iT Rumors

The Turkish government has followed through on a threat to block YouTube from within its borders.

The action, which comes a week after the country blocked Twitter, was “another desperate and depressing move by Turkey,” according to Neelie Kroes, vice president of the European Commission.

It began on Thursday in reaction to the posting of a conversation apparently between Turkey’s foreign minister, intelligence chief and a senior member of the armed forces that concerned a possible or theoretical attack against militants in neighboring Syria.

“It’s like the first wave of the Twitter blocking that happened last week,” said Doug Madory at Internet monitoring company Renesys. The company said several of its remote systems in the country were unable to access the Google-run website several hours after Turkey’s telecommunications authority said it would block the site.

Twitter was blocked after the micro-blogging service was used to spread links to a video that appears to implicate Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a corruption scandal.

It began with blocking the site through DNS (domain name system), the servers that translate the youtube.com domain name to the numeric Internet address used by computers to communicate. When Turkish users figured out they could sidestep the DNS restrictions by switching to use Google’s DNS service, the government moved to block access to that.

Thursday’s blocking of YouTube appears to working the same way with restrictions being placed on the DNS entry for the site, said Doug Madory at Renesys.

Google DNS has since become available again in Turkey but Twitter remains blocked, said Madory. //PCWorld

Facebook’s taking on an unlikely target: YouTube.

The social network is not planning to become a video Website, but a leaked pitch deck published by TechCrunch indicates that Facebook would like to be advertisers’ go-to for mobile video ad spend. The presentation, “Facebook for Business: Video on Facebook,” delves into the stats that bolster its claim.

Why Facebook? Three reasons: First, changing consumer behavior means that marketers should “be where people are. Secondly, it allows them to “reach all of the people who matter to you.” Finally, Facebook’s News Feed is “the most engaging digital real estate.”

The first element, changing consumer behavior, refers to the fact that television is “no longer a guaranteed audience.” According to eMarketer, people will spend more time on digital media than on TV in 2013. Nielsen, which has long released the TV ratings that advertisers depend upon for media buys, recently announced that it would incorporate Twitter messages to create a new metric for rating TV shows based on social engagement.

That digital media includes Facebook. The company reports that people check their phone 100 times a day, and Facebook 10 to 15 times each day. Facebook and Instagram make up 21 percent of total time spent on mobile. In general, eMarketer reports that more than 28 percent of time spent online or on a smartphone is spent on social networking. Social networking ad spending, which was 8.5 percent of total U.S. ad spend in 2012, is projected to hit 12.2 percent by 2015. Digital ad spending in general, which will be $9.5 billion in 2013, is expected to reach $13.8 billion by 2017.

A second element, “targeted reach,” is basically a testament to the 179 million people who use Facebook each month. Per day, it’s 128 million people, 101 million of which are on mobile. Television, according to Nielsen ratings, reaches less people ages 18 to 24 each day than Facebook does. Further, Facebook claims that it can deliver “incremental reach” above TV, increasing its reach primarily among 25- to 34-year-olds, and especially during the day, when it increases reach 125 to 160 percent.

YouTube is changing its revamped comments system to fend off a new wave of spam, but the company is sticking with its controversial decision to tie the system to its Google+ social network.

The original changes were made in early November in what YouTube described as an attempt to ensure "YouTube comments will become conversations that matter to you". Channel owners were given more tools to moderate comments and block certain keywords, while the comments section was re-ordered to bubble up "engaged discussions" to the top.

Since then, creators have loudly complained that the changes have fuelled a new wave of spam – YouTube's own video explaining them featured a prominent ASCII-art penis for some time.

The site's most popular creator, Swedish gamer PewDiePie, even turned off his comments, claiming that his videos were being overrun with "Links to virus sites, advertisers, self-advertisers, spam, copy and paste pics of dogs".

In a new blog post, YouTube admits that there have been problems. "While the new system dealt with many spam issues that had plagued YouTube comments in the past, it also introduced new opportunities for abuse and shortly after the launch, we saw some users taking advantage of them," it explains.

Source : theguardian.com

AdBlock Plus from Eyeo is expanding its mission to clean up more than just annoying Flash ads. The browser add-on still blocks online ads—except for the whitelisted ones—but ABP is now turning its attention to information overload on popular social networks.

The latest social site to fall victim to ABP's editorial pen is YouTube, thanks to the new YouTube Customizer site. The feature helps you banish all the bits of the video site that annoy you, while keeping the ones you enjoy.

To get started, you must have AdBlock Plus installed on Chrome, Firefox, or Opera. Next, just visit AdBlock's YouTube customization page to start blocking YouTube's various "features."

If you're generally annoyed with the current state of YouTube you can block everything but the video you're watching. The list of banished items includes comments, suggested videos, featured and recommended videos in the end screen, the sharing tab in the description, in-video annotations, and channel recommendations.

That's a breathtaking list of YouTube cruft and dumping it all may be a step too far for most of us. What good is YouTube, after all, if you can't waste the afternoon following an endless stream of recommended videos.

Instead of blocking everything, ABP includes options to only block comments, or only suggestions and recommendations, or only the sharing tab and in-video annotations.

You could also block some mixture of the above—for example, blocking comments and annotations but leaving recommendations intact. If you have any YouTube pages open after you add AdBlock's customizations you may have to refresh the page for your changes to take effect. And if you ever want to return YouTube to the data buffet it once was, check out ABP's instructions on how to remove your customizations.

It also goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that your changes only work on the browser where you have AdBlock Plus installed and first added the YouTube filters.

Eyeo says the recent switch to Google+ logins for YouTube's commenting system inspired the new ABP customization tool.

The Google+ switch is supposed to improve YouTube's notoriously vile commenting culture. But critics say the site also lost some important advantages, such as anonymous comments independence from Google+—the company's social service that is creeping into every facet of Google products.

AdBlock Plus has been on a tear recently to let users customize their favorite social sites.

In October, ABP rolled out a similar customization tool for Facebook that lets you banish content from the sidebar and news feed. Earlier in November, the browser add-on let you tweak Twitter by casting out photo and Vine previews from your timeline.

Eyeo isn't finished yet, and is taking suggestions for the sites ABP should clean-up next. If a particular site annoys you to no end, let the ABP crusaders know by sharing a comment on the AdBlock Plus Facebook page

Via: PCWorld.

A brief YouTube outage on Monday was the one of the biggest recent glitches for the popular video site, according to a company that uses complaints on Twitter and other sources to measure the impact of online outages.

Around 3 p.m. Pacific Time, the site started displaying a plain-text page with a “500 internal service error” message that read, “Sorry, something went wrong. A team of highly trained monkeys has been dispatched to deal with this situation.”

Google’s YouTube division issued a statement but didn’t immediately give a reason for the outage, which lasted about 10 minutes, or detail how many people it affected.

“Some people encountered errors, or a slower than normal experience on YouTube today,” the statement said. “We worked quickly to address the issue and fixed the problem. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this caused.”

Via : TechHive

Facebook has a massive advantage on iPhone that Google does not, I learned from a source in the mobile adtech world at Business Insider's Ignition 2013 conference this week, and this goes some way to explaining Google's sudden insistence that people use Google+ if they want to comment on YouTube videos.

People tend to stay logged in to Facebook on their mobile phones. Not so Google or Google+. So if you're an advertiser and you want to reach people on their phones, the Facebook login identity will be a useful thing. (Facebook is testing a mobile ad network using just this type of targeting right now.)

People stay logged in to Facebook on both iPhone and Android systems, of course. But Google's problems are compounded on iPhone: Because iPhone doesn't have tracking cookies — which help advertisers track your web browsing habits — a lot of Google's search ad products don't work as well on the iPhone as they do on Android or a desktop environment. Cookies are the little bits of software that track your web browsing history so advertisers can target you with ads that seem relevant.

Android does have cookies, and Google can use them to target you with ads when you search for stuff on an Android phone.

None of this is news, of course.

And you'd think that because 81% of smartphones are running Google's Android system, with cookies, that the iPhone gap wouldn't be much of a problem.

But it is.

iPhone users tend to be richer than Android users, and ads running on Apple's mobile devices often have better return on investment.

So one way for Google to develop a target-rich environment for advertisers who want to reach people on iPhone would be for more iPhone users to log in to Google+ and then forget to log out.

By amazing coincidence, Google is now pushing people to log in to Google+ if they want to comment on YouTube videos. One intention here is to "civilize" YouTube, which has become ripe with trolls and bigots who comment anonymously under videos.

But Google also knows that 40% of YouTube's traffic comes from mobile devices, and mobile traffic will only increase over time. A huge portion of those people will forget to log out, and stay logged in semi-permanently, just the way Facebook users do.

That will increase the amount of Google+ logins available for targeting on iPhone — a geography previously ruled by Facebook.

It may already be working. Facebook still dominates social media logins, according to Janrain, a company that tracks social media data. About 45% of logins are from Facebook at any one time in Q3, the company says. But Google+ login were 33% of the audience, Janrain says, and the gap between Facebook and Google+ is closing

Via: Yahoo News

Google Calendar. Google Calendar is a scheduling platform to organize and share events. Access your calendar when you’re away from your desk with two-way syncing to your phone or tablet. Stay on schedule with reminders, and get notified by email or receive text messages directly to your mobile phone.

Gmail. Gmail is a Google’s email application, which includes 15GB of free storage (across Gmail, Google Drive and Google+ photos). Gmail also lets you communicate via SMS, voice or video chat.

Google Drive. Drive is Google’s cloud storage application. Store files up to 10 GB in Drive, plus files created with Drive apps don’t use storage. Drive is now the home of the Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps to create online documents. Drive’s best feature is its extensive collection of third-party apps.

Google Cloud Print. Google Cloud Print connects your printers to the web. Make your printers available from anywhere, to you and anyone you choose. Access Google Cloud Print from your phone, tablet, Chromebook, PC, and any other web-connected device.

Google Voice. Google Voice enhances the existing capabilities of your phone for free, regardless of which phone or carrier you have. Use a single number that rings you anywhere, get transcribed voicemail messages delivered to your inbox, and make free calls and text messages in the U.S. and Canada.

Google Webmaster Tools. Google Webmaster Tools provides detailed reports about your pages’ visibility on Google search. Learn about any problems Google is having indexing your site. Identify search queries that drive traffic to your site, as well as any links to your site. Simply add and verify your site, and you’ll start to see information right away.

Google Analytics. Google Analytics lets you measure your customers’ behavior. Track sales and conversions across ads, videos, websites, tablets and smartphones. Understand which parts of your website are performing well, measure the success of your social media programs, and create better-targeted ads. Free for users with less than 5 million page views a month.

Google Merchant Center. Google Merchant Center is a tool that lets you manage your product inventory with Google so your items can appear on Google properties. Linking your Google AdWords and Merchant Center accounts allows your products to appear as product ads on Google search and Google Shopping. Product ads feature detailed information about your inventory, like prices, images, and item descriptions.

Google Alerts. Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results based on your queries. Enter a search query you wish to monitor. You will see a preview of the type of results you’ll receive. Google Alerts is a great way to keep tabs on your competitors and on your industry.

Custom Search Engine. AdSense for Search is a free product that lets you to place a Custom Search Engine on your site. Choose the content your users search, customize the look and feel of it, and monetize search result pages with targeted ads.

Places for Business. Places for Business gives you access to free tools that help your business get online. Ensure your business is found on Google Search, Maps, Google+, and mobile. Make sure your customers find the right information about your business.

Google Sites. Google Sites is a free tool for creating basic websites and project wikis. Choose from pre-built templates, and then customize the look and feel. Use Sites to share info on a company intranet or collaborate on a team project.

Google Translate. Add the power of Google Translate to your website. The free Website Translator plugin expands your global reach quickly and easily. Instantly translate your website into 60+ languages using Google’s Translate. Collect translation suggestions from your users, and invite editors to manage translations and suggestions.

YouTube. YouTube allows people to discover, watch and share originally created videos. It is a great resource for free instructional videos on all topics. If you’re interested in creating videos, YouTube offers Creator Hub, a suite of tools and programs, educational resources, and support.

Google and Your Business. This is Google’s blog for tips and tricks on managing your business. Primarily geared toward small business, the site is filled with useful articles and tutorials on how to take advantage of Google products. Recent articles include “New Learn with Google Fall Webinars” and “AdWords Site Policy Starter Guide.”

Google Books. Browse books online, search book content for search terms, and download books in the public domain for free. Find book reviews, web references, maps and more. If you find a book you like, click on the links to see where you can buy or borrow it.

Google Maps for Android. Google Maps for Android shows you where you are and gets you to where you want to go. Get free, voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation. Check-in at a place to share your location with friends, and see if any of them are nearby.

Google+. Google+ is Google’s social media platform — to share, collaborate, and create. Starting a Google+ account and developing your brand through Circles helps get backlinks to your website.

Google+ Hangouts. Turn any Hangout into a live video call with up to ten friends or simply call a contact to start a voice call from your computer. Enhance your call with Cacoo for online drawing, SlideShare for sharing presentations, and Conceptboard for whiteboard collaboration.

Google Moderator. Google Moderator allows you to create a topic series about anything that you are interested in discussing and open it up for people to submit questions, ideas, or suggestions. Anyone can come to the site and submit a question, idea, or vote.

Blogger. Create your blog with Blogger and post text, photos, videos, and more to your blog. The Blogger Template Designer makes it easy to create and customize. When you create your blog, you can host it for free on Blogspot.

Source : Practical Ecommerce

The most recent changes began as a welcome move from the Mountain View giant, as YouTube announced in late Sept. that it was going to update its comments section to help eliminate some of the vitriol, as well as to make comments into conversations under a given video.

Under the reorganization, YouTube would rank comments by relevancy, depending on the person who wrote the comment, +1's to the comment, the number of replies a comment gets, and other indications that the comment isn't just another useless addition to the conversation. Channel moderators would have more power too - including the ability to block certain words from video comments, set certain users to automatically be approved for commenting, and review comments before they are posted below the video.

That sounded great to everyone; from the hard-core YouTube channel moderators to the casual YouTube visitor who could never understand why seemingly every video's comment section would turn into a soup of hate speech and venom.

But when the changes to the commenting system actually took place starting last week, it became apparent that Google was using the update to, once again, try to bolster its dud of a social network, Google+.

You see, in order to do any of these advanced commenting actions - which is the only commenting system that will be available on YouTube after the update fully rolls out - you have to have a Google+ account. That means, not only do channel owners and moderators have to have a Google+ account, anyone who wants to make a comment on a video has to be signed in to a Google+ account.

In fact, to use almost any advanced feature of YouTube, you've got to be signed in to Google+. Don't have a profile on the unpopular social media network? Too bad, you'll have to get one. This doesn't mean that any comment has to have your true name and face attached to it - YouTube still has an option to post under more anonymous conditions, but it's not likely that many users will root through the settings to find that option.

So some YouTube users are rising up. Many hostile comments and videos have been posted, along with petitions to get Google to change back to the old commenting system, but probably the best protest response comes from YouTube uploader Emma Blackery, who wrote and performed a (NSFW Language) song dedicated to the idea that you need a Google+ account to do anything on YouTube now.

Source : Latinos Post

YouTube commenters are not known for keeping their opinions to themselves.

Angry users of the Google-owned video site are revolting online against YouTube's new commenting system, which requires everyone to connect their current account to a Google+ account in order to leave a comment on a video. The system was announced in September and fully rolled out on Tuesday.

We've heard rumors of two streaming music services from reliable sources like Fortune as far back as March of this year, and YouTube is a natural fit for this kind of offering. As most of you probably know, YouTube has become something of a planetary jukebox in the last few years, with many artists and labels uploading their own music videos for free (to say nothing of hundreds of thousands of less official uploads).

It will be interesting to see how Google would differentiate YouTube Music from Google Play Music All Access, since they would be very similar services offering very similar content. A music service without the Google Play name would probably appeal more to non-Android users, even with a heavy mobile component, and presumably there would be a heavy emphasis on video as well. 

Source: Billboard.com

Via : Android Police

The latest update to Gmail brings the application in line with the card-based user interface Google has been slowly introducing across its mobile apps. Google has applied the card look to the conversation view within Gmail. Google believes this makes conversations easier to read and follow from message to message. The application also added new check marks to make it easier to see when multiple messages have been selected for actions such as move, archive or delete. Last, Gmail now provides a visual indicator about sync status. If sync is off, the app will let you know so you don't miss messages.

Gmail is free to download from the Google Play Store. It is compatible with devices running Android 4.0 and up.

Google surprised fans of its Google Voice service this week with a minor update to the app. Google Voice has been gathering dust for a while. The update doesn't add much to Voice. Google Voice now offers a warning when users attempt to send text messages to 911. It also added support for new short codes and fixed a number of bugs.

Google Voice appears to have fallen out of Google's good graces. Many think the service and associated apps are next on Google's list of "spring cleaning" shutdowns. The app has been neglected for nearly a year, as it continues to have limited functionality -- it doesn't support MMS messages, for example.

For those still maintaining a Google Voice number, the update is free to download from the Play Store.

Google recently updated the YouTube application for Android devices. There's no change log for the latest version of YouTube, and it likely only contains bug fixes. The app was overhauled recently with a number of new features.

Last, Google updated the Android Device Manager with one significant new feature. Users can now remotely lock their Android device with a new passcode entered on the Web. When the service first launched, users could locate their device by ringing it, or erase it completely. The locking feature is a nice in-between step that can be used to secure a device while preserving the information on it.

Source : Information Week

Laugh all you want, fuzzball, but Google is changing how YouTube uploaders manage comments on their videos. The new system, which began rolling out to a limited number of uploaders on Tuesday, favors relevancy over recency and introduces enhanced moderation tools.

The new commenting system, which is powered by Google+ and was developed in collaboration between the YouTube and Google+ teams, provides several new tools for moderation, said Nundu Janakiram, product manager at YouTube. It will default to showing YouTube viewers the most relevant comments first, such as those by the video uploader or channel owner.

"Currently, you see comments from the last random person to stop by," Janakiram said. "The new system tries to surface the most meaningful conversation to you. We're trying to shift from comments to meaningful conversations," he said.

Source : CNET