As students, we use Google for practically everything. Google Drive is where we keep all of our schoolwork, with Google Docs for our research papers and articles and Google Slides for our presentations. Gmail is becoming the most popular form of email, as other companies (such as Yahoo! And AOL) have encountered a sharp decline in users. With all this success, one would think there would be nothing else Google could offer to help in our daily lives. However, many students fail to consider the option of Google Hangouts, Google’s online chat and messaging service, for their communication needs. Google Hangouts can be useful for the everyday student, as it incorporates Gmail use, adding contacts solely by email, and simple but effective messaging to create the ideal messaging service.

Google Hangouts was released on May 15, 2013 as a online-only chat service. Hangouts was created to replace the previously created messaging platforms Google Talk and Google+ Messenger and the video chat software known by itself as Hangouts. Google Hangouts in its current form was created in response to growing competition from other messaging software, as it was difficult to attain success in such a fragmented state with Google’s three sub-platforms. By combining all of their services into Hangouts, Google finally had a competitive online chat service that could work in the ever-increasing market. Since 2013, Hangouts has increased in popularity ever since its release.

The success of Hangouts can be attributed to its effective combination of chat software and video-calling capabilities. By allowing users to both use Hangouts as merely a messaging service and also as a video chat service, Google has risen above other platforms. While platforms like Facebook Messenger and iMessage have minor forms of video chat, Hangouts uses video as a main point in their service, making it the ideal way of communicating with friends and coworkers. Kat Hasanov (Class of ‘18) says that the app and website has allowed her to “have fun and talk with with my friends outside of school”, showing Hangouts’ wide reach. Hangouts has risen in popularity especially among students to chat with classmates about homework, questions, or just for fun after a long day. Hangouts’ hidden Easter eggs in their chat, such as typing “happy birthday” and a fox appearing with a slice of cake for the user, have led to even greater appeal for exuberant users. Enrique Fuentes (Class of ‘18) “[loves] how Hangouts makes ‘texting’ fun and easy”. Hangouts is the best way for students to communicate effectively and efficiently while still having a good time.

Google Hangouts, compared to other platforms as previously mentioned, has prevailed as the most user-friendly and entertaining platform for communication. Some students fail to realize this, but many classmates have already taken advantage of this amazing platform. Joe Radinsky (Class of ‘19) thinks that Hangouts “makes it easy to share information and ask for homework help”, showing that Hangouts can also be a useful tool for both fun with friends and homework. With all this success as Hangouts, Google is thinking about moving on to programs that are bigger and better than the current version of the service. Google Hangouts will soon be splitting into Hangouts Meet, a video conference service, and Hangouts Chat, a messaging-based service, for maximum use and efficiency. Google has also announced the new AI-based messaging program Google Allo, and Google Duo, a brand-new way to video chat. While these platforms are going to be released soon, Hangouts in its current state is still an effective and fun way to communicate with friends, family, and coworkers.