Google Cloud Platform News

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  True or false? Busting sleep myths for World Sleep Day
  • sorangutan  

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  “You need to sleep on your back.”

  “No, on your side.”

  “Actually, what really matters is your mattress.”

  “I thought it was your pillow?”

  “Sleeping in short bursts will make you feel more refreshed.”

  Everyone has a hot take on how to get the best rest — and Dr. Logan Schneider, M.D., and Dr. Conor Heneghan, PhD, have heard them all. “We all sleep, and we’ve all experienced good sleep and bad sleep — and because of that, most everyone has dabbled in a bit of sleep-related ‘citizen science,’ which has created both reasonable and outlandish theories,” says Logan. Both are part of the Google team that examines how technology can help improve sleep — from tracking how much you’re getting each night to understanding your sleep quality and how to potentially improve it — across Nest and Fitbit.

  Read Article

  Sleeping on the job: How we built the new Nest Hub

  Take a look inside Google Health's sleep lab, Forty Winks, and learn about everything that went into testing and building the new Nest Hub.

  Read Article

  Since we’re celebrating World Sleep Day later this week, we decided to play a sleep myth-busting edition of true or false with Logan and Conor.
  

  True or False: You need eight hours of sleep.

  False. Everyone’s body and sleep needs are different, Logan says. “Basically, you need as much sleep as it takes to not feel…well, sleepy…over the course of your day.” While many recommendations suggest getting at least seven hours of sleep, this is based on what people report — which is often an overestimation of actual sleep. “When looking at objective measures of typical sleep, we tend to see that the actual amount of sleep humans get is around six and a half hours,” Logan says. Ask yourself: Am I waking refreshed? Am I alert without the assistance of caffeine or napping? Am I generally able to perform well mentally and physically? If the answers are “yes,” you’re likely getting enough sleep.”

  If you can avoid it, try not to make too large of a difference between your weekday and weekend schedules. Dr. Conor Heneghan
  

  True or False: Sleeping in on weekends can actually make you feel less rested.

  True. Sleep sets your body’s internal “clocks” that determine when you should be alert and when you should be asleep. “The main way this clock gets set is by light exposure around the time you wake up,” Logan says. “So, if you’re sleeping well past the time you usually wake up, you’re confusing your body, telling it to adjust to a later time zone.” And this might not feel great when you go back to your normal schedule.

  “While tempting to sleep in on the weekends, in general, your body responds best to a consistent bedtime and wake-up time. If you can avoid it, try not to make too large of a difference between your weekday and weekend schedules,” Conor adds.
  

  True or False: Power naps are highly effective.

  False…ish. “Various studies have explored the relationship of health and napping, and there have been lots of different results,” says Logan. “But the National Sleep Foundation found that polyphasic, or multi-period sleeping — aka, naps versus sleeping all night — isn’t ideal for most.” Trading naps for nightly sleep won’t benefit most people. That said, napping is a way to avoid hazardous situations when you’re sleepy. “If you need a nap to make it through the day, shorter naps, something like 10 to 20 minutes, tend to be the most restorative without causing consequences for the next primary sleep period.”

  Each time your alarm goes off, you’re disrupting your sleep, so any ‘sleep’ you get after hitting snooze isn’t restorative. Dr. Logan Schneider
  

  True or False: My exercise routine and diet impact how well I sleep.

  True. “Regular exercise is one of the best things you can do to improve your sleep. Studies have shown that moving during the day can support better sleep quality and minimize anxiety, too,” Conor says.

  Sleep can also be impacted by your diet, especially when it comes to alcohol. “While we all enjoy an occasional drink in the evening, on the whole, data shows alcohol too close to bedtime has a negative effect on your sleep. Alcohol might make you fall asleep a little faster, but you’re more likely to get restless throughout the night because it can disrupt your REM sleep, a restorative stage when you're deep in your dreams. If REM is interrupted, it’s common to feel drowsy the next day,” Conor says.
  

  True or False: The snooze button is your friend.

  False. It’s best to allow yourself to sleep in until you need to wake up rather than setting an early alarm and snoozing. “Each time your alarm goes off, you’re disrupting your sleep, so any ‘sleep’ you get after hitting snooze isn’t restorative,” Logan says. “It takes a while for your brain to fall back to sleep. By snoozing, you’re breaking up the natural cycles of sleep and keeping your brain in more alert and resulting in lighter sleep, which won’t actually help you feel rested.”

  “Consistency is what’s best for sleep,” Conor says. “And hitting snooze can disrupt that consistency, so you won’t feel refreshed.”

  Plus, Logan says, you’re tricking your brain into thinking that snoozing feels good, when, in fact, you’re not actually getting more of what you need — refreshing sleep.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/google-nest/true-or-false-sleep-myths-world-sleep-day/
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  The women behind some of Google’s most impactful products
  • sorangutan  

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  In celebration of Women’s History Month, we talked to two women who have shaped the history of some of Google’s most impactful products. From building Google Search crisis hotlines to improving Street View and Photos, these Googlers share more about their jobs, career advice and the responsibility they feel to help others.

  From seeing patients in the ER to building crisis hotlines

  How does being a woman impact the features you build?

  As an ER doctor, I cared for women struggling with personal crises like suicide, sexual assault and domestic violence. As a mom of two girls, I empathize with the real-world challenges these women face, like keeping their children safe and finding time to get the help they need. Listening to their stories has challenged me to identify blind spots in our design process and make sure the features we build have real-world impact. For example, we know that timely access to different communication modes is essential, so we prioritized the simplicity and visibility of phone, chat and text services when designing our hotline features.

  How do the skills you learned in ER translate to your current job?

  In the emergency room — much like with crisis hotlines — you never know who will walk through the door or what their situation will be. In this environment — where time is of the essence — the ability to solve problems outside of your comfort zone, work together as a team, and be agile can save lives. Bringing these skills to my role has helped me be a more effective leader and drive greater impact across our features.

  Google has an opportunity to empower people to take the next steps in their journey to find help. We can pave the path from helping people find information to connecting them with timely, life-saving resources and compassionate support.

  What inspired you to leave the ER and work on personal crisis hotlines at Google?

  I love helping people in a moment of need — or as my mentor, Dr. Brian J. Zink, says “Anyone, Anything, Anytime.” Becoming a product manager at Google challenges me to provide support on a global scale. In urgent situations, like personal crises, Google has an opportunity to empower people to take the next steps in their journey to find help. We can pave the path from helping people find information to connecting them with timely, life-saving resources and compassionate support.

  Helping others see the world in Street View

  What do you love most about building products and features at Google?

  Part of my personal mission is to make people happier, healthier and more productive in their day-to-day lives. When people say “this product makes life much easier" or "this feature is a great improvement,” it’s really rewarding. It makes the world feel a little smaller when someone from a completely different background experiences the same joy as I do for something I’ve built.

  Feelings are just another data point, and if you pay attention they can reveal a lot.

  Woman to woman, what’s the best career advice you’ve gotten?

  Women in tech often avoid talking about feelings for fear of coming across as “too emotional.” So, I really appreciated it when a female mentor helped me flip that narrative. Feelings are just another data point, and if you pay attention they can reveal a lot. Feelings alone don’t give you much information, but if you take the time to ask yourself, “Why am I feeling funny about this?” you can figure out if something going on is not aligned with your values, priorities or goals. Then you can then shift from the feelings space to the logic space to figure out what to do about it.

  What impactful things are you working on with Street View?

  Street View is immensely valuable for getting a sense of a new place before you visit — whether for vibe, navigation or safety. Understanding what to expect when you go somewhere new can give anyone more comfort as they get things done. Right now, I’m working with my team to improve how everyone can contribute to Street View so people can get even more information about a place before they go there.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/search/the-women-behind-some-of-googles-most-impactful-products/
• 

  CEO Hilda Moraa’s plan to empower Africa’s entrepreneurs
  • sorangutan  

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  Every morning, Hilda Moraa rises at 4 a.m for an early morning meditation and yoga routine, after which she’ll lose herself in a business podcast. “Discipline, structure and routine are very important to me as a founder,” she says.

  She brings that same dedication to her work. Hilda is the founder of Pezesha, which is based in Kenya and an alumni of Google for Startups Accelerator Africa. Before the accelerator, Hilda was a part of the Google LaunchPad Programme, where she says Google’s resources and expertise enabled Pezesha to scale in new markets and ultimately experience 30% growth.

  Before all of that, though, Pezesha was just an idea — one that Hilda was extremely motivated by. Poverty in Africa, and particularly in her home country of Kenya, is prevalent, and she wanted to be a part of changing it. “We launched Pezesha as a digital lending platform and we had this hugely ambitious idea of addressing unemployment and poverty in Africa.”

  Pezesha’s lending infrastructure has three core services: KYC & identity, credit scoring and embedded finance

  “By resolving the issue of small and medium enterprises securing working capital and gaining a credit score, I believe we can equip business owners with assets so they can compete and trade on a national scale.” Hilda hopes that empowering business owners will improve the economy as a whole. “There's much more of a ripple effect achieved so if you financially empower a business owner to meet their business goals, they can feed their family, employ people and ultimately support the wider community.”

  Her ultimate goal is that Pezesha’s digital financial platform can address the $328 billion financing gap that exists for small and medium-sized businesses in Sub Saharan Africa — and that this, in turn, will create millions of job opportunities for African youths. At the moment, she’s still savoring the smaller wins. “My proudest moment to date would be helping more than 30,000 mid- and small business owners get a credit score and find affordable financing -- and these businesses have generated more than 10,000 jobs combined and our credit has propelled their business and prosperity to the next level”

  “I am so inspired by my customers. They are the real-life heroes bringing their amazing visions to life — it’s so fulfilling to see the impact Pezesha has had on them.”

  Hilda isn’t only excited to see her own company succeed; she sees her founder story as part of a new era for African businesses. “It’s truly a joy to see African entrepreneurs building successful businesses changing the narrative of Africa,” Hilda says. “ I am confident that we will continue to see a wave of unicorns emerge from Africa’s vibrant tech scene as we have continued to see Africa rise in the midst of the pandemic with more investments and success stories that show our future is here.”

  
  
  https://blog.google/around-the-globe/google-africa/ceo-hilda-moraas-plan-to-empower-africas-entrepreneurs/
• 

  A Google engineer’s tips for thriving amid change
  • sorangutan  

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  When Chaitali Narla was in her 20s, she left her childhood home in India to fly across the world and study computer science in the U.S. “As a first-generation immigrant, this was a big moment for me personally,” says Chaitali. “Not only was I learning a new culture, lifestyle and vocabulary, but I was adjusting to a style of academia and work focused on exploration — all while also learning how to open potato chip bags the ‘American way,’” she laughs. (Which, FYI, means pull apart the top versus poking a hole in the bag.)

  This monumental shift in her life motivated Chaitali to come up with a system to cope with major changes — and it’s become something she’s used throughout her life and career. “I’ve become willing to tackle major challenges and complex problems with the belief that you can conquer anything as long as you organize your life with a productive mindset.”

  While finishing grad school in 2010, she took an internship as a software engineer with the Google Talk Video team (a precursor to Google Meet). “I was most excited to work for a company making a difference in so many people’s lives. I love making things more productive and delivering magical moments, and Google gave me the opportunity to do just that.”

  More than a decade later, Chaitali continues tackling new, big challenges. “I’ve worked in Google+, Cloud, Chrome, Workspace…you name it.” Today, she leads the engineering productivity organization for Google’s real-time communication products such as Google Meet, Duo, Dialer, Messages and Google Voice. Along the way, she’s learned a thing or two not only about productivity tools, but how to thrive on change, instead of fearing it. Here are a few things she shared with us:

  1. Set your own boundaries.
     For Chaitali, taking charge of her mental health means setting a clear work-life balance and sticking to it. “When it’s family time, I switch off the flood of emails and calendar notifications to be present with my husband and daughter,” she says. “Work-life balance is what you make of it. Changing habits can be difficult, but it’s important to disconnect. Work will always be there when I’m ready to work.”

  

  Chaitali Narla with her husband Vamsi Narla at Gas Works Park in Seattle, Washington.

  2. Unpack your peak experiences.
  “I encourage my teams to reflect on their ‘peak experiences’ — magical moments when you’re thriving, in flow, using all your learned and innate skills and abilities,” she says. “These peak experiences can help guide your personal and professional growth.”
  One of Chaitali's peak experiences was mentoring recent college grads. “Reflecting on this taught me that I wanted to be a manager, which is the career path I took.”
  3. Find sponsorship.
  “Early in my career at Google, I didn’t even know what a sponsor was, but now I know the importance of people having your back for moments big and small,” she says. Sponsorship is more than just giving advice (like a mentor usually does). Sponsors actively support you and champion your cause.

  To find a sponsor, Chaitali’s advice is simple: Just ask. “Speaking up and asking can be uncomfortable, but a skill I can’t recommend enough. Also, it’s OK to hear ‘no’ — but know that people want to help if your request is reasonable.”

  4. Delegate.
  At work, Chaitali doesn’t try to do it all herself. “Trusting your team matters,” she says. “Letting go not only helps you, but it helps the team and the company. Next time you have a project, instead of doing it yourself, consider how you can use this moment to teach, trust and empower others.”

  5. Stay curious.
  Chaitali says she first started nurturing her curiosity until she began grad school. “In India, we learn by practice and memorization while in the U.S., we’re encouraged to ask questions and explore. I’ve grown so much by embracing this growth mindset. At Google, I’m using my curiosity to not only find answers but to find the questions that haven’t been asked.”

  Chaitali also stays curious through papercrafting, which she found while looking for a device-free hobby.

  

  “From creating Rangoli designs for festivals in India to making cards occasionally for friends and family, I always enjoyed creating ever since I can remember,” she says. “Papercrafting is my ‘me time’ where I can take risks and experiment. It’s not simply a hobby but a tool to help me look at my work in new, interesting ways to better engage my team and make connections in new ways.”

  
  
  https://blog.google/inside-google/googlers/a-google-engineers-tips-for-thriving-amid-change/
• 

  Stadia Savepoint: February updates
  • sorangutan  

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  It’s time for another round of our Savepoint series, recapping the new games, features and updates on Stadia.

  Last month, the Stadia store added new titles to purchase, including MotoGP™21 and MY HERO ONE'S JUSTICE 2. With the global launch of DYNASTY WARRIORS 9 Empires, players faced action-packed battlefields and strategic decisions. They also jumped into the long-awaited Season of the Risen, The Witch Queen expansion for Destiny 2, which introduced new raids and items to claim.

  Plus, two new demos arrived on the Stadia store for recently launched titles. Anyone on Stadia can now play Chorus and RAINBOW SIX EXTRACTION with no strings attached.

  

  Every Stadia player can try a demo of Chorus, a space combat game on the Stadia store.

  In February, the Stadia Pro library hit 50 titles for existing subscribers and new Stadia players to claim and explore. That included seven games newly added to the library on February 1, including Life Is Strange Remastered, Life Is Strange: Before The Storm Remastered, Cosmic Star Heroine, Nanotale - Typing Chronicles, Merek’s Market, One Hand Clapping and PHOGS!.

  It’s easy to try out a new game in the Pro library — especially since all new Stadia users receive a one-month trial to Stadia Pro. Two Free Play Days events in February for Pro subscribers also unlocked games like The Jackbox Party Pack 7 and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

  Stadia Pro updates

  • Seven new games were added to the Stadia Pro library in February.
  • Today, there are 51 games to explore in Stadia Pro: Crayta, HITMAN, Darksiders Genesis, République, Journey to the Savage Planet, PixelJunk Raiders, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA, Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III, Moonlighter, Terraria, Darkwood, The Darkside Detective, PAW Patrol Mighty Pups: Save Adventure Bay, It Came From Space And Ate Our Brains, Epistory - Typing Chronicles, Killer Queen Black, GRIME, ARK: Survival Evolved, Floor Kids, Blue Fire, Wave Break, Legend of Keepers: Career of a Dungeon Manager, DreamWorks Spirit Lucky’s Big Adventure, Hello Engineer, Cake Bash, Control Ultimate Edition, Saints Row IV: Re-Elected, Kemono Heroes, Hundred Days - Winemaking Simulator, Wavetale, Destroy All Humans!, Wreckfest, The Falconeer: Warrior Edition, Transformers: Battlegrounds, FORECLOSED, Unto The End, Darksiders III, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Shantae: Risky’s Revenge, The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark, DreamWorks Dragons: Dawn of New Riders, Life Is Strange Remastered, Life Is Strange: Before The Storm Remastered, Nanotale - Typing Chronicles, Merek’s Market, One Hand Clapping, PHOGS!, Dawn of the Monsters, Adam Wolfe and Race with Ryan Road Trip Deluxe Edition.
  • There are ongoing discounts for Pro subscribers — check out the web or mobile Stadia store for the latest.

  February content launches on Stadia:

  • Destiny 2 - The Witch Queen
  • DYNASTY WARRIORS 9 Empires
  • Far Cry 6 – Joseph: Collapse
  • Life Is Strange Remastered
  • Life Is Strange: Before The Storm Remastered
  • MotoGP™21
  • MY HERO ONE'S JUSTICE 2

  Stadia announcements in February:

  • Calico
  • Lake
  • Phoenix Point – Kaos Engines
  • The Elder Scrolls Online Collection – High Isle

  As always, we’ll be back next month to share another recap. In the meantime, keep an eye on the Stadia Community Blog, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter for the latest on new games, features and updates.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/stadia/savepoint-february-2022-updates/
• 

  Get into gear with vehicle ads on Google
  • sorangutan  

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  More people are turning to the web to find their next car. In fact, 89% of new car buyers researched their new vehicle online.[7fb54a]And shoppers aren't just looking up information online — they’re purchasing there, too. In 2021, 16% of new car buyers purchased their car online, up from only 1% three years prior.[ea5e48]

  Shoppers today expect an easy and helpful experience when they search for what to buy. It’s important for auto advertisers to get in front of car shoppers with the right information and inventory.

  Introducing vehicle ads

  Today at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show we are announcing vehicle ads, a new ad format on Search that shows nearby cars for sale. Currently available in the U.S. and coming to more countries soon, vehicle ads can help you easily reach customers looking for a new ride.

  For example, if someone searches for a 2019 SUV, they’ll see several vehicle options they can either purchase nearby or get delivered — along with pictures and inventory information like location, make, model, price and mileage. Once they select a car, the ad will direct them to the vehicle description page on your website where they can fill out a lead form or get your dealership’s contact information. You can then select which actions you’d like to measure, like leads and store visits, and assign a value to them.

  

  New vehicle ads on Search spotlight available cars to shoppers.

  To get started, you’ll need to create a vehicle inventory data feed and connect it to Google Merchant Center. This feed contains all the details about your vehicle inventory, like make, model, price, mileage and condition. Google uses those details to match shoppers with the most relevant cars as they’re searching. Plus, by using Merchant Center, you can keep track of key inventory and ad performance insights.

  Advertisers who complemented their existing Search campaigns with vehicle ads saw a +25% average increase in conversions during beta testing.[83f78c]Let’s take a closer look at some businesses who recently gave vehicle ads a spin.

  The results from the pilot far exceeded our expectations. With vehicle ads, we can help customers by bringing them right to the car they’re interested in. This helps us maximize traffic and conversions to vehicle pages and increase efficiency. Miran Maric, CMO and SVP, Strategy and Innovation
  Asbury Automotive Group

  Our main goal is to drive customers to view our inventory. Vehicle ads allow us to get our inventory in front of customers with better efficiency. They also drove more store visits than other campaign types. Nathan Sato, Director of Digital Marketing
  Ken Garff

  Want to try vehicle ads yourself? Check out more information and get started today.

  To learn more about auto retail trends and vehicle ads, register for Google’s “Auto On Air: Delighting Customers in a Digital World” session on Wednesday, March 30 at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/introducing-vehicle-ads/
• 

  Explore Bob Marley's most extensive archive ever
  • sorangutan  

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  My father, Bob Marley, is one of the most known people in the world. I mean, some people feel as if they know him personally, that's how much history is out there, yet there is so much that is unknown. Bob Marley still holds mystery. We all are still learning new things about him, and some people may just be discovering him.

  In this mission we are happy to be partners with Google Arts & Culture to compile and exhibit in one online location the most extensive collection of Bob Marley artifacts. On this great journey we see him, hear his music, we listen to his words, we look at his life and we learn something about him as well as ourselves.

  Who is Bob Marley? A fist raised to the air in defiance, a smile that makes you want to smile back, the puff of a spliff amid deep contemplation warning us about the system, inspiring us to stand up for our rights, asking us to help him sing these songs of freedom.

  My father has transcended from being just a musician, an artist, an activist, even a legend. Bob Marley is a symbol for love, justice, equality, freedom and unity to people from all walks of life around the world and with the help from the community of countless fans who have uncovered, preserved and shared endless amount of content, always finding something new. Bob Marley’s legacy continues to live and grow. We have worked to find ways of sifting through the massiveness of it all creating curated experiences that help connect the dots of his legacy while providing new angles of discovery.

  It is a living project that will continue to grow in the coming months and years. Enjoy the journey.

  If you know what life is worth, you would look for yours on Earth. And now you see the light... Bob Marley
  

  • Bob Marley smiling and holding a guitar

    Bob Marley rehearsing in studio at his island home 56 Hope Road, 1974, Neville Garrick

  • Bob Marley performing on stage in front of an audience

    Bob Marley live at the Lyceum Ballroom, 1975, Adrian Boot

  • Bob Marley and three other men holding instrument cases walking down a street

    Bob Marley, Neville Garrick, Micheal Campbell and Tyrone Downie entering the Birmingham Odeon, England, 1975, Ian Dickson

  • Bob Marley and his young son playing soccer

    Bob Marley and Ziggy Marley playing soccer at 56 Hope Road, 1978, Peter Murphy

  Learn more about life and legacy of the king of reggae, and explore “Bob Marley: Legend” on the Google Arts & Culture app on iOS or Android or online on Google Arts & Culture.

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/arts-culture/bob-marley/
• 

  Get more done with these Google updates on iOS
  • sorangutan  

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  We’re adding new features to Google apps on iPhones and iPads to help you get more done — whether you’re at work, at school or on the go.

  New widgets will give you easier access to your favorite Google apps, while updated Chat and Gmail notifications can help you stay on top of important pings. Read on for more.

  Translate over 100 languages from your Home Screen

  The new Google Translate widget puts the app’s most popular features within easy reach — like taking a photo to translate text, using conversation mode to chat in two languages and translating copied text with a single tap. Plus, with the widget on your Home Screen, you can easily brush up on your language skills.

  

  Get more work done on your iPad

  If you’re using an iPad to get things done, the new XL widget for Google Drive will give you easier access to your important files.

  Designed specifically for the iPad and rolling out next week, the XL widget will show more files right on the Home Screen. It will also have more shortcuts to help you quickly get to your Priority files and Shared drives — so that big presentation for work or final paper for school is right where you need it.

  

  And XL isn’t the only option. With different Drive widget sizes available, you can easily personalize your iPad Home Screen — adding more or less Drive features depending on what’s most useful to you.

  

  Never miss an important ping

  Later this month, we’re updating the Gmail and Chat apps so that a sender’s profile photo will appear in your chat notification — making it easier to see who’s messaged you.

  This update will also give you more control over which Chat and Gmail chat notifications break through Focus on your iPhone or iPad. This can be handy if you’re trying to cut down on screen time but don’t want to miss an important message.

  Simply choose the contacts you want notifications from when Focus is on, and Gmail or Chat will do the rest — notifying you about those specific chat messages, even when other notifications are silenced.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/google-on-ios/get-more-done-these-google-updates-ios/
• 

  Ricardo built his career around putting users first
  • 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 they do in their roles and how they prepared for their interviews.

  Today, Ricardo Prada shares how his passion for helping users has led to a career building technology to positively impact the world.

  What do you do at Google?

  I lead the AI User Experience (AIUX) team in Google Research. Working alongside top research scientists, I study changes in society and science to create and bring product concepts to life. Outside of my core role, I also help out with our company-wide efforts to support the Latino community.

  Can you tell us a bit more about your background?

  I was born in Colombia and moved to California with my family when I was five. My dad was an engineer, my mom was a math teacher and I was a nerdy kid who loved science fiction and technology. I graduated from high school early and went straight to a community college, where I discovered my passion for applying psychology to technology and engineering.

  How did you ultimately end up at Google?

  I was a UX Design intern at Google while studying for my PhD at George Mason University in Virginia. After graduation, I worked for the aerospace company Boeing — and while I was there, I reconnected with my former team at Google. During one of our conversations, we started chatting about Gmail and I shared how I’d design Gmail labels based on my experiences in UX. We stayed in touch, and I eventually decided to return to Google.

  What were you up to before your current role?

  I’ve always been intentional about my career path and had a passion for working on technology that will have a positive impact on the world. I worked at X for almost eight years, where I led design for Project Chauffeur — Google’s self-driving car program, now known as Waymo — and was the first UX tester for many of X’s early-stage projects. I’m proud to have helped dozens of rockstar scientists and designers create principled and unexpected solutions to the world's biggest problems, from self-driving cars to medical devices.

  

  What gets you most excited about your role?

  In UX, my job is to understand our users — how are we going to make their lives better? For me, talking to people, listening to their problems and figuring out how to solve them has been super rewarding. I’m also part of the Latinx Leadership Council at Google, which has given me the opportunity to create even more impact. I’m proud to represent Colombia and help Google empower the Latino community, such as increasing representation in our use cases and workforce.

  What inspires you to log on every day?

  It’s really important to me to stay useful and not get bored. I'm coming close to 15 years at Google. Whenever I start thinking about my next move, someone tells me, "Go to this building and open this door." I'll go and think, "Whoa, I didn't know we were doing this!" Google is an incredible place to get really broad experiences, and that's what keeps me going.

  What advice would you share with your past self?

  Tell people what drives your decisions. At Google, we always say to focus on the user and all else will follow. I learned this early on and molded my work around it. Once you establish your values, everything will fall into place. You’ll attract people and projects that are aligned with those values.

  
  
  https://blog.google/inside-google/life-at-google/ricardo-built-his-career-around-putting-users-first/
• 

  Expanding our commitments to supplier diversity
  • sorangutan  

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  At Google we recognize our responsibility to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in every part of our company. From our efforts and investments around economic recovery and skilling led by the Grow with Google team to the workforce development initiatives funded by Google.org, we’ve designed programs to help bring greater opportunities to underserved communities; a few weeks ago, we announced a new initiative that aims to improve the earning potential of 20,000 Americans by $1 billion.

  We want to help build an inclusive economy that works for everyone. This extends within our company, and accounts for the economic impact that we can have when we buy goods and services. That’s why we’re providing access, development and investment in diverse-owned companies through our supplier diversity program.

  While our supplier diversity efforts began nearly a decade ago, in the summer of 2020 we committed to do more. We ended 2021 surpassing our first milestone to spend $1 billion with diverse-owned suppliers by spending nearly $1.5 billion.

  This year, we’re setting a new goal: In 2022, we aim to grow our spending with diverse suppliers to $2.5 billion while expanding our program beyond the U.S. to include suppliers from historically underrepresented groups around the world.

  Building a pipeline for the industry

  Maximizing our spend is just one piece of our supplier diversity program. We’re also making additional investments in mentorship and training to help diverse leaders at small and medium-sized companies grow their businesses. Through our Google Tuck Digital Excellence Program, we’re providing resources that help develop digital skills and build an online presence. By the end of this year, we will have graduated more than 425 diverse-owned business leaders and awarded $750,000 in scholarships as part of this program.

  The impact of our work

  Across Google, our teams have been working to bring our supplier diversity investments and commitments to life.

  Speedy access to cash and capital is often critical for many of our diverse suppliers. Through our Accelerated Payments Program, we’re ensuring eligible suppliers are paid within 15 days. This provides companies like Chime Solutions, located in Morrow, Georgia, Philadelphia-based Ladipo Group and Miami-based Republica Havas with more working capital to keep their businesses running.

  In our work with San Ramon, California-based R Mo Diversity Solutions, we’ve established a Certification Access program that provides financial support and removes the administrative burden many suppliers face when pursuing diversity certification. As a result, we’ve seen businesses like C-Suite coach in New York — who we contract with for our Grow with Google Digital Coaches program — to secure NMSDC, WBENC and NGLCC certification.

  We’re continuing to find innovative ways to remove barriers, this includes encouraging existing suppliers to partner and create alliances with diverse-owned businesses. We’re excited to see companies like CD Moody, Black-owned construction company based in Atlanta, in partnership with Holder Construction become a major supplier for data center projects in Virginia and Ohio. As a supplier partner for our data center retrofit program, CD Moody now has access to a wide range of data center construction opportunities with other companies beyond Google.

  More work to be done in 2022

  True progress means historically underrepresented businesses have increased access to equitable opportunities that grow their businesses. We will continue our work to drive positive social and business impact.

  We are proud of exceeding our first spend goal and the programs we have created to elevate diverse suppliers. Yet we know we have more to do and look forward to continuing that work and increasing our impact through our mentoring, development and partnership programs, especially as we expand our program globally. We’re excited about the opportunities and innovation that we can bring to this space as we continue this journey alongside our suppliers.

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/diversity/supplier-diversity/
• 

  Less to stress and more to love with Messages by Google
  • sorangutan  

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  Messaging is how we stay in touch with friends, keep up with family, and get things done. But it’s not always as easy as it should be. Conversations with friends on other platforms can be unnecessarily challenging. Important messages slip through the cracks because of cluttered inboxes. And sometimes we forget entirely to reach out on special occasions.

  Our latest updates to Messages by Google help ease some of these pain points so that you’re free to connect with the people you care about — no matter what device they use.

  Less out of the loop, more in the group

  When people with Android phones and iPhones message each other, not everything works the way it should. That’s because these conversations rely on SMS, an outdated messaging standard, instead of RCS, a modern, more secure industry standard Android uses that enables high-quality videos, emoji reactions, end-to-end encryption and more.

  While our latest updates can’t fix everything about Android and iPhone conversations, here are a few ways we're addressing some of the biggest issues we've heard from you.

  Better reactions 😍

  Feel the love (and laughter, confusion or excitement) from your iPhone friends, too. Reactions from iPhone users are now displayed on your Android phone as emojis, just like when you’re messaging with someone who’s using an Android device. Starting on devices set to English, with additional languages to follow.

  Share sharper videos

  Today, the RCS standard lets people with Android devices share beautiful, high-quality photos and videos with one another. But unfortunately, without RCS, they look blurry when you share them with your iPhone friends. Now everyone can watch your videos in the same resolution that you do since we’re bringing Google Photos into Messages. You can send your videos as Google Photos links right inside the conversation, preserving their clarity. Coming soon, you’ll be able to send your photos this way, too.

  But these new updates can only do so much. We encourage Apple to join the rest of the mobile industry and adopt RCS so that we can make messaging better and more secure, no matter what device you choose.

  Less clutter, more conversation

  We receive so many messages each day, it can be difficult to separate the important ones from everything else, and easy to miss some altogether. These new tools help you break through the clutter and stay on top of the conversations that matter the most.

  Keep your messages organized

  Organized inbox automatically sorts your messages into Personal and Business tabs so you can easily find what you need at any given moment — similarly to how most of our email inboxes work. Plus, you can set one-time password messages to be automatically deleted after 24 hours to help reduce the clutter even more. Originally launched in India, this is now expanding to the U.S.

  Get relationship superpowers

  Did you leave someone hanging recently? Now gentle nudges can remind you to reply to messages you may have missed or need to follow-up on so that nothing important slips through the cracks. This will roll out first to English users around the globe.

  Less belated, more elated

  It’s way too easy to forget important dates. Here are a few new ways Messages can help you send the right thing at the right moment to your favorite people.

  Remember to celebrate 🎉

  It’s now easier than ever to remember to wish your friends a happy birthday. If you save someone’s birthday in your device’s contacts app, you’ll get a gentle reminder about your friend’s special day when you open Messages or jump into a conversation with them. (Candles not included.)

  Create the perfect emoji

  If you have Gboard set as your keyboard in Messages, you don’t need to settle for one emoji to tell your story. Emoji Kitchen is bigger than ever with over 2,000 new emoji mashups available as stickers. Replace heart eyes with pretzels, make it rain disco balls or add some love to your favorite foods in an endless array of emoji possibilities.

  Hopefully these updates, which roll out over the coming weeks, make it easier to connect to everyone and everything you care about. Open or download Messages by Google to try them.

  Read more about other great features coming to Android.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/messages/updates-march-2022/
• 

  News Brief: February Updates from the Google News Initiative
  • sorangutan  

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  Last month we announced new opportunities for student journalists to develop their reporting skills, and new resources for news organizations to grow their digital business. World events reminded us of the importance of a free press, and in many areas of the world, we expanded on efforts to combat misinformation ahead of elections. Read on for February updates below.

  Combating misinformation ahead of elections in Asia and Europe
  In collaboration with Meedan and Rappler, we launched #FactsFirstPH, a coalition of more than 100 groups — news, civil society, business, religious groups, academia and legal communities — to create a whole-society approach to attack disinformation ahead of the Philippines election this May. The event will be headlined by Nobel Peace Prize laureate and journalist Maria Ressa.

  In France, together with our partner AFP, we announced the 21 members of “Objectif Désinfox,'' a coalition to fight misinformation ahead of the French presidential election.

  The Google News Initiative India Training Network, in partnership with DataLEADS, ran PollCheck 2022, a digital training series designed to support journalists reporting the upcoming state polls in India. Topics included data verification, fact-checking, mobile journalism, data visualization and digital safety.

  

  Fact-check members at the Trusted Media Summit 2018

  Expanding support for Indonesian fact-checking coalition
  The Google News Initiative was a founding supporter of CekFakta, a fact-checking coalition based in Indonesia, when it launched in 2018. We announced an additional 11 billion IDR ($815,000 USD) to bring more local news organizations into the network, expanding reach around the country.

  Introducing the Google News Initiative Student Fellowship 2022

  In partnership with the European Journalism Centre, the Google News Initiative has made 30 fellowships available across 14 European countries with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. The 30 successful applicants will receive a full time, paid, eight-week internship in a leading newsroom. For more information and to apply see journalismfellowships.eu

  Giving European publishers tools to grow their reader revenue

  This month we announced the return of the GNI Subscriptions Academy for Europe, in collaboration with INMA and FT Strategies. The eight-month program is designed to help European publishers strengthen digital subscriptions capabilities and grow reader revenue. Applications are open until March 14.

  Helping news organizations to grow their digital business

  The Google News Initiative Digital Growth Program has helped more than 5,000 news organizations around the world to grow their business through free business trainings and digital resources. Last month, we developed a free workshop series on how news organizations can collect, analyze and use data to increase their audience size and earn more revenue. The workshops are available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

  In North America, we kicked off the 2022 Ad Transformation Lab, a four-month program to help 15 Black- and Latino- owned publications in the U.S. and Canada advance their advertising strategies and grow digital revenue.

  We sponsored the News and Information division of the inauguralNext Challenge, which is run by the Glen Nelson Center at American Public Media Group. Three of the finalists are former graduates of the GNI Startups Boot Camp:Shasta Scout ('20),Queerency ('21) andAZ Luminaria ('21).

  Growing the next generation of journalists

  As part of our ongoing efforts to humanize news for younger consumers, we partnered with Baruch College on a program promoting journalism education, school newspapers and news literacy in underserved New York high schools. The program aims to help launch at least 25 school newspapers by the end of 2023.

  We announced a new fellowship piloted by Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) to deepen audience engagement and increase staff diversity in the nonprofit newsrooms. The six-month fellowship will connect INN member news organizations with recent college graduates to focus on community engagement, digital marketing, digital communications or audience growth projects.

  

  "Girls don't touch each other " project by La Cola De Rata from Colombia, created on WebStories

  Engaging audiences in Latin America with web stories

  We launched a Storytelling Innovation Program for Latin America featuring more than 70 digital publishers across Argentina, Colombia and Brazil. These publishers partnered with Google and Fundación Gabo, to receive training, and technical guidance to experiment with Web Stories. More than 1,000 stories have been published with impressive preliminary results: some publishers saw traffic increase by 30%.

  Promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in Latin American newsrooms

  To promote more diverse, inclusive and equitable reporting, and also to support the creation of more inclusive workplaces for journalists, we launched the course "How to promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in Latin American journalism" in partnership with the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas. The course covers topics such as gender, race, human rights and diversity and is led by four prominent Latin American journalists.

  Adapting, growing and challenging subscription products

  We partnered with Gruner+Jahr, one of Europe’s leading premium magazine publishers, to support the implementation of special-interest digital subscription products across their portfolio. This helped them to grow subscriptions more affordably and develop new subscriptions products more quickly. and more quickly than before.

  That’s all for February. Stay in touch on social and through the Google News Initiative newsletter for more updates.

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/google-news-initiative/news-brief-february-2022-updates-google-news-initiative/
• 

  New Android features for messaging, entertainment and more
  • sorangutan  

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  The Android team has been busy working on a suite of updates that add new dimensions to the apps you already love. From huge updates to messaging (including more connection with your iPhone friends) to powerful photo editing tools and even smarter ways to pay for parking, these upgrades bring more helpful technology to messaging, entertainment and more.

  Share more with your iPhone friends, and stay on top of your inbox with Messages

  10:25

  Feel the love from your iPhone friends.

  Their reactions are now displayed as emoji on text messages.

  Feel the ❤️. Or the 😂. Or whichever emoji your friends are feeling in the moment. Reactions from iPhone users will now appear as emoji on text messages — just like when you’re messaging with someone using an Android device. And now everyone can enjoy your videos in the same resolution you do when you send them as Google Photos links right inside the conversation. Soon, you’ll be able to send your photos this way, too.

  New birthday reminders in Messages means you'll never miss their special day.

  That’s not all that’s coming to Messages. There are also updates that help you break through the clutter to focus on the conversations that matter most:

  • Automatically sort your messages into Personal and Business tabs with an organized inbox, so you can find what you need faster.
  • Reduce the clutter of one-time password messages by having them automatically deleted after 24 hours.
  • Get gentle nudges to reply to messages you may have missed or need to follow up on.
  • Never forget to wish your friends a happy birthday, with reminders to reach out to your friends on their special day.

  Read more about the new messaging updates in our blog post, and explore them on your device as they roll out over the coming weeks.

  Type what you really want to say with grammar correction

  

  Grammar correction on Gboard helps you type the way you want to be heard.

  More than just a spell check, the new grammar correction feature on Gboard works entirely on your device to detect grammatical errors and offer suggestions to help you bring your thoughts to life.

  When words aren’t enough to tell your story, Emoji Kitchen now has more than 2,000 new emoji mashups available as stickers via Gboard. You can make it rain 🍔, share your love for 🥨 or make your favorite emoji sparkle 💫 in an endless array of messaging possibilities. And for Pixel users, Gboard will convert your words into colorful stickers built with your exact text when typing in messaging apps in English (U.S.).

  Accessible conversations, even when you’re offline, with Live Transcribe

  

  Live Transcribe now works wherever you go, even if you don't have Wi-Fi or data.

  Developed in collaboration with the premier university for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, Gallaudet University, Live Transcribe provides real-time speech-to-text captions to enable everyday in-person conversations between people who are deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing. Preinstalled on Pixel and Samsung devices and available as a free download to all, the app now offers an offline mode for when Wi-Fi and data aren’t available, like on an airplane, in the subway, or in other areas without consistent internet access.

  Turn more photos into portraits with Portrait Blur

  

  Portrait Blur now can be used on photos of more subjects, like pets, food and plants, too. Even if the picture was taken years ago.

  If you’re a Google One member or a Pixel user, you can already use Portrait Blur in Google Photos, a powerful photo editing tool that can intelligently blur the background on photos of people, post-snap. Coming soon to the Photos app on Android, these users will be able to use this effect on photos of more subjects, like pets, food and plants, too. Even if the picture was taken years ago. Even if portrait mode wasn’t on at the time. Whether it’s photos of your four-legged friends on vacation, an artistic shot of your prized houseplant or just what you had for lunch today, the only thing left to focus on is how you’re going to share them.

  All the latest on all your favorites with Highlights on Google TV

  10:25

  Learn more about your current and soon-to-be favorite shows with Highlights on Google TV mobile.

  The new Highlights tab on Google TV offers a personalized feed of entertainment news, reviews and more based on movies and shows you’re interested in. Catch up on articles about the entertainment you love, or track the next big sensation, all in one place.

  

  Learn more about your current and soon-to-be favorite shows with Highlights on Google TV mobile.

  And if you discover something new that you’re interested in, one tap will take you straight to the movie, TV series or video the article is based on, so you can play, rate or Watchlist it for later.

  Pay for parking with Google Assistant

  

  Pay for parking using just your voice, with a little help from Google Assistant.

  Google Assistant and Google Pay can now help you pay for parking, check your parking status, and extend your parking using just your voice. Just say, “Hey Google, pay for parking” once you’ve parked, and follow Assistant prompts to pay from your phone. No more coins, no more confusion. And when you need to check your parking status or pay for more parking, just say “Hey Google, parking status” and “Hey Google, extend parking.” Available in ParkMobile street parking zones in over 400 cities in the US.

  Fine-tune your digital habits with the screen time widget

  

  Customize your Home screen and fine-tune your digital habits with the screen time widget.

  Staying on top of your screen time is all about balance. A new screen time widget helps get the ball rolling by offering a glimpse of the three apps you use the most each day. Tap the widget to open Digital Wellbeing, where you’ll find some helpful ways to fine-tune your digital habits, including:

  • Daily timers for your apps
  • Focus mode, which pauses distracting apps at set times
  • Bedtime mode, which silences your device and changes the screen to black and white at bedtime

  Share with more people with Nearby Share

  

  Use Nearby Share to share files with more people around you.

  Nearby Share already lets you easily share photos, videos, documents, links, audio files or entire folders between nearby devices. A new update makes it easy to share with multiple people rather than just one person at a time. Simply tap to add more recipients during a transfer. It’s rolling out now on all Android 6+ devices.

  These new features make it easier than ever to share new ideas, enjoy your favorite entertainment, and explore the world around you — just another set of features as your Android device becomes more helpful all the time.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/android/new-android-features-march-2022/
• 

  Google for Startups Campus in Madrid reopens
  • sorangutan  

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  During the pandemic, startups have proven to be key in driving the economic recovery of many countries. Entrepreneurs have taken on many challenges using one of their primary qualities: adapting to change.

  Because of COVID-19, our Google for Startups Campus in Madrid closed its doors. But our team found new and creative ways to keep close to founders. With a focus on the sectors most affected by the pandemic, and also those that were on the rise and generating economic recovery, we launched Google for Startups Growth Academies to support almost 20 projects related to e-commerce, tourism, well-being and digital transformation.

  Two years later, Google for Startups Campus in Madrid is reopening, with the objective of fostering entrepreneurial talent, and focusing on diversity and inclusion.

  More resources for growing startups

  Campus Madrid returns with a new look, where the Google for Startups community and its partners will be center stage. The spaces that were wide open to the general public before the pandemic are now available exclusively to alumni startups that have completed one of our in-depth training programs. The rapid growth of the entrepreneurial community in Madrid, with almost 100 startups in its network, has created the need to prioritize space for them so that they can continue their growth with greater access to the resources and space they need to get to the next level.

  Campus Madrid will have more Googlers on-site, with some of our product experts moving their offices there to work closer to the entrepreneurs and offer personalized mentoring and training. There will also be ongoing training events and access to customized mentoring on Google products such as Google Cloud or Google Ads; these Startup School sessions, facilitated by PUE, will be open to a wider community beyond the resident startups.

  Supporting women's leadership

  The first program that Google for Startups will launch in person at Campus Madrid aims to promote female leadership: Women Founders Academy, a three-month program in which selected women will receive support to boost their leadership through mentoring, networking and targeted training. 11 women founders have been already selected for this program, that will kick off on March 21st.

  Support for social entrepreneurship

  Thanks to support from Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, and its Social Innovation Fund, which supports social enterprises and entrepreneurs across Europe, €2.5 million will go towards organisations working to strengthen the social innovation community in Spain. As part of this fund, Google.org will provide a grant to Ashoka to make social entrepreneurship more inclusive, diverse and accessible in Spain. The project will support the creation of three social innovation labs to tackle territorial, socio-economic, gender and generational gaps in the social entrepreneurship world. In addition, Google.org is supporting INCO, an international nonprofit to offer access to capital, incubation and mentorship support to social entrepreneurs from disadvantaged communities in Spain.

  Google for Startups Campus in Madrid is coming back stronger than ever. We hope these new initiatives will bring about much-needed change and support the efforts of a network of talented, committed and diverse people who are fostering economic recovery in Spain.

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/entrepreneurs/google-startups-campus-madrid-reopens/
• 

  Meet Mali - home of manuscripts, music and magic
  • sorangutan  

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  Timbuktu is a city fabled to exist at the edge of the world, where the southern stretches of the Sahara desert end and a world of rich scholarly tradition, architectural wonder and abundant artistic creativity begins. In reality, it’s located in the West African country of Mali, a place filled to the brim with the kind of unmatched cultural richness that comes from traditions and influences from across the Sahara and Sahel melding together in harmony for centuries – all of which “Mali Magic” on Google Arts & Culture will share with you today.

  Though popularly known as the historic home of Mansa Musa (the richest man in the world), the true magic of Mali doesn’t stem from these fractured fables so much as from the pillars that define its culture — its manuscripts, music, monuments and modern art — and their unbelievable resilience to human and environmental threats, thanks to the people’s quest to preserve their heritage.

  M is for Mali

  Mali’s story has often been told with attention to the violence and political unrest the nation has experienced, namely the 2012 coup and subsequent ten-month Jihadist occupation, which resulted in the destruction of many mausoleums, mosques and monuments, the burning of ancient manuscripts, and the breaking of instruments and cancelling of festivals to silence the music traditions that defined its culture. But the Malian people did not let their culture become a victim of destruction. From saving the ancient manuscripts that families protected for years from total destruction, to the contemporary artistic movements that are rising from times of turmoil, the resilience of Mali’s people and culture has been proven. Read more about their effort to preserve and digitize their libraries here.

  Mali Magic on Google Arts & Culture shines a light on these heroic stories of resilience and presents Mali’s monuments, manuscripts, music and modern arts in a digital collection of sound and story like no other.

  • The cover of Fatoumata Diawara’s latest album, Maliba.

    On an exclusive album produced in and telling the story of Mali, Grammy-award nominee Fatoumata Diawara sings about her country’s legacy and hopes for the future.

  • Animated graphic of a Malian musician from the artists at home music video.

    Watch the music video bringing together contemporary Malian musicians from all over Mali, covering a song by the iconic Malian singer Ali Farka Touré.

  • Open manuscript bearing calligraphic text and decoration.

    Delicate and decorative folio containing important teachings both religious and secular, are amongst the collections that families preserved in their homes for centuries before the evacuation from Timbuktu.

  • A 3D model of the Grand Mosque of Djenne with a person standing below for scale.

    A 3D model of the largest adobe structure in the world. The Grand Mosque of Djenne, that goes as high as 20 meters, and can hold up to a 1000 people.

  • Portrait of Abdoulaye Konaté in front of one of his art works, a multicolored wall tapestry.

    One of the most influential artists on Africa’s contemporary art scene, Abdoulaye Konaté renders vibrant wall tapestries in Malian cotton, inspired by African tradition and culture while raising awareness for pressing political, social and environmental issues within and beyond Mali.

  M is for Manuscripts

  Long before the European Renaissance, the Malian city of Timbuktu — which at one point was home to a community of scholars that made up a quarter of its whole population — gave birth to an abundance of learning in the fields of morality, politics, astronomy, literature and more surprising topics like black magic and sex advice. This work was captured in thousands of precious manuscripts. These pages have redefined our understanding of African history; Dr. Abdel Kader Haidara, the ‘badass librarian’ known for smuggling the manuscripts out of Timbuktu when their safety was at risk, has said that "they have said that in Africa there is no written history. It’s been said that all the history of Africa is oral. We have more than 400,000 manuscripts here written uniquely by the hands of the hands of Africans. They will see this and say the opposite. It’s a true Renaissance."

  Finally, the manuscripts have made their way from family libraries to the world stage: a spectacular collection of 40,000 decorated folios and beautifully scripted Timbuktu manuscripts have been brought to Google Arts & Culture for the world to explore online, and is at the heart of discussions and celebrations to be held in Bamako on March 12th and at the Brooklyn Public Library on March 17th.

  • A colorful, gold-gilded manuscript page bearing both calligraphic text and decoration.

    Timbuktu’s manuscripts were renowned for their physical beauty as well as their wisdom. Calligraphy styles from the broad slashes of the West African Hausa tradition to the whorls and sweeps of curvaceous North African lettering. There are beautiful, centuries-old Korans with gilding and calligraphy within.

  • A graphic of a librarian in Timbuktu holding a manuscript volume.

    Some of the world’s most important astronomical and astrological developments were made by Islamic scholars, long before Galileo and his telescope; some mapped in the Timbuktu Manuscripts.

  • Old page of a Timbuktu manuscript displaying an astrological diagram.

    Many surprising things can be found in the Timbuktu Manuscripts, from human rights and mathematics to sex tips, black magic or the question if smoking should be banned.

  • A stack of books containing ancient manuscripts.

    The manuscripts have been preserved over the centuries not by a museum or institution, but by individual families who passed their libraries on through the generations. Because of them, Timbuktu’s written legacy remains for us to marvel at today.

  • A damaged manuscript lies amidst debris resulting from the damage caused by the extremist occupation of Mali.

    The fragile manuscripts, inked on Italian paper, goat, sheep and even fish skins, were swiftly rescued thanks to individuals who smuggled the pages out of the city by car and boat from under the noses of the Islamist intruders.

  M is for Music

  From tribal song and dance accompanied by unique traditional instruments, captured on video by Instruments4Africa, to the Festival in the Desert that has hosted the likes of U2 and Mali’s own Fatoumata Diawara, Mali is a place infused with rhythm courtesy of a widespread passion for music. It’s even said that rock ‘n roll and the American blues are deeply rooted in Malian musical and myth-telling traditions.

  Today, Mali’s music scene remains strong — musicians from all over Mali have united to cover the iconic Malian artist Ali Farka Touré’s beloved song Houwkuna, Grammy-award nominee Fatoumata Diawara ushers Mali to the front of the world music scene with her brand new EP, Maliba (‘The Great Mali’), and festivals and live concerts are held by the Timbuktu Renaissance and Instruments4Africa to keep soulful sounds and social cohesion alive.

  • A Malian dancer performs at a ceremony wearing a colorful costume and mask.

    Mali’s musical traditions like the instruments, dances and costumes of the Funeral Ceremony for the Dogon Elders are at risk as the country moves away from a traditional way of life and the inroads of global culture dilute the rich traditions at the nation’s core.

  • A group of Malian musicians sit with traditional instruments.

    Performing live music is a crucial part of Mali’s musical tradition — streaming just won’t do at traditional ceremonies and events

  • The Entrance to the Festival au Désert Camp.

    Famous on the world music scene is Mali’s Festival in the Desert, where the country’s top talent as well as world-class guests such as U2 and Led Zeppelin have played over the years. When the jihadist occupation forced the cancellation of the event, it was instead held ‘in exile’ as Malian musical champions refused to submit to the extremists.

  • Ali Touré Farka album cover.

    Mali’s long history of musical tradition peaked in the 1960s and 70s, a golden era of sorts in which both the state and private individuals significantly invested in music and culture. The result was a generation of musical bonafides, such as the famous Ali Farka Touré, and a large number of records produced during this period which would define Malian musical history.

  • The ‘nightingale of Timbuktu’ Khaira Dharby performing.

    During the extremist occupation, the traditions that strengthened Malian communities and identities were targeted - music was banned and instruments were destroyed,, in an attempt to silence the people’s voice and spirit. But Mali’s musicians continued to share their heritage and talent with the world whenever and however they could, so that Mali's musical tradition could live on.

  M is for Monuments

  A third layer of Mali’s unique cultural landscape is made up of its mosques, mausoleums and monuments. These structures are not just iterations of historic mud architectural styles and commemorations of past events; they are kept alive by the communities who have maintained them for centuries and the efforts to restore them after their recent destruction by those attempting to shake the foundations of Malian culture and identity.

  From political unrest and the end of tourism to globalization and pollution, several factors threaten Mali’s monuments and its culture at large. Exploring the Great Mosque of Djenne in 3D, or the first ever Street View of Mali’s mosques and monuments, it’s clear that this built heritage is worth protecting and preserving for generations to come.

  • The mudbrick facade of the Djinguereber Mosque.

    In the first ever Street View of Mali’s endangered mosques and mausoleums, users can tour and learn the secrets of the Djinguereber Mosque: above the main door, there’s said to be a barely-legible inscription of the name Mansa Moussa, the richest man in history.

  • Local community members climb the Great Mosque of Djenne to replaster its facade in a festival.

    The incredible festival to replaster the Great Mosque of Djenne takes place every year by the local community, who use the opportunity to work together to preserve and celebrate their heritage. Despite racing to finish the neighborhood’s portion of work to win first prize, it is said that there has never been an injury during the festival.

  • A Malian mason in front of a reconstructed ancestral tomb site.

    Following the destruction of mausoleums and sites of ancestral heritage that were targeted during conflict, UNESCO collaborated with local masons to restore and reconstruct these built heritage sites.

  M is for Modern Art

  Carrying out Mali’s lasting legacy of creativity and vibrant culture are the country’s incoming generation of contemporary artists. Painters, sculptors, and mixed-media creators reflect the color and chaos that they see in the world around them, entwining Mali’s expressive culture with their own unique perspectives, ambitions and explorations.

  Addressing the difficulties and destruction that Mali has endured throughout both recent and colonial history, the country’s art scene might represent a space in which Mali’s past can be processed and, through culture and creativity, a future can be rebuilt.

  “The day we admit that we lost everything for the profit of others; that day we can truly begin to rediscover ourselves,” says Malian contemporary artist Amadou Sanogo.

  • Opa Bathily in front of his multicolored, multimedia paintings.

    From the early days of his career, Amadou Opa Bathily has engaged in ‘art recovery’, working with recycled metal to make sculpture. Bathily's paintings continue to be identified by these hard materials which he sculpts to his canvas. His works and materials are both flexible and enduring.

  • One of Souleymane Guindo’s semi-sculptural works on canvas.

    Drawing inspiration from the mountainous areas, stones, and boulders of the rocky escarpments of Dogon country, Souleymane Guindo’s works connect him to the culturally rich area in central Mali where he has his familial and ethnic roots.

  • Ange Dakou in front of one of his woven gris gris pieces of art.

    Artist Ange Dakouo’s current work is inspired by protective amulets known as gris gris that are attached to a child’s wrist or neck at birth or sewn into the outfits of traditional hunters in West Africa. He creates his own woven gris gris, which traditionally are thought to ward off evil djinn, bad luck, and even ammunition rounds of enemy fire.

  • Dramane Toloba’s artworks, using paper maché, fabric, and discarded materials.

    The works of Dramane Toloba are eco-responsible and based on the recovery of trash disposed by people into nature. His creations are inspired by the wastefulness of consumer society, contrasted with the natural world of traditional rural society, gratitude, and the constant battle of scarcity.

  Discover more on g.co/MaliMagic online or through the Google Arts & Culture mobile app on iOS and Android.

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/arts-culture/meet-mali-home-manuscripts-music-and-magic/
• 

  The trials and triumphs of the Timbuktu manuscripts
  • sorangutan  

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  The ancient manuscripts of Timbuktu — some 400,000 pages of text detailing everything from the Koran to mathematics to astronomy and astrology — are more than important historical documents. Central to the heritage of the West African nation of Mali, they represent the long legacy of written knowledge and academic excellence in Africa, and hold potential to inspire global learning from the actions of the past in confronting modern day issues.

  Today, thanks to the initiative of the families who have protected the manuscripts from harm for generations and the capabilities of technology, more than 40,000 of those pages are digitally available for the first time for the world to explore on Google Arts & Culture. With this comes the hope that this legacy can be preserved and its potential harnessed to promote peace and cultural understanding.

  The heroes who kept the manuscripts safe

  The history of the manuscripts is known worldwide, in part thanks to their heroic preservation story. The collection, which was not held by a museum or institution but by individual families willing to safeguard their cultural heritage, was in danger when extremists seized Mali in 2012, destroying heritage sites and burning the manuscripts they came across in their wake. But the people of Timbuktu did not let their written heritage be crushed underfoot. By jeep, car and canoe, they smuggled as many manuscripts as they could out of the occupied city to safety, though sadly not all of the pages were able to be rescued.

  • An ancient manuscript lying amongst debris.

    When extremists targeting sites of cultural heritage seized the country of Mali in 2012, many manuscripts were destroyed and the rest of the collection significantly endangered.

  • A trunk of ancient manuscripts.

    In the face of danger, the people of Mali banded together to smuggle the manuscripts out of Timbuktu to safety, doing the country and world a great service by bravely preserving the priceless collection for generations to come.

  • Scanning a page from an ancient manuscript.

    After scanning the manuscripts page by page, the collection on Google Arts & Culture now contains 40,000 digitized pages in high resolution, for scholars and the public alike to explore.

  • Cataloging the manuscripts.

    Conserving, cataloging, boxing and continuing to study these pages are all part of the preservation efforts taken on by SAVAMA-DCI, the organization now holding and promoting the collection.

  • Dr. Haidara in the stacks at the library containing the preserved manuscripts

    Preserving these collections physically and digitally will ensure that these pages and their teachings are passed onto forthcoming generations as both historical artifacts and documents with meanings still relevant to today to be studied and better understood.

  Technology that creates new access

  Now held at the headquarters of cultural preservation organization SAVAMA-DCI, their legacy can live on through continued study of the texts and maintenance of the delicate ancient pages. The digitized collection and experiment, visualizing a large manuscript archive available on Google Arts & Culture, opens a completely new door to understanding the past and the cultural significance of the archives. The documents that represent a Renaissance in African history – previously thought to be spoken but never written – are now accessible to the public and modern scholars around the world.

  Though the manuscript collection became better known on the world stage after it was rescued during Mali’s 2012 extremist occupation, the texts’ legacy stretches far beyond the twenty-first century, containing a wealth of knowledge which filtered down through the scholars of Timbuktu, a key seat of Islamic-world studies, across nine centuries. While the manuscripts’ production reflects a keen skill for inscribing beautiful calligraphy styles on a range of materials — from Italian paper to fish skins — their content ranges from surprisingly contemporary topics, such as sex tips, the question of whether smoking should be banned and insight into practises of black magic, to ever-relevant teachings about peacekeeping, human rights and good governance.

  • An introduction to the manuscripts digital archive and stories.

    Enter a virtual experience introducing the manuscripts, their journey through history, and presenting the 40K+ digitized manuscripts.

  • A book viewer to flip and read through the manuscripts.

    Dive deep into an engaging 3D view of the compiled books to flip through the various manuscripts and study up close.

  • View of the digitized manuscript collection in its entirety.

    Immerse yourself in a Universe of Verse, the floating manuscript collection, and select pages to explore in more detail.

  • A page of an ancient copy of the Quran.

    Delicate and decorative folio like this page from an ancient copy of the Quran, containing important teachings both religious and secular, are amongst the collections that families preserved in their homes for centuries before the evacuation from Timbuktu.

  • A manuscript with a rare drawing of a musical instrument.

    As well as containing writings rich with ancient teachings on a wide range of subjects, many manuscripts are embellished with drawings and diagrams that shed light on life in medieval Timbuktu, such as this page displaying a traditional musical instrument.

  • A manuscript with astronomical and astrological diagrams.

    The Timbuktu manuscripts bear witness to the Islamic world’s understanding of astronomy, some emerging hundreds of years before the time of Galileo.

  In narrating stories of conflict resolution in African history between the empires and kingdoms of centuries ago, the manuscripts offer relevant points of comparison and wisdom that can be applied to periods of conflict and instability that ensue in our modern world. In this context, so too can the manuscripts play a key role in shaping African identity.

  In these pages we can identify ourselves and our ancestors as the authors of histories of peace and wisdom — and so connect to our heritage through a certain recognition of ourselves within it.

  Immerse yourself in the Timbuktu Manuscripts on g.co/TimbuktuManuscripts online or through the Google Arts & Culture mobile app on iOS and Android.

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/arts-culture/trials-and-triumphs-timbuktu-manuscripts/
• 

  Building data portability to help consumers choose
  • sorangutan  

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  People want the freedom to be able to use different online services without worrying about losing their photos, contacts, emails and other data if they close an account or switch to a new company.

  For over a decade, Google has offered its users data portability – the ability to take your Google data with you, even if you are no longer using a Google service. In 2007, we created a team of engineers dedicated to giving people an easy way to export a copy of their data from our products. Since then, we’ve expanded our data portability offering with Google Takeout, which makes it easy to download data from over 70 Google products. Our teams continue to build cutting-edge technologies that help make this process simpler and keep personal data safe and secure as people transfer it between different platforms.

  Today, we are announcing new investments and continued collaboration with industry partners and experts to make data portability easier and more secure for every internet user.

  Advancing data portability

  Data portability can be challenging for people who don’t have high-speed internet, unlimited mobile data plans, or who don’t have a personal device with extra storage. In 2018, we launched Data Transfer Project (DTP), an open source collaboration with Google, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Twitter and SmugMug to simplify data portability for people around the world.

  Unlike traditional methods of moving your files from one service to another, which require reliable broadband or drawing on mobile data plans, with DTP people can simply authorize a copy of the data to safely move to a new service without having to download it to a personal device first. This makes it easier for people to try new services without the burden of needing additional storage. And any company or organization can use DTP’s open source code, meaning even smaller companies that don't have the engineering resources to build custom data portability solutions can take advantage of DTP’s tools and give people an easy way to bring their data to a new service.

  Today, we’re pledging to provide $3 million over the next five years, as well as hundreds of hours of our engineers’ time, to help expand the open source libraries that facilitate more types of data transfer and allow more companies and organizations to participate in DTP.

  We will also continue to improve our own tools, like Google Takeout, including adding new ways to move your files to different services with DTP technology. On average we see 8.2 million exports per month with Google Takeout, and in 2021, more than 400 billion files were exported, which has doubled since 2019.

  Finally, we will continue to support organizations and researchers working on portability and interoperability, and collaborate with them to develop industry-wide standards and guidance on this important issue.

  Policy principles for portability

  Regulators around the world recognize that data portability is fundamental to promoting consumer choice and data protection. We agree – data portability is a secure way to foster innovation and competition among digital service providers. When people can easily switch to a new product or service, without the fear of losing access to their data, companies are encouraged to provide the best possible services to win over new users.

  We believe data portability rules should follow three key principles:

  • Put people first. Data portability supports competition by empowering consumers. Supporting standards for the most common data types will accelerate innovation in products that have a high value for consumers — including services for photos, playlists and contacts.
  • Require exportability. Platforms that allow people to import their data should also allow them to export it. This encourages people to try new services without the risk that they will lose their data. Consumers will be more likely to try something new if they know they can change their mind.
  • Prioritize privacy and security. Portability regulation must include safeguards against unauthorized access, diversion of data, and other types of fraud. This should include account authorization, encryption and delayed delivery.

  These are the same principles we relied on to build Google Takeout and launch the DTP – and while we will continue to support regulatory efforts to create responsible data portability, we aren’t waiting for legal mandates. We will continue to advance state-of-the-art data portability through our tools and our support for DTP.

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/public-policy/building-data-portability-help-consumers-choose/
• 

  Overcoming the language barrier in videos with Aloud
  • sorangutan  

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  Have you ever wanted to learn something from a video, but couldn’t because it was in another language? If your answer is yes, you’re not alone.

  That’s why we are introducing Aloud, a new product from Area 120, Google’s in-house incubator for experimental projects. Using Aloud, creators can quickly and easily dub their videos into multiple languages, unlocking knowledge that might be trapped in a single language today. We support dubbing into Spanish and Portuguese, with Hindi, Bahasa-Indonesian and other languages coming soon. We hope this makes dubbing more accessible to creators who previously considered it too difficult or too costly. And you can request early access starting today.

  The language barrier

  We grew up in Sri Lanka at a time before computing was mainstream, but had the opportunity to learn English at a young age. The ability to read and learn about new technologies in books only available in English opened our world and helped us develop a passion for technology. But English proficiency wasn't commonplace, and many of our friends had a much harder time. The language barrier was real for them, and the playing field was not level.

  The methods of learning have changed since then, and research shows that 46% of global viewers use video to learn something new. But much of today’s video content is still being produced in English, and more than 80% of the world does not speak the language. For them, English videos are not accessible, and the playing field is still not level.

  Subtitles can help bridge the language gap, but they’re not always ideal on mobile devices due to the small form factor, the necessity of constant attention to the screen, and accessibility challenges for those with visual or reading impairments. Dubbing, the process of adding a translated voice track, overcomes those limitations, but is time-consuming and cost-prohibitive for most creators.

  With Aloud, dubbing can be as easy as typing in the language you speak

  

  A preview of our text editor based (video editing-less) dubbing experience.

  Dubbing used to take weeks worth of effort and a large budget. But with Aloud, you only need a few minutes. We use advances in audio separation, machine translation and speech synthesis to reduce time-consuming and costly steps like translation, video editing and audio production. You do not even need to know any language other than the ones you already speak, and all of this is available at no cost to the creator.

  To dub with Aloud, all you need to do is provide the video and subtitles in the original language. If subtitles are not available, you can also quickly review the text transcript that we generate. With those inputs, Aloud can produce informative dubs like the one below:

  10:25

  The above video is a Hindi dub made with Aloud that debuted at Google IO (original). Here is one dubbed into Spanish (original), and another into Portuguese (original).

  Access a global audience, while staying in control

  With dubbing, you can now reach previously unreachable portions of the world’s population. In our experiments, we have seen double-digit growth in views just by dubbing into one additional language.

  We know you as a creator take pride in the content that you create, so we want to ensure that you remain in control. You decide which videos to dub, how to publish them, how much effort to put in and bring in language experts if you so choose. Aloud doesn’t create new content — it only uses the original speech and translates it into a different language of your choice. We're also working with YouTube to let creators add multiple audio tracks to their videos, a new feature that they started testing with a small group of

  Viewers have transparency

  Our goal is to open up previously inaccessible information to the world. At the same time, we’re vigilant about how the technology is used, and we want to make sure that synthetically dubbed content is never confused with the original, or with content that is dubbed by voice actors. So to ensure transparency, we require from our creators that all dubs produced by Aloud state clearly (in the video description, as a pinned comment or in the post credits screen) that they are synthetic dubs with a reference to the original.

  Request early access today

  We are starting this process with a focus on informational content, as we think it will help the most people. As we learn and improve on our tech, we plan to expand to other types of content as well.

  Let's overcome the language barrier together – request early access at aloud.area120.google.com.

  
  
  https://blog.google/technology/area-120/aloud/
• 

  Female founders change lives in the data center capital
  • sorangutan  

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  Nearly a third of the founders scaling and shaping U.S. businesses and nonprofits are women. In Loudoun County, Virginia – the data center capital of the world – two intrepid female executives are working hard to set an example for other aspiring women while also changing lives in their communities.

  In honor of International Women’s Day this week, we’re highlighting these two special leaders and their accomplishments, providing a glimpse into the lives they’ve touched with their vision and tenacity.

  Enid Machayo is a Ugandan immigrant whose own experiences with sexism and bigotry inspired her to launch Global Inheritance, a nonprofit dedicated to exposing young women to educational and career opportunities in STEM.

  “It’s hard for a girl to become what they’ve never seen,” says Machayo, whose Leading Ladies program has placed interns at dozens of top-tier companies, including Google.

  Donna Fortier is a champion for the under-resourced, who are not always visible in Loudoun County, a wealthy and well-educated suburb of Washington, D.C.. Through Mobile Hope, Fortier and her team have served more than 200,000 families in need since the start of the COVID pandemic and recently launched their Google-sponsored trade school.

  Watch Enid and Donna in action in this inspiring new video as they serve their communities and create new opportunities in Northern Virginia. Google is proud to partner with organizations like Global Inheritance and Mobile Hope in data center communities worldwide – from Nebraska to The Netherlands – that are committed to the life-changing work that makes us all better.

  
  
  https://blog.google/inside-google/infrastructure/female-founders-change-lives-data-center-capital/
• 

  Drive with Christina Aguilera this March
  • sorangutan  

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  This March marks the arrival of International Women’s Day around the world and Women’s History Month in the U.S. It’s a time to celebrate trailblazing women throughout history. From the suffragettes to the #MeToo movement, women continue to fight against gender bias, discrimination and stereotypes. To mark this occasion, we’re welcoming feminist advocate and musical icon Christina Aguilera to Waze.

  Christina has a long history of advocating for women and underrepresented voices, using her platform to put them center stage in iconic songs and music videos — from “Beautiful” to “Let There Be Love” to “Can’t Hold Us Down.”

  “International Women’s Day is a significant reminder that we are still fighting against gender bias and stereotypes,” Christina says. “Partnering with Waze has allowed me to unify my voice with a community of people who care about helping one another.”

  Now, her messages of empowerment and self-love — and her Grammy-award winning voice — are on Waze to inspire the next generation of advocates.

  Jump in the car with Christina

  Christina takes fans on a journey through her life and work, from her “Genie in a Bottle” beginnings to her breakout as a fierce and liberated woman in “Stripped,” to her current hits like “Pa Mis Muchachas,” that draw from her Latin roots. Plus, she’ll share some advice she’s learned along the way — in both English and Spanish.

  To get the full Xtina experience, choose from one of four Moods — Magical, Feisty, Sweet, or Strong — and drive in style in the Dirrty Bike or Pinkup Truck. You’ll be ready to take on whatever obstacles come your way, from potholes to traffic jams.

  Sing your heart out to Christina’s favorites

  In honor of International Women’s Day, Christina has also curated a Spotify playlist that you can stream through the Waze Audio Player (the caris one of Christina’s favorite places to sing). The playlist is full of powerhouse women, including up-and-coming artists who are inspiring Christina today, and selections from her own library of belt-it-out hits.

  The experience on Waze launched March 1 and is available for a limited time with voice navigation in English and Spanish. Visit Waze or tap “My Waze” in your app and find the “Drive with Christina Aguilera” banner. And don’t forget to start streaming the Spotify playlist.

  
  
  https://blog.google/waze/drive-christina-aguilera-march/