Official Google Blog: May 2015

Through the Google lens: Search trends May 22-28

May 29, 2015

Deadly storms in Texascities across Texas

Soccer scandal on Tuesday alonetop related questionHold on to your butts ... again60 million YouTube viewsU.S. and Australiacurrent search interestTip of the weekPosted by Abbi Tatton, who searched, a little indignantly, this week for [why do babies say “dada” first?]

YouTube A to Z: #HappyBirthdayYouTube

May 29, 2015

what exactly makes elephants so coolnewgenresexpressionstardommore influentialmore than a billion peoplesurprisedfrom A to Zadorableempoweringawesomeweird and wonderful300 hours of video to capture and share in the next minute**Bonus Points: How well do you know YouTube, A to Z? Play the YouTube trivia game to find out at YouTube.com/10.Posted by the YouTube Team

You say you want a mobile revolution...

May 28, 2015

Android growth and momentumsome estimates

M is for more performance and an improved user experiencehundredsAndroid PayOrganizing the world’s information, bettermissionexpanding Google Nowfind new apps and in-app contentinbox more insightfulnew Photos appA new platform for the Internet of ThingsProject BrilloNew mobile experiencesCardboardCardboard appsGoogle ExpeditionsJumpThe next billion usersChromebooksAndroid Onestreamlined version of our Search results pagedata saver modeSolving complex problems for a mobile worldPosted by Sundar Pichai, Senior Vice President, Products

Picture this: A fresh approach to Photos

May 28, 2015

trillion

A home for all your photos and videoshelp center

Organize and bring your moments to life

Easily share and save what matters

AndroidiOSwebPosted by Anil Sabharwal, Head of Google Photos

Pursuing transformative technology with the Google Impact Challenge: Disabilities

May 26, 2015

Google Impact Challenge: Disabilitiesg.co/ImpactChallengeDisability

The Enable community connects people who want prosthetics with volunteers who use 3D printers to design, print, assemble, and fit them, for free. This dramatically cuts costs, increases speed of distribution, and meets unmet needs. We’ll support the Enable Community Foundation's efforts with a $600,000 grant to advance the design, distribution and delivery of open-source 3D-printed upper-limb prosthetics.

Diagnosing auditory challenges can be a struggle in low income communities—the equipment is expensive, bulky and unrealistic, particularly in the developing world. With our support, and a $500,000 grant, World Wide Hearing will develop, prototype and test an extremely low cost tool kit for hearing loss using smartphone technology that’s widely available—and affordable—in the developing world.

Posted by Jacquelline Fuller, Director, Google.org

A doodle salute for Sally Ride

May 25, 2015

Today’s guest blog post is from Tam O’Shaughnessy—life partner of astronaut Sally Ride, and co-founder & CEO of Sally Ride Science. Over the past few months, Tam worked with our Doodle team to create a doodle for Sally’s 64th birthday. In this post, she tells us more about Sally’s life, her flight aboard the space shuttle , and her passion for helping kids stay excited about science and technology.
A look behind the scenes of today's Sally Ride doodle, narrated by the artist of the doodle, Olivia Huynh, and Tam O'ShaughnessyGoogle Doodle Everywhere I go I meet girls and boys who want to be astronauts and explore space, or they love the ocean and want to be oceanographers, or they love animals and want to be zoologists, or they love designing things and want to be engineers. I want to see those same stars in their eyes in 10 years and know they are on their way!Posted by Tam O’Shaughnessy, Co-Founder & CEO of Sally Ride Science

Through the Google lens: Search trends May 15-21

May 22, 2015

Deadly biker brawlWaco shootingAn NBA family affairNBA playoffs200,000+ searchesStephen CurrySonya CurryagelessRiley’s post-game press conference hijinksThanks, Dave500,000+ searchesfor not getting “The Tonight Show.”questionsfinal show last DecemberBillboard starsBillboard Music AwardsTaylor Swiftbroke the Vevo recordappearedtwiceIggy AzaleaJohn LegendKelly ClarksonWiz Khalifa

pastweekcastRebel WilsonTip of the weekPosted by Emily Wood, Managing Editor, who searched this week for [leighton meester] and [how many cows are there in the world]

Tweets take flight in the Google app

May 19, 2015

Update, 8/21/2015: We’ve extended this to desktop now too, and in English everywhere.

Posted by Ardan Arac, Senior Product Manager

Through the Google lens: Search trends May 8-14

May 15, 2015

Amtrak’s tragic accidentAmtrakMadness down underappearedtwiceremove his two Yorkie dogsmore than 50,000 searches

Sing the blueslegendConnecticut-based Nick Fradianimore than 200K searchesHarry Shearerisn’t giving up hopeLadies in greenHarriet Tubmanapproved

Posted by Emily Wood, Managing Editor, who searched this week for [the craft] and [when did the twilight zone start]

Green lights for our self-driving vehicle prototypes

May 15, 2015

designing the world’s first fully self-driving vehicle94 percent of accidents caused by human error

Our safety drivers will test fully self-driving vehicle prototypes like this one on the streets of Mountain View, Calif., this summer.Lexus RX450h SUVs
Google+ pagePosted by Chris Urmson, Director, Google Self-Driving Car Project

New data, more facts: an update to the Transparency Report

May 14, 2015

Transparency Reportrevelationscalls for companies to make encryption keysproposalsECPA reformforlegislationToday’s Transparency Report update

Emergency disclosure requests. We’ve expanded our reporting on requests for information we receive in emergency situations. These emergency disclosure requests come from government agencies seeking information to save the life of a person who is in peril (like a kidnapping victim), or to prevent serious physical injury (like a threatened school shooting). We have a process for evaluating and fast-tracking these requests, and in true emergencies we can provide the necessary data without delay. The Transparency Report previously included this number for the United States, but we’re now reporting for every country that submits this sort of request.

Preservation requests. We’re also now reporting on government requests asking us to set aside information relating to a particular user’s account. These requests can be made so that information needed in an investigation is not lost while the government goes through the steps to get the formal legal process asking us to disclose the information. We call these "preservation requests" and because they don't always lead to formal data requests, we keep them separate from the country totals we report. Beginning with this reporting period, we’re reporting this number for every country.

The fight for increased transparencyunsealing court documents relating to these requestsherehereNational Security LettersReporters speculated in 2013USA Freedom Act of 2015U.S. Public Policy blogPosted by Richard Salgado, Legal Director, Law Enforcement and Information Security

Through the Google lens: Search trends May 1-7

May 8, 2015

The princess and the Parliamentroyal babyPrincess Charlotte

While U.K. citizens celebrated their new princess, they had something else on their minds: yesterday’s national election. Weeks of polling had predicted a close tie between the Conservatives and the Labour Party, but in the end David Cameron’s Conservative party walked away with the majority in a victory that surprised many. The election dominated search in the U.K.—all but one of the top 20 search terms Friday were election-related—and even in the U.S., it was the second-most trending term on Thursday.

From Jedi robes to couture gowns
Fans around the world donned their best Princess Leia and Stormtrooper costumes for Star Wars Day on Monday. Celebrated on May 4 (May the Fourth Be with You, get it?) thanks in large part to the Internet, the holiday has been growing for the past few years in search, but we saw the biggest spike yet in 2015. In addition to Leia and Stormtrooper, top costume searches on Monday include [yoda dog] and [female jedi costume]. Interest in the upcoming movie “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” doubled, and other popular questions include “Is Star Wars on Netflix?” and “What order should you watch Star Wars?”

That same night, the Met Gala brought people to Google to see some of the daring fashion choices from the event. Searches for the red-carpet affair reached 500K. Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez dominated search as people looked for photos of their sheer, jewel-encrusted gowns. Rihanna’s stunning yellow dress, Anne Hathaway’s coppery hood and Sarah Jessica Parker’s headdress inspired memes as well as searches; and Jason Derulo stumbled into the trends charts after rumors that he’d fallen on the Met’s stairs.

The mascot and margaritas

hipster Hamburglarhot dadcreepymidlife crisis20,000 searches Celebrating momson the rise since April

Tip of the weekgoogle.com/mothersdayPosted by Emily Wood, Managing Editor, who searched this week for [phantom menace podcast] and [fug girls met ball]

Doing more on diversity

May 5, 2015

releasedembedding engineerspartnering with Hollywoodlocal initiativestrainingshareHire diverse Googlers: 14% of Hispanic college enrollment is at 4-year schools7% at the 200 most selective schoolsFoster a fair and inclusive culture:unconscious bias20 percentExpand the pool of technologists:CS FirstresearchMade with Codechange the perceptions around CSBridge the digital divide:Accelerate with Google AcademyPosted by Nancy Lee, Vice President, People Operations

Appreciating our teachers

May 5, 2015

invention of the Internet

Me at age 11 in 1954we announced ClassroomGoogle for Education BlogCS FirstEducation on Airmake sure to register

onlinememePosted by Vint Cerf, Chief Internet Evangelist

What Girls are Good For: Happy birthday Nellie Bly!

May 4, 2015

DispatchAdaAnitaAnnDoodleKaren O
DispatchStephen Foster

Storyboard for today's Nellie Bly video doodle, by Katy WuPosted by Liat Ben-Rafael, Program Manager, Google Doodles

Through the Google lens: Search trends April 24-30

May 1, 2015

the month of MayAll eyes on Nepal and BaltimoreNepalseveral historical siteshow to helpthis visualizationFreddie Graybigspikesmartial lawBaltimore SunMondawmin MallBaltimore OriolesThe Sport of Kings and the Sweet ScienceKentucky DerbyHot Trends

After American Pharoah and Dortmund’s battle for the roses, two other fierce opponents will go nose to nose: the hotly anticipated fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao takes place Saturday night in Las Vegas. The boxing match is being called the “fight of the century” with a reported $300 million at stake. As people get ready for the fighters to put their gloves on, they’re turning to search to answer questions like “Where can I watch the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight?” and “How much will Mayweather make from the fight?” So far, Mayweather, who is undefeated, is winning the match in search—he’s being searched for more than Pacquiao in all U.S. states except Hawaii.

A cast of charactersmore than 500,000 searchesbox office estimates

Tip of the weekPosted by Emily Wood, Managing Editor, who searched this week for [email debt forgiveness day]

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