If you’ve been a Gmail user for a very long time and hadn’t discovered the advantages that you could enjoy with Google Hangouts, worry not. You aren’t alone in this. There are many users who regularly use Gmail but are oblivious to the fact that they can easily access Google Hangouts too; after all, this is the default browser chat client in Gmail. So, here’s your chance to learn about this Google platform in a detailed way.
Google Hangouts: Definition
A Google product, Google Hangouts is the simple and efficient communication software that you could use for all your personal and professional communication. You can send text-based messages, video chat, or call up your friend on his phone using the software’s VOIP features. For the starters, Google Hangouts is the best of Google Chat, Google Talk and Google+ Messenger all rolled into one. It allows you to converse with more than one person at a time and you could access it online via Gmail, Google+ websites or Android or iOS mobile apps.
Google Hangouts: Uses
As you can comprehend from the very definition, Google Hangouts can be used for a number of purposes – share images and clickable urls, send text messages and conduct video chatting. To start using this application, you can use your Google credentials, the same username and password that you use to login to the other Google services such as Gmail, YouTube or Google+. To be able to use it, you’ll have to start chat session:
- Login to your Gmail account
- You will be able to see the Google Hangouts interface on the sidebar of the main screen of Gmail
- You should also be able to see your Google friends and contacts featuring here
- Simply browse through this list and click on the person you wish to chat with; this will open a chat window and you could start a session promptly
Google Hangouts: Simple tricks
This one’s by far the most exciting one of the lot. Now that you know pretty much everything about this platform, you might as well get treated to some of the handy tips and tricks to help you enhance your Google Hangouts experience.
- Change the color of your chat window to ensure you are messaging to the right person. This can be extremely useful at times when you are chatting with multiple friends at the same time. Simply type ‘/bikeshed’ (without quotes) in the text area and send the message. It will instantly change the color of the message box.
- Use emoticons to convey your feelings, rather than words. Yes, Google Hangouts comes equipped with a vast emoji collection and you could actually carry out a conversation, without typing in any text, as the library is pretty vast. Access the library from the bottom left corner of your chat box.
- You could also enjoy video chatting via the Google Hangout platform. All you’ll need to do to activate this option is to click on the camera icon on the top left corner of the window. You can chat with up to 10 friends at the same time.
- You could even conduct group chatting sessions – this will be fun during all those discussions where you need all the members in your group to participate.
Besides the above, you can also conduct phone calls from your computer to friends all over the world. In case you reside outside of the US or Canada, make sure that the calling facility is available in your area/country.
