Map of the Week: Hill Mapper San Francisco
July 31st, 2013 | by Mano Marks | published in Uncategorized
July 31st, 2013 | by Mano Marks | published in Uncategorized
July 31st, 2013 | by Emily Wood | published in Uncategorized
A couple of weeks ago, I took a summer trip with friends. I found myself using plenty of Google tools while we were on vacation: from finding the best flight there and a last-minute hostel reservation, to discovering hidden gems in each city we visited, even I was surprised by how much Google made everything easier and smoother.
With that inspiration, we’ve created a one stop shop at g.co/summer with tips to help you also make the most of these last few weeks of summer.
Here are a few tips you might find useful too:
Meanwhile, my mom back home in New York found some great local activities and museum exhibits, like the MOMA Rain Room, using Google Now in her Google Search app. She even tried some Google+ MakerCamp classes, which inspired her to create her own DIY projects at home.
Post about your summer using hashtag #SummerTimes, and see what other folks are up to.
Happy summer!
Posted by Liz Wessel, Marketing Manager and Summer Traveler
July 31st, 2013 | by Inside AdSense Team | published in Uncategorized
The new responsive ad units allow you to support a wide range of devices by working with your responsive design web pages. You can now dynamically specify the size of the ad that will be served, adapting it to fit the way your site renders a page on a particular device.
As this is still a beta feature, here are a few pointers to keep in mind:
Step 1 – create a responsive ad unit
Step 2 – modify the sample CSS media queries in the new ad code
More detailed examples and steps to get started can be found in our Help Center. If you’d like to know more about responsive design, have a look at our Google Developers resource.
Thanks for all of your feedback on responsive web design to date. Please do continue to share your suggestions so we can keep improving AdSense for you. Watch this space for more news and updates in the near future!
Posted by Nick Radicevic – AdSense Product Manager
Was this blog post useful? Share your feedback with us.
July 31st, 2013 | by Alexis R. Shellhammer | published in Uncategorized
By all measures, this year has been an incredible one for DoubleClick Ad Exchange (AdX) and its partners. From NYC to London to Tokyo (and everywhere in between), more buyers and sellers are using AdX than ever before, and they’re doing it across a broader range of use cases – including direct programmatic deals, tag-based ad network optimization, and of course, RTB.
July 31st, 2013 | by Jane Smith | published in Uncategorized
Editor’s note: Today’s guest blogger is Derek Kruse, CIO of the Douglas Omaha Technology Commission (DOTComm), which provides municipal technical services to the City of Omaha and Douglas County, Nebraska. Be sure to join Innovation for the Nation, a virtual summit featuring government customers, streaming live on July 31st and August 1st. And see what other organizations that have gone Google have to say.
Derek Kruse, CIO |
The City of Omaha and Douglas County have something many municipalities lack, a collaborative relationship. With Omaha located within Douglas County, we are fortunate to live in a community that values working together to solve complex challenges. Our cooperation has led to many innovative solutions, including the formation of the Douglas Omaha Technology Commission (DOTComm). Another example of this collaborative spirit is our decision to upgrade our email and calendaring platform. In order to improve government productivity and efficiency, DOTComm has been tasked with moving approximately 5,000 city and county employees in more than 70 departments to Google Apps for Government.
In May, after a thorough and exhaustive evaluation process, the DOT.Comm Oversight Committee approved the proposal to implement Google Apps for Government. The decision was endorsed by the Mayor and also unanimously approved by both the City Council and the County Board of Commissioners. We decided to go with Google Apps because it not only meets our current needs, but it offers new collaboration features at a fraction of the cost it would take to upgrade our existing system. We chose SADA Systems, a Google Apps Premier Enterprise Reseller, to help with this transition and serve as our deployment partner. It is obvious that SADA’s focus on training and ensuring a smooth migration will enable us to quickly and easily adopt Google Apps.
Moving to Google Apps will provide tremendous benefits. Our current system is more than 10 years old and lacks any modern features. Employees struggle to access information on their mobile devices and people spend valuable time deleting emails because our mailboxes do not have enough space. Given the age of our system, we have seen a steep increase in outages as well. That will all change when we move to Google Apps for Government. We will offer a more secure, stable, modern and scalable cloud solution to the City and County. Employees will now be able to communicate instantly and work collaboratively online, even if they are miles apart. Mailbox size alone has people cheering — one of our employees made the comparison that we will be moving from a shot glass to a swimming pool!
We started out this process to fix our aged email system. We have discovered this is much more than a fix — this is the future — and another big step in the ongoing collaboration between Omaha and Douglas County. The next few months will be very exciting as we implement Google Apps and we are very thrilled to be rolling up our sleeves once again to improve our community together.
July 31st, 2013 | by Emily Wood | published in Uncategorized
Coffee shop + Internet—it’s a pairing that many of us have come to rely on. WiFi access makes work time, downtime, travel time and lots of in-between times more enjoyable and productive. That’s why we’re teaming up with Starbucks to bring faster, free WiFi connections to all 7,000 company-operated Starbucks stores in the United States over the next 18 months. When your local Starbucks WiFi network goes Google, you’ll be able to surf the web at speeds up to 10x faster than before. If you’re in a Google Fiber city, we’re hoping to get you a connection that’s up to 100x faster.
Google has long invested in helping the Internet grow stronger, including projects to make Internet access speedier, more affordable, and more widely available. The free Internet connection at Starbucks has become an important part of many communities over the years, such as in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, or for students without Internet at home who do their homework at Starbucks.
We’ll start rolling out the new networks this August. We appreciate your patience if it’s still a little while before we get to your favorite Starbucks—you’ll know your new network is ready to go when you can log in to the “Google Starbucks” SSID.
Posted by Kevin Lo, General Manager, Google Access
July 31st, 2013 | by Jane Smith | published in Uncategorized
Editor’s note: Today’s guest blogger is Gary Bateman, CIO for the Iowa Workforce Development. Be sure to join Innovation for the Nation, a virtual summit featuring government customers, streaming live on July 31st and August 1st. And see what other organizations that have gone Google have to say.
In Iowa, our mission at Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) is to provide a comprehensive statewide system of employment services, education and regulations to ensure the economic security of Iowa’s workers, businesses and communities. An important part of our effort is to identify and prevent unemployment insurance fraud. Our efforts have cut the rate of fraud to less than 6%, but we are not satisfied to stop there.
Detecting and preventing unemployment insurance fraud is challenging because of the high volume of claims we receive. Often times, we’re not able to detect the discrepancy until after multiple payments have been made. This lag means the bad actors can take the money and move on, making it difficult and expensive to recover the payment. We went looking for technologies to provide an even better rate of fraud detection, allowing us to act faster to prevent this criminal activity and save the state money.
After a competitive bid process, we selected Fraud Detection as a Service (FDaaS) by Pondera Solutions, a Google Enterprise Partner, to help us identify and prevent improper payments. FDaaS is a Google-powered solution that uses Google Prediction API, Google Maps, Google Street View and Google Earth.
With FDaaS, suspicious claims are proactively flagged by the system, which alerts IWD employees about potentially fraudulent claims. The claims are plotted on a heatmap built on Google Maps to identify areas with the highest fraud incidents and determine where to put more investigative resources. We also use Google Street View to check the validity of businesses that submit claims. All of these data points are compiled into a custom, configured dashboard that helps us quickly examine claimants and employers to validate whether these claims are valid. This dashboard will replace many of our manual processes of checking disparate databases. And because Google helps to integrate relevant market data into our validation processes, we can parse massive amounts of data quickly and efficiently, allowing us to identify advanced schemes and rapidly respond to potential issues. With all this information available at our fingertips, we can then examine claimants and employers to validate whether these claims are proper much more efficiently.
Using the new solution, IWD will improve accuracies in Unemployment Insurance, benefiting both the employers and citizens of Iowa. Our continuing efforts will help assure that the vast majority of unemployment insurance benefits are delivered to the citizens who need and deserve our assistance.
July 30th, 2013 | by Jane Smith | published in Uncategorized
1. Click Compose.
2. Click the double-arrow icon at the top right of the compose window.
3. Enjoy a larger composition mode that displays all of the formatting options by default.
If you want to make this option your default view, click into the options menu at the bottom right corner of compose and choose “Default to full-screen.” The next time you click Compose, you’ll be sent to this mode. Both types of compose can be minimized by clicking the black bar at the top.
Editions included:
Google Apps for Business, Education, and Government
For more information:
https://plus.google.com/+Gmail/posts/8mDFJMRrSTy
whatsnew.googleapps.com
Get these product update alerts by email
Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates
July 30th, 2013 | by JB | published in Uncategorized
Since we launched DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) Small Business, we’ve been constantly innovating to meet the evolving needs of growing publishers.
From introducing free mobile and video ad serving functionality, to streamlining the tagging process, we’ve been committed to building a complete and easy-to-use platform that helps publishers grow their digital advertising business.
To help publishers continue to grow with the platform, we’re making available a set of features, such as creative templates, competitive exclusion, and configureable roles, that had previously only been available to our largest publishers. These features will help DFP Small Business publishers unlock new revenue opportunities and have even greater flexibility and control over their ad operations.
A full list of features now available to DFP Small Business publishers can be viewed here. If you don’t have a DFP Small Business account, sign up for free today.
Posted by Chealsea Conroy, Product Manager
July 30th, 2013 | by Lat Long | published in Uncategorized
Wherever life’s adventures may take us, our photos help us remember and share the places we care about. When photos are added to a map, whether they’re from your camera or through Street View, they record unique experiences that collectively create the story of a place and what it looked like at a particular moment in time.
Today, we are launching a new community site called Views that makes it easy for people to publicly share their photos of places by contributing photo spheres to Google Maps (photo spheres are 360º panoramas that can be easily be created with your Android phone).
Below is a screenshot of the new Google Maps for desktop, showing a photo sphere that I shared one morning in Hawaii while my wife and I walked along the beach near our old neighborhood. The thumbnails at the bottom show our comprehensive photo coverage, with each image accurately placed on the map.
A photo sphere in the new Google Maps. Can you feel the sand between your toes? |
Photo spheres can be created with the camera in Android 4.2 or higher, including most Nexus devices and the new Nexus 7 tablet. This short video will show you how to get started. You can also share panoramas you’ve created with your DSLR camera (learn more on our help center).
To upload 360º photo spheres, just sign into the Views site with your Google+ profile and click the blue camera button on the top right of the page. This will enable you to import your existing photo spheres from your Google+ photos. You can also upload 360º photo spheres to Views from the Gallery in Android by tapping “Share” and then selecting Google Maps.
Below you can see my Views page, which is filled with photo spheres and descriptions about my experiences in the places I’ve visited. I created these during my travels, including day trips and hikes around the San Francisco bay area, as well as far away adventures to Hawaii, Sydney, Beijing, and Paris. Sometimes I also share photo spheres around the Google campus in Mountain View. You can explore them all on this map.
Screenshot of my Views page |
Since Views also incorporates the Street View Gallery, you can check out incredible panoramas of our most popular Street View collections, from the Grand Canyon to the Swiss Alps. Just click on “Explore” at the top of the Views site to browse a map of these special collections right alongside community-contributed photo spheres.
So, when you’re on your next adventure, don’t forget your camera and your Android phone to create and share some photo spheres of places that inspire you… we can’t wait to see them!
Posted by Evan Rapoport, Product Manager, Google Maps & Photo Sphere
July 30th, 2013 | by Josh Pyle | published in Uncategorized
Doubleclick Bid Manager Overview for new users
DoubleClick Bid Manager Reporting
Posted by Laura Ellison, DoubleClick Bid Manager Product Trainer
July 30th, 2013 | by Google Students | published in Uncategorized
Our ‘Diary of a Business Associate Intern’ series is designed to give you an inside look into the life of Google interns based all over Europe. Today, the spotlight is on Malin Sundin from Sweden, who is a Business Associate Intern with Nordic SMB Services in our Google Dublin office.
“Do you want to write a blog post about your time at Google?” Of course! But what to write..?
My time at Google… I mean, it feels like I started yesterday but my internship is soon coming to an end. So I can write that time sure flies by at the Dublin office! Starting with a big bang of impressions in a Noogler group (Google-speak for “a new Googler”) full of people from all over the world (and I literally mean from all over – from Brazil, to Germany right through to China). I, as a Swedish business student wondered a bit about how I would find my place in this bubbly organization containing search tools, advertising services, mobile applications, hardware and what not.
But, after getting to know my fellow Nooglers, meeting my team and settling in with my roomies, (every building occupied by Googlers located less than ten minutes from the Dublin office) I felt that this was going to be ten incredible weeks. I have to admit that the first days were intense, but my Noogler friends functioned as my constant in the myriad of introductions and trainings. Funny enough, this actually made me feel like a true Googler – not only do people at Google tend to hang out with other Googlers in general, but all of them seem to hang out with people from their Noogler group. So, equipped with 30 new best friends I headed off to start my job for the summer.
Did I find my place? I sure did! Google isn’t all about engineering. There is a big sales and account management side to the business as well – this was perfect for me as I come from a business background and I wanted to work in online marketing. I’ve been working as a Business Associate Intern in the Nordic SMB Services team which helps small and medium sized businesses with their online advertising through Google Adwords. In essence, the SMB Services team assists clients on matters ranging from setting up online advertising campaigns to optimizing and troubleshooting their accounts.
And speaking about daily life, coming to Google as an intern does not mean fetching coffee for full-time employees. Rather, being an intern allows you to try the core job of your team, as well as leveraging your interests, skills and what you already know through side projects that can be of almost any nature. In my case, I created a performance evaluation tool for the team whereby each sales representative now can see how they perform compared to other sales representatives and the team as a whole. This was implemented and up and running in weekly team meetings during my internship. In other words, if you have a good idea – make it your project, execute it and it will be implemented! Through such a setup at least I felt that I wasn’t only running around asking questions, but really could add value to my team.
My time at Google… was amazing. Not only did I enjoy my work and colleagues, but also the whole atmosphere of being able to enjoy a casual Tuesday lunch at a playground patio full of swings. Don’t hesitate to apply for an internship if you’re the least bit curious about how working at Google might be for you!
Fun Google Fact: If you feel that you don’t get enough of the company logo at work, the Dublin office just opened a Google store full of everything that you could possible want to buy (ranging from laptop cases and headphones to nerf guns) with a Google, YouTube or Android twist!
Interested in becoming a Google intern? Fill out this form for further info on the 2014 Google Summer internship programme in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Please note: This is a speculative application. You will be contacted once the application process for next year’s programme goes live.
EEA work authorization is required for roles supporting EEA markets.
For resume and interview tips before you apply, check out this Hangout on Air. Additionally, please find up to date information on all job and internship postings in EMEA on our job site, and learn more about how the hiring process works.
Posted by Malin Sundin, Nordic SMB Services
July 30th, 2013 | by Jane Smith | published in Uncategorized
Editor’s note: Our guest blogger this week is Dietmar Böhm, CIO of Nobel Biocare, a leader in innovative, restorative and aesthetic dental solutions, headquartered in Switzerland. See what other organizations that have gone Google have to say.
Nobel Biocare was founded in 1981 in Göteborg, Sweden as Bofors Nobelpharma and we now have 2,500 employees in more than 40 countries. Our focus has always been on scientific innovation and developing safe and effective solutions to restore and improve our patient’s smiles. In order to provide the best dental care for our patients it’s important that our team is working together across all of our office locations.
In the healthcare industry, the privacy of our patients is extremely important. We wanted to give our employees the flexibility and mobility to work together while determining the best options for their patients, while still maintaining our data security and reducing our IT costs. As a company we had been using Lotus Notes, but I had personally been using Google Apps at work for over a year. I felt that by moving to the cloud, we would improve our ability to work together internally and with our suppliers, and offer our employees the most innovative technology available.
We believe that in order to attract the best talent and to retain the talent we have, it’s vital to provide the best technology that allows people to work together from anywhere. Today, many employees already know products such as Gmail, Google Drive or Google Calendar from using them in their personal lives. By using Google Apps for Business, we’re giving our employees the tools they’re used to and also building the foundation for years to come.
July 29th, 2013 | by Jane Smith | published in Uncategorized
Editor’s note: Our guest blogger this week is Tony Matheson, Manager Distribution Network IT Program for CitiPower and Powercor, electricity distributors whose core business is to deliver electricity to homes and businesses in Melbourne and throughout central and western Victoria. See what other organisations that have gone Google have to say.
As an electricity distributor, our primary job is managing assets such as poles, wires, and other equipment with a focus on safety, reliability, and cost effectiveness for 1.1 million customers, 80,000 kilometers of power lines, and more than half a million power poles. Every fault or outage must be managed, corrected and restored as quickly as possible, and risks to community power supplies caused by major events such as floods and bushfires must be avoided or mitigated swiftly.
With power distribution equipment spread across a wide area, we need to see the geographic locations of assets like poles, power transformers, switchgear, and so on, along with photos, maintenance, and planning information from our other enterprise systems. Yet we couldn’t overlay our data or put it into the context of an outage or other incident that might be happening in real time. The incumbent geographic information system requires specialised training to use and serves more specific functions. We needed something simple and effective to be able to overlay information from a variety of third-party sources including real-time emergency services information, as well as add further value and usefulness to data housed within our existing SAP Enterprise Asset Management software and Data Warehouse.
After considering several options, we chose Google Earth Enterprise because it would offer powerful 3D visualisation technology that would be intuitive to use for everyone in the company, without training. We used the Google Earth API to customize our own view of the virtual globe to meet our exact business requirements. Our virtual globe is now housed onsite on a server behind our company firewall.
Google Earth Enterprise allows us to create maps depending on the need, share them with others, and reach remote workers, so everyone has a consistent and familiar experience wherever they are. Google Earth Enterprise is so innovative and flexible that we can develop iteratively, with agility, and at a very low cost. We often can add a new layer to meet an immediate business need on the same day it is requested.
Today, we are delivering better, faster service to customers and driving business efficiencies. Situations can be analysed and acted upon with speed and accuracy. Google Earth Enterprise has helped us become far more innovative and agile. The investment required was low, and the benefits were immediate.
July 29th, 2013 | by Stephanie Taylor | published in Uncategorized
This week marks the halfway point of Google Summer of Code 2013. Both students and mentors will be submitting their midterm evaluations of one another through Friday, August 2 as indicated in our timeline. If you would like to read more about these midterm evaluations, please check out the “How Do Evaluations Work?” link on our FAQ.
The next milestone for the program will be the “pencils down” date of September 16th after which students can take a week to scrub their code, write tests, improve calculations and generally polish their work before the firm end of coding on September 23rd.
There has been fantastic progress made so far, and we encourage all the students, mentors, and org admins to keep up the great work!
By Carol Smith, Open Source Team