Week in Review - July 4, 2015: Hangouts for iOS, YouTube Creator Preview, Google+ turns Four

Have a happy holiday, whether you celebrate the 4th of July or are simply enjoying a summer weekend! Use these tips to capture great photos and video of the evening's festivities and fireworks.

What's new? Google+ was launched four years ago this week, Hangouts v.4 for iOS rolled out, Blogger introduced new widget tags for template designers, and YouTube told us about 10 features coming soon for Creators. Plus there are tips for video production, Hangouts on Air, Google+, AdSense and more.

Fireworks image: Fireworks explode over the waters of the San Diego Bay on July 4, 2004 (army.mil, Public Domain)

YouTube and Video Creators

• YouTube Creator Preview: 10 Things Coming Soon for Creators (new Cards, better mobile tools & live streaming, and more)
• Gamers rejoice: YouTube mobile apps now can play video at 60fps (YouTube Creators)
• Seven tips for your video production (YouTube Creator Academy)
• Facebook is launching "Suggested Video" feed and will offer ad revenue sharing to selected Partners

Google+

• What's your Google+ Collection about: add a tagline (Google+)
• Change your mind? Manage your votes on Google+ polls (Alex Garcia)

Hangouts

• Hangouts for iOS v.4: a new design, improved phone dialer, easier attachments (photos, stickers) and accessibility fixes (Sky Ortiz)
• Create a custom "Lower Third" banner to Identify yourself the next time you participate in a Hangout on Air or Hangout video call (Michael Daniels)

Blogger

• Blogger template designers: Blogger has introduces more widget tags (David Kutcher)

AdSense

• AdSense Publishers: make sure your website layout doesn't encourage accidental clicks! (AdSense)

Google Maps

• Manage your Google Maps in Google Drive (Google Drive)
• Happy Birthday Google Earth! Thanks for helping us explore this big blue marble we live on! (Google Earth)

More around the web

• New! Google Translate Help Forum for questions, feedback and comments about Google Translate (Marc-André Beauchamp)
• Maker Camp 2015: Free virtual summer camp for kids 8-12 and Makers of all ages, with the theme “Explore + Make + Share"
• June 30th leap second may cause problems for the Internet (but no major problems were reported - preparation is everything!)

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Updated March 2019 to remove Google+ posts