The circle of analytics

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Brett Crosby, Product Marketing Manager</span><br /><br />“<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analytics">Analytics</a>” is a sturdy business catchword, and of course “web analytics” has become its own buzz-phrase in recent years. The tools and services of the web analytics world give businesses precise information on what customers want, so that they can improve their online marketing and website content. These services help provide answers to questions like: Which keywords attract the most visitors? Which email campaigns create more customers? And how to design web page content that holds people’s attention?<br /><br />We think every online business can benefit from knowing the answers, so today we’re launching <a href="http://www.google.com/analytics/#utm_source=google&utm_campaign=ga-us-googleblog&utm_medium=embedded-text%20">Google Analytics</a>. The same service (which used to be called Urchin from Google) used by dozens of Fortune 500 companies is now available to every business on the web. We’ve integrated it with AdWords, it’s easier to use – and it’s free. We hope that Google Analytics will help improve the overall web – one site at a time.

The circle of analytics

Posted by Brett Crosby, Product Marketing Manager “ Analytics ” is a sturdy business catchword, and of course “web analytics” has become its...

Đọc thêm »

The breakfast business

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Josef Desimone, Executive Chef</span><br /><br />At a technology company you might think no one's around for a morning meal, but that's not so here in <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1600+amphitheatre+parkway+mountain+view+ca+94043&iwloc=A&hl=en">Mountain View</a>. The cafe I run on campus is open for breakfast from 8-9:30 a.m. five days a week. My team of 12 feeds a steady crowd of about 750 every morning -- and these folks are big on breakfast. Our record so far is making 201 (custom) omelets in 90 minutes. We blend 300 12 oz. fruit smoothies that typically disappear in an hour. Some other stats from the front lines (all of these are per-day numbers, by the way): <br /><br />- Googlers prefer Canadian bacon (45 lbs.) to chicken-apple sausage (30 lbs.)<br />- Steel-cut oatmeal (10-12 gallons) wins out over organic grits (6-8 gallons)<br />- We polish off 5 cases of fresh fruit (cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple)<br />- Devour 160 breakfast burritos (eggs, veggies, cheese) <br />- We cook 80-100 lbs. of red bliss potatoes <br />- We use 2 gallons of egg whites (for the omelets)<br />- Googlers gulp down 9 gallons of fresh coffee every morning (just in our cafe)<br /><br />My biggest surprises: people consume 1-1/2 gallons of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kombucha">kombucha</a> tea - a little-known fermented drink - every day; and against all logic, some people ask for an omelet that's half egg whites, half regular eggs. What can I say? We aim to please.<br /><br /><p><br /><a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/tatersneggs.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/tatersneggs-794168.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/smoothies-737114.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/smoothies-735846.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" /></a><br /></p>

The breakfast business

Posted by Josef Desimone, Executive Chef At a technology company you might think no one's around for a morning meal, but that's not ...

Đọc thêm »

Vint Cerf speaks out on net neutrality

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Alan Davidson, Washington Policy Counsel, DC office</span><br /><br />Congress is holding a hearing tomorrow, Wednesday, November 8th, on "network neutrality" and a big new telecommunications bill affecting the Internet. Vint Cerf, our net neutrality guru, was unable to testify because of a <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/11/standing-on-shoulders-of-this-giant.html">little awards ceremony</a> at the White House (congratulations, Vint!), but here is his letter to the Hill outlining our concerns. Microsoft will be testifying for our side, demonstrating that inside the Beltway, we agree on a lot. <br /><br />You can follow the <a href="http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/Hearings/11092005hearing1706/hearing.htm">proceedings here</a> -- and we hope you do. This bill could fundamentally alter the fabulously successful end-to-end Internet. <br /><br /><br />November 8, 2005<br /><br />The Honorable Joe Barton <br />Chairman <br />Committee on Energy and Commerce <br />U.S. House of Representatives <br />Washington, D.C. 20515 <br /><br />The Honorable John D. Dingell<br />Ranking Member <br />Committee on Energy and Commerce <br />U.S. House of Representatives <br />Washington, D.C. 20515<br /><br />Dear Chairman Barton and Ranking Member Dingell, <br /> <br />I appreciate the inquiries by your staff about my availability to appear before the Committee and to share Google’s views about draft telecommunications legislation and the issues related to "network neutrality." These are matters of great importance to the Internet and Google welcomes the Committee’s hard work and attention. The hearing unfortunately conflicts with another obligation, and I am sorry I will not be able to attend. (Along with my colleague Robert Kahn, I am honored to be receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Wednesday at the White House for our work in creating the Internet protocol TCP/IP.)<br /> <br />Despite my inability to participate in the planned hearing in person, I hope that you will accept some brief observations about this legislation.<br /> <br />The remarkable social impact and economic success of the Internet is in many ways directly attributable to the architectural characteristics that were part of its design. The Internet was designed with no gatekeepers over new content or services. The Internet is based on a layered, end-to-end model that allows people at each level of the network to innovate free of any central control. By placing intelligence at the edges rather than control in the middle of the network, the Internet has created a platform for innovation. This has led to an explosion of offerings – from VOIP to 802.11x wi-fi to blogging – that might never have evolved had central control of the network been required by design.<br /><br />My fear is that, as written, this bill would do great damage to the Internet as we know it. Enshrining a rule that broadly permits network operators to discriminate in favor of certain kinds of services and to potentially interfere with others would place broadband operators in control of online activity. Allowing broadband providers to segment their IP offerings and reserve huge amounts of bandwidth for their own services will not give consumers the broadband Internet our country and economy need. Many people will have little or no choice among broadband operators for the foreseeable future, implying that such operators will have the power to exercise a great deal of control over any applications placed on the network.<br /><br />As we move to a broadband environment and eliminate century-old non-discrimination requirements, a lightweight but enforceable neutrality rule is needed to ensure that the Internet continues to thrive. Telephone companies cannot tell consumers who they can call; network operators should not dictate what people can do online.<br /><br />I am confident that we can build a broadband system that allows users to decide what websites they want to see and what applications they want to use – and that also guarantees high quality service and network security. That network model has and can continue to provide economic benefits to innovators and consumers -- and to the broadband operators who will reap the rewards for providing access to such a valued network.<br /><br />We appreciate the efforts in your current draft to create at least a starting point for net neutrality principles. Google looks forward to working with you and your staff to draft a bill that will maintain the revolutionary potential of the broadband Internet. <br /><br />Thank you for your attention and for your efforts on these important issues. <br /><br />Sincerely, <br /><br />Vinton Cerf<br />Chief Internet Evangelist<br />Google Inc.

Vint Cerf speaks out on net neutrality

Posted by Alan Davidson, Washington Policy Counsel, DC office Congress is holding a hearing tomorrow, Wednesday, November 8th, on "netw...

Đọc thêm »

Search and replace

<span class="byline-author">Posted by David Bercovich, Product Marketing Manager, Google Enterprise Team</span><br /><br />We’re hearing a fair number of stories from customers using our enterprise search products about how pleased their users are when they replace another search engine with a <a href="http://www.google.com/enterprise/gsa/index.html">Google Search Appliance</a> or a <a href="http://www.google.com/enterprise/mini/index.html">Google Mini</a>. Customers like <a href="http://www.google.com/enterprise/gsa/national_semiconductor.html">National Semiconductor</a>, which saw search volume increase by 8-10x, and the <a href="http://www.google.com/enterprise/gsa/national_park_service.html">National Park Service</a>, where website complaints declined by a factor of 20.<br /><br />These good results have inspired us to launch a search replacement program: any company that replaces their legacy search engine with a Google Search Appliance will receive a free Google Mini. Read more at <a href="http://www.google.com/switch">www.google.com/switch</a>.

Search and replace

Posted by David Bercovich, Product Marketing Manager, Google Enterprise Team We’re hearing a fair number of stories from customers using our...

Đọc thêm »

Get lost and found on your phone

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Matt Waddell, Google Mobile Team</span><br /><br />You know that saying, "Wherever you go, there you are"? Now it makes sense to me, thanks to the new <a href="http://www.google.com/glm/index.html">Google Local for mobile</a>. In fact, it inspired me to write this song. Enjoy, and happy trails. (You'll need Macromedia's <a href="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer">Flash Player</a> to hear it.)<br /><br /><object align="middle" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=7,0,0,0" height="27" id="Player" width="400"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain"><param name="movie" value="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/Audio.swf?audioUrl=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/GetLostAndFound.mp3"><param name="quality" value="best"><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000"><param name="scale" value="noScale"><param name="wmode" value="window"><param name="salign" value="TL"><embed id="Player" scale="noScale" salign="TL" src="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/Audio.swf?audioUrl=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/GetLostAndFound.mp3" quality="best" bgcolor="#000000" name="Player" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" align="center" height="27" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />You can also <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/GetLostAndFound.mp3">save the music file</a> to your computer. (Right-click in Windows, or control-click on a Mac, and save.) <br /><br />Get lost and found on your phone.<br /><br />Walkin' 'round a new town,<br />looking for a way around.<br />Askin' locals for their thoughts<br />'bout nearby Chinese restaurants...<br />they tell you to get lost --<br />get lost and found on your phone.<br /><br />Take Google Local on the go,<br />get listings, maps and aerial views.<br />Call directly from your search results<br />and even keep search history too.<br />Download from Google today.<br /><br />Wrestlin' with a paper map,<br />tryin' to figure out just where you're at,<br />how to get from point A to point B,<br />better leave the directions to <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3Aj2me">J2ME</a>.<br />So you can get lost --<br />get lost and found on your phone.<br /><br />Zoom in, zoom out,<br />drag maps up down left right and you'll see...<br />where you want to go on your mobile phone,<br />in lucid satellite imagery.<br />Download from Google today.<br /><br />Place Google Local in your hand --<br />first, you need a data plan.<br />Your phone must handle Java too.<br />It helps if it is somewhat new.<br />To download, here is what you do:<br /><br />Browse Google dot com slash g-l-m on your desktop.<br />Tell us 'bout your phone,<br />and we'll show you a link to the file in a blink<br />and you're ready to start...<br /><br />Gettin' lost on your phone.<br />Get lost and found on your phone.<br />Download from Google today.<br />Get lost and found on your phone...

Get lost and found on your phone

Posted by Matt Waddell, Google Mobile Team You know that saying, "Wherever you go, there you are"? Now it makes sense to me, thank...

Đọc thêm »

Standing on the shoulders of this giant

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Alan Eustace, VP of Engineering</span><br /><br />The <a href="http://www.medaloffreedom.com/">Presidential Medal of Freedom</a> is the highest civilian award given in the United States, and our own <a href="http://www.google.com/intl/en/corporate/execs.html#vint">Vint Cerf</a> has been recognized with this honor. He and <a href="http://www.cnri.reston.va.us/bios/kahn.html">Robert Kahn</a> will be recognized in a White House ceremony next Wednesday.<br /><br />Together, Vint and Bob designed the architecture and protocols 30+ years ago that are used today to implement and operate the Internet. The White House statement puts it succinctly: "Dr. Cerf and Dr. Kahn have been at the forefront of a digital revolution that has transformed global commerce, communication, and entertainment."<br /><br />Vint and Bob join an impressive list of winners, including Alan Greenspan, Muhammad Ali, Aretha Franklin, Frank Robinson and Paul Rusesabagina. The official release is <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/11/20051103-5.html">here</a>.<br /><br />We couldn't be more pleased for this recognition Vint is receiving on behalf of the vast Internet community that has realized the aspirations that he and Bob had so long ago.

Standing on the shoulders of this giant

Posted by Alan Eustace, VP of Engineering The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award given in the United States, and o...

Đọc thêm »

Desktop grows up

<span class="byline-author">Posted by Satish Sampath, Google Desktop Team</span><br /><br />We always get a bit misty-eyed when a youngster graduates, so today we're dabbing back a few tears for <a href="http://desktop.google.com/">Google Desktop</a>, which leaves beta status behind with several powerful new features under its belt.<br /><br />Fans of <a href="http://maps.google.com/">Google Maps</a> will want to check out Sidebar's new maps panel, which lets you do all the usual cool maps stuff -- local business info, directions, sightseeing -- plus a new one: finding new locations relevant to the web pages and emails you're reading and showing them in your maps panel.<br /><br />Like this:<br /><a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/GDS2_MapsPanelBothScrSht2-743805.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/GDS2_MapsPanelBothScrSht2-741645.JPG" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a> Geeks, meanwhile, are invited to pore over our <a href="http://desktop.google.com/plugins">script support</a> for writing plug-ins, which makes it far easier to create home-brewed Sidebar panels. And Sidebar has a bunch of new <a href="http://desktop.google.com/plugins/c/sidebar.html">third- party panels</a>, most notably GDTunes, which cycles through your iTunes collection (and even shows album covers).<br /><br />Finally, let me invite developers and anyone else who's interested to check out our new <a href="http://googledesktop.blogspot.com/">Google Desktop blog</a> for the latest news and info.<br /><br />We've worked hard raising Desktop over the past two years. It's great to see it growing up so nicely.

Desktop grows up

Posted by Satish Sampath, Google Desktop Team We always get a bit misty-eyed when a youngster graduates, so today we're dabbing back a f...

Đọc thêm »