Week in Review - March 21, 2015: YouTube Cards, move your channel, Google Now Hangouts messages

Spring has sprung! Lots of updates this week, along with articles and tips for YouTube, Google+, Photos, Hangouts, Blogger, AdSense and more.  Subscribe to PeggyK's Weekly Update by Email

YouTube

• New! Beyond annotations: YouTube introduces Cards
  > Add Cards to your YouTube Live Stream or Hangout on Air (Bern Rexer)
  > Creating, managing and optimizing YouTube Cards (ReelSEO)
  (also see Ronnie Bincer's HOA with Cards demo video)
• New! New! Move your YouTube channel to a different Google+ Profile or Page (G+ discussion of my post. Also see The Lady from UNCLE's video)
• YouTube now unofficially supports uncompressed video & Apple animation codec  (gbcali)
• Rock on YouTube musicians! Check out the resources on the new YouTube for Artists page (YouTube Creators)

Google+

• Are you an (inadvertent) notifications spammer on Google+? 
• How to leave a Google+ Community using a mobile device (Jaana Nyström)
• The ins and outs of sharing with Public (John Skeats)
• Shared circles: think twice before getting involved (John Skeats)

Photos

• The Google+ "Photos from Posts" album: what it is and how to manage it (Jaana Nyström)
• Having trouble changing your Google+ Profile Photo or YouTube Channel Avatar? Try this trick (Jaana Nyström)
• Google's image recognition technology lets you find photos by searching for the subject! (Jaana Nyström)
• Unsplash: free high resolution images you can use for anything

Hangouts

• Update: OK Google: send a Hangouts message
• Update: Hangouts app for iOS : Copy and paste images, bug fixes, and performance improvements
Have you tried a Google Plus Hangout Video Call as an Alternative to Skype? (Melinda Samson)
• Hangout on Air tip: Using Comment Tracker & the Lower Third Together (Ronnie Bincer)
• Hangout on Air tip: YouTube Card visible during HOA broadcast - a demonstration (Ronnie Bincer)
• Hangout on Air tip: Turn the special HOA Apps on or off before you start your show (Ronnie Bincer)

Blogger and websites

• Updated: Blogger Pages gadget: add a menu to your blog with both internal and external links 
• Do strange websites appear to be visiting your blog? Don't click the links! It's probably referer spam
• How Much Will the Google Mobile Armageddon Affect Your Site Traffic? (David Kutcher offers an easy-to-install dashboard for Google Analytics)

 AdSense

• Connect your YouTube channel or Blogger blog to AdSense, even if your original AdSense application was disapproved  (Helpful Information for Newbies)
• Is someone else's ad code on your website? Check for malicious plugins or widgets, then report them.

More Google tips

• Is your Google account secure? Take a few minutes today to review Google's security recommendations (Alex Garcia)
• Google Summer of Code now open for student applications
• Google Data tools - Download your data with Google Takeout (Google+ Top Contributors)
• Check your Google Storage: Photos, Gmail, Google Drive (Jaana Nyström)
• A guide to Google Tools: Hacks and tips for Google Search, Google Drive, Google Calendar and Gmail  (Google+ Top Contributors)

Life Online

• The Network Time Protocol provides a foundation to modern computing. So why does NTP's support hinge so much on the shaky finances of one 59-year-old developer? (Information Week)
• Twitter makes it easier to report threats to Law Enforcement 
• Apple CEO Tim Cook: focus on making the best, rather than chasing big numbers (Fast Company)
• How Matt Stopera became a minor celebrity in China (After his stolen phone ended up there)  (Buzzfeed)
• Visual Language Lab: the language of sequential art
• How Matt Stopera became a minor internet celebrity in China (after his iPhone was stolen) (Buzzfeed)

Updated March 2019 to remove Google+ links.