Google Unveils Real-Time Feedback Option 'Applause' for Hangouts On Air

Google on Tuesday introduced a real-time feedback feature called Applause for its Hangouts On Air desktop interface.

With Applause, users will now be able to give simple thumbs up or thumbs down for any Hangout streaming on-air and Google will instantly chart them in real-time, below the streaming Hangout (see above image). Previously, the search giant had two other feedback options for Hangouts On Air - Q&A and Showcase.

Q&A allows Hangouts broadcasters to interact with their live audience in the form of question and answeres in real-time, whereas Showcase allows broadcasters to direct viewers to websites, merchandise, YouTube videos, Google+ profile and Google Play content, from the right-hand side of the Hangout On Air.

"With Q&A, Showcase and now Applause, we're excited to give viewers and creators more ways to interact live. So give Applause a try in your next Hangout On Air, and let us know what you think!" said Google's Ming Zhang on a Google+ post.

On Tuesday, Google reportedly started updating its Hangouts messaging app for Android (and its various desktop interfaces) to integrate Google Voice services, letting users chat via voice SMS and send voice mails. The changes are reportedly being made to the back-end, and users will not have to download an update.

Notably, the Google Hangouts app, which links both the text SMS and the Google Talk service, now delivers a notification about the integration via a pop-up window in the app's conversation list, giving an option to 'Migrate Google Voice to Hangouts.' The feature was earlier spotted in dogfooding stage in a video uploaded by a YouTube user in July.