Freedom House launched its the 2012 Freedom on the Net report in Brussels this week, an appropriate moment given the rising global debate about free expression sparked by a YouTube video that ridicules Islam. The report makes for chilling reading. Online censorship is growing and attacks on bloggers and online critics are mounting. In 19 out of 47 countries Freedom House examined, “restrictions on Internet freedom in many countries have continued to grow.”
Amid the alarming news, an impressive beacon of freedom stood out - Estonia. The Baltic nation ranked first in Freedom House’s rankings. Thanks to a high internet penetration rate and widespread e-commerce and e-government services embedded into the daily lives of individuals and organizations, Estonia has become a model for free internet access as a development engine for society,” reads the report. Estonia has used the net to solidify its freedom from the Soviet Union and ’as a key to economic growth and invested heavily in their development,” reads the report.
Freedom House ranks countries’ “Internet Freedom Status” in three main ways: obstacles to access, limits on content and violations of users’ rights. It also factors in tertiary factors, including internet penetration and blogger arrests. Estonia got high marks in almost every category. Other top scorers included the United States, Germany, and Australia.
Google helped sponsor the report. We hosted its Washington launch, which featured Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves. In Brussels, European Parliamentarian Marietje Schaake, the rapporteur on digital freedom, used the occasion to call on Europe to step up its defense of Internet liberties, in particular, by heading off attempts by governments to exert control through the International Telecommunications Union.
Jumat, 28 September 2012
Boosting online child safety in Europe
Just as children need to know how to safely cross the street, they need to learn how to safely surf the web. I just finished a trip in Europe, which underlined the emergence of an inspiring movement bringing together NGOs, governments and private business to raise awareness of online safety and security tools.
The European Commission has been working closely with the CEO Coalition on safety solutions and European Commissioner Neelie Kroes has endorsed the project. In Brussels, I participated in the working group focused on providing tools to help parents understand content, sharing best practices taken from YouTube and Google Play.
Across the Channel in London, I attended Vodafone's launch of their brilliant Digital Parenting magazine. Chock full of how-tos and expert views from kids and PhDs, the magazine is a fun and informative read. (Tip: use an article as a conversation starter during a school ride or at dinner.)
Our Google UK office hosted the Family Online Safety Institute’s roundtable on transatlantic trends in child safety and global implications. The Safety Institute brought together a room full of industry representatives from both sides of the Atlantic to share experiences, set out key priorities, and demonstrate best practices. I heard about campaigns like AT&T’s “It Can Wait” and shared our own experiences with Good to Know and the new YouTube child safety curriculum. We lobbed questions at each other -- how do we make these resources relevant and fun? What can we improve? How can we get youth involved?
After attending three events, it’s clear that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to something as intricate and personal as child safety. As technology forecaster Paul Saffo said, “never mistake a clear view for a short distance.” But that gap is closing -- we are coming together to find unique ways to build a better environment for our users. It is heartening to see this level of passion and dedication.
The European Commission has been working closely with the CEO Coalition on safety solutions and European Commissioner Neelie Kroes has endorsed the project. In Brussels, I participated in the working group focused on providing tools to help parents understand content, sharing best practices taken from YouTube and Google Play.
Across the Channel in London, I attended Vodafone's launch of their brilliant Digital Parenting magazine. Chock full of how-tos and expert views from kids and PhDs, the magazine is a fun and informative read. (Tip: use an article as a conversation starter during a school ride or at dinner.)
Our Google UK office hosted the Family Online Safety Institute’s roundtable on transatlantic trends in child safety and global implications. The Safety Institute brought together a room full of industry representatives from both sides of the Atlantic to share experiences, set out key priorities, and demonstrate best practices. I heard about campaigns like AT&T’s “It Can Wait” and shared our own experiences with Good to Know and the new YouTube child safety curriculum. We lobbed questions at each other -- how do we make these resources relevant and fun? What can we improve? How can we get youth involved?
After attending three events, it’s clear that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to something as intricate and personal as child safety. As technology forecaster Paul Saffo said, “never mistake a clear view for a short distance.” But that gap is closing -- we are coming together to find unique ways to build a better environment for our users. It is heartening to see this level of passion and dedication.
Kamis, 27 September 2012
Tracking Europe's interest in Red Hot Chili Peppers
Since we launched Google Trends and Google Insights for Search, we’ve seen millions of people using Trends to keep up with trending interests online, and a range of journalists, businesses and researchers around the world using Insights for Search to compare the popularity of search terms over time and across regions. We have made steady improvements over time, most recently revamping our Hot Searches list to provide richer context for breakout searches.
Now we are merging Insights for Search into Google Trends, wrapping it all up in a clean new interface to give you a clearer view of what’s on the world’s mind. The new Google Trends now includes features from both products and makes it easier and more intuitive to dig into the data. We’ve updated the line chart and map using HTML5 based Google Chart Tools so you can now load the page on your mobile devices, visualize the results without scrolling, and get Hot Searches not just for the U.S., but also India, Japan, and Singapore.
So, what exactly can you learn about people’s interests from Google Trends? A few of our recent favorites:
- [beach] and [snow] are just about inverse throughout the year
- West Virginia leads the US in searches for spooky things (play around at the bottom left!)
- Interest in [red hot chili peppers] shifted around Europe this summer as the band toured there -- see this time-lapse map:
We’ve seen so many examples of insights gleaned from Trends, from the Oscars to the Super Bowl; from shopping to elections; from our yearly Google Zeitgeist summary to the many we’ve found around the web.
Google Trends data can be used to better understand global trends -- identifying health trends such as in flu trends, nowcasting in economics, and studies on the predictability of search trends. And it has been used in many scientific articles across disciplines.
There’s so much in this data for journalists, academics, and anybody who’s curious about the world to explore, and we’d love to see what you find. Email us your favorites at trends-stories@google.com.
Posted by Yossi Matias, Senior Engineering Director in Search, Head of Israel R&D Center
Selasa, 25 September 2012
Boosting innovation in Denmark
In Denmark, as elsewhere in financially-strapped, slow-growing Europe, the government is looking to digital technology to encourage innovation and boost the economy without extra spending. Danish Minister of Science, Innovation and higher Education, Morten Østergaard recently visited Google’s offices in Århus University to discuss how to to spur Internet innovation.
Our lead engineer and one of the key designers of the Google Chrome web browser, Lars Bak, also hosted a public debate with the Minister in a crowded auditorium at Århus University. Some 100 students, start-up employees and university staff took part. The debate was also live streamed as a Hangout on Air.
During the Hangout, participants discussed how the Internet already contributes some 5.7% to Danish GDP, a figure that is expected to grow to 7.3% by 2015. Despite this success, participants suggested that Denmark could do even better. Lars Bak started his career in Silicon Valley before returning to Denmark. In California, he told the Minister, failure is an accepted part of the innovation process, whilst in Denmark, it remains hard to get back on your feet for those who fail early on. More generous bankruptcy and venture financing rules would help Denmark reach its full innovation potential, Bak argued.
The Minister soon plans to publish a broad strategy for innovation in Denmark. Lars Bak urged him to use this opportunity to rev up Denmark’s digital engine.
Our lead engineer and one of the key designers of the Google Chrome web browser, Lars Bak, also hosted a public debate with the Minister in a crowded auditorium at Århus University. Some 100 students, start-up employees and university staff took part. The debate was also live streamed as a Hangout on Air.
During the Hangout, participants discussed how the Internet already contributes some 5.7% to Danish GDP, a figure that is expected to grow to 7.3% by 2015. Despite this success, participants suggested that Denmark could do even better. Lars Bak started his career in Silicon Valley before returning to Denmark. In California, he told the Minister, failure is an accepted part of the innovation process, whilst in Denmark, it remains hard to get back on your feet for those who fail early on. More generous bankruptcy and venture financing rules would help Denmark reach its full innovation potential, Bak argued.
The Minister soon plans to publish a broad strategy for innovation in Denmark. Lars Bak urged him to use this opportunity to rev up Denmark’s digital engine.
Senin, 24 September 2012
Talking Moonshots at the London Design Festival
London has long been considered a global centre for design and innovation. Google UK partnered with the London Design Festival, a ten day event bringing some of the world’s leading designers and visionaries together to discuss the future of the planet.
Our own Google visionariy, Dr. Astro Teller, Engineering Director of Google X, joined the festival live from California, via Google+ Hangout. Google X affords an opportunity for top researchers to take a high impact technology vision and bring it to the world at scale. Much of the group's work is still in the very early stages, but the lab is already known for its technology moonshots like self-driving cars and Project Glass’s computer animated eyewear.
Astro spoke about Google’s culture and ambition to take Moonshots; audacious projects that aim to solve global problems. “Our goal is to create things that are massively positive for the world,” Teller said.
Moonshots may sound like science fiction. But Teller and his Google X colleagues are showing that what may sound like science fiction may end up solving enormous global that affect billions of people.
Our own Google visionariy, Dr. Astro Teller, Engineering Director of Google X, joined the festival live from California, via Google+ Hangout. Google X affords an opportunity for top researchers to take a high impact technology vision and bring it to the world at scale. Much of the group's work is still in the very early stages, but the lab is already known for its technology moonshots like self-driving cars and Project Glass’s computer animated eyewear.
Astro spoke about Google’s culture and ambition to take Moonshots; audacious projects that aim to solve global problems. “Our goal is to create things that are massively positive for the world,” Teller said.
Moonshots may sound like science fiction. But Teller and his Google X colleagues are showing that what may sound like science fiction may end up solving enormous global that affect billions of people.
Celebrating startups with the new Google for Entrepreneurs
Startups and entrepreneurs have the power to build technologies and creative solutions that transform the world and move us forward. Innovation is happening everywhere: There are approximately 400 million entrepreneurs across 54 countries, and 69 million early-stage entrepreneurs offering new products and services. As Google turns 14 this month, we’re celebrating this creative spirit and officially launching Google for Entrepreneurs, the umbrella for our several dozen programs and partnerships around the world that support startups and entrepreneurs.
Our focus is threefold:
- Partnerships with strong organizations that serve entrepreneurs in local communities
- Google-led programs to bring our teams and our tools directly to entrepreneurs
- Placing relevant Google tools in the hands of startups as they are getting off the ground and ready to scale
To celebrate both our birthday and the spirit of entrepreneurship that’s helped get us where we are today, we are hosting our first annual Google for Entrepreneurs Week, which will bring together more than 3,000 entrepreneurs and Googlers around the world. We kicked off over the weekend with a Startup Weekend event hosted at the Google Ventures Startup Lab in Mountain View, Calif., where Bay Area entrepreneurs came together to create their own startups in 54 hours.
Over the course of the next week, Googlers in 28 cities across 13 countries will be hosting an event in their communities to bring their passion and expertise to local entrepreneurs. We’re teaming with a number of partners to make this happen, including the Idea Village in New Orleans, Communitech in Waterloo, Tetuan Valley in Wroclaw, the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship in Johannesburg and the Council Bluffs Chamber of Commerce in Iowa.
For more on these existing programs and to stay connected on upcoming events, visit google.com/entrepreneurs and follow us on G+.
Democratising high speed Internet access in Senegal
A decade ago, Senegal was one of the most promising African countries in adopting the Internet, with more than double the Internet penetration than in Nigeria. Yet today Nigeria have leaped ahead with 30% of its population enjoying access to the web versus only 16% for Senegal.
In order to find out what went wrong, we commissioned a study being published today. Produced by the consulting firm Balancing Act, the report is titled "Obstacles and Opportunities for the democratization of broadband in Senegal."
Many obstacles exist in Senegal. Because of rigid licensing and weak regulation, the incumbent operator holds a de facto monopoly on access to the national fiber infrastructure and the copper lines into households. This lack of competition keeps prices high - it costs $400 to get 1 Mbps/km capacity in Senegal, but only $20 in Kenya.
In contrast, the study shows that the introduction of liberal licensing regime in Kenya and South Africa has increased competition. In Kenya, for instance, the number of infrastructure licences doubled over the past three years and now counts 30 providers. Similarly, in South Africa the number of ISP soared to 726, up from 326.
Balancing Act proposes several key changes. Internet suppliers must be authorized to build their own infrastructure and compete against incumbents. Government should encourage competition and transparency in international capacity by enforcing existing but until now ignored regional regulation.
We believe it is important to have a conversation on how to improve Internet access in Senegal. Please download and read the report and share your comments, observations, questions and contributions via this form. Next month, we will organize a feedback workshop.
We look forward to hearing from you - and hopefully, sparking a vigorous debate.
In order to find out what went wrong, we commissioned a study being published today. Produced by the consulting firm Balancing Act, the report is titled "Obstacles and Opportunities for the democratization of broadband in Senegal."
Many obstacles exist in Senegal. Because of rigid licensing and weak regulation, the incumbent operator holds a de facto monopoly on access to the national fiber infrastructure and the copper lines into households. This lack of competition keeps prices high - it costs $400 to get 1 Mbps/km capacity in Senegal, but only $20 in Kenya.
In contrast, the study shows that the introduction of liberal licensing regime in Kenya and South Africa has increased competition. In Kenya, for instance, the number of infrastructure licences doubled over the past three years and now counts 30 providers. Similarly, in South Africa the number of ISP soared to 726, up from 326.
Balancing Act proposes several key changes. Internet suppliers must be authorized to build their own infrastructure and compete against incumbents. Government should encourage competition and transparency in international capacity by enforcing existing but until now ignored regional regulation.
We believe it is important to have a conversation on how to improve Internet access in Senegal. Please download and read the report and share your comments, observations, questions and contributions via this form. Next month, we will organize a feedback workshop.
We look forward to hearing from you - and hopefully, sparking a vigorous debate.
Sabtu, 22 September 2012
European Commission President Barroso speaks out
An Irish homeowner asked what could be done to help him deal with his unsustainable mortgage. “What’s next for my country?” wondered a Greek worker. The Italian head of the Europe Youth Forum inquired about solutions to the continent’s high youth unemployment.
The questions were directed via Google+ Hangout to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso.
Aired live throughout Europe on Euronews, the interactive interview featured Europeans asking, often plaintively, about the continent’s economic and political crisis and its future. Take a look below on the European Commission’s EUTube to see how the president answered.
A full transcript is available here on the European Commission website.
The questions were directed via Google+ Hangout to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso.
Aired live throughout Europe on Euronews, the interactive interview featured Europeans asking, often plaintively, about the continent’s economic and political crisis and its future. Take a look below on the European Commission’s EUTube to see how the president answered.
A full transcript is available here on the European Commission website.
Jumat, 21 September 2012
Hanging out for Jewish-Arab dialogue in Israel
Despite the fact that Israeli Arab and Jewish youth live in the same country and even study at the same universities, they often grow up without meeting. When tensions rise in the region, this lack of mutual understanding can lead to stereotyping, hostility and even violence.
We believe the Internet can help break down these barriers. In honor of today’s 30th annual International Day of Peace, we’re partnering with the Peres Center for Peace, a non-profit organisation founded by the President of Israel and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shimon Peres. The center promotes cooperation and peacebuilding between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel as well as between Israel and its Arab neighbours.
Together, we’ll be holding a series of Hangouts on Google+ designed to enable dialogue between Israeli Arab and Jewish students. “Hanging Out for Peace” is a six-month project that will involve nearly 150 Israeli university students, women and men, with an equal number of Arabs and Jews. Students will be divided into mixed Jewish and Arab ‘circles’, matched with other students who study the same subject at university.
The circles will meet via Hangouts on Google+, led by instructors from the Peres Center, and will undertake online and offline projects related to the circle’s area of academic focus. After a series of Hangouts, the students will meet face to face, present the projects they’ve developed to the larger group of participants and discuss issues that arose during their work together.
The Internet provides a perfect platform for dialogue and cooperation. It can help overcome physical barriers and connect people from different cultures who have shared interests and common values. We’re excited to see how this project develops and hope that, in a small way, it will help foster coexistence and understanding between Israeli Jews and Arabs and, in the future, build bridges between other communities too.
Kamis, 20 September 2012
Stepping up on free expression in Germany
Until now, the German Foreign Ministry had sponsored one main conference on the Internet - focusing on cybersecurity. Last week, it held a new conference focusing on the counterpart - cyberfreedom.
Google was happy to sponsor, along with many others including Microsoft and the eco ( Association of German Internet Industry). In a video address, our Chief Internet Evangelist Vint Cerf warned the assembled 120 international experts from the political, academic and business sectors as well as from civil society that the open Internet is threatened as never before. More than 40 countries now censor or filter the net, up from only four a decade ago. "A new international battle is brewing,” Vint said, “a battle that will determine the future of the Internet."
The conference coincided with a particularly tense time for Internet free expression, just as an anti-Islam video sparked protests in Egypt and Libya. Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle condemned the video, while insisting that it was no excuse for violence. The fundamental principles of German Cyber Foreign Policy were: freedom, responsibility and transparency,” he said.
Another recent event in Berlin highlighted Google’s commitment to free speech - the second Speakers Corner. Last year, we partnered with Speakers Corner Trust to export a bit of Hyde Park to Berlin. Together with our partners, we celebrated the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate.
This year, we moved the event forward to ensure better weather and to the main site of the protests against the East German communist regime - Alexanderplatz. A wide range of speakers from politics, digital activism, journalism and civil society groups spoke about everything from the future of online piracy to the challenges of a united Germany. It was a joyous occasion - just what we mean by free expression.
Google was happy to sponsor, along with many others including Microsoft and the eco ( Association of German Internet Industry). In a video address, our Chief Internet Evangelist Vint Cerf warned the assembled 120 international experts from the political, academic and business sectors as well as from civil society that the open Internet is threatened as never before. More than 40 countries now censor or filter the net, up from only four a decade ago. "A new international battle is brewing,” Vint said, “a battle that will determine the future of the Internet."
The conference coincided with a particularly tense time for Internet free expression, just as an anti-Islam video sparked protests in Egypt and Libya. Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle condemned the video, while insisting that it was no excuse for violence. The fundamental principles of German Cyber Foreign Policy were: freedom, responsibility and transparency,” he said.
Another recent event in Berlin highlighted Google’s commitment to free speech - the second Speakers Corner. Last year, we partnered with Speakers Corner Trust to export a bit of Hyde Park to Berlin. Together with our partners, we celebrated the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate.
This year, we moved the event forward to ensure better weather and to the main site of the protests against the East German communist regime - Alexanderplatz. A wide range of speakers from politics, digital activism, journalism and civil society groups spoke about everything from the future of online piracy to the challenges of a united Germany. It was a joyous occasion - just what we mean by free expression.
Rabu, 19 September 2012
Snakes, crocodiles - and the Internet in Africa
Where can you watch intelligent discussion about the Internet mixed with performance poetry and the best in book writing alongside snakes and crocodiles? This year’s Nairobi Hay-Storymoja festival, of which Google was one of the main sponsors, took place in the National Museum of Kenya.
Many of Africa’s most thought-provoking writers and an array of international guests participated. One panel brought together Ory Okolloh, Google’s head of policy for Africa, with Christian Turner and the British Ambassador to Kenya.
Their wide-ranging discussion about the online world encompassed everything from the economic benefits, to the challenges of cultural and religious sensitivity, to whether the Internet lessens or enhances inequalities. Asked by a local school pupil what her message was for anyone seeking to fulfil their ambitions, Okolloh declared: “at some point you just have to go out and do it.”
African writers, both local and from the diaspora, were at the forefront, performing live, giving workshops to young people and taking part in Google + hang outs. Lemn Sissay and Patience Williams, both Africans brought up by adoptive parents in the UK, spoke movingly about the challenges of “difference”. One of the most passionate defences of free speech and activism came from Kenyan poet Sitawa Namwalie. Her spectacular show, “Cut off My Tongue”, which has been performed in several countries, managed the tough feat of injecting humour into the treatment of difficult issues, such as ethnic violence and corruption.
Arguably the star of the show was Jung Chang, author of Wild Swans, the extraordinary story of Mao’s brutality told through the lives of three generations of her family. She was giving the first Wangari Maathai Memorial Lecture, in honour of the Kenyan environmental activist and Nobel Laureate who died a year ago.
Storymoja-Hay is a joint venture between a Kenyan publishing house and British literature festival. It has grown into one of the most prominent artistic events in the region. Google funds and participates in six Hay festivals around the world, including Beirut, Spain and Kenya. Google is proud to support this exciting international expansion.
Many of Africa’s most thought-provoking writers and an array of international guests participated. One panel brought together Ory Okolloh, Google’s head of policy for Africa, with Christian Turner and the British Ambassador to Kenya.
Their wide-ranging discussion about the online world encompassed everything from the economic benefits, to the challenges of cultural and religious sensitivity, to whether the Internet lessens or enhances inequalities. Asked by a local school pupil what her message was for anyone seeking to fulfil their ambitions, Okolloh declared: “at some point you just have to go out and do it.”
African writers, both local and from the diaspora, were at the forefront, performing live, giving workshops to young people and taking part in Google + hang outs. Lemn Sissay and Patience Williams, both Africans brought up by adoptive parents in the UK, spoke movingly about the challenges of “difference”. One of the most passionate defences of free speech and activism came from Kenyan poet Sitawa Namwalie. Her spectacular show, “Cut off My Tongue”, which has been performed in several countries, managed the tough feat of injecting humour into the treatment of difficult issues, such as ethnic violence and corruption.
Arguably the star of the show was Jung Chang, author of Wild Swans, the extraordinary story of Mao’s brutality told through the lives of three generations of her family. She was giving the first Wangari Maathai Memorial Lecture, in honour of the Kenyan environmental activist and Nobel Laureate who died a year ago.
Storymoja-Hay is a joint venture between a Kenyan publishing house and British literature festival. It has grown into one of the most prominent artistic events in the region. Google funds and participates in six Hay festivals around the world, including Beirut, Spain and Kenya. Google is proud to support this exciting international expansion.
Selasa, 18 September 2012
Boosting startups in Eastern Europe
There’s a deep pool of entrepreneurial talent in Eastern Europe and we're keen to support it. That's why Google has launched a partnership with Eleven, an accelerator program based in Bulgaria, to help lower the barriers to entry for aspiring East European entrepreneurs
Eleven’s first class of 11 startups was picked from almost 500 applicants. Googlers will host tech talks and workshops that we hope will help many hardworking startups get to the next level.
Here are some exciting examples of winners:
Thanks to the Internet, entrepreneurs can scale and deliver products fast. Accelerators like Eleven, which are investing in ideas and offering the networks and mentorship that young businesses need, play a vital role in transforming exciting ideas into successful, fast growing businesses.
Eleven’s first class of 11 startups was picked from almost 500 applicants. Googlers will host tech talks and workshops that we hope will help many hardworking startups get to the next level.
Here are some exciting examples of winners:
- Filement is a platform for data management, accessible viа intuitive and easy-to-use interface usable on all kind of devices.
- GrabaLanguage is a media platform that uses Youtube and crowd-sourced content to teach foreign languages in a fun and effortless way. Imagine karaoke style learning.
- La Koketa is a digital wardrobe and a personal stylist that solves every woman’s problem what to wear on any occasion.
- SoccerScout is a professional web based network for soccer players, coaches, agents and teams founded by former soccer player-turned entrepreneur Stilian Shishkov.
Thanks to the Internet, entrepreneurs can scale and deliver products fast. Accelerators like Eleven, which are investing in ideas and offering the networks and mentorship that young businesses need, play a vital role in transforming exciting ideas into successful, fast growing businesses.
Highlighting Ukraine’s contributions to computing
Computer history is full of stories of intellectual feats and technological leaps. Yet many of Europe’s most fascinating chapters are little known. To help remedy this, Google has been working to highlight and celebrate these forgotten computer pioneers -- from Tommy Flowers to Paul Otlet, from Sergey Lebedev to the team at J Lyons & Co.
Today marks the unveiling of another project in the series -- a new website, developed in partnership with Kyiv-based charity ICFCST, to commemorate Ukraine’s rich computing heritage. Our goal is to help make these little known stories of Soviet-era computing accessible to a wider audience.
At the website you can learn about Ukraine’s surprisingly extensive contributions to the development of computing in the Soviet Union. To name but a few:
- Vadim Lashkaryov’s unheralded contribution to the development of transistors
- Kateryna Yushchenko’s invention of “Address language”, one of the world’s first high-level computer programming languages
- Victor Glushkov’s range of small-sized computers for engineers, which were predecessors to personal computers
- The story of the scientific production association “Impulse”, who were a leader in developing automation systems for Soviet industry, as well as the USSR’s first mass ticket booking system for Aeroflot
In putting together the site, we are indebted to Boris Malinovsky, an eyewitness to many of these achievements and the first to document the history of Ukraine's IT industry.
While these achievements belong to a distant political and technological era, we hope this website helps their memory to live on.
Rabu, 12 September 2012
An update on our carbon footprint and sustainability efforts
Last year we published Google’s 2010 carbon footprint data for the first time on our Google Green site, and today we’re updating the site with information about our 2011 footprint. We’re also thrilled to report that we’re featured in the Carbon Disclosure Project’s 2012 Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index for a second year.
As we grow our services, we’re doing so in a responsible way. The Internet continues to see explosive growth: we’ve found over 30 trillion unique URLs on the web, up from 1 trillion in 2008. Our servers index 20 billion pages a day, receive 100 billion search queries a month, and support 425 million Gmail users—among many other services. Because we’re carbon neutral, we do all that work with a carbon footprint of zero, minimizing our impact on climate change.
We like to be thorough, so when calculating our carbon footprint we go beyond the typical approach. We cover not only employee business travel, but also daily commuting. We track the miles driven by our self-driving cars and Street View vehicles. And when it comes to our data centers, we take a “kitchen sink” approach—that is, we throw just about everything in. We include data center construction and server manufacturing as well as the energy used by Google-built data centers, leased facilities (called “colos”) and other third-party facilities around the world that house Google equipment.
Our carbon footprint in 2011, before offsetting it, was 1,677,423 metric tons CO2e. As a normal result of continuing to provide more and better services to more users, our energy consumption in 2011 increased in absolute terms, but not in relative terms. In other words, it’s growing less quickly than our business. Our carbon footprint per million dollars of revenue—a measure of carbon intensity commonly used to track corporate sustainability—has decreased by an average of 10% each year since 2009.
Our data centers hit a new low this year—in a good way. The average power usage effectiveness (PUE) across our global fleet of data centers has dropped to our lowest (AKA best) yet: 1.13 (with some facilities dipping as low as 1.08 earlier this year). This means we’ve managed to reduce the amount of energy we use on cooling and other overhead to just 13%.
Our campus sustainability programs are thriving. Last year, our shuttle program saw a 60% increase in ridership, and Googlers drove our fleet of hybrid and electric vehicles over 220,000 miles. The combination of our employee shuttle system and our electric vehicle infrastructure takes the equivalent of about 3,000 cars off the road every year. And we’re proud to have over 6 million square feet of building space around the world set to achieve LEED certification.
We continue to look for and implement new ways to reduce our impact on the environment while we increase our impact on sustainability, green energy, and clean technologies. We look forward to reporting back next year on our latest numbers, innovations, and activities.
Senin, 10 September 2012
Does your business shine online?
If you are a butcher, sweet shop, clog seller, or baby clothes retailer - or any other small business - that has moved online, enter the euronews Business Awards. Broadcaster euronews and Google are looking for stories of how European small to medium sized enterprises are using the internet to successfully attract new customers, grow market share or go global.
Here’s how to enter. Film a video of up to one minute explaining how your business has moved online. Upload it to euronews Business Awards YouTube channel and choose one of the three categories: growing online, going international; or women in business.
Don’t worry, you don’t need to be a budding film director. We are not looking for beautifully shot videos using the latest in film technology and an array of props. A simple, homemade film shot with a simple, off-the-shelf video camera or even a mobile phone will be fine. The most important thing is to tell an interesting tale about a small business and the Internet. Any employee of the business is welcome to participate.
Winners will be announced during the European Commission’s SME Week in mid-October. They will be featured on euronews and win an all-expenses-paid trip to a prize-giving event in Brussels, a Galaxy Nexus phone, a Chromebook and online training from Google experts.
We’ve long believed that the Internet helps create innovative new small businesses - and that small businesses that go online, grow faster, export more and create more jobs than their offline competitors. A recent study coming out of Germany from the IW Cologne consultants found that German entrepreneurs have founded 28,000 new businesses over the past five years using online services from Google and other web companies. These new businesses have created nearly 100,000 new jobs and in 2010 generated EUR 8.6 billion in sales.
Help us illustrate these numbers by sharing some great stories of European businesses that are shining online.
Here’s how to enter. Film a video of up to one minute explaining how your business has moved online. Upload it to euronews Business Awards YouTube channel and choose one of the three categories: growing online, going international; or women in business.
Don’t worry, you don’t need to be a budding film director. We are not looking for beautifully shot videos using the latest in film technology and an array of props. A simple, homemade film shot with a simple, off-the-shelf video camera or even a mobile phone will be fine. The most important thing is to tell an interesting tale about a small business and the Internet. Any employee of the business is welcome to participate.
Winners will be announced during the European Commission’s SME Week in mid-October. They will be featured on euronews and win an all-expenses-paid trip to a prize-giving event in Brussels, a Galaxy Nexus phone, a Chromebook and online training from Google experts.
We’ve long believed that the Internet helps create innovative new small businesses - and that small businesses that go online, grow faster, export more and create more jobs than their offline competitors. A recent study coming out of Germany from the IW Cologne consultants found that German entrepreneurs have founded 28,000 new businesses over the past five years using online services from Google and other web companies. These new businesses have created nearly 100,000 new jobs and in 2010 generated EUR 8.6 billion in sales.
Help us illustrate these numbers by sharing some great stories of European businesses that are shining online.
Sabtu, 08 September 2012
For Sale: Alan Turing’s Monopoly
Alan Turing is one of technology’s heroes — a mathematician and codebreaker who laid the foundation for today’s computing age. In June, we celebrated his 100th birthday with a doodle, blog post and the opening of a major exhibition sponsored by Google honouring his life and legacy. This week we are delighted to support a more whimsical tribute, in the form of the Alan Turing edition of Monopoly.
This special set has been customised to feature locations and interests central to Turing’s life, including never-before-published family photos. With every roll of the dice, players follow in Alan’s footsteps, from Warrington Crescent to Sherborne School, from Hut 8 to Kings College. And while Turing isn’t (yet) on the £10 note, rest assured he’s on all the money in this set!
As a bonus, the set also includes a parchment replica of the hand-drawn Monopoly board on which Alan played against William Newman, the young son of his mathematical mentor Max — and unexpectedly lost.
As the box set booklet describes:
“William had drawn the original board to play upon with his brother, basing the squares around important parts of Cambridge. He also added a few unique twists... including a line which went from Go to the Free Parking square, and a ‘turn around’ square which allowed you to change direction…
One afternoon the Newman household phone rang, with Turing on the other end, asking to speak with William. ‘Did he have a Monopoly board?’ Alan asked, and on hearing that he did, raced round. Turing’s mind was fascinated with codes, and there have long been suggestions he thought there were code-based tactics to playing Monopoly to ensure success. Alas, the hand drawn nature of William’s board (not to mention the unique diagonal straight and ‘turn around’ square) proved otherwise, and the great mathematician was beaten”
This unique box set was developed by Winning Moves and Bletchley Park in collaboration with the Newman and Turing families. Google has paid for the first production run and donated it to Bletchley Park to sell for fundraising. At just £29.99 plus shipping, it would make a superb present for the geek in your life — click here to pre-order.
This special set has been customised to feature locations and interests central to Turing’s life, including never-before-published family photos. With every roll of the dice, players follow in Alan’s footsteps, from Warrington Crescent to Sherborne School, from Hut 8 to Kings College. And while Turing isn’t (yet) on the £10 note, rest assured he’s on all the money in this set!
As a bonus, the set also includes a parchment replica of the hand-drawn Monopoly board on which Alan played against William Newman, the young son of his mathematical mentor Max — and unexpectedly lost.
As the box set booklet describes:
“William had drawn the original board to play upon with his brother, basing the squares around important parts of Cambridge. He also added a few unique twists... including a line which went from Go to the Free Parking square, and a ‘turn around’ square which allowed you to change direction…
One afternoon the Newman household phone rang, with Turing on the other end, asking to speak with William. ‘Did he have a Monopoly board?’ Alan asked, and on hearing that he did, raced round. Turing’s mind was fascinated with codes, and there have long been suggestions he thought there were code-based tactics to playing Monopoly to ensure success. Alas, the hand drawn nature of William’s board (not to mention the unique diagonal straight and ‘turn around’ square) proved otherwise, and the great mathematician was beaten”
This unique box set was developed by Winning Moves and Bletchley Park in collaboration with the Newman and Turing families. Google has paid for the first production run and donated it to Bletchley Park to sell for fundraising. At just £29.99 plus shipping, it would make a superb present for the geek in your life — click here to pre-order.
Jumat, 07 September 2012
Ask President Barroso your question on the State of the Union
How will Europe get out of the economic crisis? Will the European Union - and its currency - remain intact? What’s the plan to get young people out of unemployment? These are some of the key questions that José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, is likely to address in his State of the Union speech on 12th September.
But if you had the chance, what would you ask him?
On Wednesday 19th September at 19:00 CET, you’ll have that chance. President Barroso will answer your questions in a special, live Euronews / Google+ Hangout interview. Starting today and up to Tuesday 18th September at midday, you can submit your video and text questions - and vote for your favourites - via youtube.com/eutube. Euronews will select several top-voted questioners to join President Barroso in the Google+ Hangout and ask him their questions in person.
Video questions are preferred (though text questions are fine too) and they should be about 20 seconds long - further tips on how to make and submit questions are available here.
If you need ideas, you can also watch President Barroso’s State of the Union address live on Wednesday 12th September at 9am CET via the Commission’s website or you could join the discussion on Google+.
The interview will be broadcast live on 19th September on the Euronews cable network and website, on EUtube, on the Commission’s Google+ page, on Europe by Satellite, and the President's website.
But if you had the chance, what would you ask him?
On Wednesday 19th September at 19:00 CET, you’ll have that chance. President Barroso will answer your questions in a special, live Euronews / Google+ Hangout interview. Starting today and up to Tuesday 18th September at midday, you can submit your video and text questions - and vote for your favourites - via youtube.com/eutube. Euronews will select several top-voted questioners to join President Barroso in the Google+ Hangout and ask him their questions in person.
Video questions are preferred (though text questions are fine too) and they should be about 20 seconds long - further tips on how to make and submit questions are available here.
If you need ideas, you can also watch President Barroso’s State of the Union address live on Wednesday 12th September at 9am CET via the Commission’s website or you could join the discussion on Google+.
The interview will be broadcast live on 19th September on the Euronews cable network and website, on EUtube, on the Commission’s Google+ page, on Europe by Satellite, and the President's website.
Embracing Internet Freedom in Africa
Update: Nairobi Freedom Online videos are now online.
Internet Freedom is not just a concern just for the West - it’s an essential issue for the entire world. The Freedom Online coalition now counts 18 governments from all over the world, including two in Africa, and, underlining this global reach, the Kenyan government this week hosted the second Freedom Online Summit in Nairobi. We supported this initiative, which brought together more than 400 stakeholders from governments, business and NGOs.
The Dutch government launched the Freedom Online coalition in the Hague last November. We held a Big Tent at the event, which featured, among other luminaries, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She used the occasion to make a spirited defense of Internet freedom.
Kenya’s decision to hold the second summit demonstrates its role as a tech pacesetter. “I am proud to be the first African country to host this conference which confirms the country's leading role in adoption of information and communication technology in the region," said Information and Communications Minister Samuel Poghisio. More than 17 million Kenyans - a little more than a third of the total population, and the highest figure in sub-Saharan Africa - enjoy Internet access.
At Google, we believe free expression can be a spur for economic and social development. The more a country allows different voices to be heard, on and offline, the more knowledge it encourages citizens to obtain. This knowledge translates into innovation, economic growth, education and other signs of social success. During the conference, we showed some research demonstrating a strong correlation between the highest rankings in Internet freedom index and social and economic success.
The Freedom Online coalition continues to grow. On Friday, the Tunisian government joined. Moez Chakchouk, CEO of the Tunisian Internet Agency, announced the decision and vowed to host the coalition’s next summit in Tunis. We look forward to being present and contributing.
Internet Freedom is not just a concern just for the West - it’s an essential issue for the entire world. The Freedom Online coalition now counts 18 governments from all over the world, including two in Africa, and, underlining this global reach, the Kenyan government this week hosted the second Freedom Online Summit in Nairobi. We supported this initiative, which brought together more than 400 stakeholders from governments, business and NGOs.
The Dutch government launched the Freedom Online coalition in the Hague last November. We held a Big Tent at the event, which featured, among other luminaries, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She used the occasion to make a spirited defense of Internet freedom.
Kenya’s decision to hold the second summit demonstrates its role as a tech pacesetter. “I am proud to be the first African country to host this conference which confirms the country's leading role in adoption of information and communication technology in the region," said Information and Communications Minister Samuel Poghisio. More than 17 million Kenyans - a little more than a third of the total population, and the highest figure in sub-Saharan Africa - enjoy Internet access.
At Google, we believe free expression can be a spur for economic and social development. The more a country allows different voices to be heard, on and offline, the more knowledge it encourages citizens to obtain. This knowledge translates into innovation, economic growth, education and other signs of social success. During the conference, we showed some research demonstrating a strong correlation between the highest rankings in Internet freedom index and social and economic success.
The Freedom Online coalition continues to grow. On Friday, the Tunisian government joined. Moez Chakchouk, CEO of the Tunisian Internet Agency, announced the decision and vowed to host the coalition’s next summit in Tunis. We look forward to being present and contributing.
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