After discovering the untapped potential of Google+ hangouts, which allow users to webcast one another, watch YouTube clips together and even participate in organized games, Lee Allison came up with the idea of Google+ Cooking School. Three months later, it's an online sensation!
The New York-based tech consultant was using Google's video chat service, cooking and talking to a friend. Unbeknownst to the two amateur chefs, their casual demeanor and willingness to teach would quickly turn the hangout into a business! After just two months of broadcasting, the Google+ Cooking School is revamping their pedagogy, perfecting the formula and charging participants $20 for hour-long lessons.
Although Lee Allison intends to keep his consultancy job, this idea has allowed him to turn his passion into a business -- and a successful one at that!
What's Driving This Trend
- Online Culinary Education
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create a platform for online culinary classes, allowing users to learn cooking skills from the comfort of their own homes.
- Virtual Cooking Communities
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop an online platform that enables cooking enthusiasts to connect, share recipes, and participate in virtual cooking hangouts.
- Monetizing Online Cooking Classes
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Build a business model that charges participants for online cooking lessons, providing a new revenue stream for culinary instructors.
Who This Affects Most
- E-learning
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Transform the traditional culinary education industry by providing online courses that offer convenience and affordability.
- Online Video Streaming
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop a specialized platform that focuses on live cooking classes, attracting a community of users interested in culinary education.
- Social Networking
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Combine social networking with culinary education by creating an online community for cooking enthusiasts to interact and learn from each other.
