Google+ Hangouts is a simple video chat room that allows up to ten people to participate in a conversation together. It simple to use, and we here at Lifehacker use it for our weekly meetings. More interesting is the abundance of specialized apps developed for Hangouts that add all sorts of functions ranging from whiteboards to video poker. Here are a few of our favorites:

• Cacoo: Cacoo is a full suite of nerdy extras for Hangouts. Inside your Hangouts you can create mind maps, collaborate on diagrams, and even work on office layouts. Cacoo probably isn’t something most of us will use every day, but it’ll certainly come in handy on occasion.
• SlideShare: SlideShare is all about presentations. You can create slideshow presentations with SlideShare and share them with others in a hangout. Simple, easy, and doesn’t require a bit of technical knowledge to use.
• ConceptBoard: Want to collaborate on a big project and let everyone just dump ideas into one simple image? ConceptBoard is a giant whiteboard for your hangouts. It might seem a little silly at first, but it works pretty well if you collaborating on something that needs visuals.
• Screen Sharing: Screen sharing is one of the built-in features of Hangouts that makes it great to use when you need to do tech support for friends or family. In a Hangout, simply click “Screenshare” at the top of your screen and you’re done. You can’t remotely control someon’s computer, but you can share exactly what you’re doing (and they can do the same with you) to make troubleshooting easy.

Google Drive and Google+ are certainly where Google is concentrating a lot of its momentum right now. Still, a few of its other minor services are just as interesting.

As we mentioned from the start, Google has a ton of different services, apps, and features. It’s hard to really pay attention to them all, let alone care about most of them. Hidden inside their product list are a few smaller apps that have grown on us over time. Let’s take a look at some of our favorites.

Google Schemer as a Planning Tool and Project Idea Generator

At its core, Google Schemer is a great way to find new things to do in your city. You can type in your address into Schemer and see what types of things people are doing around you. We’ve also talked about using to help achieve your goals because you can set public goals that your friends can track.

Essentially, Schemer is a means to not just find something interesting to do, but to share it with locals and friends. Schemer dating sites for beard lovers can help you find new things to do if you’re popping into a new city for a night, or just want to explore your own town.

Custom Google Maps for Personalized Navigation

Custom maps in Google Maps are very simple to make and what you end up with is a completely personalized map of a city. We walked you through using custom maps with Yelp to create a personalized, shareable restaurant list, but that’s just one of the many options.

You can, for instance, keep a running map of your life in general. Toss in your home address, your work, and places you like to go. As you discover new places, add them to the map, share them with family, and create a list of all your favorite places. Your list is integrated right into Google Maps on your computer so you’ll always have an idea of where you are in relation to your favorite hangouts.