Google+ has recently opened its website to everyone, dropping the invite only field trial, as reported on September 20 by Brian Womack of Business Week. Previously, Google has been known as a popular search engine. It began adding more features to its repertoire, becoming a one-stop-shop for people to search websites, images, news articles, blogs, and have access to email, share word documents, link to their YouTube account, and now social media.
According to John D. Sutter, CNN columnist, "Google Plus gained an estimated 25 million users by early August." These figures pale in comparison to Facebook and Twitters fan base, but Google+ has just begun releasing apps that separate it from other social media sites. Their newest release is called Hangouts, where groups of 2-9 people can gather and watch each other, hold a conversation, or watch a YouTube video together. There is also the option to record the session.
I believe this feature is an innovation to the world of entertainment. It extends the role of YouTube much further, creating a live "Internet Television" broadcast system. Not only can people watch your pre-recorded material on YouTube, but now they can watch you live. By incorporating a voting and commenting system, you can take your act real-time and gain valuable feedback and criticisms to improve your material.
Google+ is also working on incorporating features "showing friends what's on a users computer screen, such as photos or lesson plans; sharing drawings on a digital sketchpad; and incorporating Google Docs, including word processing documents" (Womack, 2011). By providing these features, the door is not only open to the world of entertainment, but the world of business as well.
As an entertainment business student about to graduate, Google+ is opening the door for myself and others to use social media in a whole new way. It will improve how long distance business meetings will take place by providing real-time sharing and face-to-face interaction so that nobody will have to miss important information. By linking computer-to-computer sharing or Google Docs, others in the meeting can keep up with the presenter, see and hear what they are seeing and hearing, when it should be seen and heard.
Hangouts, on the other hand, provide a unique opportunity for artist to fan interaction. The transparency factor proves more real, bringing the fans into the artists world through the live broadcast. This is a perfect opportunity for people working in the realm of promotions. If the hangouts are opened up to a large enough audience, fans can see their favorite performer make a special announcement, or a select number of winners can see their favorite artist perform a closed show from his/her home. It can create transparency as much as selectivity. Since Google+ has circles, artists can group their fans into regions so they can deliver special messages to a targeted audience, rather than as a broad message across a fan page or group.
These tactics prove more efficient for business professionals because it brings prospect of supply and demand all in one central meeting place. It bridges distance, making people feel closer, yet can block out unnecessary audiences if the timing is not right. Since people can add you and you do not need to add them, you can feel out what type of person they are before adding or block messages from them. This proves to be a more efficient way of targeting your desired audience.
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