Google+ Hangouts have had a lot of focus recently with regards to changes and updates being made to the exclusive Google+ feature. The most recent should be an asset to both businesses and regular users alike as another product is merged onto the social network. Google Docs is now accessible from within a hangout allowing users to share and edit files while being able to discuss them face to face at the same time. It is amazing that such a useful tool is being provided as a free service, one that could revolutionise online conference calls where business people originally would have to all open their individual copies of files and try to follow along in sync. The main features include:
- The ability to either create a brand new document from scratch (ideal for brainstorming) or to open an existing document from your profile to share with others.
- Easily switch between multiple documents at once meaning that comparisons can be made rather than being restricted to one document at a time.
- The feature is placed within a collapsible sidebar meaning that there is plenty of room to edit the document while still keeping the principle Hangout features.
There is already (unsurprisingly) plenty of support from the Google+ community for this new update, I could definitely foresee businesses making the transition to Google’s social network purely for the free functionality of this new feature.
Share and Edit documents while discussing them face to face with your contacts.