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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. 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 ...

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 are two other serious problems remaining with the law, but at the heart of it, it comes down to this: the Code’s rules would...

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 an...

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...

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 cre...

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?...

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 me...

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 fo...

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 effo...

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 and blog . 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 off...