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Week in Review - October 31, 2015: Treats, not tricks!

Tasty treats in this Halloween edition of the Weekly Update! YouTube launched the YouTube Red subscription service in the United States, with benefits for both subscribers (ad free, offline videos, much music) and creators (potentially higher earnings). Google Photos expanded face grouping (and hiding!) to more countries, and Snapseed can now edit RAW format files. And Google+ announced their November #FeatureFriday themes, so get your Google+ Collections ready!

Photo: Spooky Halloween Androids, by me, all rights reserved.

Google Top Contributors

Google+

  • Update: Heads up Google+ local tour guides, poets, writers, and Google fans! November's #FeatureFriday Google+ Collection contest themes have been announced: local travel, writers & poets, Google products and services and Thanksgiving (Sophie Bonnet via Google+ Creators)
  • Tip: Use Pablo 2.0 by Buffer​ to create free images optimized for different social media platforms - Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram (Buffer)

Google and Your Business

  • Business owners: be sure the check how your listing looks on Google, including the photos added by "customers" in their reviews - they could be stealth ads for a competitor! (Linda Buquet)

YouTube and Video Creators

  • New! YouTube Red Launches in the US - ad-free, offline viewing and more 
    •  YouTube Red launches today - if you are in the US, sign up for a 30 day free trial and get Google Play music too!
    •  YouTube Creators and Partners: How will YouTube Red affect you? 10 things you should know
    • Give the gift of Google Play Music! If the recipient is in the United States, then they should also get YouTube Red (Google Play)
  • New! Gamers: you can now record game play on your phone or tablet from the Google Play Games app (Official Android Blog)
  • New! Faster, Safer and Smoother videos in the Chrome web browser (Chrome blog)
  • Tips: Vimeo Video School has some spooky tips for your next movie, just in time for Halloween! (Vimeo)
  • New! US Podcasters: Google Play Music wants you! If you host a Hangout on Air or YouTube vlog, consider turning your video show into a monetizable audio-only podcast.

Google and Your Photos (and video!)

  • Tip: How to embed your videos in Google Photos on your blog or website (Google+ discussion of my post here)
  • Update: Google Photos for Android update: face grouping in more countries, people hiding, pinch to zoom search results, performance improvements and bug fixes (Google Photos)
  • Update: Now edit photos in RAW format using the Snapseed Android app (Anton Daubert via Snapseed)

Live Broadcasting

  • Twitch.tv launches Twitch Creative - a new home for live broadcasts "in which you entertain and connect through a creative activity", be it woodworking, painting, prop building or music composition (Twitch.tv Blog)

Nexus and Android

Security and Privacy

  • What does Google do with the data they collect about you? Make their services more useful and personalized, improve security, and (of course) show you relevant ads
Updated March 2019 to remove Google+ links

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