Use This Google Hangouts Trick To Avoid Messaging The Wrong Person

You'll wonder how you lived so long without it.

If you use Google Hangouts, there's a good chance that you've accidentally said something wildly inappropriate to the wrong person when you meant to message someone else.

For example, last week I was trying to tell my fiancée what I wanted for Christmas. Moments later, I realized I had sent those messages -- which were about a Batman statue -- to a colleague who I certainly do not know well enough to be demanding comic book merchandise of. It was humiliating.

The reason for the mistake: I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing. But Google doesn't exactly help, either. Every Gchat message box looks the same. Because I was talking to my fiancée on my personal account and my colleague on my professional account, both message boxes were even on the same part of the screen. 

There's a neat little trick to circumvent the problem, though. If you type "/bikeshed" into your Google Hangouts window and send the message, it'll change the color of your message box.

Pretty exciting, right? Since the, uh, incident last week, I've taken to changing the color of my fiancée's chat window but leaving everyone else's blank so that she always stands out in my inbox, ready to receive totally asinine demands for Batman toys.

If you want to reset your window back to the default color, just close and reopen it. Also, the trick is desktop-only -- though if you're using the mobile app, your chat windows will take up the whole screen, which probably cuts down on the confusion.

We first discovered the "/bikeshed" trick last year, but it hadn't occurred to me to use it like this until now. Check out our list of Google Hangout hacks for more.

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Google allows video chat Hangouts open to everyone

Google is going to make available the video chat service Hangouts for everyone. Who wants to use the service no longer need to have a Google Account.

That Thursday, Google announced in a press release. It is an update that is being rolled out this week.

It is according to Google especially useful for companies that want to discuss information with suppliers or customers want to engage with the conversation.

People can invite each other with a link is sent via Google Calendar. The recipient need only to click the link and typing a name in order to participate in a video chat.

Previously, users had to log in with a Google account, or fill out a form.

Chat Users can adjust the security level of the chat, so that unnecessary guests can be banned.

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Google adds ability to invite non-Google users to Hangouts

Google today announced a new feature for its Hangouts chat and video calling application that allows meeting organizers to invite users to calls even if they don't have Google accounts. Google says this will make it easier for businesses to host conferences on Google Hangouts with outside parties, such as clients or consultants. This move follows Google's divorcing of Hangouts from its Google+ social network earlier this year.

Organizers of Hangouts conferences will still need to have Google accounts, but those that they invite to the party will be able to join by just clicking a link and without having to fill out a form or give any extra information apart from their name. Organizers will still have the ability to manage adding, muting, and ejecting of participants from meetings.

Image via Google

Google says the new feature was one of its most requested and is rolling out this week.

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