Honoring the legacy of Black-owned businesses in the U.S.

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In this post:This Black History Month, we’re highlighting Black-owned businesses and showing our support through funding and training.

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In 1946, Irene and Clint Cleaves opened The Four Way Grill with a simple mission: Serve the best soul food in all of Memphis. And for the last 75 years, they’ve done just that and more. In its early days, The Four Way was one of the few places where Black and white diners sat together, and it was considered a safe haven for leaders of the civil rights movement to recharge and enjoy a good meal. And today under the stewardship of the Bates family, The Four Way Restaurant remains a cornerstone of the Memphis community and symbol of Black American history. 

Historically, Black-owned businesses have served as gathering spots for Black communities throughout the country and provided a strong sense of ownership and belonging for those who were denied equal rights. And today, as more Black businesses come online, they’re creating new pathways for economic opportunity and generational wealth in the Black community. As we kick off the first day of Black History Month, we want to shine a light on Black-owned businesses, big and small, and honor their resilience and ingenuity.

Making it easier to find and support Black businesses 

In the past 12 months, Google search interest for “black owned businesses” has skyrocketed 600% based on Google Trends data comparing January-December 2019 to January-December 2020. Across the country, people have been looking for “black owned restaurants,” “black owned bookstores,” “black owned beauty supply” and more, which speaks to the diversity within the Black business community. We want to make it easier for people to support and spend dollars with the Black businesses they love. Starting today, we’re extending the Black-owned attribute to Google’s Shopping tab, so people can easily identify and buy from Black-owned businesses on Google. Business owners can add the Black-owned attribute by visiting the Google Merchant Help Center. The feature will become visible to shoppers and available to all U.S. Google Merchants in coming months. This update builds on the Black-owned business attribute we launched across Google Search and Maps last summer and is another way people can shop with Black businesses across Google’s products and platforms. 

The Black-owned business attribute on Google’s Shopping tab.

Funding organizations that support the Black small business community 

Reports have shown that 41% of Black-owned businesses — about 440,000 businesses — have been shuttered due to COVID-19. Through our partnership with Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), over $30 million in loans and Google.org grants to support Black-owned businesses and community lenders have been distributed to local organizations; that’s out of the $50 million we committed through the Grow with Google Small Business Fund announced back in June. We also provided a $5 million Google.org grantto Common Future, which through its network, has distributed the funding to community organizations supporting women and minority small business owners throughout the U.S. and is providing technical assistance and coaching to businesses. Click through to meet some of the Black-owned small businesses and community-centered organizations that have received funding.

• Donte Miller and Harriett Williams

  Harriett Williams and Donte Miller are co-Founders of the Village Micro Fund, which is a social impact fund dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs in Metro Atlanta, GA. The Village Micro Fund works to fill the access gaps in financing, education, technical assistance, and cooperative development for small black and brown businesses and prove that under-resourced communities around the country can self direct the development of their neighborhoods. The Village Micro Fund received funding from Common Future, with support from Google.org. (Photo by Adrianna Clark)

• JC Smith

  JC Smith and Jeff Smith launched Bailiwick Clothing Company to represent and elevate the pride and positive energy of the District of Columbia. Facing unprecedented challenges in the face of COVID-19, the brothers turned to Washington Area Community Investment Fund (Wacif) for financing and technical assistance, with support from the Grow with Google Small Business Fund and Google.org.

• Sheila standing in front of her store, Liha

  Sheila owns mobile boutique Liha on 125th Street in Harlem next to the iconic Apollo Theater. When COVID-19 hit New York City in March, Sheila had to shut down her store due to social distancing mandates and quickly pivoted her business online with financing and technical assistance from Grameen America, with support from the Grow with Google Small Business Fund and Google.org.

• Jessica Norwood

  Jessica Norwood is the CEO of RUNWAY, a national financial innovation firm that advances resiliency for Black businesses and the communities they serve by building emergent financial practices and infrastructure that closes the racial wealth gap for good. RUNWAY provides Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs with early-stage “We believe in you” funding and holistic business support in order to bridge the racial wealth gap for African-Americans and their local communities. RUNWAY received funding from Common Future, with support from Google.org.  (Photo by Toni Riales)

• Tim Lampkin

  Tim Lampkin is the CEO of Higher Purpose Co. (HPC), an economic justice nonprofit working to build community wealth with Black residents in Mississippi by supporting the ownership of financial, cultural, and political power. By using a solutions-based organizing and community wealth building approach, HPC unapologetically tackles the generational poverty, structured inequality, and institutional racism in Mississippi. Higher Purpose received funding from Common Future, with support from Google.org.  (Photo by Trent Calvin Photography)
  

• Jennie L. Stephens

  Jennie L. Stephens is the CEO of theCenter for Heirs Property Preservation, which is a non-profit that helps families protect and keep their family land, build generational wealth and grow working landscape.  The Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation protects heirs’ property and promotes the sustainable use of land to provide increased economic benefit to historically underserved landowners. The Center for Heirs Property Preservation received funding from Common Future, with support from Google.org.
  

In addition to financial support, Google recently expanded the Grow with Google Digital Coaches program to 20 cities across the U.S. in order to provide 50,000 additional Black-owned businesses with mentorship, networking and training they need to grow. To date, Digital Coaches have helped train over 58,000 Black and Latino small business owners through more than 1,000 digital skills workshops. Throughout Black History Month, our Digital Coaches will host tailored digital skills workshops for Black business owners in their communities. 

These events will culminate in a virtual, national Black Small Business Meetup on February 25 with free workshops, panels and best-practice sharing for more than 500 Black small business owners, entrepreneurs and leaders from across the country. Sign up to attend the free virtual summit at our event website. 

Black businesses are critical to the growth and recovery of the U.S. economy. It’s imperative that we support and invest in Black business owners, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing many of their businesses to close. Black-owned businesses have a rich legacy of community and activism, and it's our collective responsibility to ensure that their legacy continues to thrive for generations to come. 

by Attica JacquesConsumer Apps via The Keyword

Answering your top questions about the News Media Bargaining Code

We know many of you still have questions about the News Media Bargaining Code and its impact on the Google services you use after Mel Silva, Managing Director for Google Australia, appeared at a public hearing of the Senate Economics Legislation Committee last week. We want to address some key questions to help clarify our position. 

Question 1: What is Google’s position on this new law?

We are not against being regulated by a Code and we are willing to pay to support journalism—we are doing that around the world through News Showcase. But several aspects of the current version of this law are just unworkable for the services you use and our business in Australia. The Code, as it’s written, would break the way Google Search works and the fundamental principle of the internet, by forcing us to pay to provide links to news businesses’ sites. 

There aretwo other serious problemsremaining with the law, but at the heart of it, it comes down to this: the Code’s rules would undermine a free and open service that’s been built to serve everyone, and replace it with one where a law would give a handful of news businesses an advantage over everybody else.

Question 2: What have others said about this new law? 

It’s not just Google that is concerned about key aspects of this Code. Twice since the first draft was released in July 2020, regulators and the Government asked the public to make submissions to provide feedback. Here’s an overview of these submissions:

• On 23 December 2020, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission released the submissions people made to the first draft of the News Media Bargaining Code. We found that more than 80% of these submissions flagged significant concerns––and they have come from various groups including businesses of all sizes, industry groups, small news publishers, YouTube creators, and hundreds of individual Australians.  More information in this blog. 

• The Senate Committee that is currently reviewing the law also asked for feedback. Our analysis shows that 34 of the 55 submissions they received voiced concerns about the law––including about the provision that makes digital platforms pay just to link (see question 4). This includes Google’s own submission. The remaining 21 submissions were either supportive or neutral towards most aspects of the Code. You can read through all submissions here.  

Question 3: What’s so bad about paying for links?  

The ability to link freely between sites is a fundamental part of the internet. Just like you don’t pay to include a hyperlink in an email, websites and search engines do not pay to provide links to third party websites. It creates a damaging precedent and privileges one group of content, that of news publishers, over everyone else, which breaks Google search. Read more about why linking freely is important for the open webhere.

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Question 4: What have others said about paying for links?

•  “[The law] risks breaching a fundamental principle of the web by requiring payment for linking between certain content online.” - Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the world wide web.

• ”...the requirement for digital platforms to pay for providing a link to another website runs counter to one of the fundamental tenets of the internet: the ability to link freely between content. The ability to freely make these connections has underpinned the creativity and sharing of knowledge enabled by the internet. This legislation undercuts this fundamental principle that has, for decades, enabled the internet to deliver real benefits to all Australians.” - The Business Council of Australia. 

• “The precedent of charging for links and snippets is a fundamental threat to the open internet, not just Google.” - Scott Farquhar, co-founder of Australian tech company Atlassian, as told to The Australian on January 15.

• “In its current state [the bill] represents a fundamental challenge to the free and open Internet, to the functioning of the country’s digital economy, and to Australia’s economic future…” - Vint Cerf, chief internet evangelist at Google, also regarded as one of the ‘fathers of the internet’. 

Question 5: You say you're not against paying to support journalism, but the Code isn't workable. So what do you propose?

We are willing to pay to support journalism, but how we do that matters. Instead of requiring payment for linking to websites, we have proposed a model where Google could pay Australian news businesses under this new Code through Google News Showcase: our AU$1.38 billion (US$1 billion) commitment over three years to support the news industry worldwide. There are nearly 450 publications signed up already, including seven publishers with 25 titles here in Australia, and publications like Reuters, Germany’s Der Spiegel, France’s Le Monde, or piauí, in Brazil. 

Google News Showcase is a new product that will benefit both publishers and readers: Readers get more insight on the stories that matter to them with curated story panels across several Google services, and news publishers will increase their revenue through monthly licensing payment from Google as well as payment for paywalled content to provide users free access to select stories. In addition, news publishers have the opportunity to further grow their business through high-value traffic to their sites and deeper relationships with their audience.

News Showcase shows up as panels on Google News and Google Discover. In Germany and Brazil millions of users have already seen the panels publishers created there.

Google News Showcase would be subject to this new law. That means if a publisher is discussing a News Showcase deal with Google, and they’re not happy with the negotiation, they could go to an arbitrator to resolve any disagreements. 

Question 6: How does Google propose to change the law? 

We’re proposing reasonable amendments in three areas: 

1. Instead of paying for links, we’re proposing to pay publishers through Google News Showcase, our AU$1.3 billion global investment in news partnerships over the next three years. We know that News Showcase works, because we’ve already signed News Showcase agreements with 450 publications, large and small, across a dozen countries, and they’re now getting paid. News Showcase would operate under this Code, with the option to go to an arbitrator if there are any disagreements. 

2. To ensure that both publishers and platforms can negotiate fairly, we’ve proposed a standard commercial arbitration model for deals on News Showcase, one that would let arbitrators look at the comparable value of similar transactions, rather than an unpredictable process which  looks at only one side’s costs and discounts the value Google provides publishers. 

3. Giving notice to certain news businesses about changes to our algorithm should be limited to significant actionable changes only, noting we make thousands of updates to Google Search every year.

Question 7: If this law passes as it stands, will Google Search still be available in Australia?

The ability to link freely between websites is fundamental to Search. This Code creates an unreasonable and unmanageable financial and operational risk to our business. As Mel Silva said during the Senate hearing last week, if the Code were to become law in its current form, we would have no real choice but to stop making Google Search available in Australia. 

After Mel said that, many media outlets reported that we have ‘threatened’ to leave Australia. Stopping to make Search available is the last thing we want to have happen, and it’s a worst case scenario if the Code remains unworkable. As we told Senators, we’re willing to pay publishers for value. We don’t object to a mandatory News Media Bargaining Code, and we believe there’s a clear path to make this Code work for everyone—publishers, digital platforms and Australian businesses and consumers. 

Question 8: Why is making Search unavailable in Australia the worst case scenario, why can't you just remove news from Search results?

This is not possible due to the extremely broad and vague definition of “news” in the Code—which includes any “content that reports, investigates or explains current issues or events of interest to Australians." This goes far beyond what most of us would consider “news.” And the content we’d need to remove could be on any website at any time, not just the websites of the news businesses registered under the Code.  

Question 9: What’s happening in France? I read that you’re paying publishers there...

We have offered (and signed ) deals for News Showcase in France and a dozen other countries, the same as what we’re proposing in Australia. We believe that these new agreements demonstrate that News Showcase can work as a solution to pay publishers within a framework set by regulators, without breaking Google Search or the open web. 

Question 10: How does news content show up in Google?

Google does not show full news articles, we link you to news content, just like we link you to every other page on the web such as Wikipedia entries, personal blogs or business websites. You can read more about how news shows up in Google Search, and how we’re supporting the news industry in this blog. 

Question 11: What does Google contribute to the Australian economy?

Each year, Google provides $53 billion in benefits to businesses and consumers. In 2002, Google Australia started with just one person in a lounge room, today, our team has grown to be 1,800 strong. Today, we support an additional 116,000 jobs across the country, and provide $39 billion in benefits to Australian businesses and $14 billion in benefits to consumers. In the 2019 calendar year, Google Australia paid AU$59 million of corporate income taxes, and Google’s presence in Australia contributed over AU$700 million in taxes to the Australian Government’s revenue base. 

Question 12: What’s the impact of the revised law on YouTube?

On 8 December 2020, the Government confirmed that YouTube will not be included as a designated service in the Code at this time, and we agree that this is the right approach. However, the way that the Code is written leaves the door open for additional digital platforms to be added at any time, and several businesses have advocated for YouTube’s inclusion in their Senate submissions. We will continue to make our case to the Australian Government on why YouTube should remain excluded from the Code.

You can read more about our proposal for a workable News Media Bargaining Code at g.co/afaircode and in these blog posts. You can hear Mel Silva’s full testimony at the Senate hearing on 22 January on this site.  

by Mel Silva via The Keyword

Quicksave: The latest from Google Play Pass

Google Play Pass helps you connect with awesome digital content: It’s your pass to hundreds of apps and games without ads and in-app purchases. It’s been a pretty busy year for Play Pass, so let’s take a moment to spotlight a few of the games and developers we think you’ll enjoy.

Program updates

This past year, Play Pass…

• Celebrated its first birthday

• Expanded to 42 countries

• Added more than 300 new apps and games, including more than 100 teacher-approved kids’ titles

New games coming and recent additions

Giant Dancing Plushies (Rogue Games, Inc.):

Help huge, adorable stuffed animals conquer the planet in this adorable (yet… terrifying) take on the rhythm game genre. Jam to the great in-game tracks or Kaiju it up to your own favorite music and get ready to stomp on the city! 

Figment (Bedtime Digital Games):

Venture into the whimsical, dream-like world of the human mind. Solve puzzles to restore the peace and rediscover the courage that's been lost–all while beating back the nightmarish fears that threaten to take over! If you’re looking for a mind-blowing weekend playlist, we recommend checking out Figment, Samorost 3, Old Man’s Journey and The Gardens Between (all included with your Play Pass subscription). Can you identify the theme that links them?

The Legend of Bum-Bo (The Label Limited):

Help Bum-Bo recover his lost coin in this edgy, puzzle-based, rogue-like prequel to the Binding of Isaac.  We won’t give away too much, but this combo of turn-based combat and poop (yes, poop) makes for one unforgettable gaming experience.

Titles we can’t get enough of

Everything by Team17: Bust out of a life behind bars, save some sheep and battle your way to worm domination. Almost every live Android title from this renowned publisher will be joining Play Pass. From the Escapists series, Flockers, to every Worms game, Team17 sure knows how to bring it and we’re all here for it.

The Escapists: Prison Escape

The Escapists 2: Pocket Breakout

and many more

Basketball Club Story (Kairosoft): Create your own basketball team, recruit a cast of zany players and compete against other teams in the league! You’re the coach taking the team to victory in this sim game from Japanese developer Kairosoft.  Keep an eye out for more from them soon.

Grand Mountain Adventure: Snowboard Premiere (Toppluva AB):The new Winter 2021 Expansion adds a bunch of new mountains and challenging excitement to this local multiplayer. If you can’t hit the slopes this winter, everything you need (including an avalanche of recently added content) is included in this game for you. Well… everything except the après-ski festivities.

Holedown (grapefrukt games):Shoot balls, break blocks, upgrade all the things. How deep can you go? We love this game so much and are excited to have just welcomed another grapefrukt game (rymdkapsel) to Play Pass.

Evoland(Playdigious):Embark on an epic action/adventure journey with plenty of humor and nods to the classics. Upgrade your graphics and gameplay as you advance on your quest. As we know, every great title has a sequel, so make sure to be on the lookout for more Evoland coming to Play Pass.

Full list of additions since December 1, 2020:

• Baby Daybook

• Basketball Club Story

• Bullet Boy

• Central Hospital Stories

• Cytus

• Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition

• Dawnbringer

• Drag'n'Boom

• Dumb Ways to Die

• Dumb Ways To Draw

• EuroFoot - football reminder. Season 2020-2021

• Figment

• Giant Dancing Plushies

• Grand Mountain Adventure: Snowboard Premiere

• Hack RUN

• Hexio

• Hyperforma Premium

• inReverse Party Game - Backwards Karaoke

• Johnny Bonasera 1

• Kids Learn about Animals

• Leap On!

• Legend of the Skyfish

• LEGO® DUPLO® WORLD

• Little Fox Animal Doctor

• Little Mouse's Encyclopedia

• Little Police Station

• LYNE

• Majotori

• Mega Mall Story2

• Modern Defense HD

• Monster Numbers Full Version: Math games for kids

• My Diggy Dog

• My Little Work – Garage

• Nighty Night Forest

• Ordia

• Orixo

• OVIVO - Black and White Platformer Game

• Path of Giants

• Persephone

• Pettson's Inventions

• Pettson's Inventions 3

• Piano Melody Pro

• Prison Planet

• Rebuild 3: Gangs of Deadsville

• rymdkapsel

• SHINE - Journey Of Light

• Silver Screen Story

• Star Walk 2 - Night Sky View and Stargazing Guide

• Stray Souls: Dollhouse Story. Hidden Object Game

• Sweet Home Stories - My family life play house

• Swim Out

• The Legend of Bum-Bo

• Trog Smash Island - A prehistoric adventure

• Unhatched

• Warhammer 40,000: Dakka Squadron

• Whispers of a Machine

• WitchSpring

• WitchSpring2

• Worms 3

by James Kavanagh via The Keyword

Meet 3 women who found community in India’s tech scene

^{From left to right: Dhruva Shastri, Varsha Jaiswal and Supriya Shashivasan.}

Based on research Women Techmakers conducted in 2018, women only make up 34 percent of all technology sector employees in India. Thankfully, there’s a rising leadership of Indian women in tech working to make this industry more inclusive and equitable. 

Many of them are a part of our Women Techmakers community, which is at the forefront of this change. I recently had the chance to talk to Dhruva Shastri, Varsha Jaiswal and Supriya Shashivasan, three Women Techmakers Ambassadors from India, about their experiences in tech, and why they’re so motivated to do this work.

How would you explain your job to someone who isn't in tech?

Dhruva:  I’m a Flutter developer with a background in UX Design, so I’d say I create experience and tools for people who use Android phones, and that I pay extra attention to the design so that it’s fun and easy to use.

Varsha:I’m a web developer, so I would say I talk to people about how they want to use technology so that I can create the places on the internet that serve them with the information or tools they’re looking for. 

Supriya: I’m a front-end developer who takes amazing mockups and designs of websites and apps and converts them to live code so everyone can use them. I’m also pursuing research in security. So I’d say I’m looking into how best we can safeguard our assets, data and online details from hackers.

What made you want to work in this field?

Varsha:Since an early age, I was  interested in  technology and wrote my first code in first grade. I’ve always been passionate about solving problems and building solutions.

Supriya: I’ve always been curious about the mechanics of how things work. I’ve also loved building things on my own since I was a child. In college, I fell in love with technology and discovering ways it could make life easier. Solving problems by building innovative solutions with nothing but a laptop!? It's amazing.

Tech is such an evolving industry, how do you keep your technology skills current? 

Dhruva:The industry is constantly evolving. The internet is the easiest and best resource to learn new things and stay updated on my field. I learn from people and organizations I follow on Twitter, by reading blogs and newsletters and occasionally visiting forums like Stackoverflow, Quora, Reddit and so on. I also attend offline (and more recently due to the pandemic, online) meetups, take online courses, do pair-programming, create sample projects and talk with colleagues. 

Supriya:I spend a few hours a day studying and reading different blogs and forums. I’m also part of online and offline communities like Google Developer Groups, Hashnode, Quora and Stackoverflow where I can connect with other people who work in my field and we can talk, help, network and update each other. Attending online workshops, hackathons and meetups is also helpful.

Why is being part of the Women Techmakers community important to you?

Dhruva: This community provides a sense of belonging, safety and security. I remember  when I  joined the Google Developer Group here in Ahmedabad back in 2013, I was too shy to talk to anyone. And now I feel so much more confident. GDG and Women Techmakers brought out this transformation in me by providing a platform, resources, opportunities and connection. This inclusive space gives you the freedom to share your struggles, celebrate your achievements and build your support system. Now it gives me immense happiness to touch  the lives of women and non-binary groups and be a part of helping them find success. 

Supriya: I used to be so scared of speaking in front of more than five people. I would stutter and gasp for huge breaths of air. That all changed when I got involved with Women Techmakers. During Google Developer Days in 2019, in the community lounge, I watched women speak about the importance of community and how it helped them. I found myself raising my hand to share my experience, but I could barely manage to speak three sentences. Next thing I know I heard claps, and I saw smiles all around. I didn't feel scared anymore. I went on to become an ambassador for my own community.

What is one piece of advice you have for a woman interested in getting into tech?

Dhruva:Success always lies on the other side of our comfort zone. So when you don’t know how to do something, say yes. Take risks, learn something new, because the best way to get out of mediocrity is to keep shooting for excellence.

Varsha:Don’t hesitate, try and keep trying. Ask questions, explore more and trust yourself. And you’re not alone — we’re all together in this, helping each other grow and create a better future.

Supriya:Be fearless, bold, follow your dreams and speak your mind. Turn things to your advantage by forcing your way through any obstacles in your path.

by Rana AbdelhamidWomen Techmakers via The Keyword

Reach your 2021 goals with custom apps — no coding required

We’re nearly a month into 2021, and for some of us, that could mean we’re hitting a New Year’s resolution roadblock. But don’t lose all hope just yet: Research suggests that many of the positive changes we want to make are less about our will power and more about removing the hurdles between each of us and the things we want to do. That’s where technology — especially custom apps — can help.

Whether your goals involve losing weight, being more organized or getting outside more, apps can help you track your progress without getting in your way. And if you want to build your own custom app for these purposes (or if your resolution is in fact to make your own app), we’ve got you covered. 

AppSheet is Google Cloud’s no-code application development platform, and even if you don’t know HTML from Python, you can use it to create powerful applications without writing a single line of code. You can get started with AppSheet directly from Google Sheets, just like creating a Google Form. 

AppSheet can work with almost endless combinations of data, functionality and personalization. We’ve created three app templates that target some common New Year’s goals to get you started.

1.  Get in shape and track your progress.

Finding a fitness routine is perennially one of the top resolutions — and it’s easy to lose sight of this goal without a structured plan and a way to track (and be motivated by) your momentum. There are lots of fitness apps, but maybe you need something super-specific to your workout. If this sounds like you, don’t worry: Using AppSheet, you can build a custom fitness app that can do things like record your sets, reps and weights, log your workouts and show you your progress. 

2. Better manage yourday to day tasks.

Many people are no doubt hoping to be better organized in 2021 — and a customized task management app could be the key. Everyone manages their tasks in slightly different ways: Some like to organize them based on progress, some based on priority, some want recurring reminders for things like paying rent. With AppSheet, you can start with  a task management app template, to build an app suited exactly to how you like to work.

3. Remember to get outside

Even during a pandemic, it’s important to get outside and get fresh air. Depending on how the year progresses, you may want to take some trips to the wilderness — but achieving this goal can be harder than it seems, since even simply finding and navigating the right outdoor space can be challenging. Living in Washington, near three national parks, I’ve really enjoyed going out and exploring them, so I built this National Parks app that makes it easy for me to save info like maps, park description, and park history. I’ve set a goal to visit a dozen parks over the next two years, and I’m using my app to track that. You can easily copy this app and customize it for the places you want to visit and hikes you want to complete. 

These are just a few examples — with AppSheet, you can build custom apps to help you accomplish nearly any resolution. We hope this trio helps you get started, and we look forward to publishing more great tutorials soon to help you have a healthy and productive 2021. 

by Peter Dykstra via The Keyword

The (digital) road from competitive programming to Google SRE

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

Today’s post is all about Mohamed Yosri Ahmed, a Site Reliability Engineer at our Munich office. Yosri’s passion for coding competitions led him to Google -- and now he supports young programmers as a mentor in Google’s own series of coding competitions!

So first off, what is “competitive programming” and what are the competitions like?

In competitive programming, participants put their skills to the test as they work their way through a series of algorithmic puzzles. Competitions are timed, and oftentimes you’re working together with a group of teammates in order to solve difficult puzzles together. Competitive programming is really fun and challenges those who practice it to grow technically and personally.

 How did you first get involved with competitive programming?

 I was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt. I got my computer science bachelor’s degree from Ain Shams University, which is also when my journey with competitive programming (CP) began. Since then I’ve developed a passion for problem solving and finding solutions to complex challenges and riddles.

Yosri at the International Olympiad of Informatics 2019 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

What’s your role at Google?

 I am a Site Reliability Engineer at the Production Productivity Engineering team. We focus on helping Google rapidly launch reliable services through applying best practices. We get to engage with many teams working in many different areas; this is challenging yet super exciting.

I also help run the Google's Coding Competitions such as Code Jam and Kick Start.

What inspires you to log in every day?

At Google there are always new learning opportunities and the possibilities to grow are endless. Google really cares about its employees’ growth and happiness at work.

Also the impact of my team’s work and the products we build, that affects so many people's lives in many ways, makes me feel grateful and inspired to do more.

How did the recruitment process go for you?

After graduating from college, I got contacted by a Google recruiter following my performance in Code Jam that year. Relocation at that point was not easy for me so we had to stop the process. A couple of months later, I got contacted again by another Google recruiter to explore opportunities. By then, things were clear for me and we decided to move forward and start the interview process. I actually flew from the International Collegiate Programming Contest World Finals in Portugal to do my onsite interviews in France.

How did you join the Site Reliability Engineering team at Google?

After passing the interviews, I proceeded to the next step: software engineer team matching. My recruiter also asked me about my interest in Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) which I didn’t know much about at the time. A Googler SRE friend suggested I check out one of the free online books Google SREs wrote to share their best practices.

Yosri and three other new Googlers at Noogler Orientation in Zürich.

How did coding competitions prepare you for SRE at Google?

Competitive programming can help participants develop lots of skills that are useful for SRE, like dealing with ambiguity and being able to troubleshoot abstract ideas without necessarily being the expert. 

CP trains us to focus on targets and how to achieve them. The short time limits teaches us to appreciate every moment and to efficiently utilize the resources we have.

Another aspect of similarity is troubleshooting and testing at scale. Both are key skills and responsibilities for SRE in order to be confident about a system and to know why it may or may not work. With tight time constraints to solve different problems and penalties on wrong attempts, CPers develop their testing and troubleshooting skills.

Both CP communities and SRE thrive on communication and collaboration. SREs have huge diversity in their responsibilities and how they approach them. Cross team collaboration during incidents for a common mitigation goal is similar to a CP style where 3 teammates are trying to solve the same problem on a single PC. In this style, coordination of efforts is essential. 

In CP, team members may have different strengths in different algorithmic and data structures topics and they join their skills to solve more complex problems. Along the way, we learn to make use of our different skill sets in order to succeed together. 

Any other tips you’d like to share with aspiring Googlers?

The path to success is not unique. These paths may cross but they may never be the same for everyone. We should identify our skills and put them into practice to sharpen them. We should always keep on learning and aiming for a better future. 

by Daphne Karpel via The Keyword

Start the year with new video measurement and reporting features

As 2021 begins, we’re still adapting to new ways of life, whether it’s working from home or streaming the latest TV shows and movies directly from our living rooms. In this new environment, businesses are also learning how to achieve goals while working more efficiently across distributed workforces, and it’s no different when it comes to publishers’ video monetization goals. As viewers spent 57% more time streaming video content this past year, video publishers and TV programmers adjusted quickly to measuring ad performance across screens to understand how to meet their goals, grow revenue and deliver a good viewing experience. 

However, video and over-the-top (OTT) measurement hasn’t always been easy due to the variety of devices and platforms, the lack of standardized signals and the reliance on traditional TV data and reservations. To help our partners more efficiently and effectively measure video and OTT inventory performance, we’re launching a suite of new video-first measurement and reporting tools in Google Ad Manager so they can understand what’s working best and earn more money.

Better understand your true video inventory availability

Video True Opportunities Reporting enables partners to understand the true inventory potential of every commercial break using time-based metrics that are built specifically for video. With this feature, you can easily define the ad duration which you consider to be an ad opportunity, let’s say 30 seconds. Then, you can report on the total number of ad opportunities in a video stream, the number of capped opportunities based on your max ads per pod settings, and the number of matched opportunities that were filled by direct or programmatic demand sources. Video True Opportunities will only measure commercial breaks that viewers actually watch, automatically adjusting for user drop-off that occurs on on-demand content. With a more accurate view into inventory availability and fill rates, you can understand mid-break drop-offs, unfilled ad time, and slate in live broadcasts, so that you can better optimize your video inventory.

You can also use this report with Ad Break Templates, a feature that enables you to use granular advertising rules to create a customized commercial break, so that you can understand ad opportunities based on how you sell your ads. Easily break down Video True Opportunities metrics by custom spots to see how your inventory is performing—whether it’s programmatic, sponsorships or inventory-shared ads. This information can help you determine where user drop-off or empty ad breaks have occurred, optimize your max ad settings and understand where fill rates may be low so that you can improve ad break performance and monetize more effectively across all of your demand partners.

We’ve also made enhancements to TV Forecasting that allow partners to more accurately project available video inventory and account for seasonality complexities like those caused by the unpredictable nature of COVID-19. First, we’ve integrated Video True Opportunities metrics into TV Forecasting, like ad duration and ad opportunities, so that partners can use these new data points to understand future inventory availability. Next, partners can now customize and adjust ad requests based on reference points. For example, if you’re planning to premiere a new season of an existing show in January 2021, but the previous season premiered in November 2019, you can tell Ad Manager to use the traffic spikes or ad request characteristics from the 2019 premiere as a reference point instead of the previous year’s January to more accurately inform the forecasted inventory availability in 2021. 

Explore, measure and package your inventory based on content insights

Content has become an even more critical inventory signal across OTT devices due to device fragmentation. To give partners a new content-aware way to explore, measure and package their video inventory, we’re making the Video Content Explorer UI more widely available and adding new insights cards. The new audience insights card offers demographic breakdowns of content based on your first-party audience data so that you can understand what audiences are watching your content and more effectively value your inventory. Additional insights cards also reveal details into the top devices your content was viewed on, which content is driving the highest impressions, and the sell-through performance of ads on your content. This information can help you optimize your ads across devices and demographics, and understand where there are opportunities to increase monetization of specific content. Moving forward, this screen will be Ad Manager’s primary content hub, where we’ll add more content packaging capabilities, audience insights sources and monetization features.

Increase OTT impression value with Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings 

Part of what makes TV content so valuable is the fact that it’s often a shared viewing experience, with families and friends viewing together in the same room. To help our partners accurately measure this viewership, we've integrated with Nielsen’s Digital Ad Ratings product suite, which provides OTT measurement of select platforms that is inclusive of co-viewing. Using Nielsen data, you can measure and receive credit for multiple impressions on your OTT inventory that reflects co-viewing. Additionally, using Google Ad Manager’s demographic pacing features, it’s possible to have your line item impression goals update automatically based on Nielsen in-demo rates and advertiser requirements.

As we look at the year ahead, we’ll continue building even more advanced video measurement and reporting features, like automated video notifications, new insights cards and video content packaging, so that you can have more actionable insights and sell your video inventory as efficiently as possible. 

by Peentoo PatelGoogle Ad Manager via The Keyword

New year, same us: Maps trends on 2021 resolutions

The beginning of the year is often viewed as a fresh start. But in many ways, January feels like the thirteenth month of 2020! We turned to Google Maps search insights (December 2019-January 2020 vs. December 2020-January 2021) to see how Americans are handling tried-and-true New Year’s resolutions. Find out how common resolutions — like traveling, drinking less, eating better and working out more — are holding up in the midst of COVID-19.

Travel, but make it local

Americans seem to be feeling a sense of wanderlust, but it’s focused more on local travel than it was in January 2020. Last year, Maps searches for international destinations rose by over 65% compared to the previous month – with people searching for warm-weather places like Australia, Costa Rica and the Philippines. This year, January searches for countries outside of one’s hometown stayed flat — increasing by a mere 1%, almost certainly due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

In January 2020, Maps searches for island destinations increased by over 40% as people planned for some fun in the sun. This January, those searches are only up by a little over 10% compared to late last year. And searches for local bed and breakfasts have increased by 20%, indicating that Americans are searching for destinations closer to home instead of across the world.

Ski resorts are trending in a big way on Maps – likely because skiing is a socially distant activity with a chilly change of scenery. This January, Maps searches for ski resorts are more than twice as high as they were at the same time last year!

Dry January? Maybe not

“Dry January” is consistently one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions. Last January, searches on Maps for wine shops and liquor stores both plummeted by nearly 40% compared to the previous December. This year, those searches only dropped by 11% and 6% respectively, hinting that people may be less committed to abstaining.

Healthy-ish eating

People are showing an interest in eating healthy. Searches for “healthy” options spiked by 46% at the start of January compared to the previous December. But at the same time there's another trend on the rise: people are also looking for sweets. Searches for ice cream shops are up by 10% compared to December. And, while searches for fast food restaurants plummeted by a whopping 20% in January 2020, they dropped by just 1.5% in 2021.

At-home workouts FTW!

Year-over-year searches for gyms have remained steady, increasing by about 25% in both 2020 and in 2021. However, while searches for hiking areas are still up this month compared to December, they’re significantly lower than they were in 2020 – a 16% increase compared to last year’s 55% increase. This could be due to local restrictions, or because more people are opting for one of the many at-home workout classes available online.

Resolutions or not, Google Maps is here to help. Whether you’re looking for healthy food or pints of ice cream, road trips or workouts you can do on your living room floor, here are some tips to help you keep up (or even break) your resolutions:

1. Check out how local restaurants are operating: Before heading out of the house, use Google Maps to see if restaurants are offering things like dine-in services, takeout, or delivery. You can also see information about the extra safety precautions that restaurants are taking — like whether they have plexiglass at checkout or take guests’ temperatures upon arrival. 
   
2. Track your order (so your ice cream doesn’t melt!): It’s tough to get the timing right for takeout and delivery orders – and no one likes cold entrees or soupy ice cream. If you order food on Google Maps, you can now see the status of your order on your Google Maps app homepage so you know exactly when it’s ready for pickup or set to arrive at your doorstep.
   
3. Borrow a bike: If stationary bikes aren’t your thing, check out Google Maps to find your nearest docked bikeshare location. Maps can give you walking directions to the bike, and cycling directions to your final destination – so you can explore the outdoors by foot and on two wheels!
   
4. Take an online class: Whether you’re looking to workout more, connect with a financial advisor or pick up a new hobby, use Maps to find local businesses that offer online classes and appointments that you can take right from the comfort of your own home.
   
5. Plan your next road trip: Travel restrictions are still up in the air, which means you might not be. If you’re itching to sightsee beyond your route to the grocery store, follow other Google Maps users to get their updates and recommendations directly in your app! Local Guides — like Denise Barlock who lives in a RV motorhome and travels across the U.S. — share regular contributions to Maps and can be great resources for planning a trip!
   

by Joseph NakoulGoogle Maps via The Keyword

Mosul’s Art & Soul comes to life

Some of us only know of the Iraqi city of Mosul as a place where many have suffered. But there is much more to the city than its recent history. Once a thriving trade centre, Mosul endured years of conflict but also renewal. Mosul, which is nestled in the “cradle of civilization,” has a heritage that dates back to the 25th century BCE, and includes the breathtaking Great Mosque of Al-Nuri.

To shed light on its art and history while supporting contemporary Mosulian artists, we’re launching The Art & Soul of Mosul on Google Arts & Culture, in partnership with Iraqi community radio station Al-Ghad Radio.

• Group picture of the painters that participated in the workshop & exhibition

  Group picture of the painters that participated in the workshop & exhibition

• Explore the Al Nuri mosque before and after its destruction and discover the efforts underway to reconstruct it

  Explore the Al Nuri mosque before and after its destruction and discover the efforts underway to reconstruct it

• Portrait of a Maslawi Woman by Marwan Fathi

  Portrait of a Maslawi Woman by Marwan Fathi

• 3D model of the remains of Al-Hadba Minaret of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri destroyed in 2017

  3D model of the remains of Al-Hadba Minaret of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri destroyed in 2017

• Discover how a community worked together to rebuild their neighborhood and spread joy to their surroundings

  Discover how a community worked together to rebuild their neighborhood and spread joy to their surroundings

The collection helps people immerse themselves in the world of Mosul’s artists through features like detailed in-painting tours and videos detailing the artist’s experience living through occupation. At the heart of the project is the incredible artwork depicting the stories of the city and the people, including the lives of women and children during and after the war. Some of the artwork was displayed during the 2019 exhibition “Return to Mosul,” hosted at the Mosul Cultural Museum. With this new digital exhibition, the pieces now have a permanent online home.

Marwan Tariq, an artist who participated in the 2019 exhibition, said, "The message of the workshop to the world is that the city of Mosul, the city of art, is still alive despite the destruction and grinding war that destroyed people and the infrastructure…it is full of life and peace." Our new online exhibition also includes personal stories of perseverance from Marwan and many other artists and residents of Mosul, including how one community worked together to rebuild their neighborhood.

• A Life Without Colour by Khlaif Mahmood

  A Life Without Colour by Khlaif Mahmood

• The Mother of Two Springs by Faris Alrawi

  The Mother of Two Springs by Faris Alrawi

• A capriccio of “the Spirit of Mosul” by Natik Aziz

  A capriccio of “the Spirit of Mosul” by Natik Aziz

• 3D model of Saint Thomas Church, one of Mosul’s oldest

  3D model of Saint Thomas Church, one of Mosul’s oldest

• Young Maslawi Boy by Alaa Salim

  Young Maslawi Boy by Alaa Salim

As part of our efforts to support digital documentation and preservation of local heritage sites across the Middle East, you can also discover Mosul’s Old City using Street View and view 3D models of heritage sites at risk, such as Mosul’s first mosque and one of its oldest churches. 

The Art & Soul of Mosul is Google Arts & Culture’s latest project showcasing contemporary culture and the ancient heritage of the Middle East. To discover more of the region’s art, culture as well as more stories from around the world visit us online or through the Google Arts & Culture mobile app on iOS and Android.

by Chance CoughenourGoogle Arts & Culture via The Keyword

Yoga Girl Rachel Brathen uses the web to go global

Rachel Brathen wants to create a more peaceful and harmonious world, one yoga pose at a time. A native of Sweden, Rachel moved to Aruba with her husband in 2010, where she’s taught yoga full-time ever since. 

Business started out slow, teaching a few students at a time. Then five students turned into 10, 10 turned into 20, then people beyond Rachel’s area started reaching out to her for more information. That’s when she established an online presence, and her brand took off.

Rachel teaches yoga in-person and online from her studio in Aruba.

Rachel has built an enormous worldwide following of yoga practitioners with her Yoga Girl website andblog. Her commitment to helping others get in touch with their authentic, inner selves — set against the backdrop of Aruba’s beaches — appeals to yoga enthusiasts of all skill levels. “I went from teaching 15 people on the beach to teaching hundreds of people in another country very, very quickly,” Rachel recalls. She offers online classes via her website and in-person classes at her Island Yoga studio in Noord, Aruba.

Over the years, she’s expanded her digital reach on social media, including YouTube and Instagram, where she has 2.1 million followers. She’s published two books, including the New York Times bestseller“Yoga Girl,” and she’s appeared on many magazine covers. She’s appeared on many magazine covers and hosts apodcast. 

She also runs two nonprofits: Sgt Pepper’s Friends, an animal rescue foundation in Aruba, and Yoga Girl Foundation, benefitting women and children in need. “I'm so grateful that we have the Internet,” Rachel says. “It's wild to think of where we would be without it.”

In a recent interview, we caught up with Rachel to learn how she used the web to build her worldwide Yoga Girl community.

Tell us how you got started with yoga.

I’ve had a lot of pain my whole life — back pain from scoliosis and from three car accidents when I was young. I found meditation when I was 17. Shortly after that, someone asked me, "If you're practicing meditation, why aren't you doing yoga for back pain?" I thought yoga was for super-flexible people, or you had to be up at four in the morning to do it. So I was hesitant in the beginning. I was lucky to find an amazing teacher and a style that was super helpful for my pain. In a few years, I started teaching and changed it my whole life.

How did you transition from yoga in a physical setting to a digital one?

I'm on a tiny island in the Caribbean. My original idea was to have an online presence so that the people who live here could find me. Then almost right away, people who didn't live physically in my location started reaching out, asking questions and wondering about the practice or how to start a practice.

I entered the social media space as a newbie, with the idea of wanting to inspire, educate or invite people into the practice. But I had a lot of ups and downs, with a lot of trial and error. I realized early that what really inspires people isn't so much the perfect poses, or the most beautiful pictures, or the green juices and the sunshine, which I was sharing — but the real, genuine, authentic stories about the good and the challenging parts of life.

How do you identify what your audience might be interested in?

I keep in touch with my community through direct messaging and comments and emails. We have a community board on yogagirl.com, where people write in all day. So sometimes I can gauge that there's a topic bubbling up there. Oftentimes, it's the state of the world, which reflects the state of my inner world, which usually reflects how we all feel. 

So if I don't know what to record that week for the podcast, I'll just go to my biggest struggle right now — that thing that's hard for me in my life. And it blows my mind every week, how many people say, "That's my exact issue. I'm feeling exactly like that." We have this idea that we are so separate, but we're not. We all feel the same things, and it's nice to have someone on the other end just touch on that and validate that it's OK to have those struggles, too.

Rachel's Yoga Girl Daily podcast covers yoga, meditation, inspiration and more.

Let’s get your thoughts on a few different types of yoga. What do you think of Ashtanga?

Ashtanga is one of the first styles of yoga that I found my way to. For people who thrive in structure, it's a wonderful practice. But for me, it's a little too disciplined to fit my day-to-day.

What's your take on hot yoga?

A good instructor knows not to push boundaries, but to guide people to really listen to their own bodies. It's wonderful to sweat, and I have no problem with that. We don't have to heat the studio here. We just close the doors, and it's hot yoga.

What about acroyoga, which combines yoga with acrobatics?

With acroyoga online, we see really advanced stuff, because it looks so beautiful, and everyone is always super flexible, super thin. It's always exotic, on a cliff or on the beach somewhere. But I think actually acroyoga can be a bonding experience between people, with your partner, as a couple or with friends. There's something really joyful and light about having that physical connection.

What do you think of paddleboard or stand-up paddleboard (SUP) yoga?

I love it. I really do. Taking a board out, anchoring somewhere and then just having my regular practice on the board or sitting in silence with my breath. There's something so special about nature, but it can also sound and feel a little bit gimmicky. It's not really the everyday yoga practice. It's really an adventure, and I think something that you probably would do on vacation.

Where can folks interested in signing up and subscribing find more information?

Yogagirl.com is a great place to start. We have our subscription platform there with yoga and meditation classes. And on Instagram, I'm at @yoga_girl

by Raunak MaheshGoogle Web Creators via The Keyword