Week in Review - May 2, 2015: Free calls to Nepal, Google+ Still Not Dead, the Big Business of Fake Profiles

What was new this week? In response to the devastating earthquake in Nepal, tech companies have stepped in to provide free calls, collect donations and help people find each other - a good use for technology in terrible circumstances. Read on for this week's tips and articles for Google+, Hangouts, and more.

[painting: May Day Central Park by Maurice Prendergast (1901)]

Tech companies respond to the Nepal Earthquake

• Google Responds to the Nepal Earthquake
• Calls though Google Voice, the Hangouts Dialer, Hangouts on your computer or through Google Talk in Gmail, are reduced to 1c/minute through the weekend
• People in Nepal with a data connection can use Hangouts or Gmail to call phones in the US and Canada for free, or call India for 1c/minute
• Use Person Finder to search for family and friends affected by the disaster
• Microsoft: Free calls to mobiles and landlines in and out of Nepal via Skype
• T-Mobile: Calling and texting Nepal is free for T-Mobile customers through May 16
• Sprint: Sprint waives customer fees for calls and texts to Nepal
• Facebook makes it easy to donate to the International Medical Corps, matching donations up to$2 million

Google Top Contributor Program

• Are you a Google Maps expert? Do you like to help people? The Google Top Contributor program is looking for you

YouTube

• Find 360-degree YouTube videos on your desktop computer or Android device
• How To Reenable Deleted Google+ Profile-linked YouTube Channel (The Lady From UNCLE @ YouTube)

Google+

• Google+ is now on Twitter
• Is your Google+ Home Stream flooded with posts from "What's Hot", Communities and your Circles? Adjust your stream! 
• Customize your Google+ Profile or Page: select which of your Google+ Communities display (Jaana Nyström)
• Google+ isn't dead, and doesn't appear to be dying, even though it still isn't as big a social network as Facebook (Mark Traphagen @ Marketing Land)

Hangouts

• Using chat in Gmail? Give Google Hangouts a try (WC Blitzy)
• Share photos in a Hangouts chat on Android - and find them later (Jaana Nyström)
• Organize a Webinar with Google Hangouts on Air | The Apps Show (Google for Work @ YouTube)
• Share Google Drive files during a Hangout Video Call (Michael Daniels @ YouTube)
• Now you can video call using Facebook Messenger (yes, the competition)

AdSense

• AdSense Publishers: have questions? or run into a problem? Get help!

Account Security

• Protect your Google account: install the Password Alert Chrome extension to alert you if you are on a fake Google sign-in page

21st century life

• Creating real-looking (but fake) profile, and selling Likes, YouTube views and other social media "boosts" is big business - and can hurt small businesses and the foundation of social media
• Life on the Suggested User List : Anil Dash on being Twitter famous
• How old do I look? A new Microsoft tool.
• Glimpses into the invisible world

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Updated March 2019 to remove Google+ links