Another Service Bites the Dust
Google announced last week that it’s officially shutting down Helpouts, a forum to learn real-time in a virtual environment. For many, this news isn’t surprising as you’d never heard of it before this post. For others, this news isn’t surprising because usage and adoption rates of this online service were sluggish. Let’s take a look at the latest service to be retired and say good-bye.
What Is Was
Helpouts is a way for a business to deliver a service virtually. Are you a guitar teacher with a little down time and want to earn some extra money? One instructor did just that and earned $75 an hour. Helpouts had a variety of categories including Art & Music, Computers & Electronics, Cooking, Education & Careers, Fashion & Beauty, Fitness & Nutrition, Health, and Home & Garden. You could find sessions from psychotherapy to yoga, from canning vegetables to coding javascript.
So why would a business consider offering such a service? It was another way to create a profile with reviews (thus growing an online footprint). It was also a way to demonstrate a brand’s expertise. For example, Banfield Pet Hospital offered free sessions to advise pet owners on vaccinations, grooming and nutrition. What a great way for non-clients to talk to you and encourage them to visit a local branch.
If you aren’t already a Helpouts instructor, you can’t sign up. If you are an existing instructor, you can add a new course listing or edit an existing one until April 19. Then you need to wrap it up. The whole service will shut down and will not be accessible. The last payment will be initiated by May 15.
Shutting Down April 20, 2015
If you’ve been a user of Helpouts, you can download your history until November 1, 2015. Google Takeout is a product to download a copy of your data and store it in your account. For frequently asked questions and additional support, here’s the official Helpouts with Google page.
After looking at some of the courses offered, I’m a little sorry that I didn’t take advantage of some free sessions. The Caribbean Cooking series was tempting.
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