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August 22, 2013

Google Helpouts Allows Professionals to Share Knowledge, Make Money

By Rory Lidstone, TMCnet Contributing Writer

Google (News - Alert) has been steadily working on improving Google+ Hangouts since it collapsed its three similar but somehow separate messaging services — Google Talk, Google+ Messenger and Google Hangouts — earlier this year. This proves that this wasn’t just a move made for efficiency’s sake, but possibly a way for the company to strengthen its reach in the IP messaging and video calling markets.



While July brought the ability to make Google+ Hangouts calls directly from one’s Gmail account, it seems that August may bring something more significant to the table: a Hangouts-based marketplace.

According to TechCrunch, this marketplace is called Helpouts and it “enables individuals and small and large businesses to buy and sell services via live video.” Google describes the new service as a way for professionals and experts to share knowledge, or a Helpout.

Oddly, despite this being a pretty major new addition to Hangouts, Helpouts’ first appearance earlier this week happened with little fanfare — though this may have to do with the service being invite-only for the time being.

Given Helpouts’ professional slant, it’s not surprising that it is currently only inviting “people with expertise across a number of topics” to use Helpouts. This means the service will be able to be reasonably helpful as soon as it goes live officially.

Interested professionals looking to earn money by sharing their expertise with the world can submit their names and e-mail addresses for a chance to be included in the beta test. Be sure you have a Google Wallet ready to accept payments, though, as it’s your only option here — this is a Google service, after all.

As of now, expertise categories listed as part of Helpouts include Home and Garden, Computers and Electronics, Health and Counseling, Nutrition and Fitness, Fashion and Beauty, Art and Music, Cooking, and Education. However, it’s possibly — even likely — that further categories will be introduced over time, as long as Helpouts is a success.




Edited by Rachel Ramsey
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