Friday, October 29, 2010

Googland

Googland

Googland

[G] Stop. Think. Connect. to protect yourself from fake Checkout invoices.

Posted: 29 Oct 2010 05:04 AM PDT

Official Google Checkout Blog: Stop. Think. Connect. to protect yourself from fake Checkout invoices.

In keeping with our commitment to security for our users, and in recognition of National Cyber Security Awareness Month, we wanted to encourage everyone to be wary of spoofed Google Checkout invoices that try to trick users into sending money to scammers. A spoofed invoice is an invoice designed to look like it came from someone else — in this case, Google Checkout. We're finding that these spoofed invoices are often related to fraudulent vehicle purchases, where the scammer persuades the buyer that the high-cost purchase will be protected by Google Checkout. In fact, the transaction is fraudulent and has nothing to do with Google Checkout.

Buyers have reported that the spoofed invoices are designed to look similar to Google Checkout invoices, with one important exception: payment is requested through wire transfer, money transfer services such as Western Union or Moneygram, or direct bank transfers. This is a clear scam signal because Google Checkout does NOT support money transfers in any of these ways.

A typical scam might look like this:

You are searching online to buy a car and find a listing for something you like at an incredible price. When you contact the seller, they suggest that you use Google Checkout to pay for the car. Then, they send you what they claim is a Google Checkout invoice that lists the price and has instructions on how to send them the money. The red flag, again, is that the invoice has instructions on how to wire money via Western Union or Moneygram, or via direct bank transfers.

Here are some additional tips for safer shopping and recognizing scams:
  • Google Checkout currently supports payments made by credit or debit cards only. If a seller suggests you can pay via wire or bank transfer with your Checkout account, don't proceed with the transaction; it's likely fraudulent.
  • Scammers may reference the terms "Verified Google Checkout Agent," "Regional Manager," "Purchase Protection Account," or some other form of escrow account in their spoofed invoice. None of these terms are used on Checkout.
  • Scammers may request high dollar transactions to be broken down into smaller payments, sometimes with each payment going to a different person.
  • The price of the goods you are interested in purchasing seems too good to be true, or the seller claims to have the new hot item that is sold out everywhere else.
If you received a fake Google Checkout invoice, you may wish to file a report with the appropriate authorities and/or your regional fraud reporting center — such as the Internet Crime Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov), a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National White Collar Crime Center. For more information on scams in general, please see this post on the Google Security Blog.

Posted by Steven Chen, Manager, Trust & Safety
URL: http://googlecheckout.blogspot.com/2010/10/stop-think-connect-to-protect-yourself.html

[G] Dubliners

Posted: 29 Oct 2010 03:28 AM PDT

Inside Google Books: Dubliners

Posted by Cheryl Pon, Books Online Team

I live in Dublin

Do you see the same city I see?

-James Joyce

[Please note, some books linked from this post may not be available in full view to users outside of the United States.]

Recently, I moved from San Francisco across the Atlantic to the beautiful city of Dublin. The biggest perk of living in the capital of Ireland for an enthusiastic reader and writer like myself is being surrounded by rich literary history everywhere I go!

One of the first nations to practice vernacular writing, Ireland has produced some of history's most remarkable authors. Notable literary artists from Dublin include Oscar Wilde (1854-1900); poet and author of the famed The Picture of Dorian Gray, Bram Stoker (1847-1912), creator of Dracula; Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), who brought fictional Lilliputians to life in Gulliver's Travels (and who was the first great Irish writer to be recognized internationally), and James Joyce (1882-1941), who captured the very essence of what it was like to live in Dublin through his collection of short stories Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and the great epic Ulysses, a work of art I studied intensively in university. Imagine my delight when I could actually experience Joycean Dublin by walking the same streets this great author had!

I took a walk across gorgeous Samuel Beckett bridge, named for the Nobel Prize in Literature-winning writer who had at one point in his life been James Joyce's secretary, examined the very first printing machines and ancient typewriters at the National Print Museum, admired the ancient Book of Kells, preserved in the library at Trinity College, and enjoyed a cappuccino at cozy Finn's Hotel where James Joyce went on his first date with his future wife, which was also the inspiration for Ulysses.

I spent a leisurely afternoon at the Writer's Museum in the heart of Dublin and discovered the amazing Yeats collection of letters to his lover, friends, and family. Later that night, through the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl, I embarked on a pleasant historical walking tour of the great city with our tour guide quoting at length Yeats, Behan, and Larkin- with stops at local pubs for some hearty, delicious Irish fare.

To visualize the influence of great Irish authors on contemporary Dublin, take an afternoon to stroll through the intense language and exploration of identity of Joycean Dublin in Ulysses on Google Books. Try exploring the literary history of where you live by conducting an Advanced Book Search by using location as subject. You may find a more poetic side to the sights around you!

URL: http://booksearch.blogspot.com/2010/10/dubliners.html

[G] 1 billion subscriptions and counting

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 07:03 PM PDT

YouTube Blog: 1 billion subscriptions and counting

Early on (we're talking '06 here, people!), the yellow subscribe button made its debut so the latest videos from your favorite channels could make a beeline to your inbox/eager eyes. Today, the button that's been immortalized as a throw cushion hits an important landmark: it's been clicked over one billion times. And who was the lucky channel to get that billionth hit? It was MachinimaSports, who are, not coincidentally, on our homepage on Friday.



In fact, there is so much subscription activity that there are over a billion subscription notification emails sent every week and 15 YouTube channels have crossed the one million subscriber mark: fred, nigahiga, kassemg, shanedawsonTV, shanedawsonTV2, smosh, universalmusicgroup, machinima, sxephil, mysteryguitarman, davedays, kevjumba, realannoyingorange, raywilliamjohnson, collegehumor and failblog.



So what's next for subscriptions? Turns out, we've got a spankin' new widget that any video-maker can embed on his/her website or blog. It lets people subscribe to your YouTube channel with a single click, without having to leave your site to log into YouTube or to confirm their subscription. The entire process happens in the widget.



Give it a try! All you need to do is embed the code below into the source code of your website or blog, in the same way you embed a YouTube video:



<iframe id="fr" src="http://www.youtube.com/subscribe_widget?p=[add YouTube Username here]" style="overflow: hidden; height: 105px; width: 300px; border: 0;" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0"></iframe>



And if all this is new to you, let us suggest you check out this video, in which dear Cuddles tells you all you need to know about subscriptions:







Georges Haddad, Product Marketing Manager, recently watched "Annoying Orange: The Exploding Orange."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/DYjbZdrXAx0/1-billion-subscriptions-and-counting.html

[G] Future Shorts - Future Creative People

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 04:58 PM PDT

YouTube Blog: Future Shorts - Future Creative People

Futureshorts is one of the largest short film aggregators in the world. In this guest blog post, founder and creative director Fabien Riggal talks about curating shorts on YouTube, including a selection from their new live event series, Future Shorts ONE.

We passionately believe in the medium of short film and its creativity, giving filmmakers the opportunity to experiment, learn and come up with innovative ideas. Our company was set up to create the most important audience and community around short film, creating a culture of experiencing a showcase of films in a social thinking environment. The Internet brings people together in communal spaces to watch films and create a dialogue around them. This is what filmmakers want. This is what audiences want.

Today, we're curating the YouTube homepage with films from Future Shorts ONE, a new global event launching on Saturday, November 6. In the video below, we talk about why we chose these films to represent One, along with some information on the event:

ONE takes place in 12 countries and 50 cities every month, with live simultaneous events that connect thousands of people around the world. Each location showcases the same selection of the world's boldest short films, many of them on YouTube on our channel, alongside the best in local live music, performance and design. To find out if One will be near you, click here.

Fabien Riggall, Founder and Creative director, Future Shorts, just watched "The Lost Tribes of New York City"


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/oHWmD9AdpTI/future-shorts-future-creative-people.html

[G] New in Google Maps for Android: Updated reviews, search filters, and Latitude real-time updating

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 02:35 PM PDT

Google LatLong: New in Google Maps for Android: Updated reviews, search filters, and Latitude real-time updating

[Cross-posted from the Google Mobile Blog]

Lately, we've been working on giving you even better ways to find nearby places with Google Maps for Android, such as the Places icon and rich Place pages. Today, we are launching Google Maps 4.6 with a new design for Place page reviews, more options to filter search results, and a Google Latitude real-time updating option.

Place page reviews
Now, you'll see that Place pages on Android Maps share the same new design for displaying reviews as used by Place pages on your computer. You can see:
  • "Reviews from around the web" for highlighting sites that have high-quality reviews about the place.
  • "Reviews from Google users" for reviews posted directly to Google Maps by other users
Filter search results
Of course, you'll first need to narrow down which Place page reviews to check out. In addition to distance and ratings, you can also filter results for some searches by:
  • Open now
  • Neighborhood
  • Related searches

Find the right place with the updated reviews section (left) or search results filters (right).

Google Latitude real-time updating
In Latitude, you can also choose an experimental "Real-time updating" option from an individual Latitude friend's profile page to help meet up with them by temporarily seeing faster location updates (friends must have Maps 4.6 and Android 2.2+).

Get Google Maps 4.6 for Android 1.6 and above everywhere Maps is already available. Just search for Google Maps in Android Market (or tap here from your phone).

Visit our Help Center to learn more or tell us your feedback and questions in our Help Forum.

Posted by Michael Siliski, Product Manager, Google Mobile Team
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-in-google-maps-for-android-updated.html

[G] Google Finance adds multiple sign-in

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 01:58 PM PDT

Google Finance Blog: Google Finance adds multiple sign-in




Posted by Brian Shih, Product Manager

Google offers multiple sign-in, which allows you to use more than one Google Account in the same browser session for a limited set of Google products. Today we are pleased to announce that Google Finance has joined that group.

Gone are the days of switching between browsers to see your personal vs. professional financial portfolios, news, and charts. With multiple sign-in, you simply switch between accounts using the upper right hand navigation tool. The site will smoothly transition to your other account, allowing you to view other account portfolios in the click of a mouse.


To activate multiple sign-in, click on your username in the upper right hand corner of any Google page, including Finance. Click on "Google Account Settings" and you'll be taken to your Google Profile page.

Then click on "Edit" next to the Multiple sign-in setting and you will be taken to a page which explains how multiple sign-in works and allows you to enable this feature for your account.

For more information on using multiple sign-in, visit the Help Center and suggest additional Google products for which you'd like to use multiple sign-in. As always, for the latest from the Google Finance team, follow us on Twitter.
URL: http://googlefinanceblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/google-finance-adds-multiple-sign-in.html

[G] Promoted Videos hit half a billion views

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 12:17 PM PDT

YouTube Blog: Promoted Videos hit half a billion views

When we announced our first performance-based video ad format, Promoted Videos, nearly two years ago, the first campaign was "Penny Pranks" by Office Max.







Since that time, thousands and thousands of advertisers have taken advantage of this ad format to entice likely customers with videos about everything from smoked brisket recipes to magnetic jewelry to sneakers. Politicians and political activists have used Promoted Videos to argue for a proposition or against an issue. And large companies have reached wide audiences with movie trailers, recipes, and ideas for Halloween.



This month we served the 500,000,000th Promoted Video view. Promoted Videos average approximately three minutes in duration -- it would take a single viewer 2,853 years to watch them all. In the past year, we've seen a more than six-fold increase in the number of times viewers have clicked to watch a Promoted Video. And more and more, advertisers are making ads for TV and YouTube that delight and entertain. In fact, many video ads reach over 1 million video views, offering everything from solutions for bad breath to candy bars and cars – some of which have achieved increased viewership using Promoted Videos.



We've made several recent product improvements to help more advertisers easily set up and manage campaigns with Promoted Videos. First, we've expanded the ability to set up video ad campaigns on ads.youtube.com beyond the US to Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. For anyone outside the U.S., the campaign will be tied to your Google AdWords account. Secondly, we've added Promoted Videos into our Video Targeting tool so you can select specific videos for advertising against in addition to appearing against search results and related content on YouTube. Finally, with our Promoted Video API in AdWords in beta, agencies can now use Promoted Videos to manage campaigns across multiple clients.



We're excited about this momentum and look forward to building on viewer choice when it comes to advertising. We talked at length this week with the guys at ReelSEO about Promoted Videos, so read on if you'd like to know more about our plans.



Jay Akkad, Product Manager, recently watched "The NeoCube 01"


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/F6m70uNQQOs/promoted-videos-hit-half-billion-views.html

[G] VP8 Codec SDK "Aylesbury" Release

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 11:50 AM PDT

The WebM Open Media Project Blog: VP8 Codec SDK "Aylesbury" Release

Today we're making available "Aylesbury," our first named release of libvpx, the VP8 codec SDK. VP8 is the video codec used in WebM. Note that the VP8 specification has not changed, only the SDK.

What's an Aylesbury? It's a breed of duck. We like ducks, so we plan to use duck-related names for each major libvpx release, in alphabetical order. Our goal is to have one named release of libvpx per calendar quarter, each with a theme.

You can download the Aylesbury libvpx release from our Downloads page or check it out of our Git repository and build it yourself. In the coming days Aylesbury will be integrated into all of the WebM project components (DirectShow filters, QuickTime plugins, etc.). We encourage anyone using our components to upgrade to the Aylesbury releases.

For Aylesbury the theme was faster decoder, better encoder. We used our May 19, 2010 launch release of libvpx as the benchmark. We're very happy with the results (see graphs below):
  • 20-40% (average 28%) improvement in libvpx decoder speed
  • Over 7% overall PSNR improvement (6.3% SSIM) in VP8 "best" quality encoding mode, and up to 60% improvement on very noisy, still or slow moving source video.



The main improvements to the decoder are:
  • Single-core assembly "hot spot" optimizations, including improved vp8_sixtap_predict() and SSE2 loopfilter functions
  • Threading improvements for more efficient use of multiple processor cores
  • Improved memory handling and reduced footprint
  • Combining IDCT and reconstruction steps
  • SSSE3 usage in functions where appropriate
On the encoder front, we concentrated on clips in the 30-45 dB range and saw the biggest gains in higher-quality source clips (greater that 38 dB), low to medium-motion clips, and clips with noisy source material. Many code contributions made this possible, but a few of the highlights were:
  • Adaptive width and strength alternate reference frame noise suppression filter with optional motion compensation.
  • Transform improvements (improved accuracy and reduction in round trip error)
  • Trellis-based quantized coefficient optimization
  • Two-pass rate control and quantizer changes
  • Rate distortion changes
  • Zero bin and rounding changes
  • Work on MB-level quality control and bit allocation
We're targeting Q1 2011 for the next named libvpx release, which we're calling Bali. The theme for that release will be faster encoder. We are constantly working on improvements to video quality in the encoder, so after Aylesbury we won't tie that work to specific named releases.

WebM at Streaming Media West

Members of the WebM project will discuss Aylesbury during a session at the Streaming Media West conference on November 3rd (session C203: WebM Open Video Project Update). For more information, visit www.streamingmedia.com/west.

John Luther is Product Manager of the WebM Project.
URL: http://blog.webmproject.org/2010/10/vp8-codec-sdk-aylesbury-release.html

[G] Western Union now in Thailand

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 11:42 AM PDT

Inside AdSense: Western Union now in Thailand

After launching in four African countries earlier this month, we're excited to announce the arrival of Western Union Quick Cash® payments for Thailand!

For those of you who are not familiar with this form of payment, Western Union Quick Cash payments are free of charge and will reach you faster than checks. Payments will continue to follow our normal payment schedule and will be available for pickup in your local currency at your local Western Union agent the day after they're issued.

A couple of things to note: We can send Western Union payments only to publishers that have an individual account at this time. Also, the payee name on your account must exactly match the government-issued ID card that you'll use when picking up your payments. For more information on how to sign up for and pick up Western Union payments, please visit our Help Center.

Posted by Deborah Chang - AdSense Payments team
URL: http://adsense.blogspot.com/2010/10/western-union-now-in-thailand.html

[G] Bring Your Phone to Work Day: Managing Android Devices With Google Apps

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 11:11 AM PDT

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Bring Your Phone to Work Day: Managing Android Devices With Google Apps

Today in Tokyo, more than 600 IT leaders from across Japan are coming together with Google and 18 of our partners at Google Enterprise Day. It's our annual event dedicated to discussing trends in enterprise technology and how businesses can use cloud technologies to increase productivity and innovate more quickly. This year, one of the hottest topics is mobile computing and how companies can allow employees to use their personal phones and tablets at work without compromising corporate security.

With over 200,000 devices activated each day, Android is seeing rapid adoption, and today we are launching new administrative controls that make it possible to securely manage these devices in the Google Apps environment. With this launch, Google Apps provides secure management and sync capabilities for all major mobile platforms. You can manage most mobile devices right from the browser, without having to deploy dedicated servers.

Many Android devices feature tight integration with Google Apps, including native applications for Gmail, Google Talk, and Google Calendar, as well as mobile access to Google Docs. Now any employee with an Android device running version 2.2 - personal or company-issued - can access their corporate information while allowing administrators to enforce data security policies such as:
  • Remotely wipe all data from lost or stolen mobile devices
  • Lock idle devices after a period of inactivity
  • Require a device password on each phone
  • Set minimum lengths for more secure passwords
  • Require passwords to include letters and numbers

When the employee leaves the company, the administrator can withdraw access to corporate info, which allows the employee to continue to use their device if it's their own.

These policies can be enforced on devices that have installed the Google Apps Device Policy application, which will be available from Android Market in the next few days. They will be available free to all Google Apps Premier and Education Edition customers in the next few days, and can be accessed from the 'Mobile' tab under 'Service Settings' in the Google Apps control panel.



To learn more about these updates in mobile device management for Google Apps, join us for a live webcast with Mayur Kamat, Google Apps Product Manager, on November 10, 2010 at 9 a.m. PDT / 12 p.m. EDT / 6 p.m. GMT. Register now.

Posted by Amit Singh, Vice President of International Sales, Google Enterprise
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/10/bring-your-phone-to-work-day-managing.html

[G] Bring Your Phone to Work Day: Managing Android Devices With Google Apps

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 10:20 AM PDT

Official Google Mobile Blog: Bring Your Phone to Work Day: Managing Android Devices With Google Apps

(Cross-posted and excerpted from the Official Google Enterprise Blog)

With over 200,000 devices activated each day, Android is seeing rapid adoption, and today we are launching new administrative controls that make it possible to securely manage these devices in the Google Apps environment. With this launch, Google Apps provides a comprehensive mobility solution for all major mobile platforms. You can manage most mobile devices right from the browser, without having to deploy dedicated servers.

Many Android devices feature tight integration with Google Apps, including native applications for Gmail, Google Talk, and Google Calendar, as well as mobile access to Google Docs. Now any employee with an Android device running version 2.2 - personal or company-issued - can access their corporate information while allowing administrators to enforce data security policies such as:
  • Remotely wipe all data from lost or stolen mobile devices
  • Lock idle devices after a period of inactivity
  • Require a device password on each phone
  • Set minimum lengths for more secure passwords
  • Require passwords to include letters and numbers
When the employee leaves the company, the administrator can withdraw access to corporate info, which allows the employee to continue to use their device if it's their own

These policies can be enforced on devices that have installed the Google Apps Device Policy application, which will be available from Android Market in the next few days. They will be available free to all Google Apps Premier and Education Edition customers in the next few days, and can be accessed from the 'Mobile' tab under 'Service Settings' in the Google Apps control panel.

To learn more about these updates in mobile device management for Google Apps, join us for a live webcast with Mayur Kamat, Google Apps Product Manager, on November 10, 2010 at 9 a.m. PDT / 12 p.m. EDT / 6 p.m. GMT. Register now

Posted by Amit Singh, Vice President of International Sales, Google Enterprise
URL: http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2010/10/bring-your-phone-to-work-day-managing.html

[G] For the UK: Learn how to expand your business internationally

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 09:44 AM PDT

Inside AdWords: For the UK: Learn how to expand your business internationally

Today, Wednesday October 27th, we'll be hosting a live online course on international expansion opportunities for small and medium businesses in the UK using AdWords. This interactive presentation will be delivered by an Online Media Specialist and will take approximately one hour, including time for Q&A.

During the course we'll provide you with information to help you start selling your products in other countries using AdWords and other Google tools. We'll also talk about important things to keep in mind when advertising your products internationally.

First, we'll have an overview of expansion opportunities in Europe and then we'll walk through different tools and practices to facilitate your business expansion. You'll learn how to build multilingual campaigns using Export Adviser and Google Translation Kit.

The course will take approximately 1 hour today, Wednesday from 3pm - 4pm BST / GMT+1 (London).

If you're based in the UK and interested in this course, sign up now!

Posted by Jason Shafton, Inside AdWords crew
URL: http://adwords.blogspot.com/2010/10/for-uk-learn-how-to-expand-your.html

[G] Searching your way to the ballot box

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 06:28 AM PDT

Official Google Blog: Searching your way to the ballot box

With less than a week left until the U.S. 2010 midterm elections, interest is heating up around the country—in polling places, close races and hot political issues. We thought we'd peek into the search data to see what we could find about what kinds of info people are looking for as they get ready to go to the ballot box next Tuesday. We used a combination of Insights for Search and internal tools to dig up this data, and all searches studied are anonymous.

Over the past few months, we've seen rising searches for things like [voter registration], [early voting] and [absentee voting] as people prepare for Election Day. People are also looking for information on [polls] (check out our elections rating site to compare expert predictions). What are the issues occupying people's mind as they choose who to vote for? Looking at the most popular searches on Google News in October, the issues that stand out are the economy (we continue to see many searches for terms like [unemployment] and [foreclosures]), as well as immigration and health care.

At our headquarters in California, we're of course paying close attention to two high profile races in this state: the Senate race between Carly Fiorina and incumbent Barbara Boxer, and the governor's race between Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown. Looking the gubernatorial candidates, Brown has been leading in the polls recently, but in the search race, Whitman has the edge, with more than 50% more search volume in 2010 than Brown. Fittingly, Sacramentans are more likely to search for both Whitman and Brown, followed by Angelenos and then San Franciscans. Popular related searches show people looking for information about polling data as well as the candidate debates: we saw searches spike for both candidates on September 29 and October 13, two days that followed debates. There was also a spike around the time of the primary election on June 8, as well as on October 8, when a controversial comment by an aide of Brown's hit newsstands.

We also wanted to find out what the big issues people were interested in about each candidate. Naturally, we saw a lot of searches for things like [meg whitman bio] or [jerry brown wikipedia], as well as [meg whitman ad] or [jerry brown platform] and vice versa. Terms more specifically related to Meg Whitman include [housekeeper] and [immigration]—reflecting interest in reports that Whitman had employed an undocumented worker as her housekeeper, and corresponding interest in the candidate's views on immigration and immigration reform. People also want to know about her history at [ebay] and about her family (with the terms [husband] and [children] showing up in searches related to Whitman). But this being California, people are also looking for information about how Whitman would approach the problem of the state's budget and economy—after immigration, the next issue we saw turn up in terms related to Whitman was [spending]. Interestingly, immigration was also the number one issue in searches related to Jerry Brown. People also seem to be looking for information about Brown's previous term as governor, and, as with Whitman, we're seeing searches for information about his [wife].

There's also growing interest in one of the propositions on California's ballot this year: Proposition 19, which would legalize and allow regulation of certain marijuana activities. Even though Prop 19 is a state initiative, its implications have people across the country searching for information about it:


Moving across the country, another state that's grabbed headlines during this primary season is Delaware. Prior to her upset win in the Republican primary against former governor Mike Castle in September, searches for Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell were minimal—even though she'd been in the running since March. Since then, however, she's been a subject of conversations across the country and searches for her name have consequently risen as well.


Searchers looked for information on a comment O'Donnell made on Bill Maher's show in 1999 about [witchcraft]—it's one of the top terms related to searches for O'Donnell. People also are interested in an [snl] spoof of O'Donnell earlier this month. O'Donnell is clearly outmatching her Democrat opponent Chris Coons in search, but only time will tell how the votes play out.

The potential shift in power in the House and Senate following these elections has people closely watching a handful of races to see which party comes out on top. We took a look at the Insights for Search graphs for a handful of close races and races that are considered influential. Take a look at the links below to see more, and plug in the names and other states of other candidates to try it out for yourself:
Of course, no discussion of this election season would be complete without a look at the Tea Party. The grassroots movement has captured the nation's attention, and has people looking for information about the history of the original Boston Tea Party and related events, like the [boston massacre] and the [tea act], in addition to the more expected searches for information on [tea party rally] or [tea party platform] and figures like [sarah palin] and [glenn beck].

And finally, we've also seen some popular political rallies in the past few months. Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor Rally in Washington, D.C. in late August kicked things off, and inspired Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart to host their own events—the March to Keep Fear Alive and the Rally to Restore Sanity, respectively—both of which are taking place this coming Saturday in D.C. Searches related to all of these rallies, especially Stewart's, have seen huge increases in volume—above 5000%.


We'll be back soon with more search trends and other information about the mid-term elections. In the meantime, don't forget to vote!

Posted by Emily Wood, Google Blog Editor
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/searching-your-way-to-ballot-box.html

[G] Place Search: a faster, easier way to find local information

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 06:28 AM PDT

Official Google Blog: Place Search: a faster, easier way to find local information

I love to discover new places, from sandwich shops in my neighborhood to great museums around the globe. When I start looking for something in a new area, like a barbecue restaurant in Austin, I usually do quite a few searches. I might search for a list of restaurants and then search for details about each place, like which one has the best atmosphere and live music.

Today we're introducing Place Search, a new kind of local search result that organizes the world's information around places. We've clustered search results around specific locations so you can more easily make comparisons and decide where to go. Say you're looking for that great barbecue restaurant with live music. With Place Search here's what you'll get:


The new results are marked with red pins, and each one is a unique restaurant with relevant information and links from across the web. I can see that Stubb's has live music, and I can click citysearch.com, tripadvisor.com and other sites to read reviews. In the past, the same search would return links with information about Stubb's in different parts of the results page (here's a screenshot of what it used to look like). Now information is grouped conveniently to make it easier to digest and compare.

Place Search results will begin appearing automatically on Google when we predict you're looking for local information. In addition, you'll find a new link for "Places" in the left-hand panel of the search results page so you can switch to these results whenever you want. For example, when I'm in New York, I love to go out and play foosball, but a search for [foosball] doesn't automatically show me Place Search results. If I click "Places" I get the new view:


We've made results like this possible by developing technology to better understand places. With Place Search, we're dynamically connecting hundreds of millions of websites with more than 50 million real-world locations. We automatically identify when sites are talking about physical places and cluster links even when they don't provide addresses and use different names ("stubb's bbq" is the same as "stubbs bar-b-que").

One of the great things about our approach is that it makes it easier to find a comprehensive view of each place. In our new layout you'll find many more relevant links on a single results page—often 30 or 40. Instead of doing eight or 10 searches, often you'll get to the sites you're looking for with just one search. In our testing Place Search saves people an average of two seconds on searches for local information.

Place Search is rolling out now and will be available globally in more than 40 languages in the next few days. During the roll-out process you can use this special link to preview the new results. Our goal is to help you feel like a local everywhere you go!

Posted by Jackie Bavaro, Product Manager
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/place-search-faster-easier-way-to-find.html
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