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YouTube and Checkout for the non-profit world
September 27, 2007
Posted by Maryrose Dunton, Product Manager, YouTube, and Prem Ramaswami, Product Manager, Google Checkout
Ever since YouTube first launched, people and organizations have been using it to broadcast their causes and engage supporters around the issues they care about. In that spirit, today YouTube unveiled its
Non-Profit Program
at the
Clinton Global Initiative
to help non-profit organizations more easily connect with the world's largest online video community. In the past few years, online video has emerged as a key tool for grassroots organizing on the Internet -- a short, simple video can demonstrate the impact and the needs of an organization in a uniquely compelling fashion. This program will enable non-profits to create dedicated YouTube channels for themselves, making it even easier for people to find, watch, and engage with the organization's video content. The initial participants are 13 organizations including the
American Cancer Society
,
Friends of the Earth
, and
YouthNoise
.
One other thing the YouTube Non-Profit Program offers: the ability to collect donations directly from these channels using the new
Google Checkout for Non-Profits
. Checkout for Non-Profits -- which can also be integrated directly into a non-profit's site -- helps drive more donations for U.S.-based 501(c)(3) groups by making it possible for supporters to contribute quickly and securely. It also offers supporters the satisfaction of knowing that 100 percent of their contributions will be sent to the non-profit, as Google has committed to processing donations through Checkout for free through at least the end of 2008. This functionality is particularly exciting, as today's fund-raising is increasingly moving online -- and Checkout for Non-Profits makes the entire process even easier. You can learn more
here
.
Our testimony on Google-DoubleClick
September 27, 2007
Posted by Pablo Chavez, Policy Counsel
You may have read that a U.S. Senate committee in Washington is holding a hearing today looking at online advertising and our acquisition of DoubleClick. Check out our
Public Policy blog
for more details about Google's testimony.
A new caffeine-free way to stay alert
September 25, 2007
Posted by Amy Wu, Associate Product Manager, and Rajat Mukherjee, Group Product Manager
Since new videos are constantly appearing all over the web, it's difficult to keep tabs on all of them. But now
Google Alerts
will make it easy for you to add video to your other Alerts: News, Web, Blog and Groups.
Video Alerts enables you to specify any topics or queries of interest so we can deliver interesting and relevant videos on a daily, weekly, or as-it-happens basis (your choice) to you via email. To start receiving Video Alerts, you can visit the Google Alerts homepage directly or set up the alert
during your normal video searches
. Videos may come from Google Video, YouTube, or many other video sources on the web.
What are you waiting for? Stay up to date with the
One Laptop Per Child
program. Find the latest videos on the
Lunar X-Prize
. Impress Grandma by updating your
scarf-knitting skills
.
Search privacy and Personalized Search
September 24, 2007
Posted by Jane Horvath, Senior Privacy Counsel
Online privacy isn’t always an easy thing to understand—or to explain. When I recently joined the company, I was happy to learn that Google was continuing with the effort to make our privacy practices (and your choices) even clearer and more accessible. We are using YouTube to post videos that explain how, when, and why we collect information about searches, and how you can protect your privacy while using our search engine.
If you watched the
first privacy video
, you
learned
about some of the information we collect (IP addresses, cookies, and search queries) and how we use this information to improve your search experience as well as prevent against fraud and other abuses. We appreciated all of the feedback we got in response to the first video.
In response to your requests for more detailed information, in our second video we're offering a closer look at personalization and the privacy tools available when you choose to personalize your search. Personalization has been an area that raises concerns about privacy, and we want you to understand how we personalize search results while protecting your privacy.
As the video explains, search algorithms that are designed to take your personal preferences into account, including the things you search for and the sites you visit, have better odds of delivering useful results for you. So if you’ve been checking out sites about the Louvre and you search for [Paris], you’re more likely to get results about the French capital than the celebrity heiress. The privacy tools we’ve designed — such as “pause” and “remove” buttons — help put you in control of personalization.
So sit back, take a look, and then
tell us
what you think about this video (and the earlier one too). We look forward to hearing from you.
It's all about today
September 24, 2007
Posted by Niv Efron and Eyal Molad, Google Trends Engineers, Tel-Aviv
A lot of us love video games, and everyone here has their favorite from the latest generation of consoles. We have a game room in our building that happens to have all three of the latest systems: Artem loves Microsoft's Xbox 360, Niv can't part with Sony's Playstation 3, and Corey is hopelessly addicted to the Nintendo Wii. After some serious work organizing the world's information, we like to kick back with a round of
Wii Tennis
or a
trip to Rapture
. The problem is that there's only one TV in the game room, and of course only one system can be played at a time. In true Googley fashion, we look to data to decide which console gets first dibs. For that, we used
Google Trends,
which lets us see what the world is searching for.
Take, for example, a
comparison
across the systems:
Looks like a pretty tight race. Let's take a closer look at
2007
.
Wow, they're definitely neck and neck (and neck) -- the top console could change anytime. Fortunately, Google Trends is now updated every day with the latest information. (Until now, Trends was only updated once a month.) Now we can follow the console race (or any other topic) every 24 hours, whether it's
The Office
vs
Heroes
or the candidates for the
next presidential election
.
In addition to daily updates, we've also created an iGoogle gadget and a
feed
for Hot Trends. If you have ever wanted to know what the Internet was thinking right now, Hot Trends can tell you just that. Hot Trends shows you what the fastest rising search queries are on Google. Now you can keep track of Hot Trends three ways: by visiting the site,
adding the gadget to your homepage
, or subscribing to the feed by adding the
feed URL
to
Google Reader
or your favorite feed reader.
We'd love to hear about any interesting
trends
you've discovered. Please send them to us at
cooltrends@google.com
. We'll feature the best ones in a future post.
Pour on the pedal power
September 24, 2007
Posted by Dan
Reicher,
Google.org
You may already know that we're working to reduce our impact on the environment in a number of ways. We opt for locally-grown food whenever possible in all of our cafes. We've covered our roofs with solar panels. We offer a rebate on our employees' fuel-efficient car purchases. When it comes to getting people to the office, we offer round-trip shuttle service to our Bay Area Googlers, as well as incentives for creative commuting, from walking to biking and even to kayaking (depending, of course, on where the office is).
Over at
Google.org
, the
RechargeIT project
is
collecting data
on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in an effort to accelerate commercial adoption of the cars as well as vehicle to grid technology. To the same end, we just issued a $10 million request for investment proposals to encourage companies and individuals to develop sustainable transportation solutions.
And now, we encourage all of you to get your wheels spinning to offset climate change. Google has teamed up with
Specialized
and
Goodby Silverstein & Partners
on the
Innovate or Die Pedal-Powered Machine Challenge
, to give you problem-solvers a chance to show us with a YouTube
video
how you harness pedal power in innovative ways. In January, you could win $5,000 in cash and Specialized Globe bikes to keep up your commitment. We're doing our bit to support new solutions. Are you feeling inspired?
iGoogle tackles the Rugby World Cup
September 21, 2007
Posted by Thomas Gayno, Associate Product Marketing Manager, France
Salut! You may have heard by now that France (relieved after our
recent win over Namibia
) is currently hosting the sixth
Rugby World Cup
, which is a gathering of the best rugby teams from around the world competing for the coveted Ellis Cup.
You
Yanks
should imagine
the Super Bowl, but held only once every four years, with 20 teams from around the globe -- and without padding or helmets!
Four years ago, when England won the last Rugby World Cup, we French Rooster fans began planning for the next global matchup. Meanwhile, our French superstar Sébastien Chabal -- otherwise known as The French Beast, The Anesthetist, Attila or the Caveman -- has grown longer hair, a longer beard and bigger muscles. And he's back for this year's World Cup! To help track The French Beast's team's (or any other team's) progress towards victory, we created an
iGoogle
tab complete with a variety of gadgets that puts you in the middle of the action. The tab features live scores, group standings, a map of the venues, fan videos from YouTube, and a fun "make some noise" gadget that lets you cheer on your favorite team. With the iGoogle Rugby World Cup tab, you can experience the action in an entirely new way. Even if you've never used iGoogle before, you can add the tab
here
. Alternatively, type [
rugby
] into the Google search box and click on "add to my Google page."
In line with the international aspect of this sporting event, this tab is available in the following countries: USA, Canada, Portugal, Ireland, UK (Wales, Scotland and England), Romania, Georgia, Namibia, South Africa, Japan, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, France, Italy and Argentina. Whether you're a fan of Sébastian Chabal, Dan Carter or Stirling Mortlock, use the iGoogle Rugby tab to keep track of the action. And if these names don't mean anything to you, tune into the Rugby World Cup and they soon will!
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