Before you read on, check your Google Account’s security and sign-in options. The best time to secure your account is now!
Google now lets you
add a selfie video
to help you sign into your account. If you have a single device (like your
phone), set this up to make sure you can still sign in if your device is lost.
Set it up at
g.co/signin-selfie. Manage your selfie videos. Learn more.
OK, now read on!
This is currently available on the web and iOS (and Android soon).
In the long term, Substack is considering letting creators set Reply Rules around AI content, and let readers set their preferences about AI content recommendations.
Substack creators can also add a “how I made this statement” to their profile.
Substack explains why they added this feature:
“We care about this at Substack because it gets to the core of our mission to build an economic engine for culture. When content made by no one takes over parts of the internet that are supposed to be human, it pollutes the commons and makes it hard to discover and hear human voices.”
Substack authors have questions though. What if the AI scanner gets it wrong (and these tools frequently get it wrong)? And what will Pangram do with all the Substack writing it ingests?
Originally, Substack said users can use Pangram on draft posts, and “report and remove any scans on your own work that you believe are mistaken.
They later backtracked slightly, saying:
"We read all of your feedback, which we take seriously as we continue to evolve the product and host open conversation on this topic. Based on your comments, we made a change yesterday so that publishers can disable scanning on a post-by-post basis without having to scan the post first or interact with Pangram at all."
But that doesn’t address the potential issues around misidentification, and the feeling that this encourages writing in a “non AI” style. That is galling when the AI style is based on human writing in the first place.
OK, now read on!
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This week’s Top Updates
- Upload a custom thumbnail for your YouTube Shorts.
- New YouTube Community features, including Community-only posts and quote posting.
- For monetizing creators: YouTube is launching free Membership trials (you can opt out your channel) and shows Open Calls for brand deals.
- Use Ask Studio to generate thumbnails in YouTube Studio.
- Substack partnered with Pangram to let readers and creators scan for AI-generated content.
- Facebook Verified is a free badge that shows you are human.
- Facebook is showing users even more videos.
- Instagram now lets you change the music on a published post.
- X lets you add a custom thumbnail to videos.
- Google Photos has redesigned and improved Ask Photos.
- Plus updates for Meta AI, WordPress, Google Search, Patreon and more.
YouTube Shorts Custom Thumbnails
Channels in the YouTube Partner Program can now add custom thumbnails to Shorts in YouTube Studio on desktop.- You can upload a thumbnail, or use a frame selected by YouTube. This is the same as for long-form videos.
- The option to select any frame and add text is still available in the YouTube app.
- YouTube may only display thumbnails with a 2:3 aspect ratio. If your Short is 9:16, don’t have important details on the edges of the thumbnail.
- Thumbnail A/B testing is not available for Shorts.
- Shorts thumbnails do not display in the Shorts feed (that isn’t new).
New YouTube Community Features
YouTube is adding new Community features for creators and fans. Learn more.
For Creators:
- Community-only posts that don’t appear on the Posts tab
- More moderation options in YouTube Studio
- Quick mod assignments from the 3 dot menu on a Community post in the main YouTube app.
- Quote a creator post as a new post.
- Access Communities from more places on YouTube
- New notifications of creator interactions (like when they pin your post)
Substack scans for AI-generated content
Substack is partnering with Pangram, a tool that lets you scan notes, replies, comments, and posts, then estimates how much was written with AI assistance. It works on text longer than 100 words.”This is currently available on the web and iOS (and Android soon).
In the long term, Substack is considering letting creators set Reply Rules around AI content, and let readers set their preferences about AI content recommendations.
Substack creators can also add a “how I made this statement” to their profile.
Substack explains why they added this feature:
“We care about this at Substack because it gets to the core of our mission to build an economic engine for culture. When content made by no one takes over parts of the internet that are supposed to be human, it pollutes the commons and makes it hard to discover and hear human voices.”
Substack authors have questions though. What if the AI scanner gets it wrong (and these tools frequently get it wrong)? And what will Pangram do with all the Substack writing it ingests?
Originally, Substack said users can use Pangram on draft posts, and “report and remove any scans on your own work that you believe are mistaken.
They later backtracked slightly, saying:
"We read all of your feedback, which we take seriously as we continue to evolve the product and host open conversation on this topic. Based on your comments, we made a change yesterday so that publishers can disable scanning on a post-by-post basis without having to scan the post first or interact with Pangram at all."
But that doesn’t address the potential issues around misidentification, and the feeling that this encourages writing in a “non AI” style. That is galling when the AI style is based on human writing in the first place.
YouTube and Video
YouTube is launching one month free Membership trials for eligible channels and “select qualified viewers”. Creators will not earn any revenue from the trial Membership, but the hope is that this encourages more people to become paid Members. Creators can opt out (or back in) on the Membership tab in YouTube Studio.
YouTube now
shows Open Calls for Brand deals. This is designed to make it easy for Creators to start making Brand deals
for the first time. How it works:
- A Brand creates an open call for Shorts, and if your channel meets the criteria you will see them on the Earn tab in YouTube Studio.
- You can see the deal terms, submit a Short, and if the Brand approves your video, you will get the offered payment. Brands can request one round of edits.
- Brands can use your Short as an ad for 180 days, and can contact you directly to negotiate additional use.
- This is currently available to YouTube Partners in the US, and will be available soon in the UK, India and Indonesia.
You can now use Ask Studio in YouTube Studio on desktop to generate thumbnails for long-form videos. Generated thumbnails are based on your title and video, and match the same style, topics and audience as the rest of your channel. You can brainstorm, then fine-tune the suggestions. You can start with a simple prompt “create a thumbnail for my video”.
If you use the AI creation tools in the YouTube Shorts editor, you
can
find your AI creations in the “Recent Creations” tab in the AI Playground.
Restream off-stream editing lets
you edit any scene while your stream is live, without interrupting what’s on
screen. This is still in testing, but will start rolling out soon.
Watch the demo.
StreamYard now lets you see YouTube Gifts powered by Gems
live. (Restream also has this feature). Gifts can be given by fans on
vertical live streams if your channel is in the YouTube Partner Program in a
supported country.
Discord
no longer lets you set up a Discord role for TikTok LIVE subscribers. This let Creators offer a Discord
server as a perk for paid TikTok LIVE subscriptions. Existing connections
will remain active.
Web Publishing
New York Times:
How Google’s A.I. Search Is Imperiling the Open Web
And Google’s response: Google: We Send Billions Of Clicks To Websites Weekly Through AI Search
WordPress shares how to find a local WordPress meetup or event.
Instagram now lets you change the audio on a post or carousel that you have already published (if you added the audio in the app). Your likes, comments and shares won’t be lost. Instagram notes this lets you “stay current” by swapping in trending songs.
X now lets you add a custom thumbnail to your videos. You can choose a frame and customize it or upload your own design. Currently only available for iOS.
You can now create Combo charts in Google Sheets.
Meta AI can now “make plans, connect to email and calendar apps, create slides, and handle tasks on your behalf”. It uses Muse Spark to research and compile information or create a daily briefing. (I’m not sure why you would want this unless you are deep in the Meta ecosystem, but it’s there.)
Patreon laid off 20% of its workforce. It sounds like it is because of AI (although they are reassuring creators that AI can't replace human creativity).
The Last Museum is an explorable archive of more than 5 million works of art.
I can’t even: Meta launched a new AI optimism ad set to a song about human extinction (it’s a good song)
Thanks for reading! 🌼
And Google’s response: Google: We Send Billions Of Clicks To Websites Weekly Through AI Search
WordPress shares how to find a local WordPress meetup or event.
Social Media
Facebook Verified is a new free badge that indicates a real human (but not which real human) is behind an account.- You record a selfie which is compared to your existing profile photos.
- Badges appear in Marketplace, Dating, Groups and Profile, and will eventually be added to Feed posts.
- This is available to users 18 and older, in good standing with the “fraud, scams and deceptive practices” Community Standards, and have not exhibited inauthentic behavior.
- It is not available for Pages or personal profiles with Pro Mode.
- This is separate from Meta Verified, a paid subscription that is supposed to provide impersonation protection and enhanced support.
Instagram now lets you change the audio on a post or carousel that you have already published (if you added the audio in the app). Your likes, comments and shares won’t be lost. Instagram notes this lets you “stay current” by swapping in trending songs.
X now lets you add a custom thumbnail to your videos. You can choose a frame and customize it or upload your own design. Currently only available for iOS.
Tools
Google Photos has redesigned Ask Photos. Previously Ask Photos was very slow related to classic search, and was often overkill if you just wanted to find photos of a specific person, place or thing (rather than a complex query). Now, if you enable Ask Photos, the app decides whether classic search would be better. You can toggle between classic and Ask results.You can now create Combo charts in Google Sheets.
Meta AI can now “make plans, connect to email and calendar apps, create slides, and handle tasks on your behalf”. It uses Muse Spark to research and compile information or create a daily briefing. (I’m not sure why you would want this unless you are deep in the Meta ecosystem, but it’s there.)
More to read and watch
Why it’s important to have people with a diversity of backgrounds looking at history: A hairdresser with no archaeology training solved a Roman mysteryPatreon laid off 20% of its workforce. It sounds like it is because of AI (although they are reassuring creators that AI can't replace human creativity).
The Last Museum is an explorable archive of more than 5 million works of art.
I can’t even: Meta launched a new AI optimism ad set to a song about human extinction (it’s a good song)
Thanks for reading! 🌼
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