogging and have not set up authorship, then you definitely want to check into getting authorship set up.

That takes nothing more than linking to your Google personal profile from your author profile page on the blog you guest blog for. Then linking back to the profile from your personal profile links. You can get that set up with little or no help from the owner of the blog.

#2 The New Rich Snippet Testing Tool has been released

This past week a new Rich Snippets Testing Tool with authorship thumbnail previews as they appear in search was released. The email directs you to check up on your domains and see if you have authorship in place and if not, to take action verifying it thru email based on your domain.

Rich snippets testing tool with Google authorship email...

Thanks to AJ Kohn for pointing this reason out to me this AM.

#1 Google wants to remind the millions that have forgotten that Google+ is not just a social network.

It is an entire suite of tools that you do not have to spend all day chatting up your peeps to use. When you take Google Events, Google Hangouts, Google Authorship and step back a bit. Then think about the fact these are tools that the social feed is just a single part of.

Facebook and Twitter depend on interaction, and the social feed on Google+ does too. But author thumbnails in search raise your click thru rate and you don’t have to be number one to to that.

In fact, in my earliest writing about author thumbnails in search when I saw the first ones owned by Robert Scoble and Louis Gray in Febuary of 2011 I knew something special was coming. I hope you all got your email today and have been using this for quite some time.

If not, then get authorshop set up now, simply by going to the Rich Snippet Testing Tool also called the RSTT tool, and entering your domain and email address to get your verification email.

Full instructions are available at Google Authorship landing page….

Be seeing you in a the right Google places! – Chris

Google Local Search New Rankings System Gets More Social

Google Local Search showing Zagat ratings, number of Google reviews, sharing from search to G+ posts and rankings now show that yes, your local business ranking has much to do with your Google+ reviews and Zagat

Last night (sunday), I was futility searching for a Blockbuster store to rent a DVD from here in Denver, I noticed that Google local search results were showing me something brand new, at least to me.

That was not just local results that of course now Google local Places pages of course are on Google Plus, but that the order of results directly correlated to the number of reviews.

Also notice in the result below that if you have no reviews, Google local search linked to the page with the text “Google+ page”… That really got my interest up.


Clean Google search result (click for full size)


Blockbuster Google local result

Next, I decided to look a little further into if this was true, that Google is showing us what they want, and that is Google reviews and are they really a rankings factor? Upon doing a search for “Denver Restaurants” I next saw this result with Zagat ratings showing in results and appearing to have a say in rankings as well.


Clean Google search result (click for full size)


Denver restaurants Google local result

Since Margie (my wife) and I, plan to go out tonight to see Denver’s Broncos for Monday night football, I searched the term “Denver Sportsbar” and you can see more of the same below. You can also notice again, that the number of reviews and the Zagat rating seem to be ordered in decending order again.


Clean Google search result (click for full size)


Denver sportsbar Google local result

My next question was this: Is Zagat going to show up in non dining searches. The answer is yes, in this search for “Auto Repair Denver” below.


Clean Google search result (click for full size)


Auto repair Google local result

Of course we need to see if these results are centric to SPYW (search plus one your world), Google’s social search and to my glee, yes we see the same thing logged out below.


Clean Google search result (click for full size)


Logged out Google local result

Google+ Social Tools Now In Local Search

Logging back in, let’s take a look at the Google Plus sharing tools that you may not have noticed are somewhat hidden in search results.

First off, you can share a local Google result to Google+ right from search. It is a bit hidden, so your competition may not know of this option. Now my question is “Does sharing from search have a effect on the rankings algo?” You can get my answer is yes! Since you are a motivated searcher, not someone who may have reviewed something for personally motivated reasons.


Clean Google search result (click for full size)


Sharign from Google local result

Let’s take a look at what happens when you share from search. Right away you may notice that there is no description in the post, created from meta description tags or the page body text.


Clean Google search result (click for full size)


No description in Google local result

To see if it was the site’s meta tag or lack of one, I tried sharing the same link to Google+ manually.


Clean Google search result (click for full size)


Description in Google+ sharing

That tells me, at least for now, sharing from Google local results is more about what you have to say, not what the sites want to say about themselves via their own meta tags. But it also shows that yes, Google still uses meta tags and relies on them for rich snipptes, both in search results and Google+ posts. So be sure you have unique meta description tags on every page, post and domain.

AdWords Tactic 101

Finally while we have seen the +1 button no longer show up in many search results we are now seeing it seem very sticky in AdWords results. Take a look at the notation that the businesses ad is in the map and that you can +1 the add in search.


Clean Google search result (click for full size)


+1s in AdWords results

Big heads up here guys, did you notice that the auto repair result was filled to the brim with ads? Did you also notice that the restuarant listings for Denver were not? If your clients results for their keywords are showing empty AdWords panels, you might just want to consider advertising there since it is cheap and up for grabs :] – Chris

How To Create & Host News Style Hangouts On Air

Hangouts On Air can be your own TV show if you know how to find compelling content, create great discussions and host news show fueled Hangouts On Air

The days of the “On The Spot” action reporter and her ever present, smart remarking but ever so loyal camera toting side kick have been replaced by YouTube videos, Facebook posts and live Twitter streams. The “Eye In The Sky” helicopter is now replaced by web cams on the freeway and Tweets by commuters. Some how sports reporting hangs on though and we like it that way. :]

As Hangouts hosts (that’s you) become more and more skilled, so will the production of Hangouts On Air, as we expect to see the evening news soon created by us. Have you watched the local news station lately? Probably not, and until just recently neither had I.

When I did I realized that the only thing left to be replaced was the (at least in Arizona) awful commentary being spewed out of a C student communications major’s overly lipsticked mouth. The time is now folks, drop everything and become the local news commentator in your niche.

Or become the new QVC. Or how about the new ESPN. Maybe the new Tosh 2.0 or maybe the next reality show. We all got crazy up to here in our family somewhere right? Why not your own reality show. Shoot your own talk show in the garage, how about that? There was even a show like that in the 80s, called “My Talk Show” and it was hilarious.

Don’t believe me though, watch some real news peeps show you how

Here is Sarah Hill and a panel of experts to show you how to create a great Hangout On Air show, and not just any show, one filled with great content your audience WANTS to hear!



Here’s the equiment you will need

Lighting is SO important to doing a great Hangout, or any video really, here is the lighting I use both at live shows AND in my home office.

Hangouts On Air will do all the work for you but you need a great webcam? Get the best here today…..

What should your show be about?

Whatever you do, DO NOT do yet another Internet marketing show, no one has time for that and you just can’t compete with the big boys like Jack Humphrey. Expect to see the rest of IM jumping on this soon and you just can’t go round with StomperNet and the rest. Even I can’t compete with them. Don’t you try either.

Now, go out to your garage, your basement, better yet the back yard and think about what people want to see and what you can deliver. Used to be a surfer in the day? Go do your own surf show from the beach. (beach shows with hot bodies do very very well on YouTube BTW)

Like go to the drag strip and watch racing like I do? Do a show on it. NOW GO! It’s Labor Day and you have fun work to do! It’s my birthday today and I am going to be working on my new show studio too :]

YouTube & Google Plus Bar Integration

Google Plus Spotted Sharing Via YouTube Integration & Google Plus Bar On YouTube

Here is YouTube offering Google+ Updates on YouTube in the alpha Google+ test.

Short story long, I set up a profile for a friend and Google gave me the secret goods….

Here is the Google+ YouTube integration we all have been predicting and waiting for. Take that Facebook!

Here is the Google+ updates coming in on YouTube…


(click for full size)


Google Plus YouTube Updates

Here is we are sharing on YouTube via Google+…


Google+ sharing from YouTube (click for full size)


Google Plus YouTube Sharing

Here is the Google+ profile integrated with YouTube via the Google Plus bar…


Google Plus profiles on YouTube via the G+ Bar (click for full size)


Google Plus YouTube Sharing

Google Plus and YouTube Plus Bottom Line

After years of waiting, we now have what Google Wave promised, the final integration or YouTube and Google, via social sharing. Much thanks to my new friend Jarrett Perryman for helping me discover the new Google Plus version of YouTube, “YouTube Plus”!

How can you get this?

Without having to create a YouTube account immediately we saw YouTube Integrated With The Google Bar as soon as we created Jarrett’s account. Seems this is only offered so far to new users, or older users that have the same username on both G+ and YouTube.

How Do You Get That? When you post a comment on YouTube you may be offered your Google+ name on YouTube as well.

Then Google Plus users report that at that point, they immediately see this new Google+ bar integration.

However that leaves me out for now, since my profile at http://YouTube.com/IamChrisLang is not going to offer me http://YouTube.com/ChrisLang since that account is shut down due to previous user long ago. So where does that leave me and other users in the same boat?

First I would see if your real name is a banned account created by someone else, or an account in use already. If not, then there is immediate hope for you. As I said above, users report that when casting comments on YouTube they are offered the upgrade, and then the YouTube sharing G+ bar appears like in the screenshots above.

YouTube & Google Plus Bar Integration

Google Plus Spotted Sharing Via YouTube Integration & Google Plus Bar On YouTube

Here is YouTube offering Google+ Updates on YouTube in the alpha Google+ test.

Short story long, I set up a profile for a friend and Google gave me the secret goods….

Here is the Google+ YouTube integration we all have been predicting and waiting for. Take that Facebook!

Here is the Google+ updates coming in on YouTube…


(click for full size)


Google Plus YouTube Updates

Here is we are sharing on YouTube via Google+…


Google+ sharing from YouTube (click for full size)


Google Plus YouTube Sharing

Here is the Google+ profile integrated with YouTube via the Google Plus bar…


Google Plus profiles on YouTube via the G+ Bar (click for full size)


Google Plus YouTube Sharing

Google Plus and YouTube Plus Bottom Line

After years of waiting, we now have what Google Wave promised, the final integration or YouTube and Google, via social sharing. Much thanks to my new friend Jarrett Perryman for helping me discover the new Google Plus version of YouTube, “YouTube Plus”!

How can you get this?

Without having to create a YouTube account immediately we saw YouTube Integrated With The Google Bar as soon as we created Jarrett’s account. Seems this is only offered so far to new users, or older users that have the same username on both G+ and YouTube.

How Do You Get That? When you post a comment on YouTube you may be offered your Google+ name on YouTube as well.

Then Google Plus users report that at that point, they immediately see this new Google+ bar integration.

However that leaves me out for now, since my profile at http://YouTube.com/IamChrisLang is not going to offer me http://YouTube.com/ChrisLang since that account is shut down due to previous user long ago. So where does that leave me and other users in the same boat?

First I would see if your real name is a banned account created by someone else, or an account in use already. If not, then there is immediate hope for you. As I said above, users report that when casting comments on YouTube they are offered the upgrade, and then the YouTube sharing G+ bar appears like in the screenshots above.

Google Plus Author Thumbnails, Authorship and Author Rank

I was lucky enough to have AJ Kohn take the time to explain how Google Plus Author Thumbnails are created, how setting up Google Authorship can be done four different ways and why the Author Rank Google algorithm is so important to us all today and tomorrow

Take the time to watch the entire G Plus For Business show recording below, there is not one minute to be missed.

Below I give you the minute “in video” start times so you can jump to each part to review all the great things AJ Kohn teaches you in this video.

NOTE: One of the most interesting things AJ Kohn told us is that: “You must use a headshot image on your personal Google profile for Google Plus author thumbnails to be enabled…” That in and of itself made the time we spent on this video worth it and much thanks to AJ for this super meaty presentation.

Jump To Topic by Minutes

What is Authorship: 1:13

3 Link Authorship Method: 4:50

2 Link Authorship Method 5:40

Email Verification Method: 6:10

Head Tag Authorship Method: 8:05

Changes to Author thumbnails presentation: 11:00

You must use a headshot for your Google personal profile pic: 12:50

RSTT – Rich Snippets Testing Tool issues: 13:40

WWW, redirects and more. Use it or not and does it matter?: 17:30

Author Rank / Agent Rank: 25:15

My questions for AJ begin here: 36:00

If you would like to embed or share this Google Plus Author Thumbnails YouTube video this link is the raw video.

The section on your Google+ profile page AJ Kohn is talking about is the “Contributor to” section of your profile about page. This is where you link to your site.

The Official Google Author Verification page is here…

You can read more by AJ Kohn at Blind Five Year Old .com :]