Google+ Hangouts - Jump in!

All of you first time Hangers Out, please read this post!

"You are the Star" -HOA by Pio dal Cin

10 tips from +Axel Kratel that will make for a better hangout experience

1) Don't hide behind an image for your webcam:
Why join a hangout if you're not going to allow people to see you? That's not the point of being in a hangout. It's all about connecting visually with others.

2) Listen and take an interest in the other people:
Ask them to share something about themselves, people love to talk about their life, and we all are thirsty for attention.

3) Join the chat:
Often someone may want to say something to you but doesn't want to interrupt the flow of conversation going on. It's important to join the chat. You can also chat privately from the regular Google+ or Gmail chat with someone.

4) Use the chat for links:
Some of the most useful outcomes of hangouts have been all the shared links. Google should allow us to save these. For now, I copy and paste all the chat to review after the hangout. There is usually something I missed.

5) Invite just yourself to the chat:
By inviting yourself, you will have a record of the hangout you were in, and who else joined you.

6) Ask others before you invite others:
Don't just invite all your circles without asking everyone who has joined you. Hangouts are small and intimate spaces, so let others determine with you who should join. If you publish a public hangout, be forewarned, everyone in your circle and anyone else could drop in.

7) Share something about yourself:
If you don't disclose anything about you and who you are, what's the point of being in a hangout? The point of hangouts is to be in community with others, that does mean taking a leap forward and taking a small risk.

8) Use the thumbnails to look up people:
Going to people's profiles is a good way to learn about them and then starting a nice conversation about something they might be interested in. Or use the search on them.

9) Try not to interrupt!
I was in a hangout yesterday with some fellow out of some remote place constantly interrupting everyone to find out if we could hear him. Try to find a good entry into the conversation to add your flavor to the hangout.

10) Finally, last but not least, keep your clothing on:
Unless you are hanging out alone with your partner, people don't want to see you naked, no matter how good looking you think you might be. Well, even if you are alone with your partner, I don't think it's a good idea to get naked. Things could go wrong and someone could accidentally enter your hangout.

Wait, there's more:

One last tip for those of you who want to start hangouts. The best way to start a hangout is to build a circle of people you know like to join hangouts. Then, just invite that circle to your hangout to get the hangout started.

Once you have a small group of people, you can get everyone to invite their own hangout circles to grow the hangout. Max 25 people in a circle can be invited at once so that they get a notification.

Here is a big Please:

Mute your microphone when entering the Hangout, don't play music or rattle the keys when typing. You can say Hello to everyone in the chat.




You can always mute or unmute yourself when needed.
Muting when doing something else like answering a phone is polite and does help to not disrupt the conversations. Especially with Hangouts On Air.

Don't be a troll, don't be too drunk.

For males: Don't just chat up the pretty young things... :-)

Don't join a hangout just to listen in, you're taking a spot from someone who'd like to participate in the conversation.

Anything you'd like to add?

Pirate's Day Hangout with Ronnie Bincer

Oh, if you are the one who likes to join a Hangout when drunk, naked, fapping, playing loud music and interrupting everyone all the time & you don't want to be told what to do or not to do (who am I to tell you anything etc), just move on, forget you ever saw this... :-)

Enjoy!

Read more about Hangouts from Google

Hangout Canopy: Find public Hangouts that you can join