Stadia Savepoint: July updates

With July coming to a close, let’s take a look back at our latest Stadia Connect and some other updates we’ve brought to Stadia this month.

In our Stadia Connect, we announced 16 new games and five exclusives on their way to players, representing titles from publishers including Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, 2K Games, Square Enix and Activision. With titles like Outcasters and Orcs Must Die! 3 that are Only on Stadia and exclusive for a limited time, plus new partnerships with Harmonix, Uppercut Games and Supermassive Games for upcoming games, we’re bringing an immense amount of content for players to look forward to. And if you want to try out our first Stadia Games and Entertainment title, Orcs Must Die! 3, click here to play instantly if you already own the game or are a Pro subscriber.

As for other news in July, Stadia players created and played multiplayer games in Crayta and tore up the track in F1® 2020, in addition to many other games now available for purchase on the Stadia store. We also worked with our partners to announce new games coming soon to Stadia including Strange Brigade on August 1, Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break on August 14 into Stadia Pro, plus Celeste, El Hijo: A Wild West Tale, Far Cry 6 and Sniper Elite 4 arriving soon. Stay tuned for these games, plus PGA Tour 2K21 on August 21.

Stadia Connect Official Recap In 3 Minutes | 7.14.2020

Play Stadia with mobile data

Opt in to a new Experiment rolling out within the Stadia app to play games using 4G and 5G on your Android mobile device. This feature may increase mobile data usage up to 2.7GB/hr. Gameplay is service-, network-, connection-, and game-dependent, and this Experiment may not be available for all games in all areas. 

State Share Beta with Crayta

Experience State Share Beta, an early version of the Stadia Enhanced Feature called State Share, within Crayta. Just create a link and share it with other players, sending them instantly into your game to collaborate while creating games or to play together.

Game stats on web

We’ve added support for developers to introduce player statistics, such as total time played and games won. They’re visible within the Achievements list on Stadia.com. 

More important features

• Find your friends on Stadia via their Gmail address.
• Browse the Stadia store and Home page via Landscape mode, now supported in the Stadia app on mobile devices.
• Use the Google Assistant button on the Stadia Controller while playing games on Chromecast to get access to quick answers and actions.

Stadia Pro updates

• Get five new games for free with Stadia Pro in August: Strange Brigade, Kona, Metro 2033 Redux, Just Shapes & Beats and Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break (arriving August 14).
  
• Eighteen existing games are still available to add to your Stadia Pro collection: Destiny 2: The Collection, PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS, GRID, SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech, SteamWorld Dig, SteamWorld Dig 2, SteamWorld Heist, The Turing Test, GYLT, Get Packed, Little Nightmares, Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid, SUPERHOT, Panzer Dragoon Remake, Crayta, Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom, West of Loathing, and Orcs Must Die! 3.
  
• Act quickly: Zombie Army 4: Dead War leaves Stadia Pro on July 31.
  
• Ongoing discounts for both Stadia Pro subscribers and all players within the Summer of Games Sale. Check out the web or mobile Stadia store for the latest.
  

Recent content launches on Stadia

• Celeste
  
• Crayta
  
• F1® 2020
  
• Lara Croft: Temple of Osiris
  
• Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom
  
• One Hand Clapping
  
• Orcs Must Die! 3
  
• PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS - Season 8
  
• West of Loathing
  

New games coming to Stadia

• Dead by Daylight
  
• El Hijo: A Wild West Tale
  
• Far Cry 6
  
• Hello Neighbor
  
• Hello Neighbor: Hide & Seek
  
• Hitman
  
• Hitman 2
  
• Hitman 3
  
• Mafia 2 Remastered
  
• Mafia 3 Remastered
  
• NBA 2K21
  
• Outcasters
  
• Outriders
  
• Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break
  
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
  
• Serious Sam 4
  
• Sniper Elite 4
  
• Spiritfarer
  
• Strange Brigade
  
• Super Bomberman R Online
  
• SUPERHOT: Mind Control Delete
  
• WWE 2K Battlegrounds

That’s it for July—we’ll be back soon to share more updates. As always, stay tuned to the Stadia Community Blog, Facebook and Twitter for the latest news.

by Stadia Team via The Keyword

An update on Exposure Notifications

In May, we partnered with Apple to launch the Exposure Notifications System (ENS) and made it available to public health authorities around the world in their fight against COVID-19. The ENS allows public health authorities to develop apps that augment manual contact tracing efforts while preserving the privacy of their citizens. As of today, public health authorities have used ENS to launch in 16 countries and regions across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America, with more apps currently under development.  

In the United States, 20 states and territories—representing approximately 45 percent of the U.S. population—are exploring apps based on ENS. We expect to see the first set of these apps roll out over the coming weeks. The Association of Public Health Laboratories also announced recently that it will host a national key server to support all U.S. states, which will allow people with Exposure Notification apps to receive alerts even if they travel across state borders.

We’ve continued to improve the technology and provide more transparency based on feedback we’ve received from public health authorities and other experts. Public health authorities will continue to make their own decisions about how exposure notifications become part of their plans in controlling COVID-19, and we will work to improve the technology in response to their feedback. Here are some of the changes we’ve already made, as well as some upcoming additional changes.

Improvements to the Exposure Notification API

Since the Exposure Notification API was publicly released in May, we’ve spoken with dozens of public health authorities to understand how the API could be improved to help them better manage the COVID-19 pandemic while preserving privacy. Based on this feedback, we recently launched an update to the API, which includes the following changes:

• When an exposure is detected, public health authorities now have more flexibility in determining the level of risk associated with that exposure based on technical information from the API.

• Bluetooth calibration values for hundreds of devices have been updated to improve the detection of nearby devices.

• The API now supports interoperability between countries, following feedback from governments that have launched Exposure Notification apps.

• To help public health authorities build apps more efficiently, we’ve added reliability improvements for apps and developer debug tools. 

• We’ve improved clarity, transparency and control for users. For example, the Exposure Notifications settings on Android now include a simple on/off toggle at the top of the page. In addition, users will also see a periodic reminder if ENS is turned on.

Technical guidance and transparency

We’ve heard feedback that public health authorities and developers want more technical guidance about how ENS works. In response, we’ve published the following resources over the last few weeks:

• Reference verification server to help guide public health authorities in building a server that allows verification of test results when users report themselves as positive for COVID-19.

• Implementation code showing how the Exposure Notification API works underneath the hood.

• Telemetry design explaining what de-identified diagnostics data is collected to ensure that ENS is functioning properly and securely.

Additional technical resources will be publicly shared as we continue to improve ENS.

Education and privacy protections 

The Exposure Notifications website has more information about ENS, and offers educational and technical resources, as well as the latest updates. 

As a quick reminder, here are some of the core privacy protections that were built into ENS: 

• You decide whether you want to use Exposure Notifications—it’s off unless you turn it on.

• ENS doesn’t use location data from your device.

• Your identity is not shared with Google, Apple or other users.

• Only public health authorities can use this system.

Finally, we’ve received questions about why your Android device location setting has to be turned on if you want to use an Exposure Notification app. We want to explain why this particular setting needs to be on, and how you can control your location settings on Android.  

To be absolutely clear, ENS does not use device location, and the policies for using ENS prohibit public health authority apps from requesting or collecting device location. Instead, ENS uses Bluetooth technology to detect when two devices are near each other, without revealing the location of either device. While Bluetooth scanning doesn’t necessarily reveal location, it can in some cases be used to infer your device’s location. For example, if a shopping app scans for the Bluetooth signals of a stationary Bluetooth beacon located inside a store, then the app could infer that you went to that store. So in 2015, with privacy in mind, we designed the Android operating system to prevent Bluetooth scanning unless the device location setting is on. At that time no one could have anticipated that Bluetooth scanning might one day be helpful in controlling a global pandemic like COVID-19. 

Our engineering teams have been working to update the next version of Android with Exposure Notifications in mind. On Android 11, which will soon be released, users will be able to use Exposure Notification apps without turning on the device location setting. We’re making this update for Exposure Notifications only, given that ENS has been designed in such a way that neither the system nor the apps using it can infer device location through Bluetooth scanning, and apps that are allowed to use ENS are subject to additional policies that disallow automatic collection of location. All other apps and services will still be prohibited from performing Bluetooth scanning unless the device location setting is on. 

But even in current versions of Android, when you turn on the device location setting, your phone continues to prohibit access to any apps, including Google apps, that don’t have permission to use device location. The device location setting is like a circuit breaker in a house: When it’s on, power is flowing to the house, but you can turn the lights on or off in each room. If you turn on the device location setting to use ENS, it won’t affect the decisions you’ve already made about specific apps. You can always view and change which apps have access to your device location by going to Settings > Location > App permissions.

We’re committed to supporting public health authorities as they build tools to fight COVID-19. We’ll continue to improve ENS based on feedback, while ensuring that people can trust in the privacy-preserving design of this technology.

by Dave Burke via The Keyword

Take control of how data is used in Google Analytics

Rising consumer expectations and changing industry regulations have set higher standards for user privacy and data protection. This has led many businesses to revisit how they are managing data in their Google Analytics accounts. To help, Analytics provides businesses with a variety of features to control how their data is used. Here is an updated overview of controls in Analytics that govern how data is collected, stored, and used–all of which can be adjusted at any time.

Three ways businesses can manage data in Google Analytics:

Control the data settings in your account

You can access various settings in your Analytics account to control how you collect, retain, and share data.

Decide if you need to accept the Data Processing Terms.

The optional Data Processing Terms are meant for businesses affected by the European Economic Area General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and other similar regulations. You can review and accept the terms if needed in your Analytics account, under Account Settings.

Anonymize IP addresses for your Web property.

When you enable IP anonymization in your Web property, Analytics will anonymize the addresses as soon as technically feasible. This may be useful for you to comply with your company’s privacy policies or government regulations. For Apps properties and App + Web properties, IP anonymization is enabled by default.

Disable some or all data collection.

You also have the ability to partially or completely disable data collection for any of your Analytics properties. Chrome users have the ability to opt out from data collection using the Analytics opt-out Add-on.

Set the data retention period.

You can select how long user-level and event-level data is stored by Analytics, and whether new events can reset that time period. Once that amount of time has passed, the data will be scheduled for automatic deletion from your account and Google’s servers.

Select what data you share with your support team and Google.

The data sharing settings allow you to customize whether to share Analytics data with Google, including whether to allow Google technical support representatives and Google marketing specialists to access your account when you want support using the product or performance recommendations.

Review your Google signals setting.

The Google signals setting allows you to enable additional features in Analytics like remarketing, demographics and interests reports, and Cross Device reports. You can also further customize this setting to keep Google signals enabled for reporting while limiting or disabling advertising personalization.

Choose whether your data is used for ads personalization

Digital advertising helps you reach people online and drive conversions on your app and website. When you enable ads personalization in Analytics, for example by activating Google signals, you gain the ability to use your Analytics audiences to personalize your digital ads which can improve the performance of your campaigns. You can customize how your Analytics data is used for ads personalization.

Control ads personalization for your entire Analytics property.

You can choose to disable ads personalization for an entire property, which will cause all incoming events for that property to be marked as not for use in ads personalization. You can manage this in the property settings of your account.

Control ads personalization by geography.

If you need to set the ads personalization setting for your property at the geographic level, you now have the ability to enable or disable this setting by country. And in the United States, you can adjust the setting at the state level.

Allow or disallow ads personalization by state in the United States

Control ads personalization by event type or user property.

In App + Web properties, you can adjust the ads personalization setting for a specific event type or user property. For example you can exclude specific events or user properties from being used to personalize ads and only use that data for measurement purposes.

Control ads personalization for an individual event or session.

You can also manage whether an individual event or session is used for ads personalization. For example, if you need to obtain consent before enabling the setting you can dynamically disable ads personalization at the beginning of the session and on each subsequent event until consent is obtained.

Independent of these ads personalization controls that Analytics offers to advertisers, users can control their own ads personalization setting for their Google account. Once they've turned off this setting, Google will no longer use information about them for ads personalization.

Remove data from Analytics

You can remove your data from Analytics for any reason and at any time. You can request the data to be deleted from the Analytics servers or delete information for a single user.

Request data to be deleted.

If you need to delete data from the Analytics servers, you can submit a request for its removal. There is a seven-day grace period starting from the time you make the request before Analytics will begin the deletion process. All administrators and users with edit permission for your account will be informed of your request and have the ability to cancel the request during the grace period. Similar functionality will be available in App + Web properties soon.

Delete data for individual users.

You are able to delete a single user’s data from your Analytics account. If you have edit permission for the account, you can do this through the User Explorer report in Web properties or the User Explorer technique in the Analysis module in App + Web properties. Data associated with this user will be removed from the report within 72 hours and then deleted from the Analytics servers in the next deletion process. Your reports based on previously aggregated data, for example user counts in the Audience Overview report, won’t be affected. If you need to delete data for multiple users, you can use the Analytics User Deletion API.

Delete a property.

If you have edit permission, you can delete a property from your Analytics account. Your property and all the reporting views in the property will be permanently deleted 35 days after being moved to the Trash Can. Once deleted, you are not able to retrieve any historical data or reinstate reports.

All of the above features are available to use right now. For more information, please visit the Help Center.

We hope that you found this overview of current controls helpful. Google Analytics is continuously investing in capabilities to ensure businesses can access durable, privacy-centric, and easy to use analytics that work with and without cookies or identifiers. Please stay tuned for more in the coming months.

by Dan Stone via The Keyword

Updates on our work to improve user privacy in digital advertising

Privacy is core to our work at Google, and to our vision for a thriving internet where people around the world can continue to access ad-supported content, while also feeling confident that their data is protected. But in order to get there, we must increase transparency into how digital advertising works, offer users additional controls, and ensure that people’s choices about the use of their data are respected—not worked around or ignored. 

Today we’re sharing updates on our work in these areas, including new tools that provide people more information about the ads they see. We’re also introducing new resources for marketers and publishers that offer guidance on how to navigate today’s privacy environment, along with real-world examples from brands and media companies who are delivering effective, privacy-forward ad experiences that use data responsibly.

Greater transparency, more control

For many years Google has offered a feature called Why this ad, where from an icon in a digital ad, users can get more information on some of the factors that were used to select the ad for them, or choose to stop seeing that ad. There are over 15 million user interactions per day with Why this ad as people seek to learn more about and control the ads they see, and we recently extended this feature to ads on connected TVs. 

Over the next few months, we’ll be making improvements to the experience with a new feature called About this ad, which will also show users the verified name of the advertiser behind each ad. About this ad will initially be available for display ads purchased through Google Ads and Display & Video 360, and we’ll bring it to other ad surfaces throughout 2021.

Our commitment to increase transparency and offer users more control goes beyond the ads Google shows. Due to the complexity of the digital ads ecosystem and the large number of entities involved, it’s typically not clear to users which companies are even involved in showing them an ad. To provide people with detailed information about all the ads they see on the web, we’re releasing a new tool called Ads Transparency Spotlight, now available to try out as an alpha extension from the Chrome Web Store. We’ll continue to improve this extension based on feedback from users, and over time we expect to offer additional disclosures about ads, as well as introduce controls. Our hope is that other technology providers will build similar transparency and control capabilities into the experiences they offer as well.

Evolving the ad-supported internet

Chrome continues to explore more privacy-forward ways for the web browser to support digital ads with the Privacy Sandbox open standards initiative. As part of the Privacy Sandbox, several proposals have been published for new APIs that would solve for use cases like ad selection, conversion measurement, and fraud protection in a way that doesn’t reveal identifying information about individual users. One of the proposed APIs, for trust tokens that could combat ad fraud by distinguishing between bots and real users, is now available for testing by developers, and more will move to live testing soon.

Once these approaches have addressed the needs of users, publishers and advertisers, Chrome plans to phase out support for third-party cookies. These proposals are being actively discussed in forums like the W3C. Our ads team is actively contributing to this dialog—as we encourage any interested party to do—and we expect to incorporate the new solutions into our products in the years ahead.

We’re also exploring a range of other approaches to improve user privacy while ensuring publishers can earn what they need to fund great content and advertisers can reach the right people for their products. For example, we support the use of advertiser and publisher first-party data (based on direct interactions with customers they have relationships with) to deliver more relevant and helpful experiences—as long as users have transparency and control over the use of that data. What is not acceptable is the use of opaque or hidden techniques that transfer data about individual users and allow them to be tracked in a covert manner, such as fingerprinting. We believe that any attempts to track people or obtain information that could identify them, without their knowledge and permission, should be blocked. We’ll continue to take a strong position against these practices.

Much of the recent conversation about improving the privacy of digital ads has been focused on the web, but there are a range of environments in which people engage with digital ads. Our technical approach and the implementation details may vary based on the unique characteristics of each, but our vision to uplevel user privacy while preserving access to free content is consistent across web, mobile app, connected TV, digital audio—and whatever the next area to emerge may be.

Guidance for advertisers and publishers

The future state of digital advertising promises new technologies, new standards, and better, more sustainable approaches, but it will take some time to get there. We recognize the unease that many in the industry feel during this period of transition. While there is certainly more change on the horizon, it’s critical that marketers and publishers do not wait to take action. 

To help you prepare, we’ve assembled a number of recommendations for marketers and publishers to consider today. From best practices for building direct relationships with your customers and managing data, to tips for evaluating your partner and vendor relationships, to actionable examples for using machine learning and the cloud, these playbooks offer practical guidance and numerous real-world examples of companies that are successfully navigating today’s changing privacy landscape. 

We’ll continue our work to move the digital ads industry towards a more privacy-forward future. In the meantime, make sure your organization is having an active discussion about privacy and that you are taking steps now to plan for what lies ahead.

by Mike SchulmanAds Privacy and Safety via The Keyword

A digital exhibit to elevate Indigenous art

In March 2020, the 22nd Biennale of Sydney opened to wide acclaim—only to close after 10 days because of COVID-19. The Biennale has since physically reopened to limited audiences, but now, through a virtual exhibit on Google Arts & Culture, people all over the world can experience it. 

This year’s Biennale is led by First Nations artists, and showcases work from marginalized communities around the world, under the artistic direction of the Indigenous Australian artist, Brook Andrew. It’s titled NIRIN—meaning “edge”—a word of Brook’s mother’s Nation, the Wiradjuri people of western New South Wales.

To commemorate the opening of this unique exhibition, and learn more about its origins and purpose, we spoke with Jodie Polutele, Head of Communications and Community Engagement at the Biennale of Sydney.

Tell us about the theme of this year’s exhibition. 

NIRIN is historic in its focus on the unresolved nature of Australian and global colonial history.  It presents the work of artists and communities that are often relegated to "the edge" and whose practices challenge dominant narratives. 

As a community, we’re at a critical point in time where these voices, histories and spheres of knowledge are being heard and shared. The recent Black Lives Matter protests in the United States and in other parts of the world have triggered a belated awakening in many people—particularly in Australia—about the real-life impacts of systemic racism and inequality. But we have a long way to go, and the art and ideas presented in NIRIN are one way to start (or continue) the conversation.

What does this offer audiences, both in Australia, and all over the world, particularly during this time? 

Many of the artworks ask audiences to be critical of dominant historical narratives, and our own perspective and privilege; we are forced to recognize and question our own discomfort. In doing so, they also present an opportunity to inspire truly meaningful action.

What are some of the highlights of the exhibition?
Some highlights include Healing Land, Remembering Country by Tony Albert, a sustainable greenhouse which raises awareness of the Stolen Generations and poses important questions about how we remember, give justice to and rewrite complex and traumatic histories. Latai Taumoepeau’s endurance performance installation on Cockatoo Island explores the fragility of Pacific Island nations and the struggle of rising sea levels and displacement. Zanele Muholi’s three bodies of work at the Museum of Contemporary Art look at the politics of race, gender and sexuality. Wiradjuri artist Karla Dickens’ installation A Dickensian Circus presents a dramatic collection of objects inside the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ grand vestibule, reclaiming the space to share the hidden stories and histories of Indigenous people.

• 14NDt0iqdCS.png

  Tony Albert’s sustainable greenhouse, posing important questions about historical and intergenerational trauma.

• NNrATUT7CE2.png

  Watch Latai Taumoepeau’s endurance performance, The Last Resort.

• cUzrYjsGXev.png

  These rusty, bent and gnarly sculptures in grand surroundings by Karla Dickens divulge the hidden histories and stories of marginalised people.

• dtdzi2DrCqF.png

  Noŋgirrŋa Marawili’s stringybark painted with magenta ink cartridges found on the land adhere to the philosophy, ‘If you paint the land you should use the land’.

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  Listen to Nicholas Galanin talk about his artwork - an excavation and bush burial of the shadow cast by the Captain Cook statue  in Sydney’s Hyde Park. 

  
  

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  The beautiful landscapes and powerful messages of the Iltja Ntjarra (Many Hands) Arts Centre ‘dollar shop’ bags trace stories of Country with messages of housing and displacement.

This virtual exhibit was not what you originally imagined. Can you tell us what hurdles you have had to overcome? 

The Biennale of Sydney takes more than two years to produce with a team of dedicated people. Closing the exhibitions and cancelling or postponing a program of more than 600 events was devastating. But with the enormous support of the Google Arts & Culture team, we have delivered a virtual exhibition that is respectful of artists’ works and conveys the true vision of NIRIN—inspiring conversation and action through a meaningful arts experience. We hope that NIRIN on Google Arts & Culture will be an enduring legacy for the exhibition, and also for the talented team who made it happen.

by Elisabeth Callot via The Keyword

Know who’s in the know: Get community updates in Maps

More than a billion people turn to Google Maps to navigate and explore the world and their communities. And thanks to the hundreds of millions people who contribute information to Google Maps each year—like the best takeaway dish to order at a local restaurant or a photo of a nearby park’s new open hours—people can get local recommendations and up-to-date information about where to go and what to do. We’re now making it easier to uncover community-powered updates and recommendations in Google Maps.   

Last year we announced a Google Maps pilot feature that allowed people to follow select Local Guides, the everyday people who are passionate about sharing their experiences on Google Maps. It was exciting to see many of the Local Guides we invited in our initial pilot opt in and participate. Equally exciting was the interest we saw from many Google Maps users who began following top Local Guides to receive helpful recommendations about the places around them.

Today we’re expanding this feature and beginning to roll it out globally. If a Google Maps user has shared photos, reviews or lists publicly, you can now follow them and get their recommendations, advice and updates delivered to your Updates tab in Google Maps. So the next time you find someone sharing helpful photos of takeout menus, handy lists of your city's most spacious parks or inspiring photos of local shops and services, you can keep up-to-date on all of their recommendations. 

Topic filters add color and flavor to your Google Maps profile

There will also be new topic filters on Google Maps profiles, so you can see the topics and places people share about the most, like pizza, brunch, camping and parks. Whether they’re a coffee enthusiast documenting every last latte, or a hometown expert reviewing all things Perth or Phoenix, you can follow other Google Maps users with public profiles to get helpful recommendations about the places around you.

Control your Google Maps experience and profile

People want to be in control of their digital footprint. That’s why we’ve built in settings so you can easily manage and personalize your Google Maps profile. As always, everyone has the option to show (or not show) their reviews, photos and posts on their public Maps profile. To become followable in Google Maps, an eligible user can go to their profile and follow a simple process. And users who are followable on Google Maps can make their profile restricted. With a restricted profile, you approve new followers before they can see contributions on your profile. 

Want to share your personality on your Google Maps profile? Create a short tagline that sparks a sense of adventure. Or simply drop in a pasta emoji if there are no words to describe how much you love Italian food.

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  Easily access your profile settings right from your profile page

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  Turn on a restricted profile to limit who can see your Google Maps profile

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  See whose recommendations you’re following and who's following your recommendations in Google Maps

It’s people’s personal recommendations and access to reliable, local information that make Google Maps a helpful tool in your pocket. Now all of that is easier to find and follow.

by Amanda Leicht MooreGoogle Maps via The Keyword

Do something new with whats.new

Last year, Google Registry released .new—a domain extension that lets businesses build novel shortcuts into their products. Since then, more than 200 .new domains have come to life, providing shortcuts to common tasks within popular services like Medium, Asana, GitHub and more. With all the .new domains available, you can easily replace menus and long URLs with short and memorable links—clicking less, and getting things done faster.

To help you get the most out of the .new domains that have launched over the last few months, we’ve put together a collection of notable ones at whats.new. You can also browse all the .new shortcuts currently available by category.

Here are just a few of our favorite shortcuts:

• The next time you need to convert a file into a PDF, try using pdf.new from Adobe Acrobat. All you need to do is drag and drop your document into their online PDF converter and watch it transform into a high-quality PDF that’s easy to share and looks great on any screen.

• Create stand out social media posts in just a few clicks with create.new from Adobe Spark. Start from thousands of templates, choose from millions of images, icons, and stickers to add to your design, and brandify with your own logos, colors, and fonts.

• Ready to make your own podcast? It's easy and free with Anchor, Spotify’s all-in-one podcasting platform. Go to podcast.new to record a new episode.

• Want to start a new blog? Head to blog.new to create your WordPress.com account and join millions of bloggers. (Already have a WordPress.com website? Try post.new to draft your next blog post.)

• Whether you’re working from home or organizing a virtual happy hour with friends, go to meet.new to launch a real-time meeting from your browser using Google Meet.  

With more than 200 (and growing) .new domains spanning uses across productivity, business services and creativity, we think you’ll find at least a few .new shortcuts you’ll want to use regularly!

by Ben Fried via The Keyword

“Hey Google, let’s play a game” on your Smart Display

Google Assistant smart speakers have always been a great way to play voice-based games. Just say, “Hey Google, let’s play a game,” and within moments you’ll find yourself humming along to "Song Quiz," or testing your trivia skills with "Are You Feeling Lucky."

With Smart Displays, like Nest Hub Max, you also have access to brand new games designed with visuals in mind. These games take full advantage of the screen, and combine with voice and touch controls for instant, easy fun.

One of my favorite new games is “Guess the Drawing” by CoolGames, where you guess what’s being drawn on the screen as quickly as you can. Test your skills with new drawings every day, or compete real-time with other players in Party mode. Just say “Hey Google, let’s play Guess the Drawing” to get started.

But that’s just my personal favorite; there are so many other games available on your Smart Display to try. 

TV trivia, in your home

For trivia die-hards, step up to the podium to play a wide range of categories in “Jeopardy!” hosted by Alex Trebek, or use a lifeline in case you run into trouble on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.” And if you play often, you’ll even be able to see how you compete with players around the world with weekly leaderboards. 

I’d also suggest giving “Trivia Crack” a try. You can play solo to challenge yourself, or play with your friends or family to answer questions about History, Sports, Art, Entertainment, Geography and Science. 

A way with words

A quick wit will help you in “Categories Battle,” an interactive game where you need to come up with items in a range of categories (for example, your category could be “animals”) where the word begins with a random letter (let’s say “P”). How many answers will you come up with in less than a minute?

Want a hands-free crossword challenge from the convenience of your kitchen? “Puzzle of the Day” will help keep your mind sharp with daily word puzzles that are adapted specifically for your smart display.  

Lighten up your day

Google Assistant also has plenty of other ways to keep everyone entertained at home. “MadLibs,” the classic template word game, lets you create silly stories and is perfect for a quick laugh. Or you can “Talk to The Wiggles” for a choose-your-own-adventure surprise or sing along with the band. Then there’s “Escape the Room,” which brings the fun of an escape room into your own home.

You can also ask Google Assistant to play animal sounds or to tell you a story. And of course, if you just need a good laugh, you can always rely on the classic: “Hey Google, tell me a joke.”  

Things to come

These are just a few of the games available today on your Smart Display, and it doesn’t stop there. We’re continuing to work directly with top game developers to to bring even more immersive games to your smart display. Stay tuned for the lineup of new titles we’ll be introducing throughout the year. All you’ll have to say is “Hey Google, Let’s Play a Game” to browse the latest and greatest games.

by John Hsu via The Keyword

To be a Google intern in 2020

I had been dealing with imposter syndrome for months. Since applying for an internship at Google, I questioned if my GPA was high enough, if they liked my interviews or if my application could stand out without going to an Ivy League school. After weeks of anticipation, I finally got the call from my recruiter. I received an offer to intern on the Global Communications and Public Affairs Team in the New York City office. And when I learned about my role telling stories on Google’s blog and social channels, I knew this was a perfect fit for me. 

But in the weeks after I got that call in January, it seemed like the world was spiraling. COVID-19 hit the United States hard. The number of cases increased, students were evacuated from campus, stay-at-home orders were put in place—it was scary. I was worried about what would happen to my Google internship, and when another email from the recruiter came, my eyes scanned for the words “cancelled” and “postponed.” Luckily, I didn’t see them, but instead, the email announced my internship would be virtual. 

Super G takeover, intern edition! Check out these Super Gs created by our amazing intern team for International Intern Day. Paper florals: Raman Mangla; rubber duck: Sophie Bohr; cake: Riya Singh; woodblock: Elena Dontsova; dumplings: Prashnna Gyawali; logos: Abigail Siegel; pasta: Julia Schorn; word cutouts: Gabriele Cabral.

My Google internship looked different than I thought it would. Instead of exploring a new city with new friends, I was in quarantine in my hometown of Baltimore, where the most I could explore was my backyard with my 11-year old sister.  

Even though I’m not physically in the office, I’ve gained some valuable lessons that I’ll take with me regardless of where I’m working: Overcommunication is key, and self-advocacy and initiative is twice as important when working virtually. After speaking with interns from around the world in different fields, I found that we’ve had similar experiences. This National Intern Day (but here at Google, celebrated as International Intern Day as we have interns in 43 countries around the world), I want to highlight a few of my peers, the lessons we’ve learned and ultimately what it means to be a Google intern. (If you’d like to learn more about Google’s internship program, head over to google.com/students.)

Photo illustration by Victoria Fernandez, Intern, Marketing 

Projects that make a difference for everyone

Meet Madhuparna

Intern, Cloud, Bangalore, India  

Madhuparna’s project will impact the future of research for COVID-19, making information about COVID-19 more accessible and searchable. She’s helping the Google Cloud team create a search interface that will enable doctors and researchers to extract information on COVID-19. Along with her work, she also learned how connected the Google community is and how to build relationships with people in different countries. “Everyone is super friendly, and my team involves me in every meeting, not just ones about my project,” she says. “I don’t even feel like an intern, I feel like a full time Googler.” Doing this project makes her Google experience one that lets her create real connections and lasting change. 

Photo illustration by Victoria Fernandez, Intern, Marketing 

Flexibility is key 

Meet Federico

Intern, Research, Berlin, Germany

While Federico works at home in Berlin, he reports to his manager based in California, while simultaneously working with a team in Paris on their new app, Keen. Keen is a recently launched app that began as an Area 120 project that lets you curate, explore and share content around your interests. While working with people from different countries and timezones he’s learned that sometimes a three-minute video chat can be more useful than going back and forth via email. Also, keeping scheduled meetings on the calendar helps with consistent communication. “Google employees taught me how to keep it flexible, they are super nice and responsive,” Federico says. Even with a nine-hour time difference, he meets with his host every day to talk about his project. 

Photo Illustration by Victoria Fernandez, Intern, Marketing

Balancing work and relationship building  

Meet Tyler

Intern, Search, North Carolina, United States

As an MBA student, Tyler understands the value of networking and relationship building. Her role, which intersects government and tech, allows her to connect with a variety of people. Even though we’re working from home, cultivating relationships with our managers and colleagues is still important. Tyler’s team emphasizes connecting with each other, even though they’re apart. “Google really wants to get to know the full ‘you,’” she said. For example, Tyler and a colleague from Singapore shared some recipes with each other, then went on Google Meet to show each other how their meals turned out. She has also joined the team for some virtual breakfasts, lunches and happy hours. Tyler says the first few minutes of a team meeting will often be spent checking in on each other and acknowledging the tough situation they are in. 

by Jala Tucker via The Keyword

New ways to support Black-owned businesses

While working as an Entrepreneur-in-residence at Google from 2014 to 2016, I traveled across the country to help enhance the online presence of hundreds of Black-owned businesses. As a Black woman, entrepreneur and Googler, supporting Black-owned businesses and Black founders is my passion.

Over the past few months, we’ve seen a surge in online searches for Black-owned businesses. It’s been inspiring to witness so many people look for ways to invest in the Black community. Now, we’re announcing three new ways to help support Black business owners. 

Starting today, merchants in the U.S. with a verified Business Profile on Google can add a Black-owned business attribute to their profile, making it easier for customers to find and support them. As part of our $300 million commitment to support underrepresented entrepreneurs, we’re also integrating the attribute into the digital skills training programs we offer Black business owners through Grow with Google Digital Coaches. And through Google for Startups Accelerator for Black Founders, we’re starting our work with the first cohort of 12 startups. 

Making Search and Maps more inclusive

With this attribute, our goal is to make Search and Maps more inclusive and help support Black-owned businesses when they need it most. 

“Everyone who comes into this store is welcome,” says Janet Jones, founder and co-owner of the Detroit-based Source Booksellers. “For us, being Black-owned means serving the community we’re in.” 

By adding the attribute, people using Google Search and Maps can see Source Booksellers is Black-owned, and easily extend their support by purchasing one of their products, leaving a great review and sharing their Business Profile with others looking for their next book. 

Identity attributes are featured on merchants' Business Profiles when they opt in

To help get the word out about the new Black-owned attribute, we’ve partnered with the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. (USBC). With 145 Black Chambers of Commerce and 326,000 members across the country, USBC provides leadership and advocacy to empower Black business owners through resources and initiatives. Together, Google and USBC will provide training for Black-owned businesses to enhance their presence on Google through the use of digital tools like Google My Business and Google Analytics. Our hope is that by partnering with USBC, we can help more businesses connect with their community and customers.

Reaching more businesses with digital skills training

We’re also adding the Black-owned business attribute to the training curriculum offered through the Grow with Google Digital Coaches program. Since 2017, Digital Coaches have offered free mentorship, networking, and workshop opportunities to Black and Latinx businesses in 11 cities across the U.S., including Atlanta, Chicago and Detroit. And the program is growing: Last month, we announced an expansion to Birmingham, Alabama, Memphis, Tennessee and Cleveland, Ohio, as well as a commitment to train more than 50,000 Black owned small businesses. 

Introducing the first class of Google for Startups Accelerator for Black Founders

Through Google for Startups, we’re also expanding ways to support Black entrepreneurs who are using technology to address so many of today’s biggest challenges. Today, we’re announcing the inaugural class of the Google for Startups Accelerator for Black Founders with 12 high potential Seed to Series A tech startups based in the U.S. 

Inaugural class of the Google for Startups Accelerator for Black Founders

The class includes entrepreneurs like Guy Asaad, founder of Clerkie, a business designed to help Americans get out of debt. It also includes Melvin Hine, founder of Upswing, which is dedicated to improving the online education system, and Ashley Edwards, founder of MindRight Health which provides digital mental health services for young people. Starting next month, these 12 founders will receive training and support from Google and industry experts on technical challenges, business growth, and outside investment opportunities to help them reach the next level.

In my current role as the Head of Google for Startups in the U.S., I have the privilege of continuing to work with Black entrepreneurs. Today’s updates are a part of our company-wide effort to support Black-owned businesses through products and meaningful partnerships. It’s my hope that this attribute and Google’s tools and training can serve as additional resources for Black-owned businesses and the people who support them. 

by Jewel Burks via The Keyword

Helping publishers manage consent with Funding Choices

Consent management, or the process of gathering and managing user privacy and data choices, has become increasingly important as more regions around the world enact privacy regulations. For publishers to continue funding their businesses with advertising, while respecting the privacy of their users, many are implementing a consent management solution.

To help publishers gather and manage consent for the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and opt-out requests for the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), we’re adding new features to Funding Choices, our Consent Management Platform (CMP). These new features allow publishers to communicate with users for GDPR and CCPA purposes, so that they can monetize their content online in a privacy-focused way. They also build on Funding Choices’ existing capabilities that enable publishers to recover revenue lost toad blockers and seek user consent for ads personalization.

Gather consent for GDPR with the IAB Europe's TCF v2.0

Funding Choices is integrating with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Europe’s Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF) v2.0, which standardizes the process of gathering consent for GDPR. In advance of Google’s integration into the framework, publishers can start testing new IAB Europe TCF v2.0 messages today. This European industry standard offers a common language for publishers to gather, manage, and communicate user consent for personalized ad serving and other purposes such as ads measurement, providing transparency and consistency across the advertising ecosystem. 

With Funding Choices, publishers who choose to use the IAB Europe TCF v2.0 standard will be able to create consent messages that match the look and feel of their website or app, display the messages to users located in EU and UK regions, and communicate user privacy selections with advertising partners. As Funding Choices is integrated with Google Ad Manager and AdMob, user choices will be automatically communicated to and respected by our publisher ad servers. 

Gather opt-out requests for CCPA

In addition to GDPR, Funding Choices now offers publishers a way to communicate with users in California to give them the ability to opt out of the sale of their personal information under CCPA. Funding Choices uses the IAB's CCPA Compliance Framework to communicate users’ opt-out choices, providing publishers with a standardized approach to manage opt outs from users in this region.

Similar to how it works for GDPR, Funding Choices detects when a user from California visits a website, shows a CCPA message that allows the user to opt out of the sale of their personal information, and communicates the user’s choices with the publisher’s advertising partners. Funding Choices’ CCPA messaging capability is integrated with Ad Manager for desktop and mobile web, so that user choices are automatically respected by Ad Manager on these properties.

Grow revenue in a privacy-focused way

Funding Choices makes the process of gathering and managing consent easy. It allows publishers to communicate with users and give them more transparency and control over how their data is being used. This makes it possible for publishers to continue to fund their content with advertising in a way that respects user choice and privacy. 

Funding Choices is simple to use and free for publishers who have an Ad Manager or AdMob account. To make it easy for partners to sign up for Funding Choices, we’ve added a new button directly in the Ad Manager and AdMob user interfaces called “Manage consent with Funding Choices.” 

As new privacy regulations arise, we’ll continue to evolve our consent management solution and  help our publishing partners navigate user privacy decisions in a transparent way. We remain committed to helping our partners monetize their content and grow their digital businesses for the future. 

Please visit the Funding Choices website to learn more.

by Vegard JohnsonGoogle via The Keyword

Meet Milwaukee: Visit the city with Google Arts & Culture

Did you know that Milwaukee is nicknamed the City of Festivals, and hosts 60 in the summer alone? Or that it was called the “Midwest’s Coolest and Most Underrated City” by Vogue? This summer, Visit Milwaukee is one of 16 institutions partnering with Google Arts & Culture to introduce the world to the Brew City. While our celebrations may look different, we’re bringing our festivities to you. From murals and manufacturing to breweries and fine art museums, here are five reasons you should visit our quirky, dynamic community: 

1. The people

Milwaukee is alive. The moment you start speaking to Milwaukeeans you encounter people who are curious about the world around them and proud of their city. Radio Milwaukee offers a platform for all sorts of creatives, including female poets during National Poetry Month and high school musicians through their music lab with Grace Weber. Imagine MKE gives us a glimpse into the creative process of Milwaukee artists like muralist Ken Brown or poet Dasha Kelly Hamilton.

2. The places

One of the many things we do at Visit Milwaukee is help Milwaukeeans celebrate the city’s culture of beer gardens and breweries, giving a nod to the wave of German and Eastern-European immigrants whose beer-brewing culture still shapes the city today. Sculpture Milwaukee takes us to the city streets, reminding us via world-class sculpture to be thoughtful and to keep a sense of humor during our daily journeys through the city’s downtown neighborhoods.

3. The masterpieces

Discover the city’s unique museums from the Milwaukee Art Museum (which houses one of the largest U.S. art collections!), to the Grohmann Museum (home to the world’s most comprehensive art collection dedicated to the evolution of human work). Explore the Haggerty Museum at Marquette University to see 52 works digitized by Google Arts & Culture (including The Philosopher from Rembrandt’s workshop), and tour the Charles Allis Museum’s collection of gem-like paintings (such as Rosa Bonheur’s Head of Roebuck).

4. The performing arts

Between extraordinary performances of actors and musicians in lockdown from the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, fun action shots from First Stage performances like “Mariposa” and “Roald Dahl’s Matilda,” and stories from the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra celebrating their students and their community, music and theater lovers make their mark in Milwaukee.

5. The history

Park systems are not only maintainers of outdoor space—they’re the keepers of our collective histories, as well. Milwaukee County Parks gives us glimpses into city life at the turn of the century, and paints familiar places in a new light through its newly-digitized collection of historical postcards and photographs. Milwaukee County Parks is joined in their exploration of history by the Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear, whose stories of daily life in the 20’s and 30’s let us peek at everything from grocery stores to immigration. Finally, the Milwaukee Public Museum teaches us about Native American history around the Great Lakes and the role native plants played in their societies.

Curious to see more? Stroll around 10 places you wouldn’t expect to be in Milwaukee, or get to know the city’s alphabet by visiting g.co/Milwaukee, downloading the Android or iOS app or visiting Google Arts & Culture. 

• Milwaukee Art Museum

  Visit the Milwaukee Art Museum, one of the most architecturally extraordinary museums (the “wings” of the Calatrava building open and close) as well as one of the largest art collections in the country.

  
  

• Milwaukee Brewery

  Discover the history of Eastern-European immigrants and the brewery culture they brought with them with Visit Milwaukee.

  
  

• Lily Pond, Milwaukee Parks

  Dive into the past with historical postcards and photographs from Milwaukee County Parks, and see how Milwaukeeans lived at the turn of the century.

  
  

• Milwaukee's Female Poets

  Listen and learn from female Milwaukee poets as they read their work out loud and give you a glimpse into their community, thanks to Radio Milwaukee.

  
  

• Milwaukee Muralist Ken Brown

  Listen to Milwaukee muralists and creatives like Ken Brown discuss their work through Imagine MKE.

• Keith Haring at the Haggerty Museum of Art

  Watch iconic artist Keith Haring paint a construction fence at the Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University.

• Sculpture Milwaukee

  Check out public sculpture and explore the different work that each year brings to Milwaukee’s streets with Sculpture Milwaukee.

by Jennifer Posh via The Keyword

Sundar Pichai’s testimony to the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust

Editor’s Note: Today the CEOs of Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook are testifying before the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law. Read our CEO Sundar Pichai’s opening testimony below, describing how Google’s free products are helpful to people and small businesses, and how competition inspires us to innovate and create better products for everyone. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Sensenbrenner, and members of the Subcommittee. Before I start, I know this hearing was delayed because of the ceremonies to honor the life of your colleague, Representative John Lewis. Because of his courage, this world is a better place. He’ll be deeply missed. 

At its heart, a discussion about competition is a discussion about opportunity. This has never been more important, as the global pandemic poses dual challenges to our health and our economy.  

Expanding access to opportunity through technology is personal to me. I didn’t have much access to a computer growing up in India. So you can imagine my amazement when I arrived in the U.S. for graduate school and saw an entire lab of computers to use whenever I wanted. 

Accessing the internet for the first time set me on a path to bring technology to as many people as possible. It inspired me to build Google’s first browser, Chrome. I’m proud that 11 years later, so many people experience the web through Chrome, for free.

Google takes pride in the number of people who choose our products; we’re even prouder of what they do with them … from the 140 million students and teachers using G Suite for Education to stay connected during the pandemic ... to the 5 million Americans gaining digital skills through Grow with Google … to all the people who turn to Google for help, from finding the fastest route home to learning how to cook a new dish on YouTube. 

Google’s work would not be possible without the long tradition of American innovation, and we’re proud to contribute to its future. We employ more than 75,000 people in the U.S. across 26 states. The Progressive Policy Institute estimated that in 2018 we invested more than $20 billion in the U.S., citing us as the largest capital investor in America that year, and one of the top five for the last three years.

One way we contribute is by building helpful products. Research found that free services like Search, Gmail, Maps, and Photos provide thousands of dollars a year in value to the average American. Many are small businesses using our digital tools to grow:

• Stone Dimensions, a family-owned stone company in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, uses Google My Business to draw new customers. 

• Gil’s Appliances—a family-owned appliance store in Bristol, Rhode Island—credits Google Analytics with helping them reach customers online during the pandemic. Nearly one-third of small business owners say that without digital tools they would have had to close all or part of their business during COVID. 

Another way we contribute is by being among the world’s biggest investors in research and development. At the end of 2019, our R&D spend had increased tenfold over 10 years, from $2.8 billion to $26 billion, and we’ve invested over $90 billion over the last five years. Our engineers are helping America remain a global leader in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, self-driving cars, and quantum computing. 

Just as America’s technology leadership is not inevitable, Google’s continued success is not guaranteed. New competitors emerge every day, and today users have more access to information than ever before. Competition drives us to innovate, and it also leads to better products, lower prices and more choices for everyone. For example, competition helped lower online advertising costs by 40 percent over the last decade, with savings passed down to consumers. 

Open platforms like Android also support the innovation of others. Using Android, thousands of mobile operators build and sell their own devices, without paying any licensing fees to us. This has enabled billions of consumers to afford cutting-edge smartphones, some for less than $50. Whether building tools for small businesses or platforms like Android, Google succeeds when others succeed. 

Competition also sets higher standards for privacy and security. I’ve always believed that privacy is a universal right, and Google is committed to keeping your information safe, treating it responsibly, and putting you in control, and we’ve long supported the creation of comprehensive federal privacy laws.

I’ve never forgotten how access to technology and innovation changed the course of my life. Google aims to build products that increase access to opportunity for everyone—no matter where you live, what you believe, or how much money you earn.  

We are committed to doing this responsibly—in partnership with lawmakers—to ensure every American has access to the incredible opportunity technology creates.

Thank you.

by Sundar Pichai via The Keyword