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Supporting people with disabilities through outreach and accessibility tools
November 19, 2012
Globally, there are approximately 285 million visually impaired people in the world—and each one of those people has networks of family and friends. Increasing the accessibility of products impacts not only the millions of people with disabilities, but also the lives of the people connected to them.
It’s because of the wide impact better accessibility tools can have that we partner with organizations like the
Vision Serve Alliance
, which brings together the CEOs of U.S. nonprofits that serve the blind and visually impaired to network and share best practices.
On Thursday, November 8 we welcomed 63 of these executives to Google’s San Francisco, Calif. office. There, we showed how we’re making Google’s products more accessible to blind and visually impaired users. We also shared insight into Google's culture—our commitment to openness, transparency and encouraging Googlers to bring their whole selves to work.
The attendees talked with representatives from the Google self-driving car team about the technology’s potential impact on mobility for the blind and visually impaired, as previously
demoed
by Steve Mahan from the
Santa Clara Valley Blind Center
. Other teams of Googlers also joined the event to demonstrate accessibility features in products like Chrome and Android. Chromevox is a screen reader that's built into Chrome OS and the Chrome browser. Android’s built-in accessibility features include text-to-speech,
haptic feedback
, gesture navigation, trackball and directional-pad navigation, all of which help visually impaired users navigate their mobile devices.
In line with our efforts to empower all people with disabilities, on December 3 we’re celebrating the International Day of Disability in Google offices in North America. We’ll have 7-minute flash talks about how Google’s work on accessibility empowers different communities, and a global product accessibility improvement day where Googlers test our products for accessibility bugs.
Posted by Seval Oz, New Business Development Senior Manager
Thanksgiving gone Google
November 19, 2012
Thanksgiving is about sharing,
giving thanks
and connecting with family and friends. Yet, all too often we get caught up in the holiday rat race—the mad dash to the airport, the supermarket, the mall—and forget to take time out to enjoy the holiday.
To kick off the holidays this year, we wanted to crank up the fun and tone down the stress. So we did a little planning for you and created a
one-stop-Google-shop
to get you through the week.
Cooking
With tools like
recipe search
and YouTube
cooking videos
that show you the right (and wrong) ways to carve a deep-fried turkey, Google can help you master your Thanksgiving meal with lots of laughs along the way. You can also join members of the Google+ cooking community for cooking lessons over live hangouts. Learn how to make new dishes like
pumpkin brulee
for the sweet tooths at the table or mix things up this year with a
vegan-friendly feast
.
Connecting
Though we can’t control the skies and guarantee a turbulence-free flight home, we can help minimize the time you spend waiting around, with
real-time flight updates
. Download the
Google Search App
to get flight updates on the go. And don’t forget to download
TV shows
,
music
and more from Google Play to stay entertained on board.
Of course, for those of you who couldn’t make it home this year, you can still get everyone together with Google+ Hangouts. Try
scheduling a hangout
to video chat with up to nine people you’d otherwise miss this holiday.
Sports
Whether you’re rooting for the
Cowboys
or the
Jets
,
Texans
or the
Patriots
, we can help you stay on top of all the scores and stats. If you’re on the run, ask for real time scores or game details using
Voice Search
on the
Google Search App
.
Shopping
This year Black Friday starts on Thursday, with Wal-Mart, Target and Toys R Us all kicking off sales on Thanksgiving night. To help you get a head start on the deal-seekers, try our new
shortlists
, a super-simple alternative to sharing lists of links or bookmarks, as well as 360-degree imagery for many of
the season’s hottest toys on Google Shopping
. For those of you brave enough to face the masses at the store, use
indoor Google Maps
to get in and get out of the mall fast.
By putting all your favorite Google features in one place, we hope we can help make things just a little bit easier this Thanksgiving—giving you more time to make memories with those who matter most and enjoy every last bite of that much deserved pumpkin pie. Visit our
Thanksgiving hub
to get started.
Posted by Carolyn Witte, Search Marketing Team
Investing in green energy in Greene County, Iowa
November 15, 2012
If you drive northwest from Des Moines, Iowa, you’ll see a lot of corn fields. From time to time, you’ll also see wind turbines rising out of those fields, making efficient use of our natural resources to produce renewable energy. It’s places like these that are home to a vibrant, emerging clean energy economy.
Today we‘re announcing that we’ve made an equity investment of $75 million in a 50MW wind farm in Rippey, a small town in Greene County, about an hour outside of Des Moines. The Rippey project, developed by
RPM Access
, is expected to produce enough energy to power over 15,000 Iowa homes. The project, which is now in operation, uses turbines produced by
Nordex USA
at their Jonesboro, Ark. facility.
Investment team members Nick Coons and Steffi Russell-Egbert visiting the Rippey project on a (windy) day in October.
We’ve taken two approaches to greening the grid in Iowa, a state where we
operate a data center
. Back in 2010,
we entered into
a long-term contract to purchase wind energy from NextEra Energy Resources’ Story County II wind farm. This time, we’re investing directly into a wind project, which has been contracted to sell all of the energy to the
Central Iowa Power Cooperative
, an Iowa-based utility that will deliver the energy to local consumers. We’re happy to help make more renewable energy available to Iowans and to support the growing wind energy industry in the state.
This project brings our committed investment to the renewable energy sector to more than $990 million. Read more about our previous investments on our
Google Green site
.
Posted by Axel Martinez, Assistant Treasurer, Head of Capital Markets
The results are in—Zagat’s America's Top Restaurants revealed
November 14, 2012
To help people find the best places to eat in 46 U.S. cities and regions, we’re revealing the results of our 2013
America’s Top Restaurants
Survey covering 1,822 of the nation’s top-rated restaurants. From Boston to Portland and Chicago to Miami, the results of this year’s Zagat Survey are based on millions of reviews from everyday diners who shared their experiences through their favorite Google products.
Winners include perennial favorites like the “exceptional” American
Gary Danko
(San Francisco), Eric Ripert’s French “seafood shrine”
Le Bernardin
(New York), and the “flawless” New American
Bacchanalia
(Atlanta), as well as top spots like
Alinea
(Chicago),
Urasawa
(Los Angeles) and
Joël Robuchon
(Las Vegas).
While many of the top restaurants break out the china and crystal, a number of standouts included in the guide are casual gourmet places like pizzerias:
Settebello
(Vegas and Salt Lake City),
Supino Pizzeria
(Detroit’s No.1 restaurant),
Serious Pie
(Seattle) and
Dough
(San Antonio); sandwich specialists:
Bäco Mercat
(LA),
Cochon Butcher
(New Orleans) and
Melt Bar & Grilled
(Cleveland); burger specialists:
B Spot
(Cleveland),
Flip Burger Boutique
(Atlanta) and
Sketch
(Philadelphia); and BBQs:
Union Woodshop
,
Slows Bar BQ
and
Zingerman’s Roadhouse
(Detroit).
Thanks to those of you who share your restaurant adventures with us, we also have a snapshot of what dining out in America looks like. Based on surveyors in 10 major cities, we have found that the average number of meals cooked at home (7.0 per week) outpaces the average number of meals they eat/take out (6.1)—a trend that has been building since the Great Recession. We also know that diners in Houston eat out the most (4.1 times per week vs. the 3.2 national average), and that at 19.6 percent, the
City of Brotherly Love
is also the city of most generous tippers.
Zagat ratings and reviews for tens of thousands of restaurants at every price point and cuisine are available via the Google products you use every day, like
search
, Google+,
Maps
and mobile.
Congratulations to
this year’s winners
and bon appétit!
Posted by Bernardo Hernandez, Managing Director, Zagat
A healthy grant to support healthy buildings
November 14, 2012
Imagine having nutrition-label-like data about every product you use at your fingertips—knowing exactly what ingredients make up things like office chairs or house paint and how they could impact your health today and 30 years from now. It’s a future that goes hand in hand with our commitment to
creating the healthiest work environments possible
and promoting transparency within the wide world of building materials.
Today, we’re taking a step toward that future with a $3 million grant to the
U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)
, a leading non-profit organization that works to create greener buildings and communities in the U.S. and around the world.
There’s a lack of clear and accessible information on building ingredients, which means that a lot of us might be exposed to potentially harmful and toxic chemicals in building materials—whether it’s in the desk you sit at every day or the building’s paints, tiles and carpeting. This grant is designed to improve human health and well-being by supporting more industry research and better standards around healthy materials.
We’ve
already done a lot
to eliminate many of these chemicals in our offices around the world, and we want to make it easier for others to do the same. The USGBC has had great success with their widely adopted
LEED
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system for the design, construction and operation of green buildings. LEED is certifying 1.7 million square feet every day with 9.3 billion square feet participating in LEED across all 50 states and 138 countries. We think they’re in a great position to build on this track record to create real and lasting change in the industry.
But it isn't enough just to have better labeling or standards about the ingredients in various products. We also need to know more about the ingredients themselves, which is why this grant also supports more scientific research and outreach so we can all do a better job of understanding how building materials impact human health. By doing so, we hope to empower consumers and businesses alike to make more informed decisions about the materials they purchase and use in their day-to-day lives.
Posted by Lacy Caruthers, Sustainability Team
Honoring the spirit of Veterans Day year-round
November 13, 2012
This Veterans Day was an especially poignant one for us at Google. November 9 marked the fifth anniversary of the Google Veterans Network, our employee volunteer community that strives to make Google a great place to work for those who have served, their families and their friends. Our group has doubled in size every year, and we represent 34 offices in nine countries around the world.
Veterans Day 2012 doodle
This year, we’re honoring the spirit of Veterans Day with a week of activities from November 7-14. Googlers deployed with
Team Rubicon
to Rockaway Beach, N.Y. to help residents recover from Hurricane Sandy, cooked dinner for military families at
VA Puget Sound Fisher House
, hosted a Meals Ready-to-Eat luncheon in Atlanta, Ga., and ran a U.S. Marine Corps Combat Fitness Test in Mountain View, Calif.—just a few of the events underway around the United States.
Our commitment to supporting the military veteran community at large continues to strengthen, with a focus on helping veterans make a successful transition to civilian life. Here are some examples of how Google tools and employees have joined the fight against veteran unemployment, in particular:
20 resume workshops at Google offices for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in the U.S. as well as the U.K. Many of these veterans belong to the
Student Veterans of America
.
A
scholarship program
for veterans studying computer science and our inaugural
Student Veterans Summit
Our first-ever
Google for Entrepreneurs Day
for hundreds of veterans and military spouses who are aspiring business owners in San Diego, Calif.
VetNet
, a career services platform coming soon on Google+, in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce
Hiring Our Heroes Foundation
,
IVMF
and
Hire Heroes USA
We’ve also put our technology to work as sponsors of
Veterans Week NYC
, including:
Google technology training for more than 100 wounded warriors and caregivers in NYC and a
panel discussion
, also broadcast on Google+, with advice for wounded warriors on transitioning to the civilian workplace.
A live broadcast of the
Bob Woodruff Foundation
's annual
Stand Up For Heroes
concert on YouTube and Google+ to raise awareness and funds for wounded warriors.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, November 14, a broadcast of the
Big Apple Circus
for military families around the country, hosted by the
USO
. You can join in the fun on
Google+
where we’ll stream the performance live.
Honoring wounded warriors with The Boss at
Stand Up For Heroes
on November 8.
Photo by Stefan Radtke.
Please follow our new
Google for Veterans & Families
Google+ page to stay abreast of our support for the community all year long. Every day is Veterans Day here at Google.
Update
Dec 7
: You can now watch video from the November 14 Big Apple Circus on
YouTube
.
Posted by Carrie Laureno, Audience Evangelist and Founder, Google Veterans Network
Deck the halls with tools for shopping
November 13, 2012
I love shopping for gifts for my family and friends, but it’s not always easy. Fortunately, the Google Shopping team has built several new tools to help you (and me!) get an early and stress-free start on holiday shopping.
Explore products in 360-degree detail on Google Shopping
Having trouble imagining what a toy actually looks like from the online picture? Now, when searching for a subset of toys on Google Shopping, you can see 360-degree photos of the products. These interactive images bring the in-store feeling of holding and touching a product to your online browsing.
Look for the “3D” swivel icon on the product image to see a toy in 360-degree view, on HTML5 enabled browsers. We’ve also put together a Holiday Toy Collection featuring this enhanced imagery—explore the collection
on this site
. 360-degree imagery is coming for other types of products soon.
If you’re a retailer or manufacturer interested in displaying these rich images of your products on Google Shopping, please fill out
this form
.
Use Shortlists to stay organized and collaborate with friends
New in Google Shopping,
Shortlists
make it easier to research products and plan purchases with friends and family. Instead of using bookmarked websites and docs containing long lists of URLs, or back-and-forth emails with friends, you can now consolidate all your shopping research in one place. With Shortlists, you can easily:
Keep track of products you like from Google Shopping and across the web
View product photos, prices and specs side by side
Share your Shortlist with friends, who can add their own ideas
Create a Shortlist by visiting
google.com/shopping/shortlists
or clicking the “Add to Shortlist” button as you browse products on Google Shopping.
Discover great deals and store promotions on Google Shopping
To help you make the most of your holiday budget, Google Shopping now shows discounts or promotions on the products you're viewing. If discounts or promotions are available, you can click on the link and visit the retailer’s site to redeem the offer.
That’s not all...a few more new Google Shopping features
Here are a few of the other tools we’ve created to make your holiday shopping a little easier:
Not sure you’ve found the perfect gift? Read
reviews
from people you know and write your own product reviews on Google Shopping.
Found an item that’s
almost
perfect but not quite? Now you can view
“visually similar” results
for even more types of products and categories, including
jewelry
,
coats
,
handbags
and more.
Buying an important gift? Look for the
Google Trusted Store logo
as you shop. It indicates a store ships quickly and delivers excellent customer service.
Shopping on the go? Browse for gift ideas, find local sales and research products with the new and improved
Google Shopper 3.0
, currently available for
Android
.
Still need some inspiration? Browse
holiday catalogs
from the top retailers directly on Google Shopping.
Happy holiday shopping!
Posted by Vineet Buch, Group Product Manager, Google Shopping
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