How TEDxAmsterdam used Google+ Hangouts On Air to

create compelling content

Source: http://tedxa.ms/13dZ8G6

Hi. I’m Oliver, in charge of

creating contentfor TEDxAmsterdam.

Oliver de LeeuwChief content creator TEDxAmsterdam

Oliver@tedxamsterdam.nl

@odeleeuw

nl.linkedin.com/in/oliverdeleeuw/

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You may know TEDxAmsterdam from...

Ourextraordinary speakers

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Events

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Campaigns@odeleeuw

Online

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More than 100 volunteers

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Or just because you’re a

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We’re always looking for ways

to interact during events.

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TEDxYouth@Amsterdam 2011@odeleeuw

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TEDxAmsterdamWomen 2012@odeleeuw

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TEDxChange@Amsterdam 2013

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Only a few can attend in real life,

while tens of thousands watch the live stream.

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what do we do with the online visitors?

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challenge

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So our ongoing is:

Lucky for us,Google had just released Hangouts.On steroids Air.

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And our partners* were up for an experiment, too.

* KPN, ING and DELLSource: http://tedxa.ms/12A0voG

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We* produced 4 Hangouts On Air.

How did we get there and what did we

learn?* That’s mainly Feller Media, our video production partner. Big shout out to you, guys!

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Technology Startups

Innovate or die Social entrepreneurs

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«Click to play»

«Click to play»

1 2 3

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HangoutsPreparations

technical needs content needs participants’ needs1 2 3

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HangoutsLive learnings

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HangoutsAfterwards

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☝ Click to go there ☟ ☝ Click to go there ☟ ☝ Click to go there ☟

HangoutsPreparations

technical needs content needs participants’ needs1 2 3

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1 Technical needs

It’s really pretty straight forward, but

you’re better off knowing everything in

advance.

Read the manuals

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1 Technical needs

Google additionally prepped us with several documents based on early adopters’ best practices.

Read the manuals

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1 Technical needs

Obviously, all participants (and organizers) had to have an active Google+ account.

Be experiencedWe wanted everyone to be experienced with Hangouts, before we went On Air.

Most people weren’t, so our producer organized

several Hangout test laps.

@odeleeuw

1 Technical needsEver tried fitting 10

people in 1 chair? That’s kind of what

happens to bandwidth when you are in a video

group call.

Save roomSo high speed, cable (not wireless) internet was a strict requirement for all.

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1 Technical needs

I wanted to be in control so we made the Hangouts ‘invite only’. This prevented random

viewers from being able to join.

Invite onlyYou can read more over at Google’s Hangout support page.

Anyone could watch live though.

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1 Technical needs Public event

You can read more over at On Air event support.

Quite confusing, we did organize 4 ‘public events’. This way anyone could register to watch, comment and... share with friends.

We later posted the ‘On Air url’ in the event description.

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HangoutsPreparations content needs2

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2 Content needs We approached the

Hangouts as television talkshows.

There should be one host or moderator. At certain intervals the host would change topics.

It’s a talkshow

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2 Content needs

All participants had to join the discussion.

And they needed to have opposing views on the given topic to keep things interesting.

Opinionated@odeleeuw

2 Content needs

In close cooperation with our partners we chose 4

themes that would fit both Human Nature

(TEDxAmsterdam’s theme) and our partners’

audience.

To spark some buzz, we then contacted 4 thought leaders, well known in their area of expertise.

Fitting experts

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2 Content needs

This all meant we had to pre-produce the participants’ contribution as much as possible.

We also invited people to ask their question in

advance on the TEDxAmsterdam

Google+ page.

Our partners also communicated this callout on their own online outlets.

Know it all

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2 Content needs I know it’s Dutch, but

you get the picture. Ensure some support from partners to engage people you can’t reach by yourself.

Cross media@odeleeuw

2 Content needs

This cut both ways: we gathered valuable content and we sparked a bit of buzz on multiple platforms.

Content or buzz?

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2 Content needs

A producer contacted the participants 2 days before

the event.

He checked if they understood what we were planning to do, if

they would be surefire able to join and what their point of view

on the subject at hand was.

Double/triple check

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2 Content needs

We had also contacted “backup” participants from

our partners. They were standing by (and we

checked on that, too).

Back it up

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HangoutsPreparations

participants’ needs3

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3 Participants’ needs

High speed, stable internet.

A well-placed webcam. Sufficient lighting.

A production scenario (summary).

Clear rules on the moderator’s role.

Roadmap

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3 Participants’ needs Get everyone to wear in

ear headphones. Works great, does not look

silly.

Set up ground rulesAnd have them agree to talk one person at a time.

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3 Participants’ needs Train and practice with

the moderator so he or she is able to switch

the focus between participants.

Switch cameras

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As part of the rehearsal, people who don’t know this

feature can get used to it.

3 Participants’ needs

Or have a second person doing the switch, much like... a live talkshow on

television would do.

Have a crew@odeleeuw

3 Participants’ needs

Ask the participants to share their input with followers in advance.

Make a splash!

“I will discuss new economy business models for SME’s tomorrow. Watch and join at [url]!”

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HangoutsLive learnings

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Communication The exact URL to view the actual Google+

Hangout On Air is only created when the

organizer starts broadcasting (privately).

So we had some communication logistics to wrap our heads around.

Act last minute@odeleeuw

WorkflowThis is the workflow we created after figuring out all the ins and outs during the rehearsals.

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Communication

Producer starts Hangout.

All people involved only

had 5-10 minutes to spread and

embed the url.

WorkflowAssistant producer emails (yes, it’s true) the broadcast URL to the partners, the video stream director, the social media crew, and the TEDxAmsterdam website manager.

1

23

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Communication

One thing we consistently forgot was to update the

event’s URL to point to the live broadcast.

Whoops

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I think it went right only once.

Communication

One thing that went smoothly was switching between the studio (our

livestream show during the stage breaks) and the

Hangout sessions.

I call that meta interaction.

Whoop whoop!

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Communication

We offered all Hangouts on our website’s front page as

an alternative to the livestream studio show. Front page

Promotion

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Ever hosted a talkshow? It’s complicated.

Especially when you have to look at 5 parts of your screen while talking.

Multitasking@odeleeuw

Moderation

So, the moderators all got an ‘in ear’ producer

audio feed.And we posted some old school sticky notes at the side of his extra large screen.

Old school tools@odeleeuw

Moderation

Old school tools always work.

HangoutsAfterwards

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Video needs Since Hangouts On Air are broadcast live on YouTube,

they are published immediately afterwards.

To edit or not to edit?

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Video needs One can edit the video by setting its privacy to

‘hidden’, downloading it, and reuploading later on.

All we did was insert a branded bumper.

Quick & dirty

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Buzz needsNeedless to say we spread

the videos on our online platforms, including our

partners’.

Share@odeleeuw

Content needsLong tail content

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The relevance of any Hangout’s content diminishes quickly.

I would advise you to write a blog post about each Hangout,

including highlights, quotes and interesting links.

Content needs

Highlights@odeleeuw

And what better way of showing highlights than

publishing a behind-the-

scenes video?

Click to play»

Buzz needs

Most online marketers know how to put YouTube tools to use. Optionally

you can insert descriptions, links and annotations to optimize search results.

Video marketing

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All along there’s one thing you must remember:

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enjoy the ride!

@odeleeuwSource: http://tedxa.ms/13HJcjF

Questions? Suggestions?Feel free to connect with me.

Oliver@tedxamsterdam.nl

@odeleeuw

nl.linkedin.com/in/oliverdeleeuw/

www.nameshapers.com

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