Week in Review - April 4, 2015:Google Photos in Drive, Faster Phone Calls in Hangouts, April Fooling

Despite the April Foolishness this week there were some great updates, including Google+ Photos appearing in Google Drive, faster phone calls in Hangouts and AdSense for Malay blogs and websites. Read on for my roundup of this weeks tips, articles and posts on Google+.

YouTube and Video Creators

• Video creators: tell a compelling story in 90 seconds and win a trip for two to Cannes
• Do you have backups of your Google photos and YouTube videos? No online storage system is perfect, so use Google Takeout today to archive your data and files

Google Photos

• New! Your Google+ Photos are now available in Google Drive
• New Google+ Stories in Google Now: don't miss a new Story

Google+

• How NOT promote your interests, beliefs, community, business or even yourself on Google+  (John Skeats)

Local Business Updates

• Is your business information complete? Get recommendations from Google on how to improve your business listing
• Having trouble with your Google+ Page? Get help without leaving Google+

Hangouts

• Update: Faster phone calls in Google Hangouts in Gmail, Google+ and the Chrome app

AdSense

• AdSense now speaks Malay (Bahasa Melayu)!

Bloggers and Webmasters

• Webmasters: Everything you need to know about Google's new stance on Mobile

Gmail, Drive and Google Docs

• Update: Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo mail and more: now better together in the updated Gmail app
• Google for Work: Keep all your work more secure with Google Drive

Google Account Help

• How much space do you have left? Check your Google storage use for photos, documents and more!
• Google Help Center gets a colorful new Material design

21st Century Life

• Coachella 2015 Live in the comfort of your own home - (almost) better than being there!

April Fool! 

• Be sure to wish your friends and colleagues Happy April Fools in Hangouts!

• Rumor: Google acquires Facebook, will rename it F+
• Wocka wocka wocka wocka - Pac-Man had invaded Google Maps!
• Smartbox by Inbox by Gmail: free your mail!
• Video you are watching a little dry? Click the new "add music" button to liven it upGoogle Japan introduces Panda 5: the latest technology that lets users easily find the information they want, in a mobile-friendly package
• Matt Cutts reveals his new project: AutoSEO
• Do you like to look at things from a different angle? The http://com.google search engine is for you!
• Go back to the basics: MS-DOS mobile for your phone
• Having a grumpy day? Search Bing's Cute Cloud to find an adorable puppy, kitten or cute food pic that will make you smile
• Emerging evidence indicates that dragons can no longer be dismissed as creatures of legend and fantasy, and that anthropogenic effects on the world's climate may inadvertently be paving the way for the resurgence of these beasts.
• Scientists at CERN discover evidence for The Force
• Breaking science news: Mercury space probe records what sound like anguished voices
• Your tax dollars at work? Army drones deliver 3D printed pizzas to hungry soldiers

For more, follow me on Google+ or Twitter

You can also subscribe to my weekly update by email.

Updated March 2019 to remove Google+ links