Let’s Talk Google+ And YouTube Here At #RNFMRADIO

As you may have become aware, RN.FM Radio is going through a few changes. All for the better mind you, and most importantly all to make our platform more accessible to the community. Our show has appreciated a significant growth over the last year, and Keith and I have YOU to thank for it.

This show was never about us and we certainly wouldn’t have continued this long without the support of the community. Together we’re creating a ripple effect through the nursing profession that is impossible to go unnoticed. One voice and one message, your message. Change is inevitable and these changes are good for all nursing professionals.

So before I continue on this soapbox moment about where we’re headed, I’d like to keep the community updated on that actual changes that are occurring with the programming and production of the show. Consider this update the first of many to come in 2014.

Now, we’ve been providing an audio component of the show since its inception on January 12, 2012. Building a dynamic interaction with the guests, hosts, and the listener through an audio platform is essential to a radio show. We however have been looking to add an additional video component to our shows to really step up the delivery of this valuable content our guests have to offer, and to give the listener an additional opportunity to consume this media.

Where is the video component?

The audio portion of the show is now offering a much higher quality sound than the previous platform, so this is where we’ve decided to turn the dial up to 11, and the technology we’re using is going to help us get there.

RN.FM Radio will be hosting Google Hangouts On Air to offer the community a video portion of the same shows that you’ve been listening to right from the “Listen Now” section of our site and on iTunes. We’re of course not eliminating the audio portion of the show. I mean what’s radio without the audio? You don’t need to answer that of course.

Static.

Okay, maybe that was an open door that was just too easy to walk through.

How do I participate?

So, I wanted to help both our future guests who are interested in participating in a video component and the community here to better understand how this works so that you can take full advantage of every opportunity to participate. I have to preface this by saying that we do believe in the right to choose your platforms and how you sign up for them. This is why we’re continuing to offer a variety of ways to access the content, and you’ll still be able to listen to the shows from any device on any platform.

If you don’t already have a Google (Gmail) account, you’re going to need one to access the majority of this type of delivery on Google+. We know that some of you may not have a Google account, nor a desire to sign up for one. We fully support this decision as stated above. We believe in choice.

You’ll still be able to access the video on YouTube and on our site without a Google account, however this type of account is needed to participate as a guest on our show and to participate live as a listener if you’d like to utilize the commenting portion of the show. The hangout will exist on our Google+ page, but without a Google account you’ll see this screen below as an example:

So what if I don’t want to sign up for a Google account?

Again, you can still view the video on our website and on our YouTube channel without needing a Google account. However, you won’t be able to comment or “like” the video without these credentials. Have we told you how much we appreciate your likes and comments?

To find the live event on our YouTube channel (with our without a Google account), you’ll click on the “videos” tab, then scroll down to “events” where all of our live streaming events will occur. Archived shows that we’ve streamed will also exist here. Once the show is live, then you’ll be able to watch it just like you would with any YouTube hosted video.

Just to reiterate, you do not need a Google account to view the live events on our website and on YouTube.

Now, if you have a Google account, then you can also watch the show on our Google+ page. With each live stream we will be setting up an “event” that is public to everyone, but an invitation will also go out to those of you who are in our circle. Be sure to circle us on Google+ so that you can be alerted of these events and any changes that may occur. Here’s a short clip on what circles are and how to add people, brands, and pages to your circles:

You certainly do not need to RSVP to the actual event, but if you do, then the event will show up on your own events page just like this:

Let’s circle back around on this Google+ platform

When you click on the event from this particular page on your time line, it well then take you to our Google+ page where the video screen will be shown. As a listener/viewer you will just need to click the play button once the show is live. Our regularly scheduled shows are on Wednesdays at 3PM EST, but the event page will also display the exact time just in case there’s an additional show that’s not at the regularly scheduled time.

As a final wrap up to how you can access RN.FM Radio’s content:

The Listen Now section of our site will host:

• An option to listen to all episodes archived on any device, on any platform
• A live stream option via the Mixlr app (at this time this option is still in progress)
• An embedded video option (This will be populated once we have our first live video event)

The Google+ Page will host (Google account needed):

• The event calendar with all of the event details for the live video feed
• The live Hang Out On Air embedded on the Google+ page along with the option to participate via our question/answer feature

The YouTube Channel:

• The ability to view upcoming and archived video feeds from our shows (No Google account required)
• The ability to comment and like the live/archived video streams (Google account is required for this function)

As always, we will continue to update everyone on the changes here at RN.FM Radio and we appreciate your patience as we continue to make the show a much better experience for you. Be sure to follow us on all of our other platforms just below this post so that you can stay apprised of everything happening here.