

ChefHangout is a genius use of Google+ Hangouts and could actually make money - mirceagoia
http://thenextweb.com/apps/2012/02/14/chefhangout-is-a-genius-use-of-google-hangouts-and-could-actually-make-money/

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prawn
Can the technology support hundreds of viewers? Can you moderate people piping
up with questions so it doesn't get out of control?

If so, celeb chefs even just in Australia could rake in money using this.
Cooking reality shows (MasterChef, Kitchen Rules) are very popular and the
chefs are often household names. I am not one for mainstream television, but
the Friday night Master Classes during the MasterChef season are great.

If you put one of those names like Gary or George from MasterChef (and there
are a number of Australian celebrity chefs ahead of them) in a Friday night
class doing 2-3 dishes for $15, you could get 1,000 signed up if not 10-30,000
with a bit of promotion.

Imagine a season pass with a chef doing Friday night dishes. Tune in when you
can or have access to archives if you're otherwise occupied. Suddenly the
market for cooking classes booms.

I've done in-person cooking classes here in Australia and also in Turkey and
could see myself trying out on-line streams.

Further than cooking classes, imagine name musicians teaching signature tips
and tricks with a guitar or effects. Imagine Trent Reznor, or Nick Cave and
Warren Ellis, doing live Friday evening jam sessions to viewers. They set up
the camera, open a bottle of wine, and start mucking around. Moderators could
enable fans to butt in at the right times to suggest a style or ask a
question. "Hey, can you drop-D and stuff around for a bit - would love to see
what you create!" Make it affordable at $10-15 and you could get hordes.

In each case, do special/limited shows for $80+ with more access to interact
and get personal feedback.

Could it work? I'd love to build it.

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nextparadigms
They have Hangout OnAir for opening the Hangout to everyone, but Google is
only allowing some people to use it so far. Not sure why. It would be great if
they allowed everyone to use it.

Also, they need to allow the person hosting it to auto-record the Hangout so
he can post it on Youtube later. It could be automatically saved in his
Youtube account, too.

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tptacek
It's clever, and I hope it succeeds, but:

 _This site could also be a great way for chefs to get the word out about
their respective restaurants and book ventures_

... well, for generating awareness of a restaurant or a book, isn't a simple
broadcast video of the same content more effective?

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pcmyers
I think this is an excellent use of the G+ technology stack.

For certain dishes or chefs, I easily see foodies and aspirational gourmands
paying the price of admission.

The viability of ventures like this are very dependent on the underlying
technology, but more importantly they are subject to the legal attitude of the
host company - I was about to say that I would be nervous trusting my product
to such a high level of vendor lock-in, but I use PaaS products as often as
possible (speed kills)...

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jjcm
Seems interesting, but overpriced. I wouldn't pay $25 for a video conference
with a chef - I'd probably just find a video on youtube of how to do it for
free. That said, I think it's a cool idea, and I'd love to host my own cooking
sessions if I could list it for free (not sure if you can or not, didn't see
any classes that were free). It'd be a fun social interaction site, but I
wouldn't pay for it directly.

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tptacek
You're getting feedback from the chef, right? Isn't that what you're paying
for?

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mirceagoia
This could apply to other services, like www.tangomeet.com, or others where
they offer online video lessons.

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stephenhuey
Strange, I follow the instructions to apply as a chef, but when I get to the
step that says click on My Account, all I see is Manage Account. If I click on
that, I don't see the Application option anywhere on the page. I'm trying to
help a couple of chef friends sign up.

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silverlight
I think this is great. My wife and I can't get out much due to the baby in the
house, plus there aren't a ton of private cooking classes to be had in
Wichita, KS. But we'd love to learn some more advanced techniques. We'll
definitely pick out a class and give it a try!

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mbreese
Why do I see this expanding into other "lessons". I can completely see doing
something like guitar lessons this way. Or college classes, or study groups...

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jmjerlecki
Seems like they shouldn't have just focused on chefs, however could be a good
market to test before opening up to other areas of interest. Great work!

