How To Video Podcast Using Google Plus Hangouts

Rob Jackson
13 years ago

Facebook is okay. Twitter is neat. But Google+ is already opening doors. With the new “Hangout” feature, the Phandroid team tested out something we’ve wanted to do for a LONG time: video podcasting. The main thing holding us back in the past was a simple technology to get the job done. Well, check out what we were able to accomplish with Google+:

What we did was extremely simple:

Create a private G+ Hangout with those video podcasting
Use Camtasia, set the recording area to a custom size that fits the Hangout video
Press the record button and start your podcast!

I had to use a microphone that recorded the sound coming out of my laptop speaker, so sound quality wasn’t good. Kevin and I were also using our built-in laptop cameras so our video quality wasn’t great. But when it comes down to it, this was a test run that can be greatly improved upon- we just wanted to test it out, share the idea, and see what you folks think.

Most of all, I hope Google takes notice and continues building this out as a native feature set with YouTube integration. Some things I’d like to see:

Set private Hangout/Podcast participants, but allow other Circles or the general public to view the video stream
Enable the “host” to selectively allow people watching (but not participating) to get face-time: this could be the equivalent of “calling in” to ask a question or having a guest on-air
Allow recording of the video which would automatically be uploaded to your YouTube account for future viewing
Take it one step further and imagine live polls, overlay graphics/text, and elements that would not only improve hangout as a feature for friends but make it the most compelling (and free) video podcasting solution on the planet.

So… what do you think?

[polldaddy poll=5198933]

Keep the opinions coming!

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Please sound off in the comments if you’d like to see more of these videos: what specific topics/ideas would you like us to cover?