Hangouts On Air (HOA) & IOS

One of the most powerful tools Google have provided it's community is Hangouts On Air (HOA). This tool allows even the most humble user to reach out and communicate with a potentially huge audience.

The idea behind (HOA) is that you can stream live to your audience via your YouTube channel. Also Google will record you Hangout so people who are unable to view it live can watch at a later date.  So it sounds like a wonderful collaborative tool, right? Well there is one big hole in this otherwise powerful tool.

So what is the hole I hear you ask. The important thing to also understand is that mobile technology is becoming an even more important platform. As more and more people are able to get their hands on a smart phone or tablet this is only going to continue. In some cases a mobile device maybe the sole way that a person connects with and collaborates on the Internet. Then lets look at Accessibility there are those with various visual disabilities including yours truly that rely on using devices like an Ipad.   So to get back to my original point Hangouts On Air (HOA) has one big omission which is you can't view the live stream on the IOS Google+ App. If you know the YouTube URL of the channel streaming the Hangout you can try and watch via the YouTube app but in most cases you have no idea what that URL is.

If you think that this is just me being a Curmudgeon then please read on. Recently I was approached at my work place by a person looking to develop a video communication tool option to connect disadvantaged youth living in rural communities with potential employers. the idea being that these employers could help in mentoring. now a free service like Hangouts On Air (HOA) would sound like a great solution but when this person realised the lack of IOS support had to drop the Hangout idea and look for another true cross platform solution.

What rubs salt into the wounds is that when you talk to Google Managers vis Google+ they will tell "you that it is a known limitation" but won't tell when or in fact if this limitation will ever be addressed. They treat this information as if it was some state secret. Living in Australia where the tyranny of distance is a huge problem Hangouts On Air (HOA) could be a great solution but it won't until Google treat those using IOS devices with the same respect as those using it's own Android operating system.