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Google SMS Search on 9-77-33-00000

via Google India Blog by Genny on 11/18/08

- Power cut during a nail biting cricket match?
- New city, late night and you're out of cash with an upset tummy. Need to find an ATM, a doctor and a taxi service?
- Dread long queues at the railway reservation enquiry counter simply to confirm your seat or find the train information?

If you've been through any of above then we have a great friend for you - Google SMS Search (9-77-33-00000), which lets you find answers to these specific problems and a lot more questions on the go.

In the past, cricket scores and astrology updates on SMS brought a smile to a lot of us until seeing the premium charges associated with short code services. And this was after we had to remember a complicated set of prefixes for different types of information.

Understanding these woes, the SMS team at Google has come up with Google SMS Search. Now send all your queries to 9-77-33-00000 without paying any premium charges! SMS Search offers an easy-to-use way to type in free-form searches. No longer will your questions require complicated prefixes or a tight syntax. You can learn about the interesting features and try our interactive demo at http://www.google.co.in/sms.

Launched nationally, this service is available across all operators on both GSM and CDMA mobile phones. Give it a try by SMSing "help" to 9-77-33-00000 and don't forget to save the number of your newly found friend (Google SMS) in your phone book!

Posted by Alok Goel, Product Manager

Now you can speak to Google Mobile App on your iPhone

via The Official Google Blog by A Googler on 11/17/08

Have you ever been in a hurry and really needed to find an answer to something, but there was no one to ask? Like when you're grocery shopping and looking for the last item on your list, the kids are running around you in circles, you're holding a basket in one hand, and you have no idea what "fennel bulbs" look like.

That's why we've added voice search to Google Mobile App for the iPhone — and made it super easy to use. Once the app is running, you don't have to tap any buttons. Just hold the iPhone to your ear, wait for the beep, and say what you're looking for. For instance, last week when I was arm wrestling with fellow product manager Robert Hamilton, I said, "official arm wrestling rules" to Google Mobile App to settle a little dispute about his elbow placement. (After all, the middle of an arm-wrestling match is no time to be typing.) Turns out we were both disqualified because we were not using elbow pads.

Our passion for making search faster and easier goes further. When you do local searches, Google Mobile App can now automatically use your location to make results more relevant to where you are. That was really useful when I was in San Francisco last weekend and my daughter got a paper cut. Having no familiarity with the neighborhood I was in, I just searched for "pharmacies" and I was quickly on my way to the nearest place to buy a bandage. The day was saved.

Check out this video to see what other Googlers from Chicago, London, New York, and Mountain View are searching for.

To get the latest Google Mobile App for iPhone, go to the App Store on your iPhone and search for "Google Mobile App." (Note that voice search will be enabled by default for U.S. English users only.) Then, if you have a great voice search query to share, send us a video response to our video.

Learn more about the new Google Mobile App for iPhone on the Google Mobile Blog and by watching this overview video.

Posted by Gummi Hafsteinsson, Product Manager and disqualified arm wrestler, Google Mobile team

Just say it! Searching by voice with the new Google Mobile App for iPhone

via Google Mac Blog by Scott Knaster on 11/17/08

Posted by Bill Byrne, Mobile UI Witch, Google

Call me lazy, but sometimes I just don't have the time or the patience to type a search query on my iPhone. Well, no more excuses. With the new release of the Google Mobile App for iPhone, I can just hold the phone to my ear, wait for the tone and say stuff like "Indian restaurants." And just like that, I'm looking at a bunch of places that will easily satisfy my craving.

And, of course, while I'm enjoying my Tandoori chicken, I can use the voice search feature to settle important disputes with my friends without ever having to lift a finger. I say "lyrics to Purple Haze" and Google quickly proves I was right. Ha ha! "How much wood COULD a woodchuck chuck?" I knew it! "Where HAVE all the flowers gone?" Wow. Didn't know that one.

The new release can also make use of my current location when I search. So whether I'm in San Francisco, Chicago, or New York City, "Indian restaurants" is all I have to say to get my next Tandoori chicken fix.

Just remember not to search with your mouth full. It's going to be harder now, for sure.

To get the latest Google Mobile App for iPhone, go to the App Store and search for "Google Mobile App." Note that voice search will be enabled by default for U.S. English users only. You can learn more about the new Google Mobile App for iPhone on the Google mobile blog and by watching this overview video:

Happy Geography Awareness Week

via Google LatLong by elaine on 11/17/08

Some of my earliest memories are of spreading National Geographic maps out on the floor of my living room, picking a faraway place on the planet, and imagining myself on a different continent. Fast forward a couple of decades to 2008, and National Geographic is still inspiring young people to explore our globe.

For the third year in a row, Google is delighted to work with My Wonderful World, a National Geographic-led campaign to give kids the power of global knowledge, on Geography Awareness Week. Beginning today, students and teachers alike can explore a range of geo-activities using Google Earth. Working together on projects like this, that encourage people to roll up their sleeves and explore the world, is what Google's Geo Education initiative is all about.

Did you know that the Lake Victoria water level is dropping, impacting the daily lives of 30 million Ugandans, Kenyans, and Tanzanians? Take a geo-tour of global hotspots to see how geography can help us understand critical issues facing the world today.

Did you know that dining in certain fast food joints in Japan can be a very elegant experience? Or that grocery shopping in Russia is often more of a negotiation than a transaction? With National Geographic's Glimpse, you can hear from young people living and working around the world and see their stories in Google Earth.

Visit the Google for Educators site to learn more about these initiatives and to start exploring today!

Posted by Nate Johnson, Virtual Exploring Enthusiast

Ads in new places

via The Official Google Blog by A Googler on 11/17/08

At Google we're great supporters of experimentation because it's only by trying new things (even if some of them don't work out) that you discover better, more creative ways to operate. We've been testing different advertising formats for years (some have been more successful than others), and over the next few months, you'll see us continuing to experiment with new ads in new places.

If you're based in the U.S. you may already have spotted or clicked on the different text and image ads we’re testing on the results pages of Google Image Search. And last week you may have noticed we launched Sponsored Videos on YouTube — a great example of matching ads to content.

In addition, we are today launching text ads on Google Finance in the United States. We're also looking at how best to show display ads on Google Finance. And later, in the very near future, we will start testing text ads on a small number of news refinements within Google Search — so if, for example, you type "iPod" into Google.com and then click on the news link on the upper left-hand side, you might see text ads alongside those results.

Whenever we make changes like these, we carefully evaluate users' reactions to ensure we're holding true to our basic principles: that ads by Google should always be relevant and useful. Of course, these experiments benefit Google because they generate revenue from new sources — but by ensuring that we show the right ads at the right time to the right people, we'll add value for users too.

Posted by Nick Fox, Director, Business Product Management

Fighting spam just got a little easier

via Google Enterprise Blog by Ellen Petry Leanse on 11/17/08

Last week, a web hosting service that was a significant source of spam was taken offline by the combined efforts of Security Fix and several Internet providers. Google would like to congratulate Security Fix for leading this effort and striking another blow in the battle to stamp out spam on the web. The removal of this service helps "clean up" the web for everyone, and dovetails with efforts like Google's to make web communications safer and more secure in all of the ways that people use it.

We'll continue to monitor spam traffic, as we always do, but here's what we've seen in the past few days:

On November 11, when the spam source was taken down, we saw a 70% drop in spam from levels seen at the beginning of the month. However, we've seen drops like this before. In late July this year there was a similar drop that was reversed within a few days.

Gmail servers, which also noticed a drop in spam on November 11, are now showing an upward trend as new sources of spam, as always, continue to emerge.
The team at Google stays "on guard" as the fight continues!

Posted by Amanda Kleha, Google Security and Compliance Team

Try Before You Buy

via YouTube API Blog by Stephanie Liu on 11/17/08

Posted by Stephanie Liu, YouTube APIs and Tools Team

We launched a great tool to help you play around with the Data API and wrap your head around all the basic API operations before diving into code.

Check it out:
http://gdata.youtube.com/demo/index.html

Build query strings, experiment with the different feeds, and even make authenticated queries using AuthSub. This is also a great way to help debug problems with the API and compare responses against what you are seeing in your code.

Let us know if you have any feedback in the forum.

Handy-Tricks

via Der Google Produkt-Kompass by die Katze on 11/17/08

Google fragt: Was könnt ihr mit eurem Handy machen? Heutzutage kann man sein Handy nicht nur zum Telefonieren nutzen, sondern für vieles mehr.

Wir möchten gerne wissen, was ihr mit euren Handys anstellen könnt. Sicherlich haben viele von euch nützliche Tricks und sogar kleine Künststücke parat. Eigens für eure Handy-Tricks haben wir einen YouTube-Channel eröffnet.

Haltet eure coolsten, nützlichsten und lustigsten Tricks auf Video fest, und ladet diese auf unserem Handy-Tricks-Channel hoch. Unsere Favoriten stellen wir euch im Channel und in unserem (englischen) Google Mobile Blog vor.

Natürlich kann uns unser Handy auch immer wieder das Alltagsleben erleichtern. Wie? In den nächsten Tagen zeigen wir euch auf unserem Blog, wie praktisch die Verwendung verschiedener Google-Produkte über das Handy sein kann. Wir stellen vor: YouTube, Websuche, Maps, Google Mail und Picasa auf eurem Handy!

Morgen geht´s los mit YouTube, also dann: weiterlesen an dieser Stelle.

Viel Spaß dabei wünscht euch
euer Google-Team

Want to track Adobe Flash? Now you can!

via Google Analytics Blog by Google Analytics Blog on 11/17/08

Image of Analytics Flash Visual Component in Flash CS3

Today, at the Adobe MAX Conference in San Francisco, in a joint collaboration with our friends at Adobe and a few ace third party developers, we announced a simplified solution for tracking Flash content for everyone, called Google Analytics Tracking For Adobe Flash.

Working at Google over the past couple of years, I've had the opportunity to work with with many of our top clients to implement Google Analytics, who have found the power to identify and analyze trends on their web sites highly useful. But, one of the most common implementation challenges has been tracking Flash content on their pages. In the past, Flash tracking was not provided out of the box, and every implementation had to be customized. Moreover, there was a lack of standards, and new developers who tracked Flash had to create their own processes to get it working. With this launch, tracking your Flash content has never been simpler.

What It's All About
This feature is a translation of the current Google Analytics tracking code into the ActionScript 3 programming language that dramatically simplifies the ability to track Flash, Flex and AS3 content. This new Flash tracking code provides all the rich features of the current JavaScript-based version, including campaign, pageview and event tracking and can be used to track Flash content such as embedded videos, branded microsites and distributed widgets, such as online games.

Now it's simple for Flash content developers to answer questions like:

How many people have watched my video?
Are we developing the right creative that attracts new users?
How effective is my content at getting people to take action?

Recently, we talked with Matthew McNeely, VP of Engineering at Sprout, a company that helps advertisers design rich media content, about how Sprout has used the code to track distributed content across MySpace and iGoogle:

Supported Platforms
We know there are many levels of experience in the Flash/Flex community so we tried to make it easy for both non-technical designers as well as seasoned ActionScript programmers to take full advantage of this Google Analytics Tracking For Flash. We've provided tracking libraries for both Flash and Flex which can be downloaded as a ZIP file here. The libraries include:

Flash visual component
Flash AS3 library
Flex MXML component
Flex AS3 library

And you can learn more about how to use them through this developer documentation.

Open Development
At the same time, we know that things change quickly online, and developers might want to review and improve the code. So we're providing our entire AS3 code base under the Apache 2 License as Open Source, available here.

For me, this is one of the most exciting aspects of this project. If you are a developer and want to improve the code's functionality, you can contribute to the code base. Or, if you are a company that is running a content platform, such as Sprout mentioned above, you can seamlessly integrate the Flash tracking codebase into your existing architecture.

So while many features get launched at the end of their development cycle, we see this as just the beginning.

And A Special Thanks
This feature has been an open collaboration of a number of very talented people across the globe. We'd like to personally thank our amazing third party developers Zwetan Kjukov and Marc Alcaraz who've spent countless hours developing the code base. We'd also like to thank Matt Chotin, Puneet Goel, Rani Kumar and Ajit Gosavi from Adobe who helped us also overcome the obstacles of migrating to an all-AS3 environment.

So please visit the project page to learn more:
http://code.google.com/p/gaforflash/

We look forward to hearing success stories about how you've implemented Google Analytics Tracking For Adobe Flash!

Posted by Nick Mihailovski, Analytics Specialist

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