Monday, September 26, 2011

Googland

Googland

[G] A sunset for this blog, a sunrise for another

Posted: 26 Sep 2011 03:47 AM PDT

Social Web Blog: A sunset for this blog, a sunrise for another

When we introduced the Social Web Blog in February 2009, we said, "We think the web is better when it's social." That's true more than ever, as we launched the Google+ project in June and continue to add functionality to it.

This blog has been a great way to communicate about social efforts across Google. However, we've decided to limit the number of blogs we maintain in this area. To keep up with Google's efforts to make the web more social, please join us on the new Google+ Platform blog.

By Timothy Jordan, Developer Advocate and Bob Aman, Program Manager
URL: http://googlesocialweb.blogspot.com/2011/09/sunset-for-this-blog-sunrise-for.html

[G] A look at how display drives performance for marketers today

Posted: 26 Sep 2011 03:47 AM PDT

Inside AdWords: A look at how display drives performance for marketers today

(Cross-posted from the AdWords Agency Blog)

Few would argue that online display advertising is playing an increasingly important role in the marketing mix. While we frequently talk about how the vast majority of our top advertisers have run a Google display campaign in the last year while continuing to increase their investment, today we're shining a light on some specific examples.

For each brand we're highlighting today, display was an integral part of their broader marketing strategy. To make it work, they tapped into a robust display advertising toolbox and applied targeting, creative, measurement and optimization solutions that made the most sense for their campaign objective. Let's take a look at the results.

Airbnb increased the number of nights booked from 800,000 to 2 million with help from remarketing on the Google Display Network and TrueView video ads on YouTube. (Read case study)


Groupon acquired millions of subscribers with the help of contextual targeting and auto-optimization on the Google Display Network. (Read case study)


ShoeDazzle got 45% of their conversions from the Google Display Network by applying a variety of targeting and optimization tools. (Read case study)


At the heart of each success lies a common theme: Great display advertising happens when smart strategies are applied in three key areas: Finding the right customer, showing them the perfect ad, and measuring and optimizing effectively.

Find the right customer. Reaching just the right audience is at the crux of any successful campaign. In fact, marketers are saying the biggest driver of increased display budgets is the availability of better targeting technologies. (1) From remarketing strategies that reach 84% of users on a typical list, to interest categories that show interested users your message while respecting user privacy, we're constantly innovating to precisely connect your message with your audience. And just last month, we shared strategies for applying the right targeting mix to extract the most out of direct response campaigns on the GDN.

Show them the perfect ad. You can find the right audience, but what do you tell them? With display, marketers have a wide-open canvas to connect with consumers to drive the results they care about. And an effective ad can come in any format. In fact, many of the brands we're highlighting today used Standard IAB display ad units but with compelling messaging and beautiful creative that really resonated with their audience.

Measure and optimize based on real-time insights. Advertisers have always benefited from transparency into exactly where ads run, their costs, and the right metrics to measure campaign performance, providing actionable insights to optimize their campaigns. Our recent investments in measurement and optimization take this further. Marketers can now see a complete picture of the chain of impressions and clicks that drives campaign performance with Multi-Channel Funnels. And applying Google's 10 years of experience in developing optimization algorithms, we've launched tools like Display Campaign Optimizer, which can be used to do fully automated bidding and targeting to boost conversions and ROI.

So today, while we're celebrating these successes, more than that, there is a valuable insight here. The display toolbox is a rich one. It's the agencies and marketers who tap into that toolbox and apply it in ways that make sense for their campaigns, who will greatly benefit from display as a medium. So.. will your campaign be the next one we shine a light on?

Watch this space.

(1) Effective Audience Targeting Leads To Bigger Display Budgets, eMarketer, May 2011

Posted by Emel Mutlu, Product Marketing Manager, Google Display, Client Communications
URL: http://adwords.blogspot.com/2011/09/look-at-how-display-drives-performance.html

[G] A new New Tab page on the Chrome Beta channel

Posted: 26 Sep 2011 03:47 AM PDT

Google Chrome Blog: A new New Tab page on the Chrome Beta channel

Today, we're excited to share a revamped New Tab page with our Chrome Beta channel users. We've redesigned the page to simplify the visual appearance and make it easier to manage your apps, bookmarks, and most visited sites, so you can get where you're going as quickly as possible.

Your apps, bookmarks, and most visited sites now appear in three different sections on the page. You can flip between these different sections by clicking the section labels at the bottom of the page or the arrows at the side of the page. Chrome will remember the last section you flipped to and return to it when you open a new tab.


Here are a few more tips for using the new New Tab page:
  • To rearrange apps, just drag and drop them on the page.
  • To create a new apps section, drag an app to the bottom of the page until a new apps section appears. You can rename this section by double-clicking the label. For example, you can create a section of apps for "Work" (full of productivity apps) and a section for "Play" (full of games).
  • To remove items from any section on the page, start dragging them to the bottom right of the page. A trash can will appear, where you can drop the item to remove it.
  • To see the tabs you've just closed, click "Recently closed" on the bottom right of the page.
We hope you enjoy the new look and feel of the New Tab page. To browse thousands of new apps and games for the page, visit the Chrome Web Store.

Posted by Evan Stade, Software Engineer
URL: http://chrome.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-new-tab-page-on-chrome-beta-channel.html

[G] Sprinting for Open Source

Posted: 26 Sep 2011 03:47 AM PDT

Google Open Source Blog: Sprinting for Open Source


For 5 days in October the Google Summer of Code Doc Summit, organized together with FLOSS Manuals, will bring together four documentation teams from open source projects, guest speakers, and free documentation 'free agents' to discuss everything and anything concerning the free documentation of free software. The event will feature a two day unconference and a three day Book Sprint. During the Book Sprint each project will produce a Book ready for distribution in print and electronic book formats.

The event is an ambitious project. Not only are unconferences about free software documentation scarce, never before has a Book Sprint been attempted with four projects working simultaneously on their own book. It's going to be an extremely interesting and challenging event.

Free software documentation has often been a very low priority for free software projects. Often the documentation suffers from common flaws including:
  • no documentation existing at all
  • assumptions about the user's knowledge are set too high
  • poor navigation
  • unexplained jargon
  • there is no visual component
  • the documentation is proprietary or 'closed'
  • the format is unreadable
  • no translation workflow
  • operational steps are missing, unexplained, written 'from memory' or state how the software 'should' operate
  • the documentation is out of date, not easily re-usable or not easily modifiable.
The Google Summer of Code Doc Summit will attempt to discuss and address these problematic issues and look towards positive models for documentation production. We hope to shine light on the importance of the free software documentation 'sector' in the ecology of Free software. Free (libre) documentation is not simply an aid for learning how to use free software, it is a road into education and adoption in industry, a tool for demonstrating to clients how free software will meet their needs and expectations, and an important promotional tool for the advancement of free software. A healthy free documentation sector is both socially and economically empowering. We believe Free Documentation of Free Software efforts and ideals should be valued on the same level as free software itself and that is exactly what we plan to do at this Summit.

The Google Summer of Code Doc Summit is more than a think tank and an opportunity to discuss real world issues. Four projects, OpenMRS, KDE, Sahana, and OpenStreetMap, will have a chance to directly strengthen their documentation efforts. We look forward to working together with each of the selected teams and individuals to help them produce their own book by the end of the five day summit.

It's going to be a great event.

By Adam Hyde, FLOSS Manuals
URL: http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2011/09/sprinting-for-open-source.html

[G] Tips for New Bloggers

Posted: 26 Sep 2011 03:47 AM PDT

Blogger Buzz: Tips for New Bloggers

Editor's Note: Rebecca is one of the bloggers we've featured on Blogs of Note. After she was Noted, Rebecca received many new followers and emails asking her about her tips for blogging, so she's graciously written up this blog post for anyone looking for tips on how to get started. 

Hi everyone! I'm Rebecca Brown, a blogger and personal stylist in the Seattle area. When I started my blog nearly 2 years ago, it was to document my attempt to wear a different dress for every day of December (sounds super interesting, right? It proves you can write a blog about anything).

I had no idea that a blog about my clothing choices would grow and become such a fun hobby! And even though I've been blogging for a little while, I still feel like I have so much to learn, which is what keeps blogging interesting! So, while I'm definitely far from being an expert, here are a few things that have worked for me:

1) Find a community of bloggers with similar interests. Do you like to write about video games, fashion, cooking? There are lots of great blogs on those topics already. A quick Google search for "fashion blogs" helped me round out my reading list. I always check out the blog rolls of people whose blogs I enjoy, and I also visit the blogs of folks who comment on my blog. Bottom line: interact with bloggers whose blogs you enjoy. You'll learn so much, I promise. This leads me to my next point...

2) Leave insightful comments on blogs that you enjoy - especially blogs that are in the same niche as you. Instead of just saying, "hey, nice blog, follow me please", call out something specific that you liked about the post. Pure "followback" requests don't really make people want to follow you.

3) Don't underestimate the importance of good pictures on your posts. The basics: Use a tripod or get a friend to photograph you if the pictures are of you. Take pictures outdoors if possible because natural light always makes pictures look better. Use post-processing (I use Picnik) to adjust the exposure, add effects, and crop to keep the focus on what you want. You don't need a fancy camera - I use my cell phone most of the time! I wrote about this in more depth here.

4) Think about quality, rather than quantity of posts. Readers would rather see an insightful (and spell-checked!) post with original content and good pictures 2-4 times a week than hastily-written thoughts on a daily basis. Most avid blog readers follow so many blogs that if you post too often, and especially if your posts aren't high quality, you'll get passed over in favor of the other blogs on their blogroll. Plus, a great, high-quality post can continue to get you traffic for a few days - don't truncate its effectiveness by posting again the very next day.

5) Schedule your posts. I typically have a chunk of time on the weekend where I can plan out and write my 2-4 posts for the week, or at least get a rough draft in place. Blogger allows you to schedule your posts and they will automatically publish at the date/time you specify. I typically set my posts to publish around 2am to capture folks in other time zones.

6) Lastly, don't apologize for not posting more often. A blog is a fun hobby - but once you start feeling beholden to it, it stops being fun! Plus, your readers will likely not notice if you don't post for a week unless you write a post about how sorry you are for not posting!

There are so many great resources out there for bloggers looking to hone their craft. Here are a few of my favorites: - 10 Things About Your Blog That Drive Me Crazy (via B at Beautifully Invisible) - Don't Be A Savage Blogger (Jamillah via Beautifully Invisible): - Build a Better Blog (via Vahni at Grit and Glamour).

I hope these tips are helpful! Blogging has been such a great part of my life - allowing me to express myself, build a community and make lifelong friends. And the great thing about it is that nearly anyone can do it. So have fun with it, don't take yourself too seriously, and you'll be a great blogger in no time!


URL: http://buzz.blogger.com/2011/09/tips-for-new-bloggers.html

[G] Remembering my dad, Jim Henson

Posted: 26 Sep 2011 03:47 AM PDT

Official Google Blog: Remembering my dad, Jim Henson

We're thrilled to share this guest post by Brian Henson about his father—puppeteer, director and producer Jim Henson, best known as the creator of the Muppets. For the next 36 hours, we're honoring Jim's birthday on our homepage with a special doodle created in tandem with The Jim Henson Company. -Ed.

When we were kids, my brother and sisters and I were always allowed to stay up late to watch our father's appearances on The Tonight Show or The Ed Sullivan Show. No matter how late it was or how young we were, my mother would wake us up and trundle us down to the living room television. We'd be giddy—like Christmas. When he came home, he'd head down to the garage where he had a workshop, and repair everything that we broke while he was away—or build a dollhouse for one of my sisters. Jim never stopped making things.

He also loved games—card games, board games, all kinds of games. He was one of those rare parents who was always ready to play again. He loved dogs, particularly goofy ones. And he lived for those moments when everyone laughed so hard they couldn't talk. I often walked onto the Muppet set to find everyone just laughing hysterically.

Although he loved family, his work was almost never about "traditional" families. The Muppets were a family—a very diverse one. One of his life philosophies was that we should love people not for their similarities, but for their differences.

Jim often had a little lesson about the important things in life: How to be a good person. How to believe in yourself and follow your dreams. And above all, how to forgive. If anything was stolen from one of us—like when the car was broken into—he would always say, "Oh well, they probably needed that stuff more than we did."

He loved gadgets and technology. Following his lead, The Jim Henson Company continues to develop cutting-edge technology for animatronics and digital animation, like this cool Google doodle celebrating Jim's 75th birthday. But I think even he would have found it hilarious the way today some people feel that when they've got their smartphone, they no longer need their brain.

Jim was clearly a great visionary. But he also wanted everyone around him fully committed creatively. If you asked him how a movie would turn out, he'd say, "It'll be what this group can make, and if you changed any one of them, it would be a different movie." Every day for him was joyously filled with the surprises of other people's ideas. I often think that if we all lived like that, not only would life be more interesting, we'd all be a lot happier.

Posted by Brian Henson, Chairman of The Jim Henson Company
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/remembering-my-dad-jim-henson.html

[G] Google Apps highlights – 9/23/2011

Posted: 26 Sep 2011 03:47 AM PDT

Official Google Blog: Google Apps highlights – 9/23/2011

This is part of a regular series of Google Apps updates that we post every couple of weeks. Look for the label "Google Apps highlights" and subscribe to the series. - Ed.

It's back-to-school season, and we've made Gmail, Google Docs, Calendar and Sites easier to use and more powerful for students and non-students alike—including some important accessibility improvements to help blind users be productive in our apps.

Multiple sign-in and other new preferences in Gmail for mobile
On Wednesday, we added some helpful new features for people who use Gmail on a mobile browser. You can now sign in to more than one Gmail account at a time, and toggle between them easily from the account switcher menu at the bottom of the mobile inbox. This can be a good time saver if you have multiple accounts or share a mobile device with family members. Gmail for mobile also now enables you to set up mobile-specific email signatures and create vacation responders right from your phone to let people know when you won't be available by email.


Calling credit auto-recharge
Now you can automatically add international calling credits for phone calls in Gmail when your balance gets low. Just visit the "Billing" area of the Google Voice settings page and click "Add credit" to put your account on cruise control.


Allow people to comment but not edit in documents
Sometimes, you might find yourself in situations when you'd like to share a document for feedback, but don't want to make the document's content fully editable. The comment-only level of access launched last week is a nice option for these scenarios. You can let others discuss and add their thoughts to your document—without allowing them to change your work. You can allow document comments from specific individuals or groups, from anyone belonging your organization or from the general public.


Format painter, Fusion Tables, drag & drop images and vertical cell merge
Comment-only access isn't all that we've added to Google Docs over the last few weeks. Other notable improvements include a text format painter in documents, which is a fast way to copy and paste font, size, color and other text styling. Spreadsheets now support vertically merged cells (in addition to horizontal merges). In drawings, you can drag images from your desktop to the drawing canvas, then continue editing your graphic. We also added Fusion Tables as a new document type in the documents list. Fusion Tables are a powerful way to gather, visualize and collaborate on large data sets that might be unwieldy in a typical spreadsheet.

Fusion Table data visualized on an interactive map

Accessibility improvements in Google Calendar, Docs and Sites
We think technology can do a better job getting out of people's way and helping you be more productive with less complexity and fewer frustrations. In this spirit, we've recently made a series of improvements to make our applications more accessible to blind users. We have more work to do, but Google Calendar, Docs and Sites now offer better support for screen readers and improved keyboard shortcuts. We hope these changes make our applications more useful to all users.

Who's gone Google?
Organizations are moving to Google Apps for a diverse set of reasons—including cost savings, streamlined teamwork and better mobile access. We've even started hearing from schools and businesses who have made the switch to reduce their impact on the environment. No two organizations choose Google Apps for the exact same reasons, but in total, the momentum of Google Apps keeps growing.

We recently shared the news that 61 of the top 100 universities ranked by U.S. News and World Report have gone Google. On the business side, there are now more than 4 million companies using Google Apps, and businesses are joining at a rate of over 5,000 per day. In all, there are more than 40 million users that regularly use Google Apps in their organizations.

I hope these product updates and customer stories help you and your organization get even more from Google Apps. For more details and the latest news, check out the Google Apps Blog.

Posted by Jeremy Milo, Google Apps Marketing Manager
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/google-apps-highlights-9232011.html

[G] UFC fights including “Rampage” vs. “Bones” coming to YouTube in the US with paid live stream

Posted: 26 Sep 2011 03:47 AM PDT

YouTube Blog: UFC fights including "Rampage" vs. "Bones" coming to YouTube in the US with paid live stream

Mixed martial arts fans, we've got a new destination for you— the Ultimate Fighting Championship will begin offering paid live streaming of UFC events for viewers in the US on the UFC YouTube channel.

It all begins this Saturday, September 24 at 9p ET/6p PT with the highly anticipated light heavyweight title fight between champion Jon "Bones" Jones and challenger Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. All of the main card fights from UFC 135 will be available live for fans in the US on the UFC YouTube channel for $44.99.



UFC legend Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is searching to regain the title as he faces the youngest champion in UFC history, Jon "Bones" Jones. The co-main event will pit UFC legend Matt Hughes against the fiery Josh Koshcheck. Here's a preview of this can't-miss event:

Seth Frank, Strategic Partner Development Manager, recently watched "UFC 135 Live Broadcast on Youtube - Jon Jones"


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/kTf2JUEzF_8/ufc-fights-including-rampage-vs-bones.html

[G] Gmail and Gmail for mobile go global again, available in Persian

Posted: 26 Sep 2011 03:47 AM PDT

The Google Apps Blog: Gmail and Gmail for mobile go global again, available in Persian

Posted by Ian Hill, Localization Project Manager

At Google, we want to make our products universally accessible and useful, and that means providing them for as many people as possible in the language they speak. The Gmail and Google Localization teams have worked together to bring Gmail to people around the world in 53 languages. Today that number grows to 54, because we're proud to announce that through working with the Persian Initiative Team, we are able to release Persian (Farsi - فارسی), as the newest language available in Gmail. If you or someone you know speaks Persian, they can change the language in Gmail by selecting it on the Gmail settings page, under the language dropdown.


Gmail for mobile is also now available in Persian through your mobile browser.


To read this announcement in Persian, visit the Google Persian blog.
URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GoogleAppsBlog/~3/-it8DNXr8kA/gmail-and-gmail-for-mobile-go-global.html
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)