Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Googland

Googland

[G] Next Week: Ad Tech New York

Posted: 27 Oct 2010 01:03 AM PDT

Google Analytics Blog: Next Week: Ad Tech New York

If you're an enthusiast of "Mad Men" (a television drama about advertising in New York in the 1960s), and Google Analytics, well then you're probably enjoying the dichotomy that is advertising today: a mix of decades-old media creatives and buys, and cutting edge online tracking and social graphing, and a ton in between. Getting a birds eye view is wildly interesting and educational. And the ad:tech Conference in New York City next week might be a good event for you to attend. And the best part is that it not only gives a bird's eye view, but also offers compelling and educational sessions for the savviest online marketer.

Happening on Wednesday and Thursday (November 3-4), it's a fun, relevant, informative conference, where "brands, agencies, publishers and service providers come together to share, network, learn and do business." You'll see traditional advertising agencies there, as well as the latest in online. Just take a look at the different conference seminar tracks titles:
  • Brand
  • Social Media
  • Digital Demographics
  • Media Strategy
  • Performance
And we'll be there as well with a sponsored workshop called "Improving Your Online Advertising with Insights from Google Analytics" on Thursday at 11:45am. In it, Phil Mui, our senior product manager, will present some developments in the product, as well as existing features, that will appeal especially to online marketers and advertisers. Register here. We hope to see you there.

Posted by Jeff Gillis, Google Analytics Team
URL: http://analytics.blogspot.com/2010/10/next-week-ad-tech-new-york.html

[G] Giving users the best answer, and competing fair and square in travel search

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 11:13 PM PDT

Google Public Policy Blog: Giving users the best answer, and competing fair and square in travel search

Posted by Andrew Silverman, Senior Product Manager

Since we announced our plans to acquire ITA Software in July, we've spent a lot of time talking with players in the online travel industry -- airlines, travel agents, and search sites -- about our plans to build better flight search tools for users, and our commitment to competition in this space.

We've been encouraged by the travel industry support we've seen for this acquisition -- from airlines, online travel agencies, and also ITA's competitors. Even longtime travel guru Arthur Frommer has weighed in. That said, it's disappointing that a number of travel companies have today announced their concerns about the deal.

Our reason for making this acquisition is simple: ITA will help us provide better results for our users. When someone searches for "flights from San Francisco to London," we'd like to provide not just "ten blue links" but exact flight times and prices as well -- just as our competitors do today.

We've already been experimenting with similar results in different areas. For example, in March we began showing hotel prices in Google Maps -- information which not only makes travel planning and budgeting easier for our users, but also improves the quality of the leads we send to travel websites and hotels:


In terms of the criticisms that have been made today, while we respect the views of these companies there are a few important areas where we need to set the record straight:

Claim: The deal could result in higher travel prices or fewer travel choices for consumers.
Fact: ITA and Google are not competitors so there will not be less choice for consumers. In addition, ITA does not set ticket prices or sell tickets, but merely analyzes data about seat availability and fares -- which are set by airlines -- and provides that analysis to websites. So it's hard to see why it would result in higher prices. In fact, by acquiring ITA we hope to build flight comparison tools that make it easier for users to compare prices and find the best possible deal.

Claim: ITA powers most of the web's most popular travel sites.
Fact: ITA's QPX tool powers many websites; that's why we've said that we'll honor all of ITA's existing agreements, and that we are enthusiastic about adding new partners. That said, the three most popular travel sites in the U.S. (Expedia, Priceline and Travelocity) use data provided by ITA's competitors. And over the past few months other travel companies have highlighted the alternatives to ITA. Kayak's CEO called Expedia's Best Fare Search alternative "awesome" and Continental Airlines noted that "there are alternatives to the [ITA] shopping solution in the marketplace, both internally and externally."

Claim: Google will be choosing winners and losers in online travel.
Fact: Our goal is to build tools that drive more traffic to airline and online travel agency sites where customers can purchase tickets. We also believe that giving users better ways to search for flights online will encourage more users to make their flight purchases online, which will create more overall online sales for airlines and travel agencies. Google does not plan to sell airline tickets directly.

Claim: Instead of buying ITA, Google could just license its data.
Fact: We think we can make more significant innovations and bigger breakthroughs in online flight search for consumers by combining our engineering expertise with ITA's than we would by just licensing ITA's data service.

Claim: The deal will lead to less innovation in travel search.
Fact: Just the opposite! Today, finding the right flight at the best price is a frustrating experience; pricing and availability change constantly, and even a simple two-city itinerary involves literally thousands of different options. We're confident that by combining ITA's expertise in travel with Google's technology we'll be able to create great innovations in flight search.
URL: http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2010/10/giving-users-best-answer-and-competing.html

[G] Using new visualizations to tell your story

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 08:59 PM PDT

Official Google Docs Blog: Using new visualizations to tell your story

Spreadsheet data can tell compelling stories when placed into charts and other visualizations. Today we're excited to announce a new editor for charts, redesigned from the ground up as well as a set of new chart types. Check out our video to see these charts in action:




New and improved chart types
We've added annotated time-lines, organizational charts, gauges, our popular motion chart (which makes it easy to visualize data changing over time) and more to our chart types.


We've also given our existing charts a more professional look and feel with with a refreshed color palette, improved layout and new customization options.


New charts editor
With these new chart types, we've also added a new charts editor that suggests recommended charts, matches your data labels and headers, auto selects colors, has a full size preview pane and more. The editor is designed to help you create the chart you need in just a few clicks.

The Start tab has basic options, including up to four recommended charts based on the data you selected. For example, if you have a charts with the following five columns: date, number, text, number, text, the first recommended chart will be an annotated timeline.



The "Charts" tab includes the full gallery of new and redesigned charts, and the "Customize" tab includes all of the advanced customization options.


Improved publishing
It's easy to show charts you've created in spreadsheets with the world. Publish your interactive chart on any webpage and it will update as you change the data in your spreadsheet. Click the play button below:


Give the new charts editor a try at goo.gl/newcharts, learn more from our help articles and let us know what you think on the forums.

Posted by: Hillel Maoz, Software Engineer
URL: http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2010/10/using-new-visualizations-to-tell-your.html

[G] The Report Center is retiring soon

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 08:36 PM PDT

Inside AdWords: The Report Center is retiring soon

Back in June we began moving AdWords reports into the Campaigns tab. Since then, we've copied over every key AdWords report, letting you quickly download your data from the same pages where you manage your campaigns.

In the next few weeks we'll finish the transition and retire the Report Center entirely. From then on you'll schedule and download all of your reports from within AdWords campaign management.

We've made the transition to this new style of reporting gradually, collecting feedback from advertisers and making adjustments accordingly.

For example, we heard that you had a hard time finding specific reporting options in your account. To help, we've added relevant FAQs to the download menus in the Campaigns tab, enabling you to find the views and metrics you're interested in more easily.

If you're currently downloading reports from the Campaigns tab, you've already adjusted to the bulk of the changes, and you'll find that each of your scheduled reports have been copied to the Control Panel & Library. We'll delete any old versions of scheduled reports from the Reports tab, and stop sending the emails associated with them, by early November. Shortly thereafter, we'll remove the Report Center entirely.

To prepare for the retirement, you can compare the scheduled reports in the Reports section of your Control Panel & Library to the old versions of your scheduled reports in the Report Center, then make any necessary adjustments to make sure you're getting the data you want, in the format you want.

If you're looking for additional resources to guide you through the changes, you can visit the AdWords Help Center for articles on each report. We've also published a before and after guide to keyword reporting to give you a step-by-step tutorial to running one of the most popular AdWords reports.

Thanks again for your patience during the transition. If you have any additional feedback on AdWords reporting, please continue to send it our way.

Posted by Gordon Zhu, Inside AdWords crew
URL: http://adwords.blogspot.com/2010/10/report-center-is-retiring-soon.html

[G] Into the cloud: Virgin America goes Google

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 07:31 PM PDT

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Into the cloud: Virgin America goes Google

[cross-posted from the Official Google Blog]

Today, we're excited to announce that Virgin America is the latest company to go Google and switch to Google Apps. Over the next two weeks, all of the airline's 1,700 employees based across North America will be moving their corporate email to Gmail, and collaborating more efficiently using Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Talk. Their migration to Gmail will cut Virgin America's email system costs by about half on an annual basis, in addition to the long-term storage benefits where the move into the Google cloud will save them over 18 terabytes of space as the airline continue to grow and add employees.



Photos of our skywriting this afternoon

To make it easier for Virgin America make the switch, one of our Google Apps Authorized Resellers, SADA Systems, will be helping them deploy Google Apps, implementing single sign-on user access so that users can use one password to log in to multiple applications, integrating with telephony (voicemail) systems and doing custom email configuration.

We asked Ravi Simhambhatla, Chief Information Officer for Virgin America to share his thoughts about why they decided to go Google:
As the only airline based here in Silicon Valley, our goal has always been to use the best in technology and design to reinvent the air travel experience for the better. We're eager to bring the latest and greatest tech innovations not only to our guests—but also to our teammates. The transition to a cloud-based email system allows us to save costs and increase the speed and efficiency of our platforms, so we can focus on what we do best: elevating the flying experience. Google answers our data and connectivity needs better than any other system. Google Apps allow us to stay ahead of the competition by remaining flexible and efficient since we can upgrade based on the latest technology, and not be confined by budget or staffing to out-of-date systems. Once you have Google Apps, you always have the most recent version.
As a leading airline innovator, Virgin America has had a history of cloud firsts: in November 2008, Virgin America launched in-flight Internet with a first-ever "air-to-ground" video stream to YouTube Live. In June 2009, we collaborated on the Day in the Cloud Challenge, the first online scavenger hunt to be played both in the air and on the ground, and in December 2009 we teamed up to offer free WiFi to holiday travelers. So naturally, we're thrilled to welcome Virgin America to the cloud as they join more than 3 million companies that have gone Google. To learn more about Google Apps and the companies that have switched, visit www.google.com/gonegoogle.

Posted by Vivian Leung, Google Apps team
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/10/into-cloud-virgin-america-goes-google.html

[G] Security First: Google at the Cloud Security Institute Conference

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 07:31 PM PDT

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Security First: Google at the Cloud Security Institute Conference

The Google Enterprise team is excited to be participating in the Computer Security Institute Annual Conference, CSI 2010, taking place in National Harbor, Maryland, from Tuesday through Friday, October 26-29. CSI2010 brings together security and IT professionals from around the world to discuss and share best practices in computer security, risk management and compliance. The event features keynote presentations, workshops, panel discussions and customer case studies. Google's Adam Swidler will be presenting a session entitled "Is Your Organization's Data Safer in the Cloud?" at 11:15 AM EDT on Friday, October 29.

If you'll be at the conference, please join us for Adam's presentation to hear about information security, privacy, and data protection in the cloud from Google's perspective. If you can't attend the conference, please visit our website for more information about about the security and privacy of data in Google Apps.

Posted by Ashley Chandler, Google Apps team
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/10/security-first-google-at-cloud-security.html

[G] Google Commerce Search Webinar: Helping Chemist Direct focus on their core business

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 07:31 PM PDT

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Google Commerce Search Webinar: Helping Chemist Direct focus on their core business

This live webinar will be held on Thursday, October 28 at 10:00 ET/15:00 BST. Register here

ChemistDirect.co.uk, Europe's leading online chemist, provides more than 20,000 health and beauty products and prescription medicines on the web. Fast, relevant search and the ability for customers to easily find the right products is key to the success of Chemist Direct's online business.

Join Mitesh Soma, (CEO & Founder, Chemist Direct) and Nitin Mangtani (Product Manager, Google Commerce Search) as they discuss the importance of search on retail websites. Mitesh will discuss the various search solutions he evaluated and how since implementing Google Commerce Search, he has been able to capitalize on the latest innovations in search technology, sub-second response times, quick deployment and effortless scalability.

We hope you can join us.

Live Webcast Details
Date: Thursday 28th October
Time: 10:00 ET/15:00 BST
Duration: 40 minutes
Language: English
Register here

Posted by Guillaume De Zwirek, Google Commerce Search Team
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/10/google-commerce-search-webinar-helping.html

[G] New in Labs: Auto-advance to the next conversation

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 06:35 PM PDT

Official Gmail Blog: New in Labs: Auto-advance to the next conversation

Posted by Bruce DiBello, Software Engineer

Today, whenever you open an email in your Gmail inbox and then archive or delete it, you're taken back to your inbox. Many of you have asked for the ability to instead go to the next conversation. Keyboard ninjas will already be familiar with the "]" and "[" keyboard shortcuts for archiving and going to the next/previous conversation. For everyone else (and for people who frequently mute or delete conversations rather than archive them) we're offering a new feature in Gmail Labs called "Auto-advance," which automatically opens the next conversation after you archive/delete/mute the one you're on.

To get started with "Auto-advance" go to the Labs tab in Settings, enable it, and click the "Save changes" button. By default, "Auto-advance" will advance to the previous (older) conversation in your inbox -- perfect for people who read their newest mail first. If you usually read your oldest email first and would rather advance to the next (newer) conversation, you can change the direction from the General Settings tab.


Hopefully this will save you some time the next time you have to deal with a crowded inbox. Try it out and let us know what you think.
URL: http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-in-labs-auto-advance-to-next.html

[G] Into the cloud: Virgin America goes Google

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 02:27 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: Into the cloud: Virgin America goes Google

Today, we're excited to announce that Virgin America is the latest company to go Google and switch to Google Apps. Over the next two weeks, all of the airline's 1,700 employees based across North America will be moving their corporate email to Gmail, and collaborating more efficiently using Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Talk. Their migration to Gmail will cut Virgin America's email system costs by about half on an annual basis, in addition to the long-term storage benefits where the move into the Google cloud will save them over 18 terabytes of space as the airline continue to grow and add employees.


Photos of our skywriting this afternoon

To make it easier for Virgin America make the switch, one of our Google Apps Authorized Resellers, SADA Systems, will be helping them deploy Google Apps, implementing single sign-on user access so that users can use one password to log in to multiple applications, integrating with telephony (voicemail) systems and doing custom email configuration.

We asked Ravi Simhambhatla, Chief Information Officer for Virgin America to share his thoughts about why they decided to go Google:

As the only airline based here in Silicon Valley, our goal has always been to use the best in technology and design to reinvent the air travel experience for the better. We're eager to bring the latest and greatest tech innovations not only to our guests—but also to our teammates. The transition to a cloud-based email system allows us to save costs and increase the speed and efficiency of our platforms, so we can focus on what we do best: elevating the flying experience. Google answers our data and connectivity needs better than any other system. Google Apps allow us to stay ahead of the competition by remaining flexible and efficient since we can upgrade based on the latest technology, and not be confined by budget or staffing to out-of-date systems. Once you have Google Apps, you always have the most recent version.
As a leading airline innovator, Virgin America has had a history of cloud firsts: in November 2008, Virgin America launched in-flight Internet with a first-ever "air-to-ground" video stream to YouTube Live. In June 2009, we collaborated on the Day in the Cloud Challenge, the first online scavenger hunt to be played both in the air and on the ground, and in December 2009 we teamed up to offer free WiFi to holiday travelers. So naturally, we're thrilled to welcome Virgin America to the cloud as they join more than 3 million companies that have gone Google. To learn more about Google Apps and the companies that have switched, visit www.google.com/gonegoogle.

Posted by Vivian Leung, Google Apps team
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/into-cloud-virgin-america-goes-google.html

[G] $5 million to encourage innovation in digital journalism

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 02:27 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: $5 million to encourage innovation in digital journalism

Journalism is fundamental to a functioning democracy. So as media organizations globally continue to broaden their presence online, we're eager to play our part on the technology side—experimenting with new ways of presenting news online; providing tools like Google Maps and YouTube Direct to make websites more engaging for readers; and investing heavily in our digital platforms to enable publishers to generate more revenue.

But while we're mostly focused on working with news organizations to develop better products for users, we also believe it's crucial to encourage innovation at the grassroots level. That's why we're giving $5 million in grants to non-profit organizations that are working to develop new approaches to journalism in the digital age. Our aim is to benefit news publishers of all sizes.

We've granted $2 million to the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which has a proven track record of supporting programs that drive innovation in journalism. It will use $1 million to support U.S. grant-making in this crucial area. The other $1 million will augment the Knight News Challenge, which is accepting funding proposals from anyone, anywhere in the world, until December 1. Now in its fifth year, the News Challenge has supported projects like DocumentCloud, which aims to bring more investigative-reporting source material online so anyone can find and read it.

We're eager to do even more internationally, so we will be investing the remaining $3 million in journalism projects in other countries through a similar partnership. Stay tuned for more details early next year.

We hope these grants will help new ideas blossom and encourage experimentation. As Thomas Edison once said, "When there's no experimenting, there's no progress. Stop experimenting and you go backward." We look forward to working with the journalism community to help digital news move forward.

Posted by Nikesh Arora, President, Global Sales Operations and Business Development
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/5-million-to-encourage-innovation-in.html

[G] Trip report: Google and YouTube in Iraq

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 02:27 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: Trip report: Google and YouTube in Iraq

(Cross-posted from the YouTube Blog)

Earlier this month, a small team from Google and YouTube spent a week in Iraq on a trip arranged by the Department of Defense's Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO). Our goals were to explore opportunities for Google in Iraq, to understand the landscape of Internet access and connectivity in the country during this critical transition period and to bring top-voted questions from YouTube to Iraqi leaders in a series of interviews. We met with students, private sector companies, NGOs and Iraqi leadership in the Kurdish city of Erbil in the north, and in Baghdad.


Pictures taken by the Google/YouTube team in Iraq: Harry Wingo (Policy), Carrie Farrell (Google.org), Debu Purkayastha (Corp Dev), Olivia Ma (YouTube), Mary Himinkool (Business Development) and Steve Grove (YouTube).

Regardless of your feelings about the Iraq War, it's immediately evident upon arrival just how completely the country missed the Internet boom during Saddam Hussein's regime. Internet penetration rates in Iraq are among the lowest in the Middle East—somewhere between one and eight percent. Only 15 percent of Iraqis say they use the web, and the largest percentage of them live in Baghdad. There are no commercial data centers in Iraq and much more fiber connectivity is needed to meet consumer needs. Most connections are via satellite, and those who do have connections pay dearly for it—we heard estimates of up to $150 U.S. dollars per month for a 512kb connection. To incentivize and enable private companies to lay more fiber in Iraq, a complex set of roadblocks must be addressed—from security concerns to regulatory frameworks to licensing structures. As the country is still struggling to form a government more than seven months after its last election, much of this progress has been stalled.

There are signs of progress, however. Mobile penetration has skyrocketed in Iraq in the past seven years, from effectively zero percent in 2003 to over 70% today. And the Iraqi people are highly educated. We met with dozens of computer science students at Salahaddin University in Erbil and at Baghdad University, and though they lack equipment and resources, they're highly motivated to innovate and believe the web is a critical component of their economy's future.

Many young people in Iraq and around the world submitted questions in Arabic and English for three interviews we conducted in partnership with Middle Eastern news agency Al Arabiya. Google Translate enabled anyone to vote on their favorite questions regardless of language, and we brought the top five questions to current Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the Prime Minister of the Kurdish Regional Government in Erbil, Dr. Barham Salih and Iraqi politician and once the interim Prime Minister of Iraq, Ayad Allawi. Here is the television special that Al Arabiya produced showcasing their answers:



The Iraqis we met consistently expressed their desire for increased access to the web and for more access to content and tools in both Kurdish and Arabic. We believe access to information and high-speed connectivity to the cloud will be key to the future of the country. The power of the web to change people's lives grows the further one gets from Silicon Valley, and we look forward to continuing our work with companies, governments and citizens in Iraq and other countries in transition.

Posted by Mary Himinkool, New Business Development, and Olivia Ma, YouTube News & Politics
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/trip-report-google-and-youtube-in-iraq.html

[G] $5 million to encourage innovation in digital journalism

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 10:51 AM PDT

Google News Blog: $5 million to encourage innovation in digital journalism

Posted by Nikesh Arora, President, Global Sales Operations and Business Development

Journalism is fundamental to a functioning democracy. So as media organizations globally continue to broaden their presence online, we're eager to play our part on the technology side -- experimenting with new ways of presenting news online; providing tools like Google Maps and YouTube Direct to make websites more engaging for readers; and investing heavily in our digital platforms to enable publishers to generate more revenue.

But while we're mostly focused on working with news organizations to develop better products for users, we also believe it's crucial to encourage innovation at the grassroots level. That's why we're giving $5 million in grants to non-profit organizations that are working to develop new approaches to journalism in the digital age. Our aim is to benefit news publishers of all sizes.

We've granted $2 million to the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which has a proven track record of supporting programs that drive innovation in journalism. It will use $1 million to support U.S. grant-making in this crucial area. The other $1 million will augment the Knight News Challenge, which is accepting funding proposals from anyone, anywhere in the world, until Dec. 1. Now in its fifth year, the News Challenge has supported projects like DocumentCloud, which aims to bring more investigative-reporting source material online so anyone can find and read it.

We're eager to do even more internationally, so we will be investing the remaining $3 million in journalism projects in other countries through a similar partnership. Stay tuned for more details early next year.

We hope these grants will help new ideas blossom and encourage experimentation. As Thomas Edison once said, "When there's no experimenting, there's no progress. Stop experimenting and you go backward." We look forward to working with the journalism community to help digital news move forward.

[Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog]
URL: http://googlenewsblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/5-million-to-encourage-innovation-in.html

[G] Business Photos from Google are now on Place pages

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 10:25 AM PDT

Google LatLong: Business Photos from Google are now on Place pages


Six months ago, we announced the pilot of a project to take photos of business interiors. Through this program, business owners located in the U.S., Australia and Japan could invite our photographers into their establishments to take high-quality images of their businesses. Excitement from interested business owners grew quickly, and we've since taken photos of businesses in about 30 cities.

Starting today, the images we've taken as part of the pilot can be viewed on the Place pages of participating businesses. Users and potential customers who look online for local businesses can now see more high-quality photos that give them a sense of what a place is really like. The photos may include the storefront, decor, layout, merchandise, food, signage about hours and accepted payment types, and other items that help people learn more about a business and decide if they want to go there. For example, if you're looking for the perfect restaurant to make a good impression on a first date, the high-quality interior photos might help you decide if the ambiance and atmosphere of a particular place are right for the occasion you're planning.

Here are a few examples of these high-resolution photos:

法善寺横丁　正弁丹吾亭, or Shoben Tango Tei, an authentic Japanese restaurant in Osaka, Japan


Pane e Vino, an award-winning Italian Restaurant in San Francisco, CA


Susan Avery Flowers and Event Styling, a wedding services, event planning and florist shop in Sydney, Australia

Business owners who worked directly with our photographers across these three regions will see the photos from Google on their Place page within the coming weeks. Thanks to all of you who welcomed us into your businesses. We're continuing to take photos at more business locations, and urge others to let us know if you'd like us to visit you as well.

In the meantime, you can also upload your own photos and videos of your business by signing in to Google Places. By building out your Place page with visuals and other relevant business information - such as hours of operation, offers and more - you'll help potential customers learn more about you and feel like they know what to expect when they actually walk through your doors.

Posted by Gadi Royz, Product Manager
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/10/business-photos-from-google-are-now-on.html

[G] Advertise your local business with Google Boost

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 10:25 AM PDT

Google LatLong: Advertise your local business with Google Boost


As a local business owner in today's day and age, you know that it's important to have an online presence because that's where your customers are. In fact, research shows that 97% of people conduct research online before buying locally. Hopefully you've gone to Google Places to claim your free business listing that appears on Google and Google Maps. That enables you to share accurate information about your business such as your hours of operation, photos and videos - and now you can do even more.

Today, we're announcing the availability of a new online advertising solution to help local businesses connect with potential customers in their area. Boost enables business owners to easily create online search ads from directly within their Google Places account. No ongoing management is needed after the initial set up, and this beta is currently available to select local businesses in San Francisco, Houston and Chicago.

Boost ads are eligible to appear in the "Sponsored Links" section of Google.com and Google Maps search result pages. For example, if you're a restaurant owner in San Francisco who has signed up for Boost, your ad may show up when someone does a related search like the one below, indicating a cuisine and location that matches yours. Beyond the basics like your company name, address, phone number and website, your ad may also include the number of reviews you've received, an average star rating and a link to your Place page to help potential customers find additional useful information about your business. When a map appears alongside the results, a blue pin will help folks quickly find your location on the map. Businesses using Google Tags will also see their yellow tag appear in the ad.


To create your ad, all that is required is a short business description, a web or Place page, your business categories and a monthly budget. From there, our system automatically sets up your ad campaign - figuring out the relevant keywords that will trigger your ad to appear on Google and Google Maps, and how to get the most out of the budget you allotted. You'll only pay when a potential customer actually clicks on your ad, and you can also view basic ad performance data from your Google Places dashboard.

Here is an example of the simple sign up page within Google Places, which takes just a few minutes to complete. To make the process even easier, the "description" and "categories" fields may be pre-populated with suggestions based on the information you provided on the Place page for your business.


We hope Boost provides busy local business owners with a quick and easy way to share information about themselves with the people who look for them online. Placement in the "Sponsored Links" section of the page will, as always, depend on factors such as your ad's relevance and quality. Boost does not affect the ranking of the free, organic business listings in any way.

As we do with all beta features, we'll carefully review the data and effectiveness of this trial and may make changes before making decisions about any future expansion. In the meantime, business owners can sign in or claim their listing in Google Places, and select businesses in San Francisco, Houston and Chicago will see an invitation to try Boost in the account dashboard. Interested businesses outside these areas can sign up to receive notification when Boost comes to their area by filling out this form.

Posted by Kiley McEvoy, Product Manager
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/10/advertise-your-local-business-with.html

[G] Help us improve Tasks

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 09:35 AM PDT

Official Gmail Blog: Help us improve Tasks

Posted by David Tattersall, Associate Product Manager

If you're using Tasks, you've probably thought about something you'd like us to improve or an additional feature you wish you had. Well, we want to hear your ideas — whether they're for Tasks in Gmail, in Google Calendar, or on your phone.

For the next few weeks, we're running a poll for Tasks feature requests. We really appreciate the feedback we've already received about syncing, sharing, Calendar integration and more, and we're looking forward to hearing more details within these topics as well as any new requests you have. The poll will remain open until November 19th, at which point we'll take a careful look at all of the feedback and prioritize your requests. So if you have a few minutes between now and then, please take a look and vote to help us improve Tasks functionality. Thanks!
URL: http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/help-us-improve-tasks.html

[G] Trip Report: Google and YouTube in Iraq

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 08:31 AM PDT

YouTube Blog: Trip Report: Google and YouTube in Iraq

Earlier this month, a small team from Google and YouTube spent a week in Iraq on a trip arranged by the Department of Defense's Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO). Our goals were to explore opportunities for Google in Iraq, to understand the landscape of Internet access and connectivity in the country during this critical transition period, and to bring top-voted questions from YouTube to Iraqi leaders in a series of interviews. We met with students, private sector companies, NGOs and Iraqi leadership in the Kurdish city of Erbil in the north, and in Baghdad.


Pictures taken by the Google/YouTube team in Iraq: Harry Wingo (Policy), Carrie Farrell (Google.org), Debu Purkayastha (Corp Dev), Olivia Ma (YouTube), Mary Himinkool (Business Development), and Steve Grove (YouTube).

Regardless of your feelings about the Iraq War, it's immediately evident upon arrival just how completely the country missed the Internet boom during Saddam Hussein's regime. Internet penetration rates in Iraq are among the lowest in the Middle East—somewhere between one and eight percent. Only 15 percent of Iraqis say they use the web, and the largest percentage of them live in Baghdad. There are no commercial data centers in Iraq and much more fiber connectivity is needed to meet consumer needs. Most connections are via satellite, and those who do have connections pay dearly for it—we heard estimates of up to $150 U.S. dollars per month for a 512kb connection. To incentivize and enable private companies to lay more fiber in Iraq, a complex set of roadblocks must be addressed—from security concerns to regulatory frameworks to licensing structures. As the country is still struggling to form a government more than seven months after its last election, much of this progress has been stalled.

There are signs of progress, however. Mobile penetration has skyrocketed in Iraq in the past seven years, from effectively zero percent in 2003 to over 70% today. And the Iraqi people are highly educated. We met with dozens of computer science students at Salahaddin University in Erbil and at Baghdad University, and though they lack equipment and resources, they're highly motivated to innovate and believe the web is a critical component of their economy's future.

Many young people in Iraq and around the world submitted questions in Arabic and English for three interviews we conducted in partnership with Middle Eastern news agency Al Arabiya. Google Translate enabled anyone to vote on their favorite questions regardless of language, and we brought the top five questions to current Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the Prime Minister of the Kurdish Regional Government in Erbil, Dr. Barham Salih, and Iraqi politician and once the interim Prime Minister of Iraq, Ayad Allawi. Here is the television special that Al Arabiya produced showcasing their answers:



The Iraqis we met consistently expressed their desire for increased access to the web and for more access to content and tools in both Kurdish and Arabic. We believe access to information and high-speed connectivity to the cloud will be key to the future of the country. The power of the web to change people's lives grows the further one gets from Silicon Valley, and we look forward to continuing our work with companies, governments and citizens in Iraq and other countries in transition.

Mary Himinkool, New Business Development, and Olivia Ma, YouTube News & Politics, recently watched "Voices: Conversation Between Iraqi and American Students."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/YrgUg1N639w/trip-report-google-and-youtube-in-iraq.html

[G] The cloud never tasted so good: Jason’s Deli has gone Google

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 07:10 AM PDT

Official Google Enterprise Blog: The cloud never tasted so good: Jason's Deli has gone Google

Jason's Deli is a family-owned, casual restaurant chain that serves more than 35 million people a year in the US. Operating over 200 delis in 28 states, the company has a presence in major markets including Chicago, DC, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Houston, Austin, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Denver.

Jason's Deli was on a custom, legacy email system that couldn't keep up with the demands of so many offices, and users were complaining about the slowness and lagging features. Jason's Deli began looking for a more innovative solution that would continue to release improvements and new features, and that would allow its employees the mobility they needed to effectively run their business.

After successfully completing a 60-user IT pilot in June, the company followed a big-bang approach for migrating the remainder of their users to Google Apps in July. In addition to migrating mail, calendar, and contacts, Jason's Deli also ported an extensive document library over to Google Docs using the Docs API and custom scripts.

Join this live webcast to hear from CIO Kevin Verde and learn why Jason's Deli chose Google to better support their distributed locations across the country. Thursday, October 28, 2010, 2:00 PM ET / 11:00 AM PT / 6:00 PM GMT. Register now

Posted by Ashley Chandler, Google Apps team
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/10/cloud-never-tasted-so-good-jasons-deli.html

[G] YouTube Holiday Marketing

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 05:14 AM PDT

Official Google CPG Blog: YouTube Holiday Marketing

Cross posted from the Google Retail blog
Original post written by Jennifer Wasson, You Tube Team

This holiday season, we've prepared YouTube marketing strategies to help you take advantage of this time of the year on the top online video destination.

Tip #1: Customize your YouTube Brand Channel
Just as a retail store would dress up its window during the holidays, take advantage of enhanced features to customize your channel. For example, you can showcase your products with the 300x250 display ad; integrate all of your social media efforts with the channel banner that appears at the top of your channel page; and stay connected with your customers with a remarketing campain that targets users who have visited your YouTube channel.

Tip #2: Show off your products through video this holiday season
YouTube is the second-largest search engine after Google. You probably have a search engine strategy for the top search engines—is YouTube included in that plan? Videos are a compelling way to feature your products, services, and your brand. When your target audience is searching on YouTube make sure your videos are surfaced with promoted videos.

Tip #3: Place your holiday creatives against relative videos
Reach your audience in a 'lean forward' media platform where people are seeking video engagement and information. Find videos or video categories that resonate with your brand or target audience and pair your holiday display ads against them.

Tip #4: Bring your holiday TV ads online
In 2009, people spent more time watching online video than checking their email! Use your TV creatives or your online videos to run as preroll before videos on YouTube and get in front of this tremendous audience. Engagement rates are also compelling with an average CTR of 1.9%. An ad format that answers your holiday wish.

Tip #5: YouTube Video Gift Guide
Now consumers have a place to watch and shop on YouTube! This holiday shopping video hub is open to all advertising partners with video assets. Our guide provides consumers with the opportunity to watch and shop and provide advertisers with one destination to showcase their holiday video ads. Contact a sales representative to get started.

We've made your list, now check it twice and have a great holiday season!
URL: http://google-cpg.blogspot.com/2010/10/cross-posted-from-google-retail-blog.html
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