Week in Review - June 27, 2015: Google+, Blogger, AdSense and more

This week Google added new settings to the notification bell, Blogger now requires private blog readers to have a Google account, AdSense will start displaying invalid activity deductions, and Hangouts for Android reaches a billion downloads. Microsoft offers Office for Android phones, and Facebook messenger no longer requires a Facebook account. And rainbows are everywhere!

YouTube + Google+

• Control which notifications you see under the bell icon - Google+, YouTube, or Google Photos
• Share a YouTube video into a Google+ Collection - it will also appear as a comment on the video watch page.
• Cancel your Gmail email without affecting your YouTube channel or other Google services

Video around the web

• Video AutoPlay arms race
• Bing Video Search is the best video search?

Photos

• Control which notifications you see under the bell icon - Google+, YouTube, or Google Photos
• Google Photos makes fish butts more interesting (Linus Torvalds)
• You can be recognized in photos even if your face isn't visible. Maybe it's time to retire your favorite shirt? (Facebook photos)

Hangouts

• 1 Billion Hangouts downloads - and more good stuff coming!
• Hangouts celebrates LGBT Pride month
• Hangouts celebrates Father's Day
• Facebook Messenger no longer requires a Facebook account

AdSense

• AdSense Publishers:  payment details from the legacy payments system will be going away - download a copy for your records! Deadline: June 30th
• AdSense Publishers: AdSense will now show invalid activity deductions in your payment history

Bloggers and Webmasters

• Private Blogger blogs: your readers must have a Google account
• Bloggers: Facebook implements Authorship
• Helpdesk Hangouts answered search, SEO and webmaster questions in yesterday's Hangout on Air

Productivity

• Hit send too soon? Gmail offers "Undo Send" option
• Microsoft officially launches Office for Android Phone
• Add Google Drive files to your Google Calendar event to make your meetings more meaningful
• Improved Google Calendar for iPhone launched

More interesting launches

• Google introduces News Lab, with tools, data and other resources for newsrooms to use in their reporting
• Google Play Music introduces free ad-supported radio in the United States

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Updated March 2019 to remove Google+ links