Today marks the start of the Lunar New Year—we’ve entered the Year of the Rooster.
Across Asia and around the world, families are coming together, houses and neighborhoods are being dressed up in red and traditional lanterns are being hung. If you're still wondering about what the fireworks are all about, Google Arts & Culture is here to help you learn more about this centuries-old tradition.
Celebrate Lunar New Year with Google Arts & Culture
Google Arts & Culture teamed up with 12 museums from Beijing to Washington to create a new online exhibition, so everyone can discover the craftsmanship and arts that make this holiday so colorful. Follow the zodiac animals across 1,000 years of art history, learn about the art of the New Year prints with which people decorate their homes, or find out how to give and accept a traditional red envelope.
The exhibition is available for everyone online and through the Google Arts & Culture mobile app on iOS and Android. And if you follow us on Instagram, you can join the celebrations and learn how to create lanterns or fold a pretty paper rooster to celebrate Lunar New Year.
May the Year of the Rooster be a great one for you all!
Whether reminding you to leave to catch your flight, helping you find pictures of your daughter’s recital, or suggesting the right Smart Reply, Google builds tools that help you make the world of information more accessible and useful. And at Google Play Music, we strive for the same.
Building on our commitment to help you find the right music for any moment, today we’re introducing the new Google Play Music — a fresh take on our music streaming service that is smarter, easier to use, and much more assistive.
To deliver that, Google Play Music uses machine learning to figure out what music you like and then mixes in signals like location, activity, and the weather along with hand-picked playlists to personalize music for wherever you are and whenever you want tunes. Starting this week on Android, iOS and the web, the new experience will roll out globally (62 countries, to be precise).
DON’T THINK TWICE, IT’S ALL RIGHT
To provide even richer music recommendations based on Google’s understanding of your world, we’ve plugged into the contextual tools that power Google products. When you opt in, we’ll deliver personalized music based on where you are and why you are listening — relaxing at home, powering through at work, commuting, flying, exploring new cities, heading out on the town, and everything in between. Your workout music is front and center as you walk into the gym, a sunset soundtrack appears just as the sky goes pink, and tunes for focusing turn up at the library.
WHAT YOU WANT? BABY I GOT IT
The new Google Play Music has a brand new home screen built just for you. Think of it as the ultimate personal DJ—one who listens not only to what you like, but also when you like it, so the music that you care about now is always at the top of your screen. Maybe that's your favorite new release on Friday, the dance party playlist you listen to after work, or more music from a new artist you've just fallen in love with. Regardless, it will be there waiting for you to press play. Powered by Google's machine learning systems and honed by our team of expert music curators, your experience will keep evolving (and improving) as we get to know you better.
PLEASE DON’T STOP THE MUSIC
No connection? Lost in the desert? No problem. Well...except for the lost part (try Google Maps for that). When you subscribe, you’ll always be prepped with an offline playlist based on what you’ve listened to recently. As long as you remember to charge your phone, you’ll have your favorite tunes, even if you forgot to download them ahead of time.
From parks to airports to bars, whether you're walking, biking, or driving, the right music makes any moment better. With the new Google Play Music, we’re here to help with the perfect soundtrack for the things you do every day. After all, the only thing better than finding the perfect music is the perfect music finding you.
Many millions of years ago, dinosaurs ruled the Earth and sea dragons were not just Hollywood creations, but fearsome predators that stalked the oceans. It’s a world that vanished long ago, but one that continues to fascinate those seeking to understand the origins of life on our planet.
Starting today, anyone, anywhere can explore this world on Google Arts & Culture. We’ve partnered with 50+ of the world’s leading natural history institutions to bring this lost world to life again online. More than 150 interactive stories from experts, 300,000 new photos and videos, and more than 30 virtual tours await you...
With just a few clicks, you can come face to face with a 180 million year old giant, as virtual reality raises the colossal sea dragon from extinction. Discovered in Dorset in the U.K. and residing at London’s Natural History Museum. The Rhomaleosaurus — to give it its formal name — can now be explored in 360 degrees.
We also used VR to bring the Giraffatitan back to life in Berlin’s natural history museum. Standing at 13 meters (42 feet), it’s one of the tallest dinosaurs that ever lived. It was twice as tall as today’s giraffes, and could easily put its head through a fourth floor window.
We wanted to give you a glimpse of how these colossal creatures actually looked. So we worked with ecologists, paleontologists and biologists to put virtual skin and flesh on the preserved skeletons. From the size of the eye to the position of the snout and the bend of the neck, the texture and creases of the skin were all painstakingly recreated, and verified by a team of scientists. For the best experience, use a viewer like Google Cardboard to look the beast in the eye.
In addition to the VR experiences, this global exhibition of natural history has plenty more for experts and armchair explorers alike:
Turn back time by 4.6 billion years with the help of the Natural History Museum by scrolling through the history of life from the origins of the solar system, through the rise and the fall of prehistoric worlds.
See the giant sloth jaw that led Darwin to his groundbreaking theory of natural selection.
View 3,000 species on display in one giant cabinet or find out how our own predecessors may have looked.
With Street View, walk around dinosaurs in New York, explore 30+ natural history museums from to Australia to Russia and even go underwater with turtles in Brazil.
Join YouTube’s Vsauce2 to discover the story of Martha, the last passenger pigeon.
The free collection opens today at g.co/naturalhistory and through the Google Arts & Culture mobile app on iOS and Android. And if you’re a teacher, there are more than 20 new Google Expeditions waiting for you and your classroom to discover. We hope you enjoy this journey through the history of nature as much as we do.
Posted by Amit Sood, Director of the Google Cultural Institutehttps://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yQoDsqVHEUY/V9cc-KEwxyI/AAAAAAAAS74/z5cylfCXQcYt6jm54mssXq03UVBB7yhjQCLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-09-12%2Bat%2B2.23.37%2BPM.pngAmit SoodDirector of the Google Cultural InstituteGoogle --> The Official Google Blog
The 2016 Google Science Fair opens for submissions today. Together with LEGO Education, National Geographic, Scientific American and Virgin Galactic, we’re inviting all young explorers and innovators to make something better through science and engineering. To learn more about the competition, how to enter, prize details and more, visit the site, and follow along on Google+ and Twitter.
I remember the day I first heard about the Google Science Fair last year. I was sitting in my 10th grade science class when my teacher asked us: “What will you try?” I loved the invitation—and the challenge—that the Google Science Fair offered. It was a chance to use science to do something that could really make a difference in the world.
I had always been curious and interested in science, and knew I wanted to submit a project, but didn’t really know exactly where to begin. I asked my teacher for his advice on selecting a research topic. He encouraged me to choose something that I felt passionate about, or something that outraged me, and told me to look at the world around me for inspiration. So I did. At that time, the Ebola crisis was all over the news. It was a devastating situation and I wanted to help be a part of the solution. I had found my project.
With the outbreak spreading so quickly, I decided that I wanted to find a way to diagnose the virus earlier so that treatment could be delivered as quickly as possible to those who were affected. I read online about silk’s amazing storage and stabilizing properties, and wondered if I could use silk to transport antibodies that could test for the virus. After many failed attempts (and cutting up lots of cocoons) I finally succeeded in creating a temperature-independent, portable, and inexpensive diagnostic test that could detect the Ebola virus in under 30 minutes. I was really excited that my research could help contribute to saving lives, and I was proud to be selected as the Grand Prize winner a few months later.
As the 2016 Google Science Fair launches today, I wanted to share a few tips from my own experience: First, as my teacher once guided me to do, look at the world around you for ideas. If you’re stuck, try the Make Better Generator to find something that excites or inspires you. Second, find a mentor who’s interested in the same things as you. There are a lot of helpful ideas on the GSF site to get you started. And finally, don’t get discouraged—often what first appears like failure can teach you so much more.
I urge other teenagers like me to take this opportunity to find a way to make the world around them better. Every one of us, no matter our age or background, can make a difference—and as young people, we’re not always so afraid to try things that adults think will fail. But change doesn’t happen overnight, and it often starts with a question. So look at the world around you and challenge yourself to make something better.
Declared the “monarch of mountains” by Lord Byron, the Mont Blanc massif is shrouded in mystery, rolling clouds and imposing snowfields. One of Europe’s highest peaks, the wild terrain of the famed mountain range is reserved for ardent mountaineers and intrepid explorers. Starting today in Google Maps, you can get an up-close, 360-degree look at the breathtaking beauty of Mont Blanc. Following last year’s first-ever vertical imagery collection of El Capitan in California’s Yosemite National Park, we partnered with world-renowned alpine photographers, skiers, mountaineers, climbers, and runners to collect Street View of Western Europe’s highest peak.
By working with legendary adventurers, the Street View team was able to capture the spirit of the massif in a way few witness firsthand. Run on the summit with Kilian Jornet—he holds the speed record for ascending and descending Mont Blanc in just 4 hours 57 minutes! Ice climb up a serac with record-setting alpine climber Ueli Steck, or go knee deep in powder alongside 14-time ski mountaineering champion Laetitia Roux and famed guide Patrick Gabarrou.
Renan Ozturk, acclaimed cinematographer and National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, alpine photographer Jonathan Griffith, and Sender Films joined Google on Mont Blanc as part of the team.
If reaching the top is what you care about, elite guide Korra Pesce joined the troupe by carrying the Street View Trekker up and down the Goûter Route of Mont Blanc. Click through the Street View to get his first-person perspective of each step to the summit.
Climb the entire Goûter Route of the Mont Blanc massif
Unfortunately, Mont Blanc’s glaciers are receding due to climate change. You can learn more about how the rising temperatures are directly affecting the mountain from legendary guide Patrick Gabarrou, who describes the the glacial melt on the Mer de Glace. So this Street View imagery also serves as a digital record of Mont Blanc as it appears today, so future outdoor enthusiasts and scientists can look back at this time capsule to see how the mountain has changed.
Kilian Jornet on the summit of Mont Blanc
Whether you choose to run up the Mont Blanc with Kilian Jornet or ski down with Laetitia Roux, we hope you enjoy reaching new heights in Europe’s beautiful and endangered mountain range. Posted by Sandy Russell, Project Lead, Mont Blanc Street View
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i70rtEuFhaA/VqAgIN7MI2I/AAAAAAAAEtw/PXgYz379QtA/s1600/Ueli%2BIce%2BClimbing_25MB.gifSandy RussellProject LeadMont Blanc Street View The Official Google Blog
From devastation to empowerment and tragedy to hope, our 15th annual Year in Search uncovers the moments that captured the world’s hearts—and questions that revealed who we are. From “How can I help Nepal” to “How can the world find peace?” here’s a look back at 2015, through the lens of Google search.
Searching for ways to help Within two minutes of the deadly attack on Paris in November, the French capital was searching for information on the assault underway in their city. Less than 10 minutes later, the rest of the world started searching. As of today, we’ve seen more than 897 million searches about the city as the world came together to “Pray for Paris.”
Global showings of support and offerings of help were a key topic in search this year. Following the Nepal earthquake, “how can I help Nepal?” was a top global search. From Somerville, Mass. to Ludwigsberg, Germany, people asked how to volunteer and what to donate.
Searching for perspective While questions around Nepal were similar around the world, the migrant crisis in Europe spiked a wider variety of queries. From Italy asking “How to adopt a Syrian orphan child?” to Germany wondering “Where are the refugees coming from?” the world turned to Google to understand the situation and what it meant for them.
In the U.S., the topic of guns brought varying questions. From Portland, Ore. to Austin, Texas, people across the country searched for “what is gun control,” “why do we need gun control,” “why won’t gun control work” and more to understand the issue. With more than 160 million searches, interest in gun control spiked higher than interest for gun shops—typically a more popular search—at multiple points in 2015.
Searching for acceptance In June, we met Caitlyn Jenner, someone we’d both always known and were meeting for the first time. Across the globe, she was searched more than 344 million times, and her story helped give a new voice to the transgender community.
People cheered “#lovewins” when the U.S. Supreme Court made a monumental ruling that gay marriages should be recognized at both the State and Federal level. The reaction was instant, with search interest in both same-sex marriage and the Supreme Court reaching higher than at any time in Google's history.
Searching for… the dress, the Force and the singer Turning to the Search watercooler, the year began with the world divided over an important question: is it white and gold? or blue and black? Days of debate and 73 million searches later, “black and blue dress” topped searches of “white and gold dress,” and the matter was settled forever (right?).
And though “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is just hitting theaters this week, it’s already taken the Internet by storm(trooper). The trailer alone garnered more than 155 million searches! But the all-time high for Google searches around “Star Wars” was in 2005 after “The Revenge of the Sith” came out in theaters—can we beat it this week?
Finally, what better way to close out the year than by saying “Hello”? With the debut of “25,” Adele broke records by the week, putting her album at the top of the charts and skyrocketing to the top of Google Search faster than any other musician this year.
Hundreds of stories in depth The 2015 Year in Search goes deeper than we've ever gone before. This year, we’re covering hundreds of news stories, sharing interactive guides and charts, and diving into the numbers by sharing things like how many times people searched for Adele (439 million, if you want to know!).
See how all of the biggest stories of the year compared:
Go to Google.com/2015 to explore the rest of the 2015 Year in Search stories and top trending charts from around the world.
Posted by Amit Singhal, Senior Vice President, Searchhttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-szT0CpTrHss/VnEWdApFBxI/AAAAAAAARlU/L-tT2ireW74/s1600/YIS-Mars-Blog.jpgAmit SinghalSenior Vice PresidentSearch The Official Google Blog
Semiologic Google Analytics 6.0 has been released. The main focus of this release is the support for Google's Universal Analytics, which left Beta on April 2nd.
An option has been added to use the new Universal Analytics tracking code. This is on by default as Google has recently converted over the analytics accounts to use the new format. Previously they had indicated a manual upgrade step would be needed. With the cutover by Google to the new version, we will automatically use this new code. The previous Event Tracking and the Page Ranker code has been converted over as part of this release.
You also have the ability to turn on the Display Advertising tracking feature for those people wantingRemarketing and Audience reporting.
Full change log includes:
Support new Universal Analytics tracking code.
Adds option to turn on Display Tracking when using Universal Analytics.
Fix Event Tracking failing to track some events with some caching plugins that concat javascript files.
From matters of the heart to matters off the court, join us on a trip to a galaxy far, far away for our look back at this week's search trends.
Searching for romance It’s the end of George as we know him. Saturday, word got out that longtime bachelor George Clooney was engaged to his girlfriend, Amal Alamuddin. Alamuddin is a respected human rights lawyer in Britain, but she’s not—or wasn’t—a household name, and many people turned to search to learn more about the woman who captured Clooney’s heart. While they were at it, they looked for information on actress Talia Balsam, who was married to George in the early 90’s (for those of you paying attention, that’s pre-Doug Ross!). In other celebrity couple news, Prince Harry and Cressida Bonas have reportedly broken up. So, if you’re disappointed that George is off the market, there’s still hope for women around the world wishing to marry a royal.
A historic week for the NBA NBA commissioner Adam Silver made league history this week when he fined Clippers owner Donald Sterling and banned him from the league for recent comments. Millions of searches followed, and terms like [adam silver comments], [adam silver sterling], [adam sterling clippers] immediately climbed more than 1,000 percent.
The fetch is strong with this one On Wednesday, we wore pink in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Tina Fey’s “Mean Girls.” The movie that gave us “fetch” was the subject of so many searches, quizzes (searches for [mean girls quiz] were up 350 percent) and retrospectives that even Cady Heron might have trouble adding them up. And though rumors of a [mean girls reunion] (up 850 percent) are apparently false, that can’t exactly be said of another movie on searchers’ minds this week: “Star Wars.” A photo revealing the cast of J.J. Abrams’ “Episode VII” showed original stars Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and more seated alongside new faces like John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver. The new cast members were on the top of the search charts quicker than the Millennium Falcon could make the Kessel Run. (Fun fact: searches for [bill weasley] were also on the rise; “Episode VII”’s Domhnall Gleeson played him in the “Harry Potter” movies.).
Wordplay Actress Emma Stone made headlines this week when she faced off against Late Night’s Jimmy Fallon in an epic lip syncing battle; searches for [emma stone fallon] climbed 2,200 percent. But while we can’t deny Emma’s spoken-word skills, we’ve got a soft spot for two other playful phrases that made the zeitgeist this week. On Saturday, searchers learned that [zonkey] was not an adjective for how you feel after a red-eye, but actually a rare zebra/donkey cross born last week in Mexico. And [it’s gonna be May] was trending Wednesday after Organizing for Action’s Barack Obama Facebook page used the meme-y caption on a photo showing POTUS with Justin Timberlake. Just to bring this week full circle, the Know Your Meme entry on “It’s gonna be May” includes a reference to… “Mean Girls.”
Happy Friday, and we’ll see you next week.
Posted by Emily Wood, Google Blog Editor, who searched this week for [derby day history] and [andre movie] The Official Google Blog
Question by Stupendous: How to put google ads on youtube videos?
I see a lot of people putting ads on their videos and earning some income. How do I do this, without owning a website? I see people who don't have websites put the ads up. How do I ? I looked all over and can't find out how without actually having a website.
Best answer:
Answer by Jeff J *Sigh You have to be a Youtube Partner!
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
From time to time we invite guests to post about subjects of interest and today we’re pleased to share a post from Guy Willoughby, Executive Director of the HALO Trust, a U.K.-based nonprofit dedicated to landmine clearance in post-conflict areas. Hear how HALO is using Google Maps for Business to fight the war against mines, clearing more than 1.4 million landmines worldwide. -Ed.
When conflicts end, making communities safe and livable often means removing dangerous remnants of war. “Getting mines out of the ground, for good,” as we say at the HALO Trust, has been our mission over the last 25 years. We work in more than a dozen countries and regions across the globe, clearing landmines and other explosives, many of which have been buried underground. While we’ve been in operation for almost three decades, there is still more to be done.
In Kosovo, where people are reclaiming their homeland after the conflict in 1999, we’re working in close cooperation with the government and local population to collect and share information about where mines are located. It’s a true community effort—farmers tell us where they’ve seen signs of mines and where accidents have occurred. It’s our job at the HALO Trust to take this data and make it usable, accessible, and visually compelling, so clearance becomes more efficient and happens faster.
One of our biggest challenges is keeping our field teams safe. We need easy-to-use tools that can help us find, map and clear hazardous areas without putting our operations at risk. Over the years, we’ve continuously improved our mine clearance techniques, including the deployment of Google Earth Pro.
Google Earth Pro makes it easier for the HALO team to do the dangerous and detailed work of finding and mapping at-risk areas. Because it’s based on the same technology as Google Maps and Earth, it’s easy for our teams to use and create maps without IT or GIS expertise. It’s a tool that is familiar to our employees and something they use in their daily lives, so we can start mapping right away.
The information we gather, including GPS references to landmines in the field, is imported into Earth Pro so that we can plot mine locations. We also use the incredibly detailed satellite imagery in Google Earth to identify and map hazardous areas. These high-resolution maps serve many people: from families who live near mines, to crews who clear them, and donors and other organizations that support us. When donors view the vivid interactive maps of our project areas—with mines so close to schools, farms and houses—they understand why the HALO Trust’s work is so critical.
Accurate maps from Google Earth Pro mean safer working conditions for our local teams, and faster progress toward our goals. In Kosovo alone, we’ve removed thousands of landmines, cluster munitions and other explosives. And with the help of Google’s mapping tools and our donors, we’ll be able to declare the country mine-free.
