Google Plus: How Will It Make Business Collaboration Better?

As most of you know by now, Google has come out with it’s very own version of a social network called Google +. If you have no idea what Google + is, check out my post on Google + called (Google Plus: What is it? How do we use it.) With the anticipation of Google’s new business pages, I would like to share three new collaborative tools  that  I think will really help businesses grow on this new platform.

Google Hangouts/ Meetings

For starters, Google already has multiple applications to promote better collaboration in the work place. These include things like Gmail, Calendar, and Google Docs. With the addition of Google+, new applications have arrived! For example, say you need to have a face to face meeting with someone in NY, but you’re stuck in LA. In the past you would of had to take the time out of your already busy schedule to get on a plane and fly 6 hours across the country to have the meeting, but now with the arrival of Google Hangout, Businesses can now conduct meetings online with multiple people at the same time. This both saves time and money for all parties involved.

Google Screen-share

Google is also looking into releasing an application where multiple parties within a Hangout/Meeting can share their screens with each other. This will allow businesses to show demonstrations and examples of things right from their computer screen to other businesses or clients that they are working with. This will not only make collaboration easier, but also efficient, by cutting down on time wasted on changes and eliminating some of the countless back and forth emails between businesses and their clients.

Google Whiteboard

At last, a way to take notes on the Google docs that you’ve shared with everyone. Say you’re in a virtual meeting with your employees and you need to see a spreadsheet of new accounts. No sweat with Google docs right?  Well, now say you needed to take some notes on what was talked about and what needs changing on that spreadsheet. Not a problem! Finally, Google will release Google Whiteboard. An interactive virtual whiteboard, where all participants in a Hangout can post and share notes with each other, either on Google+ or by email. This will make note taking and sharing a breeze and allow everyone to see what’s going on all at once, instead of firing off a dozen emails of the same notes to everyone.

With the addition of these three new collaboration applications, Google looks to really entice businesses to get on Google+ and take advantage of the free online services that they are providing. By providing better business applications, Google hopes that businesses will look at the benefits of Google+ and look to advertise, market, and engage with other businesses and consumers through the Google+ platform. Keep a look out for a post on how businesses will really benefit from the new Business Pages that Google looks to release later this year!