Google Cloud Platform News

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  Asian community and culture in focus
  • sorangutan  

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  The strength and resilience of the Asian community has been remarkable — especially in response to the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes over the past few years. In the U.S. alone, they rose 339% in 2021, according to a report by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. But through this adversity, coupled with all of life’s other stresses, the Asian community has shone brighter than ever. As an Asian American, I’m proud of how our community has come together while also uplifting others along the way. Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) — and all year long for that matter — is a chance to celebrate this spirit, and that’s why it’s so important for Google to show up to support the Asian community.

  In my role as VP of Engineering for Google Search, I spend a lot of time thinking about how to organize and understand the information that people want and need. Through Google’s services and tools, we have an incredible opportunity to share relevant information with our users on important topics like cultural identity and history.

  One great example, in honor of APAHM, the Google Assistant team has curated a collection of facts and quotes about notable people and achievements in Asian history. Just by saying, “Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month” to your Google Assistant, you can learn something new every day throughout the month of May.

  Join me in celebrating APAHM and exploring some of the talented members of our community that Google is featuring this month.

  Recognizing Asian culture through art and music

  Throughout May, products across Google will spotlight Asian creators and heritage, showcasing the creativity and influence of these artists, musicians and entertainers on modern culture. For instance, Google Arts & Culture is launching a new iteration of its Asian Pacific American Culture Hub with a focus on community, intersectionality and inclusion. Features will range from new stories celebrating Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders' (AAPI) joy, to inspiring contemporary artists and storytellers, to a fresh group of seven new partners who amplify voices and create space for togetherness. Organizations include the Asian American Arts Alliance, Welcome to Chinatown, Asian American Writers’ Workshop, Kearny Street Workshop, Asian Arts Initiative, San José Museum of Art and the Japanese American National Museum.

  And for all the Pixel users out there, you can now carry a piece of art on your phone by downloading a new wallpaper created by visual artist Sarula Bao in the Curated Culture collection. Bao’s wallpapers illustrate the importance of community through sharing culture and celebrating one another, including a special Year of the Tiger wallpaper, all available in your wallpaper & style settings.

  • An illustration of a community of people represented together through shared windows.

    In Community - By sharing our culture across our vastly diverse community, we connect and celebrate together. Illustrated by Sarula Bao.

  • An illustration of four women uplifting and supporting each other.

    In Solidarity - In difficult times, we look to each other and offer one another aid, support and protection. Illustrated by Sarula Bao.

  • An illustration of a tiger with the sky and clouds as the background.

    In Strength - King of all beasts, the tiger represents our bravery. Illustrated by Sarula Bao.

  Over at YouTube Music, we will be spotlighting playlists featuring Asian American and Asian diasporic artists, such as keshi, Rina Sawayama, P-Lo, Lyn Lapid and Eric Nam. YouTube Music will also celebrate Asian+ artists on social channels and on billboards in select US markets.

  And onGoogle TV, we’ll feature TV and movie recommendations throughout the month ranging from Asian Pride in Hollywood and Stop Asian Hate Collections to content featuring K-Dramas, Martial Arts, Bollywood, Anime and more.

  Amplifying Asian history through continued learning

  This year, people searched for "Asian representation" more times than ever worldwide. Search interest in “Asian cuisine” also reached a record high this year in the U.S. So to kick off the month, you’ll see a little surprise if you look up “APAHM” or other related terms in Google Search. Later this month, there will be a special Doodle celebrating a pioneer of the Asian community — keep an eye on about.google, where you can also learn about AAPI history through art collections, videos with notable members of the community, Google Doodles and more.

  And as interest in Asian culture and representation continues to grow, Google is partnering with Gold House for the second year in a row on their annual A100 List — the definitive honor recognizing the 100 most impactful Asians and Pacific Islanders in American culture over the last year. We will be amplifying voices of the A100 honorees throughout the month of May.

  Uplifting Asian businesses everywhere

  Google is committed to helping small business owners by providing them with resources and tools to help reach new customers and show their products across Google. For example, Mother-in-Law’s Kimchi — a small business owned by Lauryn Chun that seeks to celebrate the legacy of her mother’s cooking and share a delicious, authentic, handcrafted small-batch kimchi — used Google Ads and Google Shopping free listings to grow her sales by 128%, going from nine jars to over a million sold nationwide — delivering her kimchi to kitchens all across the country. To discover more tools that help small businesses, like Mother-in-Law’s Kimchi, visit g.co/smallbusiness.

  10:25

  Lauryn Chun, owner of Mother-in-Law’s Kimchi, talks about how she used Google tools to grow her small business.

  At Google, we must take these opportunities to meaningfully celebrate, uplift and appreciate Asian culture and the people across our community who are doing trailblazing work. And while there is always more work to be done, APAHM gives us the opportunity to celebrate the vast identities that make up the Asian community and recognize our talents, influence and resilience of our community together.

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/diversity/asian-community-and-culture-in-focus/
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  Lifting up educators this Teacher Appreciation Week
  • sorangutan  

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  Read this post in Spanish. // Blog en español aquí.

  Editor’s note: Kurt Russell, a history teacher from Oberlin High School in Ohio, was recently named the 2022 National Teacher of the Year. In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, he’s sharing more about his story, the importance of the teaching community and some ways Google is showing up for educators.

  Teachers have the ability to change lives. Ms. Francine Toss and Mr. Larry Thomas changed mine by pouring knowledge, confidence, self-worth, patience and love into me during my elementary and middle school years. And I know countless teachers across the country are doing the same for their own students every day. I’m honored to represent them as this year’s National Teacher of the Year.

  But let’s be honest, teaching is not easy. At times, it can be frustrating. We can feel invisible and unappreciated. We constantly struggle to meet our students’ varied needs, often with limited resources. But my fellow teachers motivate me to meet these challenges. This is a community that provides unwavering support and demonstrates resilience, professional excellence and inspiration — not just for our students, but also for each other.

  For nearly ten years, Google has been a sponsor of the Council of Chief State School Officers’ National Teacher of the Year program as part of their ongoing support for educators worldwide. I’m thankful for the ways Google is showing up today, and every day, to lift up the teaching community.

  Mr. Thomas — the first teacher I had who was a Black man — inspired me to become an educator. I saw myself in him and in the curriculum he taught. And because of his example, I’ve continued the important work of emphasizing cultural relevance and diverse representation in my own teaching. For this reason, I’m glad to see Google team up again with The Conscious Kid to donate another round of inclusive books to 1,000 more Title I elementary schools across the country — building on their inclusive reading guide and the cultural learning section on Google for Education’s Teacher Center. Representation matters throughout an entire educational experience, and I’m proof of the difference it can make in someone’s life.

  This year, the National Teacher of the Year program and Google for Education are also offering a $5,000 award to each State Teacher of the Year in appreciation and admiration of the incredible work they do.

  If there’s a special teacher making a difference in your life, like Ms. Toss and Mr. Thomas did for me, consider nominating them as next year’s State Teacher of the Year. Whether you’re a student, parent or fellow educator, this is a great way to let someone know they’ve made an impact on you.

  During this week when we celebrate the teaching profession and teachers who have made a difference, I hope my fellow educators feel valued and cherished. Because to me, and to so many others, you truly are.

  

  The 2022 State Teachers of the Year at the White House, meeting President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden. Photo credit: Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz.

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/education/celebrating-teacher-appreciation-week-2022-en/
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  Reconociendo a los educadores en esta Semana de Apreciación al Maestro
  • sorangutan  

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  Read this post in English. // Blog en inglésaquí.

  Nota del Editor: Kurt Russell, la historia de un maestro de Oberlin High School en Ohio, fue nombrado recientemente como Maestro Nacional del Año 2022. En honor a la semana de Apreciación al Maestro , él nos comparte más de su historia, la importancia de la comunidad educativa y algunas formas en las que Google reconoce a los educadores.

  Los maestros tienen la habilidad de transformar vidas. La señorita Francine Toss y el Señor Larry Thomas cambiaron la mía al compartir conmigo conocimiento, confianza, autovaloración, paciencia y amor durante los años de la escuela primaria y secundaria. Y yo sé que hay una cantidad incontable de profesores, en todo el país, que hacen esto mismo con sus alumnos cada día. Me siento honrado de representarlos al ser nombrado como Maestro Nacional del Año.

  Pero seamos honestos, enseñar no es sencillo. Hay momentos en los que puede ser frustrante. Nos podemos llegar a sentir invisibles y poco valorados. Suele ser un desafío poder satisfacer las múltiples necesidades de nuestros alumnos, teniendo muchas veces recursos limitados. Pero mis queridos profesores me motivaron a enfrentar estos desafíos. Esta es una comunidad que proveé un apoyo inquebrantable y muestra resiliencia, excelencia profesional e inspiración - no solo para los estudiantes, sino también entre nosotros.

  Por casi 10 años, Google ha sido un patrocinador del programa de Maestro del Año del Consejo de Jefes Estatales de Oficiales de las Escuelas como parte de su apoyo constante a los educadores alrededor del mundo. Estoy muy agradecido por las maneras en las que Google se muestra en la actualidad, y cada día, para engrandecer a la comunidad educativa.

  El señor Thomas - mi primer profesor que era un hombre de color - me inspiró a convertirme en educador. Me vi a mí mismo en él y en la materia que impartía. Y es por este ejemplo, que continué con la importante labor de enfatizar la relevancia cultural y la representación de la diversidad en mi propia enseñanza. Por esta razón, me complace ver que Google hizo equipo nuevamente con El Niño Consciente para donar otra cantidad de libros inclusivos, 1,000 más Títulos I de escuela primaria por todo el país - construir suguía de lectura inclusiva y la sección de aulas cultural del Centro de Profesores de Google for Education. La representación es importante en toda la experiencia educativa, y yo soy la prueba de la diferencia que puede hacer en la vida de alguien más.

  Este año, el programa de Maestro Nacional del Año y Google for Education están ofreciendo un premio de $5,000 para cada Maestro Estatal del Año como reconocimiento y admiración por la increíble labor que hacen.

  Si hay algún maestro que esté haciendo una diferencia en tu vida, como la Señorita Toss y el Señor Thomas lo hicieron por la mía, considera nominarlos como próximo Maestro Estatal del Año. Ya sea que tu seas su estudiante, padre o compañero educador, esta es una excelente manera de hacerle saber a alguien que han hecho un impacto en ti.

  Durante esta semana en la que celebramos la profesión de enseñar y a los maestros que han hecho una diferencia, espero que mis compañeros educadores se sientan valorados y apreciados. Porque para mí, y para muchos otros, en verdad lo son.

  

  Los Maestros Estatales del Año en la Casa Blanca, conociendo El Presidente Joe Biden y la Primera Dama Dr. Jill Biden. Credito de foto: Foto oficial de la Casa Blanca por Adam Schultz.

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/education/celebrating-teacher-appreciation-week-2022-es/
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  An update on our work to counter extremism in Singapore
  • sorangutan  

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  For an example of a harmonious, multicultural society, look no further than Singapore, where people of different ethnicities, religious backgrounds, and who speak varying languages live and work together peacefully. It’s a remarkable achievement — one of Singapore’s great strengths as a global hub for trade, travel and technology. It’s also something that all of us in Singapore have to work hard to preserve.

  At Google, and YouTube, we’re committed to doing everything we can to promote and celebrate Singapore’s diversity — and to protect it from threats. Today, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, we’re kicking off a series of workshops developed with Ministry of Funny. The aim is to help creators from local interfaith groups and religious organizations start meaningful discussions on issues of online extremism and hate, while fostering awareness, tolerance and empathy.

  Participants in the workshops will learn the basics of video production, content strategy, and data analytics, as well as how to sustain an audience on YouTube. Select organizations will receive additional support in the form of grants and mentoring by four YouTube creators: Our Grandfather Story, The Daily Ketchup Podcast, itsclarityco and Overthink.

  By amplifying positive voices and constructive dialogue, we believe we can help counter the impact of online extremism — building on the steps we’re already taking.

  Taking strong actions against extremism

  Over recent years, YouTube has made deep investments in machine learning to enable better detection and faster removal of harmful content that breaches its guidelines. Since 2019, YouTube has removed more than 2.6 million videos for violating its policies around violent extremism — as well as reducing the spread of content that comes close to violating these policies but doesn’t cross the line. YouTube is also holding itself to high standards of accountability, through a dedicated violent extremism section in the YouTube Community Guidelines Enforcement Report.

  Across all Google products, we have long standing policies that prohibit harmful content, including incitement to violence and hate speech. We’re working closely with other major technology companies, through coalitions like the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism. And we’re focused on developing other technology-based solutions. For example, teams at Jigsaw have developed the Redirect Method, an open-source program which uses targeted ads and videos uploaded by people around the world to confront online radicalization.

  We’re looking forward to expanding on these efforts in collaboration with the Singapore Government, Ministry of Funny, and other leaders in the YouTube ecosystem. We see first hand the positive impact creators make all over the world every day, and with the right support, we know they can be powerful voices for tolerance and inclusion in Singapore’s diverse communities.

  
  
  https://blog.google/around-the-globe/google-asia/counter-extremism-singapore/
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  Road tripping on Route 66
  • sorangutan  

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  Ninety-six years ago on April 30th, one of the original highways in the U.S. Highway System was assigned its numerical designation of 66, creating what we know today as Route 66. But to say Route 66 is just a highway is a grave understatement. After all, it is the most-searched U.S. highway of all time.

  One of the perks of working as a Doodler (I promise, it’s a real job) was getting to drive the 2,448-mile journey from Chicago to Los Angeles in my ‘72 Chevelle. I got to experience this captivating road trip firsthand, to create a Doodle celebrating Route 66.

  This Doodle, which is essentially an animated sketchbook of various historic spots along the route, is the product of more than 100 paintings and sketches I created from the side of the road and countless U-turns. I remember being utterly lost one day, driving further and further down an old dirt road, when I finally saw an old man sitting on a lawn mower. “Is this Route 66?” I enquired. “Boy, this isn’t even Route 6!” he responded. Even the dead ends were interesting.

  • Photo of Matthew at the start of Route 66 in Chicago.

    The journey begins!

  • Photo of Matthew at Cadillac Ranch in Texas

    Cadillac Ranch, Texas.

  • Photo of Matthew at the end of Route 66 in Santa Monica.

    2,448 miles later- The end!

  If this Doodle has you feeling inspired to take a trip across Route 66, we also caught up with a member of Google Maps’ Local Guides community who has some tips of his own to help you hit the road and explore.

  Local tips from a Local Guide

  Rhys Martin is a Level 6 Local Guide from Tulsa, Oklahoma who also serves as the President of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association. Having driven all 2,400 miles of the existing route, Rhys is passionate about adding photos and reviews to Google Maps that help raise awareness for the variety of experiences — from big cities and rural communities, to farmland, mountains, deserts, mom-and-pop motels and kitschy roadside attractions — a road trip down the historic highway provides. We asked him to share his best tips, tricks and recommendations to discover and experience his favorite spots along the route.

  • Discover local businesses along the route: By searching for something like “U.S Route 66 Restaurants” on Google Maps you can virtually explore restaurants or other businesses across all eight states along the route. This way, you can familiarize yourself with attractions, view how much certain restaurants cost, read reviews and even see popular menu items to help you choose places you want to visit.
  • Plan your road trip with Lists in Google Maps: Once you discover the places you’re interested in visiting, save them to a list that can serve as an itinerary so you can support local businesses — and help preserve history – along the route. You can even share your list with others, or make them collaborative so you can plan together!
  • A picture is worth a thousand words: Photographing the details of a place — like the decades-old neon signage or the original menus hanging behind the counter — and sharing them through reviews on Google Maps helps capture the essence of an establishment and helps others discover places they want to visit.

  While Oklahoma has the most drivable miles of Route 66, Rhys says there’s so much to see in all eight states along the route. If you’re itching to plan the perfect summer road trip, check out a list of his must-see spots across Route 66 from Illinois to California.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/search/road-tripping-on-route-66/
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  Ease back into your office routine with Google
  • sorangutan  

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  As many people start returning to the office, we know there’s a lot to (re)figure out — like what to wear on the first day back, how long your commute will take and how to stay productive. So we’re sharing some tips for getting back into the office groove with a little help from Google products.

  Rebuild a routine

  Google Assistant Routines can help you automate tasks so you have less to do and think about before you head to work. Just say "Hey Google, good morning" and your Assistant can share news, weather or traffic updates, tell you what’s on your calendar, and even get your smart coffee maker started on your morning brew. You can create a Routine based on a specific schedule or when the sun rises or sets every day.

  Commute with confidence

  Whether you usually hop on public transit, get behind the wheel or hit the pavement, your commute may have changed since the pandemic — or, like me, you might have just forgotten how long it takes. Check Google Maps to find the ideal time to commute and the greenest route for an eco-friendlier way to get to work.

  Trying to get to the office by a certain time? Set the time you’re departing or want to arrive by to see how long it’ll take you to get to your destination (and to avoid getting stuck in traffic). The “Leave on Time” feature in Google Assistant Routines can also remind you when to leave, giving you the extra nudge to head out the door.

  Find your new food spot

  Once you get there, Google Maps can help you find the best (and most efficient) lunch options near your office.

  Use Maps’ popular times and live busyness information to see when restaurants are most crowded and which spots are likely to seat you immediately. To save even more time, you can also scan popular dishes and photos on the restaurant’s Business Profile in advance.

  If you’re getting takeout, no need to miss a meeting waiting around for your delivery in your office lobby or at the restaurant. Live takeout and delivery status information lets you see the expected wait time, delivery fee and status of your order right from the Maps app — so you can make the most of your workday.

  

  Style comfortably

  Heading back to the office but not ready to dust off your work clothes? You’re not alone. In fact, “how to style sweatpants” and “work-appropriate leggings” have both been trending on Google.

  Search on Google Shopping and filter by style, like joggers or leggings, to find your own office-ready sweats. Pair that with “comfortable shoes for work,” currently the most-searched shoe query, and you’ll find the perfect blend of your work-from-home and office styles.

  Meanwhile, this season’s hottest work accessories are right at your fingertips. Nails are in the top-five fashion searches for back-to-the-office shopping. Check out the manicure options yourself on Google Shopping.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/maps/ease-back-into-your-office-routine-with-google/
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  Visualizing Google Cloud with 101 illustrated references
  • sorangutan  

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  Let’s say you make cat posters, and you want to sell them online. You can create a website, but you need to host it online so people can access it. A server hosts the code that lets customers select which cat poster they want, and then buy it. Another server hosts the database of your inventory, which tells you which posters are available to purchase, and it also hosts the image files to show customers pictures of the posters.

  Now imagine your posters go viral online, and are incredibly popular. Everyone is interested in going to your website — and that means you need more servers to keep your website up and running. And that server can’t be on your computer, because imagine what happens if you have a power outage, or your computer crashes?

  That’s where the cloud comes in — hosting your website on the cloud lets you just focus on the cat posters. But for someone who’s not an engineer, this stuff can get confusing.

  I’m a senior developer advocate at Google Cloud, and I’m also an artist. As part of my job at Google, I constantly learn new things and find new ways to share that information with other developers in the community. I’ve learned the power of visual storytelling from my art, and I recently decided to pair up my two skill sets to help explain exactly what the cloud is in a new book, “Visualizing Google Cloud.”

  • Where should I run my app?
  • Which database should I use?
  • Which storage is right for your application?
  • What does Google Cloud Network comprise of?
  • How to build a scalable data analytics pipeline on Google Cloud
  • 6 steps of Data Science
  • Security layers in the cloud

  Though my book, which is available for preorder, is aimed at cloud engineers and architects, there are a few lessons that anyone could find useful. For example: What is Cloud? How does it work? Why do you need storage? What is a database and what are the different types? How do you build apps? How do you analyze data? My goal with this book is to give you a visual learning path to all things cloud. And my goal is also to contribute to a good cause; part of the books’ proceeds go directly to a charity that fights malnutrition and supports the right to education.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/google-cloud/visualizing-google-cloud-with-101-illustrated-references/
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  This YouTuber wants to bring financial literacy to Africans
  • sorangutan  

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  Nicolette Mashile wanted to find a more fulfilling career. So in 2016, she resigned from her job as a Client Service Director at a Johannesburg advertising agency. But quitting meant Nicolette was forced to stick to a stricter budget.

  She began sharing her money-saving tips on YouTube and it wasn’t long before she noticed her advice resonated with African viewers. Eventually, this South African content creator built a significant following for her candid take on money management, and was invited to join the #YouTubeBlackVoices Creator Class of 2021. This in turn helped herFinancial Bunny YouTube channel garner almost 9 million views.

  “I was very frank about money management, how to effectively budget and how to plan your spending. When I saw my YouTube following growing, I knew this personal finance advice was making a real impact and I committed to improving financial literacy in South Africa,” Nicolette says.

  This meant finding creative ways to make financial literacy more inclusive and accessible while also removing the stigma attached to discussing personal finance. Nicolette spun her YouTube success into two books — one for adults titled “What’s Your Move,” and another for children, “Coco the Money Bunny.”

  “When I created the books, I had to develop a new website so it was important to identify our different customer types and implement search engine optimization. I needed to do research to understand the target customers and develop the website to meet their needs and Google Ads was a promotional channel I experimented with,” Nicolette added.

  But it was the launch of her Save or Spend board game and subsequent app that sparked her shift towards technology.

  “I’d successfully leveraged digital media to share financial content, so naturally it made sense to use the power of tech to design an interactive app that could simplify money management in a fun and engaging way,” she says.

  Using gamification helped to take away the seriousness around money while also addressing the lack of financial education in South Africa. In a digital era where most Africans own a smartphone rather than a laptop, Nicolette knew a free app would be an accessible tool to teach people about money. Her app has proven popular due in large part to the massive following she has built online since launching her YouTube channel back in 2017.

  Nicolette’s also grown her business to include consultancy and coaching, and she relies a lot on Google Meets for some of her sessions.

  “My consultancy work with brands and corporate individuals means I use video calling quite often and for this I use Google Meets. I do one-on-one coaching with multiple clients per month and it’s super simple to just send a link and jump on a call because people can log in from anywhere,” she says.

  Ultimately, Nicolette hopes to continue empowering her followers by arming them with the tools and skills they need to better manage their money. “I want to keep encouraging South Africans to have the difficult discussions people often avoid around personal finance.”

  Fifty-eight percent of Africa’s entrepreneurs are women. That’s why we’re empowering them with the platform and tools to grow their businesses. #LookMeUp is a call for all to #BreakTheBias. Find out more here.

  
  
  https://blog.google/around-the-globe/google-africa/this-youtuber-wants-to-bring-financial-literacy-to-africans/
• 

  Women Techmakers expands online safety education
  • sorangutan  

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  Online violence against women goes beyond the internet. It impacts society and the economy at large. It leads to damaging economic repercussions, due to increased medical costs and lost income for victims. It impacts the offline world, with seven percent of women changing jobs due to online violence, and one in ten experiencing physical harm due to online threats, according to Google-supported research conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit in 2020.

  That’s why the Women Techmakers program, which provides visibility, community and resources for women in technology, supports online safety education for women and allies. Google community manager Merve Isler, who lives in Turkey and leads Women Techmakers efforts in Turkey, Central Asia and the Caucasus region, organized the first-ever women’s online safety hackathon in Turkey in 2020, which expanded to a full week of trainings and ideathons in 2021. Google community manager and Women Techmakers manager Hufsa Manawar brought online safety training to Pakistan in early 2022.

  Now, Women Techmakers is providing a more structured way for women around the world to learn about online safety, in the form of a free online learning module, launched in April 2022, in honor of International Women’s Day. To create this module, I worked with my co-host Alana Fromm from Jigsaw and our teams to create a series of videos covering different topics related to women’s online safety. Jigsaw is a unit within Google that explores threats to open society and builds technological solutions.

  In the online training, we begin by defining online violence and walking through the ways negative actors threaten women online, which include misinformation and defamation, cyberharassment and hate speech. Regardless of the tactic, the goal remains the same: to threaten and harass women into silence. We break down the groups of people involved in online harassment and the importance of surrounding oneself with allies.

  In one of the videos in the series, Women Techmakers Ambassador Esrae Abdelnaby Hassan shares her story of online abuse. She was exploring learning cybersecurity when a mentor she trusted gave her USB drives with courses and reading material that were infected with viruses and allowed him to take control of her computer and record videos. Then, he blackmailed her, using the videos he’d taken as threats. She felt afraid and isolated, and relied on her family for support as she addressed the harassment.

  The learning module provides two codelabs, one on steps you can take to protect yourself online, and one on Perspective API, a free, open-source product built by Jigsaw and the Counter Abuse security team at Google. The first codelab provides practical guidance, and the second codelab walks viewers through the process of installing Perspective API, which uses machine learning to identify toxic comments.

  We look forward to seeing the impact of our new, easy-to-access online training, as well as what our ambassadors are able to accomplish offline as the year progresses.

  
  
  https://blog.google/technology/safety-security/women-techmakers-expands-online-safety-education/
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  Coming together to protect the global internet
  • sorangutan  

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  The global internet began with an incredible promise: a shared resource that everyone could access wherever they lived. Over the last few years, this ideal has been strained to the breaking point as governments around the world have adopted conflicting regulations that are fragmenting the internet to the detriment of people everywhere.

  That’s why it’s great to see countries coming together today to launch the Declaration for the Future of the Internet (DFI). Through this effort, allies across the public and private sectors will work together to protect the importance of the global web, including by opposing shutdowns and other “efforts to splinter the global Internet.”

  Digital fragmentation impacts everyone using the internet. As conflicting regulations proliferate, people’s access to content, privacy protections, and freedom to transact and communicate increasingly vary depending on where they are located. Digital fragmentation has become a significant barrier to international trade, with a particularly pernicious effect on small businesses, which lack the resources to navigate an array of conflicting rules. And it discriminates against smaller, developing countries, as new products become harder to launch and scale on a fragmented Internet to all markets.

  The DFI provides a path to address the most urgent threats to the global internet. In particular, we’re seeing a number of governments take actions to crack down on the free flow of information and ideas, increase government surveillance, and restrict access to cross-border internet services under the banner of “cyber-sovereignty.”

  The DFI joins the EU-US Trade & Tech Council and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework as important fora where like-minded partners can join together to address cross-border challenges. We hope this work will be grounded in a few key principles:

  • First, governments should strive to agree on common standards to guide the development of new rules for digital technologies, so that consumers have consistent protections across borders and access to digital tools.
  • Second, governments should strive to increase interoperability between national digital rules, as we’ve seen with the US-EU Data Privacy Framework.
  • Third, governments should commit to intergovernmental regulatory dialogue to ensure that new rules strengthen shared values.
  • And fourth, governments should abide by core open trade principles like non-discriminatory approaches to regulation that don’t single out foreign companies.

  The private sector also plays an important role in maintaining the global internet. That’s especially true in times of crisis, as security teams work to disrupt disinformation campaigns, cyber attacks and other online threats. Since Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, our teams have been working around the clock to support people in Ukraine through our products, defend against cybersecurity threats, and surface high-quality, reliable information. We are committed to partnering with governments and civil society through the Declaration to disrupt disinformation campaigns and foreign malign activity, while ensuring people around the world are able to access trustworthy information.

  Ultimately, the cross-border availability of secure technologies and digital services – coupled with forward-looking decisions by governments – can protect access to information everywhere and ensure that the enormous benefits resulting from the global internet are not lost. We stand ready to support the DFI’s mission to promote an open, secure, and reliable internet for all.

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/public-policy/coming-together-to-protect-the-global-internet/
• 

  Reforming the patent system to support American innovation
  • sorangutan  

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  Over the years, Google has worked to ensure that the United States patent system continued to spur new inventions and technologies. A healthy patent system incentivizes and rewards the most original and creative inventors — while helping others build on existing ideas and avoiding frivolous litigation. Supporting that balanced approach, we were one of the first companies to pledge not to sue any user, distributor, or developer of open-source software on specified patents, unless first attacked. We helped found the License on Transfer (LOT) Network, which shields its members from being sued over patents that other members have sold to patent trolls. And we worked in collaboration with others to create a repository of hard-to-find “prior art” documents to improve the patenting process, resulting in higher quality patents.

  We have also invested heavily in patenting our engineers’ inventions in advanced technologies. Our tens of thousands of engineers have authored over 42,000 home-grown patents and we have licensed hundreds of thousands more at fair value. We are proud of our patented innovations like the ability to predict traffic or extend battery life. And we have sold hundreds of patents to smaller companies interested in bolstering their own portfolios.

  But we are concerned that America’s patent system is increasingly failing to promote the cause of innovation and progress. The quality of patents issued in the U.S is declining. And, after a few years where earlier reforms reduced abusive patent litigation, it’s back with force, with 46% more lawsuits in 2021 than in 2018. Patent trolls and opportunistic companies have begun to weaponize patents against their rivals, hindering both competition and innovation, and ultimately harming the quality of new products. America’s prized “culture of innovation” is being undermined by a “culture of litigation.”

  Reversing the rising tide of wasteful patent litigation

  Aggressive litigants waste valuable court resources unsuccessfully trying to stretch patents beyond recognition. And prolific patent trolls wage litigation shakedown campaigns with low-quality patents that are later found to be invalid, wasting time and resources that could have been spent on developing new products.

  Google is a resourceful company with a strong record of fighting overreaching patent claims, and we can defend our users and products. But many smaller companies, especially those producing nascent technologies, cannot afford the risk and expense of these lawsuits, which raise costs for consumers and stifle companies’ ability to bring products to market. That is why we are calling for more support for the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), reforms to how the judicial system handles patent claims, and Congressional changes to address patent abuse.

  Investing in the Patent Office

  Each year, the PTO approves more than half of the more than 600,000 patent applications it receives, working to balance incentives for investment and freedom to innovate. Evaluating those applications is a monumental task and in recent years the agency has not had the tools it needs to do its job right. Technology can help, and the PTO is working on AI solutions to streamline the process. But its hard-working employees remain under-resourced to keep up with advancing technology. This results in invalid patents getting issued to inventors, which undermines their ability to protect technology confidently. Others face the cost and hassle of defending infringement claims against patents that should never have been granted in the first place. This isn’t fair for anyone except patent trolls.

  Ending forum shopping

  There are 677 federal district court judgeships in the United States. But many companies suing over patent claims are gaming the system. This forum shopping has gotten so out of hand that almost 25% of all US patent litigation is now being filed in a single courthouse. After a bipartisan request for action, Chief Justice John Roberts has committed to investigate the issue and push to restore the integrity of the judicial process.

  Restoring Inter Partes Review

  On top of all this, changes to PTO rules have weakened Inter Partes Review (IPR), the program that Congress created to help companies cost-effectively invalidate low-quality patents. Congress carefully constructed the IPR program to provide expert review of the small subset of patents with the greatest impact on our economy. But new PTO policies make it harder to use IPRs to invalidate patents in a cost-effective and streamlined way.

  Preserving America’s culture of innovation

  A series of steps would improve the current system, benefiting both innovation and consumers:

  • At the United States Patent and Trademark Office, a new director is now at the helm, with a clear mandate to improve patent quality as set out in the Commerce Department’s Strategic Plan. To do so, the Office should work to ensure that the agency’s process for reviewing an application for a patent is robust, and that patents that shouldn’t have been granted can be promptly, efficiently, and effectively challenged. Of course, that will require giving the PTO the resources it needs. The PTO is funded by fees paid by patent applicants, and we support increasing fees for the largest patent filers, including Google. With the confirmation of PTO Director Kathi Vidal, this important work can finally begin.
  • In the judiciary, the Supreme Court’s year-end report on the federal judiciary made the issue of forum shopping one of three topics of focus for 2022. As the review requested by the Chief Justice moves forward, we hope it urgently addresses the judicial imbalances caused by abusive forum shopping.
  • Finally, before Congress, there is pending, bipartisan legislation that would help reduce abusive patent litigation. We are supportive of the goals of this bill, which would restore access to the Inter Partes Review program and increase transparency and accountability. It makes clear that the PTO is the most effective forum for reviewing patent validity, giving the Office the opportunity to double-check its own work in an efficient, expert, and cost-effective way. We and a broad cross-section of supporters rallied behind this program back in 2011 when it was enacted as part of the America Invents Act with resounding bipartisan support, and it’s time to live up to its original purpose.

  With changes like these, we are optimistic that the patent system can get back to what it is intended to do: preserve the U.S. culture of innovation, advance the development of new technology, and reward entrepreneurs who are building new products that benefit American consumers and people around the world.

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/public-policy/reforming-the-patent-system-to-support-american-innovation/
• 

  Girlguiding and Google: technology is for everyone
  • sorangutan  

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  Technology has always been a huge part of my life. Growing up in the nineties and early noughties, I can’t remember a time without it. From chunky flip phones and CDs, to newer, sleeker gadgets with all sorts of capabilities, technology has changed rapidly and remarkably in my lifetime alone.

  But, despite growing up around tech, I — like lots of my female peers — never really felt I could be involved in creating it. This needs to change. Technology can be made by anyone, and is for everyone. We need to make sure that girls and young women have the opportunity to pursue an interest in STEM subjects.

  That’s why, as a Ranger and Young Leader within Girlguiding, I’m really excited about Girlguiding’s newly expanded programme with Google which will give nearly 400,000 Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers more opportunities to learn digital skills for their future.

  Girls feel STEM is not for them

  To encourage more girls and young women to pursue STEM subjects, we need to change attitudes from a very young age. Girlguiding’s Girls’ Attitudes Survey, found in 2021 that 52% of girls aged 11-21 saw STEM subjects as “for boys”. Girls of this age are at a stage where they’re making choices about their future, but sadly, preconceived perceptions are impacting their aspirations.

  A third (34%) aged 7 to 21 feel there’s a lack of women role models in STEM. One in five (19%) aged 7 to 10 say girls who are interested in STEM subjects are teased. 27% of girls aged 11 to 21 believe teachers and career advisors often encourage girls to do different subjects to boys.

  These numbers really highlight the need for groups like Girlguiding to work with organizations like Google to change this and enable more young people to feel empowered to pursue their interests.

  • A picture of Girlguiding groups and Google engineers.

    All four of Girlguiding's sections (age groups) and Google's engineers holding the partnership's digital skills badge.

  • Picture of a Rainbow raising her hand while taking part in the co-created activities.

    A Rainbow raises her hand while taking part in the co-created activities.

  • A picture of a Ranger taking part in pixel art at Google's offices

    A Ranger takes part in pixel art at Google's offices.

  Digital discovery badges

  Google and Girlguiding first launched the Google Digital Adventure for Brownies and Digital design badge for Rangers in 2018. More than 15,000 girls have already taken part.

  Now, we’re expanding our partnership to give more girls and young women opportunities to learn about concepts like coding and algorithms, with new activities co-created by Google’s women engineers.

  The new activities include Happy appy for Rainbows to learn about app designs; Brownie bots to teach Brownies how to write code and fix bugs; Chattermatter to teach Guides about chatbots, and Build-a-phone, which aims to teach Rangers the basic principles of phone design.

  The new activities will form part of Girlguiding’s national programme within the Skills for my Future theme. These span all four Girlguiding sections (age groups) and have been created to be completed offline to ensure they are accessible to all girls.

  An exciting future for all girls

  Our goal — to make sure the next generation of girls and young women are encouraged to pursue STEM subjects — may not happen overnight. But thanks to the Girlguiding and Google partnership, nearly 400,000 girls like me in the UK will get new opportunities to learn the essential skills they need to break through stereotypes and become tech pioneers.

  In years to come, I hope to see the Rainbows or Brownies of today on the front cover of a newspaper showing off their incredible discoveries and inventions. Alongside Google, Girlguiding is working to help build a future where more girls and young women feel empowered to help change the world!

  Want to find out more? Read all about the new Google and Girlguiding partnership at www.girlguiding.org.uk.

  
  
  https://blog.google/around-the-globe/google-europe/united-kingdom/girlguiding-and-google-technology-is-for-everyone/
• 

  New options for removing your personally-identifiable information from Search
  • sorangutan  

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  Privacy and online safety go hand in hand. And when you’re using the internet, it’s important to have control over how your sensitive, personally identifiable information can be found.

  On Google Search, we already have a set of policies that allow people to request the removal of certain content from Search, with a focus on highly personal content that, if public, can cause direct harm to people. But the internet is always evolving – with information popping up in unexpected places and being used in new ways — so our policies and protections need to evolve, too.

  Open access to information is a key goal of Search, but so is empowering people with the tools they need to protect themselves and keep their sensitive, personally identifiable information private. That’s why we’re updating our policies to help people take more control of their online presence in Search.

  Request the removal of personally identifiable information that appears in Google Search

  For many years, people have been able to request the removal of certain sensitive, personally identifiable information from Search — for example, in cases of doxxing, or information like bank account or credit card numbers that could be used for financial fraud.

  Under this new policy expansion, people can now request removals of additional types of information when they find it in Search results, including personal contact information like a phone number, email address, or physical address. The policy also allows for the removal of additional information that may pose a risk for identity theft, such as confidential log-in credentials, when it appears in Search results.

  The availability of personal contact information online can be jarring — and it can be used in harmful ways, including for unwanted direct contact or even physical harm. And people have given us feedback that they would like the ability to remove this type of information from Search in some cases.

  When we receive removal requests, we will evaluate all content on the web page to ensure that we're not limiting the availability of other information that is broadly useful, for instance in news articles. We'll also evaluate if the content appears as part of the public record on the sites of government or official sources. In such cases, we won't make removals.

  It’s important to remember that removing content from Google Search won’t remove it from the internet, which is why you may wish to contact the hosting site directly, if you're comfortable doing so.

  We’re always looking for new ways to ensure our policies and built-in safeguards reflect peoples’ evolving needs and are easy to use. For example, in addition to this update, we recently rolled out a new policy to enable people under the age of 18 (or their parent or guardian) to request the removal of their images from Google Search results.

  Maximizing access to information while empowering people to be in control of their sensitive, personally identifiable information is a critical balance to strike. We believe these updates are an important step to deliver on that goal and give people the tools they need to protect their safety and privacy online.

  To learn more about how you can make use of this expanded policy, visit our help page.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/search/new-options-for-removing-your-personally-identifiable-information-from-search/
• 

  Take a bite out of these scrappy recipes from Google chefs
  • sorangutan  

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  There’s been an uptick in home-cooked meals in my life over the past couple of years. (Quarantine cooking, anyone?) As my cooking increased, so did the food scraps. And while using my trusty compost bin has kept most of my unused food from heading to the landfill, I’ve made it a goal to get more scrappy with my cooking to cut back on food waste.

  Finding creative ways to reduce food waste is something that teams at Google have been thinking about for years — especially with its recent pledges to cut food waste in half for each Googler and send zero food waste to the landfill by 2025. If they can figure out how to work with suppliers, chefs and Googlers to reduce food waste across offices in 170 cities — surely they could help me do the same in my kitchen. So for Stop Food Waste Day, I chatted with the chef behind Google’s food program, Michael Kann, to hear what Google is doing to cut back on food waste and learn tricks the rest of us can adopt at home — including scrappy recipes straight from Google’s kitchens!

  Before you joined Google as the Global Culinary Strategy & Development Lead, your career spanned everything from working as a chef and training chefs to feeding entire student bodies at universities and airline passengers at cruising altitude. How have you thought about food waste in all these roles?

  Food waste is a top focus for chefs — whether it’s because of the cost of goods or the environmental impact — and it’s something we take personally. There are techniques that culinary professionals use to reduce food waste no matter how many people they’re cooking for — everything from using as much of the product as possible during prep to coming up with inventive recipes that make the most of ingredients.

  At Google, my focus is on infusing these strategies across our cafes and suppliers. My team and I also look at how technology — like Leanpath which helps chefs track what food is going to waste — can help our cafes reduce food waste.

  For the home chefs, what tricks and tips can minimize our personal food waste?

  Careful planning, prep and organization are the most important steps in reducing waste at home.

  Plan out what you are making for the week so you buy only the ingredients you need, and leave days open for leftovers. When it comes to prepping the food, consider how you can do so in a way that maximizes how much of the piece of produce you use. For example, people often cut the entire top off a tomato instead of coring it. If you core it first, you can use the slices for dishes like sandwiches, and the rounded ends can be diced and made into something like salsa.

  Get organized with how you store leftovers and new groceries. The first-in, first-out (FIFO) organization system used in most professional kitchens works great at home. First, label or mentally keep track of leftovers and find the expiration date on groceries. Then keep the items that expire first in front, so you’re more likely to grab them and use them.

  Now for the tasty part, what are your favorite recipes that feature commonly scrapped foods as ingredients?

  Stocks, stocks, and more stocks. Making vegetable stock is a great use of what might otherwise be wasted — like carrots nubs or celery ends. But never use the skins of carrots or onions — it will make your stock bitter.

  Broccoli florets are a highly desired vegetable — when I worked at a university it was the most eaten vegetable. But it’s important to plan the menu for the rest of the plant that’s often forgotten: the broccoli stalk. A broccoli soup is a go-to standard, but I also enjoy a great broccoli slaw. This Broccoli Stalk Salad recipe — from Dana Gunders, a national expert and strategic advisor for food waste reduction and author of Waste Free Kitchen Handbook — makes a tasty slaw simply from shredding broccoli stems and carrots. You can also check out her Talks@Google for a kitchen demo and more tips.

  On the more creative side, you can pickle things you'd typically toss — like cantaloupe rinds. Just cut them into strips, pickle them, and add them as a fun accouterment to any meal.

  Vegetable Stock

  ---

  Makes 1 gallon

  Uses up: Leek tops, celery ends, herb stems, onion bits, ends of zucchini or summer squash

  Using vegetable trims in stock is a great way to capture every last bit of goodness from the food you’ve brought into your home. With that said, some things make a stock bitter, sulfuric or just down right bad. So while I recommend using the trim of vegetables, it’s not the same as just throwing everything in the pot.

  ---

  Key things to think about

  • You can freeze your trimmings to build up enough for a batch of stock. Freezing makes the texture mushy, but traps the nutrients which is what you really want.
  • Avoid peels, especially onions and carrots. The peel is a protective barrier for the plant and is often bitter. Adding these to your stock will intensify the bitterness.
  • Be careful with cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbages, etc.). Adding some may give a flavor you desire, but too many can be overwhelming. Note that the longer these items cook, the more sulfur taste and smell. This is why boiled cabbage smells so bad the longer you cook it, so brief is key here.
  • If an item is not viable to be eaten, don’t add it to your stock. For example, if an onion has a rotten side, cut out the rot and use the good parts. Watch your refrigerator and use the items before they turn.
  • Wash the dirt off of everything before adding to the pot. We want flavor, not grit.
  • The broth will last 5-7 days refrigerated or can be frozen.

  ---

  Ingredients

  3-4 pounds of mixed vegetables using the guidelines above

  1 medium onion

  2 carrots (peeled)

  2 ribs of celery

  3 bay leaves

  5 peppercorn (more or less depending on your preference)

  Herb stems

  1 gallon cold water

  ---

  Preparation

  • Put everything in a pot
  • Start from cold, then bring to a simmer (to remain at or just below the boiling point, usually forming tiny bubbles with a low, murmuring sound)
  • Simmer for 45 minutes
  • Strain through a sieve
  • Chill strained broth

  Broccoli Stalk Salad

  Makes 5 servings

  Uses up: Broccoli stalks, avocados, carrots

  For many of us, the stalks are the evil half of broccoli. We toss them away in favor of their soft-headed florets. But this salad depends on the stalks for extra crunch, so save them! Adding in creamy avocados and carrots makes the dish creamy and sweet. Make a chopped salad or grate all but the avocado for more of a slaw effect.

  ---

  Ingredients

  For the dressing

  4 tablespoons olive oil

  3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

  2 teaspoons honey

  1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

  Pepper to taste
  

  For the salad

  3 or 4 large broccoli stalks (not the florets!), peeled and cut into thin medallions

  ½ to 1 avocado, cut into 1/8-inch slices

  1 carrot, peeled into long, thin strips

  1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced 

  1 tablespoon fresh basil or cilantro as garnish (optional)

  ---

  Preparation

  • In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper
  • In a medium bowl, combine salad ingredients
  • Pour the dressing over the vegetables
  • Let sit for 30 minutes before eating, allowing the broccoli to soften
  • Serve at room temperature with a few extra leaves of basil or cilantro scattered on top

  Quick Pickled Cantaloupe Rinds

  Makes 3 quarts

  Uses up: Cantaloupe rinds

  Pickling is an age-old process that helps make harder to eat items more consumable. Melon rinds offer a terrific texture when pickled and help make something alluring out of what would otherwise be tossed into the compost.

  ---

  Key things to think about

  • Wash the melon before trimming.
  • Do not use any part of the rind that has soft spots.
  • Add dried peppers to spice it up, and play with the spices to find the balance you prefer.
  • Use quart mason jars, while this will not be truly “canned” there will be temperature states that need robust strength.
  • Use the wide mouth jars for ease of filling and emptying.
  • The rinds will last for 2-3 weeks.

  ---

  Ingredients

  The rind from 1 small cantaloupe, thinly sliced into 1-inch strips that fit vertically into a mason jar

  For the pickling liquid

  2 cups white vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)

  2 cups water

  2 cups sugar

  1 thumb ginger, sliced thin

  5 each black peppercorns

  1 pinch red pepper flakes (more or less based on preference)

  5-6 each allspice (whole)

  ---

  Preparation

  • Tightly pack cantaloupe strips into mason jars
  • Bring pickling liquid to a boil, reduce to a simmer until sugar has dissolved
  • Pour directly into jars with cantaloupe rinds, be sure that the mason jars are at room temperature or even slightly warm (if they are cold they may crack)
  • Tightly cover with lids and allow to cool on the counter for 1 hour
  • Place in refrigerator

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/sustainability/take-a-bite-out-of-these-scrappy-recipes/
• 

  Improved header bidding support in Google Ad Manager
  • sorangutan  

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  Publishers have a wide range of options to monetize their content online. That's why we’ve built flexibility and a variety of features into Google Ad Manager, giving publishers choice in how they sell ads on their properties. One way many of them choose to sell their inventory is through header bidding, which runs an auction among multiple ad exchanges on a user’s device before calling the publisher’s ad server. Today, about 90% of large publishers use header bidding,[539f3f]with many using a mix of header bidding and server-side solutions like Open Bidding to maximize revenue.

  While Ad Manager has always enabled publishers to use header bidding, today we’re introducing new features to improve header bidding support. These updates make it easier for publishers to manage the process and provide new insights on ad performance.

  An easier setup process

  The current process to set up header bidding can be resource-heavy and time consuming, requiring publishers to set up and manage hundreds to thousands of line items and ad creatives. To simplify this, we’ve developed a new way for publishers to set up header bidding through yield groups.[083ff2]In just a few steps, publishers can make their ad space available to header bidders — similar to how they can specify what ad space they want to sell with Ad Exchange or Open Bidding. The header bidding demand is then included in the unified auction.

  Over the past few months, we’ve been working with publishers to test this optional feature and incorporate their feedback into the development process. Over the next couple of weeks, we will open this beta to more publishers and move to open beta this summer.

  ---

  “The new workflow has made our process of setting up header bidders significantly simpler, allowing our team to focus on more strategic work.”

  Evan Pfeffer, VP Programmatic Solutions, Bustle Digital Group

  ---

  “Using Ad Manager’s yield groups for header bidding solves for the complex setup and maintenance issues when using an independent auction like Prebid. It’s a strong feature and should be considered by any publisher who is intimidated by the technical aspects of header bidding."

  Steve Mummey, SVP Digital Ad Revenue & Technology, AccuWeather

  ---

  "It's been great to partner with Google to test its improved support for header bidding in Ad Manager. Google Ad Manager and Prebid are both important to our business. This enhanced communication between them is an exciting development, and we anticipate this feature will simplify set up work for our ad operations team.”

  Patrick McCann, SVP Research, CafeMedia

  ---

  "We are excited to see Google making strides towards simplifying the header bidding workflow; it's an important step for our industry and one that gives publishers the power of choice. We look forward to working with the team to ensure our publisher partners are able to take advantage of this solution, save time and resources and ultimately drive higher yield."

  Mike McNeeley, SVP Product, Index Exchange

  ---

  Improved reporting for all demand sources

  We’ve been working on additional reporting features to give publishers greater insights on header bidding performance. A few months ago, we introduced a new type of Data Transfer file, which shows publishers the amount buyers would have needed to bid in order to win the auction.[083ff2]This allows publishers to share data related to outcomes from Ad Manager auctions with all buyers they work with, including their header bidding partners.

  We’re also developing a new reporting feature to provide greater performance insights to publishers who continue to use line items to set up header bidding. Over the next few weeks, we’ll release demand subchannel reporting. With this new feature, Ad Manager will automatically detect which line items are being used for header bidding — allowing publishers to more easily compare header bidding performance alongside their other demand sources.

  Greater choice and control for publishers

  We strive to give our partners flexibility and choice to best support their business goals. That’s why Ad Manager has always given publishers the option to integrate with the advertising technologies they choose, and we continue to focus on evolving our platform to meet our partners’ needs.

  As part of an overall resolution of the French Competition Authority’s (FCA) investigation, we’ve been working with regulators and publishers to develop these features, making it easier to make use of data and use our tools with other ad technologies. While we still believe header bidding presents drawbacks such as latency and a poor user experience, among others, we remain committed to providing publishers with choice through product interoperability.

  We look forward to continuing to test and build on these features with publishers over the coming months, and sharing progress along the way.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/admanager/improved-header-bidding-support-in-google-ad-manager/
• 

  10 fun facts to celebrate a decade of Drive
  • sorangutan  

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  Engineer Darren Smith remembers the day that Google Drive launched in 2012. “We were all in a conference room, sort of like a war room,” he says. “We all cheered when the first user was live with Drive!" And just like that, Drive was alive. (Fun fact: The team who launched it actually had “It exists” shirts made.)

  1. Drive was originally available via invite only when it was first rolling out. “We were all given tokens — sort of like digital passes — that we could share with family and friends,” says Darren. “It was really fun to see people finally using this thing we’d been working on for so long.”
  2. It’s hard to remember a time before you could save files from Gmail directly to Drive, but it was only a short while ago: Attachments in Gmail were introduced in 2013, saving us all from that agonizing experience of downloading file after file after file.
  3. You can store a lot in Google Drive — but maybe you don’t know how much. Ahem, a few numbers that may surprise you! You can store up to:
     • 1.02 million characters in a Google Doc
     • 10 million cells or 18,278 columns in a Google Sheet
     • 100 MB of data in a Google Slide presentation

  Check out this Help Center article for more impressive storage stats.

  4. The icon for Google Drive went through many, many iterations. Eventually, the team settled on the one we know and love — except it used to be rotated slightly differently so that it looked a little like a “D.” Eventually the team realized it looked too similar to the Google Play icon, so they rotated it . “Now it points up, sort of suggesting you’re uploading something to the cloud,” Drive Product Manager Scott Limbird says.

  5. Accessibility is a major priority for Drive and all Google products — everyone should be able to use Drive, and get the most out of it. A huge step toward making this happen was the launch of screen reader compatibility in 2014, an update specifically designed for blind and low-vision users.

  6. Google’s productivity expert Laura Mae Martin regularly shares her Drive tips with other Googlers — here’s a handy one for handling advanced images in Drive: In Drive, select New + and then Google Drawings (or type drawing.new into your browser!). From there, copy/paste, drag, upload or import your image file; then you can edit it, download it in any format and share the image like you would any other Drive file. Of course you can also use Google Drawings to make your own image entirely and import it into a Doc or Slide, or save it in various file formats.
  

  

  7. If you’re one of the many people with way too many things in your Drive, then search chips are your friend. We introduced this feature in February of this year, and it helps you find what you’re looking for based on what kind of file it is, who else is working on it with you…the list goes on and on.

  8. Keeping users and their Drive content safe is important, which is why we’ve introduced features like suspicious file warnings, labels for sensitive files and more secure ways to share to broad audiences.

  9. In 2017, we introduced Backup and Sync to make it easy for folks to control how their photos and files were backed up to Google services — and then in 2021, Drive for desktop replaced Backup and Sync, which made it even easier to access files from any device, anywhere. (Not to mention it made file and photo management simpler and faster!)

  10. Darren says one of his favorite Drive memories actually happened outside the office. “When my daughter was getting married, her wedding planner was sharing all these files and folders with us,” he says. “And of course, she did that with Drive!”

  Happy 10 years, Google Drive! You’re an excellent home for our Docs, Sheets, Slides…and everything else.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/drive/a-decade-of-drive/
• 

  How data drives a hyperlocal news strategy in Los Angeles
  • sorangutan  

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  Editor’s Note from Ludovic Blecher, Head of Google News Initiative Innovation: The GNI Innovation Challengeprogram is designed to stimulate forward-thinking ideas for the news industry. The story below by Gabriel Kahn, professor at USC Annenberg School of Journalism, is part of an innovator seriessharing inspiring stories and lessons from funded projects.

  

  One year ago, our team at the University of Southern California started the Crosstown Neighborhood Data Project. Rapidly expanding news deserts - areas that receive no regular news coverage - can be seen across the US. Small town newspapers are drying up, and toxic “pink-slime” pseudo journalism is seeping in. These news deserts are growing even in big cities. Los Angeles has lost four local papers recently, and so many neighborhoods are overlooked by the news outlets that remain. That is why we started covering every corner of Los Angeles with a four-person editorial team.

  It sounds impossible, but it’s not. Here’s how we did it, and what we learned. 

  Each week, Crosstown sends out 110 unique email newsletters, one for each neighborhood in this city of four million. The newsletter features brief news stories that hit people where they live: charts and graphics on the number of new COVID infections and vaccination rates, plus pieces about housing, crime and traffic in each neighborhood. 

  How do we do this? Through data. We’ve been collecting a trove of information on how Los Angeles lives, works and gets around. All this data is free, but much of it is hard to read and is stored on clunky local government websites. We scrape the data and organize it by neighborhood. That way we can quickly tell how many homes were burglarized in Hollywood last month, or figure out the neighborhood where the most new buildings are going up.

  We then write one template for our newsletter, and our custom-built software creates 110 different versions, each with the proper data, visualizations and context for that neighborhood. This wasn’t easy. Our software engineering team spent a year building it, funded by the Google News Initiative Innovation Challenge. We’ve now sent out more than 60 sets of weekly newsletters and learned a great deal. 

  Increased engagement

  Our biggest takeaway is that people truly engage with news when it’s about their neighborhood. The open rates on our newsletter are over 70%. Most weeks they exceed 80%. The lowest we ever recorded was 55%. This compares to the industry standard for news-related newsletter opening rates (22% according to MailChimp or just under 24% according to CampaignMonitor).

  Why? People can’t get this news anywhere else. No other news organizations deliver this level of hyper-localized data. Second, it’s news people want. Currently, there is a widespread impression that Los Angeles is in the midst of a crime wave. Giving people verified stats about their neighborhood and explaining the broader context, such as whether a particular type of crime is rising or falling and how their area compares to others in the city, is a vital public service. 

  One example of this is that in one of our newsletters we included the number of building demolitions that had taken place in each neighborhood. A reader then had hard data for her Hollywood neighborhood, which she took to city planners and made a public testimony to convey endangered and historic sites.

  Our newsletter also hits the inbox with an appealing subject line, such as “Omicron’s impact on Koreatown,” or, “How much illegal dumping is happening in Venice?” When you live in a big city, it can be difficult to get a read on your own neighborhood. A weekly email with some basic information can be invaluable. 

  We’ve found it’s also a great way to engage the audience. Some neighborhoods are battling pressing issues such as traffic congestion or rapidly rising rents. When we cover that in a story, they write back wanting to know more. This allows us to figure out who cares about what across an entire city. In the year since we launched, traffic to the website has increased by 30%.

  More importantly, we have a tenfold increase in our audience reaching back out to us. We now know what neighborhoods these audience members live in, because they respond to us directly from their neighborhood email account. This helps us understand which issues are most important to people in different parts of the city.

  We’re only at the beginning of understanding what kind of hyperlocal stories we can tell. But our goals for this year lie beyond Los Angeles. We’re now piloting our project with three other newsrooms and we’re hoping to find even more that want to try this technology and approach. We believe using data in this way can be a powerful tool to help newsrooms reach and engage new audiences without raising costs.

  
  
  https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/google-news-initiative/how-data-drives-a-hyperlocal-news-strategy-in-los-angeles/
• 

  Get more information about your apps in Google Play
  • sorangutan  

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  We work hard to keep Google Play a safe, trusted space for people to enjoy the latest Android apps. Today, we’re launching a new feature, the Data safety section, where developers will be required to give people more information about how apps collect, share and secure users’ data. Users will start seeing the Data safety section in Google Play today, and developers are required to complete this section for their apps by July 20th. As app developers update their functionality or change their data handling practices, they will show the latest in the apps’ Data safety section.

  A unified view of app safety in Google Play

  We heard from users and app developers that displaying the data an app collects, without additional context, is not enough. Users want to know for what purpose their data is being collected and whether the developer is sharing user data with third parties. In addition, users want to understand how app developers are securing user data after an app is downloaded. That’s why we designed the Data safety section to allow developers to clearly mark what data is being collected and for what purpose it's being used. Users can also see whether the app needs this data to function or if this data collection is optional.

  Here are the information developers can show in the Data safety section:

  • Whether the developer is collecting data and for what purpose.
  • Whether the developer is sharing data with third parties.
  • The app’s security practices, like encryption of data in transit and whether users can ask for data to be deleted.
  • Whether a qualifying app has committed to following Google Play’s Families Policy to better protect children in the Play Store.
  • Whether the developer has validated their security practices against a global security standard (more specifically, the MASVS).

  

  Putting users in control, before and after you download

  Giving users more visibility into how apps collect, share and secure their data through the Data safety section is just one way we’re keeping the Android users and ecosystem safe.

  We’ve also worked hard to give users control of installed apps through simple permissions features. For example, when an app asks to access “your location”, users can quickly and easily decide whether they want to grant that permission - for one time use, only while using the app, or all the time. For sensitive permissions like camera, microphone, or location data, people can go to the Android Privacy dashboard to review data access by apps.

  Apps should help users explore the world, connect with loved ones, do work, learn something new, and more without compromising user safety. The new Data safety section, in addition to Google Play’s existing safety features, gives people the visibility and control they need to enjoy their apps.

  To learn more about Google Play’s Data safety section, check out this guide.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/google-play/data-safety/
• 

  A productivity expert’s tips for returning to the office
  • sorangutan  

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  Two years ago, as many of us were thrown into remote work, I wrote a blog post about tips for working from home. Now, as many of us find ourselves returning to the office or preparing to do so soon, I wanted to talk about a few ways we can transition productively to (yet another) new (er, maybe old?) working environment where some of us are in the office, some aren’t…or some combination of the above.

  Here are my top 10 tips for being productive in a hybrid work environment:

  1. Make sure people know where you are. Nothing screams inefficiency more than hundreds of emails and calendar invites (and invite changes) where everyone is trying to figure out who is where, when and on what days. Take the guesswork out of it by setting yourworking location and yourworking hours in Calendar, and RSVP to meetings with your location.
  2. Add other responsibilities to Google Calendar. Do you have commute time? School drop off? Moving to a different office campus mid-day? Add it to your Calendar now; consider making theseOOO events so they auto decline if they are scheduled over.
  3. Optimize your calendar for connection and focus. Chances are good that you either find it easier to focus at home or in the workplace. As you consider the hybrid work options available to you, think about where you want to get your best focused work done and build it into your calendar. Wherever it happens, minimize distractions (mute notifications, use noise-canceling headphones) and schedule Focus Time in your calendar so colleagues know that you’re heads down.
  4. Keep your “hot spots” and your “not spots.” Our brain makes associations with the sights, sounds and smells of places and when we do an activity in the same place regularly, it makes it easier to "get in the zone" each time we go back to that same spot. Keep “hot spots” in your house and at work where you do certain things. “I always code at my desk,” “I always answer customer emails from this cafe in my building,” “I always sit on my front porch to read industry news.” Your brain will associate those spots with those things and make switching between tasks easier. Similarly, safeguard your “not spots” — places you NEVER work. If you’ve never worked in a spot, like your bedroom, it’s easy to relax there because your brain only associates it with relaxation.
  5. Group meetings by type, content and location wherever possible. Many people think of their schedule like a puzzle: “Sure, wherever you find a 30-minute slot, throw a meeting in there!” But your energy and focus are changing (and challenged) when you bounce from a one one one meeting to a brainstorm to a project check-in…the list goes on and on . Be intentional about when you place meetings as much as possible. Group meetings of similar type and topic, especially given the new variety in location. Theme your days and minimize switching topics and types of meeting. Call Tuesday your “Project A” day, and place work time and meetings for that project on that day. If Wednesday morning is your manager’s staff meeting, block time afterwards to digest updates and trickle down information to your team as needed.

  

  6. Build in some things that happen every day. To give yourself some consistency, try finding 1-3 things that you do every day, no matter where you’re working. If you commute from 8:15 a.m.-9 a.m. into the office and listen to an audiobook, go on a walk and listen to your book during the same time period. If you always take a walk at home after lunch, do it at work, too. Always get an afternoon coffee at the office? Make yourself a latte at home. These signals help you keep your flow and make it a consistent “work day” no matter where you are.

  7. Make adaily planevery night. At the beginning of the pandemic, I saw a surge in the use of the planning resources. People had gotten used to “showing up” in an office every morning, then deciding what to do with their time. Working from home required people to figure out exactly what they were doing and when. This type of planning is still important as you bounce back and forth to different work environments with different types of schedules. Fill out daily plan *the night before* to make the most of the following day. What you intend to do will marinate while you sleep and you’ll approach the day focused and intentional.

  8. A new “season” of work calls for spring cleaning . A new schedule at the office, much like the New Year or a new job, is a great time for a “spring cleaning” of your work life. Do you need to keep that recurring meeting you set up two years ago to keep in touch with people you'll now see in the office? Should your team be meeting in-person on a different day given everyone’s locations? Do you need to lighten up your schedule to make more time for travel?

  9. Write down three things you learned from working from home and take them with you. Working from home was a time of discovery for many of us. Let’s not lose those insights as we head back to the office. Maybe you realized you work best after a mid-morning workout, or that you get burnt out if you start work before 9 a.m. Take a moment to write down three things you learned and build them into your new schedule.

  10. Take time to adjust. Two years ago, no one had any idea we’d be at home for so long. And during that time, many of us became great at being productive while working remotely. Others realized they definitely wanted to go back to the office. Whatever your preference, we gave each other grace. Let’s do the same this time as many of us transition yet again, and continue extending it to those who will remain remote.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/workspace/productivity-experts-tips-returning-to-office/
• 

  New features to grow your business with Performance Max
  • sorangutan  

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  As people move quickly between channels and devices, today’s consumer journey is always-on and rarely straightforward. Automation is helping businesses meet their customers at the right moment along this complex journey. Whether you’re looking to stay ahead of shifting consumer behavior or unlock incremental conversions from new places, Performance Max finds the optimal mix of Google Ads inventory and formats to help you drive better results.[3a6511]

  In the coming weeks, we’re introducing new features to help you acquire new customers, better understand performance and start upgrading your Smart Shopping campaigns to Performance Max in just one click.

  Focus on new customers

  Performance Max optimizes results based on your conversion goals and looks for the highest-ROI conversion opportunities — regardless of channel. The new customer acquisition goal in Performance Max is rolling out over the next few weeks for all advertisers looking to generate leads or increase online sales. This was previously available for retailers using Smart Shopping campaigns and is now expanding to more advertiser goals in Performance Max.

  This goal will allow you to either bid more for new customers compared to existing customers, or focus your optimizations on new customers only while maintaining your cost efficiency. You’ll also have more flexible ways to identify new customers, like providing your own first-party data through Customer Match lists, setting up conversion tags and using Google’s autodetection method.

  Guide your campaigns with helpful insights

  The Insights page helps you understand decisions guided by automation and find levers to improve results in your campaigns. In the coming weeks, we’re rolling out consumer interest insights to all advertisers to help you uncover search themes that are delivering conversions. Two new types of insights are also arriving for Performance Max.

  With asset audience insights, you’ll be able to better understand how your text, image and video assets resonate with specific customer segments. For instance, if you’re an outdoor retailer running a campaign for bikes, you may find that exercise enthusiasts engage more with images of people mountain biking rather than product images of the bike itself. Using these insights, you can tailor your creative and influence your broader marketing strategy.

  After you create your Performance Max campaigns, diagnostic insights will provide a snapshot of outstanding setup issues preventing your ads from showing. Each issue will include suggestions to resolve them, so you can easily and quickly get your campaign up and running. For example, if your creative assets are disapproved, you’ll be prompted to fix them so you can start serving your ads and avoid missing out on conversion opportunities.

  • The Insights page in Google Ads. The top header says “Discover top audiences responding to your assets” and the main section shows ad images of bikes and people riding bikes. Underneath each ad image are audience segments that engaged with the ad.

    Asset audience insights will show how your creative assets resonate with specific customer segments.

  • The Insights page in Google Ads. The main section says “Your campaign can’t run ads” and “Review issues that are preventing people from seeing your ads.” There is a blue button labeled “Fix it” on the page.

    Diagnostic insights will help you easily identify and fix campaign setup issues.

  • The Insights page in Google Ads. The page reads “Consumer spotlight” with search query themes that are related to an advertiser’s campaigns.

    Consumer interest insights will surface top-performing search query themes that are relevant to your campaigns.

  Start upgrading your Smart Shopping campaigns

  In January, we shared a preview of how to upgrade your Smart Shopping and Local campaigns to Performance Max to access additional inventory and formats across YouTube, Search text ads and Discover.[235f18]Over the coming weeks, you’ll see a notification in your Google Ads account when the “one-click” upgrade tool is ready for your Smart Shopping campaigns. You’ll also be able to access the tool from the Recommendations page and the Campaigns page. You can start upgrading your Local campaigns in June.

  When you upgrade your Smart Shopping or Local campaign, it will become a new, separate Performance Max campaign that keeps the learnings from your previous campaign to maintain consistent performance. The campaign budget and settings from your previous campaign will also be carried over. Visit our Help Center for more details on the upgrade experience.

  Retailers across the globe are seeing continued success with Performance Max. In fact, advertisers who upgrade Smart Shopping campaigns to Performance Max see an average increase of 12% in conversion value at the same or better ROAS.[bd1e6d]

  Upgrading your existing Smart Shopping and Local campaigns helps ensure you can take advantage of expanded inventory and get your campaigns ready for the holiday season. You’ll be able to choose when to upgrade your campaigns until the automatic upgrade process begins. Smart Shopping campaigns will be automatically upgraded from July through September, and Local campaigns will be automatically upgraded from August through September. You’ll also be able to create new Performance Max campaigns through Google Ads, the Google Ads API, or starting in early summer, through e-commerce partners like WooCommerce and BigCommerce.

  Check out our upgrade video tutorial and best practices to set up your Performance Max campaigns, and follow @AdsLiasion to stay informed throughout the upgrade process. On May 24, join us at Google Marketing Live where we’ll share what’s ahead for Performance Max.

  
  
  https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/new-features-performance-max/