As we move rapidly towards 2021, Google is rolling out its final updates for the
year. YouTube now supports HDR for live streaming, Duo lets you screen share in
group calls, Pixel phones have new filters in the Google Photos editor and the
Camera on the Pixel 4a(5g) and Pixel 5 now has Portrait mode in Night Sight. And
there’s more for publishers, webmasters, video creators, and even Microsoft
Office users.
‘Tis the season! There are holiday scenes for your next video get-together in Facebook Rooms and Microsoft Teams. And Google’s Santa Tracker is up and running.
2020 in Review
- Google Search has dubbed 2020 “The year the world asked why?” They have looked at lifestyle trends, trending TV shows and movies, You can see all the trends here. The top global searches: coronavirus, election results, Kobe Bryant, Zoom, IPL, India vs. New Zealand, coronavirus update, coronavirus symptoms, Joe Biden, Google Classroom. Not surprising, although I had forgotten Kobe died in 2020 - that seems like years ago.
- You can also learn more about the Canadian, Indian and Australian year in Search.
- Take a look at the year in music on YouTube for creator and viewer trends
- 2020 was a big year for YouTube gaming, with 100 billion watch time hours, more than 40 million gaming channels, and over 350 gaming creators with more than 10 million subscribers. See 2020s top games and gaming creators.
- Google Play Books is 10 years old. They’ve listed the top-selling fiction and nonfiction for each year.
- YouTube recaps the top videos in Korea and Japan.
- Spotify recaps the year 2020 for artists on the platform.
- Pocket shares the articles saved and read by their users in 2020. There are some excellent reads listed.
- Facebook looks at the top moments in 2020
- Twitter list the top Tweets and trends of 2020. Most Tweeted emoji? 😂
- Reddit shares 2020’s most popular subreddits, posts, AMAs and more.
- For more “best of 2020” see last week’s update for YouTube, Google Play and Apple Apps and more.
YouTube and Video
- YouTube now offers HDR for livestreams. HDR (high dynamic range) video has more contrast, a wider range of colors, and is brighter (see the link for an example). You need a supported encoder and camera or play a game that supports HDR output. To view HDR streams you need a supported TV, Android device or computer.
- YouTube Analytics now automatically highlights “key audience moments”. Learn more about how to use YouTube Analytics to understand your channel’s audience retention.
- YouTube changed how hashtags work with new hashtag landing pages.
- YouTube is testing automatically translated captions for videos in non-English search results.
- As the Safe Harbor deadline for the US Presidential election, YouTube will be removing content that “misleads people by alleging that widespread fraud or errors changed the outcome of the 2020 U.S. Presidential election.” This is one of several steps they are taking to reduce the spread of misinformation.
- Google is updating Ad Settings (adssettings.google.com) so that you can choose to see fewer alcohol and gambling ads. This is first rolling out for YouTube ads in the US, and will eventually be introduced for Google Ads and YouTube ads globally.
- Twitch announced a new Hateful Content and Harassment policy. The changes make Twitch’s policies more detailed and stricter, including sexual harassment as a separate category. Creators can join Twitch for live streamed Town Hall and Creator Camp sessions on the policies this week.
- An article in Bloomberg argues “OnlyFans is a billion-dollar media giant hiding in plain sight” It’s not just adult models, but also musicians, gamers and athletes selling subscriptions.
- Twitch is also offering special 2020-themed emotes, this month only.
Photos
- Google Photos can now sync liked images with Apple Photos.
- On Pixel phones the new Google Photos image editor will include new machine-learning based suggestions including “Dynamic” (enhance brightness, contrast and color) and sky selections (add a sunrise or sunset).
- The Google AI blog explains how Portrait Light works. Portrait Light adds a “simulated directional light source to portraits”.
- The Pixel 4a(5G) and Pixel 5 now let you shoot people with Night Sight in Portrait Mode to “create professional quality low-light portraits with the tap of a button.” Night Sight uses machine learning to keep the subjects in focus and visible, and Portrait Mode blurs the background.
Publishers and Web Developers
- Adobe released the last update of the Flash Player. Support for Flash ends December 31, and Flash content will be blocked beginning January 12, 2021.
- AdSense announced Link Units will be going away March 10, 2021. If you use responsive Link Units they will be converted to display ad units. If you have fixed-sized link ad units they will either be collapsed or show black space. Fixed sized link ad units should be replaced with another ad unit type.
- Wordpress 5.6 is here, along with the Twenty Twenty-One theme.
- From the Chrome Developers Summit: Keynote, Day 1 recap (Keynote, Performance, Privacy), Day 2 recap (Design, UX, Advanced PWAs). Watch all the sessions on YouTube.
- In 2021 Chrome extensions will be more private and secure, with more controls over permissions, the requirement developers provide details about their privacy practices, and more safety checks.
Search
- Google has a new podcast: Where the Internet Lives is “a six-episode narrative journey into the hidden world of data centers.”
Social Media
- Twitter has acquired video chat platform Squad to help “bring new ways for people to interact, express themselves, and join in the public conversation.” Squad launched almost two years ago with mobile video calls that included screen sharing.
- You can now share Tweets as stickers in your Snapchat Stories. The Snap will link back to the Tweet. They are testing sharing a Tweet as a sticker in Instagram Stories as well.
- LinkedIn is testing Stories Ads. I didn’t even realize LinkedIn had Stories.
- Pinterest now lets you add a “note to self” on a Pin. Plus there is a new Board toolbar to make activity easier.
Video Calls
- Google Meet now offers “sticky” settings for G Suite for Education customers. Meet will remember the Quick access, screen sharing and chat settings for meetings with a particular meeting code.
- Google suggests having your holiday gathering on Google Meet, where you watch YouTube videos together or view a Google Slides show of your photo highlights from the year.
- Google Duo screen sharing is becoming available in group calls. Duo calls can have up to 32 participants.
- Microsoft Teams has shared new holiday-themed custom backgrounds, and you can submit your own background to be part of their library. There is also a new “winter wonderland” creative mode theme.
- Breakout rooms are now generally available in Microsoft Teams.
- Facebook Messenger Rooms has holiday-themed 360-degree immersive backgrounds and AR filters.
Messaging
- Google Messages for Web now has reactions in RCS conversations.
- Google’s “Hold for Me” feature is rolling out on Pixel 3 and newer devices in the US (in English). If you are placed on hold, Google Assistant will wait on the line for you and let you know when someone becomes available to talk.
Productivity
- Google Play will offer audio books with auto-generated narration, starting with books published in the US and UK.
- You can now create and work with documents that contain multiple page orientations in Google Docs, including Microsoft Word documents.
- It’s now easier to open emailed Microsoft Office files in Gmail. And you can reply to the email from within the file.
- The Google Drive mobile apps (both Android and iOS) have improved search features to make finding documents faster.
More
- There are 50 new AR (augmented reality) animals you can access from the Google mobile app.
- Google’s Science Journal app is “graduating from Google” and moving to Arduino.
- Meet the Google Local Guides “Guiding Stars” of 2020.
That’s all the updates for this week.
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Image: Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels. Pantone’s colors for 2021 are yellow “Illuminating” (Pantone 13-0647) and “Ultimate grey” (Pantone 17-5104).
Image: Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels. Pantone’s colors for 2021 are yellow “Illuminating” (Pantone 13-0647) and “Ultimate grey” (Pantone 17-5104).
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