Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Googland

Googland


[G] YouTube Creator Institute is in session — with live streamed guest professors

Posted: 24 May 2011 04:56 PM PDT

YouTube Blog: YouTube Creator Institute is in session — with live streamed guest professors

Three months ago, we launched the YouTube Creator Institute with two institutions to provide aspiring content creators the fundamental skills to be successful on YouTube. The classes for the programs at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and Columbia College Chicago begin this month, and include guest lectures from acclaimed directors, producers, comedians, musicians and industry leaders.

We'd like to share the Creator Institute experience, so we invite you to ask questions for live streamed classes with some of these special guests throughout the summer. Here's a rundown:

May 25: Jon Landau, Academy Award-winning Producer of Avatar and Titanic
Submit a question | Watch Live May 25 @ 7pm PT

May 31: Melissa Rosenberg, Acclaimed Writer and Producer of the Twilight Saga, Dexter and many others
Submit a question | Watch Live May 31 @ 7pm PT

June 1: SuzAnn Brantner, Head of Alternative Distribution and Marketing for Music, Film and Books at William Morris Endeavor
Submit a question | Watch Recorded Lecture from June 1

June 2: MysteryGuitarMan and FreddieW, YouTube Partners with millions of subscribers and views
Submit a question | Watch Live June 2 @ 7pm PT

June 14: McG, Director of Terminator Salvation and Charlie's Angels, and Executive Producer of Supernatural, The OC and many others
Submit a question | Watch Live June 14 @ 7pm PT

July 7: Barely Political, one of YouTube's most subscribed channels and creators of Obama Girl, Key of Awesome and Autotune the News
Submit a question | Watch Live July 7 @ 4pm PT

This program, in addition to YouTube NextUp, are part of the YouTube Next mission to supercharge creator development and accelerate Partner growth and success. Each program has a uniquely-created curriculum, featuring the skills of each university to provide YouTubers with storytelling and production techniques, as well as new media skills to be successful in today's media.

You can visit youtube.com/creatorinstitute for more info around notices and links to guest lectures. Stay tuned for more surprises and more ways to get involved in YouTube creator programs this summer.

Bing Chen, YouTube Creator Institute Lead, recently watched "Never Enough - D-Pryde (Produced By: Scena) (Original)."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/t-sgqwBj-dU/youtube-creator-institute-is-in-session.html

[G] Imagery Update - Week of May 16th

Posted: 24 May 2011 04:46 PM PDT

Google LatLong: Imagery Update - Week of May 16th



The Google Earth and Google Maps Imagery Team has just published its latest batch of satellite and aerial imagery, and as always, there are all kinds of fascinating sites and features to check out.

It's mid-May and summer is just around the corner. That means vacation! And since many of us like to head to the water for our leisure time, we've compiled examples of a few coastal areas that have received updated imagery in our latest release.
In the States, premiere beach vacation spots include the coral-sand beaches that line Miami, Florida. Below is a stretch of the world-famous South Beach within the City of Miami Beach's City Center district. This high-resolution aerial image was taken this past March, during Spring Break.


44th St. Beach, Miami, Florida

If hot, crowded beaches aren't your thing, there are many cooler places (literally) you could spend your leisure time exploring. Below is a high-resolution aerial image from this past April of Bear Glacier in the Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska. In this image, you can see the glacier toe as well as the ice, meltwater, and debris it deposits. This valley outflow glacier is sourced from the Harding Icefield, the largest icefield contained entirely within the United States. If you're viewing this in Google Earth, be sure to use the Historical Imagery time slider to view how the glacier's size has changed over time.



Bear Glacier, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska
Finally, here's a recent satellite image of the entertainment center in the bustling coastal city of Qingdao, in the Shandong Province, China. The city was named China's most livable city in 2009, and from the image below you can understand why; there are many places to enjoy such as beaches, sport complexes, and the beautiful public space, Hui Quan Square. Indeed, a nice place to visit and explore on your next summer vacation - whether it's in-person or online. When viewing this area in Google Earth or Maps, you can also explore other parts of the image, such as the finishing touches being put on the Haiwan Bridge, the world's largest water bridge, spanning 26.4 miles.


Hui Quan Square, Qingdao, China

Do you have a place you love for which you'd like to receive a notification when the Earth and Maps Imagery team updates the site? We've got just the tool: The Follow Your World application!

As always, these are but a few examples of the types of features that can be seen and discovered in our latest batch of published imagery. Happy exploring!

High Resolution Aerial Updates:
USA: Myrtle Beach, Miami, Palm Beach, Lake City, Lynchburg, Lenoir, Dallas, Grand Rapids, Anchorage, Kenai, Tyonek

Countries/Regions receiving High Resolution Satellite Updates:
Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Cape Verde, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, Gambia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guam, Guatemala, Haiti, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jan Mayen, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Lithuania, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Pakistan, Palmyra Atoll, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, St. Helena, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Svalbard, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Bank, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

These updates are now available in both Google Maps and Google Earth. To get a complete picture of where we updated imagery, download this KML for viewing in Google Earth.

Posted by Eric Kolb, Geo Data Strategist
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2011/05/imagery-update-week-of-may-16th.html

[G] Google Maps on your mobile browser

Posted: 24 May 2011 04:46 PM PDT

Google LatLong: Google Maps on your mobile browser

(Cross-posted from the Google Mobile Blog)

With 40% of Google Maps usage on mobile devices, we want you to have a consistent Google Maps experience wherever you use it. So, today we're announcing our updated Google Maps experience for mobile browsers on Android and iOS.

Now, when you visit maps.google.com on your phone or tablet's browser and opt-in to share your location, you can use many of the same Google Maps features you're used to from the desktop. This will allow you to:
  • See your current location
  • Search for what's nearby with suggest and auto complete
  • Have clickable icons of popular businesses and transit stations
  • Get driving, transit, biking, and walking directions
  • Turn on satellite, transit, traffic, biking, and other layers
  • View Place pages with photos, ratings, hours, and more
  • When signed into your Google account, access your starred locations and My Maps
This past weekend, I was at a team off-site at a ropes course and needed to find a good deli spot to grab lunch. I opened Google Maps on my mobile browser and searched to locate a popular deli nearby. A few finger taps later, I had viewed photos and reviews on the deli's Place page and found the quickest way to get there using driving directions- all from my mobile browser.

Google Maps for mobile browsers is platform independent - you will always get a consistent experience and the latest features without needing to install any updates, no matter what phone you use.

To get started exploring Google Maps in your mobile browser, go to http://maps.google.com or any domain where Google Maps is available. Learn more in our help center.

Posted by Alireza Ali, Software Engineer
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2011/05/google-maps-on-your-mobile-browser.html

[G] Hacking for humanity in Silicon Valley and around the globe

Posted: 24 May 2011 09:47 AM PDT

Official Google Blog: Hacking for humanity in Silicon Valley and around the globe

Two years ago representatives from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Hewlett-Packard, NASA and the World Bank came together to form the Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK) program. The idea was simple: technology can and should be used for good. RHoK brings together subject matter experts, volunteer software developers and designers to create open source and technology agnostic software solutions that address challenges facing humanity. On June 4-5, 2011 we'll hold the third Random Hacks of Kindness global event at five U.S. locations and 13 international sites, giving local developer communities the opportunity to collaborate on problems in person.


The RHoK community has already developed some applications focused on crisis response such as I'mOK, a mobile messaging application for disaster response that was used on the ground in Haiti and Chile; and CHASM, a visual tool to map landslide risk currently being piloted by the World Bank in landslide affected areas in the Caribbean. Person Finder, a tool created by Google's crisis response team to help people find friends and loved ones after a natural disaster, was also refined at RHoK events and effectively deployed in Haiti, Chile and Japan.

We're inviting all developers, designers and anyone else who wants to help "hack for humanity," to attend one of the local events on June 4-5. There, you'll meet other open source developers, work with experts in disaster and climate issues and contribute code to exciting projects that make a difference. If you're in Northern California, come join us at the Silicon Valley RHoK event at Google headquarters.

And if you're part of an organization that works in the fields of crisis response or climate change, you can submit a problem definition online, so that developers and volunteers can work on developing technology to address the challenge.

Visit http://www.rhok.org/ for more information and to sign up for your local event, and get set to put your hacking skills to good use.



Posted by Carlos Cuesta, Developer Marketing Team
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/hacking-for-humanity-in-silicon-valley.html

[G] Investing in the Alta Wind Energy Center

Posted: 24 May 2011 09:47 AM PDT

Official Google Blog: Investing in the Alta Wind Energy Center

(Cross-posted from the Google Green Blog)

The Mojave Desert might be best known for its scorching sun and scary sidewinders, but the wind blows hard where the Mojave sands meet the Tehachapi Mountains in southern California, making it a great spot for wind turbines. It's the site of the Alta Wind Energy Center (AWEC), which will generate 1,550 megawatts (MW) of energy when complete, making it one of the largest sites in the country for wind energy generation—enough to power 450,000 homes. Renewable energy developer Terra-Gen Power is constructing the site in several phases and we'll provide $55 million to finance the 102 MW Alta IV project. Citibank, which has underwritten the equity for Alta Projects II-V, is also investing in this project.

We're always looking for projects that are uniquely positioned to transform our energy sector. As part of the new 4,500 MW Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project (TRTP), AWEC uses some of the first transmission lines developed specifically to transport renewable energy from remote, resource-rich areas (like the Mojave) to major population centers.

The Alta Wind Energy Center under construction

The Alta projects also employ an innovative financial structure called a leveraged lease, which has been used previously in the solar industry but has only recently become an option for wind projects. Under the leveraged lease, Google and Citi are purchasing the Alta IV project and will lease it back to Terra-Gen, who will manage and operate the wind projects under long-term agreements. We hope this structure encourages more investment by enabling other types of investors who might not typically consider wind projects.

The first five Alta projects are already operational, delivering 720 MW of energy to Southern California Edison, which will receive all 1,550 MW when completed, under a power purchase agreement signed with Terra-Gen in 2006. While Google won't be purchasing the electricity from this project, AWEC will help California meet its ambitious renewable portfolio standard of 33 percent clean power by 2020. The whole site will boost California's wind generation by 30 percent.

With this deal, we've now invested more than $400 million in the clean energy sector. We hope AWEC's success, with its unique deal structure and renewable energy transmission, encourages more financing and development of renewables that will usher in a new energy future.

Posted by Rick Needham, Director of Green Business Operations
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/investing-in-alta-wind-energy-center.html

[G] Music Tuesday: Under-the-radar artists, music from everyday objects and Making Friendz

Posted: 24 May 2011 07:15 AM PDT

YouTube Blog: Music Tuesday: Under-the-radar artists, music from everyday objects and Making Friendz

While Lady Gaga tears up the charts (and makes her entire album available on YouTube), we're dedicating this week to the under-the-radar artists who pump creative juices into YouTube's veins. We've got a treasure trove of talent, starting with Diego Stocco, the Italian inventor/composer/multi-instrumentalist who can make an instrument out of discarded pianos and a song out of a bonsai tree. Jeff Pianki is a young singer-songwriter who wins hearts the old-fashioned way: with sweet lyrics and catchy melodies. Sanders Bohlke, the folk artist from Mississippi, has videos as easygoing as his music. And finally, Yasuhito Watanabe is a Japanese singer-songwriter brimming with crossover potential. Check them all out on youtube.com/music today.



Music from Everyday Objects
Can you make music out of a blow dryer? A bicycle? A bonsai tree? It turns out that a lot more artists think so than you might expect. Diego Stocco's inventive pursuit of new sources for sound got us curious about who else is corralling everyday objects to make music on YouTube. And what we found is delightful: music made from wine glasses, a bottle opener, an old Soviet camera, a refrigerator door, Game Boys and much more.




Making Friendz "Situtation" video premiere
Making Friendz is Tami Hart, the former folk musician-turned-party girl who claims to be ripping off her buddies No Age, found herself a member of the tranny/dance collective MEN earlier this year, and is now gearing up for a new release on June 21. The first single is a big, noisy party song that's equal parts New Pornographers and Valley Girl-era sass. And it's perfectly matched by a crazy video from the directing team Wildwoodils. It's all gross-out, 1980s Nickolodeon humor -- and very worth your time.



Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched "Unidentified suspects triptych by Isaac Cordel."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/3t1AVRQHefc/music-tuesday-under-radar-artists-music.html

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