Weekly Update - September 17, 2016: YouTube Community, Google+ Scheduling, Cardboard Camera

My favorite updates this week:

• YouTube introduced the new “Community” tab (on a limited number of channels)
• You can now use social media management services like Hootsuite to schedule posts to Google+ Profiles
• The Google Cardboard Camera app now lets you share your VR Images

Plus there are updates and tips for YouTube Analytics, Local Business owners, live streaming, AdSense, Google Photos, Gmail, Outlook and more. 

Other topics I'm following: 

• Do Facebook's automated spam filters and removal of flagged content amount to censorship? (see "Other social media")
• AdBlock Plus now sells ads  (see "AdSense and advertising")
• Apple iMessage and Facebook Messenger as app platforms (see "Hangouts and Messaging")
• The EU's proposed changes to copyright law - good, bad, terrible? (See "More around the web")

Image: Illustration by Ethel Franklin Betts for The Orphant Annie Book by James Whitcomb Riley (1908), in honor of all the storytellers on YouTube and Google+. 

Upcoming

• 20 September: Google Webmasters office hours Hangout
• 23 September: French-speaking YouTube Creators - apply for YouTube NextUp Paris!(YouTube Space Next Up)
• 23 September: Google Webmasters Office Hours Hangout
• 29 September: Google Feed API ceases operation
• 17 October Everyone updated to the new Hangouts Chrome Extension experience

YouTube and Video Creation

• New Community on YouTube goes beyond video! (YouTube Creator Blog)
• YouTube’s New ‘Community’ Tab, Co-Developed By Top Creators, Aims To Make The Site More Social (Tubefilter)
• Update YouTube Creator Studio app gets actionable analytics insights (YouTube Creator blog)
• Update YouTube Analytics updates the Realtime Report (see your top 25 vids!) and Demographics Report (Ted Hamilton)
• New YouTube Player for Publishers, and the Digital News Initiative (Google Europe blog)
• Tip How flagging content on YouTube works (YouTube Blog)
• Would you have invested in YouTube? YouTube’s Original Pitch Deck (Tubefilter)

Go Live

• Tip Hangouts on Air has moved to YouTube Live: How to get help 
• Tip Embed the video player for your YouTube channel's live stream, no worries about the video URL changing (YouTube Gaming)
• Tip Get a mobile notification when a channel goes live using the YouTube Gaming app
• Tip Get notified when a Hangout on Air goes live by subscribing on YouTube
• Update Facebook live streaming coming to the desktop (The Next Web)
• Update Periscope introduces universal support for the iPad (Periscope)

Google+ and Spaces

• New Schedule Google+ posts to your Profile with social media management tools like Hootsuite (John Kilcline)
• If you want the option to schedule posts to Google+ Collections using Hootsuite, send feedback here!
• Update Google+ iOS app update 6.0: easier profile modification, faster startup & stream loading (Luke Wroblewski)
• Tip Why can't I comment on that Google+ post? (John Skeats)

Other social media

• Facebook censored a live stream video posted by Dakota pipeline protesters (The Verge)
• Another Day, Another Problem With Facebook's Random Decisions To Block Content (The Verge)
• Facebook sharing is pretty screwed up right now [Updated] (The Next Web)
• New Comment Moderation tools on Instagram (Instagram blog)
• Twitter embraces customer service role with new features (The Next Web)
• These students made a song out of inactive Twitter accounts, and it's super catchy (AdWeek) 

Google Photos and Mobile Photography

• Update Google Cardboard Camera: share your VR images from iOS and Android (Google Blog)
• Update Google Photos 2.0: permanent album sorting (Android Authority)
• Tip Use the Google Photos editing tools to enhance your business photos (Google Small Business)

Google for businesses

• Google appears to have committed to Local. What will this mean? (Mike Blumenthal)
• Google Building Attributes for Businesses (Online Ownership)
• Stoppleman to Google: "Delete It" - Yelp Reviews Gone from Knowledge Panel (Mike Blumenthal)

Bloggers and Webmasters

• Tip How to get started with Accelerated Mobile Pages (Google Webmaster Central blog)

AdSense and advertising

• Update AdWords has made it easier to manage and access multiple accounts (AdWords)
• Tip How to get help with AdSense from inside your AdSense account (Inside AdSense)
• Check out the #AskAdSense Q&A this week on Twitter and Google+
• New AdBlock Plus now sells ads ?! (The Verge)
• Google: we're not involved in Adblock Plus's ad network (BoingBoing)

Hangouts and Messaging

• Update Facebook Messenger Platform 1.2: Link Ads to Messenger, Enhanced Mobile Websites, Payments and More (Facebook Messenger blog)
• New Apple launches iMessage App Store with various iMessage apps, games, and sticker packs (9to5Mac)
• How iMessage could be Apple’s next big app platform - Recode
• Why is Yelp Failing at the iMessage App Game? Because They are Choosing To (Mike Blumenthal)

Nexus, Android, Project Fi

• New WiFi Assistant for non-Project Fi Nexus devices is rolling out (Android Police)
• Tip Don't Change Your Google Password Before Factory Resetting Your Android Phone - You Might Trip A 72-Hour Security Lockout (Android Police via Kyle Salewski)

Productivity

• Update Gmail email messages will look better on all screens, small and large (Gmail)
• New Microsoft Outlook gets Google Drive support on desktop (The Verge)
• Tip 10 most productive tips for working with Google Keep (TechRepublic)
• New Opt in to the Chromecast Preview Program (David King)
• Update You can now ask Siri and Apple Maps to hail you an Uber (The Verge)
• Update As Uber’s robot cars hit the streets in Pittsburgh, the fears of its human drivers have become a reality (Recode)
• Update Microsoft trashes Google’s latest Chrome battery life claims (The Verge)

Privacy and Security

• Tip How to keep your accounts safe from social engineering attacks (Google)

More around the web

• Google Europe Blog: European copyright: there's a better way
• EU proposes boosting copyright protections and increasing public Wi-Fi access (The Verge)
• EU Announces Absolutely Ridiculous Copyright Proposal That Will Chill Innovation, Harm Creativity (TechDirt)
• Why Silicon Valley is all wrong about Apple’s AirPods (Chris Messina)

Updated March 2019 to remove Google+ links