Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Googland

Googland

[G] Blogger’s 11th Birthday Party

Posted: 10 Aug 2010 02:40 AM PDT

Blogger Buzz: Blogger's 11th Birthday Party

Posted by Seth Shamban, Blogger Consumer Operations

Last year, Blogger turned ten. We were excited to present you with a (small-but-mighty) bounty of gifts, a token to commemorate all of your contributions over the years.

Now we're a year older (and would like to think a bit wiser), have some great features under our belt and are ready for another celebration with you, our closest friends. For Blogger's 11th birthday, we're hosting the first ever Blogger global birthday party!

We'll keep it simple—we set the date, you set the parties and Meetup Everywhere will help facilitate (free of charge!). Through the wonder of Meetup Everywhere, you'll be able to find other bloggers in your area and either join a celebration that has already been set up or start a new party local to you. The goal is to get together in-person, chat about blogging and celebrate with friends you may have otherwise only met online. Meetups can be simple, and no party is too small. Plus, we'll be supplying each party with a download-able pack of party supplies, including makings for party hats, name tags and signs. And who knows, there may even be other treasures and surprises in store.

Your invitation

  • What: Blogger's 11th birthday celebration!
  • How: Sign up for a Meetup near you or get one going in your town.
  • Where: Anywhere you are.
  • Who: Everyone! You never know who might show up.
  • When: Any time on Tuesday, August 31, 2010
  • RSVP: http://www.meetup.com/bloggerfiesta

How it works

Everything you need is on our BloggerFiesta Meetup site. To find a party near you, do a quick search on the map. To join a scheduled party, click on the I'm Interested button on the party details page. To start a new party, click on Schedule a Meetup near you at the bottom of the BloggerFiesta site.

When you start or join a party, consider volunteering to be the Meetup organizer. Anyone can do it, plus you'll get fame and glory. That gives you the ability to set the venue and time of the party. Also, don't neglect the commenting functionality—you can use it to chat and plan with your fellow attendees prior to the party. What you do at the birthday party is completely up to you.

If you want to get started talking about the meet-ups, you can


See you on the 31st! We'll have our party hats on.
URL: http://buzz.blogger.com/2010/08/bloggers-11th-birthday-party.html

[G] Your Google stories: the right answer in the nick of time

Posted: 09 Aug 2010 09:10 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: Your Google stories: the right answer in the nick of time

This is the first in a series of stories from people who have shared how Google has helped them in their lives. Check back the rest of this week for more. -Ed.

We talk a lot about the products we build and the things we're doing, but we don't often talk about the ways in which search touches people's lives every day. Yet our ability to help people is why I—and most of the people around me—love working on search.

Some of the best feedback we receive are the real-world stories of how people have used Google to make an impact in their lives or the lives of others. We're constantly amazed at what people can do and have done with our technology—from making a life-saving diagnosis to reuniting with a long lost love.

This first story struck a chord with me because, oddly enough, a chimney plays a significant role in my family lore. The night I was born, our chimney collapsed into the house—in fact it was the chimney collapsing that triggered my mom's labor. Google helped Christine's family avoid harm in a similar situation.

Submitted: 11/12/09 2:24 PM
From: Christine
YOU SAVED OUR LIVES!!!
While we usually Google things like hotel prices, product reviews and autism materials, today Google returned the right site at the top of the page in just the nick of time!
About an hour after warming up our fireplace, my husband and I were startled by the rumbling sound of what we thought was a low flying helicopter. My husband darted outside to look for one, but there was nothing of any aircraft in sight. He did tell me about the thick billowing smoke coming from our chimney.

Nervous, I quickly Googled "chimney fires" and within a second the first link caught my attention. At this site I learned that the rumbling sound is what many people hear when their chimney have caught fire! I then called 911 and they advised us to get out of the house right away!

Within 5 minutes our chimney was fully engulfed with flames! I have been praising Google all day today!

So thank you Google for working so hard to make researching and information gathering fast, easy and accessible. Without your commitment to a better product, we very well may have lost our house or our lives today!


This is just the first of many stories like it that we plan to share with you over the course of this week. They're a huge source of inspiration for us and we'll hope they'll be for you, too—check 'em out. And if you have a Google story, tell us about it.

Posted by Johanna Wright, Director of Product Management, Search
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/your-google-stories-right-answer-in.html

[G] A joint policy proposal for an open Internet

Posted: 09 Aug 2010 09:10 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: A joint policy proposal for an open Internet

Today, Eric Schmidt and Ivan Seidenberg, Chairman and CEO of Verizon, will announce a joint proposal for an open Internet. We've been working with Verizon to find common ground on the issue of net neutrality for nearly a year—last October we released a shared statement of principles, and in January, we made a joint filing to the FCC. We hope today's proposal, a suggested legislative framework for consideration by lawmakers, helps to advance the debate over open Internet rules in Washington. We also believe that it is best for users and for the web.

For more information, read the full post on our Public Policy blog.

Posted by Karen Wickre, Editor, Google Blog team
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/joint-policy-proposal-for-open-internet.html

[G] A new look for AdSense for content ad units

Posted: 09 Aug 2010 08:04 PM PDT

Inside AdSense: A new look for AdSense for content ad units

We're excited to announce a revamped design of three of our AdSense for content ad units! After analyzing publisher site layouts and reviewing requests around the world, we decided to make our formats more space-efficient and visually pleasing by changing the layout of the text. We spent a lot of time experimenting with different possibilities, and we're starting with changes to the following ad units:
  • Leaderboard (728x90): the title, description, and URL are now arranged in rows instead of columns (except in the case when only one ad is showing)
  • Medium and large rectangles (300x250, 336x280): the URL is now in the same line as the title
In certain cases, you'll also see a few minor adjustments to the font size. For example, the font size for the leaderboard with four ads is much more readable. Please note that these changes will roll out over the next few weeks.


During testing, the redesigned ads performed extremely well. We'll continue to experiment and innovate on our formats to help you monetize your content, and we encourage you to submit ideas in the comments below.


Posted by Amy Wu - AdSense Product Manager
URL: http://adsense.blogspot.com/2010/08/new-look-for-adsense-for-content-ad.html

[G] BSDCan through the years

Posted: 09 Aug 2010 05:46 PM PDT

Google Open Source Blog: BSDCan through the years

I'm Kirk Russell, a Google Site Reliability Engineer who moves files around the cloud at a massive scale. I use BSD software on a daily basis -- in my Android phone, my home NAS and my MacBook. My newest toy is a small ARM board that runs FreeBSD.

Earlier this year I attended BSDCan, a software conference for BSD based operating system projects. I attended this conference to learn about new BSD technology that will someday become part of my daily life and to meet people with similar interests -- there is time to chat in-between the scheduled talks and in the pub. BSDCan is a conference where I learn about new development that I can put to use both at work and at home. Learning these things from the original developers makes it that much more interesting.

Here is a quick reflection on some highlights of past conferences:
In 2004, I attended Ryan McBride's talk about PF, a BSD licensed packet filter.

In 2005, I learned about spamd at a talk from Bob Beck. After the conference, I deployed spamd at home -- my spam count dropped to almost zero. Spamd uses PF to block spam at the IP level. This saves resources on your server because you do not actually receive the mail. Adding packet filtering features to the base operating system has enabled new applicaitions, like spamd, to develop.

In 2006, I attended the Debugging Kernel Problems tutorial (PDF) given by Greg Lehey-- I continue to use these debugging tricks when debugging FreeBSD kernels today.

I attended Pawel Dawidek's ZFS talk in 2007. Today I use FreeBSD/ZFS on my home NAS -- I wouldn't think of running my NAS without the features of ZFS. I want my data to have data corruption detection. It is fantastic that a production filesystem can work in my tiny NAS! In 2007 I also saw the brilliant Poisonous People talk by Brian Fitzpatrick and Ben Collins-Sussman. Part of this talk is about avoiding bikeshedding -- it was funny to watch when Fitz and Ben realized that Poul-Henning Kamp, the author of the original bikeshed email, was attending their talk.

2009 was a good year for NetBSD and filesystems. There was a talk about WAPBL a journaling filesystem in the NetBSD tree and RUMP -- a framework that allows NetBSD kernel filesystem code to execute in user space.

2010 showed BSD continuing to be used as a platform for OS research. Kirk McKusick's new Journaled Soft-Update improvements now allows fsck in a few seconds, instead of hours.
The BSD community continues to produce exciting software that can be used in small gadgets and production servers and BSDCan continues to be a fantastic venue to meet the people behind the scenes. Congrats to Dan and his team to volunteers -- I am looking forward to 2011.

By Kirk Russell, Site Reliability Team
URL: http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2010/08/bsdcan-through-years.html

[G] Convert files in the documents list to a Google Docs format

Posted: 09 Aug 2010 05:42 PM PDT

Official Google Docs Blog: Convert files in the documents list to a Google Docs format

Today, we're happy to announce that you can now convert files already uploaded to your documents list into a Google Docs format. Previously, this option was only available on upload.

This addition includes converting image and PDF files to text using our recently added Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. The full list of files that can be converted include:
  • For spreadsheets: .xls, .xlsx, .ods, .csv, .tsv, .txt, .tsb
  • For documents: .doc, .docx, .html, plain text (.txt), .rtf
  • For presentations: .ppt, .pps
  • For OCR: .jpg, .gif, .png, .pdf
To convert your file, right-click on it while in the document list and select Make a Google Docs copy. This option leaves your original file in place and adds a new Google Docs copy to your docs list.


Now you convert your old files and collaborate on them in cloud. We hope you enjoy it! Let us know if you have feedback or suggestions.

Posted by: Jim McMaster, Software Engineer
URL: http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2010/08/convert-files-in-documents-list-to.html

[G] A new curve tool for drawings

Posted: 09 Aug 2010 05:42 PM PDT

Official Google Docs Blog: A new curve tool for drawings

Sometimes scribbles just don't cut it and you need more powerful curve tools in Google drawings. Well, we've just released a tool that does just that, based on cardinal splines.

The new curves can be left open or closed, and can be filled or unfilled. You can also adjust points on the curve after drawing it.


Most importantly, this tool is fun. You can freehand a nice logo, like this:


Or make vector art from your photographs, like this:


For the heavy scribble users out there, the curve tool replaces the scribble tool in the icon bar, but the original hasn't disappeared. You can now find the scribble tool under the shapes icon. It's also available via Insert > Scribble.


We're excited to see what you can make with the new curve tool. Please share your work in the template gallery, and let us know what other design tools you'd like to see in drawings on the forums.

Posted by: Gabe Cohen, Product Manager
URL: http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2010/08/new-curve-tool-for-drawings.html

[G] Security First: Google at the International Conference on Cyber Security

Posted: 09 Aug 2010 03:50 PM PDT

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Security First: Google at the International Conference on Cyber Security

The Google Enterprise team is excited to be participating in the International Conference on Cyber Security (ICCS), on August 2nd-5th, at Fordham University in New York City. ICCS brings together global leaders in emerging cyber threat analysis, operations and enforcement. More than 700 IT, business and law enforcement professionals from over 50 countries will gather to discuss the most significant emerging cyber threats and how the security and law enforcement communities are responding to them.

Eric Davis, Policy Manger and Director of Anti-Malvertising at Google will be giving a talk entitled: "Welcome to Malvertising" on Thursday, August 5th at 1:30 PM. "Malvertising" is the intersection of malware and advertising, where ads install malware or redirect users to sites that install malware. Eric will discuss how malvertising occurs over ad networks. He will discuss incident response, as well as available systems, tools and best practices for preventing malware in ads.

If you'll be at the conference, please join us for our talk and stop by our booth to learn more about Google's cyber security efforts as well as to learn more about how Google secures the data stored in our data centers. If you're not going to be at the conference, you can find lots of information about cyber security in our Online Security Blog and information about the security of our data centers here.

Posted by Adam Swidler, Sr. Manager – Google Enterprise
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/08/security-first-google-at-international.html

[G] The City of Wooster Goes Google for scalability, reliability & usability

Posted: 09 Aug 2010 03:50 PM PDT

Official Google Enterprise Blog: The City of Wooster Goes Google for scalability, reliability & usability

Editor's note: Following up on our recent announcement of Google Apps for Government, a new edition of Google Apps for our government customers, we invited Jim Dodd, Information Systems Manager for the City of Wooster, Ohio, to share Wooster's story. Jim is a Northeast Ohio native who joined the city's Information Technology Division in 2006 and has been an active I.T. professional since 1995.


Wooster, Ohio is a cozy community of approximately 26,000 people nestled in the center of Wayne County, home to some of the finest farmland in the state. If you draw a line from Columbus to Cleveland, Wooster is located close to the middle. "Multi-faceted" is an apt description of Wooster. It's a small town where people know their neighbors, and still greet strangers passing by on the sidewalk. The presence of The College of Wooster brings cultural opportunities -- like the Ohio Light Opera and Wooster Symphony Orchestra -- that a town of Wooster's size might not ordinarily possess. Wooster is blessed with a diverse economy that features notable manufacturing, education, transportation, technology, and healthcare companies.

The current administration of the city government stresses the imperative of maintaining the high level of services our citizens enjoy, while using current resource levels more effectively. Google Apps has provided us with the rare opportunity to expand the communications tools available to city government personnel without requiring major new funding and infrastructure.

Scalability, reliability, and usability are the reasons the City of Wooster switched to Google Apps. Google has built a dispersed, secure infrastructure that offers a level of availability and a scale of resources that we could never begin to match internally. For example, offering 25 gigabytes of email storage per user was never a realistic option for us. Integration of Google's search technology into Google Apps creates great efficiencies in data retrieval. And to top it all off, all of this is accessible from any device with a web browser, wherever city employees' jobs may take them.

Wooster switched to Google Apps from Microsoft Exchange in September 2009. We started with a ten-user pilot in June 2009, and then made the switch for all 207 city employees. For the first six months, we focused on acclimating our staff to using the web browser as their primary tool for messaging and calendar, as well as raising awareness of the different features available in those two components. Reactions to the changes ran the gamut: some enthusiastically embraced the new platform and immediately began exploring its potential; others didn't have a strong opinion as long as they could read their email; and some preferred the old messaging system. Recently, we introduced the option of using Microsoft Outlook (with Google Apps Sync) instead of a web browser for those few people who absolutely prefer Outlook. Chat was a new addition to our communication tools and was instantly embraced by our personnel as a means of communication.

Starting in January 2010, we began a concerted effort to expose our staff to the features of Google Docs, Groups, and Sites. For instance, our Parks and Recreation department uses Google Docs to share rosters and schedules with coaches and players involved in city sports leagues, providing for streamlined updates and easy access for both staff and participants. Our training coordinator offers on-site as well as classroom sessions exploring the features of Google Apps. We've also been sending out short "Didja Know" communications several times a month to highlight new or particularly useful features.

Several city departments have begun experimenting with Google Sites to create websites that will be linked to as part of our intranet. The Police Department created an extensive website that even features various training videos, which will be shared and included in the city's official website. The Information Technology Department uses a Google Site as a technical reference wiki, compiling How-Tos, troubleshooting, notes, and other relevant information on the City's computing systems.

Earlier this year, Wooster became a trusted tester for Google Apps for Government. Having an edition for the use of only government customers provides us with added assurance that the data used in serving our citizens is well-protected. Google Apps receiving FISMA certification demonstrates Google's commitment to maintaining top-of-the-line data safeguards. For the City of Wooster, Google Apps for Government is a welcome enhancement to an already compelling product that adds increased value to our efforts to serve the citizens of our fair city.

Posted by Dan Israel, Google Apps for Government team
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/08/city-of-wooster-goes-google-for.html

[G] Freedom in Forms: Allow people to edit their submitted responses in Google Forms

Posted: 09 Aug 2010 03:50 PM PDT

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Freedom in Forms: Allow people to edit their submitted responses in Google Forms

I'm a big fan of Google forms because they allow me to quickly gather information from many people without clogging up my inbox. Whether it's a quick poll to a handful of coworkers or an in-depth company-wide survey, forms allow me to efficiently collect, organize, and store structured data without disrupting my email experience. Unless, of course, a user makes a mistake or changes his mind after submitting his response form. Those of you who regularly use online surveys know what happens next: emails begin to appear in your inbox asking you to manually update responses, defeating your attempts at efficiency. I'm happy to announce new functionality in Google forms available to businesses, schools, and organizations using Google Apps that solves this problem by allowing users to edit their own responses.

Now, when you create a form, you will see the option to allow users to edit responses.



Users choosing to edit submitted responses will see their previous answers and be able to make edits, which will automatically be reflected in your spreadsheet and in the summary of responses.

Whether you're ordering T-shirts for your team or planning a company-wide off-site, you no longer need to deal with shirt size or RSVP change requests in your inbox. By making it easy for users to edit their own responses, you can enhance the accuracy of your results while eliminating the need for manual updates.

Users can edit their responses from the link in the form submission confirmation page or from the email confirmation, if one is sent. For more information, please see our Help Center documentation.

Posted by Jeremiah Dillon, Google Apps Marketing Manager
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/08/freedom-in-forms-allow-people-to-edit.html

[G] A joint policy proposal for an open Internet

Posted: 09 Aug 2010 03:01 PM PDT

Google Public Policy Blog: A joint policy proposal for an open Internet

Posted by Alan Davidson, Google director of public policy and Tom Tauke, Verizon executive vice president of public affairs, policy, and communications

The original architects of the Internet got the big things right. By making the network open, they enabled the greatest exchange of ideas in history. By making the Internet scalable, they enabled explosive innovation in the infrastructure.

It is imperative that we find ways to protect the future openness of the Internet and encourage the rapid deployment of broadband. Verizon and Google are pleased to discuss the principled compromise our companies have developed over the last year concerning the thorny issue of "network neutrality."

In October, our two companies issued a shared statement of principles on network neutrality. A few months later we submitted a joint filing to the FCC, and in an April joint op-ed our CEOs discussed their common interest in an open Internet. Since that time, we have listened to all sides of the debate, engaged in good faith with policy makers in multiple venues, and challenged each other to craft a balanced policy framework. We have been guided by the two main goals:

     1. Users should choose what content, applications, or devices they use, since openness has been central to the explosive innovation that has made the Internet a transformative medium.

     2. America must continue to encourage both investment and innovation to support the underlying broadband infrastructure; it is imperative for our global competitiveness.

Today our CEOs will announce a proposal that we hope will make a constructive contribution to the dialogue. Our joint proposal takes the form of a suggested legislative framework for consideration by lawmakers, and is laid out here. Below we discuss the seven key elements:

First, both companies have long been proponents of the FCC's current wireline broadband openness principles, which ensure that consumers have access to all legal content on the Internet, and can use what applications, services, and devices they choose. The enforceability of those principles was called into serious question by the recent Comcast court decision. Our proposal would now make those principles fully enforceable at the FCC.

Second, we agree that in addition to these existing principles there should be a new, enforceable prohibition against discriminatory practices. This means that for the first time, wireline broadband providers would not be able to discriminate against or prioritize lawful Internet content, applications or services in a way that causes harm to users or competition.

Importantly, this new nondiscrimination principle includes a presumption against prioritization of Internet traffic - including paid prioritization. So, in addition to not blocking or degrading of Internet content and applications, wireline broadband providers also could not favor particular Internet traffic over other traffic.

Third, it's important that the consumer be fully informed about their Internet experiences. Our proposal would create enforceable transparency rules, for both wireline and wireless services. Broadband providers would be required to give consumers clear, understandable information about the services they offer and their capabilities. Broadband providers would also provide to application and content providers information about network management practices and any other information they need to ensure that they can reach consumers.

Fourth, because of the confusion about the FCC's authority following the Comcast court decision, our proposal spells out the FCC's role and authority in the broadband space. In addition to creating enforceable consumer protection and nondiscrimination standards that go beyond the FCC's preexisting consumer safeguards, the proposal also provides for a new enforcement mechanism for the FCC to use. Specifically, the FCC would enforce these openness policies on a case-by-case basis, using a complaint-driven process. The FCC could move swiftly to stop a practice that violates these safeguards, and it could impose a penalty of up to $2 million on bad actors.

Fifth, we want the broadband infrastructure to be a platform for innovation. Therefore, our proposal would allow broadband providers to offer additional, differentiated online services, in addition to the Internet access and video services (such as Verizon's FIOS TV) offered today. This means that broadband providers can work with other players to develop new services. It is too soon to predict how these new services will develop, but examples might include health care monitoring, the smart grid, advanced educational services, or new entertainment and gaming options. Our proposal also includes safeguards to ensure that such online services must be distinguishable from traditional broadband Internet access services and are not designed to circumvent the rules. The FCC would also monitor the development of these services to make sure they don't interfere with the continued development of Internet access services.

Sixth, we both recognize that wireless broadband is different from the traditional wireline world, in part because the mobile marketplace is more competitive and changing rapidly. In recognition of the still-nascent nature of the wireless broadband marketplace, under this proposal we would not now apply most of the wireline principles to wireless, except for the transparency requirement. In addition, the Government Accountability Office would be required to report to Congress annually on developments in the wireless broadband marketplace, and whether or not current policies are working to protect consumers.

Seventh, and finally, we strongly believe that it is in the national interest for all Americans to have broadband access to the Internet. Therefore, we support reform of the Federal Universal Service Fund, so that it is focused on deploying broadband in areas where it is not now available.

We believe this policy framework properly empowers consumers and gives the FCC a role carefully tailored for the new world of broadband, while also allowing broadband providers the flexibility to manage their networks and provide new types of online services.

Ultimately, we think this proposal provides the certainty that allows both web startups to bring their novel ideas to users, and broadband providers to invest in their networks.

Crafting a compromise proposal has not been an easy process, and we have certainly had our differences along the way. But what has kept us moving forward is our mutual interest in a healthy and growing Internet that can continue to be a laboratory for innovation. As policy makers continue to formulate the rules of the road, we hope that other stakeholders will join with us in providing constructive ideas for an open Internet policy that puts consumers in charge and enhances America's leadership in the broadband world. We stand ready to work with the Congress, the FCC and all interested parties to do just that.
URL: http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2010/08/joint-policy-proposal-for-open-internet.html

[G] Easy Tricks for Finding WebM Videos in YouTube

Posted: 09 Aug 2010 02:50 PM PDT

The WebM Open Media Project Blog: Easy Tricks for Finding WebM Videos in YouTube

Since the WebM project launch, YouTube has been encoding videos uploaded at 720p or higher resolution in the WebM format. Today, the one million most popular videos of any size on YouTube are also available in the WebM format.

We have instructions on our project site for finding these videos but they require adding a special parameter onto the end of each search query. All of the browsers that support WebM can create search shortcuts with custom parameters, however, so we've compiled instructions for making it very simple to search for WebM videos in YouTube.

Important: First, make sure you have a supported browser and are enrolled in the YouTube HTML5 beta by going to http://youtube.com/html5 and clicking Enter the HTML5 Beta.

Creating a WebM Search Shortcut

Firefox 4 Beta:
  1. Select Bookmarks > Organize Bookmarks. A bookmark manager dialog opens.
  2. In the left column, choose a location for the new bookmark you're creating. Next, choose Organize > New Bookmark (on MacOS click the gear icon). The new bookmark dialog opens.
  3. In the Name box, type WebM.
  4. In the Location box, type http://youtube.com/results?search_query=%s&webm=1.
  5. In the Keyword box, type webm.
  6. Click Add.
Google Chrome Early Release Channel:
  1. On Windows and Linux, click the Chrome wrench icon in the toolbar and select Options. On MacOS, select Chrome > Preferences.
  2. On the Basics tab, click the Manage button in the Default Search section.
  3. On Windows and Linux, click Add. On MacOS X, click the plus (+) button.
  4. In the Name box, type WebM.
  5. In the Keyword box, type webm.
  6. In the URL box, type http://youtube.com/results?search_query=%s&webm=1.
  7. Click OK.
Opera 10.60 and later:
  1. Go to http://youtube.com.
  2. Right-click in the YouTube search box at the top of the page and select Create Search. On MacOS, use Ctrl+click if you don't a secondary mouse button enabled.
  3. In the Name box, type WebM.
  4. In the Keyword box, type webm.
  5. In the Address box, type http://youtube.com/results?search_query=%s&webm=1.
  6. Click OK.


Now you're ready to search. In the location box of the browser, type webm monster trucks. The YouTube search results page will open with a selection of monster truck videos encoded in the WebM format. When watching a video, look for the HTML5 WebM indicator in the player control bar.

If you can't find WebM videos it is most likely a browser cookie problem. Your enrollment in the YouTube HTML5 beta test is stored in a browser cookie (not in your YouTube or Google account), and that cookie can expire. Visit http://youtube.com/html5 and opt-in again to re-set the cookie.

Directly Accessing WebM Videos by URL

To find out if any YouTube video is available in WebM, simply add &html5=True (make sure True is capitalized) to the end of the video URL. If there is a WebM version of the video, it will open instead of the Flash version. For example:
  • Flash version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz6gFokvOr0
  • WebM version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz6gFokvOr0&html5=True
URL: http://webmproject.blogspot.com/2010/08/easy-tricks-for-finding-webm-videos-in.html

[G] Segment Your Funnels Through The API

Posted: 09 Aug 2010 01:49 PM PDT

Google Analytics Blog: Segment Your Funnels Through The API

Say your website has a check out lead generation process and you want to understand funnel abandonment by new vs. return visitors. You can do this through the Web Interface using many segments, filters and exporting data. But who has time for that?

Enter the free, shiny, new Conversion Tracking Application from PadiTrack. Built on the Google Analytics API, it's all about insights and action. You simply register with the site, use secure oAuth to access your data, and you're off, creating useful funnels like this - notice the black box with "415 new" denoting the number of new visitors in the funnel:


According to Claudiu, CoFounder of PadiCode, the company that built PadiTrack, "We wanted to make accessible conversion funnel tracking, one of the most important analytics reports, to any web business out there. It has always amazed us how many websites don't have conversion funnel tracking defined in their web analytics accounts. We were challenged by that reality. Since we've built PadiTrack, we've been using it daily for all of our projects. We love it. It saves time, offers instant insight and helps us focus on what really matters for us: how many people convert."

With PadiTrack you can almost instantly visualize the conversion funnel for any major event. It works for sales, sign-ups, downloads, contact inquiries and anything else you can think of. The setup takes 3 or 4 minutes, conversion funnels can be created on the fly and and you don't need to wait to gather data: it is available retroactively. The product is available to all Google Analytics users and to them only.

"We played with a couple of web analytics APIs so far but the Google Analytics one has been the most powerful. It gave us the power to work with data and pull out reports that we couldn't get otherwise. We spent much more time building the interface than getting the reports out of the Google Analytics. The API is really easy," says Claudiu.

We're really excited about what the PadiCode team has built and are featuring it in our App Gallery. Have a look and let the PadiCode team know what you think.


Posted by Nick Mihailovski, Google Analytics API Team
URL: http://analytics.blogspot.com/2010/08/segment-your-funnels-through-api.html

[G] Updated Keyword Tool - Coming out of Beta

Posted: 09 Aug 2010 01:43 PM PDT

Inside AdWords: Updated Keyword Tool - Coming out of Beta

Late last year, we announced a beta version of the updated Keyword Tool, which brought you increased functionality and a streamlined way to identify new keywords for your account. Since then, we've been working hard to meet our long-term goal to combine all the features you love from both the Keyword Tool and the Search-based Keyword Tool into one comprehensive tool.

We think it's the right time to begin this final transition since you can now find many of your favorite features from tools in the updated Keyword Tool.

Both of these tools will be available in their current forms through the end of August, after which time their addresses will redirect to the updated Keyword Tool. We'll post again when the transition is complete and the updated Keyword Tool exits beta (and drops the "updated" from its name).

The updated Keyword Tool has a number of benefits over the older tools:
  • Flexible search options: Search by any combination of keyword, website/URL, and category (where available) and receive a single set of results
  • Easy keyword refinement: Filter results by word or keyword match type
  • Advanced options: View statistics for mobile search and use data filters based on local searches, search and ad share, and more
We also listened to your feedback and added some completely new features:
  • Removing Duplicate Keywords: When you access the Keyword Tool from within an ad group, keywords that are already in that ad group will appear with an "Already in ad group" message next to them
  • Adding Negative keywords: Now, you can easily add keyword ideas as negatives right from your keyword idea list. Just click on a keyword and use the drop down menu to select and save your negative keyword

We'll continue to improve upon the updated Keyword Tool to make it more useful for you. Give it a try if you haven't yet to take advantage of its new look and features. If you need to, you can always access the tool without signing in to AdWords. However, for the best results, you should access the tool from within your account. Just click the "Keyword Tool" link from the Opportunities tab. For a full set of directions on accessing and using the tool, visit the AdWords Help Center.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew
URL: http://adwords.blogspot.com/2010/08/updated-keyword-tool-coming-out-of-beta.html

[G] More blog goodness! Make room for BizBlog and Creator’s Corner posts

Posted: 09 Aug 2010 12:43 PM PDT

YouTube Blog: More blog goodness! Make room for BizBlog and Creator's Corner posts

With pageviews up 115% compared to the same time last year and millions of people reading this blog each month, it's time for a fresh injection of blog content. So starting today, we're transitioning posts from the BizBlog, our partner and advertiser blog, and the Creator's Corner blog, our blog devoted to all the cool things you make on YouTube, to this blog. You'll see more guest posts; you'll get to know some of YouTube's most accomplished videomakers a little better; and you'll discover how all kinds of people -- partners, advertisers, you! -- use YouTube and what can be learned from each other.



But before we dig in, we wanted to ask you to take this short survey, so we can be sure that our blog delivers the kind of experience and information you're looking for. The survey should take less than five minutes to fill out and will help us tremendously as we plan future posts. Thank you so much!






URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/J3vM_xXAxr4/more-blog-goodness-make-room-for.html
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