Connecting a Google Account to your older YouTube account

Following YouTube’s acquisition by Google in 2006, new YouTube signups were given the choice between two different account systems to power their YouTube experience: the original YouTube account system (built in 2005) or the Google Account system.

In May 2009, google started requiring all new YouTube usernames to be powered by Google Accounts. Now, we’re gradually asking all remaining pre-May 2009 users still using the older YouTube account system to connect a Google Account to their YouTube username. For now, it’s an optional step, but eventually it’ll be required in order to continue using your YouTube username.
Before we go any further, we should clarify three important facts:

• YouTube usernames themselves aren’t going anywhere.
• A Google Account is not necessarily a Gmail account: You can create a Google Account with any email address through many different Google products.
• Connecting your existing YouTube username to an existing Google Account doesn’t start sharing your YouTube activity to your Buzz followers.

So what’s the point of asking people to connect a Google Account to their older YouTube account? Here are the main reasons:

• Improved account security: The Google Account system will reduce spam across the site; users will get a slew of security and safety features that Google has spent the past decade developing.
• A single account system: This may not mean much to anyone outside of the YouTube engineering team, but behind the scenes it’s extremely complicated to support two different account systems. Having all users on the same account system not only simplifies matters, but more important, it makes it much easier to use Google technologies to keep the site running smoothly, as well as introduce new functionality.

If you have an older YouTube account and you’d like to link to a new or existing Google Account today, just visit this page and choose to link to an existing Google Account or a brand new one. You can also visit our "Linked YouTube/Google Accounts" topic in the Help Center for more information on common questions and problems.

Google drawings: A zoom tool and more…

Create a drawing in google drawings to check out new features and shortcuts that will help you refine.

Zoom improvements
Google added several new and simple ways to zoom in and out within a drawing: a zoom tool on the toolbar; the ability to draw a rectangle around an area to zoom; zoom levels to the View menu; and keyboard shortcuts to zoom in (Ctrl Shift → or Cmd Shift → on a Mac) and zoom out (Ctrl Shift ← or Cmd Shift ← on a Mac).

 

 
Pie and arc drawing improvements
Once you’ve selected the pie or arc shape, drag from the center point, then release to set the radius, move your mouse along the circumference to set the angle, then click when you’re done. Hint - you can hold shift during step 2 to constrain your arc to 15 degree increments.
You can also select Edit > Change Shape to toggle between a pie shape and arc shape.

 

Duplicate while rotating and resizing
Google Team have extended the Control/Command modifier to duplicate objects while you resize and rotate objects too, which makes it easy to make both concentric and radial diagrams.
Hint: duplicating while resizing works better if you resize from large to small, since each new object gets placed on top.

New line decoration controls
Now you can change the style of the cap used at the end of your lines from the default butt cap to use square caps or round caps.

 

You can also change the appearance of line joins within your polylines and shapes from the default round join to use miter joins or bevel joins. These options are available via Format > Line decorations.

 

Let us know what you think in Comments.

Facebook, Youtube blocked in Afghanistan

Following Pakistan, Afghanistan also blocked the world’s most popular social networking and video sharing websites, facebook and youtube. Both are now completely blocked. The pages say ‘This Site is Restricted.

 

These websites gained popularity in Afghanistan recently. The sites are facing criticism over a page that asked fans to draw Prophet Mohammad’s caricatures. A court in Pakistan ordered the government to block facebook. Youtube and Wikipedia are also blocked.

Google Places Offers Free Trial of "Tags" Ad Program

In an effort to encourage more business owners to take advantage of its Tags advertising program, Google Places is offering a 30-day trial to users who sign up by July 23.

 

The Tags program was one of a handful of features rolled out in April when Google

fixed its Local Business Center and re-branded it as Google Places.

 

Tags offer local businesses an opportunity to enhance their Google Maps listings with a note about special offers, coupons or just a link back to their website.

Why Your Company Should Have a Facebook Page, Not a Profile

A company's effectiveness on Facebook can be hampered if the account isn't set up properly.

Facebook's terms of service:

"Profiles represent individuals and must be held under an individual name, while Pages allow an organization, business, celebrity, or band to maintain a professional presence on Facebook."

 

Pages Offer Analytics and Like Widgets

Two really crucial advantages of administering a Page are user analytics and easily-embeddable Like buttons and widgets.

 

In Facebook Insights, you can view all kinds of useful data about user activity on your page, including how many likes and comments you received each day and much more.

 

This data can be really useful for understanding the characteristics of your customer base, and knowing which wall posts get the best reaction. This data is not available to individual profiles.

 

Another thing profiles don't offer is the means to embed a Like button and other Open Graph plugins into your own site. This is a major setback for businesses hoping to grow their audience on Facebook.

 

Pages Can Have Unlimited Fans.

On Facebook, individual profiles are limited to 5,000 friends, whereas Pages can have unlimited fans (or likes). Once your profile friend list reaches 5,000, Facebook will encourage you to set up a Page, but doesn't offer a tool to convert your profile to a Page.