Google+ Hangouts On Air: broadcast yourself to the world

The Google+ Hangouts On Air feature has gone global, meaning you can now share yourself via video with Google+ users in 40 countries.

Unveiled last September, Hangouts On Air takes the traditional Google+ "hangout" a step farther.

Instead of just holding a video chat with a small circle of people, you can broadcast to a much wider audience through the On Air version. This makes it an ideal forum for celebrities and organisations that want to promote themselves or reach out to fans and followers. But it's also accessible to anyone who has a message to share with a live audience.

Through the On Air feature, you can broadcast yourself through both your Google+ stream and a regular website. You can easily see how many people are watching you. Once your live show is finished, Google will upload a recording of your broadcast to your Google+ as a post, and your YouTube channel, so that people late to the live party can still check it out.

Launching all those live stations is going to take a while, so Google will be rolling out the new global Hangouts On Air in stages over the next few weeks.

However, you can still sign up to catch an upcoming broadcast this month, from such folks as CBS This Morning, Conan O'Brien, the Nerdist and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

Via CNET