Friday, May 20, 2011

Googland

Googland

[G] Testimony on location services and mobile privacy

Posted: 20 May 2011 02:18 AM PDT

Google Public Policy Blog: Testimony on location services and mobile privacy

Posted by Alan Davidson, Director of Public Policy, Americas

Mobile location services create enormous social and economic benefits. Many of us are already experiencing those benefits – things as simple as getting real-time traffic maps that aid your commute, or finding the closest gas station on your car's GPS.

But the value of these services extends far beyond commerce and convenience. They can also be lifesavers. Mobile location services can help you find the nearest hospital or police station, or let you know where you can fill a prescription at one in the morning for a sick child. And this is just the start.

We are now working with partners like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to explore how to deliver AMBER alerts about missing children within seconds to all users nearby. And mobile services will soon be able to alert people in the path of a tornado or tsunami, or guide them to an evacuation route in the event of a hurricane.

Mobile services have growing importance for our economy; according to recent market reports, their potential economic impact is staggering. These services are creating jobs in new businesses and increasing jobs in existing businesses.

To succeed in the long run, however, they require consumer trust built on strong privacy and security protections. We are committed to providing that trust.

This morning I testified before the Senate Commerce Committee about how we protect our users' privacy, including those who use mobile location services. You can read my full testimony here.
URL: http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2011/05/testimony-on-location-services-and.html

[G] Google’s 2010 U.S. Economic Impact

Posted: 20 May 2011 02:18 AM PDT

Google Public Policy Blog: Google's 2010 U.S. Economic Impact

Posted by Claire Hughes Johnson, Vice President, Global Online Sales

(Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog.)

This week is National Small Business Week, an opportunity to celebrate the spirit and ingenuity of small businesses like Everblue, a start-up in North Carolina.

Everblue was founded in 2008 by veterans Chris and Jon Boggiano along with fellow entrepreneur Grant McGregor. The brothers' goal was to make the U.S. more energy independent by helping people get certified in sustainable building practices. With old-fashioned hard work and some help from Google AdWords, their business has quadrupled in size. They now have 80 full time employees and instructors, and this year alone they'll train tens of thousands of people—architects, engineers, electricians and others—to build smarter and greener.

Chris and Jon Boggiano, veterans and co-founders of Everblue, a training institute for sustainable building.

Today we're announcing that Google provided $64 billion of economic activity to businesses, website publishers and non-profits in 2010. This is an 18% increase from the economic impact total in 2009. Here's how it works: for every $1 a business spends on Google AdWords, they receive an average of $8 in profit through Google Search and AdWords.

We're proud that Everblue and over one million American businesses use our advertising services to tell consumers about their products and services. Learn more at google.com/economicimpact.
URL: http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2011/05/googles-2010-us-economic-impact.html

[G] Remembering fallen journalists on video

Posted: 20 May 2011 02:18 AM PDT

Google Public Policy Blog: Remembering fallen journalists on video

Posted by Steve Grove, YouTube News and Politics

(Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog.)

We live in a world that feels smaller every day. As we become accustomed to nearly ubiquitous coverage of the news and events unfolding around the world, it's easy to forget the price that is sometimes paid to obtain quality, accurate reporting on important stories—particularly in areas of conflict or in cases of government repression of the media. With this in mind, today, the Newseum in Washington, D.C., Google and YouTube are together launching the Journalists Memorial channel on YouTube to remember the journalists who have died in the last year while reporting news around the world.

Their stories are incredible: heading into a street battle with no weapon other than your camera; talking about politics over the radio, only to be beaten to death with iron bars by a group of thugs on the way to work. The risks and sacrifices that many have made in order to provide us with accurate information is remarkable. On the Journalists Memorial channel you can watch a collection of videos representing these journalists' lives and their work.



This channel will become a digital version of the Newseum's Journalists Memorial, which is re-dedicated annually to honor journalists worldwide who have died during the preceding year. This year, 77 names are being added to the list of the more than 2,000 journalists who have been recognized for their sacrifices since 1837. At today's rededication ceremony, Krishna Bharat, the founder and head of Google News, will be delivering the keynote address, which the Newseum will post to the new YouTube channel later today.

In tribute to those who are being honored at today's ceremony, we would like your help finding videos that profile or represent the work of all journalists who have risked or lost their lives doing the important work they do. We invite you to go to the Journalists Memorial channel and submit videos you think deserve recognition to the Moderator platform on the channel. The Newseum will be featuring additional submissions there.
URL: http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2011/05/remembering-fallen-journalists-on-video.html

[G] Changes and improvements to AIM interoperability

Posted: 19 May 2011 06:44 PM PDT

Official Gmail Blog: Changes and improvements to AIM interoperability

Posted by Matthew Leske, Product Manager

From the beginning, we designed Google Talk using open standards so that you could connect to your friends and family using any chat product, making communication as easy as possible. A few years ago, we announced our partnership with AOL which made it possible for people to chat with AIM users right from inside Gmail. Today, we're happy to report that AOL has now made it possible to chat with AOL contacts across a variety of Google services: not just Gmail, but also iGoogle, Orkut, and Google Talk on Android phones.


If you chat with AIM buddies in Gmail, you'll notice a few changes. First, you'll no longer need an AIM account to connect to your friends using AIM. Instead you'll be able to add your AIM buddies just like you add Gmail contacts to your chat list: using their AOL screennames (for example, username@aol.com). AIM users will now also be able to add Google contacts to their AIM chat clients.


Second, you'll no longer be able to sign into your AIM account from within Gmail chat since you can now add AIM contacts directly. And lastly, if you previously had a lot of AIM contacts and don't want to re-add them to your chat list one by one, AOL has created a tool to import your AIM buddies into your Gmail account. See their blog post for more info.
URL: http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/changes-and-improvements-to-aim.html

[G] Social Search goes global

Posted: 19 May 2011 05:28 PM PDT

Social Web Blog: Social Search goes global

(Cross-posted on the Inside Search Blog)

In 2009 we first introduced Social Search on google.com as an experimental feature designed to help you find more relevant information from your friends and the people you care about. Since then we've been making steady improvements to connect you with more people and more relevant web results. Today, we're bringing Social Search to more users around the globe.

Just like on google.com, social search results in other languages and on other domains are mixed throughout the Google results page based on their relevance. For example, if you're looking for information about low-light photography and your friend Marcin has written a blog post about it, that post may show up higher in your results with a clear annotation and picture of Marcin:

Social search results can rank anywhere on the page, and you'll see who shared the result in the annotation underneath.

Social Search can help you find pages your friends have created, and it can also help you find links your contacts have shared on Twitter and other sites. If someone you're connected to has publicly shared a link, we may show that link in your results with a clear annotation. So, if you're looking for information about modern cooking and your colleague Adam shared a link about Modernist Cuisine, you'll see an annotation and picture of Adam under the result. That way when you see Adam in the office, you'll know he might be a good person to ask about his favorite modern cooking techniques.

Social Search includes links people share on Twitter and other services.

So how does this all work? Social search results are only visible to you and only appear when you choose to log in to your Google Account. If you're signed in, Google makes a best guess about whose public content you may want to see in your results, including people from your Google chat buddy list, your Google Contacts, the people you're following in Google Reader and Buzz, and the networks you've linked from your Google profile or Google Account. For public networks like Twitter, Google finds your friends and sees who they're publicly connected to as well. You can see a complete list of the people included in your social search results in your personal Google Dashboard (this display is private). For an overview of Google Social Search, check out the explanatory video:


Click "cc" to see captions in your language.

Social Search is rolling out globally in 19 languages and should be available in the coming week, with more languages on the way. People around the world will find similar types of social results as people in the U.S., and we plan to introduce the +1 feature as soon as we can. With these changes, we want to help you find the most relevant information from the people who matter to you. To learn more about Social Search, check out our help center.

Posted by Yohann Coppel, Software Engineer
URL: http://googlesocialweb.blogspot.com/2011/05/social-search-goes-global.html

[G] Making financial comparisons easy with Google Advisor

Posted: 19 May 2011 02:58 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: Making financial comparisons easy with Google Advisor

Financial decisions may be some of the most difficult decisions we face—whether it's finding the right credit card or understanding the impact of paying an extra point on a mortgage. And these days, it seems like we have more financial options than ever.

To help solve these problems, we began testing a mortgage comparison tool in 2009 and have added other financial products such as credit cards, CDs, checking, and savings accounts. Today, we're rolling these tools into one place: Google Advisor, a site designed to help you quickly find relevant financial products from many providers and compare them side-by-side. Google Advisor is currently only available in the U.S.



With Google Advisor, you enter information about what you're looking for in a mortgage, credit card, CD, or checking and savings account. We show you a list of the offers that match your criteria, along with rates and contact information. Google Advisor is designed especially to help you make these difficult financial decisions easily, with:
  • Speed: As you change your criteria, the results update instantly. You'll still have a list of all your options in one place, so you can quickly compare different offers.
  • Trust: By setting your own search criteria, you're able to see only those offers and rates that apply to you, which means you can compare applicable offers without even contacting a provider first.
  • Control: You only need to provide the minimum amount of information we need to show you offers that are right for you. You have full control over what you want to share, and which providers you choose to talk to—and you don't have to submit any personal information until you've decided you're ready to move forward.
For more information on how Google works with these financial providers, please visit our Help Center.

If you're looking for a mortgage, a new credit card, or just want to see if your savings account gives you the best interest rate, visit advisor.google.com. We hope Google Advisor helps you easily make the decision that's right for you!

Posted by Simon Arscott, Google Advisor Product Manager
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/making-financial-comparisons-easy-with.html

[G] Launch a mobile business with The Guide to the App Galaxy

Posted: 19 May 2011 02:58 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: Launch a mobile business with The Guide to the App Galaxy

The Guide to the App Galaxy, which we showed off last week at Google I/O, is designed to help mobile app developers—regardless of platform—navigate the complexities of launching an app and building a business on mobile. As you maneuver through the "galaxy" using the arrow keys on your keyboard, you'll get the basics about app promotion, monetization and measurement—with tips from Google as well as successful developers.


There's no exact blueprint for mobile app success and no developer's journey is the same, which is why The Guide to the App Galaxy contains different advice and best practices from developers around the world. Here are some key insights from developers who have successfully built a business on mobile:

Rovio Mobile
Making money on mobile is not black and white—there's actually a lot of color. There are a number of business model options that aren't exclusive to any particular platforms.

Best, Cool & Fun Games
Offering your app for free lowers the barrier for users to download and try your app. The free version of Ant Smasher went viral because players could easily recommend the game to their friends through social media sites and word of mouth.

The Weather Channel
Don't forget to think beyond mobile. If you have a website or even a television channel, you can cross-promote your app with banner advertising or in-show mentions to drive downloads.





If you're a developer who has successfully navigated the App Galaxy and launched your own app, you've probably picked up some tips of your own. Share your insights by creating your own journey and sharing it with your friends. We might even feature your story on The Guide to the App Galaxy.


The Guide to the App Galaxy is currently available in English, Japanese, Korean, French and German. We're continuing to expand the guide to other developers around the world with new languages and new content like case study journeys. For more information about our solutions for mobile app developers, visit www.guidetotheappgalaxy.com/about.

Posted by Lauren Usui, Product Marketing Manager
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/launch-mobile-business-with-guide-to.html

[G] Define, translate and search for words in Google eBooks

Posted: 19 May 2011 02:58 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: Define, translate and search for words in Google eBooks

When bookworms stumble across a word we don't know, we face the classic dilemma of whether to put the book down to look up the word or forge ahead in ignorance to avoid interrupting the reading experience. Well, fret no more, readers, because today you can select words in Google eBooks and look up their definitions, translate them or search for them elsewhere in the book from within the Google eBooks Web Reader—without losing your page or even looking away.

The Web Reader works in all modern browsers and lets you read Google eBooks without having to download them. To select text in a Google eBook within the Web Reader, double-click or highlight it with your mouse and a pop-up menu opens with the following options: Define, Translate, Search Book, Search Google and Search Wikipedia.


Define
Click "Define" and the pop-up now displays a definition of the word via Google Dictionary, without leaving the page you're on in the Google eBook. Click on the audio icon to the left of the word you want defined to hear the definition pronounced aloud. If you decide you do want to leave the page, select "More" to go to the Google Dictionary page for the word, which provides additional information like usage examples and web definitions.


Translate
You can also translate a single word or several sentences of content into dozens of languages, from Afrikaans to Yiddish, by selecting the "Translate" option. As with definitions, you'll see the translated text displayed in the pop-up window.



Search
By selecting one of the search options, you can search for the selected text in other places within the ebook itself or across the entire web.

"Search Book" brings up all the instances in which the selected text appears in the ebook. You can also access the search options by clicking on the magnifying glass icon in the upper right-hand corner of the Web Reader. Click on a search result to jump to that section.

"Search Google" and "Search Wikipedia" open up a new browser tab displaying the search results for that text on Google and Wikipedia, respectively.


Go ahead and give these new features a spin by reading a Google eBook.

Posted by Derek Lei, Software Engineer, Google Books
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/define-translate-and-search-for-words.html

[G] And the 2011 U.S. Doodle 4 Google winner is...

Posted: 19 May 2011 02:58 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: And the 2011 U.S. Doodle 4 Google winner is...

With more than 5 million votes cast, the anticipation has been building in this year's Doodle 4 Google competition. Today, the wait is finally over—seven-year-old Matteo Lopez of South San Francisco, Calif. is the national winner with his imaginative doodle, entitled "Space Life."

Matteo, who attends Monte Verde Elementary School, submitted his design around his dream to "... become an astronaut and explore space life." Matteo's doodle of the Google logo artfully depicts a trip to space, walking on the moon, and even making friends with aliens. Matteo has already soared to great heights, rising to the top of the more than 107,000 submissions sent in from all over the country.


Matteo's use of markers and colored pencils has won him a $15,000 college scholarship, a netbook computer and a $25,000 technology grant for his school. Matteo's doodle will also be featured on the U.S. Google.com homepage tomorrow, May 20, for millions of people to enjoy.

With more doodles than we've ever received before, the crop of designs for this year's theme "What I'd like to do someday..." was incredibly creative across all grade groups. In addition to selecting Matteo, more than 5 million public votes also helped us determine the three national finalists, each of which will receive a $5,000 college scholarship:
  • Grades 4-6: Joseph Eugene Miller, Grade 4, Andersen Elementary School, Wilmington, N.C., for his doodle entitled "My galaxy." Joseph says, "I chose to draw this picture because when I grow up I would like to go to space. At night when I look at the stars they persuade me to go to space and explore the stars, planets and our galaxy."

  • Grades 7-9: Justas Varpucanskis, Grade 7, Mokena Junior High School, Mokena, Ill., for his doodle entitled "The Majestic Sea." Justas says, "What I'd like to do someday is to take part in the conservation of our underwater universe. There is no doubt the last decades were an environmental catastrophe. The underwater world is a haven for many sea creatures, thus being crucial to our existence. We need to preserve our underwater ecosystem."

  • Grades 10-12: Hannah Newsom, Grade 11, Glenwood Homeschool, Fayetteville, Ark., for her doodle entitled "Illustration." Hannah says, "Someday I would like to illustrate storybooks. I want my work to make stories come alive in the imagination with color, and light, and emotion deepening the imagination of the reader, I would want to brighten the world of the viewer and fill it with wonder and delight."
As part of today's announcement at an event in our New York office, all 40 Regional Finalists enjoyed doodle classes with our doodle team and mingled with some of this year's guest judges who helped us select the top doodles. In addition to the fun on their trip to the New York office, all of the top 40 Regional Finalists will have their work publicly displayed at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York through June 16 and at SFMOMA in San Francisco from May 20 through July 19.

Thanks to all of you who voted and helped us select this year's winner. Even more important, thank you to all of the students who submitted entries—it was an especially difficult task to select the winning doodles from among the amazing entries this year. Keep on doodling and we'll see you next year!

Posted by Marissa Mayer, VP, Product Management
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/and-2011-us-doodle-4-google-winner-is.html

[G] Out of this world — Your interview with Space Shuttle Endeavour

Posted: 19 May 2011 02:06 PM PDT

YouTube Blog: Out of this world — Your interview with Space Shuttle Endeavour

This morning, Commander Mark Kelly, Space Shuttle Endeavour and International Space Station astronauts gave their first live interview from STS-134 to you, answering some of the 1,800 questions you asked via Google Moderator on the PBS NewsHour channel.

You asked about visiting Mars by 2030, about the power of space exploration that also benefits everyone back at home and about how astronauts feel on using social media to share their personal stories. Check out the answers and more discussion in the full interview here.



In case you were wondering, yes, the interview included a zero-gravity flip session.



To close with Commander Mark Kelly's words from Monday's launch: "This mission represents the power of teamwork, commitment and exploration. It is in the DNA of our great country to reach for the stars and explore. We must not stop."

Ginny Hunt, Public Sector Program Manager, recently watched "Somersault in Space: Astronauts Try a Zero-Gravity Flip."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/Ru80faYCA3U/out-of-this-world-your-interview-with.html

[G] A new channel to help businesses in Eastern Japan

Posted: 19 May 2011 10:39 AM PDT

YouTube Blog: A new channel to help businesses in Eastern Japan

Cross posted from the Official YouTube Japan Blog

We in the Tokyo office just opened "YouTube Business Support Channel" to assist businesses in areas of Eastern Japan affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami. We wanted to let everyone know that many businesses in Eastern Japan are rebuilding and operating once again.



We worked with seven local newspapers in Eastern and Northeastern Japan to produce short videos introducing small businesses such as hot springs inns and organic rice farmers. In each video, the proprietor appears on camera to talk about recent conditions and show off the premises or a few recommended items that can be purchased. Videos also feature on-screen annotations that link directly to Google Places pages, e-commerce sites, and travel services so that people in Japan can easily buy the shops' goods or reserve rooms at the ryokan spa hotels. The channel currently has almost 70 of these videos, and our partners are planning to shoot more over the coming weeks.

Thanks to the support of companies Studio Alta and Avix, the videos will be broadcast around Tokyo on giant outdoor screens like the famous Shinjuku Alta Vision.

We hope the videos can contribute in some way to the economic recovery of the disaster-stricken areas.

Tai Hasegawa, Product Marketing Manager, Japan, recently watched "Wankosoba (soba noodles in broth eaten repeatedly in small servings) Shop is open for business in Iwate."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/IhlFwHdlOvE/new-channel-to-help-businesses-in.html

[G] Add a virtual tip jar to your blog

Posted: 19 May 2011 08:47 AM PDT

Blogger Buzz: Add a virtual tip jar to your blog

Posted by Peng Ying, Developer Programs Engineer

We know that most of you blog for the sake of sharing your thoughts and opinions, however a little side income is like an unexpected gift. Today we're releasing a new gadget that allows your readers to directly contribute to your blog. The gadget can be added to any part of your page, but we've formatted it to fit best in the sidebar.

Setup is only five simple steps and should only take a few minutes of your time; just follow the steps below:

  1. Sign up for a Google Checkout Merchant account at checkout.google.com/sell
  2. Be sure to enable the HTML API by going to the Settings tab, clicking the integration link and unchecking the "My company will only post digitally signed carts" checkbox. Also, copy the Merchant Id for use in step 5.
  3. Back in Blogger, on the Design | Page Elements tab click "add a gadget" where you wish to place the Support gadget.
  4. Add the "Support My Blog" gadget from the gadget gallery.
  5. Customize your support button settings. The Checkout Merchant Id is the one you copied down in step two. Save and you're done!

Your supporters can now contribute to your blog. Clicking on the support button will direct your supporters to Checkout to complete the transaction. For an example of the support button in action, please visit the following blog:

http://bloggercheckout.blogspot.com/
URL: http://buzz.blogger.com/2011/05/add-virtual-tip-jar-to-your-blog.html
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