Google hosts first telethon online via Hangouts

Google is using its video broadcasting service, Google+ Hangouts, on Giving Tuesday to host a “Hangout-a-thon” that aims to help connect people interested in making donations for a number of charitable causes. The event will have some notable personalities such as Chris Daughtry, Sophia Bush and Jennifer Garner and have 24 charitable organizations like Charity Water, Save the Children, UNICEF and Malala Fund involved. They are raising money for everything from providing disaster relief for the Philippines, improving clean water access, to getting rid of bullying.

The 12-hour event lets users donate directly to the organizations or provide support through “Shoppable Hangouts” where you can buy products during the event. There will also be a quick coding lesson sponsored by Girls Who Code, Code.org, and Code2040 to teach people about digital literacy.

Source: Tech Crunch

Google introduces video tutorial service using Hangouts

Google is now going to provide personalized assistance through live videos with  Helpouts.  If you have a specific question in mind, Google is using Hangouts to link you with experts via video conference and start a conversation to access the information you require. Google has partnered with certain organizations to tackle topics ranging from music, electronics, education, fashion, fitness, etc. Some services are free, while others will ask you for a certain fee anywhere from $10 to $100.

Google brings back free calls to Gmail Hangouts

After rolling out the unified Hangouts, Google took out the ability to make free calls in Gmail. It’s a good thing they’ve been listening and brought the feature back. They even improved it further by making calls to the US and Canada free for countries where Hangouts calling is available.

Other new features their adding to this “future of Google Voice” include being able to add multiple phone numbers and video participants to the same call as well as playing sound effects using the Google Effects app. These new additions are said to be coming out in the next couple of days.

Source: Gmail Blog

Shake things up with Google Hangouts Easter Eggs

Google just won’t be Google without its Easter Eggs. We get another dose of some pretty whacky ones added into their new unified chat service, Hangouts—ponies, pitchforks, or the KONAMI cheat, anyone? However, these codes work only with Hangouts on Google+ and not in video calls, the Chrome Extension, or the mobile version. 

If you’re bored at work and want to add some quirky fun to your day, you should try these out. Just make sure you don’t use it on your boss or someone you have a professional relationship with, unless you know they are into that sort of thing.