Happy Earth Day weekend! Hopefully you will be able to spend some time outside, enjoying nature and contemplating how you can generate less plastic waste. This week we got a status update from YouTube, we learned Google is focusing on developing RCS Chat, rather than Allo, Google Slides rolled out some neat new features and more.
- At the beginning of February, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki posted a letter outlining her top five priorities for Creators in 2018. Better communication was one of those priorities, and in that spirit, this week she provided a status report. Progress has been slow, but one highlight is improved detection of non-advertiser friendly content, meaning fewer videos flagged incorrectly. And YouTube’s official Twitter handles (@TeamYouTube, @YouTube, @YTCreators) have increased 600% this year. But in my opinion, there is still a lot of work for YouTube to do to meet their goals.
- YouTube has again pushed back the date by which they hope the backlog of Partner Program applications will be reviewed - it was the end of April, but now it’s the end of June. They are reviewing channels with the most views first. They have also expanded the review team, so hopefully the date won’t be pushed forward again.
- Ad blockers are a problem if you rely on ads to monetize your content. Google’s response is “Funding Choices”, which lets your site visitors using an ad blocker choose to either allow ads or buy a pass. It’s expanding to 31 new countries, but it still only available to large websites (definitely not mine!)
- Google is “pausing” development of Allo, the chat app launched a year and a half ago. Instead they will be focusing on “Chat”, Google’s name for RCS (Rich Communication Services), in Android Messages. This is NOT a new messaging app, and it’s not even a new feature in Messages - in November 2016 Sprint partnered with Google to support RCS, and since the a number of other carriers around the world have gotten on board. But that’s the catch: RCS must be supported by mobile carriers to work. The good news, though, is that if RCS isn’t available to the person you message, it falls back to SMS, so your friends and family don’t need to install a new app to communicate with you. And if your mobile carrier supports it, all you need to do is use Android Messages for SMS on your phone.
- Google Slides got several new features, including the ability to embed individual Slides in a Google Doc, guides and rulers to make it easier to create precise designs, and the ability to comment on text in individual objects.
Plus there are tips and updates for video creators, live streamers, photographers, Google+ Community managers, business owners and much more.
Image: Satellite View of the Americas on Earth Day, April 22, 2014 (NASA). Earth Day 2018 is Sunday, April 22. Even if you aren’t participating in a local clean up event or festival, use the Plastic Pollution Calculator to estimate how much plastic pollution you generate and make a plan to reduce it.
Image: Satellite View of the Americas on Earth Day, April 22, 2014 (NASA). Earth Day 2018 is Sunday, April 22. Even if you aren’t participating in a local clean up event or festival, use the Plastic Pollution Calculator to estimate how much plastic pollution you generate and make a plan to reduce it.
Upcoming
- 23 April: Google+ #CreateConnections with Lisa Watson
- 25 April: AdSense on Air: Track your AdSense Revenue
- 30 April: Application deadline for YouTube VR Creator Lab at YouTube Space LA
- 1 May: Application deadline for the 2018 Google Local Guides Connect Live Meetup
- 1 May: Google Webmaster Central Office hours Hangout
YouTube and Video Creation
- YouTube hopes to review backlog of Partner Program applications by the end of June (YouTube)
- Report and remove inappropriate or annoying ads on YouTube (me on YouTube)
- YouTube Monetization Self-Certification Sneak Peek (Creator Insider)
- An update from Susan Wojcicki on progress towards YouTube's 2018 priorities (YouTube Creators)
- Facebook updates and clarifies its video monetization guidelines (Facebook Media blog)
- Official Field Guide for Creating for YouTube Kids (YouTube)
- 'I’m going to destroy you': Employees who worked at YouTube say violent threats from volatile ‘creators’ have been going on for years (Business Insider)
- Don't Call Adam Pally a Hero: It's 2018 and Not Cool to Hate on Creators (Daily Beast)
Go Live
- Beyoncé's Coachella set was the most-viewed live performance on YouTube in the festival's history (Business Insider)
- StreamElements Launches on YouTube (StreamElements)
- Facebook lets creators turn video premieres into live events (Engadget)
- Track your Twitch channel’s growth with the new Channel Analytics page (Twitch blog)
Google+
- Google+ #CommunityExperts recap: learn how to use Ask to Join and Hold for Review settings with Margaret Tompkins (Google+ Moderators Community)
Other social media
- Actually, Myspace Sold Your Data Too (Motherboard)
- Facebook Login Changes to Address Abuse (Facebook Developers)
- Facebook moves to shrink its legal liabilities under GDPR (TechCrunch)
- Complying With New Privacy Laws an Offering New Privacy Protections to Everyone, No Matter Where You Live (Facebook Newsroom)
- Twitter bots share two-thirds of links to popular websites (The Daily Dot)
Google Photos and Cloud Photography
- SmugMug acquires Flickr from Oath (formerly Yahoo) (Flickr)
Google for businesses
- Google Adds Guidelines for Events on Google Maps (Sterling Sky)
- How to Add a Business Description to your Google Business Page (Online Ownership)
- How to Add Your Business Services to Your Google Business Page (Online Ownership)
- A Sobering Look at Fake Online Reviews (Krebs on Security)
Bloggers and Webmasters
AdSense and advertising
- Google "Funding Choices" - which lets site visitors using an ad blocker choose to allow ads or buy a pass - is expanding to 31 more countries (Inside AdSense)
- A new video ad format to reach people across the mobile web and apps (Inside AdWords)
Hangouts and Messaging
- Sprint integration with Google Voice will no longer be supported after June 1st (Google Voice)
- Google pausing development of Allo, focusing on RCS Chat in Android Messages (The Verge)
- Hangouts Meet Hardware Update (Chrome Releases blog)
Productivity
- New in Google Slides: linking in Docs, guides and rulers, and improved commenting (G Suite Updates)
- How to use Google Drive's new "View History" feature (Lifehacker)
- How Google Search is working to remove inappropriate predictions (Google Blog)
- How we explored the whole wide world with Google Earth in the past year (Google Blog)
- Google's new book search deals in ideas, not keywords (Axios)
- Chrome Stable Channel Update for Desktop (Chrome 66) (Chrome Releases)
- Chrome for Android Update (Chrome 66) (Chrome Releases)
Privacy and Security
- Protecting WebView with Safe Browsing (Chromium Blog)
- Meet Lea Kissner, leader of NightWatch, Google’s internal privacy strike force (Gizmodo)
- OURSA conference signals need for diversity in privacy, security design (IAPP)
More around the web
- If you want to know how we ended up in a cyber dystopia, read Ready Player One (The Verge)
- George Washington's "Yelp Reviews" (JSTOR Daily)
- (Cerf)ing the Internet: meet the man who helped build it (Google Blog)
- An Augmented Reality Microscope for Cancer Detection (Google Research Blog)
- Preserving endangered wonders of the world, for generations to come (Official Google Blog)
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