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By Root 600 0

use for Google+. At the top of any YouTube page, click the Upload link. If you’ve never uploaded to YouTube before, you may be prompted to create a username, and a channel name for your videos. On the next page, click “Select files from your computer” button or “Record from webcam” if you feel like doing a little impromptu video performance. After you select a video or record one with your webcam, give it a title, a description, and set its visibility (public or unlisted—either works for Google+). When it’s all done uploading, head to www.youtube.com/editor. Select the video you want to edit from the thumbnails at the top of the page, and then drag that video down into the empty box below. When you mouse over the video in the lower section, you’ll see icons for trimming, rotating, adding effects (which includes fixing lighting and contrast issues), and adding text.

Once you’ve edited your video, you can attach it to a Google+ post. Simply start a new post as detailed on Writing a Google+ Post, click the video icon, choose the YouTube option, and then choose the “Your YouTube videos” heading on the left. If you’re signed into Google+ with the same account as your YouTube channel, your edited video should show up there. If not, open a new browser window or tap and pull up your video on YouTube, and then copy its web address; head back to Google+ and paste the address into the “Enter a URL” box.

If you’d like to save a copy of your edited video, you can head to YouTube, click the box in the upper-right corner that has your username and two arrows (like this: >>) pointing downward, and then choose My Videos in the box that appears near the top of the page. On the My Uploaded Videos page, find the video you want to download, then look for a set of buttons underneath it: “Edit info,” “Edit video,” “Insight,” and a downward-pointing arrow. Click the arrow, choose Download MP4, and grab yourself a drink—it will probably take a while. To upload the video to Google+, click the Upload New Photos button on the Photos page, and it’ll end up in the “Your albums” section so you can share it any time.

Chapter 6. Hanging Out

WRITING POSTS, uploading pictures, and checking out all the things your friends have written and uploaded to Google+ is a great way to let people know what you’re up to and keep tabs on what they’re doing. But what if you want to connect with people in real time and on a more personal level? That’s where Google+ hangouts come in. They’re a super simple way for you to chat with people using a microphone and (if you have one) a webcam, a video camera designed specifically to send video to your computer. (Most newer laptops come with webcams built in.)

In Chapter 3, you learned how your main Google+ stream is kind of like the lobby of a college dorm, and the streams for your individual circles are similar to hallways within that dorm, where everyone’s written notes and posted photos on their doors. To continue that analogy, Google+ hangouts are like hanging out in a dorm room with the door open so people can pop in and out. (Or, as Vic Gundotra, Google’s Senior Vice President of Engineering put it, hangouts are like sitting on your front porch and letting people know you’re there: “Hey, I’m hanging out on my porch. I’m available, [and] if you’re available too, you can join [me].”) It’s a place where you can turn on your microphone and, if you like, your webcam and, well, hang out with your friends. You can see your friends’ faces and have meaningful conversations. And best of all, nobody has to install a special program, trade usernames, or “ring” a whole bunch of participants on separate “calls.”

You can use hangouts to do whatever you want with up to 10 people: hold business meetings, discuss a document or spreadsheet, or wish somebody a happy birthday in a way that’s as close to in-person as possible. The only thing you need to do before using hangouts is to set up some Google+ circles. And at a minimum, you need a microphone that’s either built into your computer or plugged into it (although hangouts are