Creator Weekly: YouTube Hearts, Google Vids Updates, Beehiiv Podcasts

Hello readers, I hope you had a non-foolish week. Unlike days of yore, most tech companies no longer join in April Fools Day pranks. I don't miss that, especially with jokes getting harder to distinguish from real life.

A couple of exceptions: Threads let people toggle on a Comic Sans version, Snapchat trolled Meta with Reals, and Twitch switched to their original site layout. Funny? Maybe worth a chuckle.

And don't miss Google's big update that allows Gmail username changes. 

New This Week

• Google Vids has multiple updates, including Veo 3.1 video generation for all, customizable AI avatars that can interact with objects, export to YouTube and a screen capture extension for Chrome.
• YouTube added bulk comment hearting, expanded access to Effect Maker and AI chat on TVs.
• YouTube is launching Stations, a new TV viewing experience.
• LinkedIn requires live streams to be scheduled.
• TikTok added Cameo integration.
• CapCut Video Studio is a new AI powered video editor for the Web.
• Creators Guild of America launched Mosaic, an IMdB for digital media creators.
• You can now change your Gmail username without losing your Google Account photos, docs or email.
• Surf launched RSS feed based Social Sites to build your community.
• Beehiiv now hosts podcasts for distribution.
• Google Search shared an explainer on the Googlebot.
• EmDash from CloudFlare wants to be the spiritual successor to WordPress.
• Patreon lets you use a custom URL for your profile.
• Bluesky’s Attie AI assistant for creating custom feeds gets no love.
• Instagram allows Trial Reels to be scheduled.
• Facebook shared best practices for monetization.
• Reddit Pro Tools are available to all eligible publishers.
• And lots more, including the tech news that's bugging me this week.

Google Vids Gets Multiple New Features

Google Vids is Google's video editor for Google Workspace. It's available to all accounts (but AI features aren't available to everyone). This week there were a slew of updates.

• Now anyone with a Google Account can use Veo 3.1 to generate video clips in Google Vids.
• Directly export videos from Google Vids to YouTube. Videos are set to Private, but can be made public in YouTube Studio. Note: This does NOT give the option to select a channel, which I assume means channels on Brand Accounts are not supported.
• The new Google Vids Screen Recorder Chrome extension lets you make screen recordings up to 30 minutes long. Optionally record your camera or screen + camera. You can make minor edits and share or use Google Vids for advanced editing. Get the extension.
• You can also customize the AI avatars, including appearance, background location and clothing. Custom avatars can be reused on multiple projects. (Requires a Workspace Business, Enterprise or Essentials account or AI Pro or Ultra subscription.)
• And Google Vids AI avatars can now be directed to interact with objects.

YouTube and Video  

YouTube's new Comments to ❤️ feature identifies comments that deserve a heart and then lets you heart all of them at once (after review). More information.

YouTube Effect Maker is available to all creators with Advanced features in eligible regions. Plus:

• AI video effects
• Effects added to channel Editor permissions (with the expectation this allows creation of branded effects)
• Try it at effects.youtube.com and join the Effect Maker Discord

YouTube's conversational AI tool for asking questions about videos is now available on TVs.

Coachella Music Festival will be live on YouTube once again, starting April 10. This year live streams will be available in 4k resolution, and multi streaming is now available on TVs. And there is a brand new feature called Stations, “a 24/7 interactive and uninterrupted music viewing experience featuring both iconic archival performances and 2026 festival highlights”. It's YouTube’s take on FAST (free ad-supported television). Technically it's a live broadcast based on a playlist, which is easy for creators to launch. We'll see more of these.

CapCut Video Studio is a new AI-infused timeline-free platform to create and edit videos on the web. It supports ByteDance's Dreamina Seedance 2.0 video generation model. Try it.

All LinkedIn Live livestreams will have to be scheduled ahead of time starting June 22. They note “you can still go live on short notice by scheduling your event just minutes in advance.” The goal is to make Live simpler, more discoverable and more impactful. Note: To live stream, a profile or page must be at least 30 days old and have at least 150 followers or connections.

TikTok and Cameo have a new integration that makes it and easier for TikTokers to sign up for Cameo, and easier for fans on TikTok to request a video. Cameo is a platform that lets you pay for a custom video shout-out from pop culture personalities. 

StreamYard update: Change the size of display names and headlines

Tools for You

This is big! US users can now change their Gmail username for their Google Account. The old Gmail username remains as an alias, and all your Photos, Docs, Emails and YouTube channel will be unaffected by the change.

The Creators Guild of America launched Mosaic, an “IMDb for creators”. It includes behind-the-scenes credits for writers, videographers and editors. Individuals must meet professional eligibility standards and entries are verified by third parties.

If you are a creator using an iPhone to shoot video, you might want to check out the new DualShot Recorder app. It simultaneously records in vertical and landscape. Developer Derrick Downey says he's working on bringing it to the Play Store too.

Google Slides update : “Gemini can now create fully editable, brand-matched slides using dynamic layouts tailored to your specific content.” Requires a Workspace Business or Enterprise account or personal account with AI Pro or Ultra subscription.

Digital Publishers

Google Search explains how the Googlebot works and what it means that it only fetches the first 2 MB of your site.

If your blog is hosted by WordPress dot com, now all paid plans include plugins, global styles, font uploads and custom CSS. This includes the Personal plan for $5 per month.

Surf launched social websites powered by feeds. It brings together social posts, videos, podcasts, newsletters and community conversations across social platforms. 

• You can include profiles and creators from Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, YouTube, podcasts, blogs and RSS feeds.
• There are already social sites created by Wired, The Verge, and Rolling Stone for their communities. Details at the link.

Beehiiv is adding podcast hosting in a move that completes with Patreon and Substack.

• Upload new episodes directly to beehiiv, and they are distributed automatically to every major podcast platform including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, and Castro.
• Episodes have their own page on your Beehiiv website where people can listen or navigate to their preferred podcast platform.
• Your podcast can be added to your paid newsletter subscription, and Beehiiv doesn't take a cut (although you do need a paid account).

Patreon lets you add a custom URL to your profile (so it's your home page), has new post formatting options, distinct sender email addresses for emailed posts, 

CloudFlare launched a new open source CMS called EmDash. They call it the “spiritual successor to WordPress”, and it's “compatible with WordPress functionality, [but] no WordPress code was used”. It's supposed to be very fast, and it's designed to solve security problems with WordPress plug-in architecture. You can try an early version today. WordPress and WordPress dot com’s Matt Mullenweg isn't that impressed. 

Social Media

Bluesky improved its “Suggested For You” follow suggestions on people's profiles.

Attie is a new AI assistant being built by Bluesky to help users create custom feeds. People hate it.

• Its Bluesky profile is currently the second most blocked (the only profile disliked more is US Vice President JD Vance).
• Former Bluesky CEO and current Chief Innovation Officer Jay Graber notes the goal is the give people more control over their feeds, not generate content, and they are listening to feedback.
• Some of the backlash comes from the sense that Bluesky is working on this instead of basic features. There's also a strong anti-AI sentiment, especially among artists and writers who left other platforms because of their AI use.

Reddit Pro Tools are now available to all publishers with domain verification. The tools allow publishers to see how their links are being shared on Reddit, easy publication via RSS feed and AI powered suggestions on which subreddits to post in. Publishers can also highlight and organize posts on their profile.

Instagram lets you schedule trial Reels in advance (if you have access to trial reels).

Facebook shared best practices for monetization. Tip: try to maximize watch time of your Reels.

Snapchat expanded eligibility for its Creator Subscriptions monetization program. 

What's Bugging Me This Week

Nota News is an AI news company that was meant to expand local news coverage by generating articles based on public information like city council meeting videos. Instead it's been found plagiarizing actual local news coverage with no credit given. The sites have now been taken down and Nota News claims they were just meant to be an experiment. It turns out you can publish articles very cheaply if you start with someone else's hard work.

What's Making Me Smile

Hello, world! Photo of Earth taken from Artemis II, which will be going around the moon. We are all in this photo.

Thanks for reading! 🏵️