Experimenting with Google Plus
| 12:11 UK time, Friday, 5 August 2011
This may entirely change the way WHYS carryout its show. It will give unprecedented access to contributors, fans and listeners. I am joining the hangout right away!
... so posted enthusiastic Blaise in Virginia, when we announced on Facebook the first ever, pioneering WHYS Google Plus "hangout".
The picture shows some of what went on - I'm chatting to Blaise, Kimenyi in Nairobi & a silhouette representing Matt in Melbourne (with WHYS boss Mark peering in from above!)
Resident WHYS web guru Ben Sutherland recently did all the groundwork to set up our presence on Google Plus - Google's latest social networking venture.
After Thursday's experiment, I want to get your ideas about how we can best use it - are you as excited as Blaise about the possibilities? Let me explain more ...
A "hangout" on Google Plus lets you sit and chat online on webcam with up to 10 people at once who can dip in and out as they wish.
Does it seem familiar?! In terms of look, there's something of a resemblance to WHYS on TV (see below) - which is partly why we're excited about what we can do with it. It feels like it's on the same wavelength as the programme. And, of course, the idea of a bunch of people getting together online to chat to each other is the whole point of World Have Your Say.
So yesterday, while doing the usual Facebooking, Tweeting and blog scouring of the WHYS social media producer, I sat in a hangout for 5 hours chatting to anyone who cared to drop by, as another means of feeding your thoughts into our discussions.
The fact you're "hanging out" pops up on your news feed and you can send people to a fixed URL to find you.
It was great talking to Blaise (he was there throughout!), Kimenyi (and daughter, briefly!) & Matt (until 3am Melbourne time!) - as well as Mark in Paris, Jay (who briefly popped up with his daughter too), Zoya in Karachi (sorry the connection wasn't strong enough), Kane (a WFYI listener in Indiana), Akpo in the east of England & Dan in Manchester (sorry we lost you early on!).
Thanks for the technical trouble-shooting too - I was in safe hands when my microphone packed up.
The whole afternoon was a bit like presenting a marathon WHYS show for me ... here are some of the topics we covered:
* How best to harness Google Plus for WHYS (I'll come back to that)
* Potential personal consequences of the latest financial jitters (Blaise told me the potential movement of the dollar against the pound has big implications for his intention to come to the UK to study from next month)
* How climate change is reported
* Why it's taking Nato so long to remove Colonel Gaddafi
* The upcoming elections in Cameroon (Blaise and Mark are both originally from there)
* The effect of the 'Arab Spring' on expectations and political aspirations of young people in sub-Saharan Africa - will they demand more at election times in future?
* Whether the potential success of the Cameroon national football team is compromised by the egos of some individuals
... and so on. It was also fun to answer questions about how the programme works and what we do (although it was a shame, that when I attempted to take the laptop through to studio S.38 to show the hangout our broadcast, the wifi signal didn't quite stretch that far ...!)
So how can we use this in future? Various ideas have come up so far ...
* Exactly what we did yesterday: a "hangout" always enabled in office hours, so anyone around the world can 'drop by' the WHYS office to come and have a chat, suggest ideas, make points ... For us, that would be another great way of finding interesting people who can speak on our programmes.
* Using a hangout on-air on the WHYS TV programme, putting your faces and voices on screen in a new way. Maybe the hangout is talking in parallel about the issue on the TV programme and we can dip in to hear where the conversation is going.
* Setting up a hangout AFTER each edition of WHYS for you to chat to each other about what you heard / saw, if you didn't manage to speak on the programme proper.
* Bringing a hangout into our editorial meetings to give you even more input into the issues we cover.
Obviously we're aware of potential limitations too: not everyone has access to the technology, there's not a critical mass of people using Google Plus at the moment, sometimes the technology doesn't work smoothly, sometimes we might encounter people who don't respect the courteous house rules of WHYS, etc ... If we use it regularly in future, this will only be one of many ways you'll be able to talk to us.
But if you have any more ideas about how we could harness it, or you have points to make about your experiences using Google Plus, or if you have suggestions for other sites we should be looking into instead, I'd be pleased to read them - post below!
© 2012
Comment number 1.
At 14:37 5th Aug 2011, Akpokpokpo1 wrote:I was one of the 1st people to 'hangout' with WHYS yesterday. I can see the potential for more interactive and constructive discourse.
The same sort of warnings about the house rules can be included on 'the door' of the hangout. However additional house rules structured for this particular medium need to be drafted to cover how long a person may be in the hangout; a polite way to indicate you want to comment; a limit on how long you may comment in front of camera; hanging out via chat messages etc.
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Comment number 2.
At 03:45 8th Aug 2011, gary indiana wrote:Cool.
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Comment number 3.
At 12:39 8th Aug 2011, PipeVVorm wrote:Doomed to failure I suggest, you said it yourself in the article.
' there's not a critical mass of people using Google Plus at the moment' so what makes you think thats going to get better anytime soon?
Someone hasnt done their homework at the BBC.
Let me explain the disadvantages of what you propose.
1/ An adversity by most not to broadcast their identity over a webcam. WE are told never to do this unless its Family or friends. BBC is no friend of mine.
2/ How many networks at work will allow you to do this in works time.....this one wont I'll tell you that for nothing.
3/ You only want identity becuase you cant handle some of the comments put up on HYS in texted form.
4/ A whole host of reasons why the BBC want you to HYS in this form, some of which they wont publish becuase they dont want you to know.
There are a whole lot of other reason as well, not least your opening up a huge hole for hackers.
Thanks but no thanks, thats one I can cross off my favorites list.
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Comment number 4.
At 15:58 8th Aug 2011, Linda from Italy wrote:Unlike PipeVVorm. I like to think I am a friend of the Beeb, it is certainly one of my friends and, when I’m not hard at work, it is my constant companion, including all through the night. Many of you will also know that I am a blogger not a FB-er nor a Twit, and this idea seems even crazier. First of all, apart from the Friday slot on that dismal entity World TV, this is the RADIO folks – so who the heck needs webcams? One of the joys of working at home and getting my work via the text-based Internet is that I don’t have to succumb to the slavery of looking whatever part prospective customers think is appropriate, my track record and the words I write speak for themselves. If a picture is appropriate, I use a shot of one of my 30 cats, all far better looking than me and anyway, you wouldn’t be able to see much of me on webcam because of the clouds of cigarette smoke I emit.
I think this idea is just plain nuts, it was bad enough killing off the WHYS blog in favour of FB, (facile balderdash?) but this seems to be yet another woeful attempt by the BBC to appear trendy and youthful (please Auntie act your age and continue to cater for grown-ups) - if it’s new it must automatically be better. But guess what folks? Technology on its own does not create intellectual value, the GIGO principle is a universal, and unfortunately these gimmicky gismos seem to attract the purveyors of garbage.
I have absolutely no wish to see images of contributors, or presenters come to that, and I have no wish to broadcast what is the perfect face for radio to the universe. The point about radio is that, to quote and old adage “the pictures are better”,
Think I’m going to change my BBC ID to “Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells”!
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Comment number 5.
At 17:26 8th Aug 2011, LilyWhite wrote:Re: But if you have any more ideas about how we could harness it, or you have points to make about your experiences using Google Plus, or ***if you have suggestions for other sites we should be looking into instead,*** I'd be pleased to read them - post below!
Why not look into this blog?! There are no updates about our debt issues here in the U.S. It is relevant and worthy of discussion, but is being skipped right over!
I had a friend send me a Google+ invite; however, I decided that it would only be another time pit like FB. WHYS seems to be focusing on the quantity of outlets it can reach users by as opposed to the quality of input received from commentators. I agree with Linda from Italy with what can be regarded as "perks" of Google+ such as webcams or etc. These are great, but is that really necessary? Sometimes more is less. The focus should be on engaging people and getting their opinions not overwhelm people with ridiculous options for contributions they really don't need.
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Comment number 6.
At 18:58 9th Aug 2011, Ben James wrote:Thanks for your comments so far, it's great to get your feedback.
@Akpo - it was good to speak to you! Hope to do so again.
@PipeVVorm - We have no idea whether or not Google Plus will take off. But we thought it would be a good idea to know how we might use it, in case it does. You're right when you reiterate something I write above: we know it won't be possible for everyone to use (those who are at work might well be less able to use it than those who are talking to us in their evening). But, to repeat - if it's adopted, this will always only be one of *many* ways you can talk to us.
@Linda - We haven't made up our minds that it's better: that's why we're experimenting with it. But also we don't want to decide that it's no good for us before we actually try it. Showing a picture isn't compulsory by the way - Matt in Melbourne (see pic above) just preferred to display the stock silhouette image. You can still send us your contributions by email - worldhaveyoursay@bbc.com - while the blog is in a state of change: we always appreciate them. PS - I have cousins from Tunbridge Wells!
@Lilywhite - You're right: people may prefer to post on a blog, they may opt to use FB, or blog & FB, or blog & Google+, or other platforms we don't know yet, or none of the above - an email or a call. Since we need to be able to reach out as widely as possible, we need to make sure we have as significant a presence online as possible. I guess we're trying to make sure we're out there to be contacted on whichever means of interaction an individual most prefers - and this is inevitably different for different people. It might be Google Plus for many in a few years from now ... then again, it might not! But better to be ready than trying to catch up later.
As for the blog's future - check out the recent post from Ros: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/worldhaveyoursay/2011/07/blog_business.html#294037
Thanks again for your feedback!
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Comment number 7.
At 16:52 11th Aug 2011, Jodie in Virginia wrote:Soooo - how about an update on the "recent post from Ros" about the blog. Again, there is no link from the announcement of the day's topic email to the blog so that one can respond "the old fashioned way."
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Comment number 8.
At 16:45 12th Aug 2011, Jonathan wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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