Weekly Update - August 7, 2021: YouTube, Blogger, Twitter

I hope you are enjoying your summer! There are updates and tips this week for students, Bloggers, YouTubers, and Twitterers (Tweeters?). Plus new features for productivity and communication.

New this week:

• Under 18 students will lose access to Blogger and YouTube on September 1. This is part of Google’s “Safer Learning with Google for Education” initiative. If this affects you, be sure to download your content as soon as possible, using the Blogger backup option and Google Takeout.
• YouTube announced the launch of the YouTube Shorts Fund. That’s $100 million that will be paid out to creators through 2022 based on performance of original YouTube Shorts. Bonuses are $100 to $10,000. There are eligibility requirements, of course. If you have popular Shorts videos, learn how to get the bonus.
• There is a new YouTube for Creators site with all the information, news and resources you need.
• OnEBoard’s Bob Danley has a demo showing how to use Twitter’s advanced search to find older content that can be reshared or repurposed.

Conversations:

• If you are trying to figure out the difference between Google Chat and Google Messages with chat features, why there are Meet and Duo for video calls, and how Voice and Fi fit into the picture, this is for you. I chatted with Michael Daniels and Heather Kraafter on Tinkering with Tech about Google’s communication options. Also see my write-up for the background on some of the topics we covered.
• There was an interesting #OnEBoardChat last week about Evergreen Content. See Q1, Q2 and Q3. Everyone is welcome to join the discussions on Twitter, every Sunday at 6 PM UTC/11 AM PDT.

Read on for more of this week’s updates:

Web Publishers

• The Page Experience Report in Google Search Console is being simplified. The Safe Browsing and Ad Experience widgets are being removed. That data can be found elsewhere in Search Console.

Communication

• The latest version of ChromeOS has Google Meet pre-installed, which should make it easier to create or join a meeting on your Chromebook.
• The emoji picker in Google Chat is getting an update with the latest set of emoji, and will save skin tone and gender preferences per individual emoji. This is rolling out for Chat on Android, and will be available soon on iOS devices and the web.
• Facebook introduces “View Once” photo sharing and messages in WhatsApp. All messages are protected by end-to-end encryption. The “View Once” messages can only be viewed one time, then disappear.
• Skype for Business Online has been retired and replaced with Microsoft Teams. Regular Skype is not affected by this change.

Social Media

• Facebook disabled the personal accounts of researchers associated with the Ad Observatory project. That project took data provided by volunteer users to analyze what happened on the platform around the 2020 Presidential election and other events of public interest. Facebook claims that their methods violate user privacy. Mozilla (the not-for-profit company behind Firefox) analyzed the code and has stated Facebook’s claims “do not hold water.” That’s not likely to get the researchers’ accounts reinstated.
• Facebook has redesigned the Facebook Settings page. It should be easier to find the privacy checkup and other settings.
• Twitter Spaces now lets you add up to two co-hosts.
• Twitter has added Google and Apple ID sign-in options.
• Twitter is collaborating with the Associated Press and Reuters to help “identify and elevate credible information” on the platform.
• Clubhouse has improved “Club” roles. Admins can choose to set membership to “Open” (anyone can join) or “By Approval” (for private Clubs). There is also a new “Leader” role, which can start rooms and schedule events. The “Followers” role has been removed.

Productivity

• There is a new emoji picker on Chromebooks 💻. Click Search/Launcher+Shift+Space to get started.
• Google Workspace now offers integration with the Miro whiteboarding platform. There are new features in Docs, Sheets and Slides. And starting next year there will be an immersive integration with Google Meet.
• Finally, Google Forms and Quizzes (which are a type of form) will automatically save your input as a draft for 30 days, or until you submit the form.
• Smart Compose is available for comments in Google Sheets, Slides and Drawings. This was launched in Google Docs last year.
• Links to Microsoft Office files stored in Google Drive will now open in the appropriate editor (Google Docs, Slides or Sheets) rather than in preview mode.

Just for fun

• The Chrome dino game has an Olympics twist.

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

Image: Leaves by Skitterphoto on Pexels. Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license.