Although Google+ was arguably a bit of a flop, the search engine has evolved into a much more powerful tool in recent years. One of their major successes, in my opinion, is Google Hangout.
Most people in the professional realm have been subjected to at least one web conference or phone conference. These meetings require audio and usually video capabilities to talk to some big wig in another city, state or country. Google Hangout has made these conferences just a little bit easier.
Hangout can bring 10 different people/computers together into one chat. You can type, speak, and be seen (as long as you have a webcam). In addition, Hangout is available on mobile devices - and is more powerful as a group conversation tool than FaceTime.
Perhaps Hangout is a little less professional than other sites, but I know that I've used it for work a few times already.
As for document sharing and editing, Google already has a group editing program through Google Docs. You can watch in real-time as each person edits a document or spreadsheet. Google really knew how to corner the market with their products.
For you Apple lovers, Hangout has infiltrated the system. It can be downloaded as an application to run on iPhones and iPads.
As a random plus, you can speak sign language to each other with video chats and Google even added shortcuts speccifically for those using sign language.
So how do you get started? Sign up for Google+. This is really the only drawback to the system: registration puts you solidly under their social media wing.
Take my money Google! Oh wait, did I mention all these tools are completely free?
Overall, signing up is worth the small effort. Google may move slowly with development, but as soon as we get the big picture, the final product is pretty impressive. Google is working its way into the business realm in a great way.
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