Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Googland

Googland

[G] Don’t censor the web

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 03:45 AM PST

Google Public Policy Blog: Don't censor the web

Posted by David Drummond, SVP Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer

You might notice many of your favorite websites look different today. Wikipedia is down. Wordpress is dark. We're censoring our homepage logo and asking you to petition Congress. So what's the big deal?

Right now in Washington D.C., Congress is considering two bills that would censor the web and impose burdensome regulations on American businesses. They're known as the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House. Here's what they'd do:
  • PIPA & SOPA will censor the web. These bills would grant new powers to law enforcement to filter the Internet and block access to tools to get around those filters. We know from experience that these powers are on the wish list of oppressive regimes throughout the world. SOPA and PIPA also eliminate due process. They provide incentives for American companies to shut down, block access to and stop servicing U.S. and foreign websites that copyright and trademark owners allege are illegal without any due process or ability of a wrongfully targeted website to seek restitution.
  • PIPA & SOPA will risk our industry's track record of innovation and job creation. These bills would make it easier to sue law-abiding U.S. companies. Law-abiding payment processors and Internet advertising services can be subject to these private rights of action. SOPA and PIPA would also create harmful (and uncertain) technology mandates on U.S. Internet companies, as federal judges second-guess technological measures used by these companies to stop bad actors, and potentially impose inconsistent injunctions on them.
  • PIPA & SOPA will not stop piracy. These bills wouldn't get rid of pirate sites. Pirate sites would just change their addresses in order to continue their criminal activities. There are better ways to address piracy than to ask U.S. companies to censor the Internet. The foreign rogue sites are in it for the money, and we believe the best way to shut them down is to cut off their sources of funding. As a result, Google supports alternative approaches like the OPEN Act.
Fighting online piracy is extremely important. We are investing a lot of time and money in that fight. Last year alone we acted on copyright takedown notices for more than 5 million webpages and invested more than $60 million in the fight against ads appearing on bad sites. And we think there is more that can be done here—like targeted and focused steps to cut off the money supply to foreign pirate sites. If you cut off the money flow, you cut the incentive to steal.

Because we think there's a good way forward that doesn't cause collateral damage to the web, we're joining Wikipedia, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, Mozilla and other Internet companies in speaking out against SOPA and PIPA. And we're asking you to sign a petition and join the millions who have already reached out to Congress through phone calls, letters and petitions asking them to rethink SOPA and PIPA.
URL: http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2012/01/dont-censor-web.html

[G] Tech tips that are Good to Know

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 03:45 AM PST

Google Public Policy Blog: Tech tips that are Good to Know

Posted by Alma Whitten, Director of Privacy, Product and Engineering

(Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog)

Does this person sound familiar? He can't be bothered to type a password into his phone every time he wants to play a game of Angry Birds. When he does need a password, maybe for his email or bank website, he chooses one that's easy to remember like his sister's name—and he uses the same one for each website he visits. For him, cookies come from the bakery, IP addresses are the locations of Intellectual Property and a correct Google search result is basically magic.

Most of us know someone like this. Technology can be confusing, and the industry often fails to explain clearly enough why digital literacy matters. So today in the U.S. we're kicking off Good to Know, our biggest-ever consumer education campaign focused on making the web a safer, more comfortable place. Our ad campaign, which we introduced in the U.K. and Germany last fall, offers privacy and security tips: Use 2-step verification! Remember to lock your computer when you step away! Make sure your connection to a website is secure! It also explains some of the building blocks of the web like cookies and IP addresses. Keep an eye out for the ads in newspapers and magazines, online and in New York and Washington, D.C. subway stations.



The campaign and Good to Know website build on our commitment to keeping people safe online. We've created resources like privacy videos, the Google Security Center, the Family Safety Center and Teach Parents Tech to help you develop strong privacy and security habits. We design for privacy, building tools like Google Dashboard, Me on the Web, the Ads Preferences Manager and Google+ Circles—with more on the way.

We encourage you to take a few minutes to check out the Good to Know site, watch some of the videos, and be on the lookout for ads in your favorite newspaper or website. We hope you'll learn something new about how to protect yourself online—tips that are always good to know!

Update Jan 17: Updated to include more background about Good to Know.
URL: http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2012/01/tech-tips-that-are-good-to-know.html

[G] Don't censor the web

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 03:45 AM PST

Official Google Blog: Don't censor the web

You might notice many of your favorite websites look different today. Wikipedia is down. Wordpress is dark. We're censoring our homepage logo and asking you to petition Congress. So what's the big deal?

Right now in Washington D.C., Congress is considering two bills that would censor the web and impose burdensome regulations on American businesses. They're known as the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House. Here's what they'd do:
  • PIPA & SOPA will censor the web. These bills would grant new powers to law enforcement to filter the Internet and block access to tools to get around those filters. We know from experience that these powers are on the wish list of oppressive regimes throughout the world. SOPA and PIPA also eliminate due process. They provide incentives for American companies to shut down, block access to and stop servicing U.S. and foreign websites that copyright and trademark owners allege are illegal without any due process or ability of a wrongfully targeted website to seek restitution.
  • PIPA & SOPA will risk our industry's track record of innovation and job creation. These bills would make it easier to sue law-abiding U.S. companies. Law-abiding payment processors and Internet advertising services can be subject to these private rights of action. SOPA and PIPA would also create harmful (and uncertain) technology mandates on U.S. Internet companies, as federal judges second-guess technological measures used by these companies to stop bad actors, and potentially impose inconsistent injunctions on them.
  • PIPA & SOPA will not stop piracy. These bills wouldn't get rid of pirate sites. Pirate sites would just change their addresses in order to continue their criminal activities. There are better ways to address piracy than to ask U.S. companies to censor the Internet. The foreign rogue sites are in it for the money, and we believe the best way to shut them down is to cut off their sources of funding. As a result, Google supports alternative approaches like the OPEN Act.
Fighting online piracy is extremely important. We are investing a lot of time and money in that fight. Last year alone we acted on copyright takedown notices for more than 5 million webpages and invested more than $60 million in the fight against ads appearing on bad sites. And we think there is more that can be done here—like targeted and focused steps to cut off the money supply to foreign pirate sites. If you cut off the money flow, you cut the incentive to steal.

Because we think there's a good way forward that doesn't cause collateral damage to the web, we're joining Wikipedia, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, Mozilla and other Internet companies in speaking out against SOPA and PIPA. And we're asking you to sign a petition and join the millions who have already reached out to Congress through phone calls, letters and petitions asking them to rethink SOPA and PIPA.

Posted by David Drummond, SVP Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/dont-censor-web.html

[G] Happy New Year from the App Engine team

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 03:45 AM PST

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Happy New Year from the App Engine team

Posted by Peter S Magnusson, Engineering Director

(Cross-posted from the Google App Engine blog)

Happy New Year! As we return from our New Year's celebrations, brush the dust off our workstations and gear up for our first release of 2012, we thought it would be fun to take a look back at improvements we have made and what developers have accomplished with App Engine in 2011.

Let's start with the features and functionality we added last year:
Best of all, with your continued support we accomplished our goal of graduating from preview and became a full fledged Google product.

We've seen excellent growth and adoption over the past year, with businesses like Pulse, Evite and Best Buy choosing App Engine for their applications. Even St. James's Palace chose App Engine to host the Royal Wedding site. We had so much fun collaborating with 17 of the world's most renowned museums for the Google Art Project and with other Googlers building iGoogle gadgets and Doodles on App Engine. We've added more than 1 million registered applications and have more than 150,000 active developers on the App Engine platform generating more than 5 billion page hits per day.

Back in our first blog post in 2008, we asked you to "start your engines" and what a ride we've taken. Thank you for making 2011 our best year yet and here's to making 2012 even better!
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2012/01/happy-new-year-from-app-engine-team.html

[G] From the mountains to the clouds: the State of Utah goes Google

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 03:45 AM PST

Official Google Enterprise Blog: From the mountains to the clouds: the State of Utah goes Google

Posted by Scott McIntyre, Director of State and Local Government, Google Enterprise

Nestled in the mountains and valleys, the State of Utah got its name from the Native American "Ute" tribe, which means people of the mountains. Utah's peaks, on average, are the tallest in the country. Utah also has a vibrant business climate. The state was recently ranked No.1 for business and career by Forbes. It's committed to building a strong economy for the future. To achieve that goal, the state government relies on cutting edge technologies and services to bring value and innovation to its constituents.

The State of Utah recently selected Google Apps for Government as its new email and collaboration platform for all 22,000 state employees. This makes Utah the second state to move all state employees to the Google cloud. The contract is available to all branches of state government and local government entities.

Information technology consolidation has long been a top priority for Utah to improve accountability, reduce costs, and increase services to taxpayers. Its legacy email system was unable to keep up with the increasing demand from staff to access information anytime and anywhere. The Department of Technology Services (DTS) started looking for a cloud solution that could address those challenges in 2010. Through a comprehensive and competitive bidding process, DTS received six proposals. Google Apps premier reseller and implementation partner Tempus Nova was selected to bring Google Apps to state employees.

Once the migration is complete later this year, all Utah state employees will use Google Apps, which includes new features and capabilities such as video chats, real-time team editing in Google Docs and mobile support. Moving to the cloud will also reduce employees' requests for IT support. In addition, Google Apps will provide Utah with increased security to comply with all FISMA requirements and a more efficient way to comply with government eDiscovery requirements.

We welcome the State's decision to move to the cloud and look forward to working with Utah and Tempus Nova to ensure a smooth transition.
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2012/01/from-mountains-to-clouds-state-of-utah.html

[G] Adding business class management features to Gmail

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 03:45 AM PST

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Adding business class management features to Gmail

Posted by Adam Dawes, Gmail Product Manager

Last year, we started integrating Postini's business-class email security and management capabilities into Gmail and today we're excited to be rolling out the latest round of integrated features. Google Apps administrators can now take advantage of improved email compliance footers, approved/blocked sender lists and file attachment policies. These capabilities help our customers address compliance requirements and effectively manage email traffic. Previously, Google Apps customers used Google Message Security, powered by Postini, to provide these capabilities.

With this new release, we've improved these features and designed them specifically to meet the needs of our Apps customers. Admins will manage the features natively in the Google Apps control panel (localized in 28 languages), leverage our granular policy framework to customize settings for different types of users, and join multiple rules together to address very targeted use cases.

These new features are available globally for Google Apps for Business, Google Apps for Government and Google Apps for Education editions.

Dominie Liang, IT Director at New Media Group in Hong Kong, was able to use the new features to quickly address his company's compliance requirements:

"Our legal team wanted us to add a compliance note to all of our outbound email. Thanks to Google's new email feature set, we could easily add the rich text format disclaimer with Chinese characters to the email footer, and solved the issue within a minute."

George Krieger, Technical Services Manager, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, adds:

"The new message footers in Gmail have made it easy for us to standardize our email signatures and more effectively promote our race schedules. And I love the ability to delegate control of these to our Media department so they can change them when they want without having to call me. This is a major improvement for us."

With the addition of these features to Gmail, there is no longer a need to use Google Message Security (GMS) with Google Apps so we will no longer offer GMS to Google Apps customers. We'll work with those customers currently using GMS to migrate their settings to these new features. For more information on these features and how customers can migrate to them please refer to this Google Apps Help Center article and the Transition Guide.
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2012/01/adding-business-class-management.html

[G] Deadline approaching for the AP-Google Journalism & Technology Scholarship

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 03:45 AM PST

Official Google Blog: Deadline approaching for the AP-Google Journalism & Technology Scholarship

Last August, we announced a joint scholarship program for aspiring journalists with the Associated Press, administered by the Online News Association. A total of six $20,000 scholarships will be awarded to undergraduate and graduate journalism students pursuing or planning to pursue degrees at the intersection of journalism, computer science and new media.

Knowing that journalists respect the pressures and motivations of a tight deadline, we want to remind everyone that all applications are due on January 27. That's just 10 short days away!

The selection committee is looking for applicants with original and exciting ideas for using online tools and new technology to move digital journalism forward. We're looking for students who love great reporting and value the importance of a strong press, and who can articulate creative and forward-thinking ways of using technology as a way to support and extend what's possible through journalism.

Read more about the application process and eligibility on the scholarship program's website, and beat that deadline!

Posted by David Smydra, Strategic Partner Manager, News
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/deadline-approaching-for-ap-google.html

[G] Create more Automated Rules and undo changes

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 03:45 AM PST

Inside AdWords: Create more Automated Rules and undo changes

We heard your feedback that you want Automated Rules to be even more flexible and useful, so we rolled out two improvements - increased rule limit to 100 and the ability to undo changes made by a rule.

1. Increased rule limit to 100

We increased the number of rules you can create from 10 rules per user to 100. This should allow you to easily try out new rules -- have a look at common examples to see how advertisers are using Automated Rules.



2. Ability to undo changes made by a rule

In the event that a rule doesn't make the changes that you expect, you can easily undo them by clicking the "Undo" button in the Logs table. We hope that undo can help you feel more comfortable experimenting with Automated Rules. You can try out new strategies for a few days and quickly return to the state in which you started if you're not happy with the performance. Please see this AdWords Help Center article for more information about the undo feature.



Not currently using Automated Rules?

Automated Rules is a feature that lets you save time by scheduling automatic changes to your account based on criteria that you specify. Please see this AdWords Help Center article to see popular types of rules created by advertisers. To learn more about Automated Rules, please visit Ad Innovations.

Posted by Andrew Truong, Product Marketing Manager
URL: http://adwords.blogspot.com/2012/01/create-more-automated-rules-and-undo.html

[G] Music Tuesday: Power to the People, YouTube Slam and more

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 03:45 AM PST

YouTube Blog: Music Tuesday: Power to the People, YouTube Slam and more

From the streets of Jerusalem to the bedrooms of America, this week on Music Tuesday we're celebrating some of the musicians who are beginning their careers, making their names and finding an audience on YouTube.



YouTube stars rock Jerusalem

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of John Lennon's "Power of the People," last year a group of musicians on YouTube came together on the ancient streets of Jerusalem to create a new version of the song. Having performed together at an event earlier that day, Maria Aragon, 2CELLOS, Cobus and Marina Maximillian Blumin rendezvoused at the Iraqi Market and before long a large crowd had gathered to join the party. We're excited to debut the final video today. Enjoy!







Five people, one guitar

This week's standout music video success was undoubtedly Walk of the Earth's five-people-play-one-guitar cover of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know." With 25 million views and counting, it's also provided a boost for the original song.







YouTube Slam

Do you think you could spot the next Bieber or Adele? YouTube Slam lets you compare and vote on the best bedroom balladeers, and each week crowns a new star. Check out a playlist of the current Top 10 below, and then head over to YouTube Slam to have your say on next week's competition.







Tim Partridge, YouTube Music Manager, recently watched "Stereo Express - Shadooroack (Official Video Clip)."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/yxq72TnVDHA/music-tuesday-power-to-people-youtube.html

[G] Coming Soon: Ad Group Impression Share Metrics

Posted: 17 Jan 2012 03:17 PM PST

Inside AdWords: Coming Soon: Ad Group Impression Share Metrics

Based on advertiser requests, we will soon offer ad group level impression share metrics for the Search and Display Networks. Once released, you can use ad group impression share data to, for example, better identify high performing ad groups that aren't capturing the majority of available impressions.

In the next few weeks, you will see three new columns that can be added to your ad groups tab:
  1. Impr. Share: the percentage of impressions you received divided by the estimated number of impressions you were eligible to receive.
  2. Lost IS (Rank): the share of impressions lost due to your Ad Rank. Note that Lost IS (rank) will not be shown if you were at or near your budget for part or all of a given day (a.k.a. were "budget constrained") during the date range being examined.
  3. Exact Match IS: (Search Network only) the percentage of impressions you received for searches that exactly matched your keyword divided by the estimated number of exact match impressions you were eligible to receive.
In addition to providing more detailed metrics, we are also planning to update our algorithms to provide more accurate campaign impression share metrics. As a result, there are some important changes you should be aware of:
  1. Refined campaign-level statistics: Since we are improving our algorithms, we will update all campaign-level impression share metrics back to May 2011. As a result, you will no longer be able to see campaign-level historical impression share metrics before May 2011. If you wish to preserve a record of the pre-May 2011 campaign impression share data, you will need to download a report before January 30, 2012.
  2. Once-a-day updates: In order to calculate your impression share metrics with a greater degree of accuracy, we will update all impression share metrics once per day (approximately noon Pacific Time [GTM-8]). As a result, the impression share data that you see will not reflect impression share for the current day, and may not include the previous day's impression share as well (depending on what time of the day you run your report).
These changes will begin to roll out to all advertisers globally on January 30, 2012, so look out for them in your account soon. Once these changes are live, you'll be able to find more detailed information in the AdWords Help Center.

Posted by Katie Miller, Inside AdWords crew
URL: http://adwords.blogspot.com/2012/01/coming-soon-ad-group-impression-share.html

[G] IPv6: countdown to launch

Posted: 17 Jan 2012 03:17 PM PST

Official Google Blog: IPv6: countdown to launch

Today, we're joining the Internet Society and several major Internet companies to announce World IPv6 Launch, a coordinated launch of the next-generation Internet protocol on June 6, 2012. This builds on the success and momentum of last year's World IPv6 Day by adding major contributions from ISPs and home networking vendors. With World IPv6 Launch, we'll collectively close the gaps and begin to deliver the end-to-end, next-generation Internet.

IPv6 is the replacement for the current version of the Internet Protocol, IPv4, which is quickly running out of addresses. The original IPv6 specification was published more than 15 years ago, but for the entire career of most Internet engineers its deployment has always been in the future. Now it's finally here. The widespread deployment of IPv6 paves the way for connecting together the billions of devices that permeate our livesーboth fixed and mobile, from the largest cloud computing services to the smallest sensors.

Just a year ago, we announced our participation in World IPv6 Day. Since then, the IPv4 address global free pool was officially depleted, each of the five regions around the world receiving one last address block. Soon after, the Asia-Pacific region exhausted its free IPv4 address pool. Hundreds of websites around the world turned on IPv6 for a 24-hour test flight last June. This time, IPv6 will stay on.

For Google, World IPv6 Launch means that virtually all our services, including Search, Gmail, YouTube and many more, will be available to the world over IPv6 permanently. Previously, only participants in the Google over IPv6 program (several hundred thousand users, including almost all Google employees [PDF]) have been using it every day. Now we're including everyone.

The vast majority of users shouldn't notice, but check out our test page and help article if you think you might run into difficulty. If you're curious, you can test your connection now at ipv6test.google.com. If your ISP isn't on board yet, ask them to join us. It will take years for the Internet to transition fully to IPv6, but as William Gibson is said to have said, "The future is already here—it's just not very evenly distributed."

We hope that even more websites, application and Internet access providers and network device manufacturers will join us for World IPv6 Launch. Permanently enabling global IPv6 access to Google services has been our goal since we first began our IPv6 project more than four years ago. We eagerly await the opportunity to realize that goal with our colleagues around the world this June. At long last, IPv6 will be the new normal.

Posted by Erik Kline, IPv6 Software Engineer, Tokyo
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/ipv6-countdown-to-launch.html

[G] Understanding your reports on Google-certified ad networks

Posted: 17 Jan 2012 03:17 PM PST

Inside AdSense: Understanding your reports on Google-certified ad networks


Since launching a new report to show you how much you're earning from Google-certified third party ad networks, we've received questions from publishers around how to make sense of the numbers they're seeing. Some have let us know that they're now blocking lower-performing ad networks based on revenue per thousand impressions (RPMs), a practice which can actually have a negative impact on overall revenue. Today, we'd like to take a moment to address your questions and provide more guidance around understanding your reports and blocking specific ad networks.



Let's first talk about analyzing RPM figures. If you've ever tested color combinations for your ad units using channels, you're probably used to comparing the RPMs of each channel to determine which one is most effective. Then, once you find the most effective combination, you remove all the other options and only use the optimal one. This works for channels, but it's important to keep in mind that with Google-certified ad networks, the same approach doesn't apply.



It's true that in both situations, RPM represents the estimated earnings you'd accrue for every thousand impressions you receive. However, when you test layout options with channels and remove the ones that don't perform well, this action doesn't directly impact the dynamics of the ad auction. Picking a blue background over green won't automatically remove certain ads from being eligible to appear in that ad space -- it just helps certain ad spaces perform better. With Google-certified ad networks, RPMs are dependent on the available ad inventory. Blocking an ad network will remove eligible ads from the auction, and so we strongly recommend against blocking ad networks solely based on RPM. Let's look at an example:

























Ad networksImpressionsRPM
Network A10,000$1
Network B14$3
Network C1000$0.50



Network B has the highest RPM and appears to be outperforming the other networks. It's important to note though that this metric is based on only 14 impressions and might not reflect the same revenue for the next 1000 or 10,000 impressions. The value of impressions can vary widely, so the RPM for a small number of impressions can be misleading.



Network C has the lowest RPM. However, blocking Network C because of this might have a negative impact on revenue. This is because our system will always maximize the value of every impression in an auction -- if an ad from Network C appeared on your pages, it was because any other eligible ads that could have appeared would have generated less revenue for you. By Blocking Network C, another network with a lower-paying bid might win the ad auction instead.



In general, blocking reduces the number of ads participating in the ad auction, which can then have a negative impact on your potential revenue. Please keep in mind that blocking "low paying ads" is a myth, as any ad that appears on your page has won the auction for that space and will earn you the most possible.



At the same time, we also understand that you sometimes need to prevent ads from appearing due to the content of the ad or advertiser. You have several options in your account, which are suitable for different scenarios.



With your feedback in mind, we're constantly working on offering you more control over the ads appearing on your sites, so watch this space for further announcements! However, don't forget to carefully consider which ads you're blocking to ensure that you reach your full revenue potential.



Posted by Arlene Lee -- Inside AdSense Team


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/tuAm/~3/8wuGOijnM5s/understanding-your-reports-on-google.html

[G] A new forum for Google Analytics using Google Product Forums

Posted: 17 Jan 2012 03:17 PM PST

Google Analytics Blog: A new forum for Google Analytics using Google Product Forums

The Google Analytics Forum is a community of people like you, who enjoy exploring making full use of the features of Google Analytics and also enjoy sharing their knowledge within the community.  It's a place where you can share expertise or seek out answers. It's also a great way to escalate bugs and critical issues. Googlers such as myself and many of our Google Analytics Certified Partners are monitoring and can provide speedy help and feedback.



To make the forums even better, we've migrated to the new Google Product Forums on January 12, 2012 as they offer increased stability and the potential to add exciting new features in the future - here's the link to the Google Analytics forum using the new platform. The most popular forum features - including levels and marking a best answer - will continue to be available in the new forum. The old forum will be archived and any links to old forum content will redirect automatically to the corresponding content in the new forum.



Here's a getting started guide so you can learn about some of the new features.



Top Contributors were given a demo of the new platform at Google's first ever Global Top Contributor Summit in September and I'd like to give special thanks to Top Contributors Phil Pearce (PPC_Guru) and Bronwyn Vourtis (Whims) for attending the event. Thanks also to Rachaell and Nayan for continued involvement in the community and to all of you who have provided feedback and participated in testing.  We'll continue to listen to your feedback to improve the platform and ensure the migration goes smoothly.



Aruna, Community Manager - Google Analytics


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/tRaA/~3/c6mrwYEY0MA/new-forum-for-google-analytics-using.html

[G] Sixty YouTube Space Lab Finalists Announced: Vote Now For Your Favorites

Posted: 17 Jan 2012 03:17 PM PST

YouTube Blog: Sixty YouTube Space Lab Finalists Announced: Vote Now For Your Favorites

A few months ago we set 14-18 year olds the bold challenge to design a science experiment that could be performed by NASA aboard the International Space Station, something that has traditionally been the preserve of qualified astronauts and scientists. Coming up with a suitable idea required huge imagination, passion and scientific curiosity, which is why we were thrilled with your response—we received a total of 2,000 video submissions from students in more than 80 countries!



Expert scientists helped us check and rank all of the entries, and today we are very proud to announce the sixty finalists. All of their submissions can now be viewed on the YouTube.com/SpaceLab Channel, and from January 17–24, you can vote for the ones you want to win. We need your help selecting the six regional winners, and ultimately the two global winners that will have their experiments performed 250 miles above Earth and live streamed on YouTube. Start voting today.









Remember, the channel is also a launchpad to some of the best space and science videos on YouTube. We've already received more than 39 million combined video views worldwide and we're adding new videos and playlists regularly, like this new playlist about the mysteries of the Red Planet. Subscribe to the channel to keep up to date with all the latest content.



Didn't make it to the final round? Check out the newly launched Google Science Fair 2012 for another chance to enter an amazing global science competition.



Posted by Zahaan Bharmal, YouTube Space Lab lead, recently watched "Living in Space: 225,000 Miles Above Earth."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/YFD0FHqTAwY/sixty-youtube-space-lab-finalists.html

[G] 2012 Predictions For Marketing To Moms

Posted: 17 Jan 2012 03:17 PM PST

Official Google CPG Blog: 2012 Predictions For Marketing To Moms

Great article out this week on by Holly Pavlika at mediapost emphasizing the importance of video and mobile in marketing to moms in 2012. You can read the whole thing here.

Here are the video and mobile highlights:

1. More mom video content on the web.

Moms love to view other moms in action. They trust what another mom has to say more so than they do celebrities. And they consume a lot of video on a weekly basis. So it's only natural that video content will continue to rise. YouTube is commissioning new channels and Deca has launched "Kin," a mom/women's channel. And, don't forget "The Mom's View" from Maker Studios. Moms are also finding that their personal channels on YouTube can turn them into web celebs, lead to book deals and make them money with the right content. Brands need to jump on the video bandwagon if they want to stay engaged with mom.

2. Mobile will continue to influence mom's path to purchase.

Moms armed with smartphones are putting them to good use. Brands that don't yet have a mobile strategy are way behind the curve. Moms see mobile as their command center and remote control for managing life. According to BabyCenter, 53% of moms purchased a smartphone because they had become a mom. And, it's influencing her path to purchase. With smartphone and apps in hand, she can comparison shop, check out potential purchases with friends, download coupons, manage the budget and more. Her phone is connecting her to all the information and references she needs to make a purchase decision.

URL: http://google-cpg.blogspot.com/2012/01/2012-predictions-for-marketing-to-moms.html
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