I am a big fan of Google + hangouts.  If you haven’t participated in any of them, you don’t know what you are missing.  A hangout is a video conference call in which persons who have Google + accounts can participate.  They are free.  All you need is a computer with an Internet connection and a webcam.  Up to nine locations can participate in a single hangout.

On Caleb and Linda Pirtle we will soon be using Google+ hangouts to record a series of author interviews.  In preparation for these, I had to learn how to record a Hangout.  I thought some of you might want to try it yourself, so here is how you do it.

First, create a free Google+ account.  It is a simple fill-in-blanks process.

Second, you need to create a YouTube channel using the same email address that is associated with your Google+ account.  Just go to YouTube, select “create an account” and provide the required information.

When you have completed the first two steps, sign in to your Google + account and select the button that says “Start a hangout.”  When the “Start a Hangout” screen appears, you will see a box below the “name the hangout” field that says “Enable Hangouts on Air?”  If you check that box, Google + will require that you verify the request.  If you select “verify,” you will see a screen from your YouTube channel that asks you to provide your cell phone number.  When you enter your cell number, YouTube will send you a text with a verification code.  Once you enter that code in the space provided, the connection between your Google+ account and your YouTube channel will be set up.

The next step is to invite people to the Hangout.  There is a screen that gives you several options for selecting the people to invite. Remember that these people must have Google + accounts. When you have sent out your invites and people have clicked to respond to their invitations, you can begin the Hangout.

If you are the one hosting the Hangout, at the top of your screen, you will see a red button that says “Begin Broadcast.”  When you hit that button, a timer will countdown from ten seconds and then you will see the word “posting” in that box.

Wait for the word “posting” to disappear.  This takes just a few seconds. Don’t begin your Hangout until the red box  contains the words “End Broadcast.”  If you start before that message appears, that part of the broadcast will get chopped off.

During the Hangout, Google+ will send it direct to YouTube where it will stream live in real time on your YouTube channel.  When you end the Hangout, YouTube will convert the recording to a video file and save it on your channel where people can view it just as they can any video on YouTube.

If you want to embed the video into a blog, all you have to do is copy the link to it from YouTube and paste it in your blog post.

I don’t know yet which authors we will interview or what the heck we may ask them.

I guess you will have to stay tuned to find out.

(Stephen Woodfin is an attorney and author of legal thrillers.  On the side he is attempting to learn Internet tools kids in elementary school master by the third grade.)