Yesterday we had our first experience with Google+ Hangouts on Air. Let me be frank here – it was also my first real experience hosting a webinar. I was well prepared, having researched my topic and prepared my Prezi in advance, and by the time the event was to start, I was stoked!

1. suttoncreativestudios.com http://suttoncreativestudios.com/first-experience-google-hangouts-air/
January 16, 2014
Our First Experience with Google+ Hangouts on Air
Yesterday we had our first experience with Google+ Hangouts on Air. Let me be frank here – it was
also my first real experience hosting a webinar. I was well prepared, having researched my topic and
prepared my Prezi in advance, and by the time the event was to start, I was stoked!
Before you have your first experience with Google+ Hangouts on Air, I encourage you to do your
research. Read the guides telling you how to set-up and actually start your event, how to turn on
screenshare and questions, how to mute and hide other participants, and how to share on YouTube. Trust me,
you will appreciate having the knowledge when you enter the dashboard and stare at it with a thought of
“What is this!?”
Having said all this, here is what I learned…
1. Even though your broadcast hasn’t started (or has ended) doesn’t mean your audience can’t
see or hear you. Upon stopping my broadcast, my awesome assistant Jake sent me a Skype message that
he could hear me typing. At first I thought he meant he could hear me forwarding through my Prezi. Nope.
What he meant was that even while we were Skyping he could still hear me because I hadn’t closed the
Hangout window.
While the final video Google sent over to YouTube didn’t include the audio or video before or
after the event, the original recording of the event included EVERYTHING. I was mortified. No, I
hadn’t cussed, burped or had gas. However I had my music playing before the event, I wasn’t dressed for a
webinar (Come on, people! I work at home!), and immediately after I stopped the broadcast I had a coughing
fit. And Jake (and the other present audience members) has seen and heard it all.
TIP: Even though the final video will only show the broadcasted portion of your hangout, do not enter the
hangout until you are ready to begin. Make sure your music is off, and try to look presentable.
2. Limited time to start your broadcast. I entered the Hangout about 10 minutes early to make sure I
had all my settings ready. I had Questions turned on, my camera turned on, my screenshare set up and
audience members hidden and muted. Unfortunately at showtime the “Start Hangout” button had
disappeared. I needed to re-enter the Hangout (closing my original window) and re-set up the event, AFTER
the event was supposed to begin. Not good.
TIP: Again, do not enter the hangout until you are ready to begin, or only a minute or so before. Soar through
the settings, getting them set up as you want, as begin your broadcast. The last thing you want to do is keep

2. your audience waiting.
3. Mute audience is not reliable. I love my audience, I really do,
however I did not want to hear them, their pets, kids and
coughs/sneezes when I reviewed the playback. In the end, I
considered the recorded Hangout unusable and re-recorded the entire
presentation using Snagit’s video capture feature. I was frustrated, to say
the least. I had run through the original event smoothly, hadn’t stumbled,
and had done (in my opinion), great! Re-recording the event stressed me
out, causing me to mess up several times, and causing me to take over
an hour to record a version I was happy enough with to publish.
TIP: You may start your broadcast immediately, however chat it up with
your audience before actually starting your presentation. Ask them
(repeatedly) to mute their microphones, and make sure this is actually
working before going into the good stuff.
My presentation yesterday was “Turn Tweets into Profit.” If you are
interested in viewing it, I have included the video below. In the meantime,
if you have any suggestions about how make your first experience with
Google+ Hangouts on Air an entirely positive one, please include them in
the comments field below.
Turn Tweets into Profit
Nearly 9,100 tweets occur per second on Twitter. Are you engaging in ANY Twitter activity throughout the day?
In this video we offer several tips for you to follow to maximize Twitter engagement gain clients and/or
customers.
*****
Kim Sutton is a founding partner of Sutton Creative Studios, an agency specializing
in social media management, graphic design and virtual assistance. She is a
graduate of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she earned her
Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Architecture.
In her free-time, Kim cherishes the time she gets to spend with her husband, Dave
(her business partner), and three children. She also enjoys reading, knitting and
writing.
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