Weekly Update - February 25, 2017: (In)Security, Spaces, Messages

It was a topsy-turvy week. My top updates:

• So much insecurity: Cloudflare vulnerability (Cloudbleed) may have leaked personal information for months and Google researches show common crypto tool SHA-1 is insecure
• Google Spaces will shut down April 17
• Android Messages (formerly Messenger) is the new default messaging experience for Android
• Google Hangouts temporarily won’t support phone and video calls on Mozilla Firefox
• AdSense expands category blocking with more sub-categories and languages 

Plus more updates and tips for brands, businesses, webmasters, YouTubers, and more.

It's Carnaval!
Google+ wants to see your Carnaval photos  - use the #mycarnaval tag!

Image: Ceres (Float design from Krewe of Proteus 1886 in the Tulane Digital Library > Carnival Collection)

Upcoming

• 27 February: Deadline to to apply for Google I/O tickets
• 28 February: YouTube Fan Funding retired
• 2 March: #AskAdSense office hours
• 3 March: Google Spaces becomes read-only
• 7 March: Firefox 52 release, which does not support Hangouts video calls
• 14 March: AdSense livestream: Grow your online business in Latin America (Spanish)
• 14 March: AdSense livestream: Grow your online business in Brazil (Portuguese)

YouTube and Video Creation

• Three reasons YouTubers keep imploding: churning out content, with no feedback or guidance (Michael Sawyer @ Polygon)
• Create a YouTube channel for your brand or business, no real name required! (see the blog post and video)
• Patreon for YouTube Creators (ChrisPlaysGames)
• Facebook testing mid-roll ads and expanding live video ads to more publishers (Facebook blog)
• Pixar in a Box: learn the secrets of Pixar's animation in this free Khan Academy course (Khan Academy)

Go Live

• Twitter opens up Periscope Producer to everyone (Periscope blog)
• The hype is real: Name changes are here (Twitch Blog)

Google+ and Spaces

• How to meet and connect with people on Google+ (Zara Altair)
• Google Spaces to shut down April 17 (See also the discussion on John Kilcline’s post)
• Content pressure and sustainability (Paolo Amoroso)
• Create a Google+ Page for your business, brand, YouTube channel or organization (see the blog post and video)

Google Photos and Mobile Photography

• Google Camera v4.3 adds a new zoom bar control, tweaks exposure control behavior, and allows muting camera sounds (Android Police)
• Interested in using your phone to take your photos to the next level? (Jacob Dix)
• Instagram launches album-like option to share group of images and videos (Instagram blog)

Google for businesses

• Create a Google+ Page for your business, brand, YouTube channel or organization (see the blog post and video)
• Create a YouTube channel for your brand, business, or show, no real name required! (see the blog post and video)
• Digital Transformation: Brand Solutions with Elisabet Manyosa Blasi (Google Partners)

Bloggers and Webmasters

• Google to sunset paid Google Site Search product, recommends ad-supported Custom Search Engine (Search Engine Land)
• Google Webmasters Office Hours Hangout (February 21) (Google Webmasters)
• Google Webmasters Office Hours Hangout in English/Hindi (February 23) (Google Webmasters)
• Google Webmasters Office Hours Hangout (February 24) (Google Webmasters)

AdSense and advertising

• AdSense expands category blocking with more sub-categories and languages (Inside AdSense Blog)
• Google allowing external audit of ad performance (Wired)

Hangouts and Messaging

• Google Hangouts temporarily won’t support phone and video calls on Mozilla Firefox (G Suite Updates blog)
• Android Messages is the new upgraded default messaging experience for Android 
• Delivering RCS messaging to Android users worldwide (Google Blog)
• Android Messages will be the new default texting app Google wants you to use (The Verge)
• "Sneak peek" at a Google Allo desktop client (Nick Fox, The Verge)
• WhatsApp adds a Snapchat-like feature called Status (DailyDot)

Nexus, Pixel, Android, Project Fi

• Apply for Google I/O tickets by February 27!

Productivity

• Google Sheets now lets you rotate text (and more) (G Suite Updates blog)
• Android users can now find Google Drive files right in Search (The Next Web)
• Gboard for iPhone gets an upgrade (Google Blog)
• Smarter scheduling, finding rooms & more with Google Calendar (The G Suite Show)
• Google’s Iconic Cr-48 Chromebook’s End Of Life May Have Arrived (Chrome Unboxed)

Privacy and Security

• Cloudflare vulnerability (Cloudbleed) may have leaked personal information for months (Project Zero, Ryan Lackey, Hacker News)
• Google researches show common crypto tool SHA-1 is insecure (Elie Bursztein, Google Security blog, Wired)
• Google Account Action Required notifications and unexpected sign out issues on February 23
• Google's phone prompts for 2-step verification are getting updated to show more info (Android Police)

More around the web

• Project Loon: Improving Navigation (Project Loon)
• Interviews with Silicon Valley employees affected by new immigration policies (BoingBoing)
• Remembering nanoscience pioneer Mildred Dresselhaus (MIT Technology Review)
• Blessed with an inappropriate confidence. (Robert Wallis)
• Google expands use of the Fact Check tag to more News results (Google Blog)

Updated March 2019 to remove Google+ links