Weekly Update - December 1, 2018: Google Fi, YouTube Stories and more

I’m dreaming of summer here in the Northern Hemisphere! As we head into the last month of the year, there was a major announcement from Project Fi, plus some nice updates from YouTube and more.

• The big news this week was that “Project Fi” - Google’s mobile network that launched in 2015 - has graduated to “Google Fi” and now officially supports most newer Android phones and iPhones. There is a catch: Fi’s unique technology to seamlessly switch between multiple cellular network and new enhanced network features only work with “designed for Fi” phones. If you are interested, you should check compatibility of your phone.And if you decide to give it a try, use my referral link and we’ll both get a bonus (click here).
• To celebrate the launch, Fi offered an amazing one-day-only promo: buy a new phone through Google, meet the other eligibility requirements, and you would receive the full value of the phone back in travel gift cards. It was so popular support was almost impossible to reach and the gift cards ran out hours before the promo period ended. There have been a lot of questions from people who weren’t sure they actually got the deal. If that’s you, be sure to check the information posted in the Fi support forum: Shipment Status, Promotion, Activation, and Trade-In Questions and Price protection for the Black Friday promotion
• YouTube Stories are rolling out to all eligible channels with at least 10,000 subscribers. Creator Insider has some answers to creator questions (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFIGg5OKO7Y). Stories are meant to be more “casual” content, and are only available for 7 days after they are posted.
• YouTube announced they are retiring “lower usage features” in January, most notably old Annotations. The Annotations editor was retired well over a year ago, but there are many older videos that still have the (sometimes annoying) desktop-only annotation boxes and text. Those will be removed mid-January, and YouTube is encouraging users to add Cards and End Screens in their place.
• Also in January: ad-supported “Shows” playlists become regular playlists, Movies become standard videos and video credits (but not caption credits) will be removed.
• YouTube has launched US-only YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium Student Plans. If you are an eligible student, it looks worth checking out (and yes they are verifying student status).
• Instagram now lets you share Stories with a limited group of “Close Friends”.
• In a more exciting initiative, Instagram is working to improve accessibility by adding automatic alternative text. This uses object recognition technology to generate a description of the photos. You also have the option of writing your own custom alternative text. People using screen readers can then hear that description. It’s also been speculated that the alternative text may improve search engine indexing of Instagram images.
• Business reviews in Google Maps can now include hashtags.
• Android Auto now supports apps with MMS and RCS messaging, including group conversations

Read on for more tips and updates for educators, webmasters, list makers and more.

Image: “A Love Story” by E. Phillips Fox, 1903 (Public Domain)

Upcoming

• December 2: Deadline to apply for the Google Podcasts Creator ProgramDecember 3: Offline Gmail Chrome Web App removed from the store
• December 4: AdSense on Air; Fight against fraud and protect your revenue with ads.txt
• December 6: Google will stop serving Nearby Notifications to Android devices
• December 11: Google’s DevFest OnAir (register now!)

YouTube and Video Creation

• YouTube removing "lower usage features": Annotations, Ad-Supported Shows & Movies, Video Credits (YouTube)
• YouTube Stories rolling out to eligible channels with 10k+ subscribers (YouTube Creators)
• Stories on Stories! Barbara's Take (Creator Insider)
• YouTube launches student plans for YouTube Music and YouTube Premium just in time for winter break (YouTube)
• YouTube Premium is changing because it has to (The Verge)
• Nintendo now allows creators to monetize content through the YouTube Partner Program (The Verge)

Social media

• Learn more about Google Groups with Contacts hovercards (G Suite Updates)
• The EU Copyright Directive - What Redditors in Europe need to know (Reddit)
• Instagram is using object recognition tech to describe photos for visually impaired users (Instagram)
• Instagram now lets you share Stories with just a list of "Close Friends" (Instagram)
• Memo from a ‘Facebook nation’ to Mark Zuckerberg: you moved fast and broke our country (recode)
• Facebook test lets users block words & phrases from their wall – almost … (9to5Google)
• Connecting People to Local News and Their Communities with “Today In” (Facebook)
• Here's why low-credibility news seems to dominate Twitter (it’s bots) (The Next Web)

Google Photos and Mobile Photography

• Creating a More Accessible Instagram (Instagram)
• Instagram now lets you share Stories with just a list of "Close Friends" (Instagram)
• Learning to Predict Depth on the Pixel 3 Phones (Google AI Blog)

Google for businesses

• Business reviews in Google Maps can now include hashtags. (TechCrunch)

Bloggers and Webmasters

• Google Webmaster Central Office Hours Hangout (Nov. 27) (Google Webmasters)
• Google Webmaster Central Office Hours Hangout (Nov. 30) (Google Webmasters)
• Wordpress.com now offers free .blog subdomains (Wordpress)

AdSense and advertising

• Industry collaboration leads to takedown of the “3ve” ad fraud operation (Google Security Blog)
• Google Partners Discover: Drive online to offline sales (Google Partners)

Hangouts and Messaging

• Android Auto now supports apps with MMS and RCS messaging (Google)
• Hangouts Meet now allows G Suite Enterprise users to organize meetings with up to 100 participants (G Suite Updates)

Made by Google, Android, Google Fi

• Bringing Google Fi to more people on Android and iOS (Google)
• Upgrade your daily drive with new Android Auto features (Google)
• Fast Pair now syncs Bluetooth accessories across Android devices, Chromebook support in 2019 (9to5Google)

Productivity

• Google Translate for the web gets a new look (Google)
• Google Assistant now lets you create and update multiple lists and notes (Google)
• Shake up your (Google Assistant) routine with help from YouTube creators (Google)
• Elevate your quizzing and grading experience with two G Suite for Education beta programs (G Suite Updates)
• Google Classroom for all G Suite customers (G Suite Updates)

Privacy and Security

• These hugely popular Android apps have been committing ad fraud behind users’ backs (Buzzfeed News)

More around the web

• Mic has laid off the majority of its staff (recode)
• We went to a steak dinner annuity pitch. The salesman wasn’t pleased (New York Times)

Updated March 2019 to remove Google+ links.