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Weekly Update - August 12, 2017: Monetization, YouTube Sharing, Diversity

So first my good news. My YouTube channel finally reached 1000 subscribers (yay!). Have you subscribed? Why not? Do it now! Next stop, 10k …

Here’s what else was new this week:
  • If you’re curious about where Google+ers are from, I shared the results of a totally non-scientific poll. The short answer: mostly the United States and India. For the long answer, read my post ;)
  • YouTube introduced a new option for YouTube Partners. If your video is "not suitable for all advertisers" that is more clearly shown in your video manager, and there is a new chance to appeal. At the least this should help Partners understand why their monetized video is never (or rarely) showing ads.
  • Sharing in the YouTube mobile app is now rolling out to all users. If this doesn't sound new to you, it may not be. Sharing has been available by invite for almost a year, and was launched in Canada in January.
  • Facebook is introducing a new video platform "Watch" for personalized discovery and social viewing of "shows" . If you are a Creator you can let Facebook know you are interested. “Eventually” you will be able to monetize your shows. Will it be a YouTube killer? I suspect not. But Facebook’s massive user base means that the videos will have a built in audience, right from the start.
  • Instagram now lets people “hang out” and go LIVE with a friend. The blog post mentions people “doing homework” or “catching up on your day”, which, to be frank, sounds really boring for non-participants to watch. This seems like more of a live video chat option being integrated into Instagram than a great new way to broadcast.
  • Google will begin notifying publishers whose sites have "annoying ads". If you only use AdSense ads, and follow the AdSense Program Policies, your website is probably fine (but it’s worth checking anyway).
Plus there are tips and updates for Local Businesses, Video Creators, Webmasters and much more.

On women and Google's diversity programs:

This week, much discussion was focused on a manifesto/screed written by a Googler that argued that Google’s diversity program is bad for the company, not in least part because women are less interested in tech, and biologically less capable than men of being skilled software engineers. This was apparently meant for internal discussion at Google, but it was leaked publicly.

I find it dismaying that in the year 2017 women still have to argue, that yes, we are competent to work in STEM fields. I imagine many of the author’s colleagues had much stronger feelings. I’ve seen it suggested that he didn’t mean his current female colleagues don’t have the right skills to be software engineers, but that’s not the implication of what he wrote.

Fortunately interesting and smart things were written in response, and I’ve collected a bunch of those links below. If you read just one, I suggest Cynthia Lee’s article in Vox.

What happened next? The author was fired by Google, and he has been making the interview rounds and embraced the alt-right “conservative” media.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai cut his vacation short, made a statement, and called a company-wide meeting. That meeting was cancelled due to concerns about harassment, amidst leaks of internal conversions. There will be more to come.

If you want to learn more about the great things women in technology have done and are doing, check out the #WITBragDay hashtag on Twitter

Image: Programmers Betty Jean Jennings (left) and Frances Bilas (right) operate ENIAC's main control panel at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering. (U.S. Army photo from the archives of the ARL Technical Library) (from Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain, provided the phrase "U. S. Army Photo" is included along with the photo)

Upcoming:

YouTube and Video Creation

  • Sharing in the YouTube app now rolling out for everyone (YouTube blog)
  • YouTube Partner update: new option to appeal if your video is "not suitable for all advertisers" (YouTube Creator Blog)
  • YouTube Kids is now available for Android TV (YouTube)
  • Facebook introduces new video platform "Watch" for personalized discovery and social viewing of "shows" (Facebook News Blog)
  • Academy on Air: YouTube - How to Make Your Video Creative Unskippable (Google Partners)
  • Why Deep Space Nine and Voyager aren't on Blu-Ray, and may never be (Trek News)

Go Live

Google+

  • Google+ers come from all around the world! (me)

Other social media

Google Photos and Mobile Photography

Google for businesses

Bloggers and Webmasters

AdSense and advertising

Made by Google, Android, Project Fi

Productivity

  • Better manage large events in Google Calendar (G Suite Updates)
  • New iPhone Local Guides widget lets you easily add photos and reviews to listings (Google Local Guides)
  • 8 tips for getting the most out of Google Keep (Google Blog)

Privacy and Security

More around the web

Google, women in software engineering, and diversity

News:
Commentary:
Updated March 2019 to remove Google+ links
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Spam and personal attacks are not allowed. Any comment may be removed at my own discretion ~ Peggy