A Sales Googler's passion for building communities

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 story is all about Saad Hamid, who’s based in Singapore. Saad shares his journey of starting the first Google Developer Group in his hometown of Islamabad, joining Google’s Developer Relations team, and landing his current role on our App Developer Sales team.

What’s your role at Google?

I’m a Growth Manager for the AppDev Sales team. I help app developers and startups grow their businesses by uncovering potential opportunities in local and international markets. I get to watch them open new offices, hire diverse teams and build global partnerships. It’s also rewarding to know that my work supports entrepreneurs in my home country of Pakistan. 

What’s your typical workday like?

Right now, like many Googlers in Singapore, I’m working from home. My typical workday is filled with internal and external meetings. My external meetings range from helping clients adopt developer tools like Firebase, to sharing growth opportunities in new markets. I get a lot of energy from talking to people, so I love meeting with my teammates and clients. 

And like many other parents working from home, sometimes my two-year-old daughter makes an appearance!

Saad visiting Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California.

Tell us about yourself?

I grew up in Islamabad, Pakistan and originally studied electrical engineering. I was obsessed with the internet in its early days, which inspired me to experiment with online businesses and led me to my role at Google. My hobbies include making a lot of bad dad jokes and coming up with unconventional  dishes, like biryani with strawberries — I call it the Strawbiryani!

Are there any key themes in your path to your current job at Google?

My passion for community building has helped me meet a lot of great people, and led me to where I am today. Before joining Google, I ran a startup. And before that, I was part of a local startup accelerator that supported the Pakistan tech ecosystem. 

Back in 2012, I started a Google Developer Group (GDG) chapter in my city — one of Google’s volunteer community programs to train developers in the latest technologies. As a GDG manager, I ran community events, workshops and hackathons for developers in Islamabad. Eventually, I became Pakistan's first Google Developer Expert (GDE), sharing insights and expertise about Google products with the local developer community. 

Google’s size, scale and impact always attracted me, and ultimately inspired me to apply. I first joined as a Community Manager on the Developer Relations team, where I was responsible for managing several Google Developers Programs — including Google Developer Groups, Google Developers Experts, Developer Student Clubs, and Women Techmakers.

Saad attending Google I/O in 2019.

Tell us about the resources you used to prepare for the interviews?

The best place to start is a blank Google Doc. Imagine all of the challenges you faced in your past roles, and document everything you did to get past them. Reflecting on your work is a great way to prepare for Google interviews. It was also helpful to watch YouTube videos of candidates speaking about the Google interview process. 

What advice would you go back and give yourself?

I would definitely tell myself to relax more. I was so nervous during the process that I could literally feel it in my gut. But by the end, thanks to the support from my interviewers, I felt very calm and relaxed.

Do you have any tips for aspiring Googlers?

Don't be your own roadblock. There is nothing in the world that you can't do or achieve. As long as you don't stop yourself from taking a leap and striving for your goals, you will do just fine.

by Daphne Karpel via The Keyword

MyGate securely connects its teams with Android Enterprise

Editor's note: Today’s post is by Ravi Mohan, General Manager, and Diwesh Sahai, Head of Engineering, for MyGate. The India-based company provides software for managing 20,000 residential housing communities throughout the country.

MyGate is a fast-growing company in India that aims to simplify the living experience in gated communities. Residents in over 20,000 communities across India use the MyGate mobile app to grant visitors entry, pay their leases, and get health and safety notices directly from management. 

Our app began with a focus on security management for residential communities, and has since become a central hub for updating residents about health and safety, and providing a marketplace for in-home services from third parties — with more features on the way. MyGate is currently used in over 3.5 million residences throughout India, and we’re continuing to scale our operations to bring these benefits to even more communities. 

Android Enterprise is key to keeping our employees connected no matter where their day takes them, thanks to strong security and effortless management. 

Finding the right balance with work profile

Our IT team uses Google endpoint management to enroll and manage our corporate-owned Android devices with the work profile. Our hybrid teams access Google Workspace from more than 2,000 devices, with a dedicated space for work apps in their profile.

Many of our teams prefer to complete quick tasks directly from their Android devices, like answering comments in a doc, replying to a thread in Gmail or updating a sheet.

Our sales teams are often on the go — regularly meeting with potential customers, checking in with current clients, and working from the office or at home. We use managed Google Play to enroll everyone’s device with the MyGate app, which our teams use to demonstrate to prospective customers how our service simplifies life in a gated housing community and gives residents a welcome and positive living experience.

Our employees are big fans of the work profile, especially the separation of company and personal apps. And our IT team appreciates the combination of security for company data and  privacy for our employees. We allowlist the specific apps that are essential to our employees’ daily work, so they always have them in the work profile. Managing updates and installing new apps through managed Google Play helps us keep everyone up to date with the tools they need. And employees like the privacy for the personal side of their device, with the ability to disconnect when they need to by pausing their work profile.

Keeping the connection

Android Enterprise also complements our growing Chrome OS device deployment. With our Chrome Enterprise upgrade management capabilities, we’ve been able to quickly give employees devices that are simple to enroll and ready to use. Google Meet has also been essential for team meetings and quick syncs, and has helped us securely scale our contact center team operations.

At MyGate, our goal is to provide safety and convenience to housing residents, right from their mobile device. By managing our company-owned smartphones with Android Enterprise, we are confident that we can scale quickly with strong data and device protection, and management controls for our security needs.

by Ravi MohanMyGate via The Keyword

AS.com takes readers to the game with Web Stories

As digital partner to the daily sports newspaper Diario AS, AS.com is a popular destination for sports fans looking for the latest news, statistics and commentary. Based in Madrid, AS.com publishes local editions in Spanish and English for readers around the world.

The AS.com homepage during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics featured a Web Stories carousel, articles and videos of sporting events and star athletes.

AS.com has always set its sights on new and innovative content formats. “Our main goal is to make an impact with the reader. Our journalists at AS are experts at finding the right format for each piece of content to maximize the impact on our audience,” says Diario AS Deputy Editor Tomás de Cos. But with so many online destinations for sports fans, the pressure was on for the team to not only retain but grow their audience. They found their solution with Web Stories. 

Introducing Web Stories to the mix

The AS.com team first learned about Web Stories at the AMP Conference 2018 in Amsterdam. Later that year, they published their first Web Story, “Las Claves del Clásico contadas por AS” (“The Keys to the Clásico, explained by AS”), for the Barcelona vs. Real Madrid match — a face-off between the two biggest rivals in Spanish football. “It was a super fun and enriching experiment,” says Manuel Barrios, Deputy Director of Strategy, Digital Distribution and International Expansion at Diario AS. The team spent the next year researching how other media sites use Web Stories, while testing out different publishing tools for their own website. 

“Next, we went for a much more ambitious project — a guide to the NBA, launched at the start of the 2020 playoffs,” Manuel shares. The guide included a series of Web Stories about each of the league’s 30 teams, which were featured in a carousel on the homepage. 

During the 2020 playoffs, AS.com featured Web Stories profiling all NBA teams in a carousel format on its homepage.

Spotlighting major sporting events

Since its success with the NBA series, AS.com has used Web Stories to spotlight other major sporting events, including the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship (Euro 2020). AS.com placed the Euro 2020 Web Stories carousel at the top of the AS.com homepage to make sure visitors would see it.

“We are all too aware that the percentage of users who scroll down on news sites is very low, so our Web Stories had to be seen as soon as our homepage loaded,” Manuel explains. “The coverage from Euro 2020 was crying out for the Web Stories format, because we knew our journalists would be able to make the most of the format and create unique content.” For example, one Web Story shares a behind-the-scenes look at an AS.com journalist’s experience inside the EuroCup stadium. 

A Web Story from a journalist’s perspective as they enter the EuroCup stadium.

Engaging sports fans with Web Stories

With the help of their partner StatMuse, a Web Stories editor from BeSocy, and the Google Web Creators YouTube channel, AS.com editors have continued incorporating Web Stories into their special news features and events coverage. 

“The global audience of our Stories hit 4.4 million pageviews for the European Championships, 3.4 million for the Tokyo Olympic Games, and more than one million for our LaLiga Guide (men’s pro soccer league),” Manuel notes. “Since we launched Web Stories for the European Championships, we’ve had a marked increase in our audience consumption — with the carousel published in a number of international editions of AS.com, such as AS México and AS USA,” Manuel shares. “On average, 15 pages per story were reached, indicating significant reading depth.”

The site hopes to use Web Stories to further boost their daily sports content. “One of our ‘obsessions’ is to have Web Stories integrated organically as a standard format on our site,” Manuel says.

Spanish football sensation #14 Marcos Llorente featured in an AS.com Euro 2020 Web Story.

They’re also using Web Stories for more long-form features, like the 2021 Formula 1 racing competition kickoff. This particular feature has a separate Web Story for each team, including snippets of video interviews in the pages of the story.

AS.com used Web Stories to cover the teams and race cars in the 2021 Formula 1 competition.

The team now hopes to take their success with Web Stories to the AS mobile app. “We loved Web Stories from the very first moment for their editorial potential, and their capacity for storytelling,” Deputy Editor Tomás says. “Web Stories let us create the dynamic content our audience is hungry for.”

by Matt LudwigGoogle Web Creators via The Keyword

Teaching with Google Arts & Culture

Since its creation in 2011, Google Arts & Culture has made a wide range of cultural stories and experiences available to everyone, thanks to our collaboration with cultural organisations around the world. From experiencing dinosaurs and iconic fashion garments in 360 to getting immersed into masterpieces guided by your favourite actor or musician, and even  projecting Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit into your home in AR, the platform offers curious minds many opportunities to learn.

Whether it's taking art selfies, playing puzzle parties with friends, or diving into richly documented resources about US Black History or Inventions and Discoveries in history, Google Arts & Culture has been a valuable learning companion to people of all ages and backgrounds.

And today, we are releasing a new Teacher Guide – a dedicated resource for educators to make learning with Arts & Culture and using the platform in class easier than ever. The guide, developed in partnership with education and instructional design experts at Google, was created to help teachers better understand how to use the platform to engage their students. It includes ready-to-use handouts and customizable activity templates, and compliments other popular experiences on Google Arts & Culture that were designed with educators in mind.

Virtual Field trips for the classroom

Take a Virtual Field Trip, Julia Allum, 2021, Google Arts & Culture

Teachers can take their students on a virtual field trip, with hundreds of expeditions now available on Google Arts & Culture. Fly to the Moon, dive to the Great Barrier Reef, zoom Inside a Cell, visit museums, uncover scientific theories and explore distant lands. You can still explore the world from the comfort of your desk or classroom, no headset needed.

Lesson Plans for your classroom

Created by education experts, the lesson plans can also be used as worksheets.

Ten new downloadable lesson plans have been published, such as Uncovering Egypt’s Layered History, Milestones in the Pride Movement, and The History of Computing. All Google Arts & Culture lesson plans have been written by education experts. In addition, Get Smart with Art is a new resource created by the de Young Museum and designed to enable educators, with no prior knowledge of art, to get younger students to look at art works.

Learning resources by subject area

Learn with Google Arts & Culture, London Stories by Julia Allum, 2018, London Transport Museum

For those looking for information on a particular topic, the Learn about Arts & Culture page gathers materials and experiences from across the platform, based on subjects including natural history, physics, geography, art and music.

Experimenting with students

Google Experiments, Art Coloring Book, Dish of Apples by Paul Cezanne, c. 1876-77, Metropolitan Museum of Art

If a teacher wants to excite students about a subject, one of the Google Arts & Culture Experiments might get them hooked. Get them composing like Beethoven, Bach and Mozart by creating melodieswith AI. You want them to think about their global footprint? Then the CO2 footprint of food we eat might do the trick. There are also simple, fun ways to engage with art such as the art coloring book or the collaborative puzzle party.

The Google Arts & Culture home page

The Google Arts & Culture home page changes daily

The homepage is usually where you start your journey on Google Arts & Culture. It is refreshed daily, so if you find something useful, make it a favorite by clicking on the heart shaped icon. That way you can locate it quickly next time you visit the site and you can share it on Google Classroom, using the share link. You can also do a quick search (magnifying glass, top right hand corner); from apples to zebras, you’re bound to find something of interest.

Whatever the future of teaching holds, educators can be sure that they will find something on Google Arts & Culture to keep their (online) class occupied, no matter what, or where, they are studying.

We hope that these resources will help everyone learn for life, and encourage you to also check out some other resources Google provides – now brought together on our new Learning site– to help everyone in the world learn anything in the world.

by Lucy SchwartzGoogle Cultural Institute via The Keyword

How my recovery community helps keep me sober

When I joined Google as a site reliability engineer in 2018, I wasn’t a typical Noogler. I was 40 years old, seven years sober and starting my first-ever engineering job. At the time, I chose to be transparent to coworkers about my recovery from drugs and alcohol which was critical for my recovery. ThisNational Recovery Month I’m sharing my storyto convey how important finding a supportive community is to sobriety — both at work and outside of it.

I’m thankful to work for a company that supports people like me with compassion and respect. Google shares its commitment to helping all people lead better lives with itsRecover Together website, which includes a searchable map to find nearby recovery groups and support resources for people in recovery and their families. 

The Google Recover Together website includes a searchable map to find nearby recovery groups and support resources.

My journey to sobriety 

Before coming to Google, I worked as a lawyer. But my life wasn't what you’d imagine for a young attorney building his career. I had a serious alcohol and drug problem that started in high school and continued into my early 30s. 

My addiction made me unreliable to my family, friends and employers. This situation played out countless times. At work, my manager would ask me, “What’s wrong? What can I do to help?” I once caused a scene on a business trip and had to go to the hospital for stitches which left me feeling shame and despair. My employer gave me an ultimatum: get help or be let go. 

Still, I cycled in and out of rehab and resumed alcohol use multiple times. Eventually, my family had an intervention, and I entered rehab once again. I felt like such a loser being back in the same place as before, feeling like I had learned nothing. In retrospect, I know that setbacks are often a part of recovery. It’s not a moral failing to have to work at sobriety before it sticks. I went back to drinking alcohol once more before I achieved continuous sobriety.

I’ve now been sober since I was 33 years old — a little over 10 years ago.  For me, finding a community to support my recovery — from my recovery community and its regular meetings to family and friends and my coworkers at Google — made all the difference.  

Recovering together: Getting sober for good

There’s a safety and an openness at Google that makes it easy for me to get help without feeling bad about it. When I’m around coworkers who are drinking, I’ll let them know why I don’t. After I assuage my coworkers’ concerns about whether their drinking in front of me might upset me (it doesn’t), they’re always quick to offer a non-alcoholic beverage. I remember when my team at Google had an offsite where drinks were served, a teammate quickly pointed my wife and me to the plentiful selection of non-alcoholic drinks.

Nick Arduini in front of Charlies cafe on Google's Mountain View campus, lit purple in support of international recovery day.

That’s not to say things were always easy. Early on, I suffered from imposter syndrome. Unlike other jobs where I felt I couldn’t tell my manager what was going on, at Google I was able to get the support I needed to function effectively at my job and, more importantly, to be happy as a person. A coworker recommended our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that gave me access to therapy to help manage imposter syndrome. Recently, I was feeling burned out from working from home during the pandemic, and went through another round of therapy through EAP to better manage work-life balance. Through it all, my colleagues have been nothing but supportive. I feel like I landed on the best team in the best company. 

I’m not alone in my need for a community to maintain my sobriety. The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted those struggling with addiction. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported a 12-month record high of more than 93,000 drug overdose deaths. People with substance use disorders feel more isolated and desperate, and mental health services are strained to meet the demand. In fact in 2020, when Covid-19 restrictions impacted in-person support groups, searches for virtual connections were trending with queries like Alcoholics anonymous (AA) virtual meetings and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings on zoom. 

Knowing you’re not alone can help make recovery feel possible. For the more than 23 million Americans living in recovery, I hope they can all find the communities they need to feel supported.

In support of National Recovery Month, Google and YouTube are providing financial and technical  support for Recover Out Loud, a livestream event taking place in Las Vegas on September 30. The event features artists and performers who are  in recovery, and it’s part of a nationwide recovery initiative supported by iHeart Media and Variety and produced by Mobilize Recovery. 

by Nick Arduini via The Keyword

How 5 cities plan to use Tree Canopy to fight climate change

Planting trees in cities helps provide shade, lower temperatures and contribute to cleaner air — all of which are huge benefits when it comes to adapting to the effects of climate change. That’s why we’re expanding our Environmental Insights Explorer Tree Canopy insights to more than 100 cities around the world next year, helping local governments fight climate change. We chatted with city officials in Los Angeles, Louisville, Chicago, Austin and Miami to learn more about how they plan to use Tree Canopy insights to build thriving, sustainable cities in 2021 and beyond.

Los Angeles

Tree canopy coverage in Los Angeles

Los Angeles was the first city to pilot Tree Canopy Insights. Since then it’s become an essential part of the city’s goal to increase tree canopy coverage by 50% by 2028 in areas of the city with the highest need. The city is working to plant 90,000 trees this year, and Tree Canopy Insights helps them prioritize which neighborhoods need tree shade the most.Rachel Malarich, Los Angeles’ City Forest Officer, and her team use Tree Canopy Insights alongside their inventory system to look at canopy acreage projections, current canopy cover and temperatures. The land use types within the tool allows them to consider the type of outreach needed and opportunities that exist in a given neighborhood. Most importantly, it helps Rachel and her team know which program initiatives are working and which aren’t.

“Tree Canopy Insights’ ability to give us timely feedback allows me to have data to make arguments for changes to the City's policies and procedures, as well as  potentially see the impact of different outreach activities going forward.” - Rachel Malarich, Los Angeles City Forest Officer

Louisville

Tree canopy coverage in Louisville

Similar to other cities, Louisville officials found that monitoring tree coverage on their own was hugely expensive and time intensive. Sometimes it took years to get the accurate, up-to-date data needed to make decisions. 

With Tree Canopy Insights, they’ve been able to glean actionable insights about tree cover faster. In just a few weeks, they’ve pinpointed that the west side of town was losing tree shade at an unprecedented rate and jump started a plan to plant more trees in the area. 

“Planting trees is one of the simplest ways we can reduce the impacts and slow the progress of climate change on our city. With support from Google’s Tree Canopy Insights, Louisville can enhance its ongoing surveillance of hot spots and heat islands and understand the impact of land use and development patterns on tree canopy coverage.“ – Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer

Austin

Tree canopy coverage in Austin

Austin’s summers are hot with the heat regularly reaching over 90 degrees. Using Tree Canopy Insights, Marc Coudert, an environmental program manager for the city, noticed a troubling trend: ambient temperatures were higher in the eastern part of the city, known as the Eastern Crescent. With these insights, Marc and the City’s forestry team developed Austin’s Community Tree Priority Map and doubled down on planting trees in neighborhoods in the Eastern Crescent to make sure there was equitable tree canopy coverage across the city. 

“At the city of Austin, we’re committed to making data-backed decisions that bring equity to all of our communities. Google’s Tree Canopy Insights empowers us to do exactly that.” - Austin Mayor Steve Adler

Chicago

Tree canopy coverage in Chicago

Chicago’s Department of Public Health understands that planting trees is an essential part of promoting health and racial equity. After all, a lack of trees can be associated with chronic diseases like asthma, heart disease and mental health conditions. With Tree Canopy Insights, the department discovered that their hottest neighborhoods are often also the most disadvantaged — making these communities extremely vulnerable. With the use of this tool, the City of Chicago is committed to focusing their tree planting efforts specifically on these high-risk areas. 

"Trees not only provide our city with shade, green spaces and beauty, but they are also precious resources that produce clean air — making them key to shaping our sustainable future. Through this partnership with Google, our sustainability and public health teams will have access to real-time insights on our tree coverage that will inform how we develop and execute our equitable approach to building a better Chicago landscape. I look forward to seeing how this technology uses our city's natural resources to benefit all of our residents."  - Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot.

Miami

Tree canopy coverage in Miami

Miami gets over 60 inches of rain per year, leading to potentially devastating effects from flooding and infrastructure damage. To address this, the city recently launched their Stormwater Master Plan. The multi-year initiative has already resulted in over 4,000 trees planted, translating to an additional 400,000 gallons of water absorption capacity per day. Moving forward, the city plans to use Tree Canopy Insights to evolve and improve this plan.

“Google’s Tree Canopy Insights is going to help us build on the progress of our Stormwater Master Plan in smarter, more effective ways. We believe that every city needs to be a “tech city,” and leveraging Google’s AI capabilities to improve every Miamians quality of life is exactly what I mean by that.” – Miami Mayor Francis Suarez

If you’re part of a local government and think Tree Canopy Insights could help your community, please get in touch with our team by filling out this form.

by Ruth AlcantaraGoogle AI via The Keyword

How AI is making information more useful

Today, there’s more information accessible at people’s fingertips than at any point in human history. And advances in artificial intelligence will radically transform the way we use that information, with the ability to uncover new insights that can help us both in our daily lives and in the ways we are able to tackle complex global challenges.

At our Search On livestream event today, we shared how we’re bringing the latest in AI to Google’s products, giving people new ways to search and explore information in more natural and intuitive ways.

Making multimodal search possible with MUM

Earlier this year at Google I/O, we announced we’ve reached a critical milestone for understanding information with Multitask Unified Model, or MUM for short.

We’ve been experimenting with using MUM’s capabilities to make our products more helpful and enable entirely new ways to search. Today, we’re sharing an early look at what will be possible with MUM. 

In the coming months, we’ll introduce a new way to search visually, with the ability to ask questions about what you see. Here are a couple of examples of what will be possible with MUM.

With this new capability, you can tap on the Lens icon when you’re looking at a picture of a shirt, and ask Google to find you the same pattern — but on another article of clothing, like socks. This helps when you’re looking for something that might be difficult to describe accurately with words alone. You could type “white floral Victorian socks,” but you might not find the exact pattern you’re looking for. By combining images and text into a single query, we’re making it easier to search visually and express your questions in more natural ways.

Some questions are even trickier: Your bike has a broken thingamajig, and you need some guidance on how to fix it. Instead of poring over catalogs of parts and then looking for a tutorial, the point-and-ask mode of searching will make it easier to find the exact moment in a video that can help.

Helping you explore with a redesigned Search page

We’re also announcing how we’re applying AI advances like MUM to redesign Google Search. These new features are the latest steps we’re taking to make searching more natural and intuitive.

First, we’re making it easier to explore and understand new topics with “Things to know.” Let’s say you want to decorate your apartment, and you’re interested in learning more about creating acrylic paintings.

If you search for “acrylic painting,” Google understands how people typically explore this topic, and shows the aspects people are likely to look at first. For example, we can identify more than 350 topics related to acrylic painting, and help you find the right path to take.

We’ll be launching this feature in the coming months. In the future, MUM will unlock deeper insights you might not have known to search for — like “how to make acrylic paintings with household items” — and connect you with content on the web that you wouldn’t have otherwise found.

Second, to help you further explore ideas, we’re making it easy to zoom in and out of a topic with new features to refine and broaden searches. 

In this case, you can learn more about specific techniques, like puddle pouring, or art classes you can take. You can also broaden your search to see other related topics, like other painting methods and famous painters. These features will launch in the coming months.

Third, we’re making it easier to find visual inspiration with a newly designed, browsable results page. If puddle pouring caught your eye, just search for “pour painting ideas" to see a visually rich page full of ideas from across the web, with articles, images, videos and more that you can easily scroll through. 

This new visual results page is designed for searches that are looking for inspiration, like “Halloween decorating ideas” or “indoor vertical garden ideas,” and you can try it today.

Get more from videos

We already use advanced AI systems to identify key moments in videos, like the winning shot in a basketball game, or steps in a recipe. Today, we’re taking this a step further, introducing a new experience that identifies related topics in a video, with links to easily dig deeper and learn more. 

Using MUM, we can even show related topics that aren’t explicitly mentioned in the video, based on our advanced understanding of information in the video. In this example, while the video doesn’t say the words “macaroni penguin’s life story,” our systems understand that topics contained in the video relate to this topic, like how macaroni penguins find their family members and navigate predators. The first version of this feature will roll out in the coming weeks, and we’ll add more visual enhancements in the coming months.

Across all these MUM experiences, we look forward to helping people discover more web pages, videos, images and ideas that they may not have come across or otherwise searched for. 

A more helpful Google

The updates we’re announcing today don’t end with MUM, though. We’re also making it easier to shop from the widest range of merchants, big and small, no matter what you’re looking for. And we’re helping people better evaluate the credibility of information they find online. Plus, for the moments that matter most, we’re finding new ways to help people get access to information and insights. 

All this work not only helps people around the world, but creators, publishers and businesses as well.  Every day, we send visitors to well over 100 million different websites, and every month, Google connects people with more than 120 million businesses that don't have websites, by enabling phone calls, driving directions and local foot traffic.

As we continue to build more useful products and push the boundaries of what it means to search, we look forward to helping people find the answers they’re looking for, and inspiring more questions along the way.

by Prabhakar Raghavan via The Keyword

Search On 2021

by via The Keyword

Helpful Search tools for evaluating information online

Whether you’re looking for facts about the COVID vaccine or information on how to apply for a loan, having access to relevant, credible information is crucial. People turn to Google for trustworthy, high quality results -- especially when it matters most.  

That’s why we design our ranking systems to prioritize the most useful, highest quality content and provide direct access to reliable information for important topics. We’re also looking into new ways to give you more context about the information you find online, and introducing more information literacy features, based on research and best practices from experts. 

More insights from About This Result

Earlier this year, we launched the About This Result feature, which provides details about a website before you visit it, including its description, when it was first indexed and whether your connection to the site is secure. In the coming weeks, we’re expanding these panels to help you learn more about the sources and topics you find on Search. 

We’re bringing new and important insights to About This Result. When you tap the three dots on any search result, you’ll be able to learn more about the page. You can: 

• See more information about the source: In addition to seeing a source description from Wikipedia, you’ll also be able to read what a site says about itself in its own words, when that information is available.
• Find what others on the web have said about a site: Reading what others on the web have written about a site -- news, reviews and other helpful background context -- can help you better evaluate sources.
• Learn more about the topic: In the “About the topic” section, you can find information such as top news coverage or results about the same topic from other sources.

• About This Result panel shows the new "more about this page" link.

• About This Result panel shows the new "About the source" section.

• About This Result panel shows the new "Web results about the source" section.

• About This Result panel shows new "About the topic" section.

People don’t just come to Google looking for quick facts. They often really want to explore the information that’s out there, and learn about where it’s coming from — especially in situations where there’s a source they may not be familiar with. We want to make it easier to evaluate information with this update to About This Result, which will be rolling out in the coming weeks in English in the United States. And we’re working to bring About This Result to more countries around the world. 

Empowering you with context

There are a range of other Google tools that help people evaluate the credibility of information online. For instance, we make it easy to spot fact checks published by independent, authoritative sources on the web. We highlight relevant fact checks on results in Search, News and Google Images. These fact check features have received billions of impressions in Search this year alone.

One of the most important pieces of context we can provide is letting you know when helpful or relevant information isn’t available on the web just yet. This could be true in a rapidly evolving event, where interest in a topic can often travel faster than the facts. Or when relevant information simply doesn’t exist for your search. In these moments, we alert you with a notice recommending that you check back later or try another search. 

With each of these tools, our goal is to offer simple, useful ways for you to evaluate and make sense of the information you find online. We’ll continue to look for new ways to improve and add to these features and make sure they’re easy to find and use. 

by Harris CohenSearch via The Keyword

New ways to find shopping inspiration on Google

Shopping online is as much about inspiration and discovery as it is about the final purchase. People are shopping across Google more than a billion times a day, and we have been working to make those experiences even more helpful by expanding your options. We’re here to help you find new ideas, discover unique products or get the best value from the widest possible range of merchants — from large retailers, marketplaces and well-known brands, to local stores and new direct-to-consumer companies. 

We’ve made a number of changes over the last couple of years to improve your shopping experience, including giving you more choice when you shop on Google. For example, we’ve made it free for merchants to list on Google and made it easy for sellers on Shopify and other digital platforms to  start selling on Google, so their products and inventory are discoverable for shoppers.

And today, we’re adding new tools to make it easier for shoppers to browse for inspiration, find new products and brands and ultimately find what they’re looking for in a more visual way. 

Shop in the moment with Google Lens 

We know that inspiration can strike at any time. Whether it’s an image that you see online, a photo you saved on your phone or something in the real world that catches your eye, Google Lens makes the products you see instantly shoppable. 

Starting soon, iOS users will see a new button in the Google app to make all the images on a page searchable through Google Lens. Now, finding this lamp or that shirt (and ones like it) is just a tap away.

We’re also bringing Lens to Chrome on your desktop. Soon, you will be able to select images, video and text content on a website with Lens to quickly see search results in the same tab — without leaving the page you’re on.

Shop in the moment with Lens in the Google app for iOS

Window shop right from Search 

Starting today, we’re making it easier to browse for clothing, shoes and accessories on mobile right from your Search results. For example, when you search for “cropped jackets,” we’ll show you a visual feed of jackets in various colors and styles, alongside other helpful information like local shops, style guides and videos. From there, you can easily filter your search by style, department, brand and more – and when you find something you like, you can check out ratings, reviews and even compare prices to get the best deal. 

This new experience is powered by Google’s Shopping Graph, a comprehensive, real-time dataset of products, inventory, and merchants with more than 24 billion listings. This not only helps us connect shoppers with the right products for them, it also helps millions of merchants and brands get discovered on Google every day.

Browse and explore options for cropped jackets on mobile right from Search

Search in-store inventory from home

Shoppers are increasingly starting their in-person shopping experience online. Before heading out the door, you can find local stores that carry the products you want right from Search. And starting today, when you are looking for products like “kids bike helmet” or even a specific brand, you can select the “in stock” filter to see only the nearby stores that have it on their shelves.

You can now use the “in stock” filter to see only the nearby stores with a specific item on their shelves.

Showing in-store availability is especially valuable for small businesses, helping them attract new local customers. For example, a mother-daughter duo in Greenville, South Carolina discovered local toy store Hollipops Fine Toys and Gifts after searching for “squishmallows” near them. Check out their story (and find out what a "squishmallow" is).

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Throughout the entire process — from the first spark of an idea, to the final purchase — Google is helping to breathe new life into shopping experiences.

by Bill Ready via The Keyword

New ways maps and AI keep communities safe and informed

Postcards from Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh is an extraordinary American city. A cornerstone of the Rust Belt economy in the 19th and 20th centuries, Pittsburgh’s steel works, mines, and foundries quite literally built the country. As society shifted, so did the city. Today, Pittsburgh thrives as a hotbed of innovation and creativity, with renowned universities, tech startups and a thriving art scene built on a legacy of manufacturing.

Today, Google Arts & Culture is proud to launch Pittsburgh: Proud and Powerful alongside 15 local institutions to celebrate the city’s sports icons, local artists, up-and-coming musicians, foodie spots, and more. To get started, we invite you to get to know the city through the words of the institutions themselves. Partners include the Carnegie Museum of Art, The Pittsburgh Glass Center, The University of Pittsburgh, Carlow University Art Gallery, BOOM Concepts, Mattress Factory, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, The Frick, and more. There’s a little bit of something for everyone — so read on to discover what a few of Google Arts & Culture’s Pittsburgh partners love about their own city.

The University of Pittsburgh is home to the only “Cathedral of Learning” in the world as a monument to the creativity, innovation, and drive that helped make Pittsburgh what it is.

The Pittsburgh Glass Center is one of the top public access glass art facilities in the U.S. Pittsburgh Glass Center offers a unique blend of visual and performance art that combines science, art, and Pittsburgh's rich history in glass.

Commemorating the amazing athleticism and humanitarianism that embodied Roberto Clemente’s life, The Clemente Museum was founded by Executive Director and Curator Duane Rieder to showcase the world’s largest exhibited collection of baseball artifacts, memorabilia, and more.

The August Wilson African American Cultural Center is unique because it gives voice to those who may be overlooked, but oftentimes have the most impactful lessons, this can be seen in our story that spotlights artists from around the world showing us that we have more commonalities than meets the eye. 

Since 1984, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has worked towards the transformation, cultural and economic development of the Cultural District, a 14-block area in downtown Pittsburgh.

The Senator John Heinz History Center, a Smithsonian Affiliate, focuses on Western Pennsylvania historyand works to demonstrate how the passion, ingenuity, and perseverance of Western Pennsylvanians helped establish a tradition of innovation like no other region in America.

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s collection on Google Arts & Culture highlights the distinct and innovative repertoirethat has defined the organization for more than 50 years.

Want to explore more? Visit g.co/explorepittsburgh, or download Google Arts & Culture’s Android or iOS app.

by Simon DelacroixGoogle Arts & Culture via The Keyword

Abriendo caminos: New pathways for Latino-owned businesses

Ver abajo versión en español

At the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which I have the honor to lead as president and CEO, helping Latino-owned businesses succeed is at the center of our mission. Our responsibility to the more than 4.7 million Latino-owned businesses and our growing network of 260 local chambers and business associations nationwide is to pursue and advocate for inclusive economic growth and development that build shared prosperity.

We represent the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the U.S., and we don’t take that responsibility lightly. The number of Latino business owners has grown by 34% over the last 10 years compared to just 1% for all other businesses, according to a recent study by the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative, and much of this growth has been driven by Latinas. These new businesses are invigorating, highlight our potential and are what motivates me everyday.

In 2020, with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, our chambers became emergency rooms for small businesses. We quickly mobilized and awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants directly to Latino owners and our local chambers to provide assistance. These funds were a lifeline for Latino businesses to keep the lights on, make payroll, rent and meet other critical needs.

We also provided technical assistance, established online resource hubs in English and in Spanish and graduated more than 200 Latino-owned small businesses through our accelerator program.

Last year was also our most active year in Washington, D.C. We raised $850 billion to provide assistance for our Latino small business members. We advocated for access to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for both Latino-owned businesses and 501(c) (6) Chambers of Commerce.

As we take a moment to reflect on our progress to date, we have our eyes on the future. There is no denying that the world has dramatically changed, and we need to adapt and thrive, not just to survive. And technology is driving change forward faster than ever before.

We got a glimpse of the transformational power of technology through our partnership with Google last year. We collaborated to provide extra funding and Grow with Google curriculum support to 40 of our chambers across the country. Together, we trained 10,000 Latino small businesses and the initial results and impact we've seen is truly remarkable.

Google and the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce share a deep commitment to economic opportunity, development and advocacy for Latinos. This is why today, we are sharing that Google will be making a $5 million investment in Latino-owned businesses and community organizations.  Together we are also unveiling a new Latino-owned attribute that will be available across Google Search, Maps and Shopping. All this is part of Google's $15 million investment in economic equity for Latinos.

Building more resilient Latino businesses

Today, we are deepening our partnership with Google with an additional investment that will allow us to create Grow with Google digital resource centers and train an additional 10,000 Latino business owners on how to use digital tools to grow their business. This work is critical to setting up Latino business owners for success for the long haul. These new skills, training and resources will help them be competitive in today's digital economy and allow us to help aspiring entrepreneurs to think digital-first. 

Google.org is also providing funding to support the Latino Community Foundation's Entrepreneurship Fund, an initiative that strengthens Latino-led small businesses and micro-entrepreneurs across California. It will directly invest in 150+ micro-entrepreneurs to support the tireless work of street vendors, cleaning services, landscapers, childcare providers and other micro-entrepreneurs. For Latino-owned businesses, running a business is often a family affair, and the Entrepreneurship Fund will increase and improve the online presence for Latino-owned small restaurants through the creation of websites and social media accounts designed and managed by youth participating in tech skills building programs.

This is in addition to Google's ongoing support of nonprofits through $3 million in donated ads to Latino organizations. This includes the Hispanic Access Foundation, which uses Google.org's support to advertise internships for Latino college students, fundraise for DACA fee scholarships, and more — all in service of enabling more Latinos in the U.S. to achieve economic success.

Identify and buy from Latino-owned businesses

Today, we are partnering with Google to unveil a Latino-owned attribute that will be available on Search, Maps and Shopping, in the coming weeks, so businesses can easily identify as Latino-owned on Google. This update builds on the Black-owned, Veteran-owned and Women-owned business attributes, and is another way people can support diverse businesses across Google’s products and platforms.

For more than 20 years, Google has been at the forefront of democratizing access for all —  it's one of its core values. Underrepresented groups have been beneficiaries of that mission, which is still alive today. This is why we deeply believe Google's open platforms, digital training, tools and resources are critical to advancing economic equity for the Latino community.  

Today's investments and product updates will provide our members, chambers and our communities a much needed boost. We are glad to help spotlight Latino-owned businesses in a new light, showcase our resilient spirit and invoke action. We are energized by our momentum and are eager to get back to business. I believe our future is bright - and today thanks to Google, it's a little brighter.

Abriendo caminos: Nuevos caminos para las empresas de propietarios latinos

Google y la Cámara de Comercio Hispana de los Estados Unidos (United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce) se asocian para ofrecer un atributo de propietarios latinos en Búsqueda (Search), Maps, y Shopping, además de nuevo apoyo financiero y capacitación en habilidades para propietarios de empresas latinas y organizaciones sin fines de lucro. 

En la Cámara de Comercio Hispana de los Estados Unidos, donde tengo el honor de dirigir como presidente y director ejecutivo, ayudar a las empresas latinas a tener éxito está al centro de nuestra misión. Nuestra responsabilidad con las más de 4.7 millones de empresas de propietarios latinos y nuestra creciente red de 260 cámaras locales y asociaciones comerciales en todo el país es buscar y abogar por el crecimiento y el desarrollo económico que construya la prosperidad compartida.

Representamos al grupo de emprendedores de más rápido crecimiento en los Estados Unidos y no nos tomamos esa responsabilidad a la ligera. El número de propietarios de negocios latinos ha crecido en un 34% en los últimos 10 años en comparación con solo el 1% de todos los demás negocios, según un estudio reciente de Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative, y gran parte de este crecimiento ha sido impulsado por latinas. Estos nuevos negocios son estimulantes, resaltan nuestro potencial y son lo que me motiva todos los días.

En 2020, con la llegada de la pandemia COVID-19, nuestras cámaras se convirtieron en salas de emergencia para pequeñas empresas. Rápidamente nos movilizamos y otorgamos cientos de miles de dólares en subvenciones directamente a pequeñas empresas de propietarios latinos y nuestras cámaras locales para brindar asistencia. Estos fondos fueron un salvavidas para las empresas latinas para mantener las luces encendidas, pagar nóminas, renta y satisfacer otras necesidades críticas.

También brindamos asistencia técnica, establecimos centros de recursos en línea en inglés y en español y graduamos a más de 200 pequeñas empresas latinas a través de nuestro programa acelerador de pequeñas empresas. 

El año pasado también fue nuestro año más activo en Washington, D.C. Recaudamos $850 mil millones de dólares para brindar asistencia a nuestros miembros latinos de pequeñas empresas. Abogamos por el acceso al Programa de Protección de Cheques de Pago (PPP) tanto para las empresas propiedad de latinos como para las Cámaras de Comercio 501 (c) (6).

Mientras nos tomamos un momento para reflexionar sobre nuestro progreso hasta la fecha, tenemos la mirada puesta en el futuro. No se puede negar que el mundo ha cambiado drásticamente y que necesitamos adaptarnos y prosperar, no solo para sobrevivir. Y la tecnología está impulsando el cambio más rápido que nunca.

Pudimos vislumbrar el poder transformador de la tecnología a través de nuestra asociación con Google el año pasado. Colaboramos para proporcionar financiación adicional y curriculum de Grow with Google a 40 de nuestras cámaras en todo el país. Juntos, capacitamos a 10,000 pequeñas empresas latinas y los resultados iniciales y el impacto que hemos visto son realmente notables.

Google y la Cámara de Comercio Hispana de los Estados Unidos comparten un profundo compromiso con las oportunidades económicas, desarrollo y abogacía para latinos. Es por eso que hoy compartimos que Google realizará una inversión de $5 millones de dólares en la comunidad empresarial de propietarios latinos y organizaciones comunitarias. Juntos estamos presentando un nuevo atributo de propietarios latinos que estará disponible en la Búsqueda de Google, Maps y Shopping. Todo esto es parte de la inversión de $15 millones de dólares de Google en equidad económica para latinos.

Construyendo negocios latinos más resilientes

Hoy, estamos profundizando nuestra asociación con Google con una inversión adicional que nos permitirá crear centros de recursos digitales Grow with Google y capacitar a 10,000 propietarios de negocios latinos adicionales sobre cómo usar herramientas digitales para hacer crecer su negocio. Este trabajo es fundamental para que los empresarios latinos tengan éxito a largo plazo. Estas nuevas habilidades, capacitación y recursos los ayudarán a ser competitivos en la economía digital actual y nos permitirán ayudar a los aspirantes emprendedores a pensar primero en lo digital. 

Google.org también está proporcionando fondos para apoyar el Fondo de Emprendimiento (Entrepreneurship Fund) del Latino Community Foundation, una iniciativa que fortalece a las pequeñas empresas y microempresarios liderados por latinos en todo California. Invertirá directamente en más de 150 microempresarios para apoyar el trabajo incansable de los vendedores ambulantes, servicios de limpieza, jardineros, proveedores de cuidado infantil y otros microempresarios. Para las empresas de propietarios  latinos, administrar una empresa es a menudo un asunto familiar, y el Fondo de Emprendimiento aumentará y mejorará la presencia en línea de los pequeños restaurantes de propietarios latinos a través de la creación de sitios web y cuentas de redes sociales diseñadas y administradas por jóvenes que participan en programas que forman sus habilidades tecnológicas.

Esto, en adición al apoyo continuo de Google a las organizaciones sin fines de lucro a través de $3 millones de dólares en anuncios donados a organizaciones latinas. Esto incluye la Hispanic Access Foundation

https://ift.tt/2ZHl07r

, que utiliza el apoyo de Google.org para anunciar prácticas para estudiantes universitarios latinos, recaudar fondos para becas que cubren los costos  de DACA y más — todo al servicio de permitir que más latinos en los Estados Unidos logren el éxito económico.

Identificar y comprar en empresas de propiedad de latinos

Hoy, nos asociamos con Google para anunciar un atributo de propietarios latinos que estará disponible en la Búsqueda, Maps y Shopping en las próximas semanas, para que las empresas puedan identificarse fácilmente como propietarios latinos en Google. Esta actualización se basa en los atributos de negocios Black-owned, Veteran-owned y Women-owned; y es otra manera la gente puede apoyar a diversas empresas a través de productos y plataformas de Google.

Durante más de 20 años, Google ha estado a la vanguardia de la democratización del acceso para todos —  es uno de sus valores fundamentales. Los grupos subrepresentados se han beneficiado de esa misión, la cual continúa vigente hoy. Es por eso que creemos profundamente que las plataformas abiertas, la capacitación digital, las herramientas y los recursos de Google son fundamentales para promover la equidad económica para la comunidad latina.  

Las inversiones de hoy y las actualizaciones de productos proporcionarán a nuestros miembros, cámaras y comunidades un impulso muy necesario. Nos complace ayudar a destacar las empresas de propietarios latinos bajo una nueva luz, mostrar nuestro espíritu resistente e invocar la acción. Nuestro impulso nos llena de energía y estamos ansiosos por volver al trabajo. Creo que nuestro futuro es brillante, y hoy, gracias a Google, es un poco más brillante.

by Ramiro Cavazos via The Keyword