Shah Rukh Khan gives Google+ a leg up

Internet giant Google is leaving no stone unturned to ensure its social networking site Google+ does not lack ‘buzz’ this time around. The company conducted the first live group video chat today, christened 'Hangout', with Shah Rukh Khan, the only actor to have a 'verified' Google+ page in India.

The Bollywood star, who has also tied up with Google to promote his upcoming film, Ra.One, took part in multiple video chat sessions, or Hangouts, with nine other participants chosen on a first-come-first-served basis by Google. Khan is the fifth celebrity to conduct a Hangout on Google+.

“Google+ users joined the hangout with Shah Rukh Khan, both through their mobile phones with G+ apps, as well as the web,” said a Google spokesperson. Though Google faced technical hiccups in connecting the nine participants simultaneously for the video chat, it managed to conduct several hangouts, with each session comprising two participants.

Shah Rukh Khan's Google+ profile has over 48,000 followers, and almost every update by him on the Google+ page accounts for over 350 replies from fans eager to converse with him. However, the figure is much lower than his 1.3 million followers on Twitter. In one of his posts announcing the hangout, Khan said, “Heard that I will be hanging out with some of you only. Team is trying to ensure the rest of you can watch me live on my Google+ page.” Almost 500 people responded to this comment of his.

Despite his fans facing initial difficulties in connecting with him over video (most had trouble downloading the video chat plug-ins), they were thrilled to communicate with the star. One fan, Rupinder Gill wrote on his page, “I want to hang out with you. Please choose me. I'm your biggest fan. My mic, camera, Google voice & video plug-in (sic) is already installed.”

Social media experts agree that celebrities are something a five-month old social network like Google+ needs to attract mainstream attention. “Twitter's popularity can be attributed to its early celebrity presence, as we all know how popular the social network has become,” they point. So far, Google+ has primarily attracted 25-35-year olds, males and technology enthusiasts, according to unofficial Google+ statistics.

While Google did not share more details, Shah Rukh Khan is expected to engage in a few more activities on Google +. The activities Google undertook to promote the scheduled hangout with Shah Rukh Khan ensured that his profile updates shot up, and became the most discussed post on the social network, according to data from www.socialstatistics.com.

In August, Google had updated in its official blog, saying Google+ would boast of 'verification badges' for celebrities, public figures and people added to a large number of circles (followers on the site).