(AFP Photo)
Google announced on 4 November a new video service that allows users to share and receive expert advice online in the form of recorded videos.
Receiving or offering this expert advice is not free, however.
Those benefitting from these advice sessions, called Helpouts, will pay the experts providing them either by the minute or by the session, depending on the latter’s preference, and using Google Wallet.
“If you’re a professional or an expert in a particular area, share your knowledge with people who want to learn from you by giving a Helpout,” the official Google support page said about the new service.
The Helpouts video series is divided into eight main categories: Art and Music, Computer and Electronics, Cooking, Education and Careers, Fashion and Beauty, Fitness and Nutrition, Health and Home and Garden.
Users, who will upload videos and offer advice in any of these areas, are asked to upload a personal photo and write a short and clearly descriptive title on the service provided. They are also asked to write about their qualifications that allow them to offer the guidance in question, and at the requested fee structure.
The company also recommends users upload an introductory video that will give potential customers a better understanding to the offered services.
On Google’s official website, the vice president of engineering said that the simple goal of the new feature is to “help people help each other.”
“We want to use the convenience and efficiency of the web to enable everyone, no matter where they are or what time it is, to easily connect with someone who can help,” the vice president said in the statement.
Google also launched the Helpouts application for Andriod software also on 4 November.
