If you’re reading this, you may have heard of the new Video Livestreaming platform called Blab. You may have seen a notification of an upcoming event with a link to an event that  has a url starting with http://blab.im/

What is it?
What do you do now?
How do you attend the event?
How do you participate, and get the most from it?

Blab.im is a live-streaming video platform that allows users to host live video sessions with up to 4 people interacting on screen at the same time – and a very large number of viewers interacting from a chat box on the right hand side.  These sessions may be like meetings, discussions, or even presentations where people can engage directly and dynamically with the host(s) throughout the session!

Extremely easy to use, and accessible to almost  anyone in the world, Blab allows you to connnect with an international audience in a semi-casual setting – with many users attending from their home offices, or walking with their mobile devices – wherever they may be.

Step 1. Access the blab.im platform

Open a browser so that you  can access the internet. (At the time of writing Blab.im works well with Google Chrome and Firefox, to name some).

To help maximise your ability to participate in the Blab, make sure you are logged in (creating an account if you haven’t already), to twitter.com.

Once logged in to twitter, go to http://blab.im (or use the URL you were sent). If you haven’t been in before, you will be asked to log in to Blab.

Click on the “Sign up with Twitter”, and an account will be created, so that you will be able to actively participate in a Blab. Blab will collect your profile information from Twitter, and populate your Blab profile from there.

Step 2. Attend your first blab

Believe it or not, you are ALREADY able to attend your first blab and participate actively in the session! Blab is remarkably simple to access, and provides a lot of functionality with very few gotchas that might impede your progress. Even then, if you do have issues, you can almost always find someone with a little more experience – willing to help you get started.

Step 3. Engage in the Blab

To participate in the conversation, there are only a handful of things you really need to know – and almost everything is accessible from the main screen of an active Blab.

• You can type comments in the chat box on the right.
• You can reply to others’ comments, by clicking on the small arrow to the right of their ‘names’.
• You can ask questions from the chat box, starting your comment with “/Q” such as “/Q Do you know if that’s possible in Australia?”
• You can view others’ profiles by clicking on their names, and “follow” people on Blab – or you can click through to their twitter profiles, and follow them there – and often find links to their websites to learn more about them.
• You can share a link to the session to twitter or facebook, using the buttons on the left below the title of the blab, so that you can share with your network of people who may find the session valuable.

Blab is a rich conversational platform where you can meet many people with whom you can develop contacts, friendships and business opportunities.

Gotcha #1 – Delays, Echos and lost video connections

Blab uses a number of technologies to bring this rich environment together, and each have their own complexities that they manage to give you a great experience.

So long as you have a good backbone internet network, many can be overcome just be doing a “refresh” of your browser screen (F5 on many browsers). Wait for it to re-start, and connect with your current Blab, and you should find the session restored. Try 2 or 3 times, if you must. Most issues go away with a simple refresh.

Gotcha #2 – Persistent echos or feedback

With the delays that occur with sound travelling vast distances over the internet – and the interactions of sounds around your computer – sound can be distorted in many ways.

When you attend a few blabs, you will notice that almost every person on Blab uses low-cost headphones to stop the sound reaching their microphone and affectig the sound quality. Invest in some headphones ($10-20 phone ear buds are adequate), and you will help you – and others – have a great experience on Blab.

Gotcha #3 – Things change

Blab is in beta, and the team at Blab are working hard to develop the platform to provide an even better experience for the community that are flocking to Blab. Over time, features change, shows come and go, and more and more people are becoming aware of the benefits of live streaming every day.

The best thing is that we don’t all need to write articles like this, to help people find all the possibilities with Blab. There are some great articles and videos already out there that will help you get going. And there are expert co-hosts, who know the platform extremely well, who can work with you to make your experience an outstanding experience.

Here are some related articles that will help you, or you can Contact Us to help with your plans to use Blab to grow your business. We’ll add some gems over time.

15 Blab Tips for Marketers – Social Media Examiner’s Ultimate Guide to Blab