Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Googland

Googland

[G] Top geography students prepare to compete for championship

Posted: 24 May 2010 07:42 PM PDT

Google LatLong: Top geography students prepare to compete for championship


Since last fall, more than 4 million students across the United States have competed in local geography bees, answering complex geographic questions to show their understanding of the world around them. In just a few days, this year's 54 National Geographic Bee finalists will be arriving in Washington D.C. to compete for the winning spot.

Google is sponsoring the Bee for the second year in a row in support of its mission to raise awareness and support of geography education. Held at National Geographic's headquarters and broadcast on public television stations across the country, the competition inspires and challenges students to learn how people and places interact and how environments and economics interrelate. These students' knowledge exemplifies why geography matters! You can get to know the finalists by using this interactive Google Map.

From there, you can check out the videos the students have created about their passion for geography, with a surprise appearances by several members of Google's geo team:


As the proud sponsor of the 2010 National Geographic Bee, Google wants to wish all of the finalists good luck!

Posted by Tina Ornduff, Geo Education Team
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/05/top-geography-students-prepare-to.html

[G] Spring Cleaning: Comments, offline, and older browser support

Posted: 24 May 2010 04:33 PM PDT

Official Google Reader Blog: Spring Cleaning: Comments, offline, and older browser support

Springtime is a great opportunity to clean up, take care of loose ends, and generally spruce things up. Since we still have a few weeks of spring left, the Reader team is taking this opportunity to clean things up a bit.



Simplifying comments



Ever since we launched support for comments on shared items, one of the most frequent points of confusion has been "who can comment on my shared items?" (or rather, "why can't I comment on my friends' shared items?"). Up until now, someone had to be in a designated sharing group to be able to comment on a post, even if you were sharing publicly. To make things a lot simpler, we've made it so that if you can see a shared item, you can comment on it.



For those of you who are sharing publicly, the next time you log in to Reader you'll get a choice between continuing to share publicly and allowing anyone to comment on your shared items, or switching to protected sharing:




Comments dialog



Nothing will change for users who already had their shared items protected, since visibility and commenting for their shared items was already consistent. Keep in mind that you can always update who can view and comment on your shared items on the sharing settings page.



Phasing out support for older browsers



Reader is joining Docs (and many other sites) in removing support for older browsers, notably Internet Explorer 6, Firefox 1.0 and 2.0, Safari 2.0 and 3.0, and Chrome 1.0, 2.0. and 3.0. Reader is a cutting edge web application, and this will allow us to spend our time improving Reader instead of fixing issues with antiquated browsers. Starting on June 1, users of older browsers will begin to see a notification encouraging them to upgrade to any of Reader's supported browsers.



Discontinuing offline access via Gears



We launched offline support three years ago, but only a minority of Reader users actively use it today. Because supporting offline access requires a large ongoing engineering effort, and because Gears itself is being surpassed by HTML5, we've decided to remove offline support in Reader starting on June 1.



Of course, we know that offline access is important to some of you, and with the wide range of third party clients that sync with Google Reader, you don't need to give it up. Depending on your operating system, we recommend taking a look at:





Each of these alternatives will sync your subscriptions and read state with Reader, and continue to provide offline access to your feeds. For more information, please see our help center.



We realize that removing features and support is not easy, but with this spring cleaning done, we've laid the groundwork for more Reader improvements down the line. We apologize for any inconvenience, and if you have any questions please head over to our forum, or message us on Twitter.

URL: http://googlereader.blogspot.com/2010/05/spring-cleaning-comments-offline-and.html

[G] Getting public opinion on the cloud

Posted: 24 May 2010 04:33 PM PDT

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Getting public opinion on the cloud

We've seen quite a few state and local governments make the switch to Google Apps in recent months. Cities from Orlando to Los Angeles, state agencies in Kansas and New Mexico, and an ever-increasing number of counties across the country have all gone Google. These agencies have found making the move to Google a great way to cut costs ⚊ a top priority in these days of budget shortfalls ⚊ and to gain capabilities like seamless collaboration, "anywhere" access, and other benefits of cloud computing.

We were curious to find out what people across the country think about their local government's adoption of new technologies, so we asked the Clarus Research Group, a non-partisan survey research firm based in DC, to poll 1,000 U.S. voters nationally to get their opinion on government technology issues.

The results are out today, and they show that 92% of U.S. voters believe "public agencies should make better use of new technologies to cut government spending and improve efficiency."

That's certainly how we feel here at Google, and we're glad that a clear majority of polled voters also appreciate the need to invest in 21st century technology in the public sector.

The results also show people think email is a great place to start. When given a list of different technologies that could make a difference, three-quarters of those polled thought that "quicker and more efficient email systems" would make government workers more productive. Google email is fast and reliable ⚊ providing 99.9% uptime, and access from any computer or mobile device to allow government employees to be productive anytime, anywhere.

Government employees everywhere are getting more efficiency for less money with Google Apps. Bigger email inboxes and collaboration tools like video chat and shared documents are just a few of the tools within Apps that can make public employees more productive and collaborative.

Government IT staffs benefit from Google's expert security team and processes, best-in-class disaster recovery at no additional cost, and a dramatic reduction in time and dollars spent maintaining and patching software & hardware. That is time and money that can be dedicated to more strategic priorities.

If you work for a local government agency, we'd like to hear from you. If you're an interested citizen who's part of the 92%, then ask your elected officials to take a serious look at new ways of computing that can cut costs while increasing capabilities. You can even point them to this website. You'll be doing your part to equip your local officials with better tools to do their jobs, while saving (your) taxpayer dollars. It's a win-win.

Posted by Dan Israel, Public Sector Marketing Manager, Google Enterprise
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/05/getting-public-opinion-on-cloud.html

[G] HBO/(RED)’s HIV documentary premiering tonight on YouTube

Posted: 24 May 2010 04:33 PM PDT

YouTube Blog: HBO/(RED)'s HIV documentary premiering tonight on YouTube

Tonight, at 9.30 p.m. ET, we're teaming up with (RED) to premiere the documentary "The Lazarus Effect" on the Join(RED) YouTube Channel.

The half-hour documentary, directed by Lance Bangs and executive produced by Spike Jonze, captures a series of powerful testimonials from HIV positive patients. Many of these stories seem like miracles, but they aren't. They're made possible through access to two pills a day -- two pills that cost just 40 cents.



"The Lazarus Effect" conveys a message of hope that needs to be heard by the world. That's why this informative movie will be available globally on YouTube, with closed captions and translated in 52 languages through our automated translation tool.

Remember: for as little as 40 cents a day, we can win the fight against AIDS. We hope you will watch, discuss and share the film via YouTube. And may the experience also inspire you to take action.

Thomas Gayno, Marketing Manager, recently watched "Prague's Kafka International Named Most Alienating Airport."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/celkJ0a87SQ/hboreds-hiv-documentary-streaming-live.html

[G] Improvements to view-through conversion reporting for display campaigns

Posted: 24 May 2010 04:33 PM PDT

Inside AdWords: Improvements to view-through conversion reporting for display campaigns

This week, we're making two new feature enhancements to our view-through conversion reporting to help you more effectively measure the ROI of your display campaigns on the Google Content Network. View-through conversion reporting, which we launched last year, helps you measure the conversions that result from users who have seen but not clicked on your display ads. The enhancements we're making will allow you to customize this reporting to better fit your needs.

Customizable view-through conversion window. You'll be able to set a custom range for the window of time for which you'd like view-through conversions reported. Previously, this window was set to 30 days, meaning we reported on the number of view-through conversions that occurred up to 30 days after a user saw your ad. Now, you'll be able to customize this time-frame, based on what makes sense for your product or service. For example, if you're a local pizza shop looking for users to download a coupon and order a pizza, users will generally respond to your ad within a day or two after seeing it. In this case, you might set a reporting window that's much shorter than if you were an auto dealership, for example, as it may take several weeks before a user schedules a test-drive, given the a longer sales cycle for automobiles.

De-duplication of search conversion reporting. In addition, you'll also have the option to exclude reporting for view-through conversions that are duplicated across both the Search and Content Networks. If you enable this feature, we will exclude from your view-through conversion reports conversions that come from users who have also clicked your search ads. These conversions will only be attributed to your search ads.

If you decide to apply these settings for your campaigns, please note that they will affect data moving forward in your account.

We believe these improvements will make view-through conversion reporting more accurate and actionable for you. If you're using view-through conversion tracking today, we recommend you evaluate these two new options and implement them based on your needs. However, try to avoiding flipping back and forth between enabling and disabling these settings as this can muddy the usefulness of your campaign metrics.

If you're advertising using display ads on the Google Content Network, but are new to view-through conversion tracking, we encourage you to implement it to more effectively track the ROI of your display campaigns. Remember, display ads often drive performance beyond immediate clicks and conversions, like from users who may visit your site and make a purchase after seeing your display ad, even if they haven't clicked. Learn more in our Help Center.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew
URL: http://adwords.blogspot.com/2010/05/improvements-to-view-through-conversion.html

[G] A week to celebrate Small Business

Posted: 24 May 2010 04:33 PM PDT

Official Google Enterprise Blog: A week to celebrate Small Business

This week we're joining others throughout the country to celebrate National Small Business Week, declared by the President of the United States to recognize the impact of small businesses on America's economic well-being.

We hear great stories every day about how Google Apps is helping small businesses compete and grow. So, to honor the millions of small businesses across America, we're kicking off a week-long blog series to share their stories. We'll highlight some of the outstanding entrepreneurs and small businesses that we've worked with over the past few years, how Google Apps has helped them grow, and examples of ways small businesses are using tools in the Google Apps suite.

To start, we'd like to share a story showcasing Stephen Culp, Founder and Chairman of Smart Furniture and CEO of Delegator. Read Stephen's post on the Official Google Blog to see how his business is using Google Apps – and stay tuned for more small business news throughout the week.

Posted by Michelle Lisowski, the Google Apps team


URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/05/this-week-were-joining-others.html

[G] Happy U.S. Small Business Week

Posted: 24 May 2010 04:33 PM PDT

Inside AdWords: Happy U.S. Small Business Week

Each year since 1963, the President of the United States has set aside a week to celebrate the contributions of American small businesses: National Small Business Week. Taking place in Washington D.C. from May 23rd – 29th this year, the event salutes the estimated 27.2 million small businesses in America.

At Google, we feel it's especially important to show our appreciation, admiration and respect for small business owners and employees during this time. We get to see firsthand how creative and innovative you are, and we're deeply committed to helping you drive your business forward.

Take 5 minutes to easily share the story of your business
All small businesses have a story, so we want to give you the chance to tell yours in a quirky, fun way. To kick things off, we've put together this quick example video:



Now it's your turn. In just a few minutes, you can spotlight your business using our Search Stories tool. Just click the blue 'Search Story Video Creator' button, fill in a few fields, and you'll have your own personalized video. We'd love to see it, so be sure to share it with us and the world using the link the tool provides you.

Find tools for online success
This year, we've partnered with the U.S. Small Business Administration on a site to help your business thrive using online tools. Check it out, and then download our Online Tools booklet to learn how to put these strategies into action.

Google is also a proud sponsor of this year's Small Business Week celebrations. Visit the National Small Business Week website for more useful resources for your business.

Here's to hoping for many more prosperous and successful years to come for your company and all of the other small businesses across the country.

Posted by Miles Johnson, Inside AdWords crew.
URL: http://adwords.blogspot.com/2010/05/happy-us-small-business-week.html

[G] Google Summer of Code 2010: Coding Starts Today!

Posted: 24 May 2010 04:33 PM PDT

Google Open Source Blog: Google Summer of Code 2010: Coding Starts Today!



Starting today all our students are formally begin coding their projects for Google Summer of Code™. Our students' projects this year range from compilers to mobile applications, from web crawlers to virtual clusters, from APIs to social networking improvements, and more. We're really excited about the ever increasing variety of cool projects happening this year.

Take a look at the timeline to find out more about what's coming up for Google Summer of Code.

By Carol Smith, Open Source Team
URL: http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2010/05/google-summer-of-code-2010-coding.html

[G] Coming tomorrow...

Posted: 24 May 2010 04:33 PM PDT

Google Public Policy Blog: Coming tomorrow...

by Galen Panger, Public Policy Communications team

Google isn't just a search engine -- it's also an engine of economic growth. And tomorrow morning Googlers will be fanning out to 11 cities across the country -- from Capitol Hill in D.C. to Allied Trade Group in Seattle, and points in between -- to join state and local policymakers in making a major announcement about Google's economic impact. Keep an eye here on the blog tomorrow for more details.
URL: http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2010/05/coming-tomorrow.html

[G] Thriving in the New World of Enterprise IT

Posted: 24 May 2010 10:45 AM PDT

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Thriving in the New World of Enterprise IT

Editor's note: Today's guest blogger is notable technology expert and futurist Geoffrey Moore. He is an author, consultant, and venture capital partner, with a background in English literature. He is the author of Crossing the Chasm, Inside the Tornado, The Gorilla Game (with co-authors Tom Kippola and Paul Johnson), and most recently Living on the Fault Line, which deals with a set of management or investor challenges posed by fast-changing, technology-enabled markets.

Geoffrey is a frequent contributor to business periodicals and a speaker at industry conferences. He is also a venture partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures, providing strategy advice and consulting services across MDV's entire portfolio of early-stage investments.
Please join Geoffrey this week at a live webcast this Thursday, May 27, at 2:00 p.m. EDT, 12:00 noon CDT, or 10:00 a.m. PDT. Register today.

Tectonic shifts are occurring in today's enterprise IT environment, powered by mega-forces such as globalization and commoditization—and also driven by consumer technologies like social networking, video, and mobile devices. In enterprise IT, static databases and servers no longer suffice, and it really makes no sense to build another data center.

So what's next? How do you thrive in the brave new world of enterprise IT?

Many enterprises are holding their own by consolidating, virtualizing, and attempting to do more with less. But over the next few years, enterprise IT will have to adapt more dramatically, and do so quickly and nimbly. Whether dealing with huge volumes of transactions in a business-to-consumer environment or handling lower-volume, more complex operations in a business-to-business situation, enterprise IT professionals must understand that consumer technologies are now in the driver's seat.

Fortunately, there are many insights and tools you can use to guide your infrastructure in the right direction. By making shifts in your IT strategies, you have the opportunity to increase profit margins while providing advanced services and systems that are truly user-centric, beneficial to the business and more secure than ever.

Join me in a lively discussion to share insights and actionable tips about how to turn your IT challenges into competitive advantages and thrive in an era of disruptive yet ultimately beneficial technology change.

Geoffrey Moore

Geoffrey Moore on the New Face of Enterprise IT
Thursday, May 27, 2010
11:00 a.m. PDT / 2:00 p.m. EDT / 6:00 p.m. GMT



Posted by Serena Satyasai, the Google Apps team

Do you have an informative and fun Google Apps story to share? Please submit it here.
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/05/thriving-in-new-world-of-enterprise-it.html

[G] Last chance: free Eye-Fi card with Google storage purchase

Posted: 24 May 2010 10:45 AM PDT

Google Photos Blog: Last chance: free Eye-Fi card with Google storage purchase

Posted by Zach Yeskel, Product Marketing Manager

Six months ago we began offering a free 4GB SDHC Eye-Fi card (a $95 value) to anyone who bought 200 GB of Google paid storage for $50, which is shared between Picasa Web Albums, Gmail, and Google Docs. An Eye-Fi card lets you wirelessly upload photos and videos from your camera directly to Picasa Web Albums, or straight to your computer - no cables needed.

As with all special offers, this too must come to an end: this Thursday, May 27th, is the last day to take advantage of this deal. Head to picasa.google.com/eyefi.html to check out all the details and get one for yourself.
URL: http://googlephotos.blogspot.com/2010/05/last-chance-free-eye-fi-card-with.html

[G] Making your video news more discoverable: best practices for news publishers

Posted: 24 May 2010 10:45 AM PDT

Google News Blog: Making your video news more discoverable: best practices for news publishers

Posted by Benoit Lafortune, Sr. Strategist Google News, and Olivia Ma, YouTube News Manager

Video has always been a unique storytelling tool, especially useful when reporting the news. From raw, citizen-reported videos from the streets of Tehran, to student documentaries highlighting under-reported issues in local communities, or investigative reporting done by professional news outlets, just about every type of news video can now be found on YouTube. Video is also tightly integrated into the Google News experience, providing users different ways to consume and enjoy news, while giving news publishers the opportunity to reach a greater and more diverse audience.

We are working to make it easier to get your video content indexed in Google News, but ensuring it's found in a timely fashion is another matter. So we thought we'd share six best practices for how news publishers can increase the discoverability of their news videos.

1. Timely uploads
Videos should be uploaded as quickly as possible -- this will help them reach the news homepage faster and be grouped with the most recent articles.

2. One story per video
Instead of having one video that contains multiple segments covering several different stories of the day, it's a better user experience (and easier for us to index), when there is one story per video, and the video title is specific (not something generic like "Breaking News"). At the very least, the description of the video should match the first story in the video.

3. Categorization
If you are providing general news coverage, select YouTube category "News & Politics" (which is youtube_category_id 25) when uploading your video. If you have multiple channels, clearly identify each category (politics, business, entertainment, sports, etc.).

4. More detailed descriptions
Similar to the first paragraph of a news article, descriptions of the news video should convey the who, what, when, where, and why of the story in a few sentences -- the more detail you can supply, the better.

5. Rich tags
Another way to convey the content of the video is using the keyword tags. Providing keywords that might not be in the description gives us more knowledge of what the video is about. Especially helpful are proper nouns: the names of the people, places, companies, etc. mentioned in the video.

6. Make it Embeddable
Be sure your video is embeddable on other sites since this is currently a technical requirement for being displayed in Google News. Additionally, if your videos are geo-blocked in certain regions, they will not appear in Google News.

If your news organization isn't already making its video content available on YouTube and Google News, we encourage you to get started. More information on how to submit your news videos to Google News can also be found in the News Publishers Help Center, and you can watch this video for additional tips on news search engine optimization.
URL: http://googlenewsblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/making-your-video-news-more.html
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)