Humble Brag: Google mention and why it's worth repeating!

Recently and out of the blue, I got a Google+ notification that Steve Grove, a guy responsible for leading community partnerships at Google+, gave WISC a local news shoutout to the Google Plus community:

Check out this local news station, +Channel 3000 | News 3, using Hangouts on Air to discuss breaking news -- an armed robbery at the UW Madison campus. Fascinating way to bring the public into a real time breaking news discussion... the interactivity helped the anchor,+Michelle Li, to develop the story by crowd-sourcing info from viewers.

1.  I like this guy.  He's from Minnesota.  
2.  He sees the value in interactivity.

Hangouts aren't just another bell and whistle, but they have real value.  The video he shared from us has more than 5300 views, but the idea of sharing a livestream with people during breaking news is more important than numbers.  Is it perfect?  No.  Is it meant to be?  I don't think so.  Does this kind of tool have usefulness?  Absolutely.  We really appreciate Steve giving us some recognition and think it gives us an opportunity to teach.

We are still experimenting with hangouts in our newscasts now.  I do think they add a lot of value, but we're trying to figure out the best way to be interactive.  We certainly want to hear from our viewers and share their opinions, but we absolutely want to create a common place for discussion, learning and innovation.

Here's how to find us.  Circle us *(It's like following or friending us)

+Channel 3000 Google Plus page
+Channel 3000 "Wisconsin Nation" community
+Michelle Li Google Plus profile

Here are some old pics from some of our hangouts!  I love the one with Larry Fournillier at the bottom left - he jumped in during a newscast to show us his spread!  It makes me hungry.