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Supporting entrepreneurship in France at Le Camping
June 26, 2012
Entrepreneurs all around the world are building technologies that empower their communities and address both local and global audiences. Last week, a team of Googlers from 10 countries gathered in Paris to spend time with entrepreneurs and startups at Le Camping, an accelerator program that’s part of
Silicon Sentier
, an association focused on supporting promising digital projects in the Ile de France region. We celebrated the results of the first two seasons of the program and welcomed the new startups for season three.
Le Camping’s program selects 12 new startups each season (one season lasts six months). They “camp” in what used to be the facilities of the French Stock Exchange, symbolizing the bridge between the old and the new economy. During this time, the “campers” are coached by
60 mentors
, mostly entrepreneurs but also engineers. We’ve been working in partnership with Le Camping for the last two seasons to provide hands-on training and mentorship to the 12 companies in each class.
We’ve already seen great success from the program. Out of the 24 teams from first two seasons, 40 percent of the startups have raised funds, 60 percent have paying clients and all of the startups belong to a strong and reliable community. The program does not take equity in the startups or charge them to take part; all that’s required is vision, passion and the desire to address a global audience.
This is just one of our efforts to support entrepreneurs in France. Last year we also launched
Startup Cafe
, an online platform which provides access to educational
video content
from several business schools designed for entrepreneurs,
tools
to help start a business and, with the help of the
Agency for the Creation of Entrepreneurs
, a
map
of public organizations that can help entrepreneurs.
We believe that the Internet and entrepreneurship are key drivers of
economic development
. A study from the European Commission highlighted that small enterprises are the driver for growth and employment: they generate nearly 70 percent of jobs in Europe and 60 percent of economic value added. McKinsey’s "
Impact of Internet on the French economy
" reported that when French SMEs use more web technologies, their growth is faster, their operating revenues are higher and their profitability is stronger.
We look forward to continuing to support entrepreneurship in France and are excited to follow the progress of the teams in
season three
of Le Camping: Home’n’go, Explee, Sketchfab, ForgetBox, Stormz, Fleex, Veezio, JellyNote, Augment, Webshell, Poutsch, Whale Street. Stay tuned!
Posted by Elisabeth
Barg
è
s
, Public Policy Manager, Google France
Tune in to I/O Live at 9:30 a.m. PDT on June 27
June 25, 2012
Google I/O, our annual developer conference, begins in just two days, and this year, we’re bringing you more than 130 technical sessions, 20 code labs and 155 Sandbox partners. If you’re not here in San Francisco, you can still sign up for one of our 350+
I/O Extended
events around the world or tune in to
I/O Live
to watch the live stream from wherever you are.
This year’s conference kicks off on June 27 with the first day’s keynote at 9:30 a.m. and the second day’s keynote on June 28 at 10:00 a.m. PDT, so tune in early at
developers.google.com/io
to avoid missing the action!
Bookmark
developers.google.com/io
to watch I/O Live from your desktop, or download the
Google I/O mobile app
to access the live stream from your phone or tablet. For the truly entrepreneurial, check our
liveblogging gadget
, which lets you add your commentary and the live video feed from the Google I/O keynotes to your blog.
More than
40 sessions
on Android, Chrome, Google+ and your favorite APIs will be streamed live, and all remaining session videos will be recorded and available shortly after the conference on
Google Developers Live
and the
conference website
. Between sessions, we’ll bring you behind-the-scenes footage featuring interviews with Googlers and attendees, tours of the Sandbox and more. The stream will also continue through our After Hours party (June 27 starting at 7:00 p.m. PDT), where we've teamed up with top entertainers, inventors, artists, educators and visionaries from all over the world for an amazing evening.
Posted by Mike Winton, Director of Developer Relations
In schools, all you need is web
June 25, 2012
While students in the northern hemisphere say goodbye to each other and another school year, we’re in sunny San Diego meeting with thousands of educators and administrators at the International Society for Technology in Education (
ISTE
) conference. While on break from teaching, these folks are here to teach others how they’re bringing innovation into their classrooms—a lot of which centers around the web.
While the web was developed well before today’s students were born, it’s come a long way even since a year ago. Today you can access the web on any device, use the web
offline
and take advantage of amazing graphics. For example, you can get a
powerful graphing calculator on the web
today, for free.
It’s been really amazing to see how the web is impacting schools. We’ve heard great
real-world stories
about Google Apps for Education, but lately we’re hearing more and more about schools extending the functionality of Google Apps with
educational apps
available on the Chrome Web Store. There are tens of thousands of apps in the Chrome Web Store, and today we’re adding some new ones:
ST Math
,
VoiceThread
and
Acheive3000
.
To give you an idea of what’s possible on the web: Leyden High School District from Illinois is rolling out Chromebooks to their 3,500 students and are using apps like
WeVideo
,
EasyBib
,
Vernier Labquest2
,
SlideRocket
,
Geogebra
and
Pearson’s OpenClass
as part of their 1-to-1 learning initiative.
Students at East Leyden High School work together on their Chromebooks. Photo credit: East Leyden Art Teacher Anna Reed.
Chromebooks as a tool for 1-to-1 learning
It’s great to see that many schools are choosing Chromebooks as an effective and affordable 1-to-1 education tool. There are more than 500 districts in the U.S. and Europe actively using Chromebooks, and today we’re pleased to welcome a few more to the community, including Rockingham Country Schools, N.C., Transylvania County Schools, N.C., and Fond du Lac School District, Wis.
Chromebooks are always new—
just last month we announced
new devices, an updated, app-centric user interface and new pricing for schools. Chromebooks also make it just as easy for administrators to distribute 10, 100 or 1,000 Chromebooks, saving precious summer vacation time previously spent installing software and policies on computers. And great news for schools looking to make hardware purchases: the
PARCC and Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortia confirmed
Chromebooks meet hardware and operating system requirements for student assessments in the 2014-2015 school year.
Applications for education
Today at ISTE, we are introducing some new features for schools using Chromebooks that make it even easier to find, use, install and manage web apps for your entire school:
Grade-level application packs
are groups of Chrome Web Store apps that integrate tightly with Google’s suite of Apps for Education, divided by grade levels to meet different classroom needs. These packs are installable from the Chromebook management console. Many of them are free and we’ve worked with the app makers to offer discounts for bulk purchases.
Organization-specific web app collections
in the Chrome Web Store give administrators the ability to recommend apps to students, teachers and staff. The collection is visible only to the school, and admins can curate apps from the Chrome Web Store, application packs and web apps purchased elsewhere or private apps developed by the school. (This feature is also available to Chromebooks for Business customers from the control panel.)
We’ve enjoyed being a part of ISTE the past several years, and always look forward to hearing about new ways that students and teachers are using the web to do amazing things. (If you’re at the conference, come see us at booth 2603 and
listen to
or share a story!)
Posted by Vidya Nagarajan, Product Manager, Chromebooks for Education
A tribute to Turing, the father of modern computing
June 22, 2012
“The past is a foreign country—they do things differently there.” It’s a saying that rings especially true in the world of technology. But while innovating requires us to focus on the future, there are times when it’s important to look back. Today—the 100th anniversary of
Alan Turing
’s birth—is one such moment.
Statue of Alan Turing at Bletchley Park
Turing’s life was one of astounding highs and devastating lows. While his
wartime codebreaking
saved thousands of lives, his own life was
destroyed when he was convicted for homosexuality
. But the tragedy of his story should not overshadow his legacy. Turing’s insight
laid the foundations
of the computer age. It’s no exaggeration to say he’s a founding father of every computer and Internet company today.
Turing’s breakthrough came in 1936 with the publication of his seminal paper “
On Computable Numbers
” (PDF). This introduced two key concepts, “algorithms” and “computing machines”—commonplace terms today, but truly revolutionary in the 1930’s:
Algorithms
are, in simplest terms, step-by-step instructions for carrying out a mathematical calculation. This is where it all started for programming since, at its core, all software is a collection of algorithms.
A
computing machine
—today better known as a
Turing machine
—was the hypothetical device that Turing dreamed up to run his algorithms. In the 1930’s, a “computer” was what you called a person who did calculations—it was a profession, not an object. Turing’s paper provided the blueprint for building a machine that could do any computation that a person could, marking the first step towards the modern notion of a computer.
Considering the role computers now play in everyday life, it’s clear Turing’s inventions rank among the most important intellectual breakthroughs of the 20th century. In the evolution of computing, all paths trace back to Turing. That’s why Turing is a hero to so many Google engineers, and why we’re so proud to help commemorate and preserve his legacy.
In 2010, Google helped Bletchley Park raise funds to
purchase Turing’s papers
so they could be preserved for public display in their museum. More recently, we’ve been working closely with curators at London’s Science Museum to help put on a stunning new exhibition “
Codebreaker - Alan Turing’s Life and Legacy
.” This tells the story of Turing’s vast achievements in a profoundly moving and personal way, through an amazing collection of artifacts—including items loaned by GCHQ, the U.K. government intelligence agency, never before on public display. Topics addressed include Turing’s early years, his code-breaking at Bletchley Park, his designs for the Pilot Ace computer, his later
morphogenesis work
, as well as his sexuality and death. The exhibition opened on June 21 and is well worth a visit if you’re passing through London in the next year.
And finally, we couldn’t let such a momentous occasion pass without a doodle. We thought the most fitting way of paying tribute to Turing’s incredible life and work would be to simulate the theoretical “Turing machine” he proposed in a mathematical paper. Visit the homepage today— we invite you to try your hand at programming it. If you get it the first time, try again... it gets harder!
Turing was born into a world that was very different, culturally and technologically, from ours—but his contribution has never been more significant. I hope you’ll join me today in paying tribute to Alan Turing, the forefather of modern computing.
Posted by Andrew Eland, Engineering Director, Google U.K.
Project Re: Brief, the documentary
June 22, 2012
A few months ago, we
introduced
Project Re: Brief, our experiment to reimagine online advertising. We took some of the most loved ad campaigns from the ‘60s and ‘70s and and brought them back to life for the digital age with the help of the advertising legends that made them in the first place. Together, we created a series of ads designed to start conversations and fire up imaginations about what technology can make possible, such as ads that enable two strangers on opposite sides of the world to connect over a
can of soda
, or that translate a customer service experience into an instant, shareable,
personalized animated video
.
But Re: Brief is not just about the ads themselves. It’s also about the creative process behind them: bringing “old school” advertising legends and technologists into the same room to create digital ads that consumers love as much as they loved the iconic campaigns of yesterday. To share this experience, today we premiered the documentary film
Project Re: Brief
, directed by Emmy winner Doug Pray, at the
Cannes Lions
International Festival of Creativity—also available on YouTube.
This hour-long documentary follows the story of the five art directors and copywriters who made the original ads as they come out of retirement to “Re: Brief” their classic campaigns: Harvey Gabor (Coca-Cola’s “Hilltop); Amil Gargano (Volvo’s “Drive it like you hate it”); Paula Green (Avis’ “We try harder”); and Howie Cohen and Bob Pasqualina (Alka-Seltzer’s “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing”). While major shifts in technology have reshaped the advertising business, as we learned from our heroes of the past, the basic tenets of storytelling haven’t changed. We found these icons’ ideas, wisdom and passion for great advertising inspiring and hope you do as well.
For more details on
the film
and the Cannes Lions festival, visit our
Agency Blog
.
Posted by Aman Govil, Project Re: Brief Lead
Fueling great nonprofits with technology
June 22, 2012
Technology can make collaboration easier, cut costs and help operations run more efficiently. Unfortunately, the organizations trying to solve some of the world’s most difficult problems—nonprofits—often lack resources to fully take advantage of technology to further their causes.
That’s why we worked with the HandsOn Network, a Points of Light Enterprise, to create
HandsOn Tech
, an initiative that pairs U.S. nonprofits with individuals who are passionate about technology and looking to make a difference. Last year, we funded 24 full-time
AmeriCorps VISTA
positions. These VISTA members provided technology training to more than 1,300 small, poverty-focused nonprofits nationwide. Further, these VISTA participants engaged skilled volunteers, including lots of Googlers, to assist nearly 200 nonprofits in creating individualized, comprehensive tech plans that will help them to work more efficiently.
Each HandsOn Tech VISTA project varies based on different nonprofit needs. In the past year, projects have included:
Migrating
Dreams for Kids
, a Chicago nonprofit empowering at-risk and disabled youth, to
Google Apps
—enabling them to more efficiently and effectively collaborate without the restriction of limited office space.
Building a dynamic website and social media strategy for
Doing Art Together
, a NYC-based nonprofit providing hands-on programming and GED prep for under-resourced youth.
Using Google Maps and Fusion Tables to help Atlanta’s
The Drake House
create a map that helps staff better visualize the local homeless population in order to more effectively distribute their services.
HandsOn Tech Pittsburgh hosted a panel on social media tools, including Google+, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, with local nonprofits at the Google Pittsburgh office
The program has been so successful that we’re expanding—it will now include one additional city and
28 new VISTA positions
, with the goal of reaching even more nonprofits. The new HandsOnTech VISTAs will start in August with a one week training at our campus in Mountain View, Calif., where they’ll learn about cloud-based tools from a variety of technology companies including the
Google For Nonprofits
suite that allows many nonprofits to use free online advertising, Google Apps and YouTube channels. Once they are armed with tech know-how they’ll spend the rest of the year in two and three-person teams serving nonprofits in the Bay Area, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, New York City, Pittsburgh and Seattle.
HandsOn Tech is
accepting applications
for VISTA members now through June 27. If you’re passionate about technology and helping nonprofits on the front line of fighting poverty, then we hope you’ll apply!
Posted by Matt Dunne, Head of Community Affairs
The Endangered Languages Project: Supporting language preservation through technology and collaboration
June 20, 2012
The
Miami-Illinois language
was considered by some to be extinct. Once spoken by Native American communities throughout what’s now the American Midwest, its last fluent speakers died in the 1960s. Decades later, Daryl Baldwin, a citizen of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, began teaching himself the language from historical manuscripts and now works with the Miami University in Ohio to continue the work of
revitalizing the language
, publishing stories, audio files and other educational materials. Miami children are once again learning the language and—even more inspiring—teaching it to each other.
Daryl’s work is just one example of the efforts being made to preserve and strengthen languages that are on the brink of disappearing. Today we’re introducing something we hope will help: the
Endangered Languages Project
, a website for people to find and share the most up-to-date and comprehensive information about endangered languages. Documenting the 3,000+ languages that are on the verge of extinction (about half of all languages in the world) is an important step in preserving cultural diversity, honoring the knowledge of our elders and empowering our youth. Technology can strengthen these efforts by helping people create high-quality recordings of their elders (often the last speakers of a language), connecting diaspora communities through social media and facilitating language learning.
The Endangered Languages Project, backed by a new coalition, the
Alliance for Linguistic Diversity
, gives those interested in preserving languages a place to store and access research, share advice and build collaborations. People can share their knowledge and research directly through the site and help keep the content up-to-date. A diverse group of collaborators have already begun to contribute content ranging from 18th-century manuscripts to modern teaching tools like
video
and audio language samples and knowledge-sharing articles. Members of the Advisory Committee have also provided guidance, helping shape the site and ensure that it addresses the interests and needs of language communities.
Google has played a role in the development and launch of this project, but the long-term goal is for true experts in the field of language preservation to take the lead. As such, in a few months we’ll officially be handing over the reins to the
First Peoples' Cultural Council
(FPCC) and
The Institute for Language Information and Technology
(The LINGUIST List) at
Eastern Michigan University
. FPCC will take on the role of Advisory Committee Chair, leading outreach and strategy for the project. The LINGUIST List will become the Technical Lead. Both organizations will work in coordination with the Advisory Committee.
As part of this project, research about the world’s most threatened languages is being shared by the Catalogue of Endangered Languages (ELCat), led by teams at the
University of Hawai’i at Manoa
and Eastern Michigan University, with funding provided by the National Science Foundation. Work on ELCat has only just begun, and we’re sharing it through our site so that feedback from language communities and scholars can be incorporated to update our knowledge about the world’s most at-risk languages.
Building upon other efforts to preserve and promote culture online,
Google.org
has seeded this project’s development. We invite interested organizations to join the effort. By bridging independent efforts from around the world we hope to make an important advancement in confronting language endangerment. This project’s future will be decided by those inspired to join this collaborative effort for language preservation. We hope you’ll join us.
Posted by Clara Rivera Rodriguez and Jason Rissman, Project Managers, The Endangered Languages Project
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