Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Googland

Googland

[G] Google and Historypin launch online gallery to celebrate The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

Posted: 13 Mar 2012 11:59 PM PDT

Google Lat Long: Google and Historypin launch online gallery to celebrate The Queen's Diamond Jubilee

(Cross posted to Official Google Blog)

This year marks the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, celebrating Her Majesty's 60 years on the throne. To commemorate this special occasion, we're teaming up with Historypin to launch an interactive online gallery filled with memories of her time as Queen.



The Pinning The Queen's History project will be made up of photographic images, videos and audio clips pinned directly onto a Google Map on the dedicated Historypin site. This will let you see historical images in modern context within Google Maps.

Throughout her six decades on the throne, The Queen has undertaken hundreds of visits around the United Kingdom and 261 official overseas visits to 116 different countries. History pin is inviting people from around the world to submit photos, videos and other memories of The Queen during these visits.



Using Google Maps and Street View, the Historypin platform enables you to pinpoint the exact location of where the imagery was captured. They'll be overlaid onto Street View, so you can compare glimpses of the Queen's 60-year reign with how they look today.


The collection has been boosted by the provision of images from The Queen's overseas visits taken by press photographers, and by photographs of items from the Buckingham Palace's Royal Archives. Items from the Royal Archives include the sitar presented to The Queen during her visit to India in 1997, an earthenware vase presented to the Queen by the Prime Minister of Japan and a map showing the air routes around South Australia during the 1954 Commonwealth Tour.

The interactive gallery is an opportunity for anyone to contribute to and celebrate The Queen's Diamond Jubilee on one global platform. We're honoured that Google Maps can form the foundation of this official gallery.

Submit your memories of The Queen at www.historypin.com/DiamondJubilee/.

Posted by Ed Parsons, Geospatial Technologist, London
URL: http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2012/03/google-and-historypin-launch-online.html

[G] Adding an origami doodle to the fold

Posted: 13 Mar 2012 11:59 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: Adding an origami doodle to the fold

We're excited to have Robert J. Lang here to talk about today's doodle in honor of Akira Yoshizawa. Lang is considered one of the world's masters of the art of origami. His design techniques are used by origami artists around the world, and he lectures widely on the connections between origami art, science, mathematics and technology. - Ed.

Akira Yoshizawa (1911–2005) is widely regarded as the father of the modern origami art form. Over the course of his life, he created tens of thousands of origami works and pioneered many of the artistic techniques used by modern-day origami artists, most notably the technique of wet-folding, which allowed the use of thick papers and created soft curves, gentle shapes and rounded, organic forms. He also developed a notation for origami that has now been the standard for origami instruction for more than 50 years.

Yoshizawa took up Japan's traditional folk art of origami in his 20s, and eventually left his job at a factory to focus full-time on his origami creations. His work came to the attention of the west in 1955, after an exhibition of his works in Amsterdam, and rapidly spread around the world. In his last decades, he received worldwide renown and invitations from all over, culminating in his award in 1983 of the Order of the Rising Sun.

I had the great fortune to meet Yoshizawa several times. In 1988, he came to New York to visit The Friends of the Origami Center of America, and spoke at a panel discussion I attended. There, he addressed a wide range of topics: one's mental attitude, the importance of character, of natural qualities, of having one's "spirit within [the artwork's] folds." Although he was the consummate artist, his work and approach was infused with the mathematical and geometric underpinnings of origami as well as a deep aesthetic sense:
"My origami creations, in accordance with the laws of nature, require the use of geometry, science, and physics. They also encompass religion, philosophy, and biochemistry. Over all, I want you to discover the joy of creation by your own hand…the possibility of creation from paper is infinite."
While there were other Japanese artists who explored their country's folk art contemporaneously with Yoshizawa, his work inspired the world through a combination of grace, beauty, variety and clarity of presentation. To him, each figure, even if folded from the same basic plan, was a unique object with a unique character.

In 1992, I was invited to address the Nippon Origami Association at their annual meeting in Japan, and my hosts arranged for me to meet the great Yoshizawa at his home and studio. When I was ushered into the inner sanctum, Yoshizawa greeted me, grinning, and then proceeded to show me box after box after drawer of the most extraordinarily folded works I had ever seen.



When I was first approached by Google to help create a doodle commemorating Yoshizawa's work, I jumped at the chance. Google set the parameters of the design: the Google logo, of course, but to be folded with origami and then decorated with examples of Yoshizawa's designs.

I created examples of two logo styles for Google to choose from: one in a classic origami style and a more three-dimensional version based on pleats. Google liked the pleated version, so I set about designing and folding the rest.


Two versions of the Google "G," each folded from a single sheet of paper.

To design these (or any letterform in this style), one can take a narrow strip of paper, fold it back and forth to trace the outline of the desired letter, unfold it, mark the creases, then arrange multiple copies of the strip pattern on a larger rectangle. The resulting crease pattern is moderately complex, and it gives a lovely 3-D form when folded, but conceptually, it is quite straightforward.

If you'd like to try to create your own origami doodle at home, you can download PDFs of the crease patterns for each of the letters. Print them out and fold on the lines: red=valley fold, blue=mountain.

Google

The butterflies in the doodle are folded from one of Yoshizawa's earliest, yet most iconic designs. It is deceptive in its simplicity, but can express great subtlety in its shaping and attitude. The combination of simplicity and depth is part of the essence of origami, and is key to Yoshizawa's work and legacy.

"Geometry alone is not enough to portray human desires, expressions, aspirations, joys. We need more." — Akira Yoshizawa, 1988

Posted by Robert J. Lang, Origami Artist
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/adding-origami-doodle-to-fold.html

[G] Google Code Jam 2012 registration is open

Posted: 13 Mar 2012 11:59 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: Google Code Jam 2012 registration is open

Today, we're opening up registration for Google Code Jam 2012. This year thousands of students, professional programmers and freelance code wizards will pit their ingenuity against a new set of algorithmic challenges concocted by our tireless team of red-eyed, LED-illuminated problem writers.

Last year's champion, Makoto Soejima, was asked to build a house for kittens, serve food to hungry mathematicians, escape from a shady casino and help Goro control his anger. Who knows what our problem writers have on their minds this year?

Code Jam is a world-wide programming competition in which contestants may use any programming language to solve algorithmic problems. The qualification round takes place April 13, followed by three online rounds in the following months. At the end of it all, the top 25 contestants will be invited to Google's New York office on July 27 for a final match up and a chance to win $10,000. If you are up for the challenge, throw your hat into the ring now.

Posted by Igor Naverniouk, Software Engineer, Google Code Jam
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/google-code-jam-2012-registration-is.html

[G] Google Apps helps Gold Medal Waters focus on excellent client service

Posted: 13 Mar 2012 08:44 PM PDT

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Google Apps helps Gold Medal Waters focus on excellent client service

Editor's Note: Recently, we announced the state of Colorado has gone Google and we're excited that businesses throughout the state are also using Google Apps. Today's guest blogger is Matthew Kelley, founder and president of Gold Medal Waters, a private wealth management firm located in Boulder, Colorado.

Gold Medal Waters is a fee only financial advisor and independent wealth management firm based in Boulder, Colorado, with clients located across the country. Structurally, we're somewhat unusual for a financial services firm: close to 90 percent of our work is conducted by a virtual team on flex time, so everyone can choose when they work. This allows us to work close to our clients geographically, while keeping our costs down. Since we don't have corporate offices, making sure employees can work from any location has always been a top priority for me.

When we first started the business, everyone was tied to their own personal computers with different software and operating systems. Even though we had a remote server in place for our employees to access, the system was a nightmare to manage. It constantly needed upgrading, and when the server went down, business was disrupted. I spent significant hours trying to solve IT issues when I could have been managing the business. We needed one central, secure platform that could help us work together as a virtual team. That's when we decided to transition to Google Apps for Business and provide Chromebooks to all our employees.

Moving to Google Apps has been one of the best business decisions we've made. Not only has it helped reduce IT management time, it's also given us a whole new level of collaboration. With Google Docs, we can store and share documents and spreadsheets in one place and access them from anywhere. We're constantly brainstorming new investment portfolios, creating new marketing concepts or updating financial planning checklists. Now we can work on these documents simultaneously, using the chat and comment features to discuss as we go. This type of teamwork is critical, giving us the flexibility we need as a virtual company.

Even though we work across many locations, our new morning ritual is to use Google Hangouts to meet face-to-face and run through priorities, ask questions, and review files prior to client meetings. We've found that the ability to see each other and meet virtually has not only made us a closer team, but has also inspired us to work together more frequently.

Google Apps has given us the built-in collaboration we need to work better as a team and focus on the most important part of our business: our clients.
URL: http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2012/03/google-apps-helps-gold-medal-waters.html

[G] The Gmail Forum’s new look and first 100k poster

Posted: 13 Mar 2012 05:14 PM PDT

The Google Apps Blog: The Gmail Forum's new look and first 100k poster

Posted by Sarah Price, Gmail Community Manager

The Gmail Forum is a place where you can discuss Gmail, get advice, and help each other out. Recently, we've celebrated two major events.

First forum poster to hit 100,000 answers
Everyone needs a little help occasionally, and many of us get a warm, fuzzy feeling when we're able to provide assistance to someone in need. Brett, or "bkc56" on the forum, has helped so many people he must be on fire! The Gmail team is thrilled to congratulate Brett on becoming the first person to post 100,000 answers in any of our forums.

To celebrate, we invited Brett to come by the Google offices in Mountain View for lunch and a day with the team. While he was here, Brett shared his insights on Gmail, the forum, and the Gmail community; those he met with described his observations as "brilliant" and "invaluable." He met with Googlers in many different roles, from support specialists and engineers to vice presidents. We learned a lot from speaking with Brett and we are all very grateful that he shared his time with us.

Lunch with the team: Emmanuel, VP; Alex, Product Manager; Mark, Director;
Brett, Top Contributor; Dave, VP; Sarah, Community Manager

Brett is one of our Top Contributors, the forum volunteers who are especially knowledgeable and helpful. Remember to say "thanks" if you see them around the forum. Want to lend a hand yourself? Brett suggests "Find a question where you know the answer and post it. Everyone starts with just one helpful post. Perhaps you'll enjoy it and do another, and another, and..."

Launch of the new forum interface
Right on the heels of Brett's achievement, we launched a new interface for the Gmail Forum, powered by Google Groups. The update brings new features, including "me too" voting, rich text posts and editing, and easy sharing on Google+. Stop by and check it out, whether you have a question or just want to chat.


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GoogleAppsBlog/~3/dCftntd0tqg/gmail-forums-new-look-and-first-100k.html

[G] Reaching your Goals in 2012: Live Google Analytics Webinar

Posted: 13 Mar 2012 05:14 PM PDT

Google Analytics Blog: Reaching your Goals in 2012: Live Google Analytics Webinar

Last December, we hosted a webinar on "Reaching your Goals with Google Analytics." For those of you who weren't able to make it last time, we're pleased to offer this live webinar again. If you want to use Google Analytics to get more out of your digital marketing campaigns, including AdWords and other digital media, then this webinar is for you:



Webinar: Reaching Your Goals with Google Analytics

Date: Wednesday, March 21

Time: 10am PDT / 1pm EDT / 5pm GMT



Sign up here! (Note: this webinar page also includes links for many other great Google webinars; you can also go directly to the registration page.)



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

  • Other useful tools in Google Analytics, such as Multi-Channel Funnels and Flow Visualization



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 March 21!





Posted by Sara Jablon Moked, Google Analytics team


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/tRaA/~3/QcrowZkZNDQ/reaching-your-goals-in-2012-live-google.html

[G] The Gmail Forum’s new look and first 100k poster

Posted: 13 Mar 2012 01:16 PM PDT

Official Gmail Blog: The Gmail Forum's new look and first 100k poster

Posted by Sarah Price, Gmail Community Manager

The Gmail Forum is a place where you can discuss Gmail, get advice, and help each other out. Recently, we've celebrated two major events.

First forum poster to hit 100,000 answers
Everyone needs a little help occasionally, and many of us get a warm, fuzzy feeling when we're able to provide assistance to someone in need. Brett, or "bkc56" on the forum, has helped so many people he must be on fire! The Gmail team is thrilled to congratulate Brett on becoming the first person to post 100,000 answers in any of our forums.

To celebrate, we invited Brett to come by the Google offices in Mountain View for lunch and a day with the team. While he was here, Brett shared his insights on Gmail, the forum, and the Gmail community; those he met with described his observations as "brilliant" and "invaluable." He met with Googlers in many different roles, from support specialists and engineers to vice presidents. We learned a lot from speaking with Brett and we are all very grateful that he shared his time with us.

Lunch with the team: Emmanuel, VP; Alex, Product Manager; Mark, Director;
Brett, Top Contributor; Dave, VP; Sarah, Community Manager

Brett is one of our Top Contributors, the forum volunteers who are especially knowledgeable and helpful. Remember to say "thanks" if you see them around the forum. Want to lend a hand yourself? Brett suggests "Find a question where you know the answer and post it. Everyone starts with just one helpful post. Perhaps you'll enjoy it and do another, and another, and..."

Launch of the new forum interface
Right on the heels of Brett's achievement, we launched a new interface for the Gmail Forum, powered by Google Groups. The update brings new features, including "me too" voting, rich text posts and editing, and easy sharing on Google+. Stop by and check it out, whether you have a question or just want to chat.


URL: http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/gmail-forums-new-look-and-first-100k.html

[G] Avoiding accidental clicks Pt. 3: Tips for placing ads on game play pages

Posted: 13 Mar 2012 01:16 PM PDT

Inside AdSense: Avoiding accidental clicks Pt. 3: Tips for placing ads on game play pages


Today we're sharing our tips and best practices for placing AdSense for content ads on game play pages in a way that doesn't confuse the user and create invalid click activity. If you run a site with online games, a game play page refers to the page where an individual game is described and a user can click to begin playing. Make sure to also visit Pt. 1: Keeping the right distance and Pt. 2: Use the right product for more tips on avoiding invalid clicks and maintaining a healthy user experience.



Let's start with a quick recap on why it's important to follow these policies to minimize accidental clicks. First off, in order to protect our network from artificially inflated costs, we carefully monitor clicks and impressions on Google ads. Invalid activity that we detect will be deducted from revenue at the end of the month and in some cases, may eventually lead to a disabled account in which the earnings will be returned to the affected advertisers. Also, with smart pricing, high numbers of accidental clicks will decrease publisher revenue in the long-run. This is because accidental clicks don't result in conversions for advertisers, which will in turn reduce the amount that they're willing to pay to show ads on your site.



As a general guideline for online gaming sites, you can ask yourself the following question: Could a user who doesn't speak the language of your page navigate from the game play description page to the actual game, with a minimal chance of unintentionally clicking on advertisements? The answer should be yes, and based on this, we've derived the following two tips:


  • Interstitial ad pages: Game play buttons shouldn't lead to interstitial pages dominated by AdSense for content ad units with no obvious game play links. More generally, links intended to navigate the user to game play pages shouldn't deceive the user into clicking AdSense ads. Please visit our Help Center for more information on placing AdSense ads on interstitial pages.



  • Inconspicuous play buttons: Game play buttons should be clickable and placed in an obvious location. To minimize user confusion, indicate how to play the game through text and image. Ad units shouldn't surround game play links too closely. Please visit our Help Center to view the full policy regarding deceptive AdSense implementation.


              An example of acceptable
implementation                        An
example of unacceptable implementation



For a full description of the above two policies and to review example ad implementations, please visit our Help Center. Following these guidelines will help you avoid accidental clicks and provide an optimal user experience.



Posted by Awni Hannun - Inside AdSense Team





Did you find this policy blog post helpful? You can share your feedback or tell us about a specific policy topic you'd like to learn more about here.



URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/tuAm/~3/ABOMQU8g7r8/avoiding-accidental-clicks-pt-3-tips.html

[G] Honoring and supporting Belgian Internet pioneers

Posted: 13 Mar 2012 01:16 PM PDT

Official Google Blog: Honoring and supporting Belgian Internet pioneers

It's not every day that a Prime Minister visits your office. Today, Googlers in our Brussels office were honoured by a visit from Belgium's Prime Minister Elio Di Rupio to celebrate and revive the memory of two unique Belgian inventors and pioneers.



Decades before the creation of the World Wide Web, Paul Otlet and Henri La Fontaine envisaged a paper archival system of the world's information. They built a giant international documentation centre called Mundaneum, with the goal of preserving peace by assembling knowledge and making it accessible to the entire world. For us at Google, this mission sounds familiar.

The two Mundaneum founders met in 1895 and created the modern library universal decimal classification system, building from John Dewey's early work. When La Fontaine won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1913 for his work as an activist in the international peace movement, he invested his winnings into the Mundaneum project, which was already underway. La Fontaine and Otlet collected 3-by-5 inch index cards to build a vast paper database which eventually contained some 16 million entries, covering everything from the history of hunting dogs to finance. The Belgian government granted them space in a government building and Otlet established a fee-based research service that allowed anyone in the world to submit a query via mail or telegraph. Inquiries poured in from all over the world.

World War II and the deaths of La Fontaine in 1943 and Otlet in 1944 slowed the project. Although many of these archives were stored away, some of them in the Brussels subway, volunteers kept the dream alive. In 1998, Belgium's French community government revived the Mundaneum's memory, bringing most of the archives to a beautiful Art Deco building in the city of Mons.



That brings us to today. The Prime Minister came to our office to announce a major partnership with the Mundaneum and the University of Ghent. Google will sponsor and partner in both the upcoming exhibition at the Mundaneum headquarters in Mons and a speaker series on Internet issues at the Mundaneum and the University of Ghent. Web pioneers Louis Pouzin and Robert Cailliau are already scheduled to speak.

Mundaneum will use Google to present and promote its conferences and exhibitions. It has also constructed an online tour of its dazzling premises. At today's event in the Google Brussels office, Prime Minister Di Rupo said he hopes that the Google-Mundaneum cooperation becomes a "wonderful forum for experimentation." Di Rupo himself is passionate about the Mundaneum; as mayor of Mons, he was instrumental in preserving the archive.

If information was important a century ago, it is even more important in the 21st century. In his remarks, the Prime Minister made the connection between the past and the future, and called on Belgium to embrace the digital economy. We showed him our recently-launched Belgian version of Street View. In Belgium, the Internet accounts for 2.5 percent of GDP—and its contribution is expected to grow by more than 10 percent a year for the next five years. "If all our companies could take better advantages of these new technologies, its sure that our exports would get a boost," Di Rupo said.

Our partnership with Mundaneum is part of a larger project to revive the memory of Europe's computing pioneers. Europe played a crucial role in the invention of computers and the Internet, yet all too often has forgotten its innovators. Last year marked the 60th anniversary of LEO, the world's first business computer, built by J.Lyons & Co, a leading British food manufacturer at the time that also ran a famous chain of tea shops. This past December, we celebrated the 60th anniversary of the formal recognition of Ukraine's Sergey Lebedev's pioneering MESM project. We've also given our support to help restore Bletchley Park, the site of the U.K.'s wartime codebreaking and home of Colossus, the world's first electronic programmable computer.

Now we're moving to the heart of Europe. "This is a beautiful story between Google and us, which allows allows us to recognize the the memory of the Mundaneum," says the Mundaneum's director Jean-Paul Deplus. For Google, it's just as exciting to rediscover our own roots.

Posted by William Echikson, External Relations, Brussels
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/honoring-and-supporting-belgian.html
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