Google+ may have just received a phenomenal boost from another Google property. That being YouTube, obviously. If lots of people actually want to watch videos together and chat about them. Do they? Really?
Google+ Hangouts
is the search giant’s latest foray into the world of social networking. And it’s already doing a lot better than their other attempts to enter the territory currently dominated by Facebook and Twitter.
One of the core features of Google+, and the reason Facebook fought hard for Skype integration itself, is Hangouts. This is group video chat with up to 10 people able to share a video chat together about anything and everything. Or more likely, nothing whatsoever.
Google+ Hangouts has had some YouTube integration from the beginning, but it has just been improved a great deal.
YouTube Video Integration
Now, as well as being able to launch videos within a chat and launch a live stream within a chat too, YouTube videos on the site are labeled with a Google+ Hangout button. This appears under the Share option, alongside Facebook, Twitter, Embed, and Email.
This may not seem like much but it could get people using Google+ in a big way. And many social networks suffer from a lack of maintained interest, with boredom quickly setting in if new features and activities aren’t provided on a regular basis. This could help prevent that from happening on Google+.
The big question for me is if social video viewing is something most people want to do?
Conclusions
I watch a lot of YouTube videos, partly for work, partly for entertainment. I also share the best one with friends and family occasionally. But do I want to sit and watch them with a group of people in a video chat, most of whom I barely know? The answer is a categorical no. I could, however, be in the minority.
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