Google+ Hangouts is a simple video chat room that allows up to ten people to participate in a conversation together. It simple to use, and we here at Lifehacker use it for our weekly meetings. More interesting is the abundance of specialized apps developed for Hangouts that add all sorts of functions ranging from whiteboards to video poker. Here are a few of our favorites:
- Cacoo: Cacoo is a full suite of nerdy extras for Hangouts. Inside your Hangouts you can create mind maps, collaborate on diagrams, and even work on office layouts. Cacoo probably isn’t something most of us will use every day, but it’ll certainly come in handy on occasion.
- SlideShare: SlideShare is all about presentations. You can create slideshow presentations with SlideShare and share them with others in a hangout. Simple, easy, and doesn’t require a bit of technical knowledge to use.
- ConceptBoard: Want to collaborate on a big project and let everyone just dump ideas into one simple image? ConceptBoard is a giant whiteboard for your hangouts. It might seem a little silly at first, but it works pretty well if you collaborating on something that needs visuals.
- Screen Sharing: Screen sharing is one of the built-in features of Hangouts that makes it great to use when you need to do tech support for friends or family. Continue reading Everything Else: Apps, Products, and Automated Scripts
