Friday, April 8, 2011

Googland

Googland

[G] New Interface Wednesdays: CrowdGather gets more efficient with the new AdSense interface

Posted: 08 Apr 2011 01:45 AM PDT

Inside AdSense: New Interface Wednesdays: CrowdGather gets more efficient with the new AdSense interface

CrowdGather uses the new AdSense interface to efficiently track and improve performance across its large network of forums.

CrowdGather.com is a leading, publicly traded network of online forums, consisting of tens of thousands of online communities. Sanjay Sabnani, CEO of Crowdgather, recently sat down with us to share his site's story as well as some tips on using the new AdSense interface to track and improve performance.

Inside AdSense: Tell us about the origin of your site.
Sanjay Sabnani: In 2002 I acquired my first forum, GenMay.com (short for General Mayhem), a place for off-topic humor, where gamers hang out. General Mayhem grew pretty rapidly and I started acquiring more forums, which ultimately led to the creation of CrowdGather one year later. CrowdGather now receives 5 million unique visitors a month and 90 million monthly page views across its tens of thousands of communities, including hosted forum sites Lefora and FreeForums.org.

IA: What role does AdSense play in your business?
SS: I used Google AdSense from the get-go on GenMay.com, and began using it across the entire CrowdGather network once it was established. AdSense was the first ad network I had found that I actually understood and could implement and it became a very easy way to begin to monetize. These days, AdSense is a key component for us, and we've worked on optimizing it across our network. We've found that AdSense displays the most relevant ads out of any contextual partner we've worked with. Since forums are very text-rich and the ads are so relevant, AdSense converts very well.

IA: I understand you've recently started using the new AdSense interface. What do you like about it?
SS: The new interface is like a monitoring system to ensure that all goes well across the CrowdGather network. For a network like CrowdGather comprising tens of thousands of online communities, the detailed performance reports are important tools for tracking individual site performance. We're always looking to see if any one particular site is acting differently than the rest of the network. With the new interface, we're able to track traffic down to that individual subdomain level which is valuable for us, since before it was all lumped together as a blanket effective CPM.

Based on the quicker feedback, we've been able to adjust the overall positioning and placement of the AdSense units across our network more rapidly. Before, we'd look at aggregate data for a few weeks to decide if a certain location was performing better on a certain community. Now we're able to play around a lot more quickly, and get that feedback much quicker, in terms of testing.

IA: If you had to sum it up, what would you tell other publishers about the new interface?
SS: We can see all this data more rapidly, and get an overview of the week to see the revenue direction. The new interface has made AdSense a bigger part of our analytics routine.

If you'd like to see how the new AdSense interface can help reduce time spent managing and monitoring your account, sign in to your account and switch to the new interface (you can get there from the link in the upper corner that says "Try the new AdSense interface"). To learn more about the new reporting functionality, visit our Help Center.

Posted by Meredith Blackwell - Inside AdSense team
URL: http://adsense.blogspot.com/2011/04/new-interface-wednesdays-crowdgather.html

[G] If the green jacket fits...

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 07:29 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: If the green jacket fits...

For golf enthusiasts like me, a trip to Augusta, Ga. in early April is as close as one can get to golf nirvana. The excitement begins the moment you drive down [magnolia lane] and approach the [augusta national] Clubhouse. In fact, there's probably no golf event that captures the world's attention quite like The Masters does every spring. The Masters is unique among golf tournaments since it's held in the same location each year, and after 75 years the rituals and legends have taken on a life of their own. The competitors teed off today in the opening round, so we thought it would be a good time to take a look at what people have searched for on Google about the tournament, the players and the traditions.

With a relatively small field of 93 professionals and six amateurs hailing from 22 countries, The Masters is a global event that draws interest from all over the world. We can see that each year, worldwide searches for [masters golf] peak the weekend of the tournament. The chart below shows how the trend is set to take off again this year and will likely hit its peak over the weekend.


The winner of The Masters gets to walk away with a unique prize: the prestigious green jacket—given to the lowest score in the tournament—and the game's defining garment. Every April, The Masters [green jacket] becomes one of the most sought-after article of clothing on the web as searchers turn to Google to discover the history of the jacket, seek out past winners and learn the protocols for receiving and wearing the special sport coat. Searches for [green jacket masters] have grown every year since 2004, with the highest mark occurring last year. Indeed, for a brief time in April every year, we all seem to embrace our inner couch-potato, searching for the [green jacket] more than we do for [exercise shorts]!


With some of the greatest players in the game competing, The Masters is always a thrill to watch for real golf fanatics and weekend golfers alike. The tournament is also home to some of the most memorable upset stories in sports, with lesser-known, but very skilled golfers coming out of nowhere to post the lowest score and win the tournament. Interest in these underdog stories is reflected in search query patterns across the globe. Searches for past unexpected winners like American [zach johnson] ('07), South African [trevor immelman] ('08) and Argentine [angel cabrera] ('09) all peaked globally the week of their Masters win.


So whether you're a golf fanatic, a sucker for an underdog story or—like some of my colleagues across Google—you just find the television broadcast and the golf analysts' voices the perfect background noise for an afternoon nap, there's something in the tournament for you. I'll likely be tuned into The Masters via my GoogleTV and will watch along with the rest of the world to see which golfer comes out of Sunday's trip through [amen corner] to capture the famous green jacket.

Posted by Ryan Hall, Director of Business Development, JAPAC, member of the University of Virgina Men's Golf Team ('98) and former Zimbabwean National Team golfer
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/if-green-jacket-fits.html

[G] 1 billion computing core-hours for researchers to tackle huge scientific challenges

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 07:29 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: 1 billion computing core-hours for researchers to tackle huge scientific challenges

Computing is an invaluable resource for advancement of scientific breakthroughs. Today we're announcing an academic research grant program called Google Exacycle for Visiting Faculty, which provides 1 billion hours of computational core capacity to researchers. That's orders of magnitude larger than the computational resources most scientists normally have access to.

This program is focused on large-scale, batch computations in research areas such as biomedicine, energy, weather and climate, earth sciences and astronomy. For example, scientists could use massive amounts of computation to simulate how pharmaceuticals interact with proteins in the human body to develop new medicines. Other uses could include simulations to predict weather patterns and analysis of telescope images to understand how the universe changes over time.

Exacycle for Visiting Faculty is part of our University Relations team's larger efforts to stimulate advances in science and engineering research. If you're a full-time faculty member, we encourage you to apply by May 31, 2011.

In the future, we think this service could also be useful for businesses in various industries, like biotech, financial services, manufacturing and energy. If your business can benefit from hundreds of millions of core-hours to solve complex technical challenges and you want to discuss potential applications, please contact us.

Posted by Alfred Spector, VP of Research and Special Initiatives
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/1-billion-computing-core-hours-for.html

[G] Bringing Google I/O direct to you with I/O Live

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 11:15 AM PDT

Official Google Blog: Bringing Google I/O direct to you with I/O Live

(Cross-posted from the Google Code Blog)

After Google I/O sold out in 59 minutes, we gave ourselves a challenge: bring I/O 2011 to as many developers as we could, even those that didn't have tickets to Moscone Center. So for those of you not joining us in San Francisco or at one of our I/O Extended viewing parties, visit www.google.com/io on May 10-11 from the comforts of your own home, office or anywhere you have a reliable Internet connection for I/O Live.

I/O Live will bring all of the excitement at Moscone Center to our online website, where the keynotes, sessions and Developer Sandbox will come to life for audiences all over the world. Starting on May 10, the Google I/O homepage will become the I/O Live dashboard, where you can:
  • Watch livestream video feeds from our two largest session rooms from 9:00 a.m PST to 6:00 p.m. PST during both days of the conference. This will include streaming of the keynotes, as in years past, as well as—new for 2011—the addition of sessions from Android and Chrome. We'll also aim to post HD video recordings from sessions that are not livestreamed within 24 hours.
  • Read captions from the livestreamed sessions in real-time. Plus, to make sure all our content is accessible, all remaining videos will also be captioned. For international developers, captions will be machine translated to all languages that are supported by Google Translate.
  • Be one of the first to know by getting your news direct from the source. The latest announcements and news will be added to our I/O Live dashboard in real-time.
  • Submit your questions to our Sandbox developers. We'll post answers for the questions with the most votes.
In the coming weeks, we'll update our Sessions and Sandbox pages with all the relevant information you'll need to participate in I/O Live. In the meantime, visit our temporary I/O Live page, where you can get our new HTML5 badge to display on your website and let us know that you'll be watching on May 10 and 11.

This year is slated to be our largest Google I/O event to date. So whether you're joining us in San Francisco, from an I/O Extended event, or even the comforts of your own Shangri-la, we're looking forward to seeing you at 9 a.m. PDT on May 10 as we count down to 00:00:00:00 and I/O Live.

Posted by Monica Tran, Google I/O Team
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/bringing-google-io-direct-to-you-with.html

[G] The DigiTour: Live from Google HQ!

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 10:59 AM PDT

YouTube Blog: The DigiTour: Live from Google HQ!

You've subscribed to them by the millions, commented thousands of times on their videos, and "liked" them over and over - and now you can see them live, in a city near you. The stars of the YouTube music world are hitting the road for The DigiTour, presented by YouTube. It's the most comprehensive concert series yet featuring exclusively the stars of the YouTube music world - performers with one billion combined views and more than six million subscriptions.



The DigiTour will run for six weeks across 27 cities in North America, bringing together talented artists who got their big break on YouTube. Artists like Dave Days, The Gregory Brothers, David Choi, DeStorm, MysteryGuitarMan and Ricky Ficarelli will bring their unique sounds and high energy acts to the big stage - and you might also get to discover some new YouTube acts. To give you a taste of what's to come, the nationwide tour will be previewed with a special live-streamed concert from Google HQ on Friday, April 8, from 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. PT. Tune in to www.youtube.com/youtube to watch the event.



After their first official stop in LA, the tour will hit Phoenix, Oakland, Houston, Dallas, Charlotte, Atlanta, Orlando, Miami, Washington D.C, New York City, Detroit, Chicago and many other cities. Tickets are on sale now at www.thedigitour.com.



Here's a taste of what to expect:





If you're a YouTube Partner in any of the concert cities, stay tuned for more information on YouTube's new Creator Clubs initiative that we're starting to roll out across the country. To make it easier for YouTube Partners to stay in touch and collaborate, we're helping Partners to organize their own Creator Clubs events to share information and ideas, and the club will kick off in each of these towns as The DigiTour visits. We hope some of our newer Partners will be inspired by seeing their YouTube heroes on the big stage.



For more information on The DigiTour lineup, updates and ticket information, visit www.thedigitour.com or follow them on Twitter here. Buy your ticket today!



Margaret Healy, Strategic Partner Manager, recently watched "The DigiTour Announcement!!!"


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/jn0ZKBXWeOg/digitour-live-from-google-hq.html

[G] Dynamic Views, the Chrome Extension

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 08:05 AM PDT

Blogger Buzz: Dynamic Views, the Chrome Extension


Posted by Mike Lawther, Chrome Engineer

Last week we announced five exciting new ways to view your blog content, which take advantage of the latest web technologies to provide a richer experience for your readers. You can already see these views in action by appending /view to the end of any Blogger URL, but today we're happy to announce another way to experience these views via the Blogger Dynamic Views Chrome extension.


Once installed, the extension will automatically detect when you are viewing a Blogger blog, and then display a Blogger icon (the orange 'B'!) in your address bar which lets you select and view the blog in one of the five new dynamic views. It's that simple.


Of course, you can always disable the extension whenever you want from the Extensions section of the Tools menu. Try it out today, and please feel free to leave a rating or review on the extension page.
URL: http://buzz.blogger.com/2011/04/dynamic-views-chrome-extension.html
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