Having a Live Text Chat in Google+
The quickest and easiest way to get in touch with a single person in Google+ is to use the built-in Chat functionality. Chat enables you to send text messages to someone and (as long as that person replies) get instant responses directly in the Google+ browser. In many respects, it’s pretty similar to using an instant messaging service such as Windows Live Messenger or iChat. Once you’ve set up Google Voice and Video, you can also use it for live one-to-one video and audio conversations.
In the bottom of the left-hand column in the Home section of Google+, you can see the people with whom you can initiate chats. Unlike messages you post to people using Circles, Chat messages can only be initiated with people who have already approved you in Chat (which is separate from adding you to a Circle); and unless you already use it in one of Google’s other services, such as Gmail, it’s likely that nobody is listed here to begin with.
Should I Use Chat over Windows Live Messenger? I’d say yes. One of the upsides of using Google Chat over programs like iChat or Windows Messenger is that you don’t need to install special client software to use it and can log in from any computer.
The very first time you use Chat, you see a Send a message to text box and a list of available people (which may be currently empty), as shown in Figure 7-1.
FIGURE 7-1 The Chat interface with an empty list.
Adding people to the Chat list requires you to enter their email addresses. Follow these steps:
1. Click Send a message to and type the name of a person in your Google Contacts list.
2. Choose the correct email from the list of results. If you do not have an email address in your Google Contacts, you need to type in the email address.
3. Click Invite to chat. A message appears saying the person will need to accept your invitation to chat and will have access to your email address (as shown in Figure 7-2).
FIGURE 7-2 You have to send an invitation to a person before you can use Chat.
4. Click Send invite. A yellow note appears saying your invitation has been sent successfully to the specific email address.
5. Click the X button to remove the note, or wait a few seconds for it to disappear.
The person who receives the invitation request sees a yellow note in Chat (as shown in Figure 7-3) saying you want to chat. The note also asks your friend if it is okay that his or her email address will be visible. If your friend clicks Yes, both of you will be able to initiate chats with each other.
FIGURE 7-3 A Chat invitation being received.
When the person has accepted the invitation, that name appears in the Chat list. To the left of the name is an icon indicating a status. The following statuses can be displayed:
Available for text chat
Available for text and/or video chat
Busy
Offline or invisible
In a conversation
Idle
Idle (video enabled)
Click the name of a person to initiate a chat. A Chat window appears in the bottom-right of the Google+ interface (as shown in Figure 7-4). Type a text message in the box and press Enter or Return to send it to the other person.
If you find the Chat conversation window a little cramped, you can turn it into a larger window by clicking the pop-out icon at the top of the Chat window. Click Pop-in to return to a small window inside the web browser.
FIGURE 7-4 A Chat conversation.
The person who receives your message hears a ping noise, and the text message appears in the same-style text box. From here, you can just keep typing messages and sending them back and forth. You don’t need to wait for the other person to send a reply before sending another message.
What If I Want to Chat with a Person Offline? If people are offline or idle, you can still send them a message. They will receive the message when they next log in to Google+.
Changing your Chat status
If you step away from your computer or log out of Google+, your Chat status changes first to idle, then to offline. However, it is possible to change your Chat status in Google+ to indicate different states (as shown in Figure 7-5). Click Available (or whatever your current status is) and choose from the following list:
FIGURE 7-5 Changing your status in Chat.
+ Available. The default status indicates that you are free to talk.
+ Busy. This status indicates that you aren’t free to talk at the moment, but people can still send you messages.
+ Invisible. This status indicates to other people that you are offline. However, if they send you a message, you still receive it.
+ Sign out of chat. This removes you from Chat completely (although you stay signed in to Google+). You do not receive any messages until you click Sign into chat.
It’s fairly important to remember that indicating you are busy or invisible doesn’t actually block incoming messages.
Viewing chat history and going off the record
One of the great things about Google Chat is that all your conversations are recorded so you can view them at a later date. All your chats in Google+ are saved in Gmail, which enables you to read through them as if they were an email conversation (as shown in Figure 7-6).
Do the following to take a look at your previous conversations:
1. Click Gmail in the Google+ bar or go to http://mail.google.com.
2. Click Chat in the left-hand column (if it is not visible, click the More option at the bottom of the list, and it will be in the drop-down list). The conversations you’ve had appear like Gmail messages in the main window.
3. Click a message to opens its contents.
You can even reply to previous chats as mail messages with the person. It’s a great way to go over a previous conversation and pick up on an earlier thread.
FIGURE 7-6 Viewing your Chat history in Gmail.
The conversation is recorded in your Gmail account and the account of the person you’re talking to. Of course, you might not always want the other person to have a record of your conversation. In that case, you want to investigate Google Chat’s off the record feature. This stops the things you say from being saved in Gmail.
To go off the record, in a Chat window click Actions and then click Go off the record. That part of the conversation does not appear inside the Chats section of Gmail. Both users see the message “You are now off the record” in their Chat boxes (as shown in Figure 7-7).
FIGURE 7-7 A conversation that is off the record.
When you are finished with the private conversation, click Actions and click Go on the record to start recording the conversation again.
How Secure is Off the Record? Although an off-the-record conversation does not appear in Gmail, that doesn’t prevent the other person from using software to record the conversation. And the other person can still cut and paste the text.