Google Cloud Platform News

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  On our to-do list: an interview with Google’s productivity expert
  • sorangutan  

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  Editor’s note: I often wish there were more hours in the day, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon, so I turned to Google's resident productivity expert Laura Mae Martin for help. In the conversation below—our latest installment of The She Word—Laura shares her secrets on how to lead a more productive life. Turns out they’re not even secrets! They’re easy and manageable ways that you, too, can become a productivity whiz.

  
  

  How do you explain your job at a dinner party?
  I help Googlers be as productive as possible. I consult with executives on their productivity strategies (how to manage their meetings, email, time and energy), and run a Google-wide productivity program, which includes trainings and a weekly newsletter.

  

  Not the “Laura 30,” just some quality sister time. Laura’s sister is also a Googler, based out of our Ann Arbor office.

  What’s one habit that makes you successful?
  

  Every morning I have 30 minutes to myself, I call it the “Laura 30.” No phone, no computer. I just drink my coffee, meditate, journal or play the piano. By taking some time to think, I start off my day in a calm and focused place, and stay grounded before tumbling into my busy day.

  I’m glad you brought up the m-word. Should we all be meditating?
  If someone stopped me on the street and asked me how to be more productive, I would say “start meditating.” But the word can turn people off, so I try to make it seem more manageable. Meditation can help with work-related struggles, like focusing in meetings or resisting the urge to constantly look at email. Think of it this way: if you had to cut a thousand pineapples, wouldn’t you spend some time sharpening the knife? The same is true of your brain as you power through activities. Meditation is “mental hygiene” to support your brain in all of its tasks.

  What’s one thing people should start doing to manage their workload more efficiently?
  Determine your top priorities for the quarter, and write them on a note on your desk. If you’re asked to do something that doesn’t align with one of those priorities, say no. The more you say no, the more chances you have to say yes to something that really matters.

  Got it. So if I just say “no” more, I’ll be more productive?
  Not exactly, but we do need more time to think, and that can mean saying no. You know how sometimes great ideas come to you in the shower? I try to find ways to create more “shower moments” at work.

  How do we create more of those moments without actually taking a shower?
  Find the gaps in your day—a commute or waiting in line— and don’t look at your phone. I call this “opening a loop,” which means you’re giving your brain the space to make new connections (shower moments!). When you answer emails or go to a meeting, you’re closing a loop. It’s important to find a balance, so if you say yes to every meeting, when do you have time to open loops?

  What’s the first step you take when you feel overwhelmed by your workload?
  First, I sort through my emails and assign an action to each one—could be "need to read" or "respond"—until my inbox is clear. (Pro tip: Spend 15 minutes max minutes sorting your email. If you can respond in less than a minute, do it on the spot. If not, sort it for later). Then, I write down three big things I want to accomplish that day. And then I open only one tab for the thing I’ve decided to work on.

  Can you pass on some of the productivity strategies that you share with Google executives?
  The first place to start is email—usually executives are getting a lot of email, and if they’re not attentive to it, their schedules blow up because people think the only way they’ll get an answer or decision is to set up a meeting. And going back to the idea of opening loops, nobody came up with their last great idea when they were in meetings all day. The other thing is, everyone has a set of hours when they’re naturally more productive—mine are 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Define your “power hours” and identify your biggest projects to work on during that time

  Earlier this year, hundreds of Googlers joined you in a “read a book a week” challenge for 12 weeks. What did you learn from reading 3,327 pages about productivity?
  People who craft their time intentionally and give it their full attention end up where they want to be in the long term.

  

  When she doesn’t have a book in her hand, Laura has two pups (Sadie and Nala) in her arms.

  Is your personal life as organized as your professional life?
  Because I spend so much mental energy staying productive at work, I try to have more spontaneity in my personal life. Right now I’m doing “No-plans November,” when I don't make any weekend plans until the morning of. To me, that’s work-life balance: not flexing the same muscles at home and at work.

  
  
  https://www.blog.google/inside-google/googlers/she-word/our-do-list-interview-googles-productivity-expert/
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  Zero-touch enrollment’s new features deliver for partners and customers
  • sorangutan  

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  Last year we launched zero-touch enrollment, a deployment method to help make Android rollouts—especially those at large scale—more seamless and secure.  Since then, the program has grown and customers and partners are already seeing the benefits.

  Better rollouts for customers and partners

  Zero-touch continues to help businesses quickly and securely deploy Android devices, easing many pain points IT admins face when rolling out device fleets.

  NAV, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, has successfully used zero-touch enrollment to deploy over 10,000 Android devices across their organization. Bengt Nielsen, who leads NAV’s IT Infrastructure and Platform Services team, explained that the large scale deployment of Android devices was a key component of the organization’s digital transformation strategy. NAV wanted employees to work in a more agile way, freeing them to work out in the community rather than always at their desk.

  Zero-touch enrollment ensured that devices were configured and ready for use out of the box, making the deployment quick and easy for IT and employees, according to Bengt. He said, “Compared to previous manual enrollments, the zero-touch experience was like night and day—the enrollment process was almost flawless, employees found it straightforward and, most importantly, it saved the organization thousands of hours of work time.”  

  NAV’s deployment partner ATEA explained the impact that zero-touch enrollment has had on customer rollouts. Kim Tovgaard, Enterprise Sales Executive at ATEA, commented, “Android zero-touch enrollment means we can offer customers a wider range of hardware in our deployment concept for automated purchase and enrollment of mobile devices, and help businesses save time and money.”

  Expanding the zero-touch partner list

  The support for zero-touch is continually growing, with new partners regularly added and validated. One of our zero-touch resellers, Tech Data, has recently launched a fully integrated service across their 20,000 European Android resellers, enabling them to offer zero-touch enrollment to all their customers.

  “The API integration and set up was straightforward,” says Luc Van Huystee, Vice President, Mobility Solutions, Europe, at Tech Data, “enabling us to integrate this with our systems to allow every organization to carry out quick and easy bulk provisioning of company-owned Android devices straight after purchasing them.”

  Over 30 zero-touch partners have joined the program globally in the second half of 2018, including major mobile operators such as Bouygues Telecom, Chunghwa Telecom, NTT DoCoMo, Telia, and Vodafone (Netherlands, Spain and Ireland). The full list of our partners can be found on this site.

  New product features recently launched

  We continue to add new features to zero-touch enrollment for both resellers and customers. Resellers can now appoint vendors to act on their behalf, while maintaining overall visibility and control. This will enable multi-national carriers to oversee the actions of their local operators and also support carriers who delegate their B2B sales to dealers.

  Multi-language support is available within the zero-touch portal, with support for 13 languages. Additionally, zero-touch now supports WiFi-only devices, meaning that devices such as tablets and dedicated devices are also able to take advantage of the seamless enrollment that zero-touch offers. The current list of supported models is available here, with further manufacturers coming soon.
  Learn more about how zero-touch enrollment can help make enterprise deployment easier and more secure.

  
  

  
  
  https://www.blog.google/products/android-enterprise/zero-touch-enrollments-new-features-deliver-partners-and-customers/
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  Don’t be a turkey: Use Google Maps to avoid traffic and crowds this Thanksgiving
  • sorangutan  

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  Ah, Thanksgiving🦃.  A time for food, family, fun and the overwhelming stress that can come from getting stuck in holiday traffic. To make sure you make it to the festivities on time, we analyzed 2017 traffic data to pinpoint the best and worst times to leave for your Thanksgiving road trip—because there’s nothing worse than knowing that great Uncle Bobby is chowing down on your share of stuffing while you’re running late. And since lines can get long during the holidays, we’ve also identified when popular spots tend to be the most crowded so you can know exactly when to go to beat the rush. Interested in Thanksgiving traffic and search trends in your state? Check out our interactive site to take a deeper dive.

  
  

  Beat the traffic 🚗

  Getting to Thanksgiving dinner is always an adventure—but an understanding of Google Maps traffic patterns can help make your ride more predictable. Unsurprisingly, the day before Thanksgiving between 3-4pm is the worst time to hit the road, but traffic clears up significantly by 6am on Thanksgiving morning. After Thanksgiving, try your best to avoid the Friday or Sunday afternoon rush by leaving in the morning instead, when there are significantly less cars on the road.

  
  
  

  Skip the line 🙅🏽

  We analyzed popular visit times for the season’s favorite places—grocery stores, shopping malls, bakeries, movie theaters and liquor stores—during Thanksgiving week so you can time your visit to avoid the crowds. Pro-tip: avoid grocery stores on Wednesday afternoon if crowds make you cringe.

  
  

  Holiday survival tips 💪

  No matter where you’re headed this Thanksgiving, we’ve got you covered. We polled the Google Maps team to identify some of the most used tips from the experts themselves:

  
  

  • Search along your route: Running low on gas? Burned the turkey? No problem—simply search for places along your drive to tackle your to do list without going out of your way.

  • Share your ETA: Let the fam know what time you’ll be arriving without needing to make a call or send a text. Safety first!

  • Remember where you parked: After navigating somewhere, use Google Maps to save your parking location so you’ll never have a “Dude, where’s my car?” moment again.

  • Avoid the lines: Forgot the pumpkin pie at home? Head to the grocery store, but not before checking the estimated wait time on Google Maps and Search to make sure you’re not wasting precious time in line.

  • Plan a group activity in a snap: Deciding on a place to go with your entire family can be a recipe for disaster—but it doesn’t have to be. Simply long press on any place to add it to a shortlist that you can share. Vote on a place and voilà! Crisis averted.

  • Airport maps: If you’re flying for Thanksgiving, use Google Maps to orient yourself around an airport. Find your terminal, stores, restrooms, baggage claim and more at a glance.

  
  

  No matter where you’re headed for Thanksgiving dinner this year, Google Maps can help you get there before the turkey gets cold.

  
  

  
  
  https://www.blog.google/products/maps/dont-be-turkey-use-google-maps-avoid-traffic-and-crowds-thanksgiving/
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  Say hello to the new Google My Business app, and say hello to your next customer
  • sorangutan  

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  I come from a family of small business owners. My grandfather was an inventor and serial entrepreneur who, among many other things, built a successful machine tool company in Clarksville, Arkansas. My father then ran the Galloway Lumber Company in the same town back in the 40s and 50s. He was a charismatic man who built strong relationships with his customers—he knew almost everybody in town and could rely on those trustworthy relationships to keep the business running. As my team built the new Google My Business app, I kept business owners like him in mind and focused on connecting them with their customers. We’re proud to have built an easy-to-use, free tool that helps small business owners reach more people online and connect with their customers through Google, so they can grow their business and spend more of their time doing what they do best—running it.

  
  

  The world has changed a lot since Galloway Lumber Company first opened its doors for business, and now more and more people start online to look for places to eat, visit and shop. Every month, Google connects people to businesses nearby more than 9 billion times, including over 1 billion phone calls and 3 billion direction requests to stores. When we built the Google My Business app, we wanted to make it easier for small businesses like you to take advantage of that opportunity, and turn those searchers into your customers.

  
  

  Let’s look at how one small business, Khamsa, gets new customers with the app, and read on for details about what’s new:   

  

  • A simple, free way to stand out on Google with a great Business Profile:  With a press of the new Post button in the app, you can upload a photo, create an offer or event and add it right to your Business Profile on Google. You can also manage your business information on Google from the Profile tab and watch your edits appear seamlessly across Search and Maps.

  • Your customers on Google—all in one place:When people find you on Google, they can connect with you in a number of ways—by messaging you, following you, booking your services, or leaving a review—right from your Business Profile. You’ll be able to see all of these customers on Google in one place from the app’s new Customers tab.  From here, you can easily respond to customer reviews and post offers to your followers to keep them coming back in the door, and soon you’ll be able to respond to messages right from the app. And because Google My Business is always on the clock, we’ll be sure to notify you when you get a new customer connection.

  • Keep track of the results that matter: See how many people are finding and connecting with you from your Business Profile on Google. We’ve put your profile results front-and-center on the home screen so you’re always in the know.

  People are searching for your business on Google. Turn those searchers into customers with the new, free Google My Business app. Available for download in Google Play or the App Store today.

  
  

  
  
  https://www.blog.google/outreach-initiatives/small-business/new-google-my-business-app/
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  See your messages with local businesses in Google Maps
  • sorangutan  

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  Last year we enabled users in select countries to message businesses from the Business Profiles on Google. Sending messages to businesses gives you the opportunity to ask questions without having to make a phone call so that you can order a cake for your mom’s birthday while on the bus or find out if a shoe store has your size without having to wait on hold.

  Now you’ll see your messages with the businesses you connect with via Business Profiles within the Google Maps app, where you’re already looking for things to do and places to go or shop. You’ll find these messages in the side menu of both Google Maps for Android and iOS. With these messages in Maps, you’ll never have to worry about accidentally sending “I love you, Mom” to that shoe store you’ve been sending messages to.

                                     
  

  As this rolls out, Google users in additional countries worldwide will be able to message with businesses for the very first time. So no matter where you are, as long as a local business has enabled messages, you’ll be able to connect with them in a tap. Just look for the “message” button on Business Profiles on Google Search and Maps.

                                   
  

  On the flip side, businesses that want to accept messages from customers can install the new Google My Business app from Google Play or the App Store to sign up and enable messages. The new Google My Business app makes it even easier for businesses to stay in touch with their customers in real-time and on the go.

  Whether you’re looking for the best burger in town or a restauranteur trying to get your new burger in front of neighborhood tastemakers, Google Maps helps bring you together.

  
  
  https://www.blog.google/products/maps/see-your-messages-local-businesses-google-maps/
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  See the light with Night Sight
  • sorangutan  

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  Pixel’s camera is designed to help you capture life’s best moments effortlessly. With features like HDR+, Portrait mode, Top Shot, and Super Res Zoom, Pixel 3 uses computational photography and machine learning to help you capture stunning, creative and even professional photos. All you need to do is press the shutter button. 

  Because life’s best moments aren’t always perfectly lit, we developed Night Sight, a new feature for the Pixel camera that helps you capture vibrant and detailed low-light photos without a flash or tripod. Over the next few days, Night Sight will be coming to the front and rear cameras on all three generations of Pixel phones.

  

  iPhone XS with SmartHDR (left), and Pixel 3 with Night Sight (right).

  Why photography is difficult at night

  The key ingredient for a photo is light. When it’s dark, cameras compensate by spending more time capturing light and increasing their sensitivity to light, often adding unwanted motion blur and noise to your photo.
  

  Flash helps by adding light to the scene, but it awkwardly blinds your friends and can annoy others around you. Not to mention, it usually creates unflattering photos and isn’t even allowed in many places where photography is permitted. Flash also only brightens nearby subjects and isn’t useful for landscapes or faraway objects.

  Tripods stabilize the camera, allowing it to capture more light, but they’re bulky and impractical for everyday use. By enabling longer captures, tripods may also introduce unwanted motion blur from moving objects. 

  How Night Sight works

  Night Sight constantly adapts to you and the environment, whether you’re holding Pixel or propping it on a steady surface. Before you press the shutter button, Night Sight measures your natural hand shake, as well as how much motion is in the scene. If Pixel is stable and the scene is still, Night Sight will spend more time capturing light to minimize noise; if Pixel is moving or there’s significant scene motion, Night Sight will use shorter exposures, capturing less light to minimize motion blur.
  

  

  Night Sight can capture more light when Pixel and the scene are still. Photo by Narayan Hegde (Pixel 3, Night Sight).

  If your subject moves during the capture, Night Sight can adapt to prevent a modest amount of motion from ruining the shot. Instead of capturing one bright and blurry photo, Night Sight captures an equal amount of light over a burst of many photos that are dark but sharp. By merging this burst, Night Sight prevents motion blur and brightens the photo, giving you a bright and sharp photo.

  

  Night Sight is robust to moderate levels of hand shake and scene motion. It merges many dark but sharp photos into one bright photo.

  Night Sight is designed to capture true-to-life photos, adapting to the various lighting conditions you’ll see at night. Using machine learning, Night Sight balances the color of your photo so that objects show their natural color at night.

  

  Night Sight uses machine learning to balance colors.

  For more details on how Night Sight helps you capture vibrant and detailed low-light photos, head over to the Google AI blog.

  How and when to use Night Sight

  If you’re taking a photo in low light, Pixel will suggest using Night Sight. You can enter Night Sight by tapping this suggestion or manually navigating to the mode. After you tap the shutter button, try to hold still until Night Sight finishes capturing the photo.

  

  Night Sight on Pixel 3 XL

  Night Sight adapts to you and the environment so you can capture the moment effortlessly. Here are some additional tips to get the most out of your phone’s camera in low light:

  • If you’re taking a photo of someone, ask them to hold still for a few seconds before and after you press the shutter button.

  • Hold the phone steady. If you can, try propping it against a stable surface.

  • Make sure the camera lens is clean. It can accumulate oil from fingerprints, creating blurry and soft photos.

  • Try tapping on or around your subject to help your camera focus when taking photos in very dark conditions.

  • Avoid pointing your camera at bright light sources, which may cause unwanted reflections in your photo.

  • Cameras don’t work in complete darkness, so you’ll still need some light to capture a photo.

  Night Sight will be rolling out over the next few days with an update to the Google Camera app. Share your photos using #teampixel and #nightsight, and check out some Night Sight photos in this Google Photos shared album.
  
  https://www.blog.google/products/pixel/see-light-night-sight/
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  Making the change from military life to civilian life
  • sorangutan  

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  Editor’s Note: This guest post comes from U.S. Army Veteran Daniel Sotoamaya, who shares how Grow with Google and the USO helped his transition to a civilian career after serving in the military for 20 years.

  I entered the U.S. Army at age 17, and I had no responsibility except for myself. I left as a senior leader, married to my wife Jen—who is also a veteran—and co-parenting six children. When transitioning to civilian life, I needed to learn how to support my family without the military’s familiar structure and security, and I eventually found a job with the help of Grow with Google and the USO.

  In honor of National Veterans and Military Families Month, I want to share my story so that other veterans and their families don’t feel isolated as they navigate this life change. My story starts back in 1998 when I met my wife at U.S. Army training at Fort Lee, VA. While waiting to go for a group run, we said hi, exchanged comments about the weather, and headed off separately. I didn’t see her again until a year later when reassignment brought us together. Eventually our friendship evolved into dating, and we got married and had our first child. 

  During the 20 years I served in the Army, my career grew. I was promoted to Sergeant First Class (E7) and was assigned to bases all over the U.S. and Europe. Our family grew too, and Jen, who had served for three years, stayed at home to care for our kids. I credit Jen for her support, strength, and patience through my multiple combat deployments in Afghanistan, and during my transition to civilian life.

  When I left the military, it was my immediate responsibility to find a job to support our family. Even my kids could see that getting a job was my full time job. We all felt the pressure of my need to quickly figure out my next role. The job search process was stressful, not only for me, but also for my family. I didn't want to have a gap in income after my military career ended, but I also didn't want to settle on a job just for the paycheck.

  From my years serving in the military, I knew I brought leadership, a strong work ethic, and management experience to the table, but it wasn’t easy to translate what I did in the military to civilian jobs. My family worked with the USO, the country’s top military support organization, for ongoing support and guidance throughout my transition, and along with resources from Grow with Google, I felt equipped to look for a job. When I searched “jobs for veterans” on Google and entered my military job code (92Y), I found jobs that matched the skills I used in my military role and aligned with the values I gained while serving.

  Today, I have a full-time role as a Customer Center Supervisor, using skills learned in my 20-year military career. The Army prepared me to move decisively, so I’m able to quickly make sound decisions that are in the best interest of my company and our customers.

  Approximately 250,000 veterans—many with families—leave the military every year, and I hope that sharing my story will make their transition a little easier.

  
  

  
  
  https://www.blog.google/outreach-initiatives/grow-with-google/military-life-civilian-life/
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  Create your smart home for the holidays with the Google Assistant
  • sorangutan  

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  We know things can get busy during the holiday season, and the Google Assistant is the perfect way to help you streamline your day. We’re introducing new ways the Assistant can be particularly helpful at home, so you can get an extra hand from Google when you’re whipping up a meal in the kitchen, working with your kids on homework, enjoying TV in the living room or getting ready for a good night's rest.

  Staying in touch—even when you’re not at home

  When you’re out and about prepping for the holidays, the Google Assistant can help you easily check in on the family at home with broadcast, one of our most popular Assistant features. With broadcast, you can send a message from your phone to your smart speakers and smart displays at home—for instance, if you need someone at home to check if you should pick up cranberry sauce for the turkey. We’re now making this feature even more useful, with the ability to reply back from a smart speaker or Smart Display to your phone. When the reply is received back on your phone, a notification will pop up and the message will be transcribed. You’ll can respond with text or by voice with the Assistant. This feature will be available across all smart speakers and Smart Displays in the coming weeks.

  Making a great meal

  Smart Displays, like the Google Home Hub, Lenovo Smart Display or JBL Link View, are perfect companions in the kitchen for browsing recipes and getting step-by-step cooking instructions. To make discovering new recipes even easier, you’ll now see a Recommended Recipes card right from the home screen. This brings new recipes right to your fingertips before you even have to ask, with recommendations for recipes similar to ones you’ve searched for in the past.

  Even better, recipes will be regularly updated with smart recommendations based on the nearest meal time and whichever season it is. So you might see easy cinnamon roll recipes for inspiration in the morning, and foolproof turkey gravy heading into Thanksgiving. And when you discover a recipe that you love or want to try out in the future, you’ll be able to save and view it in your own personal cookbook using the Google Assistant. These new features will be available across all Smart Displays in the coming weeks.

  
  

  

  Setting up daily habits as a family

  Especially during the holiday season, sticking to family habits can be challenging, whether that’s picking up toys, making the bed or getting started with homework. To make these a bit more fun, today we’re adding the ability to set up an alarm from popular animated characters with the Google Assistant on smart speakers. These new alarms will have signature music, jokes, facts, words of encouragement and other fun messages from characters in LEGO City, LEGO Life, and LEGO Friends and from Nickelodeon's Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (including the voices of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello and April O’Neil) to remind everyone it’s time to finish playing and get in the bath. Just say, “Hey Google, set a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle alarm for 8:00 PM.” Cowabunga! We’ll also add characters from Spin Master’s Hatchimals later this year.

  Storytime is also an important activity, and earlier this month, we added a new feature for the Assistant called Read Along that makes it possible for your smart speaker to bring a story to life with sound effects and music as you read. We’re bringing more content to this format with a new book, “Ara the Star Engineer.” Featuring real-life women engineers with diverse backgrounds, the book sparks children's interest in STEM, focusing on themes around courage, creativity, coding and collaboration. Just say “Hey Google, Read Along with Ara the Star Engineer.”

  And if you don’t have a book with you, just ask the Google Assistant to tell you a story. In the coming weeks, we’re adding 25 new family-friendly stories by Nickelodeon, including PAW Patrol’s “The Pups Save the Bunnies,” Dora the Explorer’s “Dora's Super Sleepover,” Blaze and Monster Machines’ “Let's Be Firefighters” and many more.

  Or if you’re in the mood to choose your own adventure story as a family, you can join The Wiggles in a new interactive story on Google Home speakers and compatible smartphones. Just say “Hey Google, talk to The Wiggles” and you’ll join Emma on a fun, Wiggly adventure as she travels through town to find friends to bring to her concert.

  For more fun things to do as a family, you ask the Google Assistant about things like dinosaurs, superheroes, arts and crafts and outer space to receive tailored family-friendly responses. Give these a try: “Hey Google, I lost my tooth,” or “Hey Google, check for monsters.” Family friendly-responses with the Google Assistant are available when kids under 13 are signed into devices like Google Home via the Family Link app. For parents who want to give their kids access to the Google Assistant, create an account for your children under 13 through Family Link, then link their Google Account to Google Home or other smart speakers with the Google Assistant.

  Turn your living room into a smart entertainment center

  One of the ways we enjoy the holidays together as a family is by watching a favorite movie or playing holiday music. With the Home View dashboard on Smart Displays, you can easily control popular media and entertainment devices right from the screen. We’ve recently added new devices, so now TVs from Panasonic, Roku,LG, set top boxes from Telstra, and a smart remote from Logitech Harmony all work with Home View.

  If you’re more into podcasts or audiobooks, you can now adjust the playback speed with the help of the Google Assistant by saying “Hey Google, play at twice the speed” or “play faster.”

  If you’re looking for some fun as a group, play our trivia game “Are You Feeling Lucky?” on Smart Displays. Gather your friends and family around your Smart Display and say, “Hey Google, Are You Feeling Lucky?” You’ll play five rounds of trivia culminating in the final round of challenging “Guesstimation Station” brain teasers where you’ll answer questions like, “How many dimples does a golf ball have?”

  And if you’re looking for the perfect gift to ensure your living room is well lit, no matter which activities you choose, our Smart Light Starter Kit includes Google Home Mini and GE’s C-Life bulb. They come pre-linked, making the setup process a breeze. The kit will be discounted at just $31 starting from November 21-28th, and you can find it at the Google Store, Best Buy, Target, Lowes and Walmart.com.

  
  

  

  Start and end your day the right way  

  To help streamline your morning, we're rolling out this week Routines to the Clock app for Android phones. So after dismissing your alarm, the Google Assistant can immediately start a routine, triggering multiple things - like telling you about the weather and traffic on your commute to work, turning on your coffee maker and lights, playing the news, and more. You can customize your routine right from the Clock app.

  When it’s time to settle in for the night, you can ask the Google Assistant to switch your devices to do not disturb mode with a single command. You can say things like, “Hey Google, silence my phone.” This will be coming soon to the Google Assistant on phones. Sweet dreams.

  However you’re preparing for and celebrating the holidays, the Google Assistant can help you get things done with all these new features across devices.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
  https://www.blog.google/products/assistant/create-your-smart-home-holidays-google-assistant/
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  Connect with high-quality publishers and broadcasters in Display & Video 360’s Inventory module
  • sorangutan  

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  This is the fifth post in a series about Display & Video 360 innovations.

  Display & Video 360 is organized around five integrated modules that work together to simplify the end-to-end campaign process: Campaigns, Audiences, Creatives, Inventory and Insights. Today you’ll learn more about new capabilities of the Inventory module, where media teams can browse a diverse marketplace of media across formats, devices, and screens, then easily negotiate and manage campaigns with a range of deal types—from open auction to Programmatic Guaranteed.
  

  
  

  A diverse mix of inventory across all channels and devices—including connected TV

  The Inventory module is home to an array of premium digital inventory across devices and screens, such as mobile web and app, and connected TV. It also includes high-quality TV inventory via over-the-top video streams and traditional linear TV.

  
  

  With Display & Video 360, you can access YouTube, Gmail and Waze (both currently in beta), and Google Partner Inventory alongside cross-exchange display and video inventory in a single buying tool. YouTube inventory includes all TrueView formats and YouTube Reserve inventory, including Google Preferred. You can also access digital audio ad inventory from Google Play Music, Spotify, SoundCloud, TuneIn—and now, Pandora and AdsWizz. This offers brands the opportunity to bring audio, display, and video campaigns together in one place, and connect with audiences in various moments throughout the day.

  
  

  To make sure you can reach people in all environments, Display & Video 360 gives you access to national, local, and addressable linear TV inventory through integrations with clypd, WideOrbit, and Google Fiber (all currently in beta). You can also access premium TV content on connected TVs, such as programming from CBS, AMC, A+E, MLB.TV, and many more.

  
  

  Quality, brand-safe inventory

  No matter what inventory they choose, media teams can be sure they are in control of the ads they're buying and where they're running. Display & Video 360 offers advanced fraud prevention, viewability, and verification to give media buying teams more confidence and control.

  
  

  Display & Video 360’s fraud prevention uses over 180 sophisticated filters, a global team of experts, and manual reviews in an effort to prevent you from paying for invalid clicks, impressions, views, or interactions. In addition, buyers will receive refunds for invalid traffic that is detected by Google up to 30 days after monthly billing and meets other criteria.

  
  

  To ensure you’re buying inventory only from the actual sites where you intended your ads to appear, the ads.txt authorized-only inventory control enables you to run campaigns on sites that support ads.txt authorized inventory—and exclude inventory from sites without the file. And, with built-in Active View viewability targeting and optimization, you can be confident that your ads are seen, not just served.

  

  Run campaigns only on sites that support ads.txt with the Authorized Seller targeting control

  Display & Video 360 also includes brand suitability controls for pre- and post-bid blocking, and third-party verification capabilities so you can pinpoint where your ads ran.

  Flexible access to inventory via all transaction types

  By using the Inventory module, you can organize and align all of your media buys for a campaign—across transaction types and inventory sources—so you can spend your budget most efficiently and ensure you get the best outcomes from your investment.

  
  

  For example, Marketplace is a shoppable storefront for your programmatic campaigns. It helps you discover great inventory, negotiate deals directly, and manage all of your deals in one place. Marketplace also now includes recommendations, which highlight sets of premium inventory to help you discover and execute on high-quality publishers and packaged deals. And, by using the new bulk Request for Proposal (RFP) feature and unified negotiations workflow, you can request and negotiate with all publishers directly in Display & Video 360, regardless of the monetization platform they use. This allows you to seamlessly move from RFP to negotiation to deal execution.

  

  Marketplace helps you quickly and easily find the right inventory for your campaign goals and settings

  Programmatic Guaranteed in Marketplace enables reservation media to be bought in a more simple, efficient, and effective way than ever before. In addition to YouTube and premium publishers using Google Ad Manager, Programmatic Guaranteed is also available for third-party exchanges including Rubicon Project and SmartRTB, increasing the amount of premium reservation inventory available to be transacted programmatically. And you can manage reach and frequency together across all of your direct and open auction buys.

  
  

  You can also build your own Guaranteed Packages in Marketplace, enabling you to bring together inventory by requesting certain publishers and specifying audience criteria and campaign details. Then, Display & Video 360 automates the sourcing and matching of inventory to suggest a packaged deal across multiple publishers, and offer a guaranteed CPM.

  
  

  The Inventory module in Display & Video 360 helps you easily find and discover high-quality inventory from top broadcasters and publishers, Google media, and curated inventory packs. We’re continuing to invest in ways to help you provide more relevant and useful ads to consumers, no matter where they choose to engage.

  
  

  Follow our blog to read the final post in this series on Display & Video 360. Next up: the Insights module.

  
  
  https://www.blog.google/products/marketingplatform/360/connect-high-quality-publishers-and-broadcasters-display-video-360s-inventory-module/
• 

  Project Fi’s enhanced network brings faster, more secure connections
  • sorangutan  

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  Since we started Project Fi, we’ve worked to bring you the best connection—no matter where you are. Our network seamlessly switches between three 4G LTE networks, and gives you free access to 2 million Wi-Fi hotspots that are secured with Project Fi’s virtual private network (VPN) technology.

  Today, we’re introducing our enhanced network in beta. We’re extending the Project Fi VPN to all your connections, so you’ll now have more security and privacy wherever you use data. Our enhanced network also enables a fast, seamless connection by intelligently switching between Wi-Fi and cellular.
  

  Enhanced security and privacy

  When you’re on the go, you’re likely connecting to new networks, and the security of all networks isn’t made equal. When you enable our enhanced network, all of your mobile and Wi-Fi traffic will be encrypted and securely sent through our virtual private network (VPN) on every network you connect to, so you’ll have the peace of mind of knowing that others can’t see your online activity. That includes Google—our VPN is designed so that your traffic isn’t tied to your Google account or phone number (just like mobile traffic that isn’t sent through the VPN).
  

  Seamless, faster connections

  Our enhanced network automatically detects when your Wi-Fi connection becomes unusable and then fills in those connection gaps with cellular data. If you’ve ever left your house and walked toward your car, you might have noticed your connection slows or even stops altogether as your phone clings to a weakened Wi-Fi connection. With our enhanced network, you’ll have a seamless connection on the go, and waiting to be reconnected becomes a thing of the past. In our testing, we’ve reduced the time without a working connection by up to 40 percent.
  

  

  We’ll begin rolling out our enhanced network later this week to Fi-compatible phones running Android P. You can enable it anytime in Fi Network Tools in the Project Fi app.

  
  
  https://www.blog.google/products/project-fi/project-fis-enhanced-network-brings-faster-more-secure-connections/
• 

  New research on the convergence of TV and digital video
  • sorangutan  

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  The landscape of TV is shifting in significant, exciting ways. Consumers have more content choices and ways to watch than ever before and broadcast leaders (including traditional linear broadcasters, OTT providers, and digital-first video publishers) are adapting their business strategies for the new era of viewership. Throughout this transformative period broadcasters have been met with several challenges; they’re grappling with cross-screen monetization, onboarding new technology, and changing the way their organizations think about digital.

  
  

  In an effort to help our advanced TV and video partners prepare for the future, we recently commissioned Illuminas, an independent research partner, to interview twenty TV executives to learn what’s top of mind now for broadcasters and what their long-term objectives are for the future.

  
  

  We’re excited to share their observations in a new report, “The convergence of TV and digital: How broadcasters are building for success,” which covers topics ranging from consumer viewing trends to changes in revenue models to the opportunity for programmatic TV.

  
  

  So, what are the TV trends that matter… and how are industry leaders getting ready for the future? Download the full report to find out.

  
  

  
  
  https://www.blog.google/products/admanager/tv-and-video-convergence/
• 

  HRH The Prince of Wales’ 70th Birthday: Art, Culture, Heritage
  google in europe arts and culture • • sorangutan  

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  Digital innovation has not only introduced new forms of art but is also a critical means to preserving society’s art and heritage for future generations to explore and enjoy. Now through a new online project on Google Arts & Culture, people all over the world can explore heritage, art, craftsmanship and architecture through the work of The Prince of Wales and the charities he supports.

  On the occasion of The Prince of Wales’ 70th birthday on November 14th, Google Arts & Culture has partnered with Clarence House and ten charities connected to The Prince to unveil a new online initiative that documents The Prince’s extraordinary life and support for art and cultural heritage in Britain and around the world. With input and insights from The Royal Collection Trust, The Prince’s Foundation, Turquoise Mountain Trust and The Royal Drawing School among others, The Charities of The Prince of Wales provides unique and exclusive access to many of the curators, custodians and artists associated with The Prince of Wales.

  

  Delving into the site, people all over the world can walk the halls of Clarence House in Street View imagery for the very first time, stroll the gardens of Highgrove (The Prince’s private residence) in 360 degrees, study hundreds of historical artworks belonging to The Royal Collection  and discover  Dumfries House, The Estate saved for the nation by The Prince of Wales. The tour of Dumfries House includes views of its priceless collection of Chippendale furniture and personal insights from the on-site curators. To allow access to people from around the world, there is also now a Clarence House Google Expedition designed especially for schoolchildren who can use Google’s Virtual Reality storytelling tool to walk through the explore Clarence House in detail.

  Collaboration with The Princes’ Charities has also allowed Google Arts & Culture to share unique access to much of The Prince’s  own art collection and that of The Royal Collection Trust, handpicked for digitisation for this project. Over 40 artworks now can be seen in gigapixel resolution, including three of The Prince’s own watercolours, a portrait Queen Elizabeth II as a young girl (Philip de László), and eight masterpieces documenting Windsor Castle, by the British artist John Piper. In addition, the Royal Drawing School and School of Traditional Arts also come online to share a more contemporary set of artists’ stories and collections for visitors to explore.

  Now, anyone anywhere can also enjoy a rarely seen family photo album including photographs of Prince Charles as a young boy with Queen Elizabeth, relaxed family photographs with his own grandchildren and children, and even one of a very young Princess Anne and Prince Charles meeting David Attenborough in the 1950s.

  The Prince of Wales’ passion for heritage preservation is well known. Google Arts & Culture will also feature a new exhibit that offers a deep dive into the history of Afghan heritagethrough the lens of one of —The Turquoise Mountain Trust founded by The Prince. The exhibit explores the engaging stories of local Afghan culture, via new interactive 3D models of art, crafts and historical items, and virtual tours.

  • CH

    For the first time ever, via immersive Street View imagery, visitors can go inside The Prince’s home in London, Clarence House, bringing visitors into this historic landmark.

  • 2. Ultra high resolution_ Queen Elizabeth II (b. 1926) when Princess Elizabeth of York Philip de László.jpg

    A portrait of Queen Elizabeth II as a young girl, when she was Princess Elizabeth of York, Philip de László , captured in ultra high resolution and online for the very first time.

  • pic

    From the personal photo collection - HM The Queen, HRH Prince Charles and HRH Princess Anne play together at Balmoral Castle, 28th September 1952
    

  • BTS

    Behind the scenes with Google’s ultra high resolution Art Camera at Clarence House, capturing personal artworks throughout the home and bringing many of them online for the first time.

  • serai

    3D model of the Great Serai —Restored historic home in Old City of Kabul by local artisans and Turquoise Mountain Trust.

  • family

    The Family Parlour at Dumfries House —a heritage treasure—online for the first time in Street View and with the priceless collection of Chippendale furniture.

  • vogue

    Unique insight from Edward Enninful Editor of Vogue and Caroline Rush, Head of the British Fashion Council on The Prince’s personal style and support for the British fashion industry

  • veteran

    Veterans portraits—commissioned by The Prince—from Royal Drawing School and a chat with the School’s Director.

  • highgrove

    Highgrove Gardens in 360 degrees for the first time with an exclusive conversation with the Head gardener.

  • kabul

    First ever Google Street View in Afghanistan—Provides the first virtual tours of restored architecture in the Old City of Kabul

  Learn more about The Charities of The Prince of Wales and the men and women around the world who work on projects in heritage, conservation, and the arts by exploring the exhibition on Google Arts & Culture and on our iOS and Android apps. For more information on The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visit: https://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/.

  
  
  https://www.blog.google/outreach-initiatives/arts-culture/hrh-prince-wales-70th-birthday-art-culture-heritage/
• 

  Experimenting with science education on YouTube
  google in asia asias entrepreneurs • • sorangutan  

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  As part of our series of interviews with people across Asia-Pacific who use the Internet as a tool to connect, create and grow, we spoke with DoYoun Han, a science teacher at Hyeongyeong  Elementary School in South Korea. In addition to his day job, he runs the YouTube channel 3-Minute Elementary School Science, which shares videos of science lessons and experiments to students between 9 and 13 years old.

  
  

  Why did you become a teacher?

  My parents are farmers and I grew up in the countryside. Unlike the cities, you won’t find private education academies and big libraries here. I was quite playful when I was younger and the lack of interesting educational resources in the countryside didn’t help! I didn’t perform well in examinations, and lost interest in studying. But when I got to the fifth grade, my teacher Lee Byung-gi decided to personally tutor me after school, cheering me up whenever I got bad grades. He inspired me to work harder at school and I decided that I wanted to be just like him—helping students living in the countryside. I’m now living out my dream as a teacher at Hyeongyeong Elementary School in rural South Jeolla province.

  
  

  Why did you become a YouTube creator?

  The average South Korean family spends more than 10 percent of its income on after-school education in private academies for its children. Not every family can afford private education and you won’t find such academies in rural areas anyway. So there’s a gap in educational resources for students in urban and rural areas. I thought the best way to close it was to give teachers in rural schools material to supplement their own teaching. And I decided to share this content through YouTube because it’s popular with young people in Korea.

  
  

  How do you use YouTube to help your students?

  Last year, three other teachers and I started making short science lessons on video. The last thing we wanted to do was to make these seem like extra homework for the kids. So we focus on fun experiments, making abstract concepts more accessible with cartoons or songs. Our videos follow the order of the lessons in the national science curriculum. After reading the lesson in their textbooks, kids can watch our videos to get a better understanding of the subject, and hopefully have some fun too. We’ve shared about 300 videos so far.

  
  

  

  What challenges do you face in keeping this going?

  Right now it takes us about six hours to produce a three minute video. We’re teachers, not social influencers and we’re still learning to write scripts, film and edit our videos. We use our own money to purchase the production equipment and laboratory materials. Our limited funds means that we can’t produce all the videos that we want to. That’s why we were so thankful when Google heard about our channel and decided to support us with a $30,000 funding commitment. We’re going to use these resources to create even better educational videos for kids.

  
  

  What keeps you making these videos?

  I feel extremely fulfilled when I get comments on our YouTube channel from students who the videos have helped. One student said that he went from being a mediocre to an ace science student, getting full marks to their test scores. I’m happy when students get better results, but I feel just as satisfied when students leave comments just expressing gratitude for being able to understand and solve a problem because of our YouTube videos. Some of our viewers have even won prizes in national science competitions!

  
  

  

  What are your plans for the future?

  I want to keep being a teacher who presents children with the gift of dreams, creating high-quality online content to help children across the world realize their dreams. We’ve grown from a group of four teachers to 29 now, so we are also thinking of improving our videos and making new ones beyond the field of science.

  
  

  As we’ve gotten a good response from viewers overseas, we also want to start offering English and Chinese subtitles to our lessons to reach more students. Through YouTube, I also want to reach students that face difficult learning environments like refugees. I see our videos becoming an online classroom that they can access anytime, without teachers or books.

  
  

  
  
  https://www.blog.google/around-the-globe/google-asia/korea-science-youtube/
• 

  #IMakeApps: Taking care of resources, from the internet to oceans
  • sorangutan  

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  Editor’s note: To celebrate the hard work, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of app makers around the world, we’re featuring founders, product managers, designers and developers from around the world. We’ll showcase their passions and also hear about what they do when they step away from their computers. Meet our next app maker, Jaehyung Daniel Lee, a Korean scuba diver who is passionate about taking care of our resources, whether that’s natural ones like the oceans or human-made ones like internet access, via his EMPO app, which allows people to buy and sell unused mobile data. Check out more #IMakeApps stories on g.co/play/imakeapps.

  

  Where did the idea for the EMPO app come from?

  It was actually my little brother William’s idea. He’s a heavy user of mobile data while I can survive with 1 GB every month. One day he asked me if I could sell my leftover data to him, which sparked the idea for the EMPO app. I wanted to build a way for people to share their data-resources. Access to the internet is like water to life in the modern way of life, it’s a basic resource. 

  How did you get into technology?

  I majored in International Studies: Political Science, which taught me to identify and analyze problems, and then look for solutions. I’m not a software engineer, but that hasn’t prevented me from making apps.

  What has been your experience starting the company?

  It has given me not only energy and hopes but also insomnia and doubts. It is like riding a roller coaster. There are multiple ups and downs in a day, but I have to find a balance.

  What has been your experience launching the app on Android and Google Play?

  I think lean operations are a critical element in successful startup cases. Android is the perfect platform to launch because the ten-year-old developer community offers respectable resources and compatibilities. Although I started as a non-engineer, my time with Android and Google Play taught me that building an app on Android Studio is doable even for a political scientist. After a couple of prototypes, I wanted to come up with lines of code and algorithms myself using machine learning, and I began practicing while the app is out there running. As an operator, the sync between Google Ads Universal App Campaigns and the Google Play Console has been the most convenient feature for marketing and collecting meaningful (and unexpected) data at the same time. The Google Play network of users gives me positive pressure to consider product quality as a top priority.

  What does your day-to-day look like?

  Every morning I swim in cold water for 30 minutes. After breakfast, I join the subway rush to Google for Startups Campus in Seoul, where we launched our EMPO project. At Campus, I plan and analyze day-to-day operations on the app development and business. The most fun part is to interact among our teammates, who give me the energy to move on. There are private booths with whiteboards at Campus, in which we argue, discuss, and come up with solutions, actual solutions! Running the app is pretty hectic; every day we find either technical or operational aspects to improve on. But, making things work is our job, and we are proud of our role. Other than vis-a-vis work with the team, I often meet new people in different startup industries, exchanging advice. My current focus is to improve our app with much better UX and stronger security measures. Our research and development never stops, as we are preparing for a major upgrade before 2019 starts.

  How did you get into scuba diving?

  I’ve always watched oceanic documentaries with my dad, and at first I got my diver’s licenses so I could see whales in real life. Now I want to contribute to their survival by helping keep the oceans clean; taking care of our resources is very important to me. Scuba diving also helps me disconnect from the busy city life in Seoul and gives me the energy I need to run my app business. The spirit behind EMPO and my scuba diving passion are the same: taking care of our resources, whether that’s internet access or oceans.

  
  
  
  https://www.blog.google/products/google-play/imakeapps-taking-care-resources-internet-oceans/
• 

  #IMakeApps: Taking care of resources, from the internet to oceans
  • sorangutan  

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  Editor’s note: To celebrate the hard work, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of app makers around the world, we’re featuring founders, product managers, designers and developers from around the world. We’ll showcase their passions and also hear about what they do when they step away from their computers. Meet our next app maker, Jaehyung Daniel Lee, a Korean scuba diver who is passionate about taking care of our resources, whether that’s natural ones like the oceans or human-made ones like internet access, via his EMPO app, which allows people to buy and sell unused mobile data. Check out more #IMakeApps stories on g.co/play/imakeapps.

  

  Where did the idea for the EMPO app come from?

  It was actually my little brother William’s idea. He’s a heavy user of mobile data while I can survive with 1 GB every month. One day he asked me if I could sell my leftover data to him, which sparked the idea for the EMPO app. I wanted to build a way for people to share their data-resources. Access to the internet is like water to life in the modern way of life, it’s a basic resource. 

  How did you get into technology?

  I majored in International Studies: Political Science, which taught me to identify and analyze problems, and then look for solutions. I’m not a software engineer, but that hasn’t prevented me from making apps.

  What has been your experience starting the company?

  It has given me not only energy and hopes but also insomnia and doubts. It is like riding a roller coaster. There are multiple ups and downs in a day, but I have to find a balance.

  What has been your experience launching the app on Android and Google Play?

  I think lean operations are a critical element in successful startup cases. Android is the perfect platform to launch because the ten-year-old developer community offers respectable resources and compatibilities. Although I started as a non-engineer, my time with Android and Google Play taught me that building an app on Android Studio is doable even for a political scientist. After a couple of prototypes, I wanted to come up with lines of code and algorithms myself using machine learning, and I began practicing while the app is out there running. As an operator, the sync between Google Ads Universal App Campaigns and the Google Play Console has been the most convenient feature for marketing and collecting meaningful (and unexpected) data at the same time. The Google Play network of users gives me positive pressure to consider product quality as a top priority.

  What does your day-to-day look like?

  Every morning I swim in cold water for 30 minutes. After breakfast, I join the subway rush to Google for Startups Campus in Seoul, where we launched our EMPO project. At Campus, I plan and analyze day-to-day operations on the app development and business. The most fun part is to interact among our teammates, who give me the energy to move on. There are private booths with whiteboards at Campus, in which we argue, discuss, and come up with solutions, actual solutions! Running the app is pretty hectic; every day we find either technical or operational aspects to improve on. But, making things work is our job, and we are proud of our role. Other than vis-a-vis work with the team, I often meet new people in different startup industries, exchanging advice. My current focus is to improve our app with much better UX and stronger security measures. Our research and development never stops, as we are preparing for a major upgrade before 2019 starts.

  How did you get into scuba diving?

  I’ve always watched oceanic documentaries with my dad, and at first I got my diver’s licenses so I could see whales in real life. Now I want to contribute to their survival by helping keep the oceans clean; taking care of our resources is very important to me. Scuba diving also helps me disconnect from the busy city life in Seoul and gives me the energy I need to run my app business. The spirit behind EMPO and my scuba diving passion are the same: taking care of our resources, whether that’s internet access or oceans.

  
  
  
  https://www.blog.google/products/google-play/imakeapps-taking-care-of-resources/
• 

  Calling all Google Play fans: Vote for your favorite content of 2018
  • sorangutan  

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  For the last several years, Google Play has celebrated the best content in the Store, including top apps, games and movies. This year, we want to hear from you. For the first time, we’re introducing the Fan Favorite category as part of our “Best of Play” yearly list.

  
  

  Starting today, it’s time for you to vote! Pick the winners from a shortlist of the year’s most loved and trending titles across apps, games and movies, including Quizlet, Candy Crush Friends Saga and Incredibles 2. To select your Fan Favorites of 2018, head over to this page and cast your vote before the polls close on November 26th.

  
  

  And the fun doesn’t stop there. The Fan Favorite winners, along with the rest of the Best of 2018 picks from our Google Play Editors, will be announced on December 3rd. So stay tuned!

  
  
  https://www.blog.google/products/google-play/calling-all-google-play-fans-vote-your-favorite-content-2018/
• 

  May we GIF you a suggestion? Emojis and more on Gboard
  • sorangutan  

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  We communicate in pictures more than ever before. Emoji, stickers, or GIFs often get your point across better than just words. Can you imagine celebrating a birthday without the cake emoji, or *life* without the Carlton GIF? Conversations would be so much more boring—and more misunderstood—without them.

  
  

  For those of us who just can’t even without the perfect GIF ( … or emoji, or sticker), never fear, Gboard is here! On Gboard, you can search for stickers, emoji and GIFs, all at once. It also has a sticker store, regularly updated with stickers for people all over the world.

  
  

  But with thousands of emoji and stickers, and an endless number of GIFs, it can sometimes take awhile to find the perfect way to say “I love you,” “hooray,” or anything else you’re trying to communicate.

  
  

  Starting today for all Android users, Gboard will use AI to suggest GIFs, emoji and stickers to you related to your conversation. This makes it faster and easier to share your #feelings and your glowing personality with whoever you’re chatting with. Keep your eyes peeled for the “GIF” icon to appear in the top left corner of Gboard. Tap it, and you’ll see a selection of GIFs, emoji and stickers that Gboard thinks you might want to share.

  

  So if you’re typing “Awesome!” Gboard will suggest this sticker:

  

  Or if you type “I’m sleepy”, you’ll get this emoji:

  

  To make sure these suggestions are private to you and take place as fast as possible, this feature is processed entirely on your device. You can read more about the benefits of on-device AI here.

  
  

  This feature is initially available globally in English only. Over time, we’ll expand Gboard suggestions to more languages, and more types of content to help you do and say more right from your conversation. In the meantime, we’ll leave you with this:

  
  
  https://www.blog.google/products/search/may-we-gif-you-suggestion-emojis-and-more-gboard/
• 

  Sharing stories of service and sacrifice for Veterans Day
  arts and culture doodles • • sorangutan  

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  As a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy, I remember spending multiple deployments out at sea, on a ship, sailing off the coast of Central and South America. The days were long, and the nights even longer, as we spent up to nine months away from friends and family. Although the deployments were sometimes dangerous, and we were away from home, we knew that it was part of the greater mission of protecting our country.

  Millions of Americans throughout history have made a commitment to protect our country, and to better understand their impact and sacrifice, we’re amplifying their voices and sharing their stories. And we want you to help.

  To do this, we’re partnering with StoryCorps, whose mission is to preserve and collect humanity’s stories. When you download the Storycorps app, you can interview a veteran in your life, and archive their oral history. Once you share your story, it will be sent to the Library of Congress where it will be kept for future generations to learn about their achievement and sacrifice.

  Thanks to our partnership with Storycorps, today’s Doodle features stories from five veterans, including the first African-American woman to serve in the Coast Guard, and of an Army Sergeant who was reunited with the medic who saved his life ten years later. Guest animators Alicia and Emory Allen, both  children of veterans, lent their talents to create original artwork for the stories and the Doodle.

  Nineteen-year-old YouTube creator Andy Fancher has spent the last three years telling veterans’ stories—he’s interviewed more than 70 WWII combat veterans for his YouTube channel, “Andy Fancher Presents.” Andy’s interest in documenting veterans’ stories started after he found a photograph of his late great-grandfather and realized his experience as a soldier hadn’t been preserved. Now, YouTubers like Andy can use the StoryCorps app to capture their own veteran stories.

  

  Veterans Day is also International Armistice Day, commemorating the end of World War I.  In partnership with the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, MO, Google Arts and Culture has digitized and uploaded hundreds of historical documents, posters, and photographs. Now you can learn more about the origins of Veterans Day through exhibits about the armistice centennial or the significance of iconic WWI posters. You can also tour the museum’s grounds and interior, and explore the Museum in virtual reality with Google Cardboard tours narrated by the Museum’s curators and a retired Colonel.

  • Screen Shot 2018-11-09 at 5.43.19 PM.png

    On November 12, 1918, Nannie Howard of Kansas City wrote a letter to her brother Archie expressing the family's happiness upon hearing news of the November 11 armistice.

  • Screen Shot 2018-11-09 at 5.43.04 PM.png

    Decorated artillery shells, like this one with a perched eagle and the inscription "A.E.F. 1918," were a popular souvenir for soldiers.

  • Screen Shot 2018-11-09 at 5.42.42 PM.png

    Black and white photograph of allied soldiers outside a railroad car in which the Armistice was signed. General Maxime Weygand of France, Admiral Wemyss of Great Britain, and Marshal Foch of France.

  • Screen Shot 2018-11-09 at 5.42.31 PM.png

    Certificate issued to Henery Deakopolos, recorded on certificate as enlisted on July 26, 1917 and assigned to Company F, 130th Infantry, Camp Logan, Houston, Texas.

  • Screen Shot 2018-11-09 at 5.42.20 PM.png

    Black and white photograph scanned from an Eastman Lantern Slide plate. U.S. soldier with The New York World Herald newspaper. Headline: The War is Won.

  • Screen Shot 2018-11-09 at 5.41.46 PM.png

    This poster served as a call for enlistment to women in the U.S. Navy, the model herself becoming a yeomen and working as an aide to the assistant secretary in charge of procuring ships.

  Veterans are heroes among us, and these new efforts—across our platforms—can help to make sure that their legacy of service and sacrifice is preserved well into the future.

  
  
  https://www.blog.google/inside-google/doodles/sharing-stories-service-and-sacrifice-veterans-day/
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  News Consumer Insights: How data is driving publisher growth
  • sorangutan  

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  Although news companies are awash in data, publishers say that it’s often hard for them to extract valuable insights that can affect the bottom line of their businesses. In close collaboration with news partners, we developed the News Consumer Insights (NCI) tool to help publishers make data-driven business decisions that increase profitability and build deeper relationships with their readers.

  

  The News Consumer Insights Audience Funnel

  NCI is a data framework implemented into Data Studio, a free Google data visualization tool, to conceptualize a news publisher’s Google Analytics data. It takes an ecommerce-driven funnel approach, segmenting users according to their value to the news site (defined by their respective key engagement metrics such as time on the site and number of articles read).

  Leveraging the NCI playbook recommendations, thousands of news publishers have surfaced actionable insights in order to convert users into paying consumers, improve site experience and build a loyal following. Here are some of the key learnings from publishers who have used the NCI tool:

  Optimize consumer revenue by removing friction and focusing on the right benefits

  While having a loyal reader base is essential for sustainability, it doesn’t guarantee the financial success of a news publication. During the launch of their subscription offering called BI Prime, Business Insider used NCI recommendations to understand their potential customers and optimize the different steps of their reader’s path to purchase.  They collected user feedback to identify what benefits people expected from a subscription, implemented free trials to improve discoverability and redesigned their landing page according to NCI's conversion rate optimization best practices.

  
  

  

  BI Prime redesigned prompt and landing page

  Following the implementation of the changes, Business Insider saw a 150% increase subscription revenue growth in just one quarter and a 40% share of long-term subscribers growth.

  
  

  Lee Enterprises similarly carried out changes to their subscription conversion funnel by making their subscribe buttons more prominent, improving the targeting of promotional ads on their sites and identifying effective unique selling points for their subscription packages. After the changes, their digital subscriptions tripled month over month and visits to their subscription pages increased by 150%.

  Boost newsletter signups to build reader loyalty

  As reaching readers becomes more challenging in a fragmented media environment, publishers are finding that email newsletters are a reliable way to deepen relationships with their audience. Following the newsletter best practices from the NCI playbook, WRAL.com was able to grow their subscriber base by 15% through adjusting the location of their newsletter sign-up box, simplifying the newsletter sign-up process and customizing the content in their newsletters to match readers’ interests.

  
  

  Johnston Press, a United Kingdom based publisher, also revamped their newsletter subscription process by implementing a sign-up box within the content that only required an email address. They even went a step further and collected feedback from readers on what they want from a newsletter. After implementing the changes, they saw a significant increase in newsletter driven traffic to their websites and more engagement from users on their sites with the average time spent on the site increasing by over a minute.

  

  Survey examples to identify key benefits

  Improve your content discoverability in organic search

  Using our data and recommendations on structured data for news and magazine publishers, Independent News & Media Group (INM), Ireland’s largest media company, was able to ensure that their websites were marked up with the properly structured data to help search engines across the web interpret the content in their articles, reviews, videos and content.  Following the changes, they saw 11% more visits from users coming from different search engines which also led to an ad inventory growth of 39% and a 22% programmatic revenue growth year over year.

  We hope that the NCI tool and these case studies are helpful in improving the readership and user experience for publishers. You can learn more about and try News Consumer Insights today at g.co/newsconsumerinsights.

  
  
  https://www.blog.google/outreach-initiatives/google-news-initiative/news-consumer-insights-how-data-driving-publisher-growth/
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  The quest for friction-free products: World Usability Day
  • sorangutan  

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  World Usability Day is a one-day, global celebration that brings together design professionals, developers and product creators to humanize products and advocate for making them easier to use. This year, Google is celebrating with an extra emphasis on Digital Wellbeing.

  Teams across Google have been working to make products more respectful of people’s time and attention. We are learning how to help people have better relationships with the technology in their lives, and now we’re sharing that information with you.

  

  Developers from Jordan discuss app design. 

  For World Usability Day, 40 Google designers and local experts will speak at select DevFest events in nearly 20 countries throughout the month of November, sharing knowledge about Digital Wellbeing, design sprints, visual design, interaction design, front-end development, user research and more. We hope to help designers, engineers and technology professionals create beautiful, simple and delightful user experiences that put people first.

  Let us know how you’re celebrating World Usability Day by tweeting at @GoogleDesign with #GWUD2018.

  
  
  https://www.blog.google/technology/design/world-usability-day-2018/