Google Cloud Platform News

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  Audience Explorer unlocks first-party data insights
  • sorangutan  

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  If you’re hoping to attract new advertisers and earn the most value from your first-party data, it’s critical to explain what makes your audiences special. But it often takes technical skills or data expertise to develop insights that add order and meaning to your data. 

  To help simplify this process and increase the value of publishers’ first-party data, in the coming weeks we’ll be launching Audience Explorer for partners using Google Ad Manager's Audience Solutions — a suite of premium features that enable publishers to ingest, build, activate and now analyze first-party audience segments within the platform. 

  Audience Explorer was built to help publishers better understand and activate their first-party audience data. Without needing advanced tools or technical capabilities, publishers will be able to analyze their audience segments, develop enhanced narratives about their data and optimize their monetization strategies for both reservation and Programmatic Direct deals.

  Easing access to audience insights

  Audience Explorer delivers new dashboards and improved workflows that help publishers who are investing in first-party data strategies more easily understand their audiences. To ensure the new capabilities met the needs of publishers, we worked with over a dozen global partners to help develop and test the new solution. 

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  “Macy's Media Network uses a data-driven approach to connect our shoppers with brands through a wide range of digital advertising services. Ad Manager's Audience Explorer tool helps us manage and scale our first party audiences to effectively plan and deliver targeted media for our advertising partners.”

  - Melanie Zimmermann, Vice President, Macy’s Media Network, Macy’s 

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  “Partnering with Ad Manager on the development of Audience Explorer has been important for our first-party data initiatives. With more than 100 million monthly active users across our 1,200+ communities, the new dashboard will help us better understand our audiences and package our inventory in new, compelling ways for our advertiser clients.”

  - David Domitrovic, Director, Data Strategy & Analytics, VerticalScope

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  Integrating the feedback we received, Audience Explorer allows publishers to visualize and interpret their first-party data in a variety of different ways. Partners can now explore the composition and behavior of a single audience segment, compare two segments side by side, or even overlap segments to better understand the similarities or differences in membership. Here are a few different ways publishers can benefit from Audience Explorer.

  Scorecard table

  When an Ad Manager user navigates to Audience Solutions in the platform, they’ll now be able to click on the title of an audience segment to open the new Audience Explorer dashboard. At the top of the dashboard, users will see the segment’s Scorecard. The Scorecard provides a quick snapshot of an audience segment over a specified period of time. High-level metrics in the Scorecard, like total unique identifiers or total ad impressions, can help publishers quickly understand which segments offer enough scale for the deals they're working on.

  

  See top level insights on your first-party audience segments

  Audience Explorer tab

  The Audience Explorer tab in the dashboard features a collection of visual Insights Cards that provide new ways to think about, market and improve the performance of first-party audience segments. These interactive cards help publishers visualize things like what time of day different audiences are most active and which ad units are seen most often. For additional flexibility, the cards can also be toggled to visualize data by either the number of unique audience identifiers or the total number of ad impressions from users in a segment.

  

  Use the Audience Explorer tab to learn more about a first-party segment

  Segment comparison tool 

  The comparison tool in the Audience Explorer dashboard enables publishers to compare two first-party segments side by side in a single Insight Card. This visualization helps publishers understand which audiences may fit an advertisers needs more closely, or how two different segments could be best used together in a single campaign.

  

  Compare and contrast two first-party audience segments side by side

  Segment overlap tab 

  The segment overlap tool helps publishers understand how distinct each audience segment is. With this tool, partners will be able to explore metrics like the number of unique cookies, cookie overlap, unique impressions and impression overlap. By understanding what percentage of members belong to multiple audience segments, publishers will have a clearer understanding of unique reach when packaging multiple segments together for their advertiser clients.

  

  Overlap multiple first-party audience segments to explore compositions

  Investing in first-party solutions

  Audience Explorer builds on our first-party data announcements from earlier this year, and reinforces our commitment to develop new identity and data solutions for our partners. We strongly encourage publishers to invest or continue their investments in privacy-secure, first-party audience signals for their advertiser clients as well. 

  
  Looking to get started with first-party audience data in Ad Manager? Sign up to join our upcoming webinar, Using Publisher Provided Identifiers to activate first party audiences, on August 11, 2021. In this session you’ll learn how to build and ingest first-party audiences in Ad Manager, how you can use Audience Explorer to learn more about these audiences and how you can market inventory and execute campaigns using your first-party data.
  
  https://blog.google/products/admanager/audience-explorer-unlocks-first-party-data-insights/
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  New reach and frequency metrics in Display & Video 360
  • sorangutan  

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  Earlier this week, we announced new ways to help you easily capture connected TV and audio streamers' attention and understand what drives them to become customers.
  

  To deliver a consistent user experience across these new channels and more established ones, it’s critical to control the overall number of times people see your ads.

  Effective cross-channel frequency management can also reduce budget waste and help you make every ad dollar count. On average, we found that customers see a 6% reach gain when managing frequency in Display & Video 360.

  But beyond averages, we heard that you needed a personalized assessment of the impact of cross-channel frequency management solutions on a campaign-by-campaign basis. We’re introducing two new tools that help you appraise the benefits of your own cross-channel frequency management strategy on an ongoing basis and at no cost.

  Quantify the reach impact of cross-channel frequency management

  First, we’re adding a dedicated data visualization for each campaign that spans across channels and has a frequency goal set at the campaign level. The visualization shows how much reach was gained due to effective frequency management at the campaign level. You can also access the same information at the advertiser or at partner level by creating an offline report in the standard Display & Video 360 reporting.

  

  Frequency management data visualization

  Having a real-time view of reach gains gives you more precision in evaluating your campaign performance. It also lets you assess the value of managing your programmatic campaigns across channels in a consolidated way. This leaves you better armed to defend marketing budgets.

  By measuring the actual reach gains that come from managing frequency across channels and eliminating unwanted impressions from our digital budgets, we can deliver better results for our clients. Georgina Thomson
  Senior Director, Advanced Video Lead OMD USA

  With this new data visualization, you don’t need to set up an experiment with a test and control phase in order to see the impact of applying your frequency management strategy across media types. Display & Video 360 uses log data to automatically compare the reach obtained by a cross-channel campaign against the reach that you would have obtained with separate campaigns, each containing a single channel and its own frequency goal.

  Measure the extra reach coming from Programmatic Guaranteed strategies

  Display & Video 360 will now calculate for you the extra reach you get for each Programmatic Guaranteed deal using Display & Video 360's frequency management solutions. This new metric will help you get a better understanding of how Programmatic Guaranteed deals contribute to the incremental reach you get from applying frequency management across media.

  We can now easily monitor that our frequency distribution remains optimal across Programmatic Guaranteed and the rest of our Display & Video 360 buys – and quantify associated reach gains. Travis Freeman
  Global Head of Media, Uber

  This topline data point will be visible in a dashboard in the “My Inventory” tab. You’ll still be able to use Display & Video 360’s offline report to see budget savings reinvested and impressions passed due to frequency for each Programmatic Guaranteed deal.

  Managing frequency without third-party cookies

  We’re committed to building solutions that will let you maintain control over ad exposure in a way that respects user privacy even when third-party cookies and identifiers are missing. Since 2019, Display & Video 360’s cross-domain frequency management tools have been powered by machine learning technology. And recently, we’ve further evolved these models to enable advertisers to manage frequency on Firefox ETP and Microsoft Edge traffic. In the future, we’ll keep exploring innovative ways to protect users’ privacy while controlling users’ overexposure to ads and limiting media waste.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/marketingplatform/360/new-reach-and-frequency-metrics-display-video-360/
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  Expanding our cloud infrastructure to support Australia’s digital future
  • sorangutan  

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  Even pre-pandemic, the adoption of cloud services was on the rise as organisations looked to drive digital transformation for business resilience and innovation. The impact of COVID-19 has only served to accelerate this momentum. As we continue to support the digital future of businesses, we are launching our second Australian Cloud region in Melbourne, Victoria. 

  In 2017 we launched our first Cloud region in Sydney and, since then, we have continued to invest and expand across Australia in an effort to support the digital future of businesses. According to AlphaBeta, Google Cloud delivers almost AU$3.2 billion in annual gross benefits to business and consumers in Australia, including AU$686 million to our customers and AU$698 million to our partners.

  The Melbourne Cloud region represents one part of our continued expansion in cloud infrastructure to support Australia’s digital future, and is a strong reflection of our commitment to enabling our Cloud customers and partners to continue growing, innovating, and driving digital transformation forward in the region.

  Of the launch, Victorian Minister for Government Services Danny Pearson said, “We welcome Google’s investment in local cloud infrastructure that will support the growing cloud requirements of Victorian businesses.”

  
  

  Our investment in local cloud infrastructure

  Melbourne joins the existing 26 Google Cloud regions connected via our high-performance global network, helping customers benefit from low latency and high performance of their cloud-based workloads and leverage the cleanest cloud in the industry. Through our second Cloud region in Australia, customers will benefit from improved business continuity planning with distributed, secure infrastructure needed to meet IT and business requirements for disaster recovery, all while maintaining data sovereignty in-country.

  Designed for high availability, the region opens with three availability zones to protect against service disruptions; we're the first hyperscaler to provide this capability in Melbourne today. It offers a portfolio of key products, including Compute Engine, Google Kubernetes Engine, Cloud Bigtable, Cloud Spanner and BigQuery.

  We also continue to invest in expanding connectivity across the Australia and New Zealand region by working with partners to establish subsea cables, including INDIGO and JGA South, and points of presence in major cities including Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Canberra, Brisbane, and Auckland. We also work with interconnect partners to extend the reach of our secure network.

  
  

  Helping customers in the era of the transformation cloud

  Navigating the past year has been challenging for Australian organisations as they grapple with changing customer demands and greater economic uncertainty. Technology has played a critical role in managing these changes, and we’ve been fortunate to partner with and serve people, companies and government institutions to help them adapt, including Australia Post, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, and Optus. Hear more about what they have to say here. 

  
  

  
  
  https://blog.google/around-the-globe/google-asia/australia/expanding-our-cloud-infrastructure-to-support-australias-digital-future/
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  New support for Southeast Asia’s COVID-19 response
  • sorangutan  

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  In many parts of Southeast Asia and beyond, the impact of COVID-19 remains severe. More than 18 months after the virus first began spreading, high caseloads and new variants are putting pressure on health systems. It’s a difficult time for people across the region, and heartbreaking for those who’ve lost loved ones.  

  
  

  Vaccines offer a path to stability and recovery, and Google is working closely with governments, health authorities and nonprofits as inoculation programs roll out. But there’s also an urgent need for the equipment that health workers depend on as they battle the pandemic and care for patients on the front lines. 

  
  

  Today, through our philanthropic arm, Google.org, we’re announcing a new, $2.5 million grant to help UNICEF and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) — as well as partners on the ground — scale up the COVID-19 response in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Pakistan.This will provide critical, life-saving support to the people who need it most.

  
  

  In addition to funding this immediate medical response, Google.org will provide a further $5 million in ad grants so local government agencies and organizations like UNICEF can run public information campaigns — ensuring important health messages reach the widest possible audience.   

  
  

  The new Google.org funds are part of Google’s broader contribution to the response to COVID across Asia-Pacific, including in Southeast Asia. In partnership with health authorities, we’re sharing the latest health information and supporting news sources people can trust. We’re also contributing in every way we can to Southeast Asia’s economic recovery, from providing small business owners and workers with digital skills training to fostering the next generation of startup founders. Through a separate Google.org grant, we’re helping ASEAN, the Asia Foundation and local nonprofits close digital divides in marginalized communities. 

  
  

  And we continue to be humbled and inspired by the generosity of Googlers. Our global employee giving campaign — matched by Google.org and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance — has helped fully vaccinate more than 1 million people globally. Here in Southeast Asia, Googlers have donated $80,000 and counting for local nonprofits’ COVID response efforts in Indonesia and Vietnam.  

  
  

  We’re sending our best wishes for safety and wellbeing to everyone affected by the pandemic throughout the region. Looking ahead, we’ll keep standing with the communities we serve — and working with our partners to shape a sustainable recovery for the long term. 

  
  

  
  
  https://blog.google/around-the-globe/google-asia/expanded-covid-support/
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  Pharaoh's Conclave levels up opportunity in gaming
  • sorangutan  

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  It’s far from just fun and (video) games:  esports is a rapidly-growing $1.5 billion industry.In 2020 alone, there was a 70% increase in the number of eSports viewers in the U.S., and it’s expected to total 474 million viewers by the end of this year.There are a range of lucrative careers in the competitive video gaming industry:  professional player, announcer, coach, tournament organizer and game developer and designer, just to name a few. But not everyone is exposed to these opportunities. 

  
  

  As a lifelong gaming enthusiast and an educator with a PhD in computer science, I was concerned that Black and Brown school-aged kids and older youth weren’t being drawn to work in technology in general and esports in particular. While Black and Latinx youth in the U.S. spend more time per day on both mobile and console games than white youth, they make up less than 6% of the professional video game industry as adults. So my husband, Erich, and I founded Pharaoh's Conclave (PCX), a platform, league and apprenticeship program that creates pathways for meaningful careers and wealth generation for Black and Brown youth.  

  

  Jakita O. Thomas, Ph.D. (left) and Erich P. Thomas (right), cofounders of Pharaoh’s Conclave

  Pharaoh's Conclave is on a mission to prepare the next generation of the esports workforce — and open opportunities to marginalized communities — by providing K-12 and collegiate youth with access to industry tools, training and professional mentors. By connecting PCX youth with mentors who understand firsthand the way these students move through the world, we’re able to foster organic relationships that create impact and opportunities in the industry. More than 50 PCX program graduates have gone on to full-time careers in esports, transitioning from mentee to mentor. You make real change by starting at the grade level and giving youth the steps to achievement, all with the critical support of the community behind them. 

  Working with kids is similar to raising kids: it takes a village. We understood that PCX couldn’t change the face of esports alone — and we also knew that tech is grappling with the same diversity problems as the gaming industry. Less than ​​1%of total venture capital funding in the United States went to Black founders in 2020. Receiving a $100,000 non-dilutive cash award from the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund not only empowered us to create economic opportunities for Black and Brown youth, but also fueled wealth generation in our community. Collectively, in just six months the first group of the Black Founders Fund recipients raised an additional $38 million in outside capital.

  The investment from Google paved the way for additional wins, including a grant from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, several new partnerships, and requests from multiple county and state entities across the Southeast to provide programming for K-12  and college students. The support empowered us to generate revenues from Level Up Academy (our online learning platform) and hire a professional software design team.  We’ve also established a formal apprenticeship program with the U.S. Department  of Labor the first of its kind for gaming. 

  When you solve problems for the most marginalized people, you actually solve problems for everyone. When you fund Black founders, you elevate the entire community.  We will push the industry forward by working together — and by saving competition for the games themselves, instead of for access to the gaming industry. 

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/entrepreneurs/pharaohs-conclave-levels-opportunity-gaming/
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  A shared responsibility for quality journalism
  • sorangutan  

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  Today we are publishing a paper that draws from our decades-long experience working with news publishers and journalists. It offers some ideas for constructive paths forward to foster the sustainability of the quality journalism that informs and strengthens communities, and elevates the essential stories in our lives. This paper includes possible areas for public policy support, such as incentive structures, innovation programs and projects to share best practices. While this is by no means an exhaustive list of ideas, we are publishing it to contribute to the wider discussion.

  Supporting journalism has always been important to Google. As a company whose mission focuses on access to information, and whose success depends in large part on having a diverse open ecosystem of quality information, we are committed to helping find a path to a sustainable future for journalism. It's why 20 years ago, we built Google News to help connect people to stories that impact their daily lives. We launched the Google News Initiative to support news publishers in their transition to a digital world; we do this through tools, technology and significant financial support for both existing newsrooms and new, diverse online news outlets and projects. More recently, we launched Google News Showcase, through which we pay publishers to create and curate quality content for a new online news experience. 

  Quality journalism enables communities to learn and share essential information, establish shared, accurate understandings of key public developments, and hold elected officials and institutions to account. And in this information age it has never been more essential for democratic discourse and social well-being. But digitization has challenged the underlying commercial model. That said, ensuring a sustainable, vibrant future for quality journalism needs to be done thoughtfully, and as a collective endeavor. 

  Sensible public policy can be a key component to addressing these challenges; such policy will work best if it is informed by a robust dialogue among a diverse range of stakeholders including publishers, journalists, policymakers, civil society and the private sector. We must identify the underlying challenges and consider novel solutions. 

  In the paper we are publishing today, we discuss three foundational proposals that we believe could help inform public policy approaches to supporting the future of quality journalism:
  
  

  1. Convening cross-sector experts to identify focus areas and collaborate on shared solutions;
  2. Investing in newsroom innovation and experimentation to identify and support sustainable business models; and 
  3. Providing support for legacy institutions as they go through the digital transformation. 

  There are no easy solutions to the complex set of challenges facing the news industry today, which is why we have been working for years to support legacy newsrooms and new entrants focused on providing local news and quality journalism.  The challenge is urgent – and across society we must work together to create sustainable solutions to these issues.

  The experiences and lessons we describe in this paper would not have been possible without the valuable input we’ve received from the news partners we have worked with and learned from over the years. While there may be no simple solution, we are eager to listen, learn more and help drive innovation to support a successful public policy approach that results in a vibrant journalism ecosystem.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/news/shared-responsibility-quality-journalism/
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  Vaccines and our return-to-office plans
  • sorangutan  

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  Sundar sent the following email to Google employees earlier this morning. The email has been edited to remove internal links. 

  Hi everyone,

  I hope you are all taking good care. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve put the wellbeing of our Google community front and center. We’ve done this while also taking care of our customers and partners, launching over 200 new products and features to help people and businesses navigate this difficult time. 

  In March of 2020, we made the early decision to send employees home to slow down the spread of COVID. Since then, we’ve extended our Carer’s Leave coverage to help employees care for loved ones. We’ve continued to cover the full wages of on campus workers who couldn't perform their jobs because of office closures. And, we’ve made sure that Googlers and our extended workforce have access to vaccines as soon as they are available locally. Additionally, thanks to the generosity of Googlers and support from Google.org, we've helped Gavi to fully vaccinate over 1 million people in low-and middle-income countries globally. 

  Even as the virus continues to surge in many parts of the world, it’s encouraging to see very high vaccination rates for our Google community in areas where vaccines are widely available. This is a big reason why we felt comfortable opening some of our offices to employees who wanted to return early. And I have to say it’s been great to see Googlers brainstorming around whiteboards and enjoying meals in cafes again in the many offices that have already re-opened globally. 

  Getting vaccinated is one of the most important ways to keep ourselves and our communities healthy in the months ahead. As we look toward a global return to our offices, I wanted to share two key updates:
  
  

  • First, anyone coming to work on our campuses will need to be vaccinated. We’re rolling this policy out in the U.S. in the coming weeks and will expand to other regions in the coming months. The implementation will vary according to local conditions and regulations, and will not apply until vaccines are widely available in your area. You’ll get guidance from your local leads about how this will affect you, and we’ll also share more details on an exceptions process for those who cannot be vaccinated for medical or other protected reasons.

  • Second, we are extending our global voluntary work-from-home policy through October 18.We are excited that we’ve started to re-open our campuses and encourage Googlers who feel safe coming to sites that have already opened to continue doing so. At the same time, we recognize that many Googlers are seeing spikes in their communities caused by the Delta variant and are concerned about returning to the office. This extension will allow us time to ramp back into work while providing flexibility for those who need it. We’ll continue watching the data carefully and let you know at least 30 days in advance before transitioning into our full return to office plans. For those of you with special circumstances, we will soon be sharing expanded temporary work options that will allow you to apply to work from home through the end of 2021. We’re also extending Expanded Carer’s Leave through the end of the year for parents and caregivers.

  I know that many of you continue to deal with very challenging circumstances related to the pandemic. While there is much that remains outside of our control, I’m proud of the way we continue to take care of each other while helping people, businesses and communities through these difficult times.  

  I hope these steps will give everyone greater peace of mind as offices reopen. Seeing Googlers together in the offices these past few weeks filled me with optimism, and I’m looking forward to brighter days ahead. 

  -Sundar

  Related Article

  Our commitment to COVID-19 vaccine equity

  As vaccines become more available, we’re committed to supporting organizations around the world that are working toward vaccine equity.

  Read Article

  
  
  https://blog.google/inside-google/company-announcements/vaccines-and-our-return-to-office-plans/
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  Using AI to map Africa’s buildings
  • sorangutan  

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  Between 2020 and 2050, Africa’s population is expected to double, adding 950 million more people to its urban areas alone. However, according to 2018 figures, a scarcity of affordable housing in many African cities has forced over half of the city dwellers in Sub-Saharan Africa to live in informal settlements. And in rural areas, many also occupy makeshift structures due to widespread poverty.
  
  These shelters have remained largely undetectable using traditional monitoring tools. Machine learning, computer vision and remote sensing have come some way in recognizing buildings and roads, but when it comes to denser neighborhoods, it becomes much harder to distinguish small and makeshift buildings. 

  Why is this an issue? Because when preparing a humanitarian response, forecasting transportation needs, or planning basic services, being able to accurately map the built environment - which allows us to ascertain population density - is absolutely key.
  
  

  Enter Google’s Open Buildings

  Google’s Open Buildings is a new open access dataset containing the locations and geometry of buildings across most of Africa. From Lagos’ Makoko settlement to Dodoma’s refugee camps, millions of previously invisible buildings have popped up in our dataset. This improved building data helps refine the understanding of where people and communities live, providing actionable information for state and non-state actors looking to provide services from sanitation to education and vaccination.

  • An aerial photograph of a refugee settlement in Uganda

    Refugee settlement in Yumbe district, Uganda

  • An aerial photograph of rural dwellings in Ethiopia

    Rural dwellings in Sholtaka, Ethiopia

    
    

  • An aerial photograph of an urban area in DRC

    High density urban area in Kinshasa, DRC

  Open Buildings uses AI to provide a digital footprint of buildings. This includes producing polygons with the outlines of at least 500 million buildings across the African continent, the majority of which are less than 20 square meters. The full dataset encompasses 50 countries.

  The data provides the exact location and polygon outline of each building, its size, a confidence score for it being detected as a valid building and a Plus Code. There is, however, no information about the type of building, its street address, or any identifying data. We have also excluded sensitive areas such as conflict zones to protect vulnerable populations.
  

  
  Satellite mapping using AI 

  The Open Buildings dataset was generated by using a model trained to detect buildings using satellite imagery from the African continent. The information for the buildings detected is then saved in CSV files which are available to download. The technical details of the Open Buildings dataset, including usage and tutorials, are available on the dataset website and the Google AI blog.

  

  How will this improve planning?

  There are many important ways in which this data can be used, including — but not limited to — the following:
  
  

  Population mapping: Building footprints are a key ingredient for estimating population density. This information is vital to planning for services for communities. 

  
  

  Humanitarian response: To plan the response to a flood, drought, or other natural disaster.

  
  

  Environmental science: Knowledge of settlement density is useful for understanding the human impact on the natural environment. 

  
  

  Addressing systems: In many areas, buildings do not have formal addresses. This can make it difficult for people to access social benefits and economic opportunities. Building footprint data can help with the rollout of digital addressing systems such asPlus Codes.

  
  

  Vaccination planning: Knowing the density of population and settlements helps to anticipate demand for vaccines and the best locations for facilities. This data is also useful for precision epidemiology, as well as prevention efforts such as mosquito net distribution.

  
  

  Statistical indicators: Buildings data can be used to help calculate statistical indicators for national planning, such as the numbers of houses in the catchment areas of schools and health centers, mean travel distances to the nearest hospital or demand forecast for transportation systems.
  
  

  Google’s AI Center in Accra

  This project was led by our team at the AI Research Center in Accra, Ghana. The center was launched in 2019 to bring together top machine learning researchers and engineers dedicated to AI research and its applications. The research team has already been improving Google Maps with AI, adding 120 million buildings and 228,000 km of roads across Africa to Maps in the last year. This work is part of our broader AI for Social Good efforts.

  Related Article

  Google AI in Ghana

  A new Google AI research center will open later this year in Accra, Ghana, bringing together top machine learning researchers and engineers.

  Read Article

  
  
  https://blog.google/around-the-globe/google-africa/using-ai-to-map-africas-buildings/
• 

  Italy’s capital of culture: Parma
  • sorangutan  

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  The cultural scope of the beautiful Italian Peninsula never ceases to amaze people all over the world. But the possibility of getting to know the traditions and peculiarities of many Italian gems has been drastically reduced since the pandemic hit. Among such treasures is Parma, a delicate city set in the very heart of Italy. Beyond being the capital of iconic food such as Parmigiano and Prosciutto, Parma is a city of incredible cultural heritage that gained the prestigious title of “Italian Capital of Culture for the year 2020” but had to put a year-long calendar of events on hold due to the pandemic. 

  Eighteen months later, the city is ready to celebrate its cultural heritage with the world on Google Arts & Culture. The collaboration between the Municipality of Parma and Google brought online the work of 33 institutional partners in the Parma area, including over 17,000 images from the archives of the municipal museums, 30 places digitized with Street View and much more. It’s a  project of true cultural valorization that highlights the magic behind this city.

  Travel to Italy from home and check out some of Parma’s wonders. Explore the masterpieces, enjoy the sound of music and get a taste of that Italian cuisine:

  
  

  1. Deep into a towering dome: Step inside and see the details of a 27-meters-high dome like you’ve never seen before and learn about the artist Correggio’s devotion to the Benedectine congregation.

  2. Get your artists in place: Thanks to the Google Art Camera, the online experience faithfully reproduces over 200 masterpieces by international artists such as Picasso, Francis Bacon, Goya, Monet and Tiziano Vecellio but also by Italian artists including Ligabue, De Chirico, Boccioni, Filippo Lippi and Parmigianino. 

  3. 300,000 bamboo plants: Did you know Parma holds the largest existing labyrinth in the world? Labirinto della Masone was created by the visionary mind of Franco Maria Ricci. It is composed of 300,000 bamboo plants and is considered a magical place, all waiting to be discovered!  

  4. Music to your ears: The land of renowned musicians Verdi and Toscanini, Parma is a favorite destination for opera lovers, who can now immerse themselves in a collection of 10,000 stage photographs, sketches and posters from the newly digitized Casa della Musica(literally “House of Music) archives. Several museums are now online, with the goal of bringing the history of sound reproduction to all ears. 

  5. No stereotypes when it comes to food: Known worldwide for Parmigiano Reggiano, the digital hub also features the Parmigiano Reggiano Museum to discover all about the history of one of the world’s most loved cheeses. 

  6. Did you say Pasta?: “Pasta” is synonymous with Italy so of course the online hub also includes the famous Pasta Museum to virtually transport you from the wheat fields to the traditional Italian household to make pasta. Check it out to truly understand the role that this type of food has played and continues to play in gastronomy, art, culture and in the lives of people around the world.

  • The painting portrays a noblewoman from the 16th century with soft but rich tones. She is carrying a feathered fan. Her gaze is enigmatic and directed to the observer.

    Get to know the enigmatic noblewomanportrayed by Parmigianino, master of Mannerism.

  • The image is a full view of the fresco that decorates the Church's dome. 27-metres-high, surrounded by a golden light, the Second Coming of Christ is portrayed, surrounded by the Apostles.

    Zoom in and see the details of the San Giovanni Evangelista dome, just as the Italian Master Correggio did back in 1520.

  • Almost shaped like a star, this maze is entirely made of bamboo trees and from this aerial view, you can spot the Masone Pyramid at the very center.

    Get lost in the largest maze existing in the world with over 300.000 bamboo plants.

  • Fresh pasta gets dried by hanging on special racks. Here pictured a golden wall of drying spaghetti at the Pasta Museum.

    A commercial directed by Fellini, a story about the colander, a series of recipe books: it’s all about pasta!

  • A view from the point of view of the stage, to appreciate the five orders and full seating of this opera theater. The arena is glowing thanks to a majestic chandelier.

    Discover the opera lovers’favourite stage.

  The journey into the beauty of Parma doesn't end here. Continue to discover the wonders of the Capital of Culture 2020 and 2021and let yourself be amazed by the art, music and culture of the city.  

  
  

  Want to continue traveling to Italy from home? Look behind the curtain of one of the world’s greatest and oldest theaters, La Scala Theater in Milan or take a virtual tour of some of Italy’s most iconic sites through the “Wonders of Italy” experience. 

  
  This and so much more, on Google Arts & Culture and on the Google Arts & Culture app foriOS and Android
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/arts-culture/italys-capital-of-culture-parma/
• 

  One engineer’s tips for getting into Google
  • sorangutan  

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  Welcome to the latest edition of “My Path to Google,” where we talk to Googlers, interns and alumni about how they got to Google, what their roles are like and even some tips on how to prepare for interviews.

  Today we spoke with Akash Mukherjee, a Security Engineer at our Mountain View office, about what makes his work challenging and exciting.

  What do you do at Google?

  I’m a Security Engineer on the Chrome Browser Core Infrastructure team. My team makes sure that the infrastructure used to build and ship Chrome to billions of users is secure. We build tools to make it easy for secure development practice across Chrome. One cool part of this work is that we not only support Google’s internal developer community but also open source contributors.

  What’s a typical workday like for you? 

  Most of my day involves designing and building out tools, so a lot of writing code and design docs. I’d say I spend 15% of my time syncing with colleagues on updates for ongoing projects. I’m fortunate to have multiple projects to work on — this helps me feel constantly challenged and motivated to work.

  I feel like I have a great balance between collaborating and working independently. 

  What made you decide to apply to Google?

  Google had always been at the back of my mind, but I was intimidated by the interview process and held off applying for a while. Still, I’d heard good stories about the work-life balance at Google from friends. I was actually getting ready to apply right when a recruiter reached out to me! It felt like a natural match not only in terms of technical skills, but also culturally.

  How did you land in your current role?

  Before joining Google, I was a security engineer at another company, where I was doing more automation work. Although it was exciting, I always felt something was missing. Joining Google I realized how much I value constant innovation and building new systems and tools. One of the coolest things about building new things is that it requires you to understand the vast existing infrastructure. It’s challenging, exciting work.

  What inspires you to come in (or log in) every day? 

  It’s fascinating to see how Google’s objective of building for everyone breaks down to the individual level. One of the benefits of working at Google is that the work we do impacts more than a billion people’s lives. That motivates me. It would be unfair not to also mention all the amazing people I work with on a daily basis — my colleagues are a crucial part of the work I do.

  

  Besides work, I play soccer and love to explore driving around. I also have the cutest golden retriever and outside work, that’s where I spend most of my time.

  How did you prepare for the interview?

  Google’s interview process really tests your fundamental knowledge. Work on strengthening those building blocks and answer questions with technical details. This is a good starting point that I have used. If you look at the questions, you’ll see how fundamentals are important. 

  
  

  Any tips for aspiring Googlers?

  Believe in yourself, especially during tough times and failures. Anyone out there reading this, just get past the fear of failure and start learning from it. Failures teach us much more than success.

  
  
  https://blog.google/inside-google/life-at-google/one-engineers-tips-for-getting-into-google/
• 

  Helping digital news outlets serve local communities
  • sorangutan  

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  Journalism has always been about bringing communities together, and delivering information that is valuable to them. But traditionally, the most influential outlets have focused on serving the majority, often inadvertently leaving people behind. The result is entire communities who are unable to find quality journalism which reflects their lives and values.

  Today, it’s possible for digital publishers to reach local and niche audiences online with journalism readers care about and can see themselves in. Despite this, we know that achieving financial sustainability as a digital news business is often a major challenge.
  

  That’s why we at Media Lab Bayern are partnering with the Google News Initiative and the European Journalism Centre to launch the GNI Startups Lab Europe – an intensive six-month accelerator program designed to help a group of up to 12 early-stage digital news organisations find solid financial footing.

  The program has been designed specifically for news startups producing original content, drawing on our team’s collective expertise. This will be the GNI’s fourth Startups Lab, following runs in Brazil, North American and Hispanoamérica. The European Journalism Centre brings their deep domain knowledge and vast network from across the continent. We at Media Lab Bayern will leverage our experience as a media innovation hub for more than 200 European media startups over the past six years. During this time, we have learned how startups can build a sustainable business, with the three most important things to get right being building something your users need, getting the word out and finding a viable business model.

  That’s why we have structured the program into three phases:
  
  

  1. In the first two months we’ll work with the participating teams on their product and team. Which audience do they serve? Which problems do they solve for them? And do they have the resources inside their team to build an amazing product?

  2. In the middle months, we provide inspiration on how to grow an audience. Do they have the right marketing strategy? How big is the addressable market?

  3. And finally, for the final two months of the program we will help them develop a sustainable business model -- something which no company can survive without. How many income streams do they have and what might be unconventional ways to monetize their content? Experimentation will be a key element of this phase, as there is no one-size-fits-all solution. 

  The GNI Startups Lab Europe will start this November. You can learn more and apply here; applications are open until September 20, 2021. If you are an early-stage digital news publisher who is passionate about reaching an underserved community then we want to hear from you. 

  Together we can build a sustainable future for digital news, so every European who searches for a community can find exactly what they are looking for.

  Related Article

  A road map to guide digital news startups

  The GNI Startups Lab will provide news founders with coaching and capital to accelerate their companies on the path to sustainability.

  Read Article

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/google-news-initiative/helping-digital-news-outlets-serve-local-communities/
• 

  Our quantum processor at the Deutsches Museum
  • sorangutan  

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  In 2019, our Quantum AI team achieved a beyond-classical computation by outperforming the world’s fastest classical computer. Today, a quantum processor from the Sycamore generation that accomplished this important computing milestone will be donated to the Deutsches Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology in Munich, Germany. 

  
  The Deutsches Museum has one of the largest collections of science and technology artifacts in the world. This means that the Sycamore will share the same exhibition space as some of the world’s most important technological achievements: like the roundest object in the world – a silicon sphere that gives the kilogram a new definition; the Z3, one of the earliest computers; the Wright Flyer, considered the first serial motor plane; and automotive history from the first diesel engine to the Waymo Firefly. The museum has a long history of preserving artifacts that mark the start of new eras in science and technology, which is why we’re honored to have the Sycamore processor among these exhibits. The beyond-classical experiment ushered in a new era for exploring near-term quantum algorithms that could have tangible benefits to society, for example—design more efficient batteries, create fertilizer using less energy, and figure out what molecules might make effective medicines.

  
  

  Handover of the Sycamore processor in front of Zuse‘s Z3 computer. Luise Allendorf-Hoefer,  Curator electronics, Deutsches Museum, Wolfgang M. Heckl, Director General, Deutsches Museum, Markus Hoffmann, Google Quantum AI Partnerships and Hartmut Neven, Director, Google Quantum AI.

  This also marks an important milestone in the collaboration between Google Research and Germany’s burgeoning quantum community.  Since Google has a research presence in Munich and Berlin, it has given us the opportunity to partner with several German organisations to explore the future of quantum computing. For example, the Sycamore processor has already been used by some of our industrial research partners, like Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, and will be the foundation for experiments designed with Boehringer Ingelheim, Covestro and BASF. 

  
  If you can’t travel to Munich to visit the Deutsches Museum in person, don’t forget that you can take a virtual trip through Google Arts & Culture.

  Related Article

  What our quantum computing milestone means

  This moment represents a distinct milestone in our effort to harness the principles of quantum mechanics to solve computational problems.

  Read Article

  
  
  https://blog.google/technology/ai/our-quantum-processor-deutsches-museum/
• 

  Leveling the playing field in sports — and at Google
  • sorangutan  

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  As a middle schooler, Mackenzie Thomas would wake up at 5 a.m. to watch SportsCenter. “I hoped to see my childhood heroes Mia Hamm, Briana Scurry and Lisa Leslie,” she says, “but instead I memorized tons of MLB and NBA scores.” Even then, she saw how differently the media celebrated women athletes compared to men. Now she’s dedicated to driving equity on and off the court. 

  Today Mackenzie leads marketing inclusion, and her days are spent asking hard questions and ensuring that Google is focusing on historically underrepresented voices in tech and in media, where only 4% of television sports coverage is dedicated to women’s sports, for example. And she’s a core member of the team responsible for driving Google’s partnership with the WNBA and National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).  

  Fresh off of Google’s sponsorship of the WNBA All-Star Game and presentation of ESPN Film’s latest 30 for 30 documentary featuring Maya Moore — and as we prepare to watch the world’s top athletes compete in Tokyo — we talked to Mackenzie about Google’s efforts to bring equity to sports and what it means to her personally.

  

  Mackenzie’s love of sports started at a young age.

  How would you describe your job at a dinner party?

  My team works with the people who design and build some of Google’s most used and loved products like Search, Maps, Photos and News to make them more equitable, more inclusive and simply work better for everyone. We also work to ensure people see positive portrayals of themselves in the stories Google tells. So for example, we partnered with community-based organizations to drive equity in our COVID-19 vaccine response and worked with the trans community to make reminiscing with Google Photos more inclusive.

  Tell me more about Google’s efforts to bring gender equity to sports.

  During the 2015 Women’s World Cup, I was frustrated about the explicit lack of media coverage, pay disparity and product features for the biggest stage of women’s soccer. Fast-forward to late 2019, we asked ourselves, "What if we applied the notion of Title IX to our own investment in sport?" So we started what we colloquially called "Project IX," an effort that spread throughout media, marketing and engineering teams across Google and YouTube. The goal being to better support and highlight women’s sports, all year, not just in big moments.

  What are some of the specific ways you tried to do that?

  While many of us are former athletes, the real experts are outside Google. We had countless conversations with the WNBA and NWSL, player's associations, nonprofits and media partners like Just Women’s Sports, Women's Sports Foundation and AthleteAlly. This helped us zero in on what role Google can and should play in championing gender equity. 

  As a tech company, we can focus on our products by taking accountability and making sure we’re not just focusing on monetary investment but examining how every decision we make can be more equitable. For instance, over the past few years, we’ve made it easier to follow more than 250 women’s leagues on Search. 

  The WNBA sponsorship was a big deal for Google. How does that fit into Project IX and what’s next?

  Working with the league and ESPN to deliver 25 nationally televised games this season and a dedicated segment for women’s sports in ESPN’s SportsCenter were important first-steps and what Project IX is all about. The WNBA is on the forefront of social and racial justice, so as we deepened our commitment to racial justice, this partnership made sense. 

  As part of Project IX, we wanted to increase our media spend in sports, not just during huge moments like the WNBA Playoffs, but throughout the season. We quickly saw the lack of content on broadcast. So over the next three years, we’re adding 300 hours of women's sports content to broadcast and digital to help increase representation, create more opportunities for advertisers and importantly, allow more people to see just how stellar these athletes are.

  How have your personal experiences molded this work?
  

  Even though I drifted away from considering myself an “athlete” when I graduated from high school, I’ve remained tied to the relentless pursuit of justice through sport: Colin Kapernick kneeling for racial justice, Megan Rapinoe and her teammates fighting for equitable pay, Cece Telfer and Schuyler Bailar advocating for trans rights. I believe it’s on all of us with privilege to build a more just world. 

  How do you personally challenge the status quo? 

  As a queer, able-bodied, cis, white woman, there are spaces in which I’m “othered” and more often, spaces where I undeniably contribute to “othering.” To quote the great Shirley Chisholm, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” I’d like to take that one step further and pledge to bring a stack of chairs -- for queer, Black, Latino, Indigenous, disabled and trans voices.

  
  
  https://blog.google/inside-google/googlers/leveling-the-playing-field-in-sports-and-at-google/
• 

  An expanded skills program to empower Singaporeans
  • sorangutan  

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  Like many young people in Singapore last year, Gaviota Rajendhiran graduated in a tough environment. The economic impact of COVID-19 meant there were fewer jobs to apply for and more competition for the positions that were available. So when she heard about Skills Ignition SG, a Grow with Google program, Gaviota rushed to put in an application — earning a placement with Omnicom Media Group. She impressed the team there so much that they offered her a full-time job, making her one of eight Skills Ignition trainees to secure permanent roles with Omnicom. 

  
  

  Gaviota’s story is testament to her talent and determination. But it also shows the power of governments and businesses working together to create opportunity. We created Skills Ignition last year as a partnership between Google and three Singapore government agencies: the Economic Development Board, Infocomm & Media Development Authority and SkillsFuture Singapore. The program equips trainees with the skills they need for an economy becoming increasingly reliant on technology — helping build a talent pipeline that will benefit Singapore for years to come. 

  
  

  When we launched Skills Ignition, we set a goal of training 3,000 Singaporeans and permanent residents: 2,400 through online vocational training and 600 through a combination of online training and on-the-job learning with 38 (and counting) global and local host companies. We’re on track to meet that target, and 90% of the trainees who’ve been through the program so far feel it’s allowed them to gain the right skills to succeed in the digital economy. The 100 trainees we hosted at Google certainly made a huge impact with their energy and enthusiasm.

  

  Some of the 100 Skills Ignition trainees we hosted at Google catching up via Google Meet.

  Today, we announced that we’re expanding the program with 600 new vocational training places, taking our overall target to 3,600. We’ll be welcoming another 100 on-the-job trainees to Google in October. And we’re also working on a  new training track — Data Engineering with Machine Learning Fundamentals — to add to the two existing tracks: Digital Marketing and Cloud Technology.

  
  

  Over the past five years, the demand for data analytics skills has grown by 86% globally, and Singapore needs world-class business analysts, data scientists and machine learning engineers to be competitive in this fast-changing area of technology. The new Skills Ignition track will help meet that demand, marking the next step in our growing collaboration with Singapore on AI — including a recently-announced partnership between Google Cloud and AI Singapore. 

  
  

  Deepening the long-term partnership between Google and Singapore

  
  

  The expansion of Skills Ignition into its second year deepens our long-standing commitment to Singapore — our headquarters in Asia-Pacific since 2007 and a community that more than 2,000 Googlers call home.  

  
  

  Over the past 18 months, we’ve worked with Singapore’s government agencies, the private sector and nonprofits to support the response to the pandemic, from sharing health information like vaccine locations to helping small business owners adopt digital tools and promoting food and beverage businesses affected by COVID-19 restrictions. 

  
  

  But Singapore has always kept its eyes on the longer term. Our mission here is ‘empowering Singaporeans today, for tomorrow’. Together with our Skills Ignition partners, we’re looking forward to making sure more Singaporeans can use technology to reach their potential as the digital economy grows.  

  
  
  https://blog.google/around-the-globe/google-asia/skills-ignition-expansion/
• 

  Mental health trends & how they affect communities of color
  • sorangutan  

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  Editor’s note: July is Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. To bring awareness to mental health, Asad Abdullah II — a Google engineer, trauma-informed meditation instructor and mental health advocate — chatted with licensed psychologist Dr. Ghynecee Temple about mental health trends, how they affect communities of color and ways to cope.  

  Search interest for anxiety reached a record high across the U.S. this year. As we begin to reintegrate into life after an extended period of social distancing and self-isolation, people across the country are looking for ways to cope. 
  

  
  

  Marginalized communities in particular have been disproportionately affected and continue to face challenges and stigmas when it comes to accessing resources and talking openly about mental wellbeing. According to Mental Health First Aid, 48% of White Americans with mental illness received mental health services, compared to 31% of Black Americans and Latino/Hispanic Americans and 22% of AAPI populations.

  
  

  Curious to talk more about the mental health trends we’re seeing for marginalized groups, I sat down with Dr. Ghynecee Temple of the Ladipo Group, a Black-owned company dedicated to the emotional wellness of Black and African-American people and communities. Dr. Temple sifted through these trends, discussed lingering mental health stigmas and shared ways we can take care of our wellbeing and support others. 

  Search interest for “why do I feel anxious for no reason” spiked 400% in 2021 U.S. compared to 2020. How is this affecting communities of color specifically? 

  
  

  There's always a reason you feel anxious, you just may not have uncovered it yet. For communities of color, both before and during the pandemic, there are unique experiences that affect their mental wellbeing. You may deal with navigating daily discrimination, feel a lack of autonomy being in a system that suppresses or grapple with intersecting identities.

  
  

  Fast forward to COVID-19, and you have a massive loss of control. You can’t see, smell or touch it, but it’s ever-looming and ever-present. So of course you’re going to feel anxious.

  
  

  Still in some communities, getting mental health help is stigmatized. What I tell people is: Your brain is your control center for your entire body. If your thoughts are off,  it's going to impact every facet of your functioning. And if something is off and not feeling right, why wouldn't we get help? 

  
  

  As people prepare to return to work and school, what would you say to those who are experiencing uneasiness or anxiety? 

  
  

  Your feelings about the transition are valid. Some people are excited to socialize again,  others are relieved as home may not always be the safest place for them, and still others are nervous about interacting with people outside of their bubble. Don’t judge your feelings, and accept that you’re going to experience different moods each day.

  
  

  What are some practical steps we can take to manage those feelings?

  
  

  There’s still a lot of uncertainty, but part of what we can do to weather that storm is to be present. Instead of thinking about what’s happening in two months or 12 months, ask yourself how you are feeling right now and what you need at this moment. Set boundaries and goals for yourself. For example, if you feel safer wearing a mask, continue to do so even if it’s not required. If you’re struggling with social anxiety, set a goal to socialize for 15 minutes at lunch before allowing yourself to go back to your desk to decompress. Exposure is one of the most helpful things to improve social anxiety. Start small and challenge yourself to build upon it every day.

  
  

  A lot of people are turning to therapy, and search interest for “black therapists” spiked last summer. How can people within the BIPOC community go about finding a therapist?

  
  

  A quick Google search will show you resources near you — and even a self-assessment to help you learn more about anxiety. When finding a therapist, many therapists will have an online bio where they can talk about their own identities that feel salient or what communities they’ve worked with before — start there. Then ask for a consultation and evaluate them for yourself. I love when new clients ask me questions! You don’t have to pick the first therapist you find. Remember that you’re shopping and want to feel comfortable and safe.

  
  

  I’m a Blue Dot Listener at Google. Our aim is to de-stigmatize mental health conversations in the workplace through allyship, peer support and education. I’d love to know from you, how we can be better mental health allies at work?

  
  

  As allies, we need to check our own beliefs and biases, and embrace a continuous posture of learning and unlearning. I’d also encourage people to know their limits. There are often instances where we try to support people, but it’s out of our scope. Know when to connect people to the right resources.

  
  

  You’ve been in the mental health space for almost a decade, what makes you hopeful for mental wellbeing for historically underrepresented groups?

  
  

  The fact that people are even searching for mental health topics is encouraging. It makes me hopeful that people are willing to learn and unlearn things. 

  
  

  
  
  https://blog.google/technology/health/minority-mental-health-awareness-month-2021/
• 

  Reach TV and audio streamers with Display & Video 360
  • sorangutan  

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  Connected TV (CTV) and audio streams flow into people’s screens with hours of entertainment. So successful brands like Adidas and Nestlé turn to programmatic technology as a way to connect with their viewing and listening audiences while simplifying the execution of CTV and audio ad strategies.

  Last week, we introduced new Display & Video 360 tools to help you forecast the reach of your audio and CTV campaigns on an ongoing basis.

  Today, we’re spotlighting three additional features that will help you easily capture the attention of CTV and audio streamers and understand what encourages them to become customers.

  Pick the right context for your CTV ads

  Reaching viewers based on their interests and passions remains one of the most promising opportunities of CTV advertising. That's why we invest in features like similar audiences for CTV devices that help you find new connected TV viewers who share similar attributes with the audiences you already know.

  But we’ve heard many of you want to combine these new tactics with best-in-class techniques inspired by traditional TV advertising that give you confidence that your ads are displayed in a safe and relevant context.

  To help you do just that, we’re soon integrating new CTV contextual signals in Display & Video 360. This will allow you to pick inventory by genre, length or livestream content.

  Let’s say you want to associate your ad message to some of the highly anticipated sports events of the summer, like the Olympics or the U.S. Open. Using Display & Video 360, you’ll easily select CTV live inventory that falls under the “Sports” genre. Then you’ll also be able to verify that your ads served against content that is suitable for your brand.

  Measure the sales impact of your CTV ads

  As pandemic restrictions ease in some parts of the world, ad spending is rebounding. But advertisers’ preference still goes to ads that can prove they’re effective at moving products off the shelves.

  This fall, we’re introducing sales lift measurement for CTV ads using Nielsen Catalina Solutions (NCS) in the U.S. Harnessing sales data across NCS’s extensive retailer network, this feature will give you a chance to quantify how your CTV ad impressions led to offline sales. The report features useful metrics such as percentage sales lift, total incremental sales and return on ad spend that can inform future campaign optimization. This data will be available right in the Display & Video 360 interface, meaning that no pixel implementation or log file data crunching will be required.

  And because the Display & Video 360 integration with NCS already covers all other digital environments, publishers and formats, you can now understand the incremental lift attributed to campaigns spanning across CTV apps, display, audio and more.

  Create professional dynamic audio ads

  On top of the big screen, people will also turn on their smart speakers and headphones this summer to enjoy live sports and music festivals, or to listen to a podcast while relaxing in a deck chair. Creating great audio ads can be a chicken-and-egg problem. How can you justify a big incremental creative investment if you haven’t yet proven you can run fantastic digital audio campaigns?

  That’s where Display & Video 360 can help. With Audio Mixer, you could already assemble a multi-track audio ad using simple drag-and-drop editing features. Building on Audio Mixer, we’re adding new dynamic production capabilities so that you can build tailored audio ads, quickly and efficiently, at scale. This new dynamic production tool allows you to use various segmentation rules, like location, schedule or audience, to create customized, relevant ads, all from a single audio creative.

  For example, you can create a back-to-school audio campaign that has customized offers for different markets. Once you record the audio asset, you can use the dynamic audio tool to create additional custom assets with local in-store promotions based on where the ads will run.

  

  Dynamic Audio ads in Display & Video 360

  Both Audio Mixer and the dynamic production tool will also be available in the recently announced Ads Creative Studio.

  As people shift to on-demand ways of consuming TV and audio content, advertisers need on-demand ways of buying ads on these channels. Stay flexible and relevant by simplifying the execution and measurement of your CTV and audio campaigns with Display & Video 360’s new tools.

  Related Article

  Plan for business growth with Display & Video 360

  We’re kicking off a series of posts introducing new Display & Video 360 features designed to support your business growth. First up is pl...

  Read Article

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/marketingplatform/360/reach-tv-and-audio-streamers-display-video-360/
• 

  How leading Google One is like solving a puzzle
  • sorangutan  

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  When office life became video call life in 2020, people around the world experienced the drain of remote meetings. Larissa Fontaine might be the one exception. “Video calls can be hard because you’re just moving from one thing to the next...but I also get a lot of energy from them,” she says with a smile. “I realized I actually like jumping from topic to topic.” Holding up her notebook, she admits one caveat: “But I have to write things down! Otherwise I won’t retain it all.” 

  By “it all,” Larissa means the many product teams she meets with every day. Larissa is the vice president of Google One, a subscription service that includes cloud storage and extra benefits to give users peace of mind, such as automatic phone backup, enhanced security features, family sharing…the list goes on. This role requires her to act as something of a puzzle master, making sure everything works together just right, so that different departments, partners and ultimately — most importantly — customers get what they need. Luckily, she’s up to the task. “I enjoy problem-solving,” she says. “I find it really invigorating.”

  
  

  How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in tech?

  I say I work on Google One, which is a subscription that gives you more storage and premium features across different Google products — basically, a membership to help you get more out of Google. I work with Googlers across different areas like engineering, marketing and design to figure out how to make Google One even more valuable for our members. 

  
  

  What are the most challenging and most rewarding parts of your job?

  They’re the same thing: partnering with so many different teams and products across the entire company. It can be complicated trying to solve for the needs of that many product areas. At the same time, when teams come together and find a great solution, it’s exciting. I am always impressed with the creativity and collaboration required to make amazing experiences for users that also work really well for different products and our partners.

  
  

  Did you always want to work in tech?

  I took a mechanical engineering class in college, and it was sort of like “MacGyver,” where you have things like foam core and string and tape and you have to figure out how to precisely move an object across the room without picking it up. I loved figuring out ways to solve these crazy problems, I loved being part of a team, and I loved being super hands-on building things. I ended up majoring in mechanical engineering and then also getting my master’s degree in mechanical engineering. 

  I want to hear how you’re doing, what’s going on in the rest of your life — and then we can get into the potentially harder, thornier stuff we need to talk about.

  How have you seen the subscription model take over tech?

  The open, free internet is still incredibly important, and ad-supported models provide significant value to users. There are also cases where ad-supported solutions may not be the right fit. Subscriptions are growing across industries, not just tech. Car companies are building subscriptions, kids’ clothing companies — there are many examples. And it’s because people rightfully expect ongoing value for the things they buy. Buying something that’s one-and-done, that doesn’t consistently get better, isn’t as appealing. Tech lends itself particularly well to this idea, because we can provide more innovation and continuous improvements over time. 

  
  

  What’s a habit or routine that helps you in your job?  

  I have a habit of spending the first few minutes of every meeting just connecting with my coworkers, especially in video calls. Having an awareness of other people's overall wellbeing is personally important to me, and I also think it helps us work better together. I want to hear how you’re doing, what’s going on in the rest of your life — and then we can get into the potentially harder, thornier stuff we need to talk about. It makes my work a lot more enjoyable and I think it makes the people I work with feel the same — at least I hope so! 

  We created these values for our team a couple of years ago, and one of them is “woohoo often.” It sounds silly, but we do a group “woohoo!” out loud when we have a win or hit a milestone, personal or work-related. We kept it going throughout working from home, and it felt a little strange at first to cheer “woohoo!” over a video call, but it’s actually been great. 

  
  

  What’s something about you that would surprise people? 

  I did gymnastics growing up and was on the national team for about nine years and I competed on two world championship teams. I have a move named after me, the Fontaine. It was considered difficult at the time, but you’ll see far more impressive skills from Simone Biles in Tokyo!
  
  https://blog.google/inside-google/googlers/how-leading-google-one-solving-puzzle/
• 

  Cultural Pit-Stops: making hours of boring travel time fly by
  • sorangutan  

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  Ever noticed how summer holidays never seem to come quickly enough? We plan our journey ahead with chills of excitement, eagerly choosing which swimsuits will make it into our suitcase or dreaming of days blurring into long naps and lemonade-sipping, counting down the moments until we can finally hit the road. But then the long-awaited day arrives and time shifts as hours seem to stretch long while we wait to board a plane, travel hundreds of kilometers or miles by car (sometimes with kids or pets) or embark on multiple train rides. How can we make it go faster?

  Google Arts & Culture and its partners have got you covered with Cultural Pit-Stops: a series of fun and educative activities you can do alone or with a group to help speed up time while you travel.
  

  

  1. If you’re watching the clock tick before hopping on your next train/plane/bus...

  Enjoy a series of videos and experiences like Spin the Globe for your first stop, continue your journey across the world with celebrities, or just relax and stop frantically checking the departure board at the station or airport. And if you’re stuck in a car, we have something for you whether you are sitting in the driver’s orpassenger’sseat.

  

  2. If your kids start to act up in the back of the car:

  Traveling with children can literally be a headache but virtual baby-sitters like the Blobs or Hopper the Penguin may just save your journey by helping you keep your littles ones busy and focused as you create a song or explore a museum together.
  

  

  3. If conversation is running dry with your fellow travel companions:

  Why not test your knowledge of cinema pioneers  or famous monuments? You may well become your group’s next culture champion and, if not, you can always put your headphones on and learn more about Frida’s Self Portrait or Gauguin’s Vahine. Tip: this also works for endless walks with your in-laws or that old uncle you haven’t seen in years.

  If this intense cultural journey has left you exhausted, you can always squeeze in one last selfie — but make it artsy. 
  

  And just like that, you’ve arrived at your destination. Happy holidays. 
  

  Explore more by downloading the free Google Arts & Culture app, or visit the Google Arts & Culture website.
  

  Related Article

  Put a cultural spin on game night

  A new collection of entertaining games to connect with art in your daily life launches on Google Arts & Culture.

  Read Article

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/arts-culture/cultural-pit-stops-making-hours-boring-travel-time-fly/
• 

  Learn more – and get more – from Search
  • sorangutan  

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  When you search for information on Google, you’re probably accustomed to seeing a lot of relevant results in a fraction of a second. But maybe you’ve found yourself wondering how Google connected those results to the words you typed, especially if you didn’t get exactly what you were expecting to find. 

  
  Now, there’s a quick and easy way to see useful context about how Google returned results for your query, and to find helpful tips to get more out of Google Search. Starting today, when you visit an About This Result panel — the three dots next to most results — you’ll get even more information about your results to help you make sense of the information and figure out which result will be most useful.

  

  Relevant, useful results

  With the vast amount of information available on the web, it would be nearly impossible to find what you need without some help sorting through it. Google’s Search systems are designed to do just that: sort through hundreds of billions of webpages to find the most relevant and reliable results, and present them in a helpful way. 

  
  

  The way Google determines what is relevant and reliable information for a given query is based on a lot of different factors. While it can seem complex, some of these fundamental concepts are actually quite simple, and can be useful for people to understand when they start searching.

  
  

  Starting today, About This Result will show searchers information about some of these most important factors used by Google Search to connect results to their queries. Because just as these factors help Google decide if a result may be relevant, they may also help people decide what result is useful for them.

  

  We already give some visual indications of some of these relevance factors on the results page, but we’re now bringing this context to the About This Result panel, so people can easily evaluate whether a result might be the one they’re looking for. Here are some of the factors that you’ll see:

  • Matching keywords: A simple, but important, factor Google uses to determine if information is relevant is when a webpage contains the same keywords as your search. 
  • Related terms: Google also looks for terms that our systems determined are related to the words in your query. If you search “how to cook fish in the oven,” we’ll also look for pages that have related terms like “bake” and “recipe.” 
  • Looking at links: When other pages link to a page using similar words as your query, that page might be relevant to your search. It can also be a helpful indicator of whether online content creators tend to regard the page as useful for that topic.
  • Local relevance: Our systems also look at factors like the language you’re using to search as well as your country and location, to deliver content relevant for your area. For example, if you search "what day is trash pickup?,” it’s helpful to get results that are applicable to your city or state.

  Get the most out of your search

  Sometimes, the results you see in Search might not be quite what you’re looking for. 

  
  

  Now, the About This Result panel will also spotlight useful search tips to help Google better understand what you’re trying to find. The panel will show you search techniques or settings you can use to modify your search to get the results you’re after. 

  
  

  For example, if you usually search in English, but want to find results in a different language, or from a different region, About This Result makes it even easier to adjust your settings. 

  
  

  You may even want to adjust your search. Imagine you search for “best jogging shoes.” While it’s usually helpful for Google to return results about related concepts, in this case “running shoes,” you’re really after shoes that are optimized for jogging.

  

  About This Result will show you tips for how you can get to what you really wanted. For example, you can put quotes around a word or phrase to get results that mention those words exactly, or use a minus sign to exclude certain words from your search. 

  
  This new tool is another helpful way to get more context about the results you’re seeing on Search. From being able to quickly check information about a source via About This Result to getting helpful notices if we feel results aren’t particularly relevant or if they’re rapidly changing, this set of features aims to help you find what you’re looking for and also be equipped to better evaluate the information that you find. This expansion of About This Result is rolling out in English in the U.S. to start, and we look forward to bringing this and other related features to more people in the coming months.
  
  https://blog.google/products/search/learn-more-and-get-more-from-search/
• 

  Ask a Techspert: What is open source?
  • sorangutan  

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  When I started working at Google, a colleague mentioned that the group projects I worked on in college sounded a lot like some of the open source projects we do here at Google. I thought there had to be some misunderstanding since my projects all happened in-person with my classmates in the corner of some building in the engineering quad. 

  To find out how a real life study group could be like a type of computer software, I went straight to Rebecca Stambler, one of Google’s many open source experts.

  
  

  Explain your job to me like I’m a first-grader.

  Well, to start, computer programs have to be written in a language that computers understand — not in English or any other spoken language. At Google we have our own language called Go. When we write in a language to tell a computer what to do, that’s called source code. Just like you can write an essay or a letter in a Google Doc, you have to write your code in an “editor.” I work on making these editors work well for people who write code in Google’s programming language, Go. 

  
  

  What does it mean for software to be open source?

  A piece of software is considered open source if its source code is made publicly available to anyone, meaning they can freely copy, modify and redistribute the code. Usually, companies want to keep the source code of their products secret, so people can’t copy and reproduce their products. But sometimes a company shares their code publicly so anyone can contribute. This makes software more accessible and builds a community around a project. Anyone can work on an open source project no matter who they are or where they are. 

  
  

  Anyone can contribute? How do they do it?

  Before you actually write open source code, a good first step would be thinking about what you’re interested in, whether that’s web development, systems or front end development. Then you can dive into that community by doing things like attending talks or joining online networks where you can often learn more about what open source projects are out there. Then, think about what topics you’re interested in — maybe it’s the environment, retail, banking or a specific type of web development. Some people write code just because they enjoy it; plenty of these people have contributed to code within Google open source projects. So if you’re looking to contribute,  make sure it’s something  you’re really interested in.

  

  Many open source projects are hosted on a site called Github, so once you narrow down your area of interest, that’s a great place to start! Once you’ve found something you want to work on, the easiest way to get involved is to fix errors in the code raised by other members of the project who don’t have the time to fix. Even if you don’t know how to code there’s a lot of non-technical work in open source projects like prioritizing issues that need fixing, community organization or writing user guides. You just have to be passionate about the work and ready to jump in. 

  
  

  What’s the benefit of using open source code to create something?

  We need lots of diverse perspectives to build good software, and open source helps with that. If you’re building something with a small team of three people, you might not consider all of the different ways someone might use your product. Or maybe your team doesn’t have the best equipment. Open source enables people from all over the world with different use cases, computers and experiences to chime in and say “hey, this doesn’t actually work for me” or “running this software drains my battery.” Without having open source projects, I don’t think we could make products that work for everyone. 

  Projects like Android, which is Google operating system for mobile devices, are open source. And just last year Google Kubernetes Engine celebrated its five-year anniversary. This was really exciting because it showed how Google engineers contribute to the broader open source community outside of Google. Open source projects build a real sense of community between the contributors. When we have people that work on a lot of our projects we send them thank you notes and mention them when we release new software versions. We’ve created a whole community of contributors who’ve made our products more successful and exciting. 

  
  
  https://blog.google/inside-google/googlers/ask-techspert-what-open-source/