Missing the thrill of fierce global competitions and awesome displays of athletic prowess? Well, lucky for you, these things live on through the 2012 Summer Paralympics Games in London. The Paralympics just kicked off this Wednesday (check out the Opening Ceremony!) and will run through September 9th. This year, the Paralympics are more accessible and global than ever through YouTube.
Whether your favorite sport is powerlifting, sitting volleyball or wheelchair basketball, you can catch all the action on the International Paralympic Committee’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/paralympicsporttv. The channel will feature 500 hours of live competitions accompanied by a real-time commenting feature for viewers in the United States and Canada. Additionally, others around the world have access to over 1000 hours of on-demand catch-up footage of current and previous games, interviews with Paralympic athletes and other behind-the-scenes footage.
Team USA fans can be sure to stay on top of their favorite athletes throughout the games and access original content made available by the United States Olympic Committee at youtube.com/teamusa.
One of the most anticipated competitions will no doubt be the T44 100m pitting South African superstar “Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius against British sprinter John Peacock and American runner Jerome Singleton on September 6th. After making history when he competed in the Olympics several weeks ago, Pistorius will return to the Paralympics to see if he can defend his title. This is a race you certainly won’t want to miss!
Nor would you want to miss any of the action at this year’s Paralympics. If you’re like us, you’ll be tuning in morning, noon, and nights, over the coming weeks to catch the acts of sheer athleticism and stunning heroism that we’re sure will no doubt come out of the 2012 London Paralympics.
Happy Viewing!
Tommy O’Hare, Sports Content Manager, recently watched, “Channel 4 Paralympics - Meet the Superhumans (Annotated Version).
Friday, August 31, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Half a gigameter of biking navigation in 12 countries in Google Maps for Android
Whether you’re a seasoned century rider or a casual beach cruiser, finding the best biking routes can be a challenge. That’s why today we’re bringing mobile biking directions and navigation to the 10 countries where we launched desktop biking directions last month (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK). Plus, we’re adding turn-by-turn, voice-guided biking navigation to Google Maps Navigation (beta) in every country with biking directions. Mount your device on your handlebars to see the turn-by-turn directions and navigation, or use speaker-mode to hear voice-guided directions.
We know there are lots of ways to get from here to there, which is why in 2010, we added biking directions to Google Maps in the U.S. and Canada, and continue to work to bring more biking features to more places. Today, there are more than 330,000 miles (equal to more than 530,000 kilometers, or half a gigameter) of green biking lines in Google Maps. Dark green lines on the map show dedicated bike trails and paths with no motor vehicles, light green lines show streets with bike lanes and dashed green lines show other streets recommended for cycling. Biking navigation even helps you avoid steep hills.
Where Map Maker and biking directions are both available, riders can add bike trails, lanes and suggested routes to Google Maps, helping to create a more comprehensive map for everyone living in or visiting their community. Thanks to the contributions of members of the biking community like Todd Scott and our partnership with nonprofits like Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, we’ve added bike data for hundreds of cities and trails to Google Maps in the past two-and-a-half years.
When you’re pedaling from Point A to Point B, we hope biking navigation will make Google Maps for Android more useful to you.
(Cross-posted on the Lat Long blog)
Turn-by-turn biking navigation in Copenhagen
We know there are lots of ways to get from here to there, which is why in 2010, we added biking directions to Google Maps in the U.S. and Canada, and continue to work to bring more biking features to more places. Today, there are more than 330,000 miles (equal to more than 530,000 kilometers, or half a gigameter) of green biking lines in Google Maps. Dark green lines on the map show dedicated bike trails and paths with no motor vehicles, light green lines show streets with bike lanes and dashed green lines show other streets recommended for cycling. Biking navigation even helps you avoid steep hills.
Bike layer showing recommended streets for cycling in Stockholm
Where Map Maker and biking directions are both available, riders can add bike trails, lanes and suggested routes to Google Maps, helping to create a more comprehensive map for everyone living in or visiting their community. Thanks to the contributions of members of the biking community like Todd Scott and our partnership with nonprofits like Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, we’ve added bike data for hundreds of cities and trails to Google Maps in the past two-and-a-half years.
When you’re pedaling from Point A to Point B, we hope biking navigation will make Google Maps for Android more useful to you.
(Cross-posted on the Lat Long blog)
YouTube Space Lab, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and the International Space Station—live!
Hot off the heels of their stunning Curiosity rover landing on Mars, NASA will soon be live streaming on YouTube from another space outpost...this time a little closer to home.
On Thursday, September 13, Bill Nye the Science Guy will host a special live stream between Earth and the International Space Station (ISS). You’ll see the bright, young scientists of YouTube Space Lab and the NASA astronaut 250 miles above Earth performing the winning experiments of the competition launched by YouTube and Lenovo last year. Depending on the space station’s exact schedule, the stream will take place soon after 5:30am PT on Thursday, September 13. On the day, tune in to the channel to take part in this special event.
Amr, Dorothy and Sara, who were voted in March as the global winners of YouTube Space Lab, will join Bill and special guests to discuss their winning experiments and explore why science in space is so important for our future.
After NASA Mission Control gives the go ahead, those on Earth will be joined by NASA astronaut, Sunita Williams, live aboard the ISS, for an interview like no other. You will also have your chance to pose questions to Sunita, by publicly posting to Google+, Twitter or Facebook using the tag #SpaceLab.
Dom Elliott, marketing manager, recently watched “Armstrong Remembered by NASA Administrator.”
On Thursday, September 13, Bill Nye the Science Guy will host a special live stream between Earth and the International Space Station (ISS). You’ll see the bright, young scientists of YouTube Space Lab and the NASA astronaut 250 miles above Earth performing the winning experiments of the competition launched by YouTube and Lenovo last year. Depending on the space station’s exact schedule, the stream will take place soon after 5:30am PT on Thursday, September 13. On the day, tune in to the channel to take part in this special event.
Amr, Dorothy and Sara, who were voted in March as the global winners of YouTube Space Lab, will join Bill and special guests to discuss their winning experiments and explore why science in space is so important for our future.
After NASA Mission Control gives the go ahead, those on Earth will be joined by NASA astronaut, Sunita Williams, live aboard the ISS, for an interview like no other. You will also have your chance to pose questions to Sunita, by publicly posting to Google+, Twitter or Facebook using the tag #SpaceLab.
Dom Elliott, marketing manager, recently watched “Armstrong Remembered by NASA Administrator.”
Our August featured “On The Rise” partner is thevfxbro!
Congratulations to Aaron of thevfxbro! As a result of strong fan support and recognizable efforts to optimize his channel and videos according to our best practices, Aaron is our featured “On The Rise” YouTube partner for August. His channel and four engaging videos are featured on the YouTube homepage today.
As a film student at Biola University, Aaron perfected his video editing skills and special effects knowledge while mastering programs like Final Cut and Adobe AfterEffects. This work was a natural fit for YouTube, and he’s found success by sharing his expertise with the YouTube world. The thevfxbro channel hosts such videos as the walkthrough of the video effects Aaron used in his “I Am Legend” spoof, his adorable “copy cat,” and how the “Hunt for Pikachu” video was created. Check out his library of video editing tutorials as well as behind-the-scenes footage explaining how Aaron - and his friend Zach from FinalCutKing - use special effects to create their videos.
Here are a few words from Aaron:
Christine Wang and Devon Storbeck, YouTube Content Partnerships, recently watched “Bentley the Bulldog Puppy is fussy.”
As a film student at Biola University, Aaron perfected his video editing skills and special effects knowledge while mastering programs like Final Cut and Adobe AfterEffects. This work was a natural fit for YouTube, and he’s found success by sharing his expertise with the YouTube world. The thevfxbro channel hosts such videos as the walkthrough of the video effects Aaron used in his “I Am Legend” spoof, his adorable “copy cat,” and how the “Hunt for Pikachu” video was created. Check out his library of video editing tutorials as well as behind-the-scenes footage explaining how Aaron - and his friend Zach from FinalCutKing - use special effects to create their videos.
Here are a few words from Aaron:
Wow! Having started film school 4 years ago I never thought that it would have ended with me running a YouTube channel with an audience that I not only get to share my videos with, but help along the way. The crazy thing about YouTube is that it’s so new and we have no idea where it’s going to take us. I am so excited to see where this platform takes us filmmakers. Feel free to check out my channel that has awesome videos with visual effects as well as training and tutorials to help you take your own videos to the next level!If you’ve enjoyed this monthly On The Rise blog series and want to see more rising YouTube partners, check out our On The Rise channel. Keep an eye out for next month’s blog post, as your channel may be the next one On The Rise!
Christine Wang and Devon Storbeck, YouTube Content Partnerships, recently watched “Bentley the Bulldog Puppy is fussy.”
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Your Film Festival finalist filmmakers head to Venice
This weekend, the filmmakers behind the ten films you selected as the Your Film Festival finalists, will travel to another film festival – the world’s oldest, in Venice. There, they’ll pitch their idea for a new YouTube project to the Your Film Festival jury and have the chance to win $500,000 to make their idea a reality with the support of Sir Ridley Scott, Michael Fassbender, and Scott Free Productions.
Subscribe to the channel to catch the latest news and return on Monday 3rd after the finalist film screening has taken place in Venice, when we’ll announce the Grand Prize Winner. In the meantime, meet the ten finalists in the video below and watch their short films on the channel.
Dom Elliott, marketing manager, recently watched “Tether.”
Subscribe to the channel to catch the latest news and return on Monday 3rd after the finalist film screening has taken place in Venice, when we’ll announce the Grand Prize Winner. In the meantime, meet the ten finalists in the video below and watch their short films on the channel.
Dom Elliott, marketing manager, recently watched “Tether.”
Making it easier to cast your ballot
The first presidential nominating convention, held in 1832, was meant to give Americans a voice in the selection of the presidential nominee. Fast forward to 2012 and these conventions still represent a major moment in American politics—and we’re helping the conventions reach a larger audience by being the official live stream provider and social networking platform for the Republican National Convention in Tampa and the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte.
In conjunction with our on-the-ground efforts, we’re making a number of online tools available to help you get organized and informed as Election Day approaches.
Get informed
Our Google Politics & Elections site enables you to see the latest Google News, YouTube videos, search and video trends, and Google+ content about the election in one place. You can also visit our live Elections Hub to watch the national political conventions, debates and even election night LIVE right from your mobile phone or laptop.
Register to vote
To make it easy to navigate the rules and deadlines about registering to vote and how to vote by mail, we put together an online voter guide. We’ve also added a special section to make it easier for military and overseas voters to find information about their different rules and deadlines.
As we approach the final days of the election, we’ll continue to develop useful ways for voters and campaigns to engage one another around the important issues in 2012.
We hope these tools will help you stay informed and participate in the election!
In conjunction with our on-the-ground efforts, we’re making a number of online tools available to help you get organized and informed as Election Day approaches.
Get informed
Our Google Politics & Elections site enables you to see the latest Google News, YouTube videos, search and video trends, and Google+ content about the election in one place. You can also visit our live Elections Hub to watch the national political conventions, debates and even election night LIVE right from your mobile phone or laptop.
Register to vote
To make it easy to navigate the rules and deadlines about registering to vote and how to vote by mail, we put together an online voter guide. We’ve also added a special section to make it easier for military and overseas voters to find information about their different rules and deadlines.
As we approach the final days of the election, we’ll continue to develop useful ways for voters and campaigns to engage one another around the important issues in 2012.
We hope these tools will help you stay informed and participate in the election!
Watch the Republican and Democratic National Conventions live on YouTube
Last week, we announced the YouTube Election Hub, a channel where you can find the latest live and on-demand coverage from the 2012 campaign trail.
Tonight, as part of YouTube’s role as Official Live-Streaming Provider for both political conventions, the trail leads to Tampa, Florida, for the Republican National Convention. You can watch all of the podium speeches and backstage action live on the site, including Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech on Thursday night.
Next week, starting September 4, we’ll give you an all-access pass to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Once again, every night during prime-time, you’ll be able to turn to YouTube to see all of the speeches like President Obama’s live address from Bank of America Stadium on September 6.
Accompanying the official proceedings, the YouTube Election Hub will feature live partner convention coverage so you can get the latest analysis from a variety of sources and form your own opinion about the election. If you’d like to stay updated on the latest coverage, you can follow the action here.
The conventions have delivered some of the most memorable political speeches of the past few decades, like Sarah Palin’s notable hockey mom riff and Ann Richards’ 1988 straight talk. Relive them here now:
The live primetime Republican Convention speeches begin tonight at 8 p.m. ET. Tune into www.youtube.com/politics to watch and comment in real-time.
Ramya Raghavan, YouTube News and Politics Manager, recently watched “It’s Convention Time. Bring Your Party Hat!”
Tonight, as part of YouTube’s role as Official Live-Streaming Provider for both political conventions, the trail leads to Tampa, Florida, for the Republican National Convention. You can watch all of the podium speeches and backstage action live on the site, including Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech on Thursday night.
Next week, starting September 4, we’ll give you an all-access pass to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Once again, every night during prime-time, you’ll be able to turn to YouTube to see all of the speeches like President Obama’s live address from Bank of America Stadium on September 6.
Accompanying the official proceedings, the YouTube Election Hub will feature live partner convention coverage so you can get the latest analysis from a variety of sources and form your own opinion about the election. If you’d like to stay updated on the latest coverage, you can follow the action here.
The conventions have delivered some of the most memorable political speeches of the past few decades, like Sarah Palin’s notable hockey mom riff and Ann Richards’ 1988 straight talk. Relive them here now:
The live primetime Republican Convention speeches begin tonight at 8 p.m. ET. Tune into www.youtube.com/politics to watch and comment in real-time.
Ramya Raghavan, YouTube News and Politics Manager, recently watched “It’s Convention Time. Bring Your Party Hat!”
Friday, August 24, 2012
Life @ YouTube: Interns Go Behind the Screen
What do you think when you hear “YouTube”? I used to think of videos of panda bears sneezing, British toddlers biting each other’s fingers, and the instant stardom of seemingly everyday people. But over the past 11 weeks, I’ve had a true insider’s perspective on the company. I’ve worked with hundreds of YouTube employees who are redefining how we create, share and consume video.
As a BOLD intern, I’ve been able to go behind the screen and leave my mark at YouTube. Google’s BOLD program began placing undergraduate interns at YouTube in 2010, beginning with a class size of just two and it continues to grow each year. This year we had nine undergraduate YouTube interns bringing fresh ideas and making a huge impact along the way. I, along with other interns, have had the opportunity to work on meaningful projects that have directly benefited YouTube users. My fellow interns and I worked on “Your Film Festival,” an independent film contest, the channel design for the 2012 Olympics page, and support of the live streaming at Lollapalooza music festival - just to name a few projects.
As an intern in People Operations, I’ve worked with many different teams across the company, from content partners to product managers and designers, while developing leadership training programs, producing and editing videos, and interviewing Directors and VPs. And I’m only one intern! Total, there are 30 other undergraduate and graduate school interns that make up the YouTube family, all of whom are working on phenomenal projects involving software engineering, web developing and user experience design.
The professional development opportunities afforded to interns at YouTube are unmatched. Still, it’s not all work and no play. While at YouTube I’ve been able to chat it up with Rick Ross, meet Congresswoman Jackie Speier and host over 100 Bay Area engineering interns for a night of BBQ, beer, Bluegrass music and cool product demos. YouTube is a magical place and this summer gave me a taste of the magic. If you’d like to find out more, visit our site for information about internships and jobs.
Kayla Conti, YouTube BOLD Intern, recently watched, The Big Bang Theory - The Friendship Algorithm.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
5 Questions with Scott Harrison, Founder of charity:water
charity:water is an organization dedicated to providing clean, safe drinking water to people around the globe and since exploding onto YouTube in 2008, they’ve made a name for themselves with consistent catchy, aesthetically awesome videos. charity:water is a nonprofit who isn’t afraid to push the boundaries of what’s possible with video so we weren’t surprised to hear that they have big YouTube plans for their upcoming September Campaign. We sat down with charity:water founder Scott Harrison to learn more about the campaign and their approach to making videos that are both inspiring and compulsively watchable.
Q: You're launching your 6th annual September Campaign next week. Can you tell us about the campaign and how video will play a role?
A: charity: water was born in September, and each year we take that month to focus in on a particular country, tell an amazing story and challenge our community to make a big impact there. This year, we’re telling a powerful story of redemption in Rwanda.
It’s been 18 years since the genocide, and the country has been rebuilding faster than most people ever thought possible. Rwanda is now attempting to achieve 100% clean water coverage by 2020 -- something no country in Africa has ever done before -- and we want to help them. By partnering with the local government, through the September Campaign, we’re going to bring clean water to 26,000 people in the Rulindo District.
At the core of this campaign are stories, stories of families who have to haul water up and down a mountain every day--water from a swamp or river that can make them sick; stories of people making a living by managing and maintaining the kind of water points we’ll fund; and stories of our fundraisers doing amazing things to help people on the other side of the world.
In addition to the trailer which launched on August 21, we’ll release four short films during the campaign, and then on September 7, we’ll film and upload a video -- live from Rwanda -- as the work begins in the field. It’s important to us to inspire our fundraisers by bringing the story to life and also to use video to help them see their impact.
Q. Your "Thank You" campaign fascinated us at YouTube because it did a few things differently. For example, it featured your whole staff and each video was targeted towards a particular donor. Was the campaign successful? Can you share any learnings?
Yes. Last year, to mark our fifth birthday, we decided to celebrate the thousands of fundraisers who gave up their birthdays, biked, swam, and built lemonade stands to raise money for clean water.
There was no fundraising goal for these videos, and we intentionally didn’t make them only for our top donors and fundraisers. Instead our goal was to just make 250 different supporters feel special and let them know how much we value them.
Our metrics for the campaign were soft, but dozens of people who received the videos, sent us emails to express the depth of their feelings and ‘love’ for our brand.
And our staff (everyone from our receptionist to our CTO made videos!) reported back that this ‘thank you experience’ was among their favorite moments working here.
Most importantly, we think that anyone who sees the thank you videos will understand just how much we care about our relationship with our supporters.
Q: Besides view count, how do you measure the success of a charity:water video?
A: The first goal of our video strategy is to inspire people. Inspire them to become aware of this important issue, to donate, to fundraise, and hopefully to become lifelong fans. Inspiration is difficult to measure, but the results driven by that inspiration are powerful.
For this year’s September Campaign, we’ll release five videos throughout the campaign as key content to drive our $1.7 million fundraising target. Without the video inspiration, we wouldn’t be able to create the movement of thousands of fundraisers needed to bring clean water to 26,000 people in Rwanda.
And despite the fact that we don’t make videos to drive immediate donations, we frequently see a fundraising spike alongside our best video content. For example, last year when we launched our animated Water Changes Everything on YouTube (now viewed over 800,000 times), we saw our online donations spike for weeks.
Q: One thing that comes across in your videos is your sense of aesthetics. How does design play a role in video production and does it take a large budget to make videos that are aesthetically appealing?
A: Time, energy, and talent can be more important than budget when it comes to making great videos. Our video team is only made up of a couple people, but we invest significant time and energy in bringing excellence to everything we produce.
It’s important to us that charity: water videos always look beautiful. It shows respect for our supporters that we invest as much time as possible in the highest aesthetic appeal.
Q: What's one mistake you see nonprofits making with video? What advice do you have for organizations making this mistake?
A: The biggest mistake we see are non-profits using the power of the medium to drive feelings of guilt or sadness, instead of hope and positivity.
You can evoke strong emotions with a video, and a sad tale or a shocking image can indeed induce someone to pull out their wallet and donate. However, we believe in respecting both the subjects of our videos and the audience, and you’ll see us continue to focus on positivity, possibility and inspiration over guilt and sadness.
Ramya Raghavan, News and Politics Manager, recently watched “Unshaken.”
Q: You're launching your 6th annual September Campaign next week. Can you tell us about the campaign and how video will play a role?
A: charity: water was born in September, and each year we take that month to focus in on a particular country, tell an amazing story and challenge our community to make a big impact there. This year, we’re telling a powerful story of redemption in Rwanda.
It’s been 18 years since the genocide, and the country has been rebuilding faster than most people ever thought possible. Rwanda is now attempting to achieve 100% clean water coverage by 2020 -- something no country in Africa has ever done before -- and we want to help them. By partnering with the local government, through the September Campaign, we’re going to bring clean water to 26,000 people in the Rulindo District.
At the core of this campaign are stories, stories of families who have to haul water up and down a mountain every day--water from a swamp or river that can make them sick; stories of people making a living by managing and maintaining the kind of water points we’ll fund; and stories of our fundraisers doing amazing things to help people on the other side of the world.
In addition to the trailer which launched on August 21, we’ll release four short films during the campaign, and then on September 7, we’ll film and upload a video -- live from Rwanda -- as the work begins in the field. It’s important to us to inspire our fundraisers by bringing the story to life and also to use video to help them see their impact.
Q. Your "Thank You" campaign fascinated us at YouTube because it did a few things differently. For example, it featured your whole staff and each video was targeted towards a particular donor. Was the campaign successful? Can you share any learnings?
Yes. Last year, to mark our fifth birthday, we decided to celebrate the thousands of fundraisers who gave up their birthdays, biked, swam, and built lemonade stands to raise money for clean water.
There was no fundraising goal for these videos, and we intentionally didn’t make them only for our top donors and fundraisers. Instead our goal was to just make 250 different supporters feel special and let them know how much we value them.
Our metrics for the campaign were soft, but dozens of people who received the videos, sent us emails to express the depth of their feelings and ‘love’ for our brand.
And our staff (everyone from our receptionist to our CTO made videos!) reported back that this ‘thank you experience’ was among their favorite moments working here.
Most importantly, we think that anyone who sees the thank you videos will understand just how much we care about our relationship with our supporters.
Q: Besides view count, how do you measure the success of a charity:water video?
A: The first goal of our video strategy is to inspire people. Inspire them to become aware of this important issue, to donate, to fundraise, and hopefully to become lifelong fans. Inspiration is difficult to measure, but the results driven by that inspiration are powerful.
For this year’s September Campaign, we’ll release five videos throughout the campaign as key content to drive our $1.7 million fundraising target. Without the video inspiration, we wouldn’t be able to create the movement of thousands of fundraisers needed to bring clean water to 26,000 people in Rwanda.
And despite the fact that we don’t make videos to drive immediate donations, we frequently see a fundraising spike alongside our best video content. For example, last year when we launched our animated Water Changes Everything on YouTube (now viewed over 800,000 times), we saw our online donations spike for weeks.
Q: One thing that comes across in your videos is your sense of aesthetics. How does design play a role in video production and does it take a large budget to make videos that are aesthetically appealing?
A: Time, energy, and talent can be more important than budget when it comes to making great videos. Our video team is only made up of a couple people, but we invest significant time and energy in bringing excellence to everything we produce.
It’s important to us that charity: water videos always look beautiful. It shows respect for our supporters that we invest as much time as possible in the highest aesthetic appeal.
Q: What's one mistake you see nonprofits making with video? What advice do you have for organizations making this mistake?
A: The biggest mistake we see are non-profits using the power of the medium to drive feelings of guilt or sadness, instead of hope and positivity.
You can evoke strong emotions with a video, and a sad tale or a shocking image can indeed induce someone to pull out their wallet and donate. However, we believe in respecting both the subjects of our videos and the audience, and you’ll see us continue to focus on positivity, possibility and inspiration over guilt and sadness.
Ramya Raghavan, News and Politics Manager, recently watched “Unshaken.”
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Google Maps heads north...way north
Search for [cambridge bay] on Google Maps and you’ll fly to a tiny hamlet located deep in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut in Canada’s Arctic, surrounded by an intricate lacework of tundra, waterways and breaking ice. High above the Arctic circle, it’s a place reachable only by plane or boat. Zoom in on the map, and this isolated village of 1,500 people appears as only a handful of streets, with names like Omingmak (“musk ox”) Street and Tigiganiak (“fox”) Road.
View Larger Map
Cambridge Bay in Google Maps
The hamlet of Cambridge Bay
Catherine Moats, a member of the Google Map Maker Team, working with Chris Kalluk and others at the Community Map Up.
The Street View Trike collecting imagery of Cambridge Bay.
(Cross-posted on the Lat Long Blog and new Google Canada Blog)
View Larger Map
(Cross-posted on the Lat Long Blog and new Google Canada Blog)
The U.S. election, live on YouTube
Today we’re introducing the YouTube Elections Hub, a one-stop channel for key political moments from now through the upcoming U.S. election day on November 6. You can watch all of the live speeches from the floor of the upcoming Republican and Democratic National Conventions, see Google+ Hangouts with power brokers behind the scenes, and watch a live stream of the official Presidential and Vice Presidential debates. You won’t need to go anywhere else for the must-watch moments of this election cycle...they’re all happening on the Hub live.
In addition to videos from politicians and parties, a diverse range of news organizations—both established names in media and sought-after new voices—are sharing their coverage of the political process on the new hub. You’ll find live and on-demand reporting and analysis from ABC News, Al Jazeera English, BuzzFeed, Larry King, The New York Times, Phil DeFranco, Univision and the Wall Street Journal. Each will put their own stamp on the Presidential race—from the conventions to the debates to election night.
Of course, we’ll have special live coverage around the Republican National Convention from August 27 to 30, the Democratic National Convention from September 4-6, the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates in October, and election night. Bookmark the Elections Hub now for a front row seat along the road to the White House.
(Cross-posted from the YouTube Blog)
In addition to videos from politicians and parties, a diverse range of news organizations—both established names in media and sought-after new voices—are sharing their coverage of the political process on the new hub. You’ll find live and on-demand reporting and analysis from ABC News, Al Jazeera English, BuzzFeed, Larry King, The New York Times, Phil DeFranco, Univision and the Wall Street Journal. Each will put their own stamp on the Presidential race—from the conventions to the debates to election night.
Of course, we’ll have special live coverage around the Republican National Convention from August 27 to 30, the Democratic National Convention from September 4-6, the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates in October, and election night. Bookmark the Elections Hub now for a front row seat along the road to the White House.
(Cross-posted from the YouTube Blog)
Mapping the Motor City with Google Map Maker
Hailed as the birthplace of the automotive revolution, the city of Detroit, Mich. is taking its transportation legacy down new paths. As Detroit embraces a greener, non-motorized outlook, cycling is steadily increasing in popularity. The Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance is facilitating this transition by creating an interconnected statewide system of trails and greenways, including the development of bike paths throughout the Detroit area.
As these new bike paths change the city’s landscape, Motor City residents need a more comprehensive map showing bike friendly routes. Todd Scott, the Detroit Greenways Coordinator, discovered that he could use Google Map Maker—a free tool that allows anyone to make contributions to Google Maps—to add new information on biking paths and trails in and around Detroit. Adding new bike paths not only makes the map more accurate, it also improves biking directions, making it even easier for people to find the quickest routes through town. Anyone can also enhance existing trails by including details such as the official name, surface type and bicycle suitability. Keeping Google Maps updated with the latest information means everyone in the community is able to find and enjoy these new additions to the trail system.
Learn more about Todd Scott and his mission to improve the map for cyclists in Detroit.
Building a more comprehensive, accurate and usable map for local cyclists is just one part of Todd’s mission. From the smallest town to a rapidly evolving city like Detroit, maps reflect the heart of a community. Whether you’re improving directions, adding local businesses or mapping an entire area from scratch, your local expertise will help make life easier for not only you, but all Google Maps users. As Todd says, “It goes beyond map making. It’s a way to take back your neighborhood.”
How are you mapping your world? Join the Map Maker Community and tell us your story.
As these new bike paths change the city’s landscape, Motor City residents need a more comprehensive map showing bike friendly routes. Todd Scott, the Detroit Greenways Coordinator, discovered that he could use Google Map Maker—a free tool that allows anyone to make contributions to Google Maps—to add new information on biking paths and trails in and around Detroit. Adding new bike paths not only makes the map more accurate, it also improves biking directions, making it even easier for people to find the quickest routes through town. Anyone can also enhance existing trails by including details such as the official name, surface type and bicycle suitability. Keeping Google Maps updated with the latest information means everyone in the community is able to find and enjoy these new additions to the trail system.
Building a more comprehensive, accurate and usable map for local cyclists is just one part of Todd’s mission. From the smallest town to a rapidly evolving city like Detroit, maps reflect the heart of a community. Whether you’re improving directions, adding local businesses or mapping an entire area from scratch, your local expertise will help make life easier for not only you, but all Google Maps users. As Todd says, “It goes beyond map making. It’s a way to take back your neighborhood.”
How are you mapping your world? Join the Map Maker Community and tell us your story.
The U.S. election, live on YouTube
Today we’re introducing the YouTube Elections Hub, a one-stop channel for key political moments from now through the upcoming U.S. election day on November 6. You can watch all of the live speeches from the floor of the upcoming Republican and Democratic National Conventions, see Google+ Hangouts with power brokers behind the scenes, and watch a live stream of the official Presidential and Vice Presidential debates. You won’t need to go anywhere else for the must-watch moments of this election cycle...they’re all happening here live.
In addition to videos from politicians and parties, a diverse range of news organizations—both established names in media and sought-after new voices—are sharing their coverage of the political process on the new hub. You’ll find live and on-demand reporting and analysis from ABC News, Al Jazeera English, BuzzFeed, Larry King, The New York Times, Phil DeFranco, Univision and the Wall Street Journal. Each will put their own stamp on the Presidential race—from the conventions to the debates to election night.
Of course, we’ll have special live coverage around the Republican National Convention from August 27 to 30, the Democratic National Convention from September 4-6, the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates in October, and election night. Bookmark the Elections Hub now for a front row seat along the road to the White House.
Olivia Ma, YouTube News Manager, recently watched "Sarah Palin Gives Obama Advice to Win the Election - The DeFranco US Election Weekly Recap #1."
In addition to videos from politicians and parties, a diverse range of news organizations—both established names in media and sought-after new voices—are sharing their coverage of the political process on the new hub. You’ll find live and on-demand reporting and analysis from ABC News, Al Jazeera English, BuzzFeed, Larry King, The New York Times, Phil DeFranco, Univision and the Wall Street Journal. Each will put their own stamp on the Presidential race—from the conventions to the debates to election night.
Of course, we’ll have special live coverage around the Republican National Convention from August 27 to 30, the Democratic National Convention from September 4-6, the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates in October, and election night. Bookmark the Elections Hub now for a front row seat along the road to the White House.
Olivia Ma, YouTube News Manager, recently watched "Sarah Palin Gives Obama Advice to Win the Election - The DeFranco US Election Weekly Recap #1."
Friday, August 17, 2012
How the Olympics played out on YouTube
When we started preparing for the Olympics last year, we prioritized two things: giving you a front-row experience, and serving you video at the best quality possible. You responded in a huge way:
Around the world
We hope you enjoyed the Games on YouTube and across Google, and thanks for tuning in.
The YouTube team
Around the world
- Giving more people access to watch live and recorded events was key. Across the US and 64 countries in Africa and Asia you watched 231 million total streams. Of those, 72 million total streams came from IOC YouTube Channel.
- At peak, YouTube delivered video for more than half a million livestreams at the same time. That’s 5X the capacity of Wembley Stadium.
- Live video looked better than ever before, with a 7X improvement in quality based on low buffering and high frame rates.
- We powered online coverage for NBCOlympics.com, delivering more than 159 million total streams.
- Through NBC’s native apps, 37 percent of views came from mobile devices, and more than half were in HD.
- The U.S. Olympic Committee YouTube Channel shared behind the scenes video with more than 6.75 million views, and 50 YouTube Creators “Invaded” London to show the full experience through their eyes.
We hope you enjoyed the Games on YouTube and across Google, and thanks for tuning in.
The YouTube team
Google for Entrepreneurs goes to San Diego to empower veterans and military families
In addition to all they do for their country overseas, service members are also a markedly entrepreneurial group: although veterans represent only 6% of the U.S. population, they account for an impressive 13.5% of all U.S. small business owners. This entrepreneurial spirit is contributing to business growth around the country, and last week we decided to head down to San Diego to see how Google for Entrepreneurs and Startup Weekend could help.
On August 9, Google for Entrepreneurs, along with the Syracuse University Institute for Veterans and Military Families and Startup Weekend, hosted a series of events focused on giving business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs from the military community the training and tools they need to take advantage of the web to build and grow businesses. More than 200 service members learned about free tools to create a web site, track and measure their web presence and market their product or service.
Engaged and full of pride, the veteran-owned businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs came from across California. Misty Birchall, a Navy veteran and founder of PubCakes, delighted attendees when she gave us a taste of her passion for combining baking and craft beer. Marine Corps sergeant turned organic farmer Colin Archipley brought many participants from Veterans Sustainable Agriculture Training, an entrepreneurial incubator program he founded to help transitioning veterans train for careers in sustainable agriculture. Even the underdogs (and undercats) were well-represented—Precious Paw Prints, an online retailer selling creative pet accessories owned by Marine veteran Kiersten Carlin, shared that small business can win by providing a higher level of quality and service that larger brands cannot.
Over the following weekend, aspiring entrepreneurs from the veterans community attended the local Startup Weekend, where they formed teams to turn their idea ideas into products. By Sunday night, five teams had launched businesses.
Being a successful entrepreneur means having an appetite for risk, an ability to navigate ambiguity and a passion to get things done at all costs; it’s no mystery why such a large number of small businesses are started by veterans or service-disabled veterans. They certainly have what it takes to be entrepreneurs.
You can read more about our recent programs for members of the veterans’ community here.
On August 9, Google for Entrepreneurs, along with the Syracuse University Institute for Veterans and Military Families and Startup Weekend, hosted a series of events focused on giving business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs from the military community the training and tools they need to take advantage of the web to build and grow businesses. More than 200 service members learned about free tools to create a web site, track and measure their web presence and market their product or service.
Engaged and full of pride, the veteran-owned businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs came from across California. Misty Birchall, a Navy veteran and founder of PubCakes, delighted attendees when she gave us a taste of her passion for combining baking and craft beer. Marine Corps sergeant turned organic farmer Colin Archipley brought many participants from Veterans Sustainable Agriculture Training, an entrepreneurial incubator program he founded to help transitioning veterans train for careers in sustainable agriculture. Even the underdogs (and undercats) were well-represented—Precious Paw Prints, an online retailer selling creative pet accessories owned by Marine veteran Kiersten Carlin, shared that small business can win by providing a higher level of quality and service that larger brands cannot.
Over the following weekend, aspiring entrepreneurs from the veterans community attended the local Startup Weekend, where they formed teams to turn their idea ideas into products. By Sunday night, five teams had launched businesses.
Being a successful entrepreneur means having an appetite for risk, an ability to navigate ambiguity and a passion to get things done at all costs; it’s no mystery why such a large number of small businesses are started by veterans or service-disabled veterans. They certainly have what it takes to be entrepreneurs.
You can read more about our recent programs for members of the veterans’ community here.
Tour Brazil and prehispanic Mexican cities with more Street View imagery in Google Maps
Our ongoing effort to build great maps—ones that are accurate, easy to navigate and cover every corner of the world—continues to progress. Over the last few months, Google Maps has taken people everywhere from the Amazon to Antarctica, and we’re continuing to add imagery of even more places around globe. Beginning this week, you can dive even deeper into Latin America with new Street View imagery of Brazil and Mexico.
Street View first became available for Brazil in 2010, and as of this week, we’ve grown our collection of panoramic imagery to more than 70 cities throughout the country. You’ll now find colonial cities like Fortaleza, architecturally compelling cities like Brasilia and coastal landmarks like Recife, Natal and Salvador. You can even virtually travel to the west side of Brazil and visit Foz de Iguaçu, or if you’re planning an upcoming trip, preview the the area around your hotel as well as nearby shopping malls, historic monuments, restaurants and more. With so many upcoming events, like the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, we’re excited to share the riches of Brazil’s cities not only with tourists from around the world, but also with locals who might want to visit a city, neighborhood or landmark they’ve not yet experienced.
Street View imagery of Brazil available before mid-August 2012
Street View imagery of Brazil available beginning mid-August 2012
We’ve also introduced Street View imagery of 30 Mesoamerican archaeological sites in Mexico. Start your adventure by exploring Kukulkan’s Temple, a 1,100-year-old pyramid whose peak is reached by climbing 365 steps, one for each day of the year. When visitors clap their hands, the architectural acoustics at the base of the pyramid’s steps are designed to mimic the sound of the Quetzal, a bird that the Mayans regard as representative of their gods.
View Larger Map
Chichén Itzá, Mexico
We’re always improving the comprehensiveness of our maps so you can experience more imagery from around the world. Whether you’re planning a visit to one of these areas or touring these locations from the comfort of your armchair, we hope you enjoy these captivating new images of Latin America.
Street View first became available for Brazil in 2010, and as of this week, we’ve grown our collection of panoramic imagery to more than 70 cities throughout the country. You’ll now find colonial cities like Fortaleza, architecturally compelling cities like Brasilia and coastal landmarks like Recife, Natal and Salvador. You can even virtually travel to the west side of Brazil and visit Foz de Iguaçu, or if you’re planning an upcoming trip, preview the the area around your hotel as well as nearby shopping malls, historic monuments, restaurants and more. With so many upcoming events, like the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, we’re excited to share the riches of Brazil’s cities not only with tourists from around the world, but also with locals who might want to visit a city, neighborhood or landmark they’ve not yet experienced.
We’ve also introduced Street View imagery of 30 Mesoamerican archaeological sites in Mexico. Start your adventure by exploring Kukulkan’s Temple, a 1,100-year-old pyramid whose peak is reached by climbing 365 steps, one for each day of the year. When visitors clap their hands, the architectural acoustics at the base of the pyramid’s steps are designed to mimic the sound of the Quetzal, a bird that the Mayans regard as representative of their gods.
View Larger Map
Chichén Itzá, Mexico
Find hundreds of magical stories like this one by visiting the colossal pyramids of Teotihuacan, emblematic sites for the Mayans such as Chichen Itza or seaside archaeological jewels like Tulum. These and other famous sites from around the world can be seen in our Street View Gallery.
We’re always improving the comprehensiveness of our maps so you can experience more imagery from around the world. Whether you’re planning a visit to one of these areas or touring these locations from the comfort of your armchair, we hope you enjoy these captivating new images of Latin America.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Voice Search arrives in 13 new languages
“Norwegian restaurants in New York City.” I can type that phrase fast, but I can say it even faster—and when I’m on the go, speed is what I’m looking for. With Voice Search, you can speak into your phone to get search results quickly and easily. Voice Search is already available in 29 languages, and today, we're bringing support to 13 new languages for Android users—bringing the total to 42 languages and accents in 46 countries. In fact, 100 million new speakers can use Voice Search now, with the addition of:
Each new language usually requires that we initially collect hundreds of thousands of utterances from volunteers and, although we’ve been working on speech recognition for several years, adding these new languages led our engineers and scientists to tackle some unique challenges. While languages like Romanian follow predictable pronunciation rules, others, like Swedish, required that we recruit native speakers to provide us with the pronunciations for thousands of words. Our scientists then built a machine learning system based on that data to predict how all other Swedish words would be pronounced.
This update has already started to roll out, and will continue to do so over the course of the next week. How you get started with Google Voice Search depends on what kind of phone you have. If your phone runs Android 2.2 or later, and you see the microphone icon on the Google Search widget on your homescreen, all you have to do is tap the icon to start a voice-powered search. Otherwise, you can install the Voice Search app from Google Play. Note that you can only speak one language into the app at a time, and you may need to change your language settings to use one of these new languages.
As with other languages we’ve added, one of the major benefits to Google’s cloud-based model is that the more people use Voice Search, the more accurate it becomes.
(Cross-posted on the Android blog)
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Each new language usually requires that we initially collect hundreds of thousands of utterances from volunteers and, although we’ve been working on speech recognition for several years, adding these new languages led our engineers and scientists to tackle some unique challenges. While languages like Romanian follow predictable pronunciation rules, others, like Swedish, required that we recruit native speakers to provide us with the pronunciations for thousands of words. Our scientists then built a machine learning system based on that data to predict how all other Swedish words would be pronounced.
This update has already started to roll out, and will continue to do so over the course of the next week. How you get started with Google Voice Search depends on what kind of phone you have. If your phone runs Android 2.2 or later, and you see the microphone icon on the Google Search widget on your homescreen, all you have to do is tap the icon to start a voice-powered search. Otherwise, you can install the Voice Search app from Google Play. Note that you can only speak one language into the app at a time, and you may need to change your language settings to use one of these new languages.
As with other languages we’ve added, one of the major benefits to Google’s cloud-based model is that the more people use Voice Search, the more accurate it becomes.
(Cross-posted on the Android blog)
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Google Maps now has schedules for more than one million public transit stops worldwide
Since 2005, we’ve collaborated with hundreds of transit authorities around the world to make a comprehensive resource for millions of riders to find out which bus, train, subway or tram can take them to their next destination. Today, Google Maps has public transportation schedules for more than one million transit stops worldwide, in nearly 500 cities including New York, London, Tokyo and Sydney.
Public transportation information is especially useful when it’s in the palm of your hand. Today we’re releasing an update to the Google Maps for Android app (version 6.10) which makes this transit information even more useful. We’ve made some changes to the Transit Lines layer, so that you can select a specific mode of public transportation (train, bus, tram or subway) to display on the mobile map, hiding the other modes. This is helpful in areas where there is a tight concentration of several types of public transit.
Left: Mobile map with all modes of public transit shown; Right: Transit Lines layer in Subway mode
We’ve also updated the layout of station pages to be more useful. Open it by tapping on the name of the station on your mobile map.
In addition to these new transit features, we’ve updated region highlighting, My Places and Location History displays in Google Maps for Android:
Public transportation information is especially useful when it’s in the palm of your hand. Today we’re releasing an update to the Google Maps for Android app (version 6.10) which makes this transit information even more useful. We’ve made some changes to the Transit Lines layer, so that you can select a specific mode of public transportation (train, bus, tram or subway) to display on the mobile map, hiding the other modes. This is helpful in areas where there is a tight concentration of several types of public transit.
We’ve also updated the layout of station pages to be more useful. Open it by tapping on the name of the station on your mobile map.
Updated station pages show you departure times, lines serving the station and the distance to nearby stations.
In addition to these new transit features, we’ve updated region highlighting, My Places and Location History displays in Google Maps for Android:
- Now, whenever you search for a city or postal code, the borders of that region are highlighted.
- Under My Places you’ll notice we’ve added new tabs, which will help you access all your information from a single place; from your saved maps for use offline to your starred places and Custom Maps created on your desktop.
- If you enable Location History, you’ll be able to browse the places you’ve been on a daily basis with an updated Location History dashboard.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
London calling: some reflections on the digital games
The stats are in, and one clear winner from this year’s summer sports has emerged: digital media. Here’s a quick look behind the “screens” at how the web blew records away around the world, at the most wired Games ever.
Searches set a new pace
Mirroring the growth of the web and digital media, Google search volume around the world was dramatically higher this year than during Beijing in 2008:
Global streaming goes the distance
YouTube powered the live stream for NBC Olympics and for the International Olympic Committee’s YouTube Channel, making the world’s games even more global and accessible. NBC Olympics saw more live streams than during the entire Beijing Games—more than 159 million total video streams and more than 64 million live streams across YouTube's online, mobile and tablet experiences. In all, more than 20 million hours of total video was streamed over 17 days. And of course, the Games were also streamed on the IOC’s channel (youtube.com/olympic), with tens of millions of streams to 64 countries in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. We’ll have more details on the YouTube blog soon.
The multi-screen relay
More than ever, people experienced the Games not just via the TV broadcast, but on desktops, mobile phones and tablets. Through research panels conducted in partnership with NBC in the U.S., we learned a bit more about how this played out:
Gold for digital businesses
Brands who invest in digital marketing to connect with customers grow their own businesses and help make great content possible. A few campaigns that caught our eye:
Higher traffic and increased investment in the web also helped online publishers in a big way:
A fun note to end on: showing how the web can fuse data and creativity while opening the playing field, one of our software engineers used Google App Engine to create a “per capita” medal tally (the data is real, the accounting is somewhat creative). On this basis, one country stands above all others—congratulations to the most successful nation of the last two weeks, Grenada!
Searches set a new pace
Mirroring the growth of the web and digital media, Google search volume around the world was dramatically higher this year than during Beijing in 2008:
- Driven by a 900 percent increase in [ryan lochte] searches, American interest in [swimming] spiked 25 percent higher than 2008 levels.
- The “Fierce Five” vaulted U.S. searches for [gymnastics] to almost double the 2008 peak.
- Spurred on by a record-breaking performance by sprinter Usain Bolt, Jamaican searches for [track and field] raced up 40 percent from 2008.
- Japanese gymnast and first-time gold medalist [kohei uchimura] proved he’s a “superman” in search as well as on the tumbling mat, with search volume in his home country up 420 percent over the last games.
- Success may have been sweeter the second time around for wrestler [sushil kumar], the first Indian athlete to win an individual medal at successive Olympics, with searches up more than 375 percent from the 2008 games.
| Top Athlete Searches (U.S.) | Top Athlete Searches (U.K.) | Top Artist Closing Ceremony Searches (U.S.) |
| Michael Phelps | Usain Bolt | Jessie J |
| Ryan Lochte | Jessica Ennis | Beady Eye |
| Lolo Jones | Michael Phelps | Gary Barlow |
| Usain Bolt | Victoria Pendleton | Ed Sheeran |
| Alex Morgan | Andy Murray | Freddie Mercury |
Global streaming goes the distance
YouTube powered the live stream for NBC Olympics and for the International Olympic Committee’s YouTube Channel, making the world’s games even more global and accessible. NBC Olympics saw more live streams than during the entire Beijing Games—more than 159 million total video streams and more than 64 million live streams across YouTube's online, mobile and tablet experiences. In all, more than 20 million hours of total video was streamed over 17 days. And of course, the Games were also streamed on the IOC’s channel (youtube.com/olympic), with tens of millions of streams to 64 countries in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. We’ll have more details on the YouTube blog soon.
The multi-screen relay
More than ever, people experienced the Games not just via the TV broadcast, but on desktops, mobile phones and tablets. Through research panels conducted in partnership with NBC in the U.S., we learned a bit more about how this played out:
- Mobile makes a strong showing: Many viewers turned to one or more “second screens” beyond TV to keep updated on the Olympics—nearly half of those who did (44 percent) did so via a mobile phone or tablet.
- Power viewers: Second-screen viewing didn’t seem to diminish participants’ interest in watching the games on TV...in fact, it increased it. People who followed the Games on TV plus one other screen watched 52 percent more Olympics on TV than those who didn’t; people who followed on two additional screens spent more than twice as much time (105 percent) with TV. And people who watched live streams of events online watched 66 percent more Olympics on television than people who followed exclusively on TV.
- Synchronized usage: Overall, nearly 56 percent of people who followed the Games on TV and at least one other screen did so simultaneously. These simultaneous viewers also watched TV for 67 percent longer than those who only watched TV.
Gold for digital businesses
Brands who invest in digital marketing to connect with customers grow their own businesses and help make great content possible. A few campaigns that caught our eye:
- Visa’s global “Go World" campaign invited fans to show their support for Team Visa athletes in the form of cheers across social media. The campaign generated more than 59 million cheers, and Visa’s YouTube channel accounted for more than 47 million views of Visa’s commercials and athlete training videos from around the world.
- Insurance provider Zurich launched a successful “Share your Sports Moments” marketing campaign on Google and YouTube, featuring members of the German Olympic team. The result: a significant uplift in the number of leads who then signed insurance contracts.
- Lloyds TSB Bank, presenting partner of the Olympic Torch relay, conducted a successful AdWords campaign that kept pace with the Olympic torch as it passed through towns in the U.K., resulting in more than 190,000 clicks and more than 2 million impressions over three months.
Higher traffic and increased investment in the web also helped online publishers in a big way:
- In the U.S., across 2 million sites in our Google Display Network and the DoubleClick Ad Exchange, ads shown on sports-related websites increased by 19 percent, while revenues (RPMs) for these sites increased by 14 percent, compared to the two previous weeks.
- Our premium ad serving platform for publishers (DoubleClick for Publishers), which helps some of the web’s largest publishers make money from their content, broke a new record, with one major publisher serving more than 400 million ad impressions in a day across its website and mobile content—driving higher revenues and more free content.
A fun note to end on: showing how the web can fuse data and creativity while opening the playing field, one of our software engineers used Google App Engine to create a “per capita” medal tally (the data is real, the accounting is somewhat creative). On this basis, one country stands above all others—congratulations to the most successful nation of the last two weeks, Grenada!
Game on: Get the new YouTube app for PlayStation 3
Playing hours of Journey giving you cravings to watch Journey on YouTube? Or maybe DiRT Showdown put you in the mood to watch real-life action sports from the Red Bull YouTube Channel?
Give button mashing a whole new meaning with the new YouTube app for PlayStation 3—rolling out today in North America for free download from the PlayStation Store.
You might have watched YouTube on PS3 before, but get ready for a whole new world of video and features. We have a completely new experience, designed for the big screen and PS3 controls. Here’s what you’ll find:
You’ll find the new app in the PlayStation Store under My Channels. We’ll keep improving the PS3 experience and plan to bring the app to more countries in coming months.
Sarah Ali, product manager, recently watched “Top 7 Panda Cheese Commercials.”
Give button mashing a whole new meaning with the new YouTube app for PlayStation 3—rolling out today in North America for free download from the PlayStation Store.
You might have watched YouTube on PS3 before, but get ready for a whole new world of video and features. We have a completely new experience, designed for the big screen and PS3 controls. Here’s what you’ll find:
- Search: Finding the videos you want is easier than ever, with search suggestions and instant video results while you type.
- Your subscribed channels: Sign in to find the latest videos from your YouTube subscriptions, which now also includes HD and official music videos.
- Your phone as a remote: With a quick pairing process, you can control YouTube on PS3 with a smartphone. Find a video on your phone and with a button it’ll play on the big screen. While the video is playing you can control it from the phone, or keep browsing YouTube for the next one.
You’ll find the new app in the PlayStation Store under My Channels. We’ll keep improving the PS3 experience and plan to bring the app to more countries in coming months.
Sarah Ali, product manager, recently watched “Top 7 Panda Cheese Commercials.”
Monday, August 13, 2012
Attention, cricket fans: Sri Lanka Premier League T20 comes to YouTube
The world’s attention may currently be concentrated on a certain international sporting event in London, but cricket fanatics’ minds are much closer to the equator as they mentally prepare for the first ever Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL). This Twenty20 tournament goes from August 10 to August 31, featuring Sri Lankan cricketing icons Mahela Jayawardene, Lasith Malinga and Muttiah Muralitharan, as well as 42 international players like Chris Gayle, Shahid Afridi, Nathan Mccullum and Saeed Ajmal.
And just as we did with the India Premier League, YouTube will be streaming straight from the pitch (with slight delay) on the SLPL’s YouTube Channel. For those far from Sri Lanka in an un-friendly time zone, no worries—just catch up on the highlight videos uploaded after the match conclusion.
We’re always excited to see a new T20 tournament popping up, and we’re even more excited to help bring the action from Colombo and Kandy straight to you, wherever you are.
Manan Singhi, content partnerships manager, recently watched “Lasith Malinga’s Four Wickets in Four Balls.”
And just as we did with the India Premier League, YouTube will be streaming straight from the pitch (with slight delay) on the SLPL’s YouTube Channel. For those far from Sri Lanka in an un-friendly time zone, no worries—just catch up on the highlight videos uploaded after the match conclusion.
We’re always excited to see a new T20 tournament popping up, and we’re even more excited to help bring the action from Colombo and Kandy straight to you, wherever you are.
Manan Singhi, content partnerships manager, recently watched “Lasith Malinga’s Four Wickets in Four Balls.”
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Our August “On The Rise” nominees need your help to reach the homepage!
Our On The Rise program showcases four YouTube partners whose channels have shown strong performance and growth but haven’t yet reached the 100,000 subscriber count. This month, our four nominees are more than halfway to that point, and we’ve been captivated by their YouTube content. Each of these partners has found success by featuring his passion and skills in the videos he shares. We hope you find their content - about cooking delicious Indian food, fitness training tutorials, supercar events and races, and video editing software walkthroughs - as engaging as we have.
And while these partners have clearly done well on their own, they can still use your support to help them grow their YouTube presence, starting with the opportunity for one of these partners to be featured on the YouTube homepage. Check out their videos below and vote for your favorite here. In addition to your votes, each channel will be evaluated on criteria such as viewer engagement and channel optimization techniques to decide which partner will be featured on the homepage, Google+, Facebook and Twitter at the end of the month.
In past months past on the rise nominees, partners like worldfoodprogram and mikeyssmail have gained many subscribers thanks to your support. The poll will be open until August 16th at 5pm PT, so don’t forget to vote for your favorite channel. Check back to see who secured the homepage feature on August 29th.
vahchef
Sanjay’s personal motivation when creating YouTube content is to inspire his viewers to cook and to taste. Aiming to make Indian food fun to cook, his videos feature recipes and demonstrations for Indian appetizers, entrees (vegetarian and non-veg, depending on your preference), desserts, and more!
strengthproject
Fitness guru Arash has amassed hundreds of videos about strength training, including workouts for specific goals, celebrity training, and interviews. The Strength Project’s mission is to promote an active lifestyle, and this channel is sure to contain content that appeals to almost anyone who’s looking to bring some fitness into their daily routine.
marchettino
A self-proclaimed ‘Italian petrolhead,’ auto-enthusiast Marco has uploaded over one thousand videos to his channel. His long tenure as a sportscar fan has led to videos featuring motor shows, races, and even test drives of rare vehicles.
thevfxbro
Aaron has always had a passion for video editing and special effects, and his years of dedication to mastering programs like Final Cut and Adobe After Effects have certainly paid off. He’s paying it forward with his YouTube videos, in which he provides tutorials and walkthroughs to demonstrate all kinds of video special effects.
If you’re interested in checking out more rising YouTube partners, visit our On The Rise channel, which showcases nominees, trending partners and monthly featured partners.
Devon Storbeck, YouTube Partner Support, recently watched “The 90-year-old world record holder in pole vault - BBC News.”
And while these partners have clearly done well on their own, they can still use your support to help them grow their YouTube presence, starting with the opportunity for one of these partners to be featured on the YouTube homepage. Check out their videos below and vote for your favorite here. In addition to your votes, each channel will be evaluated on criteria such as viewer engagement and channel optimization techniques to decide which partner will be featured on the homepage, Google+, Facebook and Twitter at the end of the month.
In past months past on the rise nominees, partners like worldfoodprogram and mikeyssmail have gained many subscribers thanks to your support. The poll will be open until August 16th at 5pm PT, so don’t forget to vote for your favorite channel. Check back to see who secured the homepage feature on August 29th.
vahchef
Sanjay’s personal motivation when creating YouTube content is to inspire his viewers to cook and to taste. Aiming to make Indian food fun to cook, his videos feature recipes and demonstrations for Indian appetizers, entrees (vegetarian and non-veg, depending on your preference), desserts, and more!
strengthproject
Fitness guru Arash has amassed hundreds of videos about strength training, including workouts for specific goals, celebrity training, and interviews. The Strength Project’s mission is to promote an active lifestyle, and this channel is sure to contain content that appeals to almost anyone who’s looking to bring some fitness into their daily routine.
marchettino
A self-proclaimed ‘Italian petrolhead,’ auto-enthusiast Marco has uploaded over one thousand videos to his channel. His long tenure as a sportscar fan has led to videos featuring motor shows, races, and even test drives of rare vehicles.
thevfxbro
Aaron has always had a passion for video editing and special effects, and his years of dedication to mastering programs like Final Cut and Adobe After Effects have certainly paid off. He’s paying it forward with his YouTube videos, in which he provides tutorials and walkthroughs to demonstrate all kinds of video special effects.
If you’re interested in checking out more rising YouTube partners, visit our On The Rise channel, which showcases nominees, trending partners and monthly featured partners.
Devon Storbeck, YouTube Partner Support, recently watched “The 90-year-old world record holder in pole vault - BBC News.”
Conquer the back to school blues with Google tools
August is both an end to the lush freedom of summer and the beginning of another year of student life. As a rising senior at the University of Florida, this time is both exciting and anxiety-inducing. Even though I’m looking forward to many aspects of the school year, there are certain things about college—from book budgets to calculus study sessions—that can make it a headache.
But this fall, I feel more prepared to face the daily student grind. This summer, I had the chance to intern on the communications team at Google and got the inside track on some tools and tricks to make school a snap. For example, did you know there was an extension for Chrome that helps you stay focused on your work? Yup, didn’t think so! So I thought I’d share some of my new favorite tips—my “Survival Guide for Student Life”—to help make it easier for all students to get through the coming months.
Easy ways to coordinate your social and extracurricular life
But this fall, I feel more prepared to face the daily student grind. This summer, I had the chance to intern on the communications team at Google and got the inside track on some tools and tricks to make school a snap. For example, did you know there was an extension for Chrome that helps you stay focused on your work? Yup, didn’t think so! So I thought I’d share some of my new favorite tips—my “Survival Guide for Student Life”—to help make it easier for all students to get through the coming months.
Easy ways to coordinate your social and extracurricular life
- Google+ Hangouts enables you to video chat with up to nine friends from your desktop, mobile phone or tablet. A great feature for when your club needs to discuss some last minute changes for the upcoming meeting.
- Stay on task with Hangout Apps like Symphonical, which provides a digital wall of sticky notes for virtual brainstorm sessions.
- With Google+ Events, invite all your friends to your get-together and attach a personalized video greeting to the invitation. During the event, photos from the party can be uploaded to the event page in real-time using Party Mode. So if you have to miss a party due to a study session, you can avoid that pesky FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)!
- Let your friends know what you’re up to by sharing your Google Calendar with them. Or create a shared calendar just for your study group.
- Stop the email flood from the ridiculous number of email lists you signed up for using Gmail’s auto-unsubscribe feature.
- No more sore eyes from crowded inboxes—Gmail's default mode is Priority Inbox so it automatically sorts your important messages for you.
- Cite your sources! Use Google Docs’ research tool to investigate highlighted portions of your essay and then generate a citation.
- Group projects call for collaboration. With Google Drive, you can use shared folders so everyone can access materials without having to email updates to each other.
- Using your laptop or phone, you can send any documents or presentations saved on your Google Drive to Fedex to be printed, thanks to Google Cloud Print.
- For those of you starting at university this year, Google Maps has 360-degree panoramic Street View imagery for many campuses around the world to give you a preview of your new stomping grounds.
- Back to school shopping is one of the most fun things about August. Find your way in and out of malls and department stores with indoor Google Maps on Android devices.
- We college students can’t go too long without homemade food. Search for your next flight home with Flight Search. (If flying makes you a bit queasy, track any care packages by typing the tracking code into the Google search bar.)
- Stay informed with Google Now. This feature, available on Android devices running Jelly Bean, can update you when the next bus is coming or provide the weather forecast for Saturday’s big game.
- Don’t break the bank on textbooks. Google Play has millions of FREE (emphasis is important) books readily available such as "Pride and Prejudice" and "Gulliver’s Travels."
- With the new Nexus 7 tablet, you can take your Google Play books, music, movies, TV shows, magazines and apps (like My Majors and doubleTwist Alarm Clock) with you, wherever you go.
- Locate hard-to-find books online or at a library near you with Book Search.
- Put Chrome to work with educational apps.
- Not a fan of traditional note taking? Chromebooks are a super fast and virus-proof laptop. It starts seconds after you boot it and will last through a whole day of classes.
- A fair portion of us students aren’t fans of mental math. Type any equation into the Google search box to get the answers you need. It can graph functions as well.
- We know we spend too much of our time watching funny videos on YouTube, but there are video channels that can actually help us learn more about a variety of subjects—from astrophysics to world history. Find more educational channels at YouTube EDU.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Building the search engine of the future, one baby step at a time
Larry Page once described the perfect search engine as understanding exactly what you mean and giving you back exactly what you want. It’s very much like the computer I dreamt about as a child growing up in India, glued to our black-and-white TV for every episode of Star Trek. I imagined a future where a starship computer would be able to answer any question I might ask, instantly. Today, we’re closer to that dream than I ever thought possible during my working life—and here are some of the latest steps we’re taking today to make search even more intelligent:
1. Understanding the world
In May we launched the Knowledge Graph, our database of more than 500 million real-world people, places and things with 3.5 billion attributes and connections among them. The feedback has been phenomenally positive and we want to extend this feature to people outside the U.S. So starting today, you’ll see Knowledge Graph results across every English-speaking country in the world. If you’re in Australia and search for [chiefs], you’ll get the rugby team—its players, results and history.
We’ll also use this intelligence to help you find the right result more quickly when your search may have different meanings. For example, if you search for [rio], you might be interested in the Brazilian city, the recent animated movie or the casino in Vegas. Thanks to the Knowledge Graph, we can now give you these different suggestions of real-world entities in the search box as you type:
Finally, the best answer to your question is not always a single entity, but a list or group of connected things. It’s quite challenging to pull these lists automatically from the web. But we’re now beginning to do just that. So when you search for [california lighthouses], [hurricanes in 2008] or [famous female astronomers], we’ll show you a list of these things across the top of the page. And by combining our Knowledge Graph with the collective wisdom of the web, we can even provide more subjective lists like [best action movies of the 2000s] or [things to do in paris]. If you click on an item, you can then explore the result more deeply on the web:
So far we can produce hundreds of thousands of lists involving millions of items, and we’ll keep growing to match your curiosity. A quick preview:
2. Putting your info at your fingertips
Sometimes the best answer to your question isn’t available on the public web—it may be contained somewhere else, such as in your email. We think you shouldn’t have to be your own mini-search engine to find the most useful information—it should just work. A search is a search, and we want our results to be truly universal. So we’re developing a way to find this information for you that’s useful and unobtrusive, and we’d love your feedback. Starting today, we’re opening up a limited trial where you can sign up to get information from your Gmail right from the search box.
So if you’re planning a biking trip to Tahoe, you might see relevant emails from friends about the best bike trails, or great places to eat on the right hand side of the results page. If it looks relevant you can then expand the box to read the emails:
We’re working on some even more useful features. For example, if you search for [my flights] we will organize flight confirmation emails for any upcoming trips in a beautifully easy-to-read way right on the search results page:
3. Understanding your intent
Often the most natural way to ask a question is by asking aloud. So we’ve combined our speech recognition expertise, understanding of language and the Knowledge Graph so that Voice Search can better interpret your questions and sometimes speak the answers back as full sentences. This has been available on Android for a few weeks and people love it. It’ll soon be available on your iPhone or iPad (iOS version 4.2+).
You just need to tap the microphone icon and ask your question, the same way you’d ask a friend. For example, ask “What movies are playing this weekend?” and you’ll see your words streamed back to you quickly as you speak. Then Google will show you a list of the latest movies in theaters near you, with schedules and even trailers. It works for everything from celebrity factoids to the height of Kilamanjaro and more. When Google can supply a direct answer to your question, you’ll get a spoken response too.
These are baby steps, but important ones on our way to building the search engine of the future—one that is much more intelligent and useful than it was just a few years ago. It’s a very exciting time to be working in this field.
1. Understanding the world
In May we launched the Knowledge Graph, our database of more than 500 million real-world people, places and things with 3.5 billion attributes and connections among them. The feedback has been phenomenally positive and we want to extend this feature to people outside the U.S. So starting today, you’ll see Knowledge Graph results across every English-speaking country in the world. If you’re in Australia and search for [chiefs], you’ll get the rugby team—its players, results and history.
We’ll also use this intelligence to help you find the right result more quickly when your search may have different meanings. For example, if you search for [rio], you might be interested in the Brazilian city, the recent animated movie or the casino in Vegas. Thanks to the Knowledge Graph, we can now give you these different suggestions of real-world entities in the search box as you type:
Finally, the best answer to your question is not always a single entity, but a list or group of connected things. It’s quite challenging to pull these lists automatically from the web. But we’re now beginning to do just that. So when you search for [california lighthouses], [hurricanes in 2008] or [famous female astronomers], we’ll show you a list of these things across the top of the page. And by combining our Knowledge Graph with the collective wisdom of the web, we can even provide more subjective lists like [best action movies of the 2000s] or [things to do in paris]. If you click on an item, you can then explore the result more deeply on the web:
So far we can produce hundreds of thousands of lists involving millions of items, and we’ll keep growing to match your curiosity. A quick preview:
2. Putting your info at your fingertips
Sometimes the best answer to your question isn’t available on the public web—it may be contained somewhere else, such as in your email. We think you shouldn’t have to be your own mini-search engine to find the most useful information—it should just work. A search is a search, and we want our results to be truly universal. So we’re developing a way to find this information for you that’s useful and unobtrusive, and we’d love your feedback. Starting today, we’re opening up a limited trial where you can sign up to get information from your Gmail right from the search box.
So if you’re planning a biking trip to Tahoe, you might see relevant emails from friends about the best bike trails, or great places to eat on the right hand side of the results page. If it looks relevant you can then expand the box to read the emails:
We’re working on some even more useful features. For example, if you search for [my flights] we will organize flight confirmation emails for any upcoming trips in a beautifully easy-to-read way right on the search results page:
3. Understanding your intent
Often the most natural way to ask a question is by asking aloud. So we’ve combined our speech recognition expertise, understanding of language and the Knowledge Graph so that Voice Search can better interpret your questions and sometimes speak the answers back as full sentences. This has been available on Android for a few weeks and people love it. It’ll soon be available on your iPhone or iPad (iOS version 4.2+).
You just need to tap the microphone icon and ask your question, the same way you’d ask a friend. For example, ask “What movies are playing this weekend?” and you’ll see your words streamed back to you quickly as you speak. Then Google will show you a list of the latest movies in theaters near you, with schedules and even trailers. It works for everything from celebrity factoids to the height of Kilamanjaro and more. When Google can supply a direct answer to your question, you’ll get a spoken response too.
These are baby steps, but important ones on our way to building the search engine of the future—one that is much more intelligent and useful than it was just a few years ago. It’s a very exciting time to be working in this field.
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