When I’m not running marathons, sneaking dark chocolate Hershey’s kisses or reading an endless list of fiction books, I actually have a real job!

Some of you may know I work at a political think tank in DC, where I get to run all the social media and figure out what makes people online tick.

As part of my job, I get to write pieces occasionally for The Huffington Post — which is awesome considering what a popular venue it is. Lately, I’ve been writing about techy trends and I figured some of you could benefit from my latest piece on Google Plus Hangouts.

We’ve started doing them regularly at work — and I get to play host a lot, which is actually pretty fun!

Here’s a peak at my article today, which details how politicians are using Hangouts to reach out to Constituents. However, these little tips are good for anyone who is interested in more online interaction via Hangout:

1) Use internally or externally.
Businesses, organizations and political offices can use the hangouts to conduct video conference staff meetings between district and local offices internally. Externally, the Hangouts can be used to stream press conferences, conduct press interviews or hold panels for an online presentation.

2) Livestream to your YouTube channel.
The Hangout can be streamed directly to a YouTube channel so your event can be seen by everyone, even those without Google Plus. Additionally, the Hangout is embeddable, so it can live on any blog or website.

3) Automatically record to save and embed.
The Hangout is automatically uploaded, so it is available immediately afterward to watch or share when finished.

4) Play Professional.
Various apps give users the ability to create a very professional look. You can add name marquees, watch YouTube clips together and more. One app, Pro Studio, is used to cue, mute, manage discussion topics and send notes “behind the scenes” to Hangout participants. 

*Read the whole article HERE.

Just like everyone else, bloggers are looking to connect with their readers in new ways. This is a great way to do so! Additionally, it’s an awesome way to conduct fun, personal interviews that couldn’t do otherwise.

I’ve yet to try Google Hangouts for The Sweet Life  but after writing this piece and doing them for work, I’m dying to try it! As the effectiveness of video overall rises, G+ Hangouts are certain to be a wonderful tool for bloggers, organizations, businesses and politicians.

In Hangout mode 🙂