Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Googland

Googland

[G] What this is really about: keeping the Internet open for consumers

Posted: 26 Apr 2010 08:28 PM PDT

Google Public Policy Blog: What this is really about: keeping the Internet open for consumers

Posted by Rick Whitt, Washington Telecom and Media Counsel

There's been a lot of debate about the best way to implement the National Broadband Plan and open Internet rules after the recent Comcast decision. Lots of smart people have recommended reasonable solutions to the FCC's jurisdictional headache.

We've said all along that what's important to us is promoting an open Internet, and providing access for Americans to the best broadband possible. In comments filed today with the FCC, we say that "we continue to believe that the FCC has ample legal authority to adopt broadband openness rules" and that we support whatever jurisdictional fix is "most sustainable legally."

To us this has never been about regulatory rigidity but about protecting consumers and keeping the Internet open for innovators. So while we're not wed to any particular legal theory to justify the FCC's jurisdiction, we do believe some minimal oversight over broadband networks is essential.
URL: http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2010/04/what-this-is-really-about-keeping.html

[G] This Year’s Google Summer of Code Students Announced!

Posted: 26 Apr 2010 03:12 PM PDT

Google Open Source Blog: This Year's Google Summer of Code Students Announced!

Accepted students for Google Summer of Code™ have been announced! Congratulations to all the students accepted for this year's program. We're looking forward to a great summer.

If you would like more information on what's coming up next for Google Summer of Code, check out our program timeline.

By Carol Smith, Open Source Team
URL: http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2010/04/this-years-google-summer-of-code.html

[G] Make an ad. Spread the word. Go to Cannes. You have 48 hours.

Posted: 26 Apr 2010 02:15 PM PDT

YouTube Blog: Make an ad. Spread the word. Go to Cannes. You have 48 hours.

Last year, hundreds of young creatives took part in the inaugural YouTube-Cannes Young Lions 48 Hour Ad Contest, with two of them, Guy Dayan and Adeline Chew, winning a trip to Cannes to represent YouTube in the Young Lions Film Contest.



This week we're launching the 2010 edition of the contest. The format's pretty much the same: we'll announce a brief from a well-known nonprofit at midnight on Friday, May 14 (GMT), and you'll have just 48 hours to write, film, edit and upload your film to the Cannes Lions channel. You then have a week to get as many votes for your entry on the channel as possible, before a panel of senior creative directors will use the votes to inform their choice of two winners. Those two will get a fully-paid trip to the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.







As this is the Cannes Young Lions, entrants need to be 18-28 years of age to take part, and -- of course -- very creative. If that sounds like you, head to the channel now and subscribe to keep informed. And remember to keep the weekend of May 15-16 free to create your ad. Good luck!



Tom Pursey, UK Product Marketing Manager, recently watched "Chemistry of Creme Eggs."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/3NPu83jxdtk/make-ad-spread-word-go-to-cannes-you.html

[G] Earthly pleasures come to Maps

Posted: 26 Apr 2010 02:15 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: Earthly pleasures come to Maps

Earth Day may have just passed, but the Google Earth team loves it too much to let it go. So we've found our own special way to celebrate Earth Day (a little late) by making an announcement that we've been working toward for a long time: Earth view in Google Maps.


When we first launched Google Earth back in 2005, it revolutionized the world of digital mapping. In the years since, Earth has been getting faster and lighter while adding large amounts of imagery, more ambitious features and an ever-expanding roster of platforms, including support for Mac, Linux, iPhone, Android and even the 2011 Audi A8!

Web browsers haven't exactly been standing still either. As their capacity to handle richer applications has steadily grown, our ability to bring Google Earth online has grown along with it. In 2008, we released the Google Earth Plugin to developers, and since then thousands of sites have used it to create many cool applications and even games. Now the time has come to take off the plugin's online training wheels and roll it out on the main stage: Google Maps. So if you're one of the hundreds of millions of people who use Maps worldwide, you can now explore the world in luxuriantly-detailed, data-rich 3D imagery and terrain from Google Earth. If you've already downloaded the Google Earth Plugin, you should be able to see Earth view in Maps right away. Otherwise, you can just install the Plugin to enjoy a Maps experience that includes angled Earth views, 3D buildings, smooth panning and zooming and a great introductory showcase of places to visit and things to see.

Current Google Earth users, of course, will continue to enjoy the full power of the standalone application: KML editing, historical imagery, GPS tracks, tour-creation, Mars, Sky, flight simulator and so on. But for quick online access, the power of 3D will also be available at the click of a[n Earth] button. We're thrilled to be able to bring this functionality to the web and we invite you to come share the moment with us.

Posted by Brian McClendon, VP of Engineering, Google Geo
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/earthly-pleasures-come-to-maps.html

[G] Helping you find your way through the final frontier

Posted: 26 Apr 2010 02:15 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: Helping you find your way through the final frontier

Though our rocket program to help commuters to our Moon office is still a long way off, we've always jumped at the chance to bring the wonders of outer space a little closer to Earth. On Saturday, our Hubble telescope doodle celebrated 20 years of one of the most productive and celebrated science instruments since Galileo first made a telescopic survey of the heavens 400 years ago.

Hubble's razor-sharp vision has revealed previously hidden aspects of the cosmos with unparalleled intimacy and clarity, and you can see some of the best examples for yourself on our Hubble 20th birthday page. You can also download our new Hubble tour to explore further in Google Earth. And Google Sky Map now includes a Hubble Gallery for you to see Hubble discoveries by pointing your phone to the night sky.



So far, we've also announced a Moon office, a Moon race, an expedition to Mars, Sky in Google Earth (also available as a handy, hand-held guide), Moon in Google Earth, Mars in Google Earth, NASA images in Google Earth and more than a few extra-orbital doodles. Occasionally somebody will ask us, "Just what does space have to do with the Internet?" Plenty, if you ask Chief Internet Evangelist Vint Cerf. But space, like the Internet, is also a fascinating place to spend time, especially for engineers, technologists and explorers. So we usually answer, "Well, who hasn't thought about blasting off and seeing the stars up close?"

It's incredibly important to encourage the next generation of scientists and engineers to (quite literally) reach for the stars. We've made these tools available to help these explorers and astronauts-in-training get their bearings, as well as to showcase the incredible achievements we've already seen from generations of brave, dedicated people working to challenge the limits of human capability and knowledge. And, depending on who you ask, space might be closer than you think. In the meantime, for everybody who's taken a wistful look at the night sky — we're looking up with you.

Posted by Anita Barci, Product Marketing Manager, Geo team
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/helping-you-find-your-way-through-final.html

[G] Earth view comes to Google Maps

Posted: 26 Apr 2010 02:15 PM PDT

Google LatLong: Earth view comes to Google Maps


Five years ago, shortly after Google's acquisition of Keyhole, we introduced the first integration of Keyhole technology into Google Maps -- Satellite view. Suddenly, you could see what places actually looked like from the air, and easily switch between this view and the map view. Mapping has never been the same. A few months later, the desktop Google Earth application was released, and now we have over 600 million downloads. Today we are proud to announce the next major step in the marriage between Google Earth and Google Maps -- Earth view.


Those of you who aren't as familiar with Google Earth might be wondering how Earth view differs from the satellite view that's currently available in Maps. First of all, Earth view offers a true three-dimensional perspective, which lets you experience mountains in full detail, 3D buildings, and first-person dives beneath the ocean. The motion is fluid, and you can see the world from any viewpoint. Because Earth view is built right into Maps, you can switch back to cartographic view simply by clicking on the "Map" button. The view will even adjust automatically to a top-down, north-heading perspective as you transition. In essence, you now have all the best mapping tools at your fingertips, all in one place.

New to 3D? We've collected some cool places around the world for you to explore with a single click. Ever been to the Taj Mahal? How about the Sydney Opera house, or South Africa's Table Mountain? You can even dive under the ocean and check out the wreckage of the Titanic. Just click one of the icons in the left panel and you'll be flown from space down to your chosen location, which you can explore further by clicking and dragging the map or by using the navigation controls in the top of the view. We have 36 places set aside for you to explore, and you can cycle through them by clicking the "More places" link. We've also included a short video introduction to Earth view.



Earth view uses the same technology that powers the Google Earth desktop application. It allows you to view the same high-resolution imagery, terrain, and 3D cityscapes, all from right within your browser. We built the new Earth view on the Google Earth API and browser plugin, which make it easy for web developers to include Google Earth in their own websites. If you've already installed Google Earth, you can start using Earth view right away. Otherwise, with one click you can download and install the browser plugin and you'll be ready to start exploring in 3D. The Earth plugin is currently supported on most Windows and Mac web browsers.

Get started today by going to maps.google.com/earthview, and explore your world in 3D.


Posted by Peter Birch, Product Manager
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/04/earth-view-comes-to-google-maps.html

[G] Browse local businesses in Street View

Posted: 26 Apr 2010 12:09 PM PDT

Google LatLong: Browse local businesses in Street View


It probably comes as no surprise that I spend a lot of time using Street View - it's my job, after all. But sometimes I get so immersed in my exploration that I take all sorts of detours and side trips and find myself in completely unfamiliar areas that I want to learn more about. I have a feeling many of you are also interested in having a better way to find out more about what you're seeing in Street View, so I've been working with my teammates to help improve the discoverability of content in Street View.

Our new release of local businesses annotations in Street View is the first step down this path. Browse around in your neighborhood for nearby restaurants and shops, or use it to see what else is nearby your dinner spot (you can usually catch me looking around for tasty dessert options). When you're touring in Street View and see a business that piques your itnerest, now you can find a clickable icon that will take you to the business listing where you can find out the name, hours, read reviews, and more.


For now, browsing a location in Street View will show the top listings for that immediate area. We will be extending this coverage soon to include more businesses and also transit locations.

Don't forget, if you see a business annotation which is not quite aligned with its location in Street View, you can easily move the marker and place it in its correct location.

The weather in San Francisco is supposed to be great tonight, so I think I'm going to start searching for a dessert spot with nice outdoor seating.

Posted by Stéphane Lafon, Software Engineer, Street View
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/04/browse-local-businesses-in-street-view.html

[G] A new approach to how we work with advertising agencies

Posted: 26 Apr 2010 06:33 AM PDT

Inside AdWords: A new approach to how we work with advertising agencies

Cross posted from the Official Google Blog:

As the advertising industry has grown and evolved, so too has our relationship with advertising agencies. These companies, from SEMs to the largest traditional agencies, play a critical role in the continued success of Google, our advertisers and our industry — so we spend a lot of time talking to agencies about how we can make it easier for them to work with us and our advertisers.

We've had a lot of great feedback from agencies and today we're announcing changes designed to offer them better training and more rigorous certification in AdWords proficiency, and to lower costs for those who help advertisers get the most out of AdWords. We're also making it easier for advertisers to find certified agency partners to work with them on digital advertising. Here's an overview of what's changing today.

Raising the bar for Google AdWords Certification

We're retiring our long-standing Google Advertising Professionals (GAP) program and replacing it with a new Google AdWords Certification program for those managing AdWords accounts on behalf of advertisers. The new program provides agencies and their employees with more up-to-date, comprehensive, strategy-focused training and certification on the latest tools and best practices for managing AdWords accounts, including:
  • New training materials to help agencies better understand recent changes in search marketing and AdWords functionality, available via webinar series, learning center, or on-site training at Google
  • More challenging certification exams to test practical application of knowledge and best practices (rather than simple recall of knowledge)
  • Advanced-level exams to highlight competency in search, display, reporting and analysis
  • A redesigned Certified Partner badge, which includes a "Click to Verify" element so advertisers can view the partner's profile page for additional information.
For more information on the AdWords Certification Program or to create an account, visit the Google Certification program site and help center.

Helping advertisers find Google Certified Partners

Google Certified Partners can opt in to Google Partner Search, an online, searchable directory that helps advertisers identify Certified Partners that meet their criteria. Small and medium-sized advertisers who haven't previously used an agency have told us that evaluating potential partners can be a daunting task, so we think Google Partner Search will be especially valuable for them.

To show up in advertiser searches through Google Partner Search, agencies must opt in and fill in details about their core attributes and capabilities. Searches can be filtered by location, agency experience within a particular budget range, the types of services provided and the industry verticals an agency serves. Advertisers can then evaluate the list of Certified Partners that meet their criteria and contact the partners who seem best suited to their needs. To learn more about Google Partner Search, visit the Help center.

Introducing preferred AdWords API pricing

The Google AdWords API allows developers to build applications that interact directly with the AdWords platform. Agencies and developers of search engine marketing tools use these applications to manage large AdWords campaigns more efficiently and creatively.

Today, we're announcing preferred AdWords API pricing. This gives qualified Google AdWords Certified Partners who manage client AdWords accounts free use of the AdWords API based on managed client spend. To apply, agencies must have an active agency profile page and be compliant with the AdWords API terms and conditions. We'll evaluate applications for preferred AdWords API pricing based on the criteria listed here.

We hope preferred AdWords API pricing will encourage agencies and developers to experiment with new strategies, expand the functionality of their tools, and build more comprehensive client campaigns without worrying about increased costs. You can learn more about preferred pricing and how to apply at the preferred AdWords API pricing site.

We're looking forward to receiving feedback on all of these initiatives and to continuing to improve our partnership with agencies.

Posted by Penry Price, Vice President, Global Agency Development
URL: http://adwords.blogspot.com/2010/04/new-approach-to-how-we-work-with.html
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