Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Googland

Googland

[G] The next stage in our redesign

Posted: 30 Nov 2011 04:52 AM PST

Official Google Blog: The next stage in our redesign

Six months ago we started rolling out a new look and feel for Search, News, Maps, Translate, Gmail and a bunch of other products. Our goal was to create a beautifully simple and intuitive user experience across Google.

We're now ready for the next stage of our redesign—a new Google bar that will enable you to navigate quickly between our services, as well as share the right stuff with the right people easily on Google+.


Instead of the horizontal black bar at the top of the page, you'll now find links to your services in a new drop-down Google menu nested under the Google logo. We'll show you a list of links and you can access additional services by hovering over the "More" link at the bottom of the list. Click on what you want, and you're off.

To find out more about the new Google bar, take a look at this video or read our Help Center article.



Making navigation and sharing super simple for people is a key part of our efforts to transform the overall Google experience, which is why we're very excited about this redesign. Enjoy!

Posted by Eddie Kessler, Technical Lead
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/next-stage-in-our-redesign.html

[G] Google Finance is getting a fresh coat of paint

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 04:55 PM PST

Finance Blog: Google Finance is getting a fresh coat of paint

Posted by Karolina Netolicka, Product Manager and Albert Choi, Consumer Experience Specialist




Over the last few months, you might have noticed that Google products have been getting a new look. And starting today, Google Finance is joining the party! This means that over the next few days, you'll begin to see a new look in Finance that brings you a more consistent and seamless experience with the other Google products you use.









New Google Finance Company page





Our philosophy for the new look and feel has been to bring the most important information to the forefront so you get to the content you want faster. Here's a short list of the current changes that we've made:




  • The stock quote is now more prominent

  • More results is now a large clickable button on the right side of the page

  • The Add to portfolio link has turned into an easy-to-find button next to the company name

  • +1 button to easily share and recommend companies and stocks you're interested in


While the most recent changes focus on the visual design, keep your eyes peeled for improvements to the navigation and functionality of Google Finance in the near future. If you'd like to share your thoughts on the changes, feel free to voice your opinions on our feedback form. We're always striving to improve your online experience, and your suggestions are really helpful in moving our product forward.



Cheers,

The Google Finance Team








Old Google Finance Markets page












New Google Finance Markets page




URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GoogleFinanceBlog/~3/Ewy-Nlab_XI/google-finance-is-getting-fresh-coat-of.html

[G] Music Tuesday: Bon Iver’s album-length film, live music and more

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 04:55 PM PST

YouTube Blog: Music Tuesday: Bon Iver's album-length film, live music and more

After a weekend gorging ourselves on music videos -- from DJ Shadow's awesome collabo with Little Dragon to French gypsy music and Fishbone's return to recording -- we're ready to dive into this week's musical offerings. And, if we do say it ourselves, they're considerable.



Bon Iver's video LP

Justin Vernon released what many critics are calling one of the year's best albums earlier this year. He also called on a squadron of local filmmakers to craft languid, frequently beautiful videos to accompany the deluxe edition of his album. We've got the entire suite of these short films today -- with work from directors including Vernon himself, Isaac Gale, Dan Huiting and others. But beware: these are less traditional music videos than swelling, ambient visual explorations of the music -- and they're awesome. We include a few other examples of music videos from the group of directors at the end of the playlist.







Live on YouTube: November

You can get an exclusive ticket -- and a front row seat -- at any number of intimate music performances, thanks to YouTube. Today we feature on youtube.com/music some of the month's most eye-opening performances from some of the web's best music channels. Who doesn't want Jeff Tweedy crooning to you from NPR's offices? Or maybe you've been hearing about Gotye and wondered what the fuss was about. Either way, get turned onto the best and the brightest today.







Viral...In India?

We often traffic in music videos that have gone viral globally -- but it's not every day that we check out what's popping in India. This studio recording of a (perhaps intentionally) hilarious song has garnered millions of views in just a few days. We leave it to you to figure out why.







Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched "Mona Moua - Ode To Yelawolf."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/mpLWt6qfk0Q/music-tuesday-bon-ivers-album-length.html

[G] Capture the mobile opportunity with DFP Mobile

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 04:55 PM PST

DoubleClick Publisher Blog: Capture the mobile opportunity with DFP Mobile

Mobile devices offer many new and exciting opportunities for businesses. But mobile devices are not simply smaller versions of the desktop - these devices, and the mobile ecosystem as a whole, are unique. In order to succeed in this ecosystem, businesses must build specifically for mobile. Our recent 'GoMo' campaign has helped businesses develop websites that are optimized for mobile.



Similarly, there are mobile-specific challenges for publishers who want to serve ads on smartphones and tablets. There are thousands of different mobile devices running on multiple platforms on the market today, and a lack of technical standards as to how to serve ads across all these different phones and tablets. Publishers need technology that helps them navigate the complexities of the mobile ads marketplace, but that also connects to the rest of their ad operations, so that they can operate as efficiently and cost effectively as possible.



To help our publisher partners solve these challenges, we have rolled out an extended set of mobile features with the new DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) Mobile, designed to complement the core mobile ad serving functionality released this summer.



DFP Mobile gives publishers access to an expanded set of mobile features. This includes extended mobile rich media capabilities, with built-in support for rich HTML5 ads such as video interstitials and templates for you to include your own more complex ad formats in a scalable way. DFP Mobile also offers advanced targeting options, better support for feature phones, and tighter integrations with Google AdSense, AdMob, the DoubleClick Ad Exchange and mobile ad networks.



We've heard from our publisher partners that they want to be able to manage their mobile campaigns using the same tools that they use for the rest of their ad serving, For example, Billy Shipp, Director of Ad Operations at Flixster said "Not having to go to a separate interface to manage inventory, to set up campaigns, to pull reports, to optimize campaigns - having all of that in a single workflow makes it so much easier for ad operations folks to be effective because it gives them that global view of how a campaign is performing. The fact that we can use a single ad server and have all that information available in one place is a big win for us." DFP Mobile is fully integrated with the DFP ad serving platform to help publishers streamline operations, create sales efficiencies, and leverage the power of DFP for their mobile business. 













Publishers will also have more options when working with third parties. DFP Mobile can fetch mobile rich media ads directly from integrated rich media partners, decreasing latency and reducing discrepancies. Leading mobile rich media vendors such as Celtra have already integrated with DFP Mobile to help streamline operations for their partners. "The combination of DFP with Celtra's innovative ad formats and analytics gives our premium publisher and ad network partners more rich media options to maximize mobile revenues and user engagement" said Grant Stratemeyer, VP of Business Development at Celtra.



Plus, later this week, the DoubleClick Ad Exchange will be rolling out the ability for publishers to opt-in mobile web inventory using the newly supported 320x50 banner size. With this functionality, publishers will have a range of options for monetizing their inventory, and can reach new pools of demand, potentially improving their returns.



This DFP Mobile release complements last month's launch of DFP Video, to give publishers a truly unified experience for all screens, formats, and devices. With DFP, we're committed to building best-in-class ad serving products for all channels within a single platform that works seamlessly across desktop, video and mobile.



To learn how you can begin selling across all screens with DFP Mobile, please contact us.




Posted by Marcel Gordon, Product Manager
URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DoubleclickPublisherBlog/~3/Vg91nxPlJds/capture-mobile-opportunity-with-dfp.html

[G] Go indoors with Google Maps 6.0 for Android

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 04:55 PM PST

Official Google Mobile Blog: Go indoors with Google Maps 6.0 for Android

Google Maps for mobile had its sixth birthday earlier this month and we're celebrating by releasing the next generation of Google Maps for Android, which is first to get indoor Google Maps—announced moments ago on the Official Google Blog. We also have two other great additions in this release: a new way to switch between features in the toolbar and a new Places home screen.

Mapping the vast indoors

When you're inside an airport, shopping mall, retail store, or other public space, Google Maps 6.0 for Android brings the freestanding map directory to the palm of your hands -- helping you determine where you are, what floor you're on, and where to go indoors. For example, in this busy travel season, you can use Google Maps 6.0 to help you find your way around airports.


Detailed floor plans automatically appear when you're viewing the map and zoomed-in on a building where indoor map data is available. The familiar "blue dot" icon indicates your location within several meters, and when you move up or down a level in a building with multiple floors, the map will automatically update to display which floor you're on.

See the full announcement for more details or to demo indoor Google Maps, start here.


Mall of America in Minneapolis before and after, with a floor selector


San Francisco International Airport before and after, with 3D tilt

Switching between features gets easier

When you open Google Maps for Android, you can do many things: view your location on the map, discover where to go with Places, get GPS turn-by-turn directions with Navigation, check in to share your location, and more. We wanted to make it easier to hop from one feature to another; so, we've added a drop-down menu to the top toolbar for quick access.

New drop down menu to switch between features

We hope this menu helps you get to your favorite parts of Google Maps faster or shows you some features you haven't tried yet.

Discovering what's great nearby with the new Places home screen

The new Places home screen includes popular searches for your current location, so you can find the best spots in any area you travel.

Redesigned Places home screen with popular searches for your area

To start using Google Maps 6.0 for Android, download the update from Android Market. This update works for Android OS 2.1+ devices everywhere Google Maps is currently available.

Posted by Chikai Ohazama, Product Management Director
URL: http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2011/11/go-indoors-with-google-maps-60-for.html

[G] A new frontier for Google Maps: mapping the indoors

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 04:55 PM PST

Official Google Blog: A new frontier for Google Maps: mapping the indoors

"Where am I?" and "What's around me?" are two questions that cartographers, and Google Maps, strive to answer. With Google Maps' "My Location" feature, which shows your location as a blue dot, you can see where you are on the map to avoid walking the wrong direction on city streets, or to get your bearings if you're hiking an unfamiliar trail. Google Maps also displays additional details, such as places, landmarks and geographical features, to give you context about what's nearby. And now, Google Maps for Android enables you to figure out where you are and see where you might want to go when you're indoors.



When you're inside an airport, shopping mall or retail store, a common way to figure out where you are is to look for a freestanding map directory or ask an employee for help. Starting today, with the release of Google Maps 6.0 for Android, that directory is brought to the palm of your hands, helping you determine where you are, what floor you're on, and where to go indoors.



Detailed floor plans automatically appear when you're viewing the map and zoomed in on a building where indoor map data is available. The familiar "blue dot" icon indicates your location within several meters, and when you move up or down a level in a building with multiple floors, the interface will automatically update to display which floor you're on. All this is achieved by using an approach similar to that of 'My Location' for outdoor spaces, but fine tuned for indoors.


Mall of America in Minneapolis before and after, with a floor selector



San Francisco International Airport before and after, with 3D tilt


We've initially partnered with some of the largest retailers, airports and transit stations in the U.S. and Japan, including:
  • Mall of America, IKEA, The Home Depot, select Macy's and Bloomingdale's, Daimaru, Taskashimaya and Mitsukoshi locations and more. Watch an IKEA demo here.
  • Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Chicago O'Hare (ORD), San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Narita International (NRT), among others.
  • JR and Tokyu Corporation
For a detailed list of participating locations, please visit our help center. And this is just the start--we'll continually add new indoor maps to public buildings across the world. If you're a business owner interested in getting your location's floor plan included in Google Maps, visit maps.google.com/floorplans.

We're thrilled Google Maps continues to provide you with new and helpful perspectives—whether you're rushing through the airport or finding your way around a mall. To visit our website and learn more about indoor Google Maps and other features, start here.

Posted by Brian McClendon, VP of Engineering, Google Earth and Maps

(Cross-posted on the Lat Long Blog)
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-frontier-for-google-maps-mapping.html

[G] Webinar: Reaching Your Goals with Analytics

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 04:55 PM PST

Inside AdWords: Webinar: Reaching Your Goals with Analytics


(Cross-posted from the Google Analytics Blog)

Is your website performing as well as it could be? Do you want to get more out of your digital marketing campaigns, including AdWords and other digital media? Do you feel like you have gaps in your current Google Analytics setup?

We've heard from many of our users who want to go deeper into their Analytics -- with so much data, it can be hard to know where to look first. If you'd like to move beyond standard "pageview" metrics and visitor statistics, then please join us next Thursday:

Webinar: Reaching Your Goals with Analytics
Date: Thursday, December 1
Time: 11am PST / 2pm EST
Sign up here!

During the webinar, we'll cover:

  • Key questions to ask for richer insights from your data
  • How to define "success" (for websites, visitors, or campaigns)
  • How to set up and use Goals
  • How to set up and use Ecommerce (for websites with a shopping cart)
  • How to link AdWords to your Google Analytics account

Whatever your online business model -- shopping, lead-generation, or pure content -- these tools will deliver actionable insights into your buying cycle.

This webinar will be led by Joe Larkin, a technical specialist on the Google Analytics team, and it's designed for intermediate users of Google Analytics. If you're comfortable with the basics, but you'd like to do more with your data, then we hope you'll join us on Thursday!

Posted by Sara Jablon Moked, Google Analytics team
URL: http://adwords.blogspot.com/2011/11/webinar-reaching-your-goals-with.html

[G] Hide morning and night hours in Calendar

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 06:56 AM PST

The Google Apps Blog: Hide morning and night hours in Calendar

Posted by Oleksandr Kyreiev, Software Engineer

How often do you have something scheduled at 3am? What about 10pm? If the answer is almost never, you might want to try out the Hide morning and night lab in Google Calendar.


With a simple drag of a slider you can fold all those empty hours into a single row to set the time range you want to hide. The folded rows still show all your events, just in more compact form.


We're launching this in Calendar Labs (Settings > Labs) to gather feedback on how people end up using this feature. So don't forget to tell us what you think about this latest addition.
URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GoogleAppsBlog/~3/gLkB-lrJXIU/hide-morning-and-night-hours-in.html

[G] More Powerful +1s on Google News

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 06:56 AM PST

Google News Blog: More Powerful +1s on Google News

Posted by Erich Schmidt, Software Engineer

Over the past few months, myriad sites across the web (including Google News) have adopted the +1 button to help start conversations. But there hasn't been an easy way for signed-in users to see what news articles your friends are enjoying -- until now.

Starting today, the Spotlight section will sometimes include articles that your Gmail contacts and people in your Google+ circles have publicly +1'd. You can see their profile pictures and click through to their Google+ profiles, just like on Social Search. And of course you can +1 the stories too, expressing your opinion and optionally sharing with your circles.

Here's what Spotlight looks like with social annotations:



We hope this change helps you find more great articles to enjoy, and gives more power to your +1s.
URL: http://googlenewsblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/more-powerful-1s-on-google-news.html

[G] Visualizing water and energy solutions in a warming world

Posted: 29 Nov 2011 06:55 AM PST

Google LatLong: Visualizing water and energy solutions in a warming world


Editor's Note: Today's guest author is Zachary Hurwitz from International Rivers, an environmental and human rights organization with staff in four continents, who has worked to protect rivers and the rights of communities that depend on them for over 25 years. International Rivers was the recipient of a Google Earth Outreach Developer Grant, funded through the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at the Tides Foundation. We are excited to showcase International River's innovative use of Google Earth and KML tours.

Today, the COP17 climate meeting starts in Durban, South Africa. The climate meeting is themed "saving tomorrow today." One hot topic currently being discussed is the construction of dozens of mega-dams for Africa's major rivers. At International Rivers, we believe that this proposal could place tomorrow's ecosystem sustainability at risk. In order to bring this issue to life, we worked with Friends of the Earth International and Nigerian activist Nnimmo Bassey (winner of the prestigious Right Livelihood Award) to create a Google Earth tour aimed at increasing awareness around the environmental impact of such widespread damming in Africa.

This new Google Earth tour takes viewers on a trip to the world's dam-building hotspots to visualize the effect that large dams have on the climate, river ecosystems, and the communities that depend on them. You can learn about topics such as reservoir emissions, dam safety, and adaptation while visiting real case studies in Africa, the Himalayas and the Amazon.

International Rivers' Google Earth tour shows the effects of large dams on ecosystems around the world.

The tour also includes animations, which show how over time melting glaciers in the Himalayas – an effect of climate change – may lead to higher flood and safety risks for communities living downstream of dams. You'll also plunge under water in one of Brazil's dirtiest reservoirs, the Tucuruí Dam, to see in 3D how rotting organic material creates methane gas, which bubbles up from dam reservoirs to emit greenhouse gases in the tropics.

We also hope this tour makes it easier to visualize better water and energy solutions that already exist, including solar, wind, geothermal, energy efficiency, and decentralized grids to give energy access to the poorest of the poor in places like Africa, who are often far away from central grid connections.

The Google Earth tour shows many data layers, such as hydropower use across Africa.

Google Earth has enabled us to share this research in a more interactive way by making it possible to really show the broader impact of large scale damming. Download the interactive tour (KML file) or watch the tour video to learn more.

Posted by Zachary Hurwitz, International Rivers
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2011/11/editors-note-todays-guest-author-is.html
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