Saturday, August 20, 2011

Googland

Googland

[G] Latest Display Benchmarks Now Available

Posted: 20 Aug 2011 02:22 AM PDT

DoubleClick Publisher Blog: Latest Display Benchmarks Now Available

(Originally posted on the DoubleClick Advertiser blog)

Our display benchmarks have met with much enthusiasm since we first started publishing the data in 2009 and we're pleased to introduce a dedicated space for display benchmarks data on the Watch This Space website. The first set of metrics you'll see available are the latest display benchmarks which cover the breadth of data from CTR metrics to engagement metrics for rich media ads such as interaction and expansion rate, video complete rates and average interaction times -- all across a broad range of ad sizes, creative types and industry verticals.

Some interesting observations from these latest benchmarks:

  • Use of rich media ad formats have doubled. We saw a two-fold increase in the proportion of impressions going to Rich Media ads. In 2010, simple flash ads accounted for 54% of all global formats served via the DoubleClick for Advertisers platform, down from 74% in 2009. Image ads, in comparison, experienced an uptick with 28% of formats served in 2010 up from 17% in 2009. That leaves rich media ad formats growing to 18% of all the impressions served in 2010 up from 9% globally in 2009.
  • Response and engagement rates have been holding steady since 2009. In the past two years, the overall click-through rate has remained steady at around 0.09%.


  • Interaction rates trended slightly lower when comparing Q4 2010 to Q4 2009 but in general this measure of engagement has remained relatively steady over the course of 2010 after coming down from its peak in early 2009. (Note: Due to a change in the DFA methodology for interaction rates back in April 2008, we only reflect benchmarking data for interaction rates from then onward.)
  • Expansion rates have fallen considerably since early 2009 but now we are seeing rates leveling off with a slight uptick towards the end of 2010.
  • Video completion rates on rich media ads have generally remained consistent except for a several month peak towards the later half of 2008.


  • Larger ad sizes tend to generate greater response. Size does matter apparently. As we have seen in years past, bigger ads perform better. We observed this with the latest set of metrics in which the half-page ad unit (300x600) which had the highest CTR, interaction rate (for both in-page and expandable formats) and expansion rates of all the available creative sizes we tracked for the benchmarks.
  • Although the U.S. had one of the lowest expansion rates, this market showed the highest expansion time. So Americans seem to expand ads less but when they do spend more time engaging with the ads themselves.
  • In terms of industry verticals, auto advertisers performed the best in terms of CTR(0.13% for flash ads) but conversely had the lowest interaction (1.9%) and expansion rates (0.2%). For interaction rate, telecom (9.4%) and B2B (9.2%) advertisers were the highest while B2B stood out in terms of expansion rate (7.5%) benchmarks.

A couple of notes about this latest set of online advertising benchmarks. The data for these benchmarks are derived from a robust data set across DoubleClick for Advertisers, based on rigorous methodology with input from the Advertising Research Foundation. The charts cover global benchmark figures for the entirety of 2010 by ad format, ad size and industry vertical. The benchmarks are normalized across hundreds of advertisers, thousands of campaigns, and tens of billions of ad impressions.

For additional insights and access to the full set of available benchmarks, visit the benchmarks section on the Watch This Space website. More in-depth benchmarks by industry are available exclusively to DoubleClick clients so contact your account manager to discuss further.

Posted by Pamela Eng, Product Marketing Manager
URL: http://doubleclickpublishers.blogspot.com/2011/08/latest-display-benchmarks-now-available.html

[G] Highlights from this week's Google CPG Industry Newsletter - 8/19 Edition

Posted: 20 Aug 2011 02:22 AM PDT

Official Google CPG Blog: Highlights from this week's Google CPG Industry Newsletter - 8/19 Edition

WHAT'S HOT

1. Patrick Pichette (Google CFO) in McKinsey Quarterly: Check out McKinsey's wonderful interview with our laid-back Canadian CFO.



2. Google to acquire Motorola Mobility: Since its launch in November 2007, Android has not only dramatically increased consumer choice but also improved the entire mobile experience for users. Today, more than 150 million Android devices have been activated worldwide—with over 550,000 devices now lit up every day—through a network of about 39 manufacturers and 231 carriers in 123 countries. Given Android's phenomenal success, we are always looking for new ways to supercharge the Android ecosystem. That is why I am so excited today to announce that we have agreed to acquire Motorola.



3. Games now in Google+: My family has a games closet. Inside you'll find a few decks of cards, two decades' worth of board games and a Twister mat for those times when we're feeling limber. Playing games is a great way for us to spend quality time with each other (and a little healthy competition never hurt anyone either). Today we're adding games to Google+. With the Google+ project, we want to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to the web. But sharing is about more than just conversations. The experiences we have together are just as important to our relationships. We want to make playing games online just as fun, and just as meaningful, as playing in real life.

______________________________________________________________________________

GOOGLE NEWS

Google+ Ads Would Perform Well

An eye-tracking study conducted by EyeTrackShop suggests that if Google+ offered brands an option to place ads on the social network, site visitors would spend at least as much time gazing at them as they would with ads on Facebook.

YouTube Starts to Look Like a TV Network

Lollapalooza livestream just the latest step (AdWeek)

URL: http://google-cpg.blogspot.com/2011/08/whats-hot-1.html

[G] Google Maps now available on 40+ new country domains

Posted: 19 Aug 2011 08:27 PM PDT

Google LatLong: Google Maps now available on 40+ new country domains


Here at Google our goal is to make all the world's information accessible and useful; providing relevant local data to each country has been the heart of what motivates us on the Google Maps team.



Back in 2005 we started with one domain, .com, and now almost six years later we are happy to announce today that we are adding more than 40 new domains on Google Maps. In total we have more than 130 countries with their customized maps domains and we support 60+ user interface languages.



A Maps domain is a customized entry point to our maps, tailored for a particular country, which makes searches for places and localities in the country more efficient. For example when someone in Argentina searches for "Córdoba" we know that he probably meant the one in Argentina and not the other Córdoba in Spain.



This means that whether you are in Sri Lanka, Venezuela or Cameroon you will have now a unique domain to get directions, local information and find new favorite places.



We've highlighted in the map below where we have added new domains:



New country domains are in dark green


Posted by Jarda Bengl, Business Product Manager
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2011/08/google-maps-now-available-on-40-new.html

[G] An accessibility survey for blind users

Posted: 19 Aug 2011 08:27 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: An accessibility survey for blind users

These days, we rely on the Internet to keep us informed and in touch, yet our experience of the web is filtered through the tools we use to access it. The devices and technologies we choose, and our decisions about when we upgrade those tools, can affect how we interact with the web and with whom we are able to communicate.



In July, I attended the annual conference held by the American Council of the Blind (ACB). I was struck by something I heard from people there: their experience using the web was very different from mine not because they were blind, but because the technology and web tools available to them were unlike the ones available to me, as a sighted person. While the Internet provides many benefits to modern society, it has also created a unique set of challenges for blind and low-vision users who rely on assistive technologies to use the web. We're committed to making Google's products more accessible, and we believe the best way to understand the accessibility needs of our users is to listen to them.



This week, we're announcing a survey that will help us better understand computer usage and assistive technology patterns in the blind community. Over the past three months, we've worked closely with the ACB to develop a survey that would give us a greater understanding of how people choose and learn about the assistive technologies they use. This survey will help us design products and tools that interact more effectively with assistive technologies currently available to the blind community, as well as improve our ability to educate users about new features in our own assistive technologies, such as ChromeVox and TalkBack.



The survey will be available through mid-September on the ACB's website and by phone. We encourage anyone with a visual impairment who relies on assistive technologies to participate; your input will help us offer products that can better suit your needs. For details, visit www.acb.org/googlesurvey.



Posted by Naomi Black, Accessibility Engineering Team
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/accessibility-survey-for-blind-users.html

[G] Four Years of Web Malware

Posted: 19 Aug 2011 08:27 PM PDT

Google Online Security Blog: Four Years of Web Malware

Posted by Lucas Ballard and Niels Provos, Google Security Team



Google's Safe Browsing initiative has been protecting users from web pages that install malware for over five years now. Each day we show around 3 million malware warnings to over four hundred million users whose browsers implement the Safe Browsing API. Like other service providers, we are engaged in an arms race with malware distributors. Over time, we have adapted our original system to incorporate new detection algorithms that allow us to keep pace. We recently completed an analysis of four years of data that explores the evasive techniques that malware distributors employ. We compiled the results in a technical report, entitled "Trends in Circumventing Web-Malware Detection."



Below are a few of the research highlights, but we recommend reviewing the full report for details on our methodology and measurements. The analysis covers approximately 160 million web pages hosted on approximately 8 million sites.



Social Engineering

Social engineering is a malware distribution mechanism that relies on tricking a user into installing malware. Typically, the malware is disguised as an anti-virus product or browser plugin. Social engineering has increased in frequency significantly and is still rising. However, it's important to keep this growth in perspective — sites that rely on social engineering comprise only 2% of all sites that distribute malware.



Number of sites distributing Social Engineering Malware and Exploits over time


Drive-by Download Exploit Trends

Far more common than social engineering, malicious pages install malware after exploiting a vulnerability in the browser or a plugin. This type of infection is often called a drive-by download. Our analysis of which vulnerabilities are actively being exploited over time shows that adversaries quickly switch to new and more reliable exploits to help avoid detection. The graph below shows the ratio of exploits targeting a vulnerability in one CVE to all exploits over time. Most vulnerabilities are exploited only for a short period of time until new vulnerabilities become available. A prominent exception is the MDAC vulnerability which is present in most exploit kits.



Prevalence of exploits targeting specific CVEs over time


Increase in IP Cloaking

Malware distributors are increasingly relying upon 'cloaking' as a technique to evade detection. The concept behind cloaking is simple: serve benign content to detection systems, but serve malicious content to normal web page visitors. Over the years, we have seen more malicious sites engaging in IP cloaking. To bypass the cloaking defense, we run our scanners in different ways to mimic regular user traffic.



Number of sites practicing IP Cloaking over time


New Detection Capabilities

Our report analyzed four years of data to uncover trends in malware distribution on the web, and it demonstrates the ongoing tension between malware distributors and malware detectors. To help protect Internet users, even those who don't use Google, we have updated the Safe Browsing infrastructure over the years to incorporate many state-of-the-art malware detection technologies. We hope the findings outlined in this report will help other researchers in this area and raise awareness of some of the current challenges.
URL: http://googleonlinesecurity.blogspot.com/2011/08/four-years-of-web-malware.html

[G] More power to Google Apps administrators

Posted: 19 Aug 2011 08:27 PM PDT

Official Google Enterprise Blog: More power to Google Apps administrators

Posted by Muzammil Esmail, Product Manager, Google Apps

In our continuous drive to make it easier for Google Apps administrators to create, manage and secure their users and data, we've introduced a number of features over time in the Google Apps for Business administrative control panel, such as the delegated administration, multi-domain support and fine-grained user policy management, just to name a few. These features have been well-received by the administrator community and we've seen healthy adoption among Google Apps for Business customers where these capabilities are helpful.

Starting today, millions of organizations using our free Google Apps service can begin taking advantage of these capabilities and many more as well. Now all Google Apps administrators can use advanced control panel features to manage users and customize the security policies for their organizations, regardless of which version of Google Apps they're using.

If your company uses our free Google Apps service and requires additional business-critical features such as 24x7 support, 25GB mailboxes, enhanced functionality like email routing, or advanced reporting or migration tools, you can try a 30-day upgrade to Google Apps for Business for free.
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2011/08/more-power-to-google-apps.html

[G] North Carolina A&T State University goes Google

Posted: 19 Aug 2011 08:27 PM PDT

Official Google Enterprise Blog: North Carolina A&T State University goes Google

Posted by Wayne Kimball, Jr., Google HR Associate, NC A&T Class of 2011



Today's Official Google Blog post highlights the vital role that Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) continue to play in the development of the African-American community, and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to ensuring these schools have the tools and resources they need to continue to blaze new trails and empower their students. As a recent grad from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T), I found the relationship between Google and HBCUs to be especially meaningful.



As with all schools, Google provides HBCUs with free and powerful tools for teaching and learning that help students, staff and faculty be more efficient, productive and collaborative on campus. At last week's HBCU Summit, it was exciting to see nine more HBCUs join the Google Apps for Education family—in addition to the other 13 HBCUs that are already using Apps on campus—including my own alma mater.



As last year's president of the Student Government Association of NC A&T, I remember countless conversations with students about how they wanted to see a better email system. The students wanted more up-to-date and user-friendly features to help them work and communicate better with fellow students and faculty. When I sat with campus administrators to present the idea of upgrading to Google Apps for Education, I never realized how simple the task could actually be.



I'm proud to see my alma mater on the cutting edge of innovation as they move to Google Apps for Education. Making the switch to Google Apps will give the A&T community the convenience and mobility that it desires. Barbara Ellis, Vice Chancellor of Information Technology says, "At NC A&T, we are always looking for opportunities to enhance services to our students. Google Apps for Education brings our email implementation into the forefront and allows us to embrace a technology platform that is relevant to our student population. Our relationship with Google is one that we can continue to build on."



I am elated to be a part of a company that gives back to universities like my alma mater, and I'm honored to be a graduate of an HBCU gone Google. I know firsthand that everyone at North Carolina A&T State University—the faculty, staff, administration, student body and alumni—welcomes progress, change and innovation. Today, we proudly welcome Google!


The NC A&T team with Googlers at the HBCU Summit



URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2011/08/north-carolina-state-university-goes.html

[G] Better control in Google Sites with page-level permissions

Posted: 19 Aug 2011 08:27 PM PDT

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Better control in Google Sites with page-level permissions

Posted by Eric Zhang, Software Engineer



(Cross-posted from the Google Docs Blog.)



Today we're introducing page-level permissions, a new feature that will allow you to control who can view and edit your Google Site on a page by page basis.



Using page-level permissions, you can make some pages private for certain users while keeping other pages public for everyone to see. For instance, let's say you have a Google Site that you've shared with your team and your manager. You can allow your team to see one set of pages, let your manager edit another set of pages, and keep yet another set of pages private for only you.



Only site owners have the ability to enable this feature, which is turned off by default for new and existing sites. To turn on page-level permissions, go to More Actions > Sharing and Permissions.





From there, click Enable page-level permissions. Then, in the dialog box, click Turn on page-level permissions.





Once page-level permissions is enabled, you'll have three options to choose from:

  • allow a page to inherit all of your site-level permissions
  • elect to include future site-level changes to a page
  • prevent a page from inheriting any future changes made at the site-level




Using page-level permissions should give you greater control over who can edit and access your Google site. To learn more about setting page-level permissions, take a look at our getting started guide. Let us know what you think in our support forums.
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2011/08/better-control-in-google-sites-with.html

[G] My BOLDest summer yet: A recap from the frontlines of a Google internship

Posted: 19 Aug 2011 08:27 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: My BOLDest summer yet: A recap from the frontlines of a Google internship

Lie down and remember that dream you had about something that seemed impossible—now imagine waking up and looking around to realize you were never sleeping. From strawberry funnel cakes to five-story cruise ships and hangouts with Larry Page, my summer of Building Opportunities in Leadership and Development (BOLD)—a Google summer internship program—never looked, tasted or sailed so well. Every day this summer I've jumped out of bed and into my real-life dream, working on products that I believe will change the world and contributing to a melting pot of proactive teamwork.

BOLD, one of Google's student and diversity initiatives, brought 100+ undergraduates from all over the U.S. to Google in 2011. The program began in 2008 as a way to expose historically underrepresented students to the technology field. Whether it be sharing tofu with co-founder Sergey Brin or rubbing elbows with some of the world's brightest minds at the Google Science Fair, Google interns worldwide have collected a plethora of unforgettable moments.

Being an intern here is much more than making coffee and photocopies. As one of Google's largest sources of full-time hires, internship programs contribute to the company's diversity, culture and future. Sure, I've made a few coffees during my internship—caramel mocha cappuccinos to be exact, from the espresso machine in the microkitchen. But my summer at the Googleplex was a packed, 11-week adventure within the Global Communications & Public Affairs apps and enterprise team. My projects ranged from working with my manager on the Google+ Project launch to staffing press at the inaugural Google Science Fair. Other BOLDers worked on major products like Android and YouTube, and even launched newbies, like Games in Google+. We attended weekly workshops, talks about technology and skill-building seminars led by company leaders like director of online sales and operations Stacy Brown-Philpot and chief legal officer David Drummond.

I was even able to scratch my creative itch for event coordinating and community service. On my second day at Google, I painted hallways alongside my team for a community GoogleServe project at middle school in San Francisco. Soon after, I coordinated a weekly intern discussion series with a few amazing mentors from the Black Googlers Network.

To share a few other perspectives beyond my own, I caught up with Brandon Jackson and Eoin Hayes from the BOLD and Online Media Associate Program (OMAP) bunch. I asked them to share a few of their experiences this summer:

  • Brandon, a two-time BOLD participant and rising senior at Stanford, worked with the technology human relations team, focusing on transitioning new Googlers to the company. He told me: "BOLD represents family. The program coordinators find some of the brightest, most intellectually curious and warm hearted students in the world. Coupled with inspiring mentors and an incredible university programs team, BOLD is a community that never stops looking out for each other."
  • Eoin, a master's student at London Business School who worked with the OMAP AdSense team in Dublin, said he not only gained deep product knowledge during his internship, but also leadership and management skills. A highlight was his visit to Google's headquarters with four other international interns.

Eoin with other European and U.S. interns at a Googleplex TGIF

Although my internship officially ends today, my professional development is just beginning. I have a new perspective on life and career options after college, like having had a refreshing sip of "Googlemonade" in the Sahara of post-college stress. As a senior this year, I'll be serving as UC Merced's first Google Student Ambassador and I can't wait to connect my college to all of Google's collaborative learning resources and leadership opportunities.

Me (with the purple pants) & fellow BOLDers on the 80s-themed intern boat cruise around the San Francisco Bay

This summer was an unforgettable cruise and I will never forget those who set sail with me. If you're interested in student opportunities at Google, visit the Student blog.

Posted by Shavone Charles, BOLD intern
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/my-boldest-summer-yet-recap-from.html

[G] This week's Trends: extreme sports, waterspouts, rare snow

Posted: 19 Aug 2011 08:27 PM PDT

YouTube Blog: This week's Trends: extreme sports, waterspouts, rare snow

Each weekday, we at YouTube Trends take a look at the most interesting videos and cultural phenomena on YouTube as they develop. We want take a moment to highlight some of what we've come across this week:







Check back every day for the latest about what's trending on YouTube at: www.YouTube.com/Trends



Kevin Allocca, YouTube Trends Manager, recently watched "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Blu-ray Rant."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/eI82GQdgNAY/this-weeks-trends-extreme-sports.html

[G] The Google Docs team beats the heat at our summer picnic

Posted: 19 Aug 2011 08:27 PM PDT

Docs Blog: The Google Docs team beats the heat at our summer picnic

Hello from the Google Docs team! It's been a hot summer in many parts of the United States, so our New York based team escaped to Governor's Island for a refreshing afternoon of team bonding.





Wishing all of you a happy (and collaborative!) month of August -- wherever you are.



Posted by: Teresa Wu, Community Manager
URL: http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2011/08/google-docs-team-beats-heat-at-our.html

[G] (More) Historically Black Colleges and Universities go Google

Posted: 19 Aug 2011 08:50 AM PDT

Official Google Blog: (More) Historically Black Colleges and Universities go Google

Across the United States, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) provide educational homes for hundreds of thousands of African-American students. Small and community-focused, usually with fewer than 5,000 students, privately or publicly funded, and far-reaching in curriculum and tradition, these communities share a proud history of addressing educational equality and preparing many of the nation's minority students for whatever life opportunities they seek.

Last week, at our annual HBCU Faculty Summit in our New York City office, we had the chance to host more than 50 professors and administrators from 16 HBCUs across the country. The 2011 summit had three themes: infrastructure, curriculum and partnership. We were pleased to lead thoughtful conversations around these themes and discuss the benefits Google Apps can bring to a campus. The summit also provided a unique opportunity for representatives from different HBCUs to come together and learn from one another. Click here to view photos from the Faculty Summit.

On the first day of the summit, nine HBCUs announced their decision to switch to Google Apps for Education. These schools included:
These schools joined another 13 HBCUs already using Google Apps, meaning that more than 100,000 HBCU students and faculty will have access to Google's collaboration tools in the 2011-2012 school year.

Like all universities, HBCUs rely on technology like Apps to facilitate communication, collaboration and connectedness among their students, staff and alumni. To learn more about HBCUs turning to Google Apps to transform campus technology while cutting costs, read this white paper and today's Enterprise Blog post about North Carolina A&T going Google. If you're an administrator or ambassador at an HBCU and would like to go Google, visit the Google Apps for Education website and click on "Get Apps today."

Posted by LaFawn Bailey, Global Diversity & Inclusion Specialist
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/more-historically-black-colleges-and.html

[G] Rain or shine, see the weather in Google Maps

Posted: 19 Aug 2011 08:50 AM PDT

Google LatLong: Rain or shine, see the weather in Google Maps


Whether you're organizing a trip overseas or a picnic at a local park, knowing the weather forecast is a crucial part of the planning process. Today, we're adding a weather layer on Google Maps that displays current temps and conditions around the globe, and will hopefully make travel and activity planning easier.





To add the weather layer, hover over the widget in the upper right corner of Google Maps and select the weather layer from the list of options. When zoomed out, you'll see a map with current weather conditions from weather.com for various locations, with icons to denote sun, clouds, rain and so on. You can also see cloud coverage, thanks to our partners at the U.S. Naval Research Lab. And, if you look closely, you can also tell if it's day or night around the world by sun and moon icons.



Enabling the weather layer also gives you an instant weather report for friends and family living around the world. For example, it looks like my family in London isn't experiencing the best summer weather right now:



Weather near London, UK


Clicking on the weather icon for a particular city will open an info window with detailed data like current humidity and wind conditions, as well as a forecast for the next four days. Below is the upcoming forecast for my location in wintertime Sydney, which seems to have the similar weather as London!



Weather near Sydney, Australia in satellite view


Changing the units of wind speed (Mph/KMph) and temperature (F/C), and enabling or disabling the clouds (when you're zoomed out), can also be done from the left-hand panel.



Weather left hand panel


Get started now and check out the weather layer here.



Update 8/18/11 at 3:30pm: We've updated the post to clarify that while the cloud data for this layer comes from U.S. Naval Research Lab, the weather data is from our partner weather.com.



Posted by Jonah Jones, User Experience Designer
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2011/08/rain-or-shine-see-weather-in-google.html

[G] Get your boat shoes, because America’s Cup is live streaming on YouTube

Posted: 19 Aug 2011 08:50 AM PDT

YouTube Blog: Get your boat shoes, because America's Cup is live streaming on YouTube

Through its 160 years of competition, the America's Cup has helped develop the sport of Cup racing and even brought attention to taking better care of our oceans.



Now, you'll have an opportunity to experience the sport in a whole new way as this year's America's Cup World Series is being live streamed on YouTube at the America's Cup channel. With on board cameras and microphones in HD quality, you can see and hear the crews live as they attempt difficult maneuvers and battle for nautical supremacy.







If you miss any of the live action, you can also see recorded footage of the day's action on the America's Cup YouTube channel.



We invite you to get on board and see sailing in a way you've never seen it before, on the wide open seas of YouTube.



Seth Frank, YouTube Strategic Partner Development Manager, recently watched "Flying on the Water"


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/WSlJl6AEqyo/get-your-boat-shoes-because-americas.html

[G] Rain or shine, see the weather in Google Maps

Posted: 19 Aug 2011 08:50 AM PDT

Official Google Blog: Rain or shine, see the weather in Google Maps

(Cross-posted on the LatLong blog)

Whether you're organizing a trip overseas or a picnic at a local park, knowing the weather forecast is a crucial part of the planning process. Today, we're adding a weather layer on Google Maps that displays current temps and conditions around the globe, and will hopefully make travel and activity planning easier.



To add the weather layer, hover over the widget in the upper right corner of Google Maps and select the weather layer from the list of options. When zoomed out, you'll see a map with current weather conditions from weather.com for various locations, with icons to denote sun, clouds, rain and so on. You can also see cloud coverage, thanks to our partners at the U.S. Naval Research Lab. And, if you look closely, you can also tell if it's day or night around the world by sun and moon icons.

Enabling the weather layer also gives you an instant weather report for friends and family living around the world. For example, it looks like my family in London isn't experiencing the best summer weather right now:

Weather near London, UK

Clicking on the weather icon for a particular city will open an info window with detailed data like current humidity and wind conditions, as well as a forecast for the next four days. Below is the upcoming forecast for my location in wintertime Sydney, which seems to have the similar weather as London!

Weather near Sydney, Australia in satellite view

Changing the units of wind speed (Mph/KMph/Mps) and temperature (F/C), and enabling or disabling the clouds (when you're zoomed out), can also be done from the left-hand panel.

Weather left hand panel

Get started now and check out the weather layer here.

Posted by Jonah Jones, User Experience Designer
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/rain-or-shine-see-weather-in-google.html

[G] Introducing Learn with Google

Posted: 19 Aug 2011 08:50 AM PDT

Inside AdWords: Introducing Learn with Google

(Cross posted on the Google Small Business Blog)


School is back in session and here at Google, we've been looking for ways to help you learn how to grow your business online. Many of you have been looking for one central place to go to get smart about online tools and strategies, and we hear you. That's why we're pleased to introduce Learn with Google, a new educational site designed to be a one-stop shop for businesses to learn about Google products and services like AdWords, Google Apps, Places, Analytics, and more. Whether you're looking to grow your business or just be more productive, we hope that this collection of short videos, handouts, and resources will arm you with best practices and tips that you can use right away.


(click for full-size image)


On the site, you'll learn about:
  • Starting Your Business Online: Learn why having an online presence is critical for growing your business and how to create an online marketing plan. Discover how local marketing tactics can help you reach customers near you.
  • Marketing Your Business Online: Master the basics of online marketing and AdWords to get more for your money. Learn how to choose the right keywords, write compelling ads, and optimize your advertising spend.
  • Running Your Business Online: Learn how the Google Apps suite of online communications and productivity tools, like Gmail and Google Docs, can make your team more collaborative and your business more efficient.
To get started, check out the videos, worksheets, and checklists at Learn with Google. From there, we'll recommend other tips and how-to's that will help you grow your business online. We'll be adding more content and improving the site over time, so be sure to check back often.


Posted by Barbara Yang, Product Marketing Manager, Small Business Team


URL: http://adwords.blogspot.com/2011/08/introducing-learn-with-google.html

[G] Better control in Google Sites with page-level permissions

Posted: 19 Aug 2011 08:50 AM PDT

Docs Blog: Better control in Google Sites with page-level permissions

Today we're introducing page-level permissions, a new feature that will allow you to control who can view and edit your Google Site on a page by page basis.



Using page-level permissions, you can make some pages private for certain users while keeping other pages public for everyone to see. For instance, let's say you have a Google Site that you've shared with your team and your manager. You can allow your team to see one set of pages, let your manager edit another set of pages, and keep yet another set of pages private for only you.



Only site owners have the ability to enable this feature, which is turned off by default for new and existing sites. To turn on page-level permissions, go to More Actions > Sharing and Permissions.





From there, click Enable page-level permissions. Then, in the dialog box, click Turn on page-level permissions.





Once page-level permissions is enabled, you'll have three options to choose from:

  • allow a page to inherit all of your site-level permissions
  • elect to include future site-level changes to a page
  • prevent a page from inheriting any future changes made at the site-level


Using page-level permissions should give you greater control over who can edit and access your Google site. To learn more about setting page-level permissions, take a look at our getting started guide. Let us know what you think in our support forums.



Posted by: Eric Zhang, Software Engineer
URL: http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2011/08/better-control-in-google-sites-with.html
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