Wanna hangout with the artists you have gotten to know via social media like Facebook etcetera - exchange encouragement and share achievements and advice? Google hangouts are cheaper than a plane ticket and catching on with creatives looking to connect to each other. This is a great way to connect with people and simple to use. You have to have a Google+ account to use it and add people on there first : ) 

There is a little button at the top of your Google+ home screen that says "hangouts". Click that and you are in the calling screen. From here there are many options including sharing your computer screen or video chat ( with disguises if you are feeling a combination of shy and goofy) . You can invite people to chat on this page and you can invite entire circles of people if you want for up to 10 people max. You can invite people to join the conversation even once you already started chatting with someone. 

You can even use Google+ hangouts as a way to teach, share information or demonstrate a technique like Bill Inman does here: http://theabundantartist.com . You can record the sessions and broadcast them to a wider audience afterwards.

It's a simple to use feature that works really well and can probably serve many different applications for artists. I especially like the idea of chatting with artists across the globe for organizing shows and sharing ideas. Here are some ways that Google+ hangouts are bringing together the arts communities and museums as well: http://artmuseumteaching.com/

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