android mobile

Google updated the mobile interface for Image Search launched in October. I've only noticed the change in Chrome and Safari for iPhone, but it doesn't seem to be an experiment.

Google now shows a three-dot menu with options like "visit page", "view image", "send feedback" and "search by image", instead of using links. You can still swipe to go to the next or previous image result and tapping the image sends you to the most relevant page that includes it.

On The Rise is a monthly program where we introduce four YouTube partners whose channels drive significant watch time but haven’t yet reached the 100,000 subscriber mark. Thanks to your help, we’ve identified four channels this month who are getting close to reaching that threshold.

You can help these partners get even closer to reaching that 100,000 subscriber milestone. Check out their videos below, vote for your favorite here, and one of these candidates will have the opportunity to be featured across YouTube later this month. In addition to your votes, each channel will be evaluated on criteria such as viewer engagement and channel optimization techniques to decide which partner we’ll feature.

In past months, featured On The Rise partners like Buzz60 and Thundermist Lures have gained subscribers and seen their watch time grow due in large part to your support. This month’s poll will be open until December 12, 5 p.m. PT, so don’t forget to vote for your favorite channel. Check back to see which channel will be featured on December 30.

wranglerstar
Ever think about changing your urban lifestyle and moving to the mountains to start homesteading? If you’re not ready to take the plunge, you can follow Cody and his family’s adventures living in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. They moved from the city in 2010 and have videos on everything from composting to building a log cabin.

 

CityLeagueHoopsTV
Highlighting the top prep basketball players with an emphasis on central Ohio, videographer and curator Ty covers games, tournaments and events. If you’re interested in high-school-level basketball, you should know this channel.

 

OurCrib
Brian and Carly started a vlog channel to capture their crazy lives as they juggle being professionals and parents to little Eliana and their dog Peanut. Become a “Cribster” and check out their channel for a look into their “Crib.”

 

pattyshukla
If you’re looking for fun and educational music videos to entertain your kids, come on over to Patty’s channel. She has children’s songs in a variety of different music styles and even has some videos in sign language and Spanish.

 

If you’re interested in participating or have suggestions for partners you think should be featured, we encourage you to visit our On The Rise homepage. You can check out all of our past featured partners on the Featured Partners tab, or nominate a YouTube partner to be considered for the program on the Nominate tab. Feel free to submit nominations for your own channel, or for channels you follow that you think deserve more attention or could be the next YouTube sensation. We’ll continue to feature promising partners who drive YouTube watch time, have fewer than 100,000 subscribers, and produce engaging content on a regular basis.

Devon Storbeck and Christine Wang, YouTube Partner Support, recently watched “The Time You Have (In JellyBeans).”

This is beautiful and clever. Google+ added 2 auto awesome effects just in time for Christmas.

1) Twinkle: upload a new photo of something that sparkles (like a Christmas tree or a chandelier), and we'll gift you a version with lights that actually twinkle.

2) Snow: upload a new photo with snow to Google+, and we'll gift you a version with snow that’s actually falling.

Here are 2 examples:



Please note that this only works for new photos. Check the animations generated for other Google+ users: #AutoAwesomeTwinkle and #AutoAwesomeSnowGlobe.

Google Takeout now lets you export your calendars and it will soon add a similar feature for Gmail. The calendar exporting feature is not new - you could find it in the Google Calendar settings, but it's nice to see that Google Takeout gets more comprehensive and adds support for new services.

The Gmail exporting feature is completely new and it will be gradually released next month. It will let you download a big MBOX file you can import in mail clients like Outlook, Thunderbird or Apple Mail. You can also use this feature to backup your Gmail messages and read them offline.


"You can download all of your mail and calendars or choose a subset of labels and calendars. You can also download a single archive file for multiple products with a copy of your Gmail, Calendar, Google+, YouTube, Drive, and other Google data," informs Google.

The old version of Google Contacts was available at www.google.com/contacts_v1, but now it redirects to the standard version. It was a much simpler site that worked better on a mobile phone or tablet and it had more accessibility features for screenreader users.


You can still use the basic HTML Google Contacts available at https://mail.google.com/mail/h/?v=cl.

{ Thanks, +Katty Geltmeyer. }

When you enter a location for a Google Calendar event, Google now shows a list of suggestions. For example, if you type "Google H", one of the suggestions is "Google Headquarters". The nice thing is that Google also adds the address.


It's not clear how suggestions are ranked, but they're different from the Google Maps search suggestions. Nearby places are placed at the top of the list even if they're not that important.

{ Thanks, John Wilke. }

One of the cool things about the new Google Maps is that the URL is updated automatically when you navigate the map, so you can simply copy it from the address bar. Unfortunately, the URL is still huge and a short version is often useful.

Now you can get a short URL by clicking the gear icon at the bottom of the page, selecting "share and embed map" and checking "short URL". I think the short URL should be displayed by default, since the long version can be found in the address bar. "By using a short URL, you can squeeze a long Google Maps link into fewer characters to leave more room to say what's on your mind," explains Google.



{ via +Google Maps }