Google has added a new app, Q&A, to Hangouts. The new app will allow viewers to ask questions during Hangouts, and the host then can select the question and respond in real-time.
How it Works
The Q&A app appears by default every time you initiate a Hangout on Air, and it remains inactive until the Hangout is broadcast live. Before broadcasting, the Hangout host is given the option to enable/disable the Q & A app.
Once the Hangout is live, viewers see a prompt to “Ask a question”. Participants, on the other hand, can enable the app once the Hangout is live. You can also view the questions and the hosts’ answers after.
During the broadcast, viewers can +1 questions as they stream in. The more the +1’s the higher the question gets ranked in the thread. This means it’s important to ask catchy questions so they can get +1’d by other viewers and subsequently catch the host’s and/or participants’ attention. The question currently being answered is highlighted in blue at the top.
Tips & Tricks
- The host clicks “Select Question” to let the audience know the question he/she is currently responding to.
- The viewer has the option of viewing one of the following categories at a time; “All Questions”, “Answered Questions” and “Your Questions”.
- When a viewer selects an answered question, they are taken to the point where the question was answered and the video is auto-played.
FYI: There’s a “spam” category for those who want to misuse the app.
