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Weekly Update - August 25, 2018: Webmaster Search Console, Google+ Communities, YouTube Partners

This week there are some nice updates, helpful tips, and good news for the asking for creators of all kinds.
  • Managing members for private domain-limited Google+ Communities is getting easier. If you have a private Community for your G Suite domain, you can now manage membership through Google Groups. Add someone to the Group and they will also be added to the Community. If someone is removed from the Google Group, they will also be removed from the Community. If you have a G Suite account, and want to use this feature, talk to your domain’s administrator to see if they will enable it for you.
  • The new Google Search Console for webmasters is getting some new features, including a Links report, improved mobile usability report, and a new settings that makes it easier to manage your properties’ users and permissions. It’s also getting easier for owners of a property in Google Analytics to access data for that site in Search Console, with automatic verification.
  • All channels in the YouTube Partner Program will be able to run non-skippable ads , starting next week. The ad format will be enabled automatically on any videos showing TrueView video ads, so if you aren’t interested in non-skippable ads, keep an eye on your Creator Studio for an announcement. YouTube believes this change will earn Partners more money, but a concern is that viewers might not like having to sit through a full ad (even with a maximum length of 20 seconds). Be sure to monitor ad performance in YouTube Analytics!
  • Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Calendar getting the new Gmail's app access side panel, including Tasks, Keep and Calendar.
  • Both Facebook, Twiitter, and Google have removed a number of misleading accounts associated with Iranian state media. This included Facebook Pages and Groups, Instagram accounts, Google+ accounts, Blogger blogs and YouTube channels. At least some of this activity was originally identified by cybersecurity firm FireEye, which worked with all three companies to identify suspicious accounts. 
  • Google Photos photo books are now available in the UK and France, in addition to Germany, US, and Canada. 
  • Finally, sometimes it feels like there is nothing but bad news out there, which can be pretty depressing. Now US users can ask Google Assistant to “tell me something good” to hear a positive news story about people “solving problems for our communities and our world.” The news stories are curated and summarized by the non-partisan Solutions Journalism Network.
Plus there are tips and updates for business owners, Google Plussers, webmasters and more. Read on for details. Click the link below for details.

Information about western wildfires
Image: Maximo Override, by Antonio Muñiz - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

Upcoming

YouTube and Video Creation

Go Live

  • Twitch Prime will no longer include ad-free viewing - Twitch Turbo is the alternative (Twitch)

Google+

  • New G Suite-only Google+ feature: add users and Google Groups to domain-restricted Google+ Communities (G Suite updates)
  • Google+ Community Moderator tip: lead by example (Google+ Moderators Community)

Other social media

Google Photos and Mobile Photography

  • Google Photos photo books have launched in the UK and France (Android Polices)
  • Learn about editing with Google Photos while on the road (Geeks on Tour with Michael Daniels)

Google for businesses

  • [Launch] Menu and Services editor now available in all countries (Google My Business)
  • What to Call Your Google+ Maps My Business Places Listing Thingy (and where to find and edit it) (Whitespark)

Bloggers and Webmasters

  • Updates to Google webmaster Search Console: Links report, mobile usability, site management, and auto-verification of Analytics property owners (Google Webmaster Central)
  • Google Images data in Google Analytics (Google Marketing Platform)
  • Easier Search Console access for Analytics owners (Google Marketing Platform)
  • Google Webmaster Central Office Hours Hangout (August 21) (Google Webmasters)
  • Google Webmaster Central Office Hours Hangout (August 24) (Google Webmasters)

AdSense and advertising

Hangouts and Messaging

  • Internet Relay Chat (IRC) was born 30 years ago at the University of Oulu

Made by Google, Android, Project Fi

Productivity

  • Hey Google, tell me something good (Google Blog)
  • Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Calendar getting the new Gmail's app access side panel (G Suite Updates)
  • Google Fit gets a new look and simplified goals for health (Google Blog)

Privacy and Security

More around the web

Updated March 2019 to remove Google+ links
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