---
title: Google Hangout for Daily Standups, Weekly Retrospectives, and Interviews
teaser:
tags: playbook
author: Dan Croak
published_on: 2013-05-14
---

We've been experimenting with [Google Hangout][1] for meetings such as [daily
standups][2] with remote team members and interviews with remote candidates.

We concluded this experiment was a success.

It's nice to have a recurring calendar invite to open, click "Join Hangout" and
start talking.

![Calendar invite](http://media.tumblr.com/5a1445c0db282448ce45b85dbcdd586a/tumblr_inline_mmlj0q4Poq1qz4rgp.png)

## Gotcha: laptop/monitor switch

Google Hangout is sometimes choppy over wifi. The settings need to change when
we switch from laptop to monitor, so we often are without sound for a few
seconds before changing the "FaceTime Camera (Built-In)" setting to "FaceTime
HD Camera (Display)".

![face](http://media.tumblr.com/69bbbcf7cca861749b493853a2060b0d/tumblr_inline_mmqwe8Dukt1qz4rgp.png)

## Gotcha: choppy wifi

We've noticed in longer meetings, we sometimes need to refresh the page if
sound starts to get choppy, presumably to clear some buffering.

## Gotcha: internal microphone on a MacBook Air

We've noticed during Hangouts that the sound captured by a MacBook Air's
internal microphones is often muffled. We generally have MacBook Pros for
better performance of test suites, but there are a few of us who have Airs. We
use Apple earbuds with Hangouts on MacBook Airs.

## Gotcha: stenographer

For weekly retrospectives, one person is typically taking notes. When they
type, their microphone will be muted. So, when multiple people are in the same
room on a Hangout, we mute and cut the sound on the stenographer's laptop,
restricting it to video and using other's nearby laptops for sound.

Overall, it's always better to see someone's face.

[1]: http://www.google.com/+/learnmore/hangouts/
[2]: http://playbook.thoughtbot.com/finding-a-rhythm/daily-standups/