Hi Reader,
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If your favorite apps or even your own website suddenly went poof this afternoon, you’re not alone. A big chunk of the web rides on Google Cloud’s infrastructure, and that platform hit a snag around lunchtime (about 1:00 p.m. ET). When Google Cloud hiccups, the services that depend on it—everything from Spotify and Snapchat to some smaller business sites—feel the tremor too. Think of it like one huge power strip in the wall: if the strip loses power, every gadget plugged into it blinks off for a bit.
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​What’s actually broken?

Engineers traced the problem to networking issues inside Google Cloud’s data centers. Google’s status page shows dozens of products—Compute Engine, Cloud Run, BigQuery and more—experienced “service disruption” starting at 10:51 a.m. PT. Most regions are already bouncing back, but the us-central1 zone (Iowa and surrounding areas) is still limping along while Google rolls out a permanent fix.

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“Is it me or the internet?” — Here’s how to tell

1. Google Cloud Status Dashboard
   Bookmark this page anytime you suspect Google-powered apps are down. It’s the first place Google posts real-time recovery updates and a map of affected regions. https://status.cloud.google.com/incidents/ow5i3PPK96RduMcb1SsW
2. DownDetector
   ​Crowd-sourced outage radar. If thousands of folks suddenly report “Spotify is down,” you’ll see a spike on the chart. Great for confirming you’re not the only one refreshing in panic. https://downdetector.com/ 

(Tip: Both sites work from your phone, so you can check even if your desktop apps are misbehaving.)

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What you should—and shouldn’t—do

• Do take a deep breath and wait a few minutes before troubleshooting your own setup. If the problem is upstream, rebooting your router won’t help.
• Do check the status links above to see if the outage is still live.
• Don’t rush to move hosting or buy a bigger plan right now—this isn’t about your server’s horsepower, it’s about the “engine under the internet hood” stalling out.
• Do communicate with customers if your site’s affected: a quick social post like “We’re aware of the wider Google Cloud outage—services will be back ASAP” buys goodwill.

My team and I are monitoring our client's sites to identify any potential issues. Even if your website is working, systems integrated with it may be down.

Hang in there! 🧡
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Jeane "Your WordPress Genie" Sumner

ps - Not using our Site Care yet? It's a great time to learn more about having my teams as your secret weapon.