This week’s theme: out with the old and in with the new. Yahoo Groups is going to shut down entirely in December and there is finally a general timeline for the migration from classic Hangouts to Google Chat. Before that happens Hangouts will lose phone calling and SMS features.
On the flip side, the new Google Groups will be the only option starting next month, and there is a brand new version of Google Analytics. And in a surprise move, there’s now Meet for Google Glass.
Plus there are updates there for YouTube, Google Search, businesses and more.
YouTube
- YouTube now prohibits QAnon and other content that has been used to justify real-world violence as part of its updated hate speech and harassment policies. There is an exception for documentary and news content, and YouTube considers the context of the present information.
- YouTube is banning content that contains misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines as part of it COVID-19 Medical Misinformation policy.
- YouTube Creators has a quick overview on how to update your channel’s branding and layout in the new YouTube Studio.
- Get a sneak peek at the updated YouTube Studio mobile app.
- As Google Play Music winds down, YouTube Music is rolling out new features. There are improvements to YouTube Music on TVs and it’s now available on the Apple Watch.
Webmasters
- Google launched the new Google Analytics with “machine learning at its core.” It is integrated with Google’s marketing products, and has much requested advertiser features. It is also built with privacy in mind, with more controls to help manage how you collect, retain and use Analytics data. Reports have been reorganized, and even if you aren’t a marketer, it may take some time to learn how to navigate the data in the new Google Analytics 4 properties. Take a quick walkthrough and learn how to get started.
- WordPress now lets you publish your entire blog post, including images, as a Twitter thread. I’m filing this under “why?”
More Creator Updates
- Google introduced Podcasts Manager for podcast creators. You can see how your podcasts perform in search, and get listener analytics. If you have a podcast, check it out.
- Google Play Books now pays a 70% royalty for ebooks, which now matches other major ebook retailers. (Thanks to Paolo Amoroso for that tip!)
- In celebration of Inktober, Flickr suggests groups for artists and illustrators.
- October 19-22 is the virtual Creative Commons Global Summit. Flickr will have a “booth” with interviews and more.
- Teespring now offers digital merch for purchase and download. You can now promote ebooks, podcasts, wallpapers, audio files, photo filters and more to your fans.
- Spotify now offers shows with both music and talk content. Creators in the US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand can use Spotify’s Anchor to create shows with songs from Spotify interspersed with talk. You can monetize your shows by inserting ads or with Anchor Sponsorships.
Google Search
- If you have a mystery song stuck in your head, you can now hum to Google Search on mobile and it will try to find a match.
- You will soon be able to check out cars in AR from the Google mobile app. Google touts it as a way to shop for a new vehicle, but it might just be fun to browse if you dream of owning a Porsche.
- Google takes a look at how AI helps in search. Fun fact: 10% of search queries are misspelled. Even so, Google can find answers to questions. They also can identify key moments in videos (even if the creator didn’t tag them), understand related topics, and pull up facts.
- If you are a business owner, then be sure to read the article about how Google calculates “busyness” live for businesses.
- If you want an overview of how Search works, watch Google’s hour-long “Trillions of questions, no easy answers: A (home) movie about how Google Search works”
Social Media
- Verizon Media is shutting down Yahoo Groups on December 15. This is one year after Yahoo Groups moved to email online, with online content hosted by Yahoo removed. Any emails you have received from Groups will remain in your email, but you will no longer be able to send email to the Yahoo Groups address. Yahoo recommends Google Groups, Facebook Groups, or groups.io. Group owners can download the member list to import into a different service.
- Meanwhile, old Google Groups will be going away on November 9 for most users. The brand new Google Groups interface will be the only option. Note that some features will not be available in the new Groups, including canned responses, “My Discussions”, visible posting history, editing your own posts, saved searches and several other features. Learn more about New Groups. Also see this overview of new Groups by Google Product expert Nina Trankova.
- SnapChat has launched a new feature called Sounds that lets you add popular songs to Snaps and Stories.
- Instagram is cracking down on UK influencers who do not adequately label their posts that include product endorsements.
- In a policy turnaround, Facebook will now remove Holocaust denial content. Previously CEO Mark Zuckerberg used such content as an example of what he finds offensive, but would not remove.
- Twitter has new easier to navigate privacy and safety settings. Check it out.
- SnapChat has launched Local Lenses in London. You can paint over real shops and streets, and that will be visible to anyone else who visits that location.
- Discord is launching Stickers. They will sell sticker packs, but Nitro subscribers will get a special set for free, plus discounts on all sticker purchases. They also have a special Trick’cord Treat bot for Halloween, that lets you play for prizes.
Communication
- Classic Hangouts users will be migrated to Google Chat in the first half of 2021. Your one-to-one conversations will be migrated, including your contacts and saved history. Google Workspace customers will not face mandatory migration from Hangouts to Chat until late 2021, so I expect Hangouts will still linger for another year.
- Phone calling and Google Voice and Google Fi SMS will be removed from classic Hangouts early next year. Google Messages will be updated soon to offer SMS, voice calls and voicemail across devices for Google Fi customers. Google Voice users are encouraged to use the Google Voice app and site.
- Facebook Messenger has a brand new Instagram-colored logo, new chat themes, and selfie stickers.
- There is a new version of Signal Groups with group admins, @mentions and more. Signal uses a private group system, where the Signal service doesn’t have a record of your group memberships, titles, avatars or attributes.
Conferencing
- Google Meet is now available for Google Glass (Enterprise Edition 2) in beta. Meet for Glass can let technicians work hands-free while talking to remote experts, offer virtual real estate tours, remote inspections and more.
- G Suite and Google Workspace admins will be able to set Meet as the “default video conferencing provider”. If that is set and a 3rd party video conferencing add-on is enabled, users in that organization will have a drop down menu to select the 3rd party service. Amins can also set the add-on as the default video conferencing provider.
- Zoom’s annual Zoomtopia conference was this week, and they announced a number of new features. OnZoom is their new paid online events platform. Plus there will be end-to-end encryption (which offers increased security, but lacks some features), Zapps app integration including Dropbox and Slack, “Immersive Scenes” that let a class appear as a cut-out audience, animated reactions and more.
Productivity
- Google Sheets has added “smart fill” that “detects and learns patterns between columns to intelligently autocomplete data entry.”
- When you are presenting with Google Slides, embedded video will now play automatically when the slide is advanced. This can be turned off for any video in the video format options.
- Learn how to send recallable emails using Gmail Confidential Mode from Gmail Product Expert Somnath.
- At this week’s AMP-fest, Google is touting AMP emails for eCommerce and other business messaging.
- There are new accessibility features for Chromebooks, including improved select-to-speak and screen reader, changing cursor color, creation of accessible PDFs and more.
- Google’s Trusted Contacts will no longer be supported after December 1. When someone is a Trusted Contact, that lets them request your location. If you do not respond, Google shares your location automatically. Google suggests location sharing in Maps instead.
A cautionary tale
- A profanity filter banned the word “bone” at a paleontology conference. Also “wang”, but not “johnson.” The moral: don't use simple default filters!
Image: Photo by Tim Mossholder from Pexels. Free to use.
HolocausE denial?
ReplyDeleteThanks for spotting that. Fixed!
Delete