Peggy Ks Tips and Tricks

As the summer rolls on, updates are rolling out. This week there are new ad settings and metrics for YouTube Partners, updates for webmasters, and Google+ is finally completely gone.   YouTube and Video CreationIf you are an educator with a YouTube channel, make sure your G Suite for Education account is not the primary owner of the channel’s Brand Account. You have until July 15 to transfer primary ownership. You can do that by opening your Brand Account list, clicking your channel’s Brand Account, then selecting Manage Permissions on the details page. You can check and transfer primary ownership there to a personal account if need be.There is a major update for YouTube Partners: videos that are 8 minutes or longer will be eligible for inserted mid-roll ads. YouTube will be inserting mid-roll ads in ALL monetized videos of that length starting at the end of the month. If you do not want your longer videos to have mid-roll ads, you need to indicate that on your monetization settings t…

Starting at the end of July, YouTube videos 8 minutes or longer can have mid-roll ads. If you do not want mid-roll ads automatically inserted in your existing monetized videos, you need to update your settings by July 27. 
Currently only videos that are at least 10 minutes long can have mid-roll ads - ads in the middle of the content - inserted. At the end of July, the minimum video length for midrolls will be 8 minutes.  This will be enabled by default, and YouTube will apply this setting to your older monetized videos.   Starting in late July, videos longer than 8 minutes will be eligible for mid-roll ads. As part of this change, mid-roll ads will be turned on for all eligible existing videos and future video uploads, including those videos where you may have previously opted out of mid-roll ads. Videos that already have mid-roll ads turned on will not be impacted. If mid-roll ads are not a good fit for your videos, you can indicate this preference in YouTube Studio by July 27, 2020. …

Today Americans celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress. It’s different this year, fireworks shows are (mostly) cancelled, and people have been encouraged to stay at home. But we can still gather with friends online, and maybe consider what the holiday is about. 
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
There are updates this week for video creators, website owners, businesses and more.
YouTube and Video CreatorsGoogle AI has shared details about how SmartReply for YouTube comments was developed. There are a number of unique challenges, compared to SmartReply for Gmail and other products. “YouTube comments reveal complex patterns of language switching, abbreviated words, slang, inconsistent usage of punctuation, and heavy utilization of emoji.”Are you wondering how your vid…

As we roll into summer, your bored kids can find entertainment (and education) at Camp YouTube. Google Photos has a new logo, redesigned app, and a new interactive map. You can Duo or Meet group video call on smart screens with Google Assistant, and Meet announced a bevy of new features they are working on. And Microsoft’s live streaming platform Mixer is shutting down, with creators encouraged to move to Facebook Gaming. Plus more for business, security, live streaming and more.
YouTube and Live StreamingAs you may (or may not) know, I am a YouTube Contributor, which overlaps with the Google Product Expert Program. YouTube Contributors answer questions in the YouTube help community, create tutorials and otherwise help other users. You can meet some of the other YouTube Contributors from around the world in this nice video the Creator Insider channel.YouTube Brandcast is an annual event aimed at advertisers. Most years there is an in-person event, featuring YouTube stars. This year i…

In this week’s updates, you can use Duo for group video calls on the web, use Meet in the mobile Gmail app, share your passions in Keen, and get tips and updates for YouTubers, map makers and more.
YouTube and VideoYouTube will now age-restrict content promoting nicotine and THC, including smoking and vaping. If you post related content check out my overview of YouTube Community Guidelines relating to tobacco, marijuana, and related paraphernalia. YouTube has transformed influencer marketing platform FameBit - acquired in 2017 - into YouTube Brand Connect. The platform will act as a matchmaker between creators and brands, and make it easier to “create branded content that is both authentic and effective.” (basically ads). Eligible creators with at least 25,000 subscribers will be able to sign up for Brand Connect in Creator Studio. Plus there is a free course on creating branded content in YouTube Creator Academy. Note that all FameBit accounts will be closed July 31, and need to cla…

This week Google Photos told participants in its monthly photo print trial that it would not continue after June 30th. They are considering feedback from participants and it may "evolve" into 
Back in February, Google Photos offered me the chance to participate in a free trial of a monthly photo print subscription. The idea was simple: Google Photos would choose 10 of your best photos uploaded during the previous month. You then had 3 days to edit the photos or swap them for different images. 
Google Photos would then make 4x6 prints and mail them to you. The cost was set to $7.99 per month, but was free during the trial period. As there was no obligation to continue the subscription after the trial, I jumped at the chance.  I did enjoy receiving photos every month. It is fun to have prints, and to be able to share with family and friends.
In general the print quality was good. The colors weren't as vibrant as they could be, but I think that is to be expected with matte, rat…

YouTube will now age-restrict content promoting nicotine and THC. That includes smoking, vaping and other ways of delivering the active ingredients in tobacco and marijuana.
There is an exception for educational, documentary, scientific or artistic content.
Note that content policies apply to videos, video descriptions, comments, live streams and everywhere else on YouTube. Policy: Harmful or dangerous content YouTube doesn’t allow content that encourages dangerous or illegal activities that risk serious physical harm or death. This policy includes content showing drug use, which is generally prohibited on YouTube. In addition to content showing hard drug use, YouTube also prohibits: Minors using alcohol or drugs: Showing minors drinking alcohol, using vaporizers, e-cigarettes, tobacco or marijuana. Selling hard or soft drugs: Featuring drugs with the goal of selling them.  Content that violates this policy may be removed and result in a Community Guidelines strike.  If you believe YouT…