What’s hot in Social Media at New Year’s?

It’s been an exciting year in the world of New (Social) Media! We saw Facebook go public. Pinterest launched to great success. Twitter changed all the rules, yet again, with a completely new design. And Google opened up one of the biggest inovations, ever!

But I don’t really feel like doing a “Top Hits of 2012 in Social Medial” run-down, and you don’t want to read it.

No, what you do want to read about is kittens! Right? Oh, they’re not new, but they still seem to top the hot lists on the internet, for some reason. What else is hot?

Well let’s see. Christmas; that was pretty hot! Facebook, G+, Twitter and Instagram were flooded with pictures of parties and toys, food and spirits and people in good spirits! Well wishes and prayers of peace filled in-boxes around the world.

And now we prepare for New Year’s Eve! Can you say “Party Time!” I don’t think I’ve ever gotten so many invitations to so many events in all my life! I don’t know where I’ll wind up, but it turns out that I don’t even have to leave the comfort of my own couch to hang out with friends from all around the world.

That’s right, thanks to Google’s contribution to the social web, Google Hangouts, anyone with a web-cam can chill with up to nine other friends at a time! It is this one feature that I predict will have the greatest influence over how we use the web over the next year.

Why would I say that? Well, in just the first year ( less, actually) of Hangouts being available to the public, we have seen them go from jittery video and lousy audio to quite the opposite. When asked about it, Google’s Chee Chew, is rumored to have said, “We had no clue it would be this big!” Big it is.

Just this past month, John Voshell who heads up a music community on G+, organized the “Artists in the Plus Music Festival” which featured 62 acts over a 34 hour live Hangout On Air. Each act performed from the location of their choice, and was streamed live to G+ and YouTube. This would have cost heavy thousands a year ago, but aside from man-hours, it was all handled for Free!

That’s just one example of how G+ Hangouts are changing things. There are cooking shows you can join, tech shows, music, arts, auto, you name it. Companies are using them internally and externally. A web design company I know actually uses hangouts to tutor clients, teaching them how to manage their own sites among other things. There is no end to what can be done, and Google are tweaking the program all the time; making audio and video faster and cleaner almost daily.

Wanna stay home, but get out and about on New Year’s? Pop over to G+ of YouTube and search “Live hangouts on air.” You’ll find parties, concerts, and celebrations of all sorts. But be careful… You might find me!

Wishing you the very best in the New Year!

This weeks Social Exchange is sponsored by:

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