(CNN) -- You're attempting to make meringue and your egg whites are a runny mess. What if you could pick up your phone or computer and instantly video chat with a cooking expert who can take a look at your kitchen disaster and tell you exactly what you're doing wrong?
Google launched a tool called Helpouts on Tuesday in which people can pay to get help from experts over a live video chat similar to Google Hangouts. Anyone who is a teacher or expert on a topic can trade their services for payment, either by the task, by the minute or for a set window of time. Some Helpouts are scheduled and others are available on demand.
To start, Google has more than 1,000 providers signed up to offer things such as music lessons, cooking demonstrations and basic home repair tips. Yoga instructors can give personal lessons and suggest corrections based on what they see over the video. If someone needs help in a program such as Photoshop, they can screen share with an expert who will guide them.
The company's biggest competitor in the video-help category is itself. YouTube, owned by Google, is filled with how-to videos for every imaginable subject. There are eyeliner tutorials, cooking lessons and home improvement instructions. There are videos for tech support, self-improvement, learning new skills and changing a light bulb. How-to videos are the second most popular type of online video content, with 56% of adults online watching the instructional clips, according to a recent Pew Internet and American Life Project survey.
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