Weekly Update - August 28, 2021: YouTube Partner Program, Google Meet, Facebook Posts

This week there are new tools for hosting Google Meet meetings, new security requirements for YouTube Partners, information about how Google Search and Instagram Search work, and a (criticized) report on what content is the most popular on Facebook.

Plus there are tips and updates for video creators, website owners, podcasters, and more.

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New tutorials

• Google Meet has new safety and moderation controls that let meeting hosts control whether participants can use the in-meeting chat, share their screen, mute everyone with a single click or kick everyone out when the meeting is over. Get detailed instructions on how to do that, or watch this 60 second overview.

This week’s top updates

• YouTube channels with at least 1000 subscribers can now add a trailer to scheduled live streams.
• Starting November 1st all accounts in the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) will have to be secured with two step verification. Without this added layer of security, you will not be able to access YouTube Studio. This is also required to apply. If you haven’t set up two step verification on your Google account, you can start the process here. As a side note, YPP launched 14 years ago, and there are now more than 2 million creators in the program.
• Google Meet will now notify you if your system is causing a feedback echo in a meeting. If you click the notification Meet will suggest troubleshooting steps.
• Facebook released a report on the most popular content on the platform. According to Casey Newton the most viewed posts are recycled memes and the most viewed links are essentially spam . Andrew Hutchinson at Social Media Today notes “in terms of content trends that might inform your Facebook approach, there's not a lot to go on here, while the scope of links really just points to a lot of spam, which is not indicative of influence.”

And more this week:

YouTube and Video

• YouTube is updating the description text layout in the Android and iOS mobile apps. It will show a snippet of text, then a “Read more” option to expand the description.
• Neal Mohan, YouTube’s Chief Product Officer, explains what steps they are taking to prevent the spread of misinformation. YouTube will still remove content that violates the community guidelines, including COVID-19 misinformation, but they are also increasing content with information from trusted sources. And they are also reducing the reach of videos with “harmful misinformation.” The goal is to “strike a sensible balance between freedom of speech and freedom of reach.”
• YouTube Theater is a new 6,000 seat venue in Inglewood, California (near Los Angeles). And of course it’s designed for live streaming. YouTube plans to host concerts, esports, and other events.
• TikTok has a new mentoring program for Latinx creators. The application deadline is September 8.
• Vidcon 2021 has been cancelled. It was scheduled for October 22-24, and would have included both in-person and virtual content. The next Vidcont is scheduled for June 2022 in Anaheim.
• September is “SUBtember” on Twitch, with discounted subscriptions, merch, and more. Show your favorite Twitch streamer some love.

Web Creators

• AdSense has new options for Age Appropriate Design Code (AADC) compliance. If your site has users under the age of consent, check out this update.
• Google explains how they generate web page titles in the Search results. They have improved how their systems add a title if the HTML title tags are not sufficient. Their advice? Focus on creating great title tags, so make sure they are not stuffed with spam and are descriptive (so not “Home”).
• #AskGooglebot’s latest tutorial explains how to hide text from the snippet that appears in the Google Search results.

Social Media

• Spotify’s Anchor podcasting platform now lets all US creators offer paid subscriptions. This will be expanding to more countries “soon”. Creators can now also email fans who have opted in to communications.
• Instagram has shared an explainer on how their search algorithm works. If you want to show up in Search, they recommend: use a relevant handle and profile name, include keywords and locations in your bio, and use relevant keywords and hashtags in your captions.
• Instagram is retiring “swipe up” links in Stories. They are being replaced by a Link sticker, which will be more visible. They also hinted that links in Stories may eventually be available to more users.
• Twitter is rolling out paid ticketed Spaces - its Clubhouse competitor - on iOS devices.
• GIPHY is working with creators to make sets of original GIFs and short videos. (And I had totally missed that GIPHY is now owned by Facebook).
• Good news for Only Fans creators (and fans): porn won’t be banned after all.

Communication

• You can now replace your background with a choice of videos in the Google Meet iOS app.
• Zoom has a new Focus Mode, where participants can only see themselves, the hosts and shared content.
• Facebook Messenger is 10, and has launched new features to celebrate. You can now send birthday cash gifts, share contacts, and use Word Effects (where you can set words to trigger a cascade of emojis).

Productivity

• There’s now better integration between Google Chat and Google Tasks. If you view a Task in Chat, you can now navigate back to the Chat message where the task was created.
• Google Docs now has Smart Replies in comments, similar to Gmail’s Smart Replies.
• More smartness: Google Sheets now suggests formulas and functions when you are working with your data.
• Microsoft is ending support for Office Android apps for Chromebooks in September. Chromebook users can use Office.com or Outlook.com on the web. One big difference: The Office website and Progressive Web App (PWA) do not support offline use.

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