Two reminders. The happy: September 30 is Google’s annual hardware event, with expected announcement of new Pixel phones, smart speakers, Chromecast and maybe more. The sad: Google Meet premium features that were extended to all G Suite customers will no longer be available after September 30, and personal meetings will be limited to 1 hour.
YouTube and Video
- YouTube’s classic editing effects are going away September 30. If you used effects on your videos, you can revert to the original video, save the edited version as a new video or keep the classic effects.
- YouTube is making changes to more consistently age-restrict content meant for 18+ viewers. They will be using machine learning and automated systems to detect content that should be age-restricted, and age-restricted videos embedded on 3rd party sites will now have to be watched on YouTube itself while signed in. In addition, YouTube will be requiring some European viewers to verify their age to comply with the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD). If your video is age restricted, and you believe that’s in error, you can submit an appeal.
- YouTube’s copyright match tool will be available to all creators, not just Partners. This lets you see if anyone on YouTube has re-uploaded one of your videos. You then have the option to contact that uploader or submit a copyright complaint. Learn more.
- YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and the World Federation of Advertisers are working together as the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM). They have agreed to adopt a common set of definitions for hate speech and “other harmful content”. It’s not clear if this will affect YouTube’s policies for creators and Partners.
Photos on the web
- Facebook has introduced Rights Manager for Images, which helps creators and publishers protect and manage their images and videos on Facebook and Instagram. You do need to apply for this tool, and it is meant to be associated with a Facebook Page.
Bloggers and Webmasters
- Google Web Creators is a new blog and YouTube channel “to provide tools, guidance and inspiration for people who make awesome content for the web.” (They are also on Twitter and Instagram). It has tips and tricks, guidance on using Google (and other) tools, and blogger profiles. It’s excellent to see bloggers and web creators in the spotlight!
- Google really wants you to create web stories. They have rounded up 10 web stories they think are great. If you have a WordPress blog, try Google’s Web Stories for WordPress plugin to create your own, including free stock photos and templates.
- WordPress has introduced a Discover tab in the WordPress mobile app, to help you find recommended blogs at WordPress.com. Be sure to include tags and categories in your blog posts to make them more discoverable.
- AdSense has released a guide to common AdSense policy questions. If you are an AdSense Publisher, hopefully this isn’t totally new information for you. It’s a useful overview of policy for everyone, with helpful links to more resources.
Messaging
- Google Meet and Jamboard integration makes online brainstorming easier. Jamboard is Google’s collaborative whiteboard tool. With the new integration you can create or open a jam while in a Meet meeting. This is rolling out over the next few weeks.
- As of September 30, Google Meet premium features will no longer be available for free. G Suite customers that want to continue using Meet’s recording, in-domain live streaming, or 250-person meetings will have to upgrade to G Suite Enterprise. If you are using a free personal Google account, meeting length will be limited to 60 minutes.
- Zoom rolled out high-fidelity music mode, which delivers professional-grade audio from a single Zoom client to an audience of other meeting participants.
- This week at Microsoft Ignite, they announced a number of new features coming to Microsoft Teams. New video meeting features include new “Together Mode” scenes, custom layouts, breakout rooms, meeting recaps (with the meeting recording, transcript, chat and shared files), and more.
Social Media
- Instagram’s TikTok-like Reels now allow videos up to 30 seconds (previously 15 seconds), and they are improving their editing tools.
- Facebook and Apple have come to an agreement where Apple will not take a 30% cut of revenue from Facebook’s paid events on iOS devices. Facebook had waived their own fees, in order to help businesses struggling due to COVID-19. It’s not clear if this is a one-time deal or marks new flexibility from Apple.
- Pinterest is launching Story Pins, new creator profiles and analytics tools. Story Pins can include video shot with the Pinterest camera, images, text and a details page. And unlike some Stories, these don’t disappear.
- Twitter has been testing a prompt to encourage people to read articles before replying or retweeting. Apparently it actually works to get people to at least open the article, so they are working on rolling out the prompts globally.
- Back in July, a number of prominent Twitter accounts were hijacked, with ownership transferred by someone inside Twitter. This week Twitter announced new security measures to help users keep their accounts secure and to secure their own internal tools.
- LinkedIn announced a major redesign. They are introducing Stories, one-click video calls (BlueJeans, Zoom, Microsoft Teams) and a whole new look.
Productivity
- Tables is a new tool from Google’s Area 120 that helps teams track work and uses Bots to automate tasks like email reminders of overdue tasks or automatic chat room posts when a new form is submitted. Plus it’s integrated with Google Sheets, Forms, Groups and Contacts. There are free and paid tiers. Give it a try.
- Google Docs now lets you add, manage and format academic citations. This feature will take a few weeks to roll out.
- You can now use Google Drive File Stream with your personal Google account. This mounts a virtual drive on your computer that lists you files and folders stored in Google Drive in the cloud. Your Drive files are not saved locally like they are with Google’s Backup and Sync. You can download any content you need to access locally.
- Starting September 30, it will no longer be possible to place a file in multiple folders Google Drive “My Drive”. Instead, you can add shortcuts to the location where the one copy of the file is located. Files living in multiple locations will be gradually migrated to shortcuts.
Image: Green apples by RP Photography on Pexels. Free to use.
Comments
Post a Comment
Spam and personal attacks are not allowed. Any comment may be removed at my own discretion ~ Peggy