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Insights from Googlers into our products, technology, and the Google culture
Government requests for user information double over three years
November 14, 2013
In a year in which government surveillance has dominated the headlines, today we’re
updating our Transparency Report
for the eighth time. Since we began sharing these figures with you
in 2010
, requests from governments for user information have increased by more than 100 percent. This comes as usage of our services continues to grow, but also as more governments have made requests than ever before. And these numbers only include the requests we’re allowed to publish.
Over the past three years, we’ve continued to add more details to the report, and we’re doing so again today. We’re including additional information about legal process for U.S. criminal requests: breaking out emergency disclosures, wiretap orders,
pen register
orders and other court orders.
We want to go even further. We believe it’s your right to know what kinds of requests and how many each government is making of us and other companies. However, the U.S. Department of Justice contends that U.S. law does not allow us to share information about some national security requests that we might receive. Specifically, the U.S. government argues that we cannot share information about the requests we receive (if any) under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. But you deserve to know.
Earlier this year, we brought a federal case to assert that we do indeed have the right to shine more light on the FISA process. In addition, we recently wrote
a letter of support
(PDF) for two pieces of legislation currently proposed in the U.S. Congress. And we’re asking governments around the world to uphold international legal agreements that respect the laws of different countries and guarantee standards for due process are met.
Our promise to you is to continue to make this report robust, to defend your information from overly broad government requests, and to push for greater transparency around the world.
Posted by Richard Salgado, Legal Director, Law Enforcement and Information Security
Street View floats into Venice
November 13, 2013
Venice was once described as “undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man,” and from these pictures it’s hard to disagree. You can now explore panoramic imagery of one of the most romantic spots in the world, captured with our Street View
Trekker
technology.
It was impossible for us to collect images of Venice with a Street View car or trike—blame the picturesque canals and narrow cobbled walkways—but our team of backpackers took to the streets to give Google Maps a truly
Shakespearean
backdrop. And not just the streets—we also loaded the Trekker onto a boat and floated by the famous gondolas to give you the best experience of Venice short of being there.
Our Trekker operator taking a well-earned rest while the gondolier does the hard work
The beautiful
Piazza San Marco
, where you can discover Doge's Palace, St. Marks' Cathedral, the bell tower, the Marciana National Library and the clocktower
We covered a lot of ground—about 265 miles on foot and 114 miles by boat—capturing not only iconic landmarks but several hidden gems, such as the
Synagogue
of the first Jewish
Ghetto
, the Devil’s Bridge in Torcello island, a
mask
to scare the same Devil off the church of Santa Maria Formosa and the
place
where the typographer
Manutius
created the Italics font. Unfortunately, Street View can’t serve you a
cicchetto
(local appetizer) in a classic
bacaro
(a typical Venetian bar), though we can show you how to get there.
The
Devil’s Bridge
in Torcello Island
Once you’ve explored the city streets of today, you can immerse yourself in the beauty of Venice’s past by diving deep in to the artworks of the
Museo Correr
, which has joined the
Google Cultural Institute
along with
Museo del Vetro
and
Ca’ Pesaro - International Gallery of Modern Art
.
Click on a pin under "Take a tour"
to compare the modern streets with paintings of the same spots by artists such as Carpaccio and Cesare Vecellio
Or delve into historical maps of Venice, like this one showing the Frari Church, built in 1396
Finally, take a look
behind the scenes
showing how we captured our Street View imagery in Venice.
The Floating City is steeped in culture; it’s easy to see why it’s retained a unique fascination and romance for artists, filmmakers, musicians, playwrights and pilgrims through the centuries—and now, we hope, for Street View tourists too.
Posted by Daniele Rizzetto, Street View Operations Manager (and proud Venetian!)
Global Impact Award to improve veterans’ higher education
November 13, 2013
When veterans return home, a college degree is often a great next step for a successful transition to civilian life. But college can be a tough place for veterans, especially when they’re juggling classes with personal, family and financial pressures. Unfortunately there’s very little data about what can help veterans thrive in school. We want to change that.
Today, we’re granting a $3.2 million
Global Impact Award
to the
Institute for Veterans and Military Families
,
Student Veterans of America
, the
Posse Foundation
and
Veterans of Foreign Wars
to support data analysis of U.S. veterans’ higher education. The study will be made public and answer critical questions:
Which colleges are most successful at supporting veterans through to graduation day?
What on-campus programs have the biggest impact?
How do veterans’ education majors stack up against employment opportunities?
Based on the report, we’ll fund the expansion of the veterans’ programs found to be most effective—whether it’s on-campus child care, access to dedicated mental health services or physical gathering spaces—and will also provide Googler support to make this project a reality.
This award builds on our work to train and mentor student veterans through the
Google Veterans Network
. We’re proud to serve those who’ve served.
Posted by Jacquelline Fuller, Director, Google Giving
Attachments in Gmail, now with the power of Google Drive
November 12, 2013
You're probably used to downloading email attachments, but each of those files takes time to download, eats up space on your device, and can get buried deep inside your "Downloads" folder. With today's update to Gmail, you can skip that whole process. Instead, you can view attachments
and
save files directly to Google Drive without ever leaving Gmail, making it easy to access them later from whatever device you’re on—computer, phone or tablet.
The next time you open an email with attachments, you’ll see new previews of the files at the bottom of the email, from photos and videos to spreadsheets and PDFs.
When you click on one of those previews, a full-screen view of the image or document will appear. You can read, search for a particular phrase, and even browse through multiple attachments right in Gmail.
You can now also save your attachments directly to Drive simply by clicking the Drive button that appears when you hover over the preview. Of course, if you prefer to download the attachment to your computer, you can—just click the arrow button.
This new attachment experience is available on desktop and will be rolling out over the next week. If you’re one of the more than 120 million active Drive users, you know that saving your files to Drive lets you get to them from any computer, phone or tablet. And if you aren’t taking advantage of Drive just yet, give it a try with your next Gmail attachment.
Posted by Scott Johnston, Director of Product Management
(Cross-posted on the
Gmail Blog
and
Google Drive Blog
)
Growing our support for veterans and military families
November 11, 2013
Over the past year, more and more Googlers have had the chance to meet service members and hear their stories through the Google Veterans Network—our employee resource group. These interactions have led to a greater understanding of the challenges the veteran community faces and have inspired many teams across Google to find additional ways for our technology to help.
This Veterans Day, on behalf of the Google Veterans Network and all Googlers, we’re proud to share some of the new ways we’re working with partners to support the military veteran community.
Helpouts by Google
allows anyone to give and receive help over live video, and we think it can be an effective platform for nonprofit and veteran service organizations to connect with veterans and their families. Helpouts for veterans are already available, ranging from guidance for
veteran education benefits
to
entrepreneurship/business planning
. Because Helpouts is
HIPAA
-compliant, providers such as
Give an Hour
can provide secure and confidential
mental health care sessions
online—particularly useful for those veterans who are physically unable to travel from their homes.
Tour Builder
is a storytelling tool in beta that enables anyone to record memories of their travels in Google Earth. Tour Builder was inspired by the accomplishments of military service members around the globe. We hope it will give veterans an easy way to share their journeys with loved ones at home and to preserve the legacy of their service for generations to come.
13.5 percent of the nation's businesses are run by veterans, employing a collective 8.2 million people. In recognition of the contributions veterans make to the economy, the Google Enterprise
blog
and
Google+ page
will share stories throughout the week from veteran-owned business and service organizations that achieved success with the help of Google Apps—like
RuckPack Combat Nutrition
:
Our professional development programs that pair Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with Google mentors continue to grow. This past summer, we hosted resume writing workshops for 350+ student veterans in 12 Google offices in partnership with
Student Veterans of America
and
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
. Last week, working collaboratively with the
Bob Woodruff Foundation
, we welcomed more than 100 injured post-9/11 veterans and their loved ones to Google NYC for a tech immersion and mentoring day. Finally,
VetNet
, the Google+ career services platform we
launched
last year with the
Institute for Veterans and Military Families
and
Hire Heroes USA
, has helped thousands of veterans prepare for civilian careers.
Follow us at
google.com/+GoogleForVeterans
to let us know how else we can help and to stay up to date on our activities througout the year. Happy Veterans Day!
Posted by Carrie Laureno, Audience Evangelist & Founder, Google Veterans Network
Introducing Helpouts: Help when you need it over live video
November 4, 2013
What if getting help for a computer glitch, a leaky pipe, or a homework problem was as easy as clicking a button? What if you could connect via real-time video to a music teacher or a yoga instructor from the comfort of your home? What if you could get someone knowledgeable to get you “unstuck” when you really need it?
Today, we’re announcing
Helpouts
—a new way to get and give help over live video. Our goal is simple: help people help each other. We want to use the convenience and efficiency of the web to enable everyone, no matter where they are or what time it is, to easily connect with someone who can help.
Help might be a quick answer to a problem you’re having right now, like how to fix your garage door, or how to remove a computer virus; or it might be guidance completing a project, like building a deck. It might be learning a new skill, like how to speak conversational French or how to draw cartoons; or it might be general advice on how to improve your fitness or your writing (I could use this right now).
With Helpouts, you can choose who you get help from based on their qualifications, their availability, their price, their ratings and reviews. You can connect instantly or book in advance. You can get help from individuals or from brands you already know and trust, like
Sephora
,
One Medical
,
Weight Watchers
,
Redbeacon
(a Home Depot company), and
Rosetta Stone
. Once you’re in a Helpout, you can do more than just talk—you can share your computer screen, collaboratively edit a presentation, or record your Helpout. And if the experience doesn’t meet your expectations, we offer a full money back guarantee.
Today is just the beginning. We’re starting small and in a few categories. The number of people giving help on Helpouts and the type of help available will grow over time. Helpouts may not be suitable for every occasion, and it will take time to get used to interactions via real time video. We hope that the efficiency, convenience and global reach of Helpouts will make people’s lives easier in the long term.
We hope you’ll give Helpouts a try and give us your feedback through ratings and reviews, or talk to us on
Google+
,
Twitter
or
Facebook
. And if you’re interested in giving help on Helpouts yourself,
let us know
.
It’s time to make getting good help a whole lot easier.
Posted by Udi Manber, VP Engineering
Google+: Explore the world, right from the classroom
November 4, 2013
We all remember the days when we’d arrive at school, permission slips and bag lunches in tow, ready to venture forth on a field trip. Those were the days we waited for all year. Yet most field trips cost money, require lots of planning, and can only go as far as a school bus can take you.
Today we’re launching a new initiative on Google+ called
Connected Classrooms
that enables students around the world to take “virtual field trips” through Google+ Hangouts, visiting places they would otherwise never be able to explore. We’re kicking things off today with field trips to the
Seattle Aquarium
, the
Minnesota Zoo
and the
Solar Impulse
hangar. Later, teachers can sign up to take their classrooms on virtual field trips hosted by organizations like National Geographic, Matilda the Musical, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and more than 20 other partners.
Teachers are already using Google+ to make learning more relevant, collaborative and accessible—from
exploring a world-class art museum
to
staging a play
to
venturing into space
. Connected Classrooms aims to make it easier for teachers to access exciting educational content to share with their students. In addition to the virtual field trips, teachers who visit the Connected Classrooms site will have the opportunity to join a Google+ Community with other educators to collaborate on field trips and share best practices for using digital tools in the classroom.
If you’re a K-12 teacher, head over to the Connected Classrooms site and
learn how your classroom can participate
.
Posted by Lisa Jiang, Google+ Education Partnerships Lead
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