Weekly Update - March 28, 2020: Google GDC, Podcasts, Business Updates

Following last week’s big roundup of coronavirus-related updates, I was hoping for more new news to share. But we’re still a long way from normal. Google, Facebook, Twitter and other online services are working hard to keep their services running under a heavy traffic load, prevent the spread of misinformation and keep advertisers advertising. And if you run a business, you need to be sure that its online presence has up-to-date information.

On the upside, new options for content sharing and discovery have been quickly pushed out by Google, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and a number of other sites. That's a bit of brightness in these hard times.

General Updates

• While the annual Game Developers Conference has been postponed until August, the online-only Google for Games Developer Summit was held last Monday. There were a number of announcements, including new tools for developing Android games, managed Game Servers, and tips for growing your games business with AdMob and Analytics.Google also announced the Stadia Makers program to support the independent game development community.
• If you upload an image with text to Google Photos you may see a prompt that lets you copy the text when viewing on your mobile device. You can also see where photos in your library were uploaded from (for example, an Android device) or who shared it with you (like Peggy K :) ).
• Google Drive now lets you use Drive Shortcuts to create pointers to shared content. For example, if I created a document and shared it with my sales team, the sales manager could create a shortcut to the document in the “Sales” shared drive for easy access. (Note: I do not actually have a sales team). This is the first step in an overall change to Drive’s organization of documents. After September 30 it will no longer be possible to put a document into multiple folders in My Drive, and files in multiple locations will be automatically migrated to shortcuts.
• Google's Threat Analysis Group published their latest insights into fighting phishing attacks. Government-backed attacks are declining, but impersonation of journalists and news organizations is on the rise.

Updates for Creators

• The Adobe Summit 2020 – Digital Experience Conference launches on March 31. It’s free and content will be available on-demand with registration.
• People are watching YouTube videos to cope with the current crisis. Popular content includes “how to work from home”, “study with me”, how to create pantry meals, videos that help cope with anxiety and stress and in-home fitness. If you are a creator, consider that when deciding what content to post.
• There’s a new data breakdown in YouTube Analytics that lets you compare stats for videos that are live, premieres, or video on demand.
• YouTube is encouraging creators to post #StayHome #WithMe videos.
• While creators are complaining about their content being demonetized by YouTube, the reality is that advertisers are preventing their ads from showing next to coronavirus-related content. This hurts revenues for news organizations and publishers as well as YouTube creators.
• Soundcloud is partnering with Twitch to make it easier for musicians to make some money. SoundCloud Pro, SoundCloud Premier and Repost by SoundCloud creators can fast-track Twitch Affiliate status.
• Patreon has a fund for creators affected by COVID-19, and is hosting a series of live streamed Creator Workshops.
• Facebook has introduced Live Producer for web broadcasts, with improved comment moderation tools, the ability to create clips from live broadcasts that can be published as video on demand, and graphics overlays (to be launched later this year). You can access Live Producer at www.facebook.com/live/producer/.
• Facebook is also making it easier for people to watch live broadcasts. Now viewers don’t need to be logged in to Facebook to watch a public live stream on their mobile device. And viewers with limited bandwidth can choose to listen to the stream with a new audio-only option.
• If you are on Reddit, try the new Reddit polls to engage your community.

Entertain and be Entertained

• The Google Podcasts mobile app for Android and iOS has been redesigned. The Home tab not only shows updated episodes, but also highlights people or topics covered in the podcast, with a link to Google Search to find more information. The new Explore tab recommends shows and episodes based on your interests.
• YouTube is reducing the default streaming quality worldwide. If you don’t want to watch video in Standard Definition, you can manually switch to High Definition quality.
• Today - March 28, 2020 - is Twitch Stream Aid, a benefit to support COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO . There will be top gamers, musicians, athletes and more. And if you are live streaming, you might be featured too. Just be sure to use the TwitchStreamAid tag.
• Instagram introduced media sharing, that lets you view Instagram posts together with your friends over video chat.
• Pinterest introduced a new “Today” tab with curated topics and trending pins.
• Mixer introduced a new updated homepage with “smart, AI-powered” recommendations.

Communicate

• Google recognizes that “group calling is particularly critical right now”. To that end, Google Duo group calls can now accommodate up to 12 participants, up from 8.
• The Electronic Frontier Foundation has an overview of potential privacy issues with online communication tools.
• If you are using Hangouts Meet, Google has a list of cameras, headsets and other hardware that has been tested and approved through the Hangouts Meet hardware peripheral qualification program.

Updates for Teachers and Educators

• Experts from Logitech, Google, and the United States Distance Learning Association are hosting a free Webinar on March 31 on effective strategies for distance learning.
• Both Google Hangouts Meet and Zoom have launched new features for teachers hosting classes remotely.
• If you are not a schoolteacher, but instead offer in-person classes or training that you charge for, and are moving online, WordPress has tools that make it easier to offer paid online lessons.

Updates for Businesses

• Local U has a roundup of Google My Business changes due to COVID-19. Those include no new reviews, removal of the Q&A section, no new photos added by users, or edits.
• The changes to Google My Business listings also affect Google Local Guides activity. There may be a delay before your photos and edits appear publicly.
• Google Webmasters has recommendations for pausing your online business in Google Search.
• Bing announced special schema markup for COVID-19-related business updates on your website.
• Google is providing Google Ads credits to small and medium businesses that have been active advertisers. That is in addition to a $250 million in ad grants provided to the World Health Organization and government agencies. This will hopefully also help publishers and YouTubers who rely on advertising income.
• Pinterest has launched a new Verified Merchant program for retailers with “high quality customer service experiences”. Verified Merchants get a special checkmark, metrics and other features.
• It can be difficult to know what to post in times of crisis. Google, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook have provided content guidance for brands and businesses during the time of COVID-19.

That’s all the updates for this week. Subscribe to get the Weekly Update in your email inbox or favorite feed reader every Saturday. Miss last week’s update? Get it here.

Image: Gray Keypad by Khizar Hayat on Pexels (free to use)