Sunday, December 18, 2011

Googland

Googland

[G] Join Our Flash Mob....FOR GOOD!

Posted: 17 Dec 2011 10:09 PM PST

YouTube Blog: Join Our Flash Mob....FOR GOOD!

On a typical Friday afternoon at YouTube, you can expect to see most people scrambling to finish their work or getting ready for Google's weekly TGIF meeting. This past Friday, something different occurred: the first-ever YouTube Holiday Giving Flash Mob. Flash mobs? Aren't those mainly for hipsters dancing in shopping malls and subway stations? Yes, many are, but we thought it would be cool to channel the crowd-sourced energy of your standard flash mob and put it towards a good cause. 



Hundreds of YouTubers across various offices came together to give back to DonorsChoose.org, an organization doing wonderful work for kids across the US. One great thing about DonorsChoose is that they're crowd-sourced giving -- public school teachers from across America post classroom project requests on the site. Requests range from pencils for a poetry writing unit, to violins for a school recital, to microscope slides for a biology class. You can browse project requests and give any amount to the one that inspires you. Once a project reaches its funding goal, they deliver the materials to the school. 









 



In total, our YouTube Flash Mob raised thousands of
dollars across several different projects. Thanks to Google's Corporate
Giving Match program and DonorsChoose offering to match the first $100
of each YouTube employee's donation, we should eventually be able to
double our initial total donation. 



But it doesn't stop there - we want to invite you to be part of our
Flash Mob. DonorsChoose has generously agreed to also match all
donations through Dec 31, 2011. All you need to do is enter the word
"YOUTUBE" in the "I have a gift or match code" field during checkout on
the site and DonorsChoose will match up to $100 of your gift*. So find
a project and give what you can. While DonorsChoose is a U.S. based
organization, we don't want to limit the giving to within our borders. You can tell us what other organizations and charities hold a special place in your heart by leaving a comment on the YouTube Google+ page. In January we'll report back on the total donation amount and other global charities you've brought to our attention! 



Happy Giving! 



Hunter Walk, Product Manager, who recently watched "DonorsChoose.org: The Colbert Report's Charity of Choice" 



*DonorsChoose has agreed to match $100 of all gifts using the promotional code 'YouTube' up to a certain point. 



*Gift matching does not apply when one individual fully funds a project in its entirety, so feel free to spread the love across multiple projects to take advantage of the matching funds.


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/Bv3Pc56JhJc/join-our-flash-mobfor-good.html

[G] Only Halfway to the Finish Line for Google Code-in

Posted: 17 Dec 2011 09:36 AM PST

Google Open Source Blog: Only Halfway to the Finish Line for Google Code-in


We are almost halfway through the Google Code-in contest and we are excited to announce that over 480 pre-university students from 55 countries have completed a total of 1615 tasks in just under four weeks. The students are working with 18 different open source organizations on a variety of tasks such as quality assurance issues, writing pieces of code, developing materials for outreach efforts, translating documents, and other tasks all related to open source development.

With students from 55 countries this truly is a global program. This year the following 16 countries have their first student participating in the Google Code-in: Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia, Croatia, Honduras, Ireland, Macedonia, Malaysia, Nepal, Puerto Rico, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela.

The Google Code-in contest ends on January 16, 2012 so there is still plenty of time to get involved and spread the word to the pre-university students (ages 13-17) in your life.  Please visit the program site for more information regarding eligibility requirements and the program timeline. You can read our Frequently Asked Questions and join the discussion list for any additional questions about the program.

There are plenty of tasks for students to choose from, in fact, today the organizations released a large group of new tasks for students to work on. Register and claim a task today!

By Stephanie Taylor, Open Source Programs

URL: http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2011/12/only-halfway-to-finish-line-for-google.html

[G] Project for Awesome 2011 Begins Today!

Posted: 17 Dec 2011 09:36 AM PST

YouTube Blog: Project for Awesome 2011 Begins Today!

Today's guest post comes from Hank and John Green, aka the VlogBrothers, with a reminder about how you can dramatically increase the level of awesome that exists around the world this year.



Last week, we asked you to participate in this year's Project for Awesome. Today, December 17th at 12PM ET, is when all the awesomeness begins.



We'd love for you to join Project for Awesome by doing one of the following:

  • Upload a video for your favorite charity and tag it with "p4a."

  • Share your and your friends' videos on YouTube, your favorite social networks, and everywhere else. Also like, 'favorite' and comment on the videos and be sure to use #P4A.

  • Donate to your favorite charities and causes.





Thanks again for being awesome!



Posted by Hank and John Green, the VlogBrothers, recently watched, "Josh Sundquist - P4A: Pimp My Disabled Ski Team Van [NSCD]."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/0IF6R2SU9XE/project-for-awesome-2011-begins-today.html
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