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Google Voice mobile app for Blackberry and Android
July 15, 2009
It’s been an exciting few months since we
announced
Google Voice
. The feedback from early users has been terrific, and the requests for invites have been flowing in. We started sending invites
a few weeks ago
and will keep sending them daily.
At the same time, we continue to improve the service and address your requests and feedback. Among the most requested features are tools to make placing outgoing calls from your Google Voice number easier. So today, we’re pleased to announce a Google Voice mobile app for Blackberry and Android.
Previously, to place a call using Google Voice, you had to dial your own Google Voice number from your cell phone or use the Quick Call button online. With this new mobile app, you can make calls and send SMS messages with your Google Voice number directly from your mobile phone. The app is fully integrated with each phone’s contacts, so you can call via Google Voice straight from your address book.
From the mobile app, you can:
Access your voicemail: read message transcripts, follow along with "karaoke-style" playback of messages, read SMS messages sent to your Google Voice number (even if your phone doesn't receive SMS messages) and access your call history
Place calls that display your Google Voice number from your address book, the app dialer (Blackberry) or the native dialer (Android)
Send SMS messages that display your Google Voice number
Place international calls at low rates
See how it works in the following video:
You can download the app from the Google Voice mobile site at
m.google.com/voice
. It's also available in Android Market — just search for "Google Voice."
And for those of you who don't have a Blackberry or an Android-powered device, we have a mobile web version of the Google Voice site (accessible by typing
www.google.com/voice
into your mobile browser) that allows you to access Google Voice features.
You'll need a Google Voice account to use the mobile application. Currently, Google Voice is only available in the U.S. If you'd like to check it out, request an invite
here
.
Posted by Vincent Paquet, Google Voice Team and Marcus Foster, Google Mobile Team
Google Friend Connect speaks more languages
July 14, 2009
We know that there are millions of sites using
Google Friend Connect
to build a community around their content and they come in a variety of languages. With site owners and visitors from all over the world, the integration of services like
Netlog
and
orkut
and the worldwide adoption of
OpenSocial
, supporting additional languages has been a priority for the team. Today, we're happy to announce that Friend Connect is now available in 47 new languages.
This means you'll start seeing Friend Connect gadgets in languages such as French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Hindi and Portuguese. Site owners simply set the language of their site and Friend Connect will automatically render the gadgets in that language.
To learn more about this and other recent improvements to Friend Connect, visit our
Social Web Blog
.
Posted by Mendel Chuang, Product Marketing Manager, Google Friend Connect
Google accounts on Twitter
July 11, 2009
Like lots of you, we've been drawn into Twitter this year. After all, we're all about frequent updates ourselves, and there's lots happening around here that we want to share with you. Of course, we enjoy watching, and contributing to, the tweetstream (we hope you find our tweets useful, too). Because there are many programs and initiatives across the company, we've got a number of active accounts. Here's a list of the current ones. We'll update this list from time to time.
twitter.com/Google
- our central account
twitter.com/GooglePubPolicy
- our take on politics, policy & government*
twitter.com/Blogger
- for Blogger fans
twitter.com/Google Books
- Passages, quotes, images and product news*
twitter.com/GoogleCalendar
- user tips & updates
twitter.com/GoogleContacts
- user tips for Google Contacts*
twitter.com/GoogleImages
- news, tips, tricks on our visual image search
twitter.com/GoogleNews
- latest headlines via Google News
twitter.com/GoogleNewsJP
- latest headlines via Google News Japan*
twitter.com/GoogleReader
- from our feed reader team
twitter.com/GoogleVoice
- updates & info on Google Voice*
twitter.com/iGoogle
- news & notes from Google's personalized homepage
twitter.com/GoogleStudents
- news of interest to students using Google
http://twitter.com/googlemobileapp
- Updates on Google mobile apps*
twitter.com/YouTube
- for YouTube fans
twitter.com/YouTubeES
- en Espanol
twitter.com/GoogleAtWork
- solutions for IT and workplace productivity
twitter.com/GoogleSites
- Google Sites updates*
twitter.com/GoogleToolbar
- news & tips from the Toolbar team*
Geo-related
twitter.com/SketchUp
- Google SketchUp news
twitter.com/3DWH
- SketchUp's 3D Warehouse
twitter.com/Modelyourtown
- 3D modeling to build your favorite places
twitter.com/EarthOutreach
- Earth & Maps tools for nonprofits & orgs
twitter.com/GoogleEarth
- updates from the Google Earth team*
twitter.com/GoogleMaps
- uses, tips, mashups
twitter.com/GoogleSkyMap
-Android app for the night sky
Ads-related
twitter.com/AdSense
- for online publishers
twitter.com/AdWordsHelper
- looking out for AdWords questions and tech issues
twitter.com/AdWordsProSarah
- Google Guide for AdWords Help Forum
twitter.com/GoogleAnalytics
- insights for website effectiveness
twitter.com/GoogleAdBuilder
- re building display ads
twitter.com/GoogleAdManager
- info on managing online ads & inventory*
twitter.com/GoogleAffiliate
- info for publishers from Google network advertisers*
twitter.com/GoogleAuto
- news for auto advertisers*
twitter.com/GoogleFinSvcs
- news for financial services advertisers*
http://twitter.com/googlemande
- news for media & entertainment advertisers*
twitter.com/GoogleRetail
- news for retail advertisers
twitter.com/GoogleTech
- news for tech advertisers*
twitter.com/GoogleTravel
- news for travel advertisers*
twitter.com/GoogleTVAds
- info on our digital system for more measurable TV advertising*
twitter.com/TechnologyUK
- for U.K. tech advertisers
twitter.com/UKretail
- for U.K. retail advertisers
twitter.com/creativesandbox
- for advertising agencies*
twitter.com/InsideAdWordsDE
- for German AdWords customers
twitter.com/GoogleAgencyDE
- for German ad agencies
twitter.com/AdSenseKorea
- info for Korean-language publishers*
twitter.com/AdSensePT
- info for Portuguese-language publishers
twitter.com/AdWordsRussia
- AdWords news & tips in Russian
twitter.com/DentroDeAdWords
- Spanish updates from the Inside AdWords blog
twitter.com/GoogleAgencias
- for Latin American agencies*
Developer & technical
twitter.com/AdWordsAPI
- AdWords API tips*
twitter.com/GoogleResearch
- from our research scientists
twitter.com/GoogleWMC
- Google Webmaster Central
twitter.com/GoogleCode
- latest updates for Google developer products
twitter.com/GoogleData
- Data APIs provide a standard protocol for reading and writing web data
twitter.com/app_engine
- web apps run on Google infrastructure
twitter.com/DataLiberation
- our initiative for complete import/export of all data
http://twitter.com/googledevapac
- for Google developers in Asia-Pacific*
twitter.com/GoogleMapsAPI
- about using Google Maps embedded in websites
twitter.com/GoogleIO
- Google's largest annual developer event
Culture, People
twitter.com/googletalks
- notes from our @Google speaker series
twitter.com/googlejobs
- the voice of Google recruiters
Country or Region
twitter.com/googlearabia
- news from the Google Arabia Blog*
twitter.com/googledownunder
- Google activities in Australia & New Zealand
twitter.com/googlebrasil
- News & info for Brasil*
twitter.com/googlecanada
- News & notes from Google Canada*
twitter.com/GoogleDE
- Google in Germany
twitter.com/GoogleKorea
- News & notes in Korean*
twitter.com/GoogleLatAm
- Latin America (en Espanol)
twitter.com/GooglePolicyIt
- Notes on Google policy issues in Italy
twitter.com/GoogleRussia
- Information in Russian on Google products & services*
Update:
Additions indicated by *
Update
April 14, 2010
: This list is no longer being maintained. Find the most updated list of Google Twitter accounts in our
directory
.
Posted by Karen Wickre, Google Blog & Twitter Team
Google tips for recent grads
July 10, 2009
Summer has arrived, and that means graduation. Our hearty congratulations to the class of 2009! Now that you've packed up your dorm room and picked up your diploma, what's next? This transitional time between college and "the real world" can be a bit chaotic. Luckily, we have some tools that can help you get organized as you start the next chapter in your life. We're posting tips and tricks for newly graduated students in our summer series,
Grad Tips
, running on the
Google for Students Blog
. The series is a few posts in — look for more tips over the next couple of months!
Posted by Joyce Sohn, Google Apps Team
How to steer clear of money scams
July 10, 2009
This post is the latest in an ongoing
series
on how to stay safe online. - Ed.
As the designated tech support person for my immediate family, I'm used to getting calls about issues like browser crashes and confusing websites. But recently my mom called to ask about something she saw online that said Google would pay her thousands of dollars to work from home with no experience required. She didn't buy it, but she did want to ask — is this for real?
My mom was right to be skeptical. In the current economic downturn, a lot of people are looking for ways to make extra money. Unfortunately, some unsavory characters see this trend as an opportunity to trick unsuspecting people with scams and elaborate get-rich-quick schemes. We're seeing disturbing cases in which websites, emails and advertisements claim that you can make large amounts of money from home with very little effort using Google products and services. They're designed to look like they were written by a regular person, just like you, who stumbled across an amazing opportunity to make their monetary dreams come true. What they don't tell you clearly is that Google is not affiliated with these sites and that they may add extra charges to your credit card or misuse your personal information.
To be clear, we are proud to say that many companies and individuals do legitimately make money placing ads on their websites with
Google AdSense
or participating in programs like the
Google Affiliate Network
. Creating a successful website is hard work — successful sites earn their money by writing compelling content, developing useful applications and maintaining vibrant user communities. Any claim that you can skip all of that and make just as much money by posting links, using a secret system, or running a kit to generate websites should be treated with a heavy dose of skepticism.
Spammers attempt to reach users by generating hundreds of webpages and sending out a flood of spam emails, sometimes even buying advertisements on reputable websites. Their sites also target other popular Internet companies. They may include family photos pilfered from another site or a picture of a check they supposedly received. Spammers use a wide range of techniques that try to slip past automatic filters to get to you. At Google, we work hard to protect users from these schemes by using a combination of automated and manual tools that remove them from our search index and ad network. However, scams target many companies and appear in various places around the web, so we all need to work cooperatively. Google collaborates with various government and non-governmental consumer protection agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission, that are
investigating these types of schemes further
.
How to identify scams and other schemes
In general, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Here are some pointers on what to look out for:
Before you fill out a form or give someone a credit card,
do a web search
to see what other people are saying about the company and its practices.
Be wary of companies that ask for
upfront charges
for services that Google actually offers for free. Check out our
business solutions page
before writing a check.
Always
read the fine print
. Watch out for get-rich-quick schemes that charge a very low initial fee before sneaking in large reoccurring charges on your credit card or bank account.
Google never guarantees top placement
in search results or
AdWords
— beware of companies that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a special relationship with Google, or advertise a "
priority submit
" to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is through our
Add URL page
or through the
Sitemaps program
— you can do these tasks yourself at no cost whatsoever.
Be wary of anything resembling a
pyramid scheme
, where you make commissions by recruiting more participants.
Some sales pitches use the word "Google" or other trademarks right in their name with targeted phrases like "cash," "pay day," "money," "secrets," "home business," etc.
If you can't find it on our
list of Google products
or on the business solutions page,
don't trust it
.
Look for third party verification
. Scammers can easily cut-and-paste images to plaster a site with "as seen on TV," "five-star reviews" and the logos of well-known news channels. Products that have really been recommended by experts and fellow users typically contain links from legitimate news sites and multiple user review sites.
Reserve the same skepticism for unsolicited email
about making money with Google AdWords as you do for "burn fat at night" diet pills or requests to help transfer funds from deposed dictators. In general, be wary of offers from firms that email you out of the blue. Amazingly, we get these spam emails too:
"I visited your website and noticed that you are not listed in most of the major search engines and directories..."
Google is not running a lottery, and we have not picked your email address to win millions of dollars.
Don't give out your bank account details via email
in anticipation of a big jackpot.
What you can do
If you've been ripped off, or suspect others are,
report the site and file a complaint
with the appropriate agency.
If you come across many sites with duplicate content or common templates intended to direct users to the same product or scheme, please let us know with a
spam report
.
If you've been contacted to place suspicious links on your site for money, let us know with the
paid link report form
. If you have your own website or are in charge of advertising on a site, think carefully before accepting ads or entering into affiliate programs that will lead your users to schemes like those mentioned above.
If your site's forums or comment sections have been spammed with fake offers of fabulous financial gain, you may need to
take steps to fight comment spam
. Spammers will take advantage of any user-generated content sections of your site, and will even generate thousands of
fake user profiles
to try to slip under the radar.
If you receive suspicious messages that claim to be from Google, these may be
phishing attempts
. Please report them to
phishing@google.com
.
Posted by Jason Morrison, Search Quality Team
Special Ghana site for President Obama's visit
July 10, 2009
In recognition of President Obama's visit to Ghana, we've worked with the Ministry of Tourism in that country on a special site detailing his stops at cultural and historical landmarks using Google Earth and Maps. Read all about it on our
Google Africa Blog
.
Posted by Karen Wickre, Google Blog Team
Seeing the world with improved Google Search results
July 10, 2009
As an avid traveler, I know how helpful it can be to see a map when searching for a location on Google. Using our Universal Search technology, we have provided maps in our search results for more than two years. However, as any traveler could tell you, knowing the geographical location of a place is only part of the story. It's often just as valuable to get a sense of what the place is like, and there's no better way to do that than by looking at images of some of its most important sights.
Now, when you search for locations using Google Search, you may see pictures from that place alongside a map. You can click on any of those images to go to the
photos layer
on
Google Maps
where you can browse many more geo-tagged photos.
So if you searched for [
Paris
], you'd see:
Here's [
Yellowstone National Park
]:
We think this is a great way to get a better sense of a location as well as get a taste of some of the great user-contributed photos that await on Google Maps. We hope you'll have a fun time exploring!
Posted by Lingyun Liu, Software Engineer
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