Tuesday is the autumnal equinox, and with it fall begins in the Northern
Hemisphere. I’m looking forward to cooler weather. And there also seems to be
the usual end-of-quarter flurry of product updates. YouTube launched TikTok-like
Shorts in India, Google Meet now lets you blur your background and see 49
participants at once, and Blogger no longer lets you switch back to the legacy
interface.
Plus there are updates for video creators,
webmasters, businesses, and much more.
Also, on Sunday, September 20, join OnEBoard for the Premiere of our interview with author David Amerland.
YouTube and Video
- YouTube Shorts launched in early beta in India. There are new camera tools that let you create a fun 15-second video, including combining clips, recording with music, and speed controls. Creators in India can sign up for a free workshop to learn how it works. If you don’t have access to the Shorts camera, you can still participate by uploading vertical videos that are less than 60 seconds long. Include the hashtag #Shorts in the title or description, and it may appear in the special Shorts section of the home page in the Android app.
- Shreya Sudarshana (who is a data analyst on the Disney+ product engagement team) explains how TikTok “won” short form content by focusing on lurkers, rather than creators. TikTok makes it easy for viewers to find community with minimal effort, and their algorithm offers a level playing field where even a newbie can go viral.
- YouTube will now insert “[__]” instead of potentially inappropriate words in automatic captions. Why? Because sometimes the automated captioning makes mistakes. Creators can turn this setting off, or add their own captions with all the rude words they like.
- YouTube has an explainer on how their content policies apply to EDSA (Educational, Documentary, Scientific, or Artistic) content. There are some policy exceptions for such content, for example nudity in the context of medical information. But, as always, “the educational or documentary intent needs to be clear by providing context”.
- If you use the YouTube Studio mobile app, YouTube Creators has a nice overview of how to use it to access your channel Analytics.
- Vimeo has redesigned their profile pages with the professional videographer in mind. You can customize video sections, add a Client module to show off your experience, and your contact information is “front and center”.
- Facebook has enabled automatic live captions for Facebook Live and Workplace Live videos in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German and French.
- Facebook has a new Pro Tips Guide for Creators, with tips on maximizing the impact of your videos and live streams. That’s in addition to their recent series of videos where Facebook’s video product team members talk about how best to use their tools. They have also shared an overview of their VidCon panel, where the Facebook team talked about new features, monetization and the “recipe for success”.
Photography
- Flickr has put together a list of Flickr accounts to follow, with photographers who specialize in
- nature photography, architecture, portraits, landscapes and more.
- Five courses for photographers at AdobeMAX. AdobeMAX is virtual this year, and free with an Adobe account. Register by October 9 and you could win some swag.
Bloggers and Webmasters
- It is no longer possible to revert to the legacy Blogger interface. The Blogger team is still updating the new UI, and they ask that when you provide feedback you be as specific as possible (good advice in general).
- AdSense now lets you enable Google to use first party cookies on your site. This allows Google “enables features like frequency capping on ads and allows ads with a frequency cap to serve on your site.” It is enabled by default. You can change the setting now, but it will not go into effect until October 16.
- Google Webmasters has shared what they learned at their first digital “unconference” on August 26.
- Starting in mid-November, the Googlebot will start crawling some sites over HTTP/2.HTTP/2 is the next major version of HTTP
Communication
- Meet is rolling out two highly requested features. You can now see a grid of up to 49 meeting participants (including yourself). And if you have an eligible Mac or Windows computer you can blur your background. Background blurring should also be coming to Chromebooks and the Meet mobile app soon.
- Meet also launched more participant controls for G Suite for Education. If “Quick access” is turned off, no one can join the meeting before the Host, and anyone not directly invited by the Host needs to “knock” to join the meeting.
- The Made By Google Twitter account announced Google Duo now lets you screen share if you are using an Android phone. However, that Tweet was deleted, so maybe not?
- Facebook announced Watch Together, a new feature in Messenger Rooms and video calls that lets you and your friends watch Facebook Watch videos together.
- Zoom now lets you drag-and-drop people in Gallery View to put them into any order you want.
- If you have been considering a Zoom Pro account, sign up by October 1st to get 20% off your first year. Pro accounts don’t have time limits, can record to the cloud and live stream to Facebook and YouTube.
- If your computer supports Snap Camera, you might want to try Cameron Hunter’s Lens that translates hand gestures and body movements into comic book-style popups, so everyone in your meeting can see you saying hello, goodbye, yes, no or asking a question.
Updates for Businesses
- Google’s new GNI Digital Growth Program is designed to help small and medium-sized news publishers with audience development, reader and ad revenue, and more. And while it’s designed for news organizations, the information is available to everyone.
- Plus codes can be used to pinpoint anything in Google Maps, even places without a formal address.
- Google My Business updated their guidelines for Service Area Businesses and Virtual Offices
- Lessons from Burning Man on holding a successful virtual event.
- Facebook introduced Facebook Business Suite, a new interface to manage pages and profiles across Facebook and Instagram.
More
- You can now subscribe to newsletters in Feedly. This lets you set up Feedly email addresses for subscriptions For your existing newsletter subscriptions, you can forward them from your email to your Feedly account. This requires a Feedly Pro+ account or higher.
- Amazon Music now includes podcasts. If you have your own podcast, you can submit it for inclusion.
- Facebook is implementing new policies to keep Groups safe and prevent the spread of misinformation. They will limit the ability of moderators of removed Groups to create new Groups, all Groups posts by individuals with Community Standards violations need to be approved by a moderator, and Groups without an admin will be archived.
- Facebook is partnering with Ray-Ban to develop smart glasses with an integrated display, an early step in “Project Aria”, which is focused on developing true AR glasses.. They also announced the Oculus Quest 2 next-generation VR headset
- If you are wondering what you missed at Apple’s event last week, they announced a new iPad and Apple Watch, with features for “wellness, fitness, and creativity.” And coming this fall are “Apple One” subscription plans that let you get a package deal on Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+, and iCloud.
Upcoming
- September 30 is Google’s “Launch Night In” event, which will reveal the new Chromecast, smart speaker, and Pixel phones. You can tune in live at 11AM PT.
- Microsoft Ignite is September 22-24. Register to learn more about Microsoft’s vision for the “future of work” and attend networking events.
Just for fun
- If you are in the US, you can watch the first two “Bill & Ted” movies on YouTube for free (with ads) until the end of September. And you can buy or rent the latest adventure, “Bill & Ted Face the Music”. Most excellent!
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