Google Cloud Platform News

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  How Scrolla is making news more accessible to South Africans
  • sorangutan  

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  The costs associated with paying for mobile phone data in many African countries are often incredibly high, making it prohibitive for lower income readers to access news. As our mission is to bring high quality news on mobile phones to underserved communities, we set out to create a new product for Scrolla.Africa which is light on data use. The new platform is called Scrolla Data Lite.

  Our core readers are pay-as-you-go mobile users, who make up about 75% of the market in South Africa. We found that people on these expensive pay-as-you-go data services were extremely cautious about downloading anything or surfing online. So beyond using data for messaging services, the idea of browsing on mobiles for news is regarded as a privilege.

  As a mobile-only investigative and political reporting outlet, we were operating on a shoestring budget when we launched, so the data use issue was not something we had the technical capacity to address. We decided it had to wait until we had evolved the prototype and our editorial colleagues — Everson Luhanga and Phillip van Niekerk — had established Scrolla’s editorial ethos.

  Our big break came when we were selected for the Google News Initiative Innovation Challenge for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa in 2021. We had a rough outline of how we would design a separate “Data Lite” site, which we used as the basis for our application. The Data Lite site doesn’t contain video or audio, and has stripped back features allowing for faster scrolling. The goals were to compress stories and images as much as possible and to automate the process so that our small team didn’t have to learn a new Content Management System (CMS). As a recipient of funding, we could build a Data Lite site far quicker and better than would have otherwise been possible, and bring in external engineering expertise to design the new platform.

  The site ended up saving readers 90% on the data costs of our “full fat” site, when we compare the 100 kilobytes on page downloads on Data Lite to our usual 1 megabyte. And this meant the Data Lite site gave us about a sixfold increase in traffic compared with the full data site. We couldn’t use video or audio on the new Data Lite site, which remains its only drawback. When it came to images, we gave the editorial team strict guidelines to minimize data use without compromising user experience. This left room for error, so we then built in additional automated safeguards which ensured that uploaded images didn’t risk leaving readers with a spike in data costs.

  Alongside data costs, language is an additional barrier in South Africa, so we publish in Zulu as well as English. Crucially, the GNI funding allowed us to design a system where we could include our Zulu content, together with English (a second language in South Africa), on one platform. The site had to be super easy to navigate and allow users to toggle between English and Zulu.

  

  A screengrab of the Scrolla app featuring the Zulu language.

  The biggest lesson we learned is it’s impossible to underestimate what a big deal these data costs are: to the extent that many readers are wary of downloading apps or touching the sort of advertisements which typically require a lot of data such as those with video. The GNI enabled us to build the site, and we're open to sharing the technology with other like-minded publications in Africa and beyond.

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/google-news-initiative/how-scrolla-is-making-news-more-accessible-to-south-africans/
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  How we detect, remove and report child sexual abuse material
  • sorangutan  

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  Since Google’s earliest days, we have worked to prevent the spread of illegal child sexual abuse material (referred to as CSAM). Child safety organizations and governments rightly expect — and in many cases require — us to take action to remove it from our systems. Which is why, when we find CSAM on our platforms, we remove it, report it and often take the step to suspend the account.

  Although CSAM accounts for a very small portion of the material uploaded and shared across our platforms, we take the implications of both CSAM violations and suspending accounts seriously. Our goal is to prevent abuse on our platforms while minimizing the risk of an incorrect suspension. Today, we are sharing more information on how we detect this harmful content and the steps we are taking to be more transparent about our processes with users.

  How we detect CSAM

  We rely on two equally important technologies to help us proactively identify child sexual abuse material: hash matching and artificial intelligence (AI). We also have a team of highly specialized and trained content reviewers and subject matter experts who help ensure that our technology delivers accurate results.

  This combination enables us to detect CSAM on our platforms at scale, while keeping our false positive rate extremely low.

  How we use hash matching to identify known CSAM

  CSAM that has been previously identified is automatically flagged by our systems using Hash Matching Technology. This technology assigns images and videos a unique digital signature — a “hash” — and then compares it against a database of known signatures. If the two match, the content is considered to be the same or closely similar.

  We obtain hashes from a variety of highly trusted sources including Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), and others. NCMEC specifically hosts a hash-sharing service used by the tech industry and specialist NGOs from around the world. This repository serves as one starting point – but we review every purported CSAM hash independently to confirm its accuracy. Once we confirm it as CSAM, we input it into our detection systems.

  The overwhelming majority of imagery reported by Google – approximately 90% – matches previously identified CSAM, much of which is already in the NCMEC database.

  How we use artificial intelligence to identify new content

  While hash matching helps us find known CSAM, we use artificial intelligence to flag new content that is very similar to patterns of previously confirmed CSAM. Our systems are specifically designed to recognize benign imagery like a child playing in the bathtub or backyard, which will not be flagged. A specialist team of trained personnel also reviews each piece of new imagery flagged, to confirm it is CSAM before it is ever reported.

  Quick detection of new images means that children who are being sexually abused today are much more likely to be identified and protected from further abuse. And to help promote safety across the web, we provide other companies and NGOs access to detection and processing technology through our Child Safety Toolkit. This includes our Content Safety API, which helps partners more quickly prioritize and review content that is highly likely to be abusive. In the past 30 days alone, the Content Safety API has helped partners process over four billion pieces of CSAM. Through the toolkit, partners can also license our proprietary CSAI Match Technology, to detect known video CSAM on their platforms.

  Our specialized content reviewers

  While technology is essential in the fight against CSAM at scale, human reviewers also play a critical role to confirm hash matches and content discovered through AI. Our team members bring deep expertise to this work with backgrounds in law, child safety and advocacy, social work, and cyber investigations, among other disciplines. They are specially trained on both our policy scope and what legally constitutes child sexual abuse material. We regularly update this training and our guidelines in consultation with legal counsel, independent experts and medical professionals.

  We know this is incredibly sensitive work and have a number of measures in place to protect reviewers’ physical and mental wellness. Our teams have access to tools, workspaces, resources and professional expertise, including counseling.

  Referring content to NCMEC

  Following this review process, we report the imagery identified as CSAM to NCMEC as required by US law. NCMEC evaluates the report and may decide to refer the case to a relevant law enforcement agency. If the local law enforcement agency chooses to investigate the NCMEC report further, requests for additional information from Google must be made through valid legal process or in accordance with applicable laws. You can learn more here on how we handle these types of requests.

  In doing this work, we also believe in the importance of transparency. Today, we updated our Transparency Report, with the latest data around our detection and reporting efforts. In the first half of this year, we've made over one million reports to NCMEC about content that met the legal definition of CSAM, and where appropriate, also suspended the Google accounts associated with that content (approximately 270,000 account suspensions).

  By using existing, confirmed CSAM to identify identical or similar material uploaded or shared to our platforms, we maintain an incredibly low false positive rate. However, if someone believes their account was incorrectly disabled, including for content flagged as CSAM, they can appeal the determination. A member of our child safety team reviews the appeal, and if we find we have made a mistake, we reinstate the account as soon as possible.

  Improving our processes

  Avoiding CSAM on our platforms is incredibly important work and is an area we’ll continue to invest in. At the same time, we recognize that we can improve the user experience when people come to us with questions about their accounts or believe we made wrong decisions. For example, we are actively working on ways to increase transparency and provide more detailed reasons for account suspensions (while making sure we don’t compromise the safety of children or interfere with potential law enforcement investigations). And we will also update our appeals process to allow users to submit even more context about their account, including to share more information and documentation from relevant independent professionals or law enforcement agencies to aid our understanding of the content detected in the account.

  We will continue to explore additional ways to balance preventing this harmful content from spreading on our platforms with creating a more streamlined support experience for all users.

  
  
  https://blog.google/technology/safety-security/how-we-detect-remove-and-report-child-sexual-abuse-material/
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  3 tips to maximize budget efficiency across media
  • sorangutan  

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  In an increasingly fragmented media landscape, making good use of your ad dollars is a tall order. Using a siloed strategy means you’re at risk of unintentionally reaching the same people more often than desired. This can lead to an ineffective use of your budget and poor user experience.

  For years, we’ve seen leading brands improve the efficiency of their ad operations and media using Display & Video 360 as a way to unify their campaigns across inventory sources, devices and markets. Today, we’ll share these marketers’ three best practices with some of their latest success stories highlighting key features to unify their media. Display & Video 360 continues to future-proof these tools using a combination of advanced machine learning technology, first-party data signals and privacy-preserving APIs.

  Plan and forecast reach in one place

  This is where it all begins. Plans that take your entire media mix into account are inherently more accurate. And planning solutions that are tightly connected to your media buying platform can let you more accurately and quickly assess the potential reach of your plans. Display & Video 360 planning tools let you estimate the reach of your campaign across any type of environment or inventory source — including web, audio, connected TV (CTV) and even linear TV.

  Reckitt is a global brand that found success optimizing its budget allocation for Airborne campaigns using Display & Video 360’s reach planning capabilities. Reckitt decided to diversify its media mix beyond traditional TV ads to boost its presence on CTV. So, it started looking for a planning tool that could account for CTV streamers. Harnessing Display & Video 360 forecasting solutions, the company estimated how much incremental reach could be gained by bringing together all its CTV deals — YouTube, Disney, The CW and Discovery — in the same campaign. The tool let them create accurate, custom media plans. By pulling insights like optimal spend and reach, Reckitt could compare the effectiveness of different campaign types. Armed with these insights, the company reached over 11 million CTV households within their core audience while keeping its spend under control. Reckitt also ensured these viewers weren’t duplicative with their traditional TV audience, generating 18% more viewers by adding CTV ads to their TV mix.

  Combine various inventory sources in one place

  I remember days when programmatic buying was just about serving standard display ads on the web. We’ve come a long way since then. Over the years, we’ve added access to thousands of publishers and all sorts of new inventory sources in Display & Video 360. For example, using digital out-of-home, brands can now reach people out in the real-world with the efficiency of programmatic technology. Today Display & Video 360 already partners with exchanges Hivestack, Magnite, Place Exchange, Ströer SSP, VIOOH and Vistar Media. These exchanges give access to large media owners around the world like Clear Channel Outdoor, Intersection, JCDecaux, Lamar and Ströer.

  With more top media companies like Disney making their inventory available programmatically, connected TV advertising gives brands another exciting terrain to engage with their customers. Today 93% of ad-supported connected TV households in the U.S. can be reached with Display & Video 360, according to comScore.[caf5bd]We’re also continuing to unlock top CTV inventory around the world. For example, you can now reach people watching Peacock, NBCUniversal’s ad-supported streaming service in the U.S. or Channel 4's programming in the U.K. And all these top CTV placements can be purchased alongside other programmatic ads in a consolidated CTV workflow featuring parameters applicable to any source of CTV inventory — whether it’s Hulu, YouTube, Paramount or any other publisher. This TV-specific insertion order makes it easier to optimize for common goals or control ad frequency across your entire CTV media mix.

  Combining all CTV apps under one insertion order gives us a better way to flex budgets and manage frequency across the two universes. Jaedyn Fuqua, Account Manager
  Adswerve

  Manage frequency in one place

  With Display & Video 360, you can manage ad exposure across media buys while respecting user privacy, even when third-party cookies and identifiers are not present. Frequency can be managed across any type of device and transaction type including CTV and Programmatic Guaranteed deals across a variety of exchanges.

  We're doubling down on programmatic reservation, particularly in the growing CTV landscape. So managing frequency for Programmatic Guaranteed deals with more exchanges is critical to help us further reduce waste associated with ad overexposure. Charles Cebuhar, Sr Director Digital Activation
  OMG Center of Excellence

  And you can get a tailored assessment of the impact of cross-channel frequency management solutions: Display & Video 360’s self-service data visualization shows how much reach was gained due to effective frequency management at the campaign level.

  This is how Audi turbocharged its incremental reach. To launch its all-new Q4 e-tron electric model in Germany, the automaker needed a cost-efficient way of reaching as many cord-cutters as possible with a new video campaign. The brand decided to use frequency management across a mix of standard in-stream video formats and exclusive Programmatic Guaranteed deals from Sky, DAZN and other well-known publishers in Germany. Having a real-time view of reach gains gave the brand and its media agency more precision in evaluating campaign performance. During the six-week campaign, Audi assessed that managing programmatic campaigns across channels in a consolidated way allowed the brand to reach 1.2 million additional unique users — or a 13% rise in incremental reach — without bumping up budgets.

  With a similar approach, L’Oréal Germany was able to increase the reach of its Garnier Greentalk campaign by 16% at no extra cost.

  With Display & Video 360, we’re able to see the added reach that comes from our unified frequency management strategy. This is a big step up in how we evaluate the success of our media. Nils Lenzko, Precision Advertising Manager
  L'Oréal

  Looking forward, we’ll ensure these media unification capabilities remain accessible to all Display & Video 360 users while respecting people's privacy online. In fact, we’ve already started enhancing these solutions using a combination of machine learning techniques and first-party data signals so they keep working in the future. For example, Unique Reach metrics already go beyond basic cookie measurement to help you understand how many times people were shown your ad across different devices, formats and networks. And Display & Video 360 already uses modeled frequency management in situations with limited user signals.

  These are just a few examples of the benefits of consolidating media. We also see advertisers who take a unified approach to media buying enjoy unified reporting, rationalized budgeting, and streamlined billing. As we move forward, we’ll keep adding more functionality to advertisers’ and media agencies’ toolbox to help them get better return from their unified media budgets.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/marketingplatform/360/3-tips-to-maximize-budget-efficiency-across-media/
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  Turn insights into ROI with Google Analytics
  • sorangutan  

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  Three years ago, we introduced Google Analytics 4, a re-imagined tool that helps you get a complete view of consumer behavior across web and app by using first-party, modeled data. This is critical in an evolving privacy and technology landscape, where marketers have to rethink their approach to measurement in order to keep getting the insights they rely on. Today we’re introducing new resources to help you make the switch to Google Analytics 4, improved machine learning features, actionable reporting and new integrations.

  Make the switch now to Google Analytics 4 with helpful solutions

  Earlier this year we shared that we will begin sunsetting standard Universal Analytics properties on July 1, 2023. We recognize that setting up Google Analytics 4 to fit your needs takes time and resources, in particular for large enterprises with complex Analytics 360 setups. To allow enterprise customers more time to have a smoother transition to Google Analytics 4, we’re moving the Universal Analytics 360 properties’ sunset date from October 1, 2023 to July 1, 2024. We're focusing our efforts and investments on Google Analytics 4 to deliver a solution built to adapt to a changing ecosystem. Because of this, throughout 2023 we'll be shifting support away from Universal Analytics 360 and will move our full focus to Google Analytics 4 in 2024. As a result, performance will likely degrade in Universal Analytics 360 up until the new sunset date.

  To help everyone make the move, we're launching new resources and tools to help you get started with Google Analytics 4. Our step by step guide helps you complete the entire setup of Google Analytics 4 at your pace and customize it to your needs. Or, if you prefer a more automated experience, you can use the Setup Assistant in the admin section of your Universal Analytics property. Once a Google Analytics 4 property is created and connected, the Setup Assistant can automate some required setup steps and help you track your progress. For example, the Setup Assistant lets you select the goals you want to import to Google Analytics 4, copy desired Google Ads links and audiences, and add users who have access to your current property.

  

  The Setup Assistant tools

  The best Google Analytics 4 setup comes from following the steps above to create a customized property tailored to your needs. The earlier you do this, the more historical data and insights you will have in Google Analytics 4. For example, SunCorp, one of Australia's largest financial services brands, prioritized setting up Google Analytics 4 to build a base of historical insights.

  When Universal Analytics stops collecting data in 2023, we will have over two years of insights and reporting in Google Analytics 4. This is critical for a business like us to ensure we have a robust foundation of data to inform decision making. Mim Haysom
  Chief Marketing Officer, Suncorp Group

  Beginning in early 2023, the Setup Assistant will also create a new Google Analytics 4 property for each standard Universal Analytics property that doesn’t already have one — helping you jumpstart your migration. These new Google Analytics 4 properties will be connected with the corresponding Universal Analytics properties to match your privacy and collection settings. They’ll also enable equivalent basic features such as goals and Google Ads links. If you’d rather begin the switch on your own, you can opt out of having the Setup Assistant do it for you.

  Get accurate insights with new machine learning solutions

  Behavioral modeling uses machine learning to fill gaps in your understanding of customer behavior when cookies and other identifiers aren’t available. Soon, behavioral modeling will also be available in the real time reporting, giving you a complete view of the consumer journey as it happens. It’s helping marketers like Nestlé get accurate insights from more customer activity.

  Behavioral modeling with Consent Mode in Google Analytics 4 drove a 23% increase in the observable traffic in analytics reporting on European and UK websites. Jaime Rodera
  Privacy & Consumer Data Manager, Nestlé

  Improve ROI with new actionable reporting and integrations

  To get a more accurate picture of your campaigns across all of your marketing touchpoints, we will soon introduce custom channel grouping in Google Analytics 4 to help you see the performance of different channels aggregated. For example, you’ll be able to compare the performance of your paid search brand with your non-brand campaigns. These custom channel groupings work in reporting retroactively, and across the advertising and explore workspaces.

  Your insights are only as good as the actions you can take from them. On top of Google Ads, Display & Video 360 and Search Ads 360, we will soon launch an integration with Campaign Manager 360 via Floodlight. This will allow marketers to bid towards Google Analytics 4 conversions in Display & Video 360’s automated bid strategies.

  Now is the time to make Google Analytics 4 your cross-platform Analytics solution. Get started with Google Analytics 4 now, complete the setup by following our step by step guide and learn how to get the most out of it with the refreshed Google Analytics 4 certification.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/marketingplatform/analytics/turn-insights-roi-google-analytics/
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  How Googlers are building for everyone, with everyone
  • sorangutan  

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  Over the past few weeks, I’ve been recharged by conversations with people from all walks of life: students participating in National Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Week; policymakers at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s events; and community leaders and Googlers from around the world. There’s a shared sense of excitement, and urgency, about the future we’re helping to build. And after years of virtual gatherings, many in-person events have had the invigorating feel of family reunions.

  A symposium with Black executives and the annual Hispanic Heritage Awards in September were energizing, too. At the award ceremony honoring the leadership and accomplishments of the Latino community, we announced a foundational donation from Google.org to the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino, which will center Latino stories as part of the American narrative.

  As a result of our ongoing equity efforts, we were recently recognized at the Business Travel Awards in Europe for our Accessibility Travel Desk. Through this program, business travel agents offer specialized pre-trip and on-trip planning services to Googlers with disabilities so they have what they need on the road. For our U.S. employees, we also recently introduced Health+ Communities, which aims to provide personalized care focused on addressing the particular needs of groups historically underserved in medical care, such as the LGBTQ+ community.

  There is always more to do to build toward sustainable equity. Here, four Googlers talk about other work in progress.

  Making onboarding easier

  Catalyzing change for startups

  Driving toward Africa’s digital transformation

  Connecting communities

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/diversity/q3-2022-dei-update/
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  Why Google Supports the US ‘Securing Open Source Software’ Act
  • sorangutan  

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  Open source software — code that is made freely available to the public to use or modify — is the foundation of the modern internet. It’s given us a world that is more innovative and more accessible. Yet the very openness that makes the digital world accessible to everyone, also leaves it uniquely vulnerable to security threats and cyber attacks.

  At Google, we’ve been working to solve this paradox for years — and have arrived at the conclusion that modern digital security actually can come through embracing openness. We protect more people online than anyone, and we recently announced a $10 billion investment in making the internet safer and more secure. But with the dramatic rise of state-sponsored cyber attacks and malicious actors online, it’s clear that we not only need stronger public-private partnerships — but dynamic policy frameworks to shore up security for everyone.

  That’s why we welcome efforts by the U.S. Government to advance open source software security, such as the Securing Open Source Software Act introduced in the Senate last month. This bipartisan bill proposes the creation of a framework to guide the federal government in their use of open source software. The proposed legislation reflects a helpful focus on security and cyber risk mitigation to respond to a recent spike in malicious cyber activity against the software supply chain.

  We are glad to see a continued emphasis on the importance of open source software security from the U.S. Government, and we hope that both public and private organizations will follow their lead to promote improved cybersecurity for the ecosystem at large.

  The problem of securing open source

  The world of open source software development allows collaboration and rapid innovation by sharing solutions freely. This community, built on openness and sharing, contributes an enormous amount of code to a majority of the applications we use today.

  However, despite the benefits of this openness, the unprecedented scale of recent attacks has emphasized gaps in infrastructure and tooling and the need for improved transparency into the security practices and attributes of open source projects. Seemingly simple questions about the open source supply chain are still difficult to answer:

  • Does a project contain known vulnerabilities?
  • Are the project’s maintainers and community following security best practices during software development?
  • What open source dependencies are part of a particular piece of software?
  • How secure was the distribution supply chain?

  Answering these questions requires specialized technical skills and capabilities, and given the primarily volunteer-driven nature of the open source community, we cannot expect open source developers to shoulder the full burden of advancing software security on their own.

  Continued advances

  Through our work with multiple industry collaborators, Google has helped create free tools, services and best practices to make it easier for the open source community to develop and distribute software securely, while providing consumers with information about the security of the software they use.

  We envision a more secure future where the burden of security is shared, and there is increased trust in and resilience of the open source software ecosystem. To get there, we need freely available, automated solutions that make developer’s lives easier, such as:

  • Infrastructure that prevents tampering, by default, when software is being built and released
  • Advances in vulnerability discovery and management that automate finding, tracking and fixing bugs for developers
  • Seamless connections across sources of security data and tools for analysis so consumers can have meaningful insight into the security of their software

  We’re currently working to make these solutions a reality, at scale, with little to no additional work for developers.

  Sustaining the community

  We hope that the framework that will emerge due to U.S. Government efforts drives further investments in open source communities by both the public and private sectors. We’re already seeing the impact of the $100M Google pledged to non-profit organizations and software foundations like the Open Source Security Foundation to support open source creators.

  This pledge backs efforts like our “open source maintenance crew,” a team of developers who spend 100 percent of their time directly enabling critical open source projects to adopt key security improvements. It also supports our Linux Kernel team, which continues to drive efforts to eliminate entire classes of bugs from open source code, including paving the way for greater memory safety using the Rust language.

  We encourage other major consumers of open source to follow this lead and directly invest both funds and developer time in securing open source projects and ecosystems. Furthermore, we call on other major consumers of open source, both public and private, to implement similar policies around safe open source usage as well.

  Securing open source software is a shared responsibility, and we look forward to continued collaboration on this urgent, critical problem.

  
  
  https://blog.google/technology/safety-security/why-google-supports-the-us-securing-open-source-software-act/
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  Improving accessibility led this UX researcher to 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’s post is all about Jerry Robinson, a user experience (UX) researcher on our Central Product Inclusion, Equity and Accessibility team.

  What’s your role at Google?

  I’m the lead UX researcher on the Lookout team. Lookout is an Android app that uses AI to help people who are blind or have low vision perform daily tasks faster. It can read text and detect different objects within the camera’s field of view. One of my favorite features is the food label mode, which can quickly identify food products — like whether you’re holding a can of chicken or tomato soup.

  I conduct research with current and potential Lookout users to find opportunities to make the app more useful. I love this part of my job because I get to hear directly from the people using our products and share what I’ve learned with my teammates. It’s a privilege to be in a role where I can help our product teams better understand our users and carry out Google’s mission to make information universally accessible.

  

  Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

  I graduated from Morehouse College in 2004 with a degree in accounting. After working in the banking industry for five years, I decided to go to grad school and find a career where I could make an impact on people’s everyday lives. Also, as someone with a disability living in a world not always designed with them in mind, I was interested in accessibility and ways to support people with disabilities on their terms.

  I earned a Master of Science in Information Management and a PhD in Information Science. My dissertation was focused on accessible design from the perspective of people with physical disabilities finding their own ways to adapt to inaccessible situations in their everyday lives.

  How did the application and interview process go for you?

  I met a Googler at an assistive technology conference a few years earlier who told me about the open role. I expressed interest and connected with a recruiter, and eventually received a referral from another Googler.

  My biggest concern during the interview process was communication. I have a distinct speech pattern because of my cerebral palsy, and I’ve always been concerned that potential employers might hold that against me. However, I knew that Google had an inclusive work environment. And I was confident in my ability to conduct good UX research.

  The interview process actually assured me that I was a strong candidate. My interview committee asked tough questions, but they were extremely thoughtful and kind. One of them told me to think of the interview more as a conversation, while another complimented me on my presentation. I felt a level of respect from the very beginning that put me at ease and made me more certain that I wanted to work here.

  

  Jerry in a Google office micro-kitchen.

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

  I’m inspired by all the Google UXers I work with who are passionate about designing for everyone. Google, and the tech industry overall, needs people who are dedicated to making accessible design the norm rather than an afterthought.

  What resources did you use to prepare for your interview?

  My recruiter was incredibly helpful. He gave me tips about what to communicate during each interview round, including how best to present the scope, complexity and impact of my work. I practiced my final presentation several times before my last round of interviews to build up my confidence. And I went to bed early the night before to make sure I felt rested.

  Any tips to share with aspiring Googlers?

  Do all that you can to prepare, but also be confident in what you bring to the table. Know that you’re going through the process because you’re already a qualified candidate. Remind yourself that as often as you need to.

  
  
  https://blog.google/inside-google/life-at-google/improving-accessibility-led-this-ux-researcher-to-google/
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  How Android protects you from scams and phishing attacks
  • sorangutan  

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  Cybercriminals are targeting smartphones and tablets more than ever before. That’s because people are spending more time on their mobile devices, and they’re using them to send and store significant amounts of valuable data — like banking information, healthcare data and passwords. Cybercriminals are also targeting mobile devices because of their smaller screen sizes and frequent app and messaging notifications, which make it more difficult to verify if a sender is legitimate.

  These criminals are increasingly using phishing attacks, scams and malware to obtain sensitive financial information or account passwords. In fact, during the pandemic, phishing attacks grew by 600% and became the top infection method in 2021.

  Phishing attempts can come from a variety of sources like emails, text messages, voice calls and even third-party messaging apps. So it’s critical to have a layered security approach in place to defend from many angles. To help ensure we’re providing strong protection on Android, we hired a third-party security lab to evaluate our features and functionality that help protect you from scam and phishing attacks on your mobile devices. The report concluded that Android devices provide more features for scam and phishing protection than other mobile operating systems[15bb22].

  For Cybersecurity Awareness Month, let’s take a closer look at these features and ways you can further protect your devices.

  Avoid spam, scam and phishing attempts

  Attackers often use text messages since they’re an easy channel to reach people. Messages by Google uses machine learning models to help proactively detect 1.5 billion spam, phishing and scam messages every month. It looks for known patterns and either diverts bad messages into the spam folder or warns you if it notices something suspicious.

  

  Messages by Google detects 1.5 billion spam, phishing and scams messages every month.

  Messages are analyzed with your privacy in mind, so they stay on your device and are never shared with anyone. You can, however, report a message to Google to help protect others. Gmail, the default email app on most Android phones, is also highly effective at flagging malicious messages, automatically blocking 99.9% of spam, phishing and malware.

  Attackers today aren’t just using text messages and emails to phish for data. We’ve seen a 5x increase in the number of attacks involving phone calls, where a criminal tries to impersonate your bank or IT department to get you to hand over your credentials. Phone by Google provides multiple security defenses to help protect against attacks like these — from built-in caller ID and spam protection to Call Screen.

  Get warned about bad links, downloads and apps

  Many phishing and scam attempts try to get you to visit a malicious page impersonating a legitimate-looking site to enter your credentials, steal your social security number or download malware. Safe Browsing on Android protects 3 billion devices globally and helps warn you about potentially risky sites, downloads and extensions. It offers broad protection throughout your Android experience — from browsing on Chrome and other browsers to connecting to the web through social media apps

  

  Safe Browsing helps defend you from dangerous websites and malicious files whether you're on a browser or an app.

  Even if you download an app outside of Google Play, Google Play Protect checks the installation and can warn you about a harmful or malicious app. Play Protect also scans all the apps on your device every day for harmful ones, even if you’re offline.

  Get notified about your Google account

  On Android phones running version 7.0 and up, you can use the built-in security key for additional protection. When you or someone else tries to sign into your Google account, you’ll get a notification on your phone asking to confirm that it’s you.

  And it’s always good to regularly do a Security Checkup, which you can access right from your device settings. It’ll provide personalized security tips for your account, remind you to keep your passwords up to date, and share what devices you’re currently signed in on and what apps have access to your data.

  Learn more about how you and your data are safer with Google on Android devices.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/android/android-scam-and-phishing-protection/
• 

  Democratizing access to health
  • sorangutan  

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  Editor’s note: This essay originally appeared in The Global Governance Project's magazine, as part of Google's wider participation in the World Health Summit. Dr. Garth Graham, the global head of YouTube Health, also contributed a piece on the role of information as a determinant of health.

  The COVID-19 pandemic energized public-private partnerships and strengthened the role of technology towards democratizing access to health to help billions of people everywhere live healthier lives — but fresh challenges are emerging from its shadow

  COVID-19 has been a generation-defining challenge filled with incalculable human costs and long-term impacts that remain unclear. Like many, I have been reflecting on how the pandemic will shape medicine and public health in particular for generations to come.

  The pandemic severely tested public health. Many places around the world could not keep pace with the demands of disease surveillance and continue to see challenges with vaccination rates. Still, public health rose to the occasion. Public health officials quickly interpreted evolving science to provide guidance that kept individuals and communities safe. There were also live-saving scientific advancements — from realizing the promise of mRNA vaccines and adaptive clinical trials to using real-world clinical data to inform regulatory processes.

  Underlying some incredible gains were public-private partnerships — particularly between the technology and health sectors — which I believe will continue to flourish. These partnerships have made the wider dissemination of public health messages, better data and surveillance systems, and faster interventions possible.

  For our part at Google, we adapted to accommodate this hopefully once-in-a-lifetime event by launching more than 200 new products, features and initiatives, in addition to providing in-kind donations totaling more than $1 billion.

  Surfacing quality information is part of our core mission. During the first weeks of the pandemic, we recognized the opportunity to provide the right information, at the right time through the reach of platforms such as Search and YouTube that amplified health messages to billions of people, encouraging them to “flatten the curve” through non-pharmacologic interventions. We donated Google Search Advertising and offered assistance to organizations, such as the World Health Organization, to provide more than two billion COVID-related public service announcements that connected nearly 100 million people to high-quality information.

  Issues masked by the pandemic

  Today, as we conceive of a time when COVID-19 is endemic, we must turn our attention in earnest to other global challenges that the pandemic masked or even exacerbated. For our part, we will continue to use our products, technologies and expertise to help people, their caregivers and their communities, focusing on areas that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, such as mental health and maternal health.

  During the first year of the pandemic, anxiety and depression increased by 25% across the globe.[aea966]Searches for “mental health therapist” and “mental health help” reached record highs in the U.S. in 2022.[3def86]To make it easier to access mental health services and resources — such as clinically validated mental health self-assessments and crisis hotlines — we are enhancing information resources on Search and YouTube, partnering with organizations including the National Alliance on Mental Illness in the US, the Samaritans in the UK and iCall in India.

  The pandemic also made it clear that existing healthcare gaps need to be filled so people can access the best care no matter where they are. At least half of the global population lacks essential health services[31a300], such as immunizations and pediatric care. Technology can help fill these capacity gaps — especially artificial intelligence. Already, AI has demonstrated promise not just as a tool to support significant gains in health care, but also as a means to eliminate disparities and improve health for everyone, everywhere. We are invested in the research and development of these technologies, and doing so inclusively and ethically.

  For example, the global maternal mortality rate remains high, with an average of 152 deaths per 100,000 live births.[b27223]The vast majority of deaths occur in low- and lower-middle income countries. We are partnering with Northwestern Medicine to expand access to fetal ultrasound, validating the use of AI to create more automated and accurate evaluations of maternal and fetal health risks. The goal is to train providers and community health workers to conduct ultrasounds and assessments in the field.

  Another area where AI can be helpful is cancer screening. Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer with 2.26 million new cases occurring each year, yet early screening and detection can improve long-term outcomes.[3e6ff6]We have been researching how AI can reduce the time to diagnosis and improve the patient experience.

  The full picture

  As we support health service providers across the globe, we are uncovering ways to make sure they have the information they need to care for patients. Today, healthcare workers use smartphone applications to manage data specific to certain diseases, for example malaria and tuberculosis. But that data is often stored across multiple applications and formats, making it hard to have a full picture of a patient’s needs. To provide access to advanced mobile digital health solutions, we are working with the WHO to build an open-source software development kit, or SDK.

  We see these innovations as important steps on the road to democratizing health care. There are more on the horizon, fueled by AI and cloud computing, that can bring more meaning to the data and unlock innovation. A great example of this can be found in emerging efforts at the intersection of public health and climate change where we are beginning to see patterns and associations among climate, weather and health.

  Technology is just one tool to solve these public health challenges and its effectiveness depends on robust public-private partnerships. When we look back at the COVID-19 pandemic and all of the related health crises it brought awareness to, I believe that we will recognize it as a moment that energized our ability to collaborate. And that spirit of collaboration and partnerships will transform public health and democratize its benefits for everyone, everywhere.

  
  
  https://blog.google/technology/health/democratizing-access-to-health/
• 

  Five spooky filters to try this Halloween
  • sorangutan  

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  Think you know Halloween? 🎃 Google Arts & Culture is embracing spooky season with the release of our Spotlight on Halloween — a selection of the creepiest, most disturbing art exhibits created by our partners, ready to instill fear in even the bravest of souls.

  From terrifying filters to macabre artworks, here are some of the things you’ll be able to play around with:

  🤡 Who will you be for Halloween? 💀

  Ever thought of becoming a clown for the night? How about entering the body of a wretched monk by Goya? Have a go with our new Halloween Art Filters in the Google Arts & Culture app. Thanks to our partners making their art collections available online, we’ve been able to create five new 3D augmented reality filters based on iconic paintings. The filters allow you to explore the artifacts in detail, as well as giving you some history and context before you try them on.

  • Image of Art Filter of painting: Self Portrait with Magic Scene by Pieter van Laer

    Self Portrait with Magic Scene by Pieter van Laer

  • Image of Art Filter of painting: A Clown by Benjamin Luks

    A Clown by Benjamin Luks

  • Image of Art Filter of painting: Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette by Vincent van Gogh

    Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette by Vincent van Gogh

  • Image of Art Filter of painting: Monk Talking to an Old Women by Goya

    Monk Talking to an Old Women by Goya

  • Image of Art Filter of painting: Ghost of Flea by William Blake

    Ghost of Flea by William Blake

  🧙‍ Characters to give you a fright 👹

  See if you can identify witches from history and myth or try and imagine how you might feel meeting an Acromantula in the flesh via Jim Kay’s image of Aragog from Harry Potter. Not scared enough? Zoom in into Joos van Craesbeeck's painting of Saint Anthony or take a tour of Goya’s painting of Witches' Sabbath to meet the devil.

  🏚 Spooky and haunted places 👻

  In the mood for a ghostly encounter? Check out England's Haunted Castles, discover the vampiric history behind Alnwick Castle or uncover a tale of desire, betrayal and suicide that haunts the medieval ruins of Ludlow Castle. Wander through the Iowa house that inspired American Gothic or visit the Abbey in the Oakwood, where bare oaks reach up to the sky in complaint. Travel to Jordan, India or Ireland to explore places that have a certain...energy or visit a few museums in the dark to find a scary surprise.

  🍭 Treats to die for 🍬

  It’s time to carve a pumpkin or two and stock up on candy, from the sweet tastes of higashi (Japanese sweets) to mouth watering Mexican candy, from these outstanding desserts prepared by Spanish chefs to Alfajores, a type of sandwich cookie and one of Argentina’s most popular sweet treats.

  • Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Princess Takiyasha summons a skeleton spectre to frighten Mitsukuni, a triptych of color woodblock prints, 1844

    Princess Takiyasha Summons a Skeleton Spectre to Frighten Mitsukuni' by Utagawa Kuniyoshi.

  • Abbey among Oak Trees - David Friedrich, 1809-10

    Abbey among Oak Trees is the companion piece to Monk by the Sea by Caspar David Friedrich. Bare oaks reach up into the sky as though in complaint.

  • Selection of candies from Puebla, Mexico

    The platter contains a variety of sweets such as yemitas (egg yolk sweets), macaroons, cocaditas (sweet coconut candies), bocadillos de nuez (walnut bites) and tortitas de Santa Clara (Santa Clara cookies).

  • Death among dualities - Hector Bayona Acosta, 2007

    Since pre-Hispanic times in Mexico, indigenous people have worshiped death and seen it as a duality of life; part of the cycle of nature. Work titled Death among dualities by

    Hector Bayona Acosta.

  • Death is Everywhere - Morteza Modaiemzadeh, 2015

    Morteza Modaiemzadeh from Iran took part with this poster, which presents death as something as ordinary as a bowl of popcorn.

  • Scene of Three Witches from Shakespeare's Macbeth - George Cattermole, 1840

    Scene of Three Witches from Shakespeare's Macbeth by George Cattermole.

  Start your journey on Google Arts & Culture Halloween page or open Google Arts & Culture app for Android or iOS and tap on the rainbow camera icon at the bottom of the homepage.
  
  Share your scary photos and videos using the hashtag #ArtFilter.

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/arts-culture/five-spooky-filters-to-try-this-halloween/
• 

  What is Wi-Fi 6E on the Nest Wifi Pro?
  • sorangutan  

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  Earlier this month we announced our latest mesh Wi-Fi system, Nest Wifi Pro. With a new design, faster speeds and simple set-up, Nest Wifi Pro is a solid foundation for your smart home, supporting up to 100 devices per router. And it’s officially available today.

  One of Nest Wifi Pro’s biggest perks is that it uses Wi-Fi 6E, the most advanced Wi-Fi technology in over 20 years. But what exactly is Wi-Fi 6E and how does it improve your connection? Let’s dig a little deeper.

  10:25

  New, open radio band

  Wi-Fi 6E is an extension of Wi-Fi 6 (hence the “E”). Unlike previous Wi-Fi generations, it can access a wider and less crowded radio band — 6 GHz — for even faster speeds and performance. With the ability to access this new band, as well as the standard 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radio bands most Wi-Fi systems use, Nest Wifi Pro has a true tri-band connection. As a result, it offers speeds up to two times faster than Wi-Fi 6[7128ae].

  Less latency and faster connections

  Wi-Fi 6E is still early in its adoption, so it’s not overly crowded. With less network congestion, Wi-Fi 6E improves your speed and reduces your chance of interference, making connections faster and smoother than before. With more room to operate, 6E can also handle multiple high-bandwidth activities, like streaming 4K movies or taking video conference calls from home — or all of them at once.

  We like to think of 6E as driving in the fast lane on a super highway, providing a clearer and more direct path to get you where you want to go.

  Works with all devices

  Even though Nest Wifi Pro is built with advanced Wi-Fi 6E technology, it’s still compatible with older devices like laptops and phones. That’s because it can access all three radio bands, allowing it to easily connect to your existing devices while setting it up to support the next generation of technology.

  And with Matter, coming soon via software update, you’ll enjoy the advantages of the new standard for in-home connectivity — like access to more smart devices, more customization and expanded coverage for your home.

  Nest Wifi Pro retails at $399.99 for a three pack, $299.99 for a two pack or $199.99 for a one pack. Check out the Google Store to learn even more about Nest Wifi Pro and to order yours today.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/google-nest/what-is-wifi-6e/
• 

  How mentoring startups helped me grow as a Googler
  • sorangutan  

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  Growing up, I avoided mentorship at all costs. Since I was raised by a single mother and my father has been incarcerated most of my life, I always viewed mentoring programs as an attempt to replace something missing. In hindsight, though, mentorship would have helped me get where I am today in my career more quickly — and avoid some pitfalls along the way.

  So when I read about the Google for Startups Founders Academy, I jumped at the chance to participate as a mentor. Launched in2020, the four-month program connects founders from Black, Latino and veteran-led startups with experienced Googlers, investors and industry experts. Through this program, I could share guidance and resources with those with similar backgrounds as me to help them navigate all the complex aspects of running a startup and growing their business.

  After throwing my hat into the ring, I was accepted as a Google for Startups mentor and paired with Gritly, a Colorado-based edtech startup that specializes in tech sales boot camps for underrepresented groups. Gritly founder David Lopez grew up in a low-income, single-parent household and was the first person in his family to go to college. While on a full academic scholarship at the University of Colorado, David realized that a bachelor’s degree is actually not a prerequisite for many high-paying roles in the sales sector. Seeing an opportunity to create career pathways in their own communities, David and co-founder Avi set out to provide people from the Black and Latino communities, women, veterans and previously incarcerated individuals with the training and mentorship needed to succeed as entry-level tech sales reps.

  As a Black Googler who didn't finish college, I was immediately drawn to the Gritly team and their mission. I knew my startup sales experience and critical thinking skills could help steer David and Avi’s product vision and strengthen their unique business model. Although the Founders Academy program only required monthly meetings, I wanted to make myself more available. So I met with David and Avi every week to work through roadblocks, answer questions and celebrate wins. I also attended Gritly’s team meetings to get to know the entire group better. And since we’re all based in Boulder, Colorado, we were even able to meet in person multiple times.

  Over the course of the program, David and Avi pivoted Gritly into a digital portal that hosts more bootcamps and edtech programs for other role-specific training. This shift broadened the startup’s potential from a niche player to a fundamental part of the edtech space. We also worked together to refine both their product and pitching strategies to secure several angel investors and fellowships. Most recently, Gritly was selected as one of the first recipients of the Google for Startups Latino Founders Fund, which awarded them with $100,000 in equity-free funding, as well as Cloud credits and ongoing support from Googlers.

  When someone asked me what my favorite part about being a Googler was, I would usually say access to the world’s brightest minds. Now, after becoming a Google for Startups mentor, the answer is the opportunity to connect the dots. It’s a privilege to serve as a facilitator between people around the world solving problems and the Googlers who can support them with knowledge, tools and resources. Mentorship, I’ve finally learned, isn’t a way to make up for something you lack — it’s a chance to grow in ways you didn’t even realize were possible.

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/entrepreneurs/how-mentoring-startups-helped-me-grow-as-a-googler/
• 

  Creating sustainable growth for Southeast Asia’s digital economy
  • sorangutan  

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  The past few years have shown Southeast Asia’s incredible resilience, as people and businesses have come online – often for the first time – to find new ways of accomplishing what would previously have to be done in person. In 2022, we’ve seen that resilience again, with global economic headwinds rising just as the region began to emerge from the pandemic.

  Despite the challenges, Southeast Asia’s digital economy continues to show its dynamism and strength. It’s expected to reach 20% growth in gross merchandise value (GMV) this year, heading towards US$200 billion in value. Encouragingly, as the lateste-Conomy SEA 2022 report confirms, the region is on track to hit that milestone three years earlier than we expected in our inaugural report in 2016.

  

  Over the past three years, 100 million new internet users have come online. The accelerated adoption of digital services we saw during the pandemic is now slowing down as technology becomes an integral part of people’s lives – particularly in urban areas. Many digital businesses are shifting priorities from winning new customers to engaging more deeply with existing ones.

  At the same time, there is plenty of room for the digital economy to grow, especially among suburban segments where digital services adoption is still relatively low.

  With that in mind, here are the main highlights from the 2022 report:

  Digital sectors are following different growth trajectories

  E-commerce spiked significantly during the pandemic and continues to thrive, with GMV growing 16% year-over-year. The growth continues despite people partially returning to shopping in person and businesses focusing on driving profitability— for example, by reducing discounts and monetizing value-added services. Food delivery is back to its trendline after tripling through the pandemic, and is expected to reach 14% growth. Transport is looking towards a robust recovery – 43% year-over-year growth – but continues to encounter obstacles such as inflated fuel costs and workforce shortages. Travel is back and looking at a significant 115% growth, boosted by the opening of international borders. However, full recovery for the transport and travel sectors is expected to be gradual, and it will take some more time before they regain 2019 levels.

  Digital Financial Services (DFS) continues to grow as a result of offline-to-online behavior shifts enduring post-pandemic, and we see winning business models emerge. Racing to capture different consumer segments, pureplay fintechs and consumer tech platforms are strengthening their position in the region, while established financial services accelerate digitalisation to compete with these newer players.

  Tech investments are still going strong

  Through the report, we also take a view into how investors in Southeast Asia's digital economy look at the growth and innovation coming from the region. Despite investors becoming more cautious in the current economic environment, tech funding maintained its strength during the first half of 2022, with a 13% growth in deal value from H1 2021 to H1 2022. Continuing the trend from the second half of 2021, DFS remained the top funded sector across Southeast Asia and overtook e-commerce as the region’s top investment sector. Emerging sectors hold promise in the digital decade, as over 80% of VCs expect that the focus in investments will increase in healthtech, SaaS and Web3.

  However, a closer look at the investments also reveal that while early-stagers are flourishing, late-stage investments are impacted by dim IPO prospects. Going into the second half of the year, investors are adopting a more cautious wait-and-watch approach.

  New enablers open the way towards a sustainable digital economy

  Historically, digital economy enablers in Southeast Asia have included payments, funding, logistics, internet access, and consumer trust. We’ve seen significant progress in many areas but as the digital economy continues to scale, we need to broaden our targets to ensure the growth is sustainable and no one is left behind.

  During the next two to three years, amidst the current macroeconomic climate, it’s clear that the path to profitability is an immediate priority for companies to maintain growth momentum. However, in the long run, digital inclusion and addressing growing environmental and social concerns will be key to success. It’s everyone’s shared responsibility to help achieve these goals – companies, customers, investors, and governments alike.

  

  Amidst the global economic headwinds, Southeast Asia is showing just how resilient and adaptable it can be. Its fundamentals remain strong and the digital decade holds great promise: the region’s digital economy is expected to grow twice as fast as GDP in most countries through 2030, and could reach up to $1T if it succeeds in scaling sustainably and unlocking its full potential.

  
  
  https://blog.google/around-the-globe/google-asia/sea-economy-2022/
• 

  A new genome sequencing tool powered with our technology
  • sorangutan  

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  Genome sequencing provides a more complete description of cells and organisms, allowing scientists to uncover serious genetic conditions such as the elevated risk for breast cancer or pulmonary arterial hypertension. While researching genomics has the potential to save lives and preserve people’s quality of life, it's incredibly challenging work.

  Back in January, we announced a partnership with PacBio, a developer of genome sequencing instruments, to further advance genomic technologies. Today, PacBio is introducing the Revio sequencing system, an instrument that runs on our deep learning technology, DeepConsensus. With DeepConsensus built right into Revio, researchers can quickly and accurately identify genetic variants that cause diseases.

  How Google Health’s technology works

  Genome sequencing requires observing individual DNA molecules amidst a complex and noisy background. To address the problem, Google Health worked to adapt Transformer, one of our most influential existing deep learning methods that was developed in 2017 primarily to understand languages. We then applied it to PacBio’s data, which uses fluorescence light to encode DNA sequences. The result was DeepConsensus.

  Last year, we demonstrated that DeepConsensus was capable of reducing sequencing errors by 42%, resulting in better genome assemblies and more accurate identification of genetic variants. Although this was a promising research demonstration, we knew that DeepConsensus could have the greatest impact if it was running directly on PacBio’s sequencing instrument. Over the last year, we’ve worked closely with PacBio to speed up DeepConsensus by over 500x from its initial release. We’ve also further improved its accuracy to reduce errors by 59%.

  Combining our AI methods and genomics work with PacBio’s instruments and expertise, we were able to build better methods for the research community. Our partnership with PacBio doesn’t stop with Revio. There’s limitless potential to make an impact on the research community and improve healthcare and access for people around the world.

  
  
  https://blog.google/technology/health/a-new-genome-sequencing-tool-powered-with-our-technology/
• 

  Supporting HBCU students on the path to tech careers
  • sorangutan  

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  Last weekend I was welcomed back to my “home by the sea” — Hampton University, located on Chesapeake Bay — as the co-grand marshal for this year’s homecoming festivities along with fellow alumna Dr. Dietra Trent, White House Director of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) initiatives. As a proud Hampton alumna and Google’s Chief Diversity Officer, it gives me great pride to continue Google’s long-standing partnership with the HBCU community.

  I’ve seen firsthand the impact HBCU graduates are having on the next generation of leaders and thinkers across today’s industries, including tech. In a recent United Negro College Fund (UNCF) study, despite only making up 3% of the nation’s colleges and universities, HBCUs produce almost 20% of all African American graduates and 25% of African American graduates with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) degrees.

  

  Melonie Parker, Google’s Chief Diversity Officer at Hampton’s homecoming.

  At Google, we remain steadfast in our investment and support for HBCUs, and we’ve partnered closely with them to build pathways to tech. One way we’ve done that is by welcoming students from 15 HBCUs for full-time roles and internships in the last year alone, and we've expanded our recruiting efforts to more than 900 schools in the last decade. We’ve also invested in programming to further opportunities and pathways for HBCU and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) students, including:

  • Tech Exchange, a semester-long immersive program for select HBCU and HSI students, has quadrupled in size and expanded to serve students from 16 HBCUs and Hispanic-Serving Institutions since launching in 2017.
  • Our Pathways to Tech initiative was designed to build equity for HBCU computing education, help job seekers find tech roles, and ensure that Black employees have growth opportunities and feel included at work.
  • The Grow with Google HBCU Career Readiness Program, a partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, brings digital skills training into the career centers of HBCUs. The program recently expanded to 20 HBCUs, and aims to help 20,000 students learn digital skills by the end of the current school year.
  • Finally, our Google in Residence (GIR) program gives experienced Google software engineers the chance to teach introductory computer science classes, which have reached more than 8,000 HBCU and HSI students since 2013. Two of our GIR students actually became instructors this year, and many have gone on to internships in our Student Training in Engineering Program and full-time software engineering roles at Google.

  We also recognize the unique needs of students, faculty and staff within each of these historic institutions. I meet regularly with the HBCU Presidents’ Council, which advises on creating and executing meaningful programming that meets the needs of HBCU students. In 2021, we provided a $50 million grant to 10 HBCUs to support scholarships, invest in technical infrastructure for in-class and remote learning, and develop curricula and career support programs.

  To build on this, Monday I was honored to announce a $5 million Google.org grant to Spelman College’s Center for Minority Women in STEM. A team of Google.org Fellows will partner with Spelman to build the first database that will conduct and publicize research on the experiences of women from historically underrepresented groups in STEM. The findings will be used to help empower and elevate women in STEM fields. This week we also announced $300,000 in funding for 18 HBCU and HSI partners to support faculty and students in tech majors. We plan to distribute this funding annually to enable growth and retention in computer science departments.

  Finally, supporting our HBCU and HSI partners means showing up and continuing to shine a light on these historic and critical institutions:

  • We were proud to sponsor the National HBCU Week Conference organized by the The White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity through Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The event brought together more than 1,500 HBCU students, faculty and community leaders from across the U.S. for the first time since 2019. We hosted panels and workshops on career opportunities, resume building and personal brands.
  • Just last month we were the halftime sponsor at the inaugural HBCU New York Football Classic. More than 35,000 fans gathered in the stands for the September 17 game between Morehouse College and Howard University as part of HBCU Week. Our sponsorship included scholarships to 105 HBCU students and a partnership with HBCU Tools for School, a nonprofit that provides access to tools, resources and networks critical for academic success.
  • Finally, we’re working with the NBA Foundation on an upcoming promotion where a portion of proceeds from Pixel sales on the Google Store will go to HBCUs.

  10:25

  For more than a century, HBCUs have been a driving force in the cultivation of academic excellence and professional achievement within the Black community. We will continue to do our part to support these institutions, and their students, as we work to make tech more inclusive and representative at all levels of the workforce.

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/diversity/supporting-hbcu-students-on-the-path-to-tech-careers/
• 

  7 Google Photos tips for perfecting your pics on Pixel 7
  • sorangutan  

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  Our new Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro have incredible cameras for capturing your memories, but snapping a photo is just the beginning. We all want to get our photos looking just right to share them and reminisce. Thanks to advances in machine learning, Google Photos is packed with powerful editing features that are a breeze to use.

  Here are seven tips to get your photos — both new ones taken on a Pixel 7 and old ones from past years (and phones) — looking picture-perfect with Google Photos on Pixel 7.

  1. Fix blurry shots with Photo Unblur

  Bring your blurry photos back into focus with just a few taps using Photo Unblur, a brand-new feature only on Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. Photo Unblur removes blur and visual noise so you can relive the moment as clearly as you remember it. Best of all, it even works on pictures in your library taken with a different phone or camera and scanned images.

  

  2. Get rid of distractions with Magic Eraser

  Magic Eraser, which was introduced last year, can detect distractions in your photos — like photobombers in the background, power lines and power poles. Just a few taps to remove them and, poof, gone. You can also circle or brush what you want to remove. No need to be precise — Magic Eraser will figure out what you’re trying to remove.

  

  Bonus Magic Eraser tip: Don’t want to remove a distraction entirely, but want it to blend in a bit more? Use Camouflage in Magic Eraser to change the color of distracting objects in your photo. In just a few taps, the object’s colors and shading blend in naturally with the rest of the photo.

  3. Make your subject stand out with Portrait blur

  Portrait mode in the Pixel Camera can really make your subject shine. But what if you forgot to use it when snapping a picture or you want to edit a picture from the past? With Portrait blur, Google Photos can intelligently blur the background on photos of people — plus pets, food, flowers and more — post-snap.

  

  4. Improve the lighting on faces with Portrait light

  A good portrait can be hard to capture, especially if the lighting isn’t quite right or you took the photo with an older phone or camera. Use Portrait light to easily improve the lighting on faces, and you can even adjust the light position and brightness to customize your look.

  

  5. Bring balance to your photos with the HDR effect

  If you’ve got older pictures with a dark foreground and bright background (or vice versa), it can be hard to make out all the details in the shot. Enter the HDR effect to help balance things out — enhancing the brightness and contrast across the image so you can soak in every detail.

  

  6. Change up the mood and tone of your sunset pics with sky suggestions

  Chances are you’ve got quite a few sunset photos in your library that didn’t quite capture the beauty of what you saw in the moment. How do you revive it and make it stand out from all the rest? Use sky suggestions to put your own creative twist on your golden hour images. Select from several palettes that adjust the color and contrast of the sky to change up the mood and tone of your pic to get it ready to share.

  

  7. Use the collage editor to make shareable creations

  Make creative, shareable collages with the new collage editor. Pick up to six photos and select from more than 50 designs available to Pixel users. You can easily rearrange the layout with simple drag-and-drop controls and even edit each photo in the collage individually to get just the right look.

  

  Get creative and mix and match all of these features to create a stunning image that’s ready to share. Remove a photobomber in the background, then combine Photo Unblur, Portrait light and Portrait blur to create a fresh image that gives your memory new life.

  

  With Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, all the tools you need to perfect your photos or put a creative spin on them are right in Google Photos. Get to editing and share your best creations on social with the hashtag #FixedOnPixel.

  Read Article

  Give it a shot: Check out these 10 new camera upgrades on Pixel 7 and 7 Pro

  Take a closer look at why this is our best photo and video experience we’ve ever had on a Pixel phone.

  Read Article

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/photos/7-photo-editing-tips-pixel7/
• 

  Kwentuhan: Sharing our stories this Filipino American History Month
  • sorangutan  

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  “Kwentuhan” roughly translates to “sharing stories” in English. For Filipino American History Month, or Kapamilya Month as our Filipino Googler Network refers to it, we sat down with Paolo Malabuyo, Director of User Experience in Google Maps and executive sponsor of the Filipino Googler Network, to learn about his story.

  As a child growing up in the Philippines, we heard you were somewhat of a Lego competition legend. How did this kickstart your interest in working in UX and design?

  I was the youngest of four and I always felt like I was in the shadow of my older, smarter, more athletic and more accomplished siblings. I don’t recall having many ideas about what I wanted to be when I grew up, until my grandmother immigrated to the United States in the 1960s and started sending small handfuls of Lego pieces through the mail.

  This started my fascination with Lego and culminated in my participation in Lego competitions across the Philippines. I still think that the greatest job in the world is designing Lego sets.

  • Paolo standing with two Lego boxes on either side of him. In front of him on the table is a fully constructed Lego set.

    Paolo with his winning build and prizes.

  • Paolo sitting at a table building a Lego set in a room full of others also focused on their Lego creations. To his right, a man stands over his shoulder watching him build the set

    A younger Paolo during a Lego competition with Larry Alcala, famous Filipino cartoonist, looking on as a judge.

  • Four people sit on a stage for a panel discussion

    Paolo (third from left) on a panel of designers at Adobo Design Week in Manila, Philippines

  I immigrated to the States right before my 12th birthday and picked up drawing, reading, and crafting. This developed into a real affinity for art. I ended up getting a BFA in art and minors in communication design, art history and Chinese studies. I also took basic programming classes and learned web design by emulating early websites.

  Like Lego pieces, my early days of creatively building, combined with my art education and CS study were what constructed my career today. I got my first role as a graphic designer which started my roundabout journey to become a UX designer, leader and educator.

  Can you talk about your role at Google?

  I lead the cross-disciplinary user experience teams for Geo Auto and Geo Sustainability. In Auto, we design and deliver the in-car, embedded Google Maps experiences for navigation, routing, and situational awareness so that drivers are safer and more confident, with a major focus on electric vehicles. In Sustainability, we provide platforms, insights, and solutions that help users and partners tackle climate change – the preeminent challenge for humanity today. It’s an incredibly interesting portfolio and it’s such a privilege to work with our teams and clients.

  As an executive sponsor for the FIlipino Googler Network, I get to work closely with other teams across Google on projects that impact the Filipino community. One example is the work happening on Maps to help business owners identify themselves, including the introduction of the Asian-owned attribute earlier this year. This attribute will help many Filipino businesses be recognized by current and future customers.

  What else is Google doing in support of Filipino culture?

  It’s great to see how Google’s products and services are celebrating Filipino culture and elevating our voices. This month, we ran a beautiful Google Doodle in the Philippines which celebrated the Regatta de Zamboanga, an annual sailing competition from the southern part of the country.

  

  Google TV is highlighting recent movies and TV shows that tell Filipino American stories and feature Filipino American lead actors in its “For you” tab.

  

  One of Google TV's highlighted shows for Filipino American History Month

  And Google Arts & Culture has teamed up with amazing organizations to celebrate the rich culture and history of the Philippines, including the Filipinas Heritage Library, Filipino Street Art Project, and the Ballet Philippines.

  Earlier, you talked about how you grew up in the Philippines. What role do you think Google has to play in supporting the local community?

  Google has amazing resources that can help the people in the Philippines. We’ve done a lot to support inclusive distance learning, from a Google.org grant to help teachers, to the national deployment of G Suite for Education to 22 million learners in partnership with the Department of Education. We’re collaborating with local telecommunications companies to bring mobile access to learning tools and started a virtual training camp for Filipino YouTubers to accelerate development of quality learning content on the platform. Just last month, we announced we will be giving away Google Career Certificate scholarships to 39,000 Filipino youths.

  Commitments like these are super valuable, and I’m grateful for the work to come.

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/diversity/kwentuhan-sharing-our-stories-this-filipino-american-history-month/
• 

  The Art of Survival: A Yazidi Cultural Archive
  • sorangutan  

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  The arts are integral tohow we make sense of the world. Traditional arts and cultural practices have long been used to elevate human experience and shift perspectives. However, in recent decades these benefits have increasingly been the subject of more formalstudy, highlighting the direct health benefits of participating in the arts such as increased physical activity, stress-reduction and connection. Such benefits are particularly vital for people who have experienced forced displacement.

  Currentevidence points to how the arts and arts therapies promote physical, mental and social well being for people who are working through the aftermath of violence and conflict. Dance and dance/movement therapy can help people release grief and recover a sense of joy. Theater and drama therapy can aid people in re-discovering a sense of playfulness, rehearse new ways of being, deepen empathy and communicate across differences. Music and music therapy can decrease stress, facilitate emotional regulation, and promote a shared sense of belonging for both displaced persons and host communities. Participation in visual art and art therapy can promote relaxation and enable greater expression.

  An example of this may be seen in the Yazidi Cultural Archives project. The project was developed over the course of 12 months through a partnership betweenYazda, a community-led organization that aids survivors of genocide in Iraq and around the world,Community Jameel,CULTURUNNERS, theOffice of the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology and the World Health Organization, with support from the Iraq Cultural Health Fund, as part of the Healing Arts initiative. An evaluation of the impact of the archives on the psychological wellbeing of participants is being supported by theArts and Health initiative at New York University.

  Today, in colaboration with Google Arts & Culture, we present four unique digital stories commemorating the strength and vitality of the Yazidi people following the 2014 genocide in Iraq carried out by Da’esh. We honor these women who have shown extraordinary courage in the face of dehumanising acts which are, for most of us, unimaginable. The content was produced through a series of art and photography workshops, led by Yazda, to help women use art to express their experience, recover a sense of connection with themselves and each other, reimagine identity, and document examples of their intangible cultural heritage. What is particularly notable about this project is that rather than delegating the process of cultural preservation to “experts,” this group of women were given the tools to identify what was meaningful to them and encouraged to find ways of expressing that meaning in the manner that suited them best.

  • Painting by Ivana Waleed, Yazidi Activist and Survivor, titled Unknown, faceless woman.

    Unknown, faceless woman. Painting by Ivana Waleed, Yazidi Activist and Survivor.

  • Painting by Suhalia Dakhil Talo, Yazidi Survivor, of person with their arm and mouth strangles by unknown arms. It is a metaphor representing every powerless and voiceless survivor.

    The work by Suhalia Dakhil Talo, Yazidi Survivor, is a metaphor, representing every powerless and voiceless survivor.

  • Painting by Malaeen LUQMAN called ‘Behind Every Darkness is Light’. Black background with orange circle in the middle, inside it a girl wearing a white dress carrying a lamp. It expresses the sadness experienced by the girl who was kidnapped by ISIS, and that she did not expect one day that she would return to her family.

    Behind Every Darkness is Light, painting by Malaeen LUQMAN, expresses the sadness experienced by the girl who was kidnapped by ISIS, and that she did not expect one day that she would return to her family.

  • Photo of different paintings in a courtyard as part of an artist-led workshop.

    Paintings by Yazidi Survivors. Healing Arts Project aimed to improve the wellbeing of participants through artist-led workshops which built upon the known psychological benefits of group support, artistic engagement, and cultural validation.

  • Photo of people taking part in a photography workshop in the IDP camp in Khanki.

    Photography Workshop in the IDPs Camp in Khanki.

  The Nobody’s Listening: Justice for the Yazidi People exhibition provides background to the historical and cultural situation of Yazidis, a unique ethno-religious group whose origins stretch back more than 6,000 years to ancient Mesopotamia. Between the description of the past and current events, people can discover artworks from Yazidi survivors and get to know their feelings and thoughts.

  Stories of Thread & Ink: Preserving Yazidi Cultural Heritage shows us Yazidi women of different generations who have come together to reclaim and revive at-risk cultural practices to preserve their heritage. Sustaining traditional cultural practices like Dazik — Yazidi traditional handmade bracelets and unique markings known as 'Deq' Tattoos — is important to survivors, and those who remain displaced and living in camps, as a pillar of their cultural identity and link to their lives before the genocide.

  • Photographic portrait of Malaeen LUQMAN, a Yazidi survivor.

    A picture of the survivor Malaeen LUQMAN.

  • Image of a drawing by Malaeen LUQMAN.

    Strong - drawing by Malaeen LUQMAN, expresses the power of pain experienced by women in society. It was drawn to encourage women to be strong, no matter what happens to them.

  • Photographic portrait of Elham, a Yazidi survivor.

    Portrait of Elham, a Yazidi survivor.

  • Photograph taken by Elham of jars storing oil.

    Oil stored in those jars is being used in religious ceremonies and rituals that are held in Lalish Temple throughout the whole year. Photograph taken by Elham.

  "I survived captivity and am passionate about my new life. After I was liberated from Da'esh, I joined this art workshop to advocate for myself and other survivors. I felt pride in what we created because it helped me remember who I am and who my people are." - Malaeen LUQMAN, Yazidi survivor.

  The Healing Lens: A Photographic Journey by Yazidi Survivors exhibition was created by eight women who were under Da'esh occupation, all currently living in refugee camps in Iraq. It is their response to the ongoing situation between Da’esh and the Yazidis. The story presents photographs they took to commemorate cultural motifs, such as a healing fountain, tombs, or the olive oil jars used in religious ceremonies and rituals that are held in Lalish temple. Through The Art of Survival: A Yazidi Cultural Archive exhibition people can explore inspiring paintings of resistance and healing by Yazidi women who have hope, belief in their dreams and are proud now to share their culture with a new generation.

  This project is a reflection of how the arts and culture are a valuable and available resource that can create healthier, stronger and more equitable communities. We encourage you to explore this affirmation of healing and remembrance on the United Nations page on Google Arts & Culture. In addition to preserving cultural practices, the celebration of our unique expression of identity allows us to regain control of our individual narratives and imagine for ourselves a joyful and thriving future.

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/arts-culture/the-art-of-survival-a-yazidi-cultural-archive/
• 

  TAG Bulletin: Q3 2022
  • sorangutan  

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  This bulletin includes coordinated influence operation campaigns terminated on our platforms in Q3 2022. It was last updated on October 26, 2022.

  July

  • We terminated 7 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Russia. The campaign was linked to a Russian consulting firm and was sharing content in Russian that was supportive of Russia and critical of Ukraine and the U.S.
  • We terminated 7 YouTube channels and 3 AdSense accounts as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to China. The campaign was sharing content in English and Chinese that was supportive of the Chinese semiconductor and tech industries and critical of the U.S. semiconductor industry and U.S. sanctions on Chinese tech companies.
  • We terminated 2,150 YouTube channels as part of our ongoing investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to China. These channels mostly uploaded spammy content in Chinese about music, entertainment, and lifestyle. A very small subset uploaded content in Chinese and English about China and U.S. foreign affairs. These findings are consistent with our previous reports.

  August

  • We terminated 10 YouTube channels and blocked 120 domains from eligibility to appear on Google News surfaces and Discover as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to China. The campaign was linked to a Chinese PR firm named Shanghai Haixun Technology Co., Ltd. and was sharing content in English, Chinese, Russian, Ukrainian, Thai, Hindi, French, Arabic, Italian, Vietnamese and Korean that was critical of international news coverage of Xinjiang, the United States and its relationship with Taiwan, and high profile critics of the Chinese government. We received leads from Mandiant that supported us in this investigation.
  • We terminated 12 YouTube channels, 4 Ads accounts, and 2 Blogger blogs and blocked 3 domains from eligibility to appear on Google News surfaces and Discover as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to the United States. The campaign was sharing content in English, Arabic, Persian, and Russian that was promoting U.S. foreign affairs. We received leads from Twitter that supported us in this investigation.
  • We terminated 15 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Sudan. The campaign was sharing content in Arabic that was supportive of the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces and their leader Hemetti. We received leads from Twitter that supported us in this investigation.
  • We terminated 3 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Russia. The campaign was linked to the media outlet News Front and was sharing content in English and German that was supportive of Russia and critical of the United States. We received leads from Twitter that supported us in this investigation.
  • We terminated 1 AdSense account and blocked 1 domain from eligibility to appear on Google News surfaces and Discover as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Turkey. The campaign was sharing content in Turkish that was supportive of Turkey’s AK Party. We received leads from Twitter that supported us in this investigation.
  • We terminated 12 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Russia. The campaign was linked to a Russian consulting firm and was sharing content in Russian that was supportive of Russia and the Russian military and critical of NATO, Ukraine, and the West. We received leads from Twitter that supported us in this investigation.
  • We terminated 15 YouTube channels, 2 AdSense accounts, and 1 Blogger blog as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Vietnam. The campaign was sharing content in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and German that was supportive of Russia and critical of Ukraine and China. We believe this operation was financially motivated.
  • We terminated 1 YouTube channel and 1 Ads account and blocked 1 domain from eligibility to appear on Google News surfaces and Discover as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Russia. The campaign was sharing content in Russian that was critical of the United States, the EU, Ukraine, and NATO.
  • We terminated 1104 YouTube channels as part of our ongoing investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to China. These channels mostly uploaded spammy content in Chinese about music, entertainment, and lifestyle. A very small subset uploaded content in Chinese and English about China and U.S. foreign affairs. These findings are consistent with our previous reports.

  September

  • We terminated 1 AdSense account and blocked 4 domains from eligibility to appear on Google News surfaces and Discover as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to North Macedonia. The campaign was sharing sensational content in English that was about a variety of topics including U.S. and European current events. We believe this operation was financially motivated.
  • We terminated 5 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Myanmar. The campaign was sharing content in Burmese that was critical of the People’s Defense Force of Myanmar.
  • We terminated 3 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Russia. The campaign was linked to the Internet Research Agency (IRA) and was sharing content in French that was supportive of Russian policy objectives in Libya. We received leads from the FBI that supported us in this investigation.
  • We blocked 1 domain from eligibility to appear on Google News surfaces and Discover as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Iran. The campaign was sharing content in Arabic that was critical of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain.
  • We terminated 6957 YouTube channels and 144 Blogger blogs as part of our ongoing investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to China. These channels and blogs mostly uploaded spammy content in Chinese about music, entertainment, and lifestyle. A very small subset uploaded content in Chinese and English about China and U.S. foreign affairs. These findings are consistent with our previous reports.

  
  
  https://blog.google/threat-analysis-group/tag-bulletin-q3-2022/
• 

  A brief history of our search interest in pumpkin spice lattes
  • sorangutan  

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  Pumpkin Spice Lattes are practically synonymous with autumn. It just isn’t fall until you sip a PSL while fiery orange leaves crunch under your boots. The Pumpkin Spice Latte is an undeniable staple of the season — look no further than Google Trends for proof. Here are 10 moments of PSL search trend history.

  1. “Pumpkin Spice Latte” began gaining popularity as a search term in the fall of 2010.

  

  2. It started out as a solidly autumnal treat — up until 2017, search interest in “Pumpkin Spice Latte” first peaked in September, and then again in October and November.

  

  3. These days, it’s becoming more of a late-summer, early-fall beverage: Since 2018, search interest in “Pumpkin Spice Latte” has peaked in August.

  

  4. On that note: Searches for “Pumpkin Spice Latte” were highest in 2022 during the week of August 28 - September 3.

  

  5. Search interest in “pumpkin spice latte” hit new heights in August of this year.

  

  6. …Which isn’t terribly surprising, given that it’s been on a steady increase every year — until 2018! Search interest dropped significantly in 2018, and only began rising again in 2021.

  7. Speaking of PSLs, search interest in the pumpkin spice acronym grew annually alongside the full drink name. (Quick note that not all “PSL” searches are about the drink — PSL is also an acronym for other things, like Port St. Lucie, a city in Florida. But PSL spikes do seem to coincide with “pumpkin spice latte” spikes each fall, so clearly some of the interest overlaps.)

  

  8. Looking at related search terms, searches for “pumpkin spice” have actually always been higher than search interest for “pumpkin spice latte.” But they’ve also experienced a rise in popularity parallel to search interest in the coffee drink.

  

  This begs the question: Is it the chicken or the egg? Or rather, the pumpkin spice or the latte? Has a penchant for pumpkin spice driven interest in the drink, or is it the other way around?

  9. Search interest in “pumpkin spice” (hold the latte) is also happening earlier each year. Initially the spike happened in November and then October…but that peak moved to September and has stayed there since 2014.

  

  10. And finally: Not all pumpkin spice products are edible. Earlier this month in the U.S., the most-searched “pumpkin spice scented” items (in order of popularity) were cat litter, soap, pouches, candles and hand lotion.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/search/search-interest-trends-history-psl/