Google blogging (and beyond) in 2011

With just a few hours of 2011 remaining in Mountain View, Calif., we’re taking our traditional look at the past year on the Official Google Blog, as well as Google’s presence on Google+ and Twitter.

On the blog this year, we published 471 posts (including this one)—17 more than 2010. Those posts were read by nearly 20 million people; we had 19,905,679 unique visitors between January 1 and December 31. We find a few themes in the most popular posts: Google+ was a favorite topic, as well as greater focus and simplicity across Google, and search quality. The top 10 posts are:

• Ten years later - 1,731,280 unique pageviews. Our post for the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001 recognized a few online spaces for remembering the day. (This post was linked from google.com.)
• Introducing the Google+ project: real-life sharing, rethought for the web - 909,537 unique pageviews. In June, we launched Google+ to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to the web.
• Microsoft’s Bing uses Google search results—and denies it - 538,764 unique pageviews. We posted about how our experiments determined that Bing was using Google web search results.
• Supercharging Android: Google to acquire Motorola Mobility - 431,366 unique pageviews. In August we announced an agreement to acquire Motorola.
• Evolving the Google design and experience - 352,254 unique pageviews. We began to bring greater consistency to the Google experience, revamping first the homepage, then Gmail and more.
• Games in Google+: fun that fits your schedule - 265,995 unique pageviews. Less than two months after we launched the Google+ project, we brought games to the platform.
• More wood behind fewer arrows - 310,912 unique pageviews. As part of the process of prioritizing our product efforts, we announced the winding down of Google Labs.
• Advanced sign-in security for your Google account - 281,385 unique pageviews. It’s not often we can say that a post about online security is one of the top posts of the year. 2-step verification, an opt-in feature that helps verify that you're the real owner of your account, was an exception.
• Google+ Pages: connect with all the things you care about - 237,467 unique pageviews. The third most popular Google+ post on the blog was about pages for brands and businesses to connect with people on Google+.
• Finding more high-quality sites in search - 258,974 unique pageviews. A major change to our ranking algorithm, known as Panda, is aimed at helping people find even higher quality in our search results.

Other popular posts included the announcement that Larry Page was becoming CEO, a project to help Egyptians communicate during the January protests, Google+ updates and +1 news, a keeping your information safe from phishing campaigns, patents and Android, practical steps toward greener computing, more search news and the debut of Google Wallet. We shared special doodles (from Lucy to Les Paul to the lunar eclipse, and Jules Verne to Jim Henson) and stories from unique Google users. We brought music to the cloud, Ice Cream Sandwich to your pocket, and great works of art and pieces of history to your computer screens. We worked to help those affected by disasters in Japan and elsewhere, told some history tales, and, as always, had some fun along the way.

Like many of you, we were excited to start using Google+ Pages when they launched in November. We’re now running 22 pages for Google products and teams; nearly 100,000 of you have the flagship page, +Google, in your circles. Popular posts there include photos of our L.A. office, holiday, New Year and Marie Curie doodles, the year-end Zeitgeist, Google Photography Prize and Sebastian Thrun on self-driving cars.

We’ll soon celebrate @google’s third anniversary on Twitter, and we hit the 4 million follower mark this month. Popular tweets include the Les Paul doodle, patents and Android, Motorola, Larry and Sergey remembering Steve Jobs, Google Wallet, Google+ and Wael Ghonim.

As the clock ticks toward the close of 2011, we thank our readers for following along—by feed reader, phone app or however you please—and hope you join us for the next year of Google news. Happy 2012!

Posted by Emily Wood, Google Blog Editor

Fibox : Shoutbox Yang Cool Untuk Blogger

Fibox adalah satu lagi nama baru untuk shoutbox yang memasuki ruang maya ini. Rentetan daripada shoutmix yang akan menamatkan perkhidmatan percumanya, admin dapati Fibox menawarkan shotbox yang bagi admin memang cool, (walaupun bagi admin baru sekali pandang:)

Fibox kini dalam fasa beta dimana lebih banyak penambahbaikan yang akan dilakukan oleh pihak yang terbabit. Lihat pada paparan yang mesra pengguna dan penggunaannya yang mudah, admin tidak ambil masa yang lama untuk terus daftar. Anda boleh melihat contoh shotbox Fibox ini yang admin letakkan di blog ohbest.

Sambil-sambil daftar, admin ambil kesempatan untuk letakkan sekali tutorial untuk daftar Fibox seperti di bawah.

1. Buka www.fibox.ws, kemudian klik pada Sign Up


2. Masukkan email address dan password. Tick pada term of service kemudian klik continue


3. Notification mengatakan activation email dihantar kepada emial yang anda daftar.


4. Buka email dan klik pada link yang diberi.


5. Pengesahan bahawa akaun anda telah diaktifkan.


6. Login akaun anda, dan untuk kali pertama anda login anda akan diminta untuk create nama untuk shoutbox anda.


7. Daripada dashboard, anda boleh tetapkan setting yang anda kehendaki



8. Copy code yang diberi dan paste ke dalam ruangan HTML/javascript blog anda.
(tidak faham.?)

9. Save dan lihat hasilnya.:)


Tambahan:
Selepas pendaftaran, anda juga boleh login menggunakan akaun facebook anda.

Akhirnya, Domain Co.Cc Sudah Terindeks Google Lagi!

Setelah beberapa lama menunggu masa akhir "hukuman" atas domain Co.Cc, kini sobat semua pengguna Co.Cc dapat bernafas lega karena Google telah melepas status banned pada Co.Cc.
Seperti yg kita ketahui, sekitar akhir Juni atau awal Juli 2011 lalu, domain co.cc serta semua web yg menginduk ke domain co.cc di-banned Google karena banyaknya kasus phising, malware, spam, dan scam yg dilakukan oleh web

Shoutmix Akan Menamatkan Perkhidmatan Percuma | Alternatif Shoutbox Percuma Untuk Ganti Shoutmix

Bagi blogger yang sudah lama berkecimpung dalam arena blogging, shoutmix adalah salah satu shoutbox yang paling dikenali. Boleh dikatakan penggunaanya adalah meluas dengan fungsi yang boleh admin katakan mesra pengguna. Dan semua itu boleh didapati secara percuma.

Kini, setelah 7 tahun 'berbakti' dengan mempunyai akaun percuma,  shoutmix mengambil satu langkah drastik, iaitu akan menamatkan perkhidmatan percuma yang ditawarkan. Jadi selepas ini semua akaun shoutmix adalah berbayar.
Satu keputusan yang admin rasakan kurang bijak untuk memenangi hati pengguna maya.

Keputusan ini juga telah diwar-warkan di laman utama mereka.
Bermula 1 Januari 2012, kesemua akaun percuma akan tidak berfungsi kecuali upgrade kepada plan berbayar.



Berikut plan-plan yang ditawarkan untuk pengetahuan atau bagi sesiapa yang berminat. (walaupun admin rasa macam tidak mahu letak je.:)

Sanggupkah anda membayar untuk plan ini.? Kalau admin tidak perlu jawab pun tak pe rasanya.:)

Disebabkan shoutmix akan menghentikan perkhidmatan percumanya bermula 1 Januari 2012 nanti, disini admin letakkan senarai lain shoutbox yang anda boleh dapati secara percuma. Admin belum mencuba lagi mana-mana shoutbox ini buat masa sekarang. Bagi sesiapa yang pernah menggunakan mana-mana shoutbox di bawah, diharap boleh berkongsi pandangan.

1. http://oggix.com/
2. http://www.cbox.ws/
3. http://www.yellbox.com/
4. http://www.freeshoutbox.net/
5. http://www.myshoutbox.com/
6. http://free-shoutbox.net/
7. http://ishoutbox.com/
8. http://www.shoutjax.com/

------------------

p/s: Admin jangkakan pengguna shoutmix akan jatuh menjunam.
Reason: kenapa perlu bayar untuk widget yang boleh didapati secara percuma.:)

Sefikit info tambahan::)


more info:http://www.shoutmix.com/v3/

Objek Berpusing Keliling Mouse

Bagaimana anda gayakan mouse bagi pengunjung yang mengunjungi blog anda.? Adakah anda biarkan secara default atau lakukan pengubahsuaian.?
Sebelum ini terdapat beberapa tutorial seperti bubble, sparkle, atau following star.

Dan kali ini, satu lagi ubahsuai yang anda boleh lakukan, iaitu objek berpusing keliling mouse seperti gambar di bawah

Anda juga blog melihat contoh di blog demo ini

Tutorial di bawah.

1. Dari dashboard > design > add a gadget > HTML/javascript.

2. Copy dan paste kod di bawah ke dalam ruangan HTML/javascript yang anda buka.
(tidak faham.?)

<script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript">

var xCol = "#FF0000";
var yCol = "#FFFF00";
var zCol = "#0000FF";

var n = 6; //number of dots per trail.
var t = 40; //setTimeout speed.
var s = 0.2; //effect speed.

var r,h,w;
var d = document;
var my = 10;
var mx = 10;
var stp = 0;
var evn = 360/3;
var vx = new Array();
var vy = new Array();
var vz = new Array();
var dy = new Array();
var dx = new Array();

var pix = "px";

var strictmod = ((document.compatMode) &&
document.compatMode.indexOf("CSS") != -1);

var domWw = (typeof window.innerWidth == "number");
var domSy = (typeof window.pageYOffset == "number");
var idx = d.getElementsByTagName('div').length;

for (i = 0; i < n; i++)
{
var dims = (i+1)/2;
d.write('<div id="x'+(idx+i)+'" style="position:absolute;'
+'top:0px;left:0px;width:'+dims+'px;height:'+dims+'px;'
+'background-color:'+xCol+';font-size:'+dims+'px"><\/div>'
+'<div id="y'+(idx+i)+'" style="position:absolute;top:0px;'
+'left:0px;width:'+dims+'px;height:'+dims+'px;'
+'background-color:'+yCol+';font-size:'+dims+'px"><\/div>'
+'<div id="z'+(idx+i)+'" style="position:absolute;top:0px;'
+'left:0px;width:'+dims+'px;height:'+dims+'px;'
+'background-color:'+zCol+';font-size:'+dims+'px"><\/div>');
}

if (domWw) r = window;
else
{
if (d.documentElement &&
typeof d.documentElement.clientWidth == "number" &&
d.documentElement.clientWidth != 0)
r = d.documentElement;
else
{
if (d.body && typeof d.body.clientWidth == "number")
r = d.body;
}
}

function winsize()
{
var oh,sy,ow,sx,rh,rw;
if (domWw)
{
if (d.documentElement && d.defaultView &&
typeof d.defaultView.scrollMaxY == "number")
{
oh = d.documentElement.offsetHeight;
sy = d.defaultView.scrollMaxY;
ow = d.documentElement.offsetWidth;
sx = d.defaultView.scrollMaxX;
rh = oh-sy;
rw = ow-sx;
}
else
{
rh = r.innerHeight;
rw = r.innerWidth;
}
h = rh;
w = rw;
}
else
{
h = r.clientHeight;
w = r.clientWidth;
}
}

function scrl(yx)
{
var y,x;
if (domSy)
{
y = r.pageYOffset;
x = r.pageXOffset;
}
else
{
y = r.scrollTop;
x = r.scrollLeft;
}
return (yx == 0)?y:x;
}

function mouse(e)
{
var msy = (domSy)?window.pageYOffset:0;
if (!e) e = window.event;
if (typeof e.pageY == 'number')
{
my = e.pageY - msy + 16;
mx = e.pageX + 6;
}
else
{
my = e.clientY - msy + 16;
mx = e.clientX + 6;
}
if (my > h-65) my = h-65;
if (mx > w-50) mx = w-50;
}

function assgn()
{
for (j = 0; j < 3; j++)
{
dy[j] = my + 50 * Math.cos(stp+j*evn*Math.PI/180) *

Math.sin((stp+j*25)/2) + scrl(0) + pix;
dx[j] = mx + 50 * Math.sin(stp+j*evn*Math.PI/180) *

Math.sin((stp+j*25)/2) * Math.sin(stp/4) + pix;
}
stp+=s;

for (i = 0; i < n; i++)
{
if (i < n-1)
{
vx[i].top = vx[i+1].top; vx[i].left = vx[i+1].left;
vy[i].top = vy[i+1].top; vy[i].left = vy[i+1].left;
vz[i].top = vz[i+1].top; vz[i].left = vz[i+1].left;
}
else
{
vx[i].top = dy[0]; vx[i].left = dx[0];
vy[i].top = dy[1]; vy[i].left = dx[1];
vz[i].top = dy[2]; vz[i].left = dx[2];
}
}
setTimeout(assgn,t);
}

function init()
{
for (i = 0; i < n; i++)
{
vx[i] = document.getElementById("x"+(idx+i)).style;
vy[i] = document.getElementById("y"+(idx+i)).style;
vz[i] = document.getElementById("z"+(idx+i)).style;
}
winsize();
assgn();
}

if (window.addEventListener)
{
window.addEventListener("resize",winsize,false);
window.addEventListener("load",init,false);
document.addEventListener("mousemove",mouse,false);
}
else
if (window.attachEvent)
{
window.attachEvent("onload",init);
document.attachEvent("onmousemove",mouse);
window.attachEvent("onresize",winsize);
}
</script>

3. Save dan lihat hasilnya.

TAMBAHAN.

i) Bagi sesiapa yang tukar warna objek tersebut, boleh tukar pada kod ini.
(mencari kod warna.?)

var xCol = "#FF0000";
var yCol = "#FFFF00";
var zCol = "#0000FF";

ii) Kod ini memerlukan anda menggunakan layout template.

Cara Buat/Pasang Fitur Emoticon/Smiley di Comment Blogger

Emoticon/smiley dapat mewakili ekspresi komentator blog. Selain itu, emoticon/smiley dapat lebih mempercantik  tampilan bagian komentar blog. Dengan menggunakan javascript, kita dapat melakukan hack untuk menambahkan fitur emoticon pada blog berplatform Blogger. Emoticon ini menggunakan basis perintah emoticon  Yahoo! yg telah kondang itu. Misalnya, ketika ingin menampilkan gambar emoticon senyum

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Remembering a remarkable Soviet computing pioneer

In many parts of the world, today is Christmas—but in Russia and Eastern Europe, which use the Orthodox calendar, December 25 is just an ordinary day. Little known to most, however, it’s also a day that marks the anniversary of a key development in European computer history.

Sixty years ago today, in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, the Soviet Academy of Sciences finally granted formal recognition to Sergey Lebedev’s pioneering MESM project. MESM, a Russian abbreviation for “Small Electronic Calculating Machine,” is regarded as the earliest, fully operational electronic computer in the Soviet Union—and indeed continental Europe.

Recently we were privileged to get a first-hand account of Lebedev’s achievements from Boris Malinovsky, who worked on MESM and is now a leading expert on Soviet-era computing.


Turn on captions for the English translation.

Described by some as the “Soviet Alan Turing,” Sergey Lebedev had been thinking about computing as far back as the 1930’s, until interrupted by war. In 1946 he was made director of Kyiv’s Institute of Electrical Engineering. Soon after, stories of “electronic brains” in the West began to circulate and his interest in computing revived.

Sergey Lebedev*

Initially, Lebedev’s superiors were skeptical, and some in his team felt working on a “calculator”—how they thought of a computer—was a step backward compared to electrical and space systems research. Lebedev pressed on regardless, eventually finding funding from the Rocketry department and space to work in a derelict former monastery in Feofania, on the outskirts of Kyiv.

Work on MESM got going properly at the end of 1948 and, considering the challenges, the rate of progress was remarkable. Ukraine was still struggling to recover from the devastation of its occupation during WWII, and many of Kyiv’s buildings lay in ruins. The monastery in Feofania was among the buildings destroyed during the war, so the MESM team had to build their working quarters from scratch—the laboratory, metalworking shop, even the power station that would provide electricity. Although small—just 20 people—the team was extraordinarily committed. They worked in shifts 24 hours a day, and many lived in rooms above the laboratory. (You can listen to a lively account of this time in programme 3 of the BBC’s ”Electronic brains” series.)

MESM and team members in 1951. From left to right: Lev Dashevsky, Zoya Zorina-Rapota, Lidiya Abalyshnikova, Tamara Petsukh, Evgeniy Dedeshko

MESM ran its first program on November 6, 1950, and went into full-time operation in 1951. In 1952, MESM was used for top-secret calculations relating to rocketry and nuclear bombs, and continued to aid the Institute’s research right up to 1957. By then, Lebedev had moved to Moscow to lead the construction of the next generation of Soviet supercomputers, cementing his place as a giant of European computing. As for MESM, it met a more prosaic fate—broken into parts and studied by engineering students in the labs at Kyiv’s Polytechnic Institute.

*All photos thanks to ukrainiancomputing.org.

Posted by Marina Tarasova, Communications Associate, Ukraine

Ham in Cherry Coke - a winner for Xmas and New Year

We are a committed family pork eaters and at Christmas our home cooked ham is something of a centre piece.

This is a favourite recipe adapted from a Nigella one - she serves hers as a main course meat and doesn't put the cherry jam on the outside.

What you need is a large piece of boiling ham, a 2 litre bottle of cherry coke, cloves and cherry jam, preferably with pieces of cherry in it.

First put your ham in a large saucepan then cover completely with cherry coke. Bring to boil then simmer for around 2 hours (or for however long is recommended on the packaging for cooking with this method. Remove from cherry coke and put into a roasting tin then stud with cloves and cover the top evenly with cherry jam. Roast in the oven on about 180 degrees for around half an hour.

Serve either hot or cold. The cherry coke and jam doesn't make the ham taste of cherries but does make it gloriously sweet and extra delicious!
My friend Keith has done a variation on this using ham hock for a more everyday meal over at Reluctant House Dad.

Santa Claus is coming to town... find out where with Google and NORAD

It’s that time of year again! The stockings are hung by the chimney with care and Google and NORAD are ready to answer the question of “where?”

NORAD’s tradition of tracking Santa on Christmas Eve started in 1955, when a Sears and Roebuck ad promoting the Talk-to-Santa hotline inadvertently sent callers to CONAD (NORAD’s predecessor) commander-in-chief’s operations hotline. After recovering from the surprise that the call was not from the Pentagon or the White House but instead a little boy inquiring if the commander was Santa Claus, Colonel Harry Shoup asked his team to check their radar for signs of Santa’s sleigh and a tradition was born.

The Santa tracking tradition has grown over the years and today it’s also possible to track Santa using Google Earth and Google Maps on the NORAD Santa site, and on your mobile phone as well. Starting tomorrow (Saturday, December 24) at 2:00 a.m. EST, visit www.noradsanta.org to follow Santa’s journey from the North Pole to homes all over the globe. This year there are many ways to keep tabs on Santa’s sleigh, no matter how quickly it moves:

• Follow Santa on Google Maps: Visit www.noradsanta.org to see where Santa is currently flying and where he’s headed next on Google Maps. Click on the video icons to watch “Santa cam” videos from all over the world, and the gift icons will display information about each city along the route.
• Watch Santa fly in 3D with the Google Earth plug-in: If you have the Google Earth plug-in installed on your computer, you can track Santa’s location in 3D and see him deliver presents everywhere from the mountain villages of the Swiss Alps to the white sand beaches of Hawaii.
• Track Santa from your mobile phone: Follow Santa on the go by searching for [santa] on the Google Maps for mobile app.
• Get updates via social media: The NORAD team will be posting updates about Santa’s flight throughout the day on December 24. Follow them on Google+, Twitter or Facebook for live updates.
• Subscribe to the NORAD Tracks Santa YouTube channel: All “Santa cam” videos will be posted on the NORAD Tracks Santa YouTube channel as they’re captured. You can also watch a recap of Santa’s 2010 trip. Check back often for updates!

Santa flying over London in Google Earth

NORAD Tracks Santa is a special project near and dear to all of us involved. I started working on the program seven years ago and it’s been a thrill to watch it grow over the years. Recently, I was given the opportunity to speak at TEDActive about the origins of NORAD Tracks Santa and how Google has brought this to life in Google Earth.



I’d like to thank all of Santa’s “elves” that helped out across Google and NORAD far and wide. Happy Holidays!

Posted by Bruno Bowden, Lead Google Engineering Elf

(Cross-posted on the Lat Long blog)

Last Night's Christmas Party at Archer Street...

Why haven't I come across this fantastic cocktail bar before? Down Archer Street in frankly a not quite so nice part of Soho, Archer Street the bar is a cut above in terms of service and atmosphere. Okay so it was December 22nd which was one of the last evenings for office outings but I can imagine that this is pretty much the same on a Friday night throughout the year.

There is an upstairs (where we sat) and a downstairs bar area which is slightly more laid-back with more private nooks and crannies. Upstairs the bar was humming but we had reserved a space for the Handpicked Media and Beautyandthedirt teams. The cocktail list is fine although not cheap - cocktails start at £10.50... but you do get a complementary cheeseboard with crackers which is a really nice touch and soaks up the alcohol. Shorts are around £8.50.

What makes this place stand out is the attentive service and the music. The DJ played at just the right level to not drown out conversation completely but enough to encourage a good old-fashioned sing along. Every so often a member of the waiting staff would be miked up and sing a number live - and they really were good! Obviously trained performers they worked the crowd and made for a fab party atmosphere.

I left early, around midnight so missed the evenings end when there was dancing on the tables with the staff (or so I'm told) - disgraceful!

All images from Squaremeal.

Download search queries data using Python

Webmaster level: Advanced

For all the developers who have expressed interest in getting programmatic access to the search queries data for their sites in Webmaster Tools, we've got some good news. You can now get access to your search queries data in CSV format using a open source Python script from the webmaster-tools-downloads project. Search queries data is not currently available via the Webmaster Tools API, which has been a common API user request that we're considering for the next API update. For those of you who need access to search queries data right now, let's look at an example of how the search queries downloader Python script can be used to download your search queries data and upload it to a Google Spreadsheet in Google Docs.

Example usage of the search queries downloader Python script
1) If Python is not already installed on your machine, download and install Python.
2) Download and install the Google Data APIs Python Client Library.
3) Create a folder and add the downloader.py script to the newly created folder.
4) Copy the example-create-spreadsheet.py script to the same folder as downloader.py and edit it to replace the example values for “website,” “email” and “password” with valid values for your Webmaster Tools verified site.
5) Open a Terminal window and run the example-create-spreadsheet.py script by entering "python example-create-spreadsheet.py" at the Terminal window command line:

python example-create-spreadsheet.py

6) Visit Google Docs to see a new spreadsheet containing your search queries data.


If you just want to download your search queries data in a .csv file without uploading the data to a Google spreadsheet use example-simple-download.py instead of example-create-spreadsheet.py in the example above.

You could easily configure these scripts to be run daily or monthly to archive and view your search queries data across larger date ranges than the current one month of data that is available in Webmaster Tools, for example, by setting up a cron job or using Windows Task Scheduler.

An important point to note is that this script example includes user name and password credentials within the script itself. If you plan to run this in a production environment you should follow security best practices like using encrypted user credentials retrieved from a secure data storage source. The script itself uses HTTPS to communicate with the API to protect these credentials.

Take a look at the search queries downloader script and start using search queries data in your own scripts or tools. Let us know if you have questions or feedback in the Webmaster Help Forum.

Written by Jonathan Simon, Webmaster Trends Analyst

Tips Mengatasi Redirect Ripway.Com Saat Login (Blogger, Facebook, dll)

Kasus redirect ke ripway.com tidak hanya dialami ketika pengunjung masuk suatu blog/web yg widget-nya telah terinfeksi script redirect saja. Pada level di atasnya, redirect terjadi karena computer telah disusupi trojan pembawa malware yg menginfeksi HOSTS & setting DNS komputer tersebut. Hasilnya, setiap user masuk/login ke suatu situs (blogger, facebook, dll) atau ingin mencari di search

On your mark, get set, GOMC!

Professor registration for the 2012 Google Online Marketing Challenge (GOMC) is now open.
GOMC is a global online marketing competition open to professors and their students in any higher education institution. Professors sign up for the contest and then serve as guides and mentors to their student participants throughout the competition. Over the course of three weeks, student teams are tasked with developing and running a successful online advertising campaign for real businesses or nonprofit organizations using Google AdWords. In the process, they sharpen their advertising, consulting and data analysis skills. (Note: student registration will open on January 31, 2012 and students can only enter if their professors have signed up already and must sign up under their own professors).

After running their online advertising campaign for three weeks, students summarize their experiences in campaign reports, which they submit online. Based on the performance of the campaigns and the quality of the reports, Googlers on the GOMC team and a panel of independent academics select the winning teams.

The global winners and their professor will receive a trip to Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. The regional winners (and their professor) will win a trip to local Google offices, and the social impact award winners will be able to make donations to nonprofit organizations that were part of the GOMC competition.

Last year’s challenge had 50,000 participants representing 100 countries, and this year we expect even more. For more information, visit www.google.com/onlinechallenge. Professors, here is a chance to help your students sharpen their marketing skills and make a global impact!

Posted by AJ Pascua, GOMC Team

Test your creativity with our search caption challenge

Our main goal at Google Search is to bring you the most relevant and useful results as quickly as possible. But, we are aware that often that is only part of your task or journey. Sometimes, you need more than simple results. You might want to learn, to discover, to be entertained or get insights.

Insights can happen when you least expect them. To improve their chances, it's good to try other things, or do things differently once in awhile. As a lifelong fan and connoisseur of New Yorker style cartoons, I always believed in the power of humor not just to entertain but to enlighten. I have tried to connect humor to everything I do (although, I have to admit, not always successfully). The best cartoonists possess great insights, which they illustrate in a clever package that we can consume in seconds and yet remember for years.

With all of this in mind, today we’re connecting Google search and cartoons through a search caption challenge. Cartoon caption contests have a long history dating back at least to the 1930s, as can be seen in this example I found from Ballyhoo magazine. For our modern version, we worked with artists like Matthew Diffee, Emily Flake, Christoph Niemann, Danny Shanahan and Jim Woodring, who created cartoons that place characters in unusual, interesting and funny situations—all with a common twist. In each cartoon, one of the characters is doing a Google search. We've left it to you to imagine what they'd be searching for at that moment, and left the caption blank for you to fill in with your answer.

To participate, go to Inside Search and submit your idea. Your caption will appear on the site, and you can share it with friends via a unique link. You can also vote on your favorite submissions and the most popular will rise to the top.

We hope this game helps you think in a way you wouldn't otherwise, and maybe get some insights. Or just have fun.

Posted by Udi Manber, VP of Engineering and Cartoons

(Cross-posted on the Inside Search blog)

Website user research and testing on the cheap

Webmaster level: Intermediate

As the team responsible for tens of thousands of Google’s informational web pages, the Webmaster Team is here to offer tips and advice based on their experiences as hands-on webmasters.

If you’ve never tested or analyzed usage of your website, ask yourself if you really know whether your site is useful for your target audience. If you’re unsure, why not find out? For example, did you know that on average users scroll down 5.9 times as often as they scroll up, meaning that often once page content is scrolled past, it is “lost?” (See Jakob Nielsen’s findings on scrolling, where he advises that users don’t mind scrolling, but within limits.)

Also, check your analytics—are you curious about high bounce rates from any of your pages, or very short time-on-page metrics?

First, think about your user

The start of a web project—whether it’s completely new or a revamp of an existing site—is a great time to ask questions like:

• How might users access your site—home, office, on-the-go?
  
• How tech-savvy are your visitors?
  
• How familiar are users with the subject matter of your website?
  

The answers to some of these questions can be valuable when making initial design decisions.

For instance, if the user is likely to be on the road, they might be short on time to find the information they need from your site, or be in a distracting environment and have a slow data connection—so a simple layout with single purpose would work best. Additionally, if you’re providing content for a less technical audience, make sure it’s not too difficult to access content—animation might provide a “wow” factor, but only if your user appreciates it and it’s not too difficult to get to the content.

Even without testing, building a basic user profile (or “persona”) can help shape your designs for the benefit of the user—this doesn’t have to be an exhaustive biography, but just some basic considerations of your user’s behavior patterns.

Simple testing

Testing doesn’t have to be a costly operation – friends and family can be a great resource. Some pointers:

• Sample size: Just five people can be a large enough number of users to find common problems in your layouts and navigation (see Jakob Nielsen’s article on why using a small sample size is sufficient).
  
• Choosing your testers: A range of different technical ability can be useful, but be sure to only focus on trends—for example, if more than 50% of your testers have the same usability issue, it’s likely a real problem—rather than individual issues encountered.
  
• Testing location: If possible, visit the user in their home and watch how they use the site—observe how he/she normally navigates the web when relaxed and in their natural environment. Remote testing is also a possibility if you can’t make it in person—we’ve heard that Google+ hangouts can be used effectively for this (find out more about using Google+ hangouts).
  
• How to test: Based on your site’s goals, define 4 or 5 simple tasks to do on your website, and let the user try to complete the tasks. Ask your testers to speak aloud so you can better understand their experiences and thought processes.
  
• What to test: Basic prototypes in clickable image or document format (for example, PDF) or HTML can be used to test the basic interactions, without having to build out a full site for testing. This way, you can test out different options for navigation and layouts to see how they perform before implementing them.
  
• What not to test: Focus on functionality rather than graphic design elements; viewpoints are often subjective. You would only get useful feedback on design from quantitative testing with large (200+) numbers of users (unless, for example, the colors you use on your site make the content unreadable, which would be good feedback!). One format for getting some useful feedback on the design can be to offer 5-6 descriptive keywords and ask your user to choose the most representative ones.
  

Overall, basic testing is most useful for seeing how your website’s functionality is working—the ease of finding information and common site interactions.

Lessons learned

In case you’re still wondering whether it’s really worth research and testing, here are a few simple things we confirmed from actual users that we wouldn’t have known if we hadn’t sat with actual users and watched them use our pages, or analyzed our web traffic.

• Take care when using layouts that hide/show content: We found when using scripts to expand and collapse long text passages, the user often didn’t realize the extra content was available—effectively “hiding” the JavaScript-rendered content when the user searches within the page (for example, using Control + F, which we’ve seen often).
  
  
  Wireframe of layout tested, showing “zipped”
  content on the bottom left
  
  
  Final page design showing anchor links in the top
  and content laid out in the main body of the page
  
  
• Check your language: Headings, link and button text are what catches the user’s eye the most when scanning the page. Avoid using “Learn more…” in link text—users seem averse to clicking on a link which implies they will need to learn something. Instead, just try to use a literal description of what content the user will get behind the link—and make sure link text makes sense and is easy to understand out of context, because that is often how it will be scanned. Be mindful about language and try to make button text descriptive, inviting and interesting.
  
• Test pages on a slower connection: Try out your pages using different networks (for example, try browsing your website using the wifi at your local coffee shop or a friend’s house), especially if your target users are likely to be viewing your pages from a home connection that’s not as fast as your office network. We found a considerable improvement in CTR and time-on-site metrics in some cases when we made scripted animations much simpler and faster (hint: use Google’s Page Speed Online to check performance if you don’t have access to a slower Internet connection).
  

So if you’re caught up in a seemingly never-ending redevelopment cycle, save yourself some time in the future by investing a little up front through user profiling and basic testing, so that you’re more likely to choose the right approach for your site layout and architecture.

We’d love to hear from you in the comments: have you tried out website usability testing? If so, how did you get on, and what are your favorite simple and low-cost tricks to get the most out of it? Written by Kathryn Cullen, Google Webmaster

One more present under the tree—custom video messages from Santa

Last Friday Santa opened up the Ho Ho Hotline and teamed up with Gmail to send personalized holiday phone calls to anyone you know who has been nice (or naughty, for that matter) in the U.S. or Canada. In just a few days Santa has made hundreds of thousands of calls to your friends, family and loved ones, and received many a message from you at his Google Voice number (855-34-SANTA).

Santa has one more surprise in store. Starting today, anyone in the world can create and send a personalized cartoon video message (in English only) from Santa to anyone you know, anywhere in the world, and share them through email and Google+. Watch our sample video below and create your own at SendaCallFromSanta.com.



The Gmail team wishes you a happy holiday!

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Product Marketing Manager

(Cross-posted from the Gmail blog)

Think Pink- For a Healthy Lagoon

By Eve H. Honeycutt

Extension Livestock Agent, Lenoir and Greene Counties

Even though we are in the dead of winter, it is never too late to think about maintaining a healthy lagoon.  It will be spring before you know it and many of you will be ready to use some of those stored nutrients.   While you are planning for the spring, plan for your lagoon too.

First a few words about the life cycle of a lagoon.  As solids build up in your lagoon, anaerobic bacteria also builds up.  These bacteria do not need oxygen to survive, so please don’t ever let anyone talk you into aerating your lagoon.  As these aerobic bacteria multiply, they “breathe” and release carbon dioxide, which we see as tiny bubbles on the surface of the lagoon.   Soon after the bubbling begins, the purple sulfur bacteria come to life.  These purple sulfur bacteria are named that because of the characteristic purple color they release as part of their digestion and the sulfur gases that give the lagoon it’s unique smell.  Once these guys are on the scene, you can bet your lagoon is working hard to digest the solids at the bottom.   This bacterial activity is 3-4 times greater in the summer, which is why most lagoons don’t turn pink until the weather warms up.

The key now is to maintain the anaerobic party going on and keep your lagoon from building up solids too quickly.  However the tricky part is keeping all of them “happy”.  Your bacteria can become “unhappy” and die off for many reasons.  Washing down the house with a disinfectant, overloading the lagoon with liquids or solids, heavy rain, and extreme temperatures can all affect the pH balance in your lagoon.  Collecting accurate and reliable waste samples is a great way to monitor your lagoon- especially the pH.  A good pH for a lagoon is about 7.5.  If the pH is too low, you can bring it up by adding lime at a rate of 1 pound per cubic foot of liquid.

If you find yourself with a lagoon that is collecting a lot of solids, black in color, or low bubble activity, you should take some action to improve it.  Lack of good management on your part can result in an expensive lagoon cleanout sooner than you may be ready for.  One good management tool is an agitator.  Using an agitator regularly, especially in the summer, can suspend the solids in the lagoon and allow for increased bacterial activity.  I have seen this method work very well for lagoons on more than one occasion.  If you are going to use an agitator, remember to sample the water AFTER you agitate since you will be releasing more nitrogen and phosphorus with the movement.  You also want to let the solids settle down a bit before  you pump so you don’t wear out your equipment. 

A little management and planning can go a long way.  Contact your local Extension office if you have any other questions.  Lagoons are a vital part of a hog operation, and they demand your attention.  Think Pink!

Heifer Development Considerations

Information compiled from 2011 Requirements for “Show-Me-Select” Program and Sales, and Impact of Heifer Development on Reproductive Success, D.J. Patterson, Ph.D., University of Missouri

Submitted by Eileen Coite, Extension Livestock Agent, Wayne County 

On December 6^th, many of us attended the Eastern Carolina Cattlemen’s Conference in Clinton and learned about many topics useful to cattlemen, with one very unique presentation on heifer development.  Dr. David Patterson from the University of Missouri shared with us details of the Missouri “Show-Me-Select” Replacement Heifer program.  Objectives of this program are to: 1. Implement a Total Quality Management (TQM) strategy to on-farm heifer development, 2. Enhance marketing opportunities for and add value to Missouri raised heifers, and 3. Provide a reliable source of quality replacements based on management, reproduction, and genetics. 

When I think of these objectives and what Missouri has accomplished with the “Show-Me-Select” heifer program, I wonder if we should look towards adopting a similar program in North Carolina.  Let me tell you more about it, and give you something to think about too. 

There are several “requirements” to participate in the program.  To be an eligible producer with eligible heifers for the program, the following steps must be taken.  First, a producer must officially enroll, pay a $5 enrollment fee, and join one of the nine regions of Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifers, Inc. across the state of Missouri.  Next, producers must have owned the heifers enrolled in the program for at least 60 days prior to breeding, and they must be owned by residents of Missouri in order to sell in a sanctioned Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Sale.  All heifers must have a pre-breeding reproductive evaluation, specifically including measurements of their pelvic area six weeks prior to breeding. Additionally, all heifers must be included in a herd health vaccination program starting at weaning or before, under the guidance of a veterinarian.  Vaccinations for respiratory and reproductive diseases are a must, at very specific stages of their development.  Finally, a pregnancy examination must be done on bred heifers within 90 days of the breeding season.  Breeding dates, identification records, and fetal age must be recorded, and those that remain open or lose a pregnancy become ineligible for the program.

There are also specific “sale eligibility” requirements for the heifers.  Some of these include:  being enrolled at pre-breeding, be on a parasite control program, free of blemishes, horns or scurs, be a minimum of 800 pounds and be a body condition score in the range of 5-8 on the day of the sale.  All heifers will be inspected by a certified USDA grader for frame, muscle and body condition.  They also must have had a pregnancy exam within 30 days of the sale, confirming that they are “safe in calf” at the time of the sale.  Heifers in individual sale lots are grouped to calve within 45 days of each other based on expected calving dates.  Only heifers meeting requirements of the Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program that are tagged and entered in the program database are eligible for certification, and a $10 per heifer certification fee is due as the heifer receives her official tag.  

The Show-Me-Select Program has earned many accomplishments for Missouri cattlemen over time.  Some of them are as follows:  There are nearly 100,000 heifers currently enrolled in the program, with producers being assisted by 205 veterinarians and seventeen extension livestock specialists across the state. Producers are now able to use resources and technologies for their on-farm heifer development that is also beginning to spill over to their cow herd management.  There is an increased interest and success in estrous synchronization and artificial insemination across beef herds, allowing for improved genetics and reproductive management, as well as increased value and sale prices of heifers. The program has provided a means for producers to sell over 23,000 heifers throughout Missouri and seventeen other states since the program began in 1997.

I hope you found learning about the “Show-Me-Select” ™ Replacement Heifers, Inc. program as interesting as I have.  We may want to consider a similar heifer development program in North Carolina someday.  If you would be interested in learning more about the program, details can be found at:    http://agebb.missouri.edu/select/

One man’s friend is another man’s farm hand

Submitted by Emily Herring, Extension Livestock Agent, Pender County
   “It’s me again, Hank the Cowdog, Head of Ranch Security.” 
 

  That’s how each book of the classic Hank the Cowdog series starts. The famous children’s book about a scrawny, bumbling cowdog who interrupts his thoughts more than he thinks them, and always seems to get into more trouble on the texas ranch than he does solving problems of missing cattle, chicken thieves, and coyotes. While this dog is the above average dumbbell, he is like any dog. He is loyal, helpful, honest, and willing to please anybody even if it means going up and beyond the call of duty.

  Though we protect our livestock with the best fences, keeping them in good health, and making sure they are comfortable; we cannot always be with them 24/7. With predators like coyotes, bobcats, wild dogs and other carnivorous animals are on the rise of invasion on account of drought, lack of food, or loss of territory.  Farmers are starting to look for guard animals that can not only defend itself but can fight off wild animals if the need arises. That is where “Man’s Best Friend” comes in handy. Dogs have always been a considered a “working animal” for humans for hundreds of years. Though it takes tons of training and plenty of time; guard dogs have started to make a comeback for farmers who want to stop worrying about their livestock when they are not presently with them.

  Their jobs are quite simple really. The main focus of a guard dog’s job is protection of property and livestock from intruders. Depending on the severity of training on the dog, depends on the number of fatal or near-fatal attacks on livestock. Most farmers train their own dogs to guard while others purchase a dog that has already been trained by professional trainers. Some farmers keep their dogs in the pastures with the livestock so as they will be close-by at all times when there is no one else around. Other owners simply train their dogs to watch and protect along the perimeter of the farm property so not only can they watch livestock, but also let farmers know when cars approach and even protect young children from danger.

  Size is another factor in the livestock protection business. Small dogs like Jack Russell terriers, are mostly used to keep small animals like possums, raccoons, foxes, and rats that are susceptible to diseases away from the livestock; and larger dogs like Rottweiler’s or Great Pyrenees’ are perfect for fighting off larger animals like coyotes or bobcats.

  Though the number of working dog breeds is miles wide, the number of breeders who specifically raise dogs for guarding purposes is very rare in the area. The best way for finding the right dog for your farm is by looking through online websites, magazines, newspapers, and even at your local feed stores where people have posted flyers of certain working dog breeds. If you have a specific breed you are looking for; it is best to do some research on the breed of dog to see if that breed is perfect for your lifestyle and family.

  Guard dogs are not a guarantee that predator invasion will diminish; but they will give you the satisfaction and peace of mind knowing that your livestock, whether cattle, sheep, or goats, will have someone there to help them if any trouble comes. Yes, when it comes to having a guard dog for “Ranch Security”, we can be sit back, relax, and be worry-free. And as Hank would say after a good day’s work,

  “Case Closed.”  

What were we watching this year? Let’s rewind 2011.

One hundred years into the future, when our great-grandkids look back to what was capturing the world’s imagination on YouTube in 2011, what will they make of us? Will they still be delighted by babbling babies? Will they still be “so excited” about the weekend? And will they be any closer to understanding the mystery of the space-traveling toaster pastry cat?


Check out YouTube.com/Rewind for a timeline of this year's most popular videos and events and to see what the world watched in 2011.

Today, we rewind through the videos and channels that absorbed our collective global attention this year. To compile these lists, we looked at global view counts of popular videos uploaded throughout this year, and, in some instances, we aggregated views across multiple versions of the same video. 2011 was a year of amazing new channels and new stars being discovered, awesome creativity, and of course, Rebecca Black. It was also a year of powerful news stories playing out on YouTube, as people witnessed and documented uprisings and natural disasters, touching personal moments and moments of protest.

In total, there were more than 1,000,000,000,000 (one trillion) playbacks on YouTube this year (yep, count ‘em, 12 zeroes). That’s about 140 views for every person on the earth. More than twice as many stars as in the Milky Way. And if I had a penny for every … OK, you get my drift, it’s a big number.

So to all of you who picked up a guitar and sang a love song, held your camera phone high above a protesting crowd, danced along to “Friday” or just forgot the webcam was on, thank you. You make YouTube what it is, and we can’t wait to hear your stories next year.

Without further ado, your most-viewed videos of 2011.

Most-viewed YouTube videos globally (excluding videos from major music labels)
(playlist)

1. Rebecca Black - Friday (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
2. Ultimate Dog Tease
3. Jack Sparrow (feat. Michael Bolton)
4. Talking Twin Babies - PART 2 - OFFICIAL VIDEO
5. Nyan Cat [original]
6. Look At Me Now - Chris Brown ft. Lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes (Cover by @KarminMusic)
7. The Creep (feat. Nicki Minaj & John Waters)
8. Maria Aragon - Born This Way (Cover) by Lady Gaga
9. The Force: Volkswagen Commercial
10. Cat mom hugs baby kitten

Most-viewed YouTube channels globally (excluding channels from major music labels)

1. machinima
2. IGNentertainment
3. RayWilliamJohnson
4. expertvillage
5. BlueXephos
6. smosh
7. realannoyingorange
8. roosterteeth
9. thelonelyisland
10. barelypolitical

Most-watched videos from major music labels globally (playlist)

1. Jennifer Lopez - On The Floor ft. Pitbull
2. LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem ft. Lauren Bennett, GoonRock
3. Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song [Official Video]
4. Nicki Minaj - Super Bass
5. Pitbull - Give Me Everything ft. Ne-Yo, Afrojack, Nayer
6. Pitbull - Rain Over Me ft. Marc Anthony
7. Jessie J - Price Tag ft. B.o.B.
8. LMFAO - Sexy and I Know It
9. Katy Perry - E.T. ft. Kanye West
10. Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)

Some highlights from other categories

• Zach Wahls Speaks About Family was the most-watched political video
• Japan Earthquake: Helicopter aerial view video of giant tsunami waves was the most-watched news video
• 25 Ways to Wear a Scarf in 4.5 Minutes! was the most watched “how-to” video
• iPhone 5 Concept Features was the most-watched science/technology video
• Immortals was the most-watched movie trailer
• Mountain Biker gets taken out by Buck was the most-watched sports video

You can also check out the most-viewed videos of the year in fashion, beauty, sports, gaming, travel, fitness, food, science, tech reviews, family, pets and wedding proposals.

Posted by Kevin Allocca, YouTube Trends Manager

(Cross-posted from the YouTube Blog)

Vichy LiftActiv Serum 10 - gentle and paraben free

Early last year Vichy Laboratories introduced Vichy LiftActive Derm Source, a brand-new breakthrough anti-ageing range to target deep into the skin's layers to help rejuvenate skin so it looks plumped-up, really smooth and luminous. Latest addition to the range is Vichy LiftActiv Serum 10 Youth Enhancing Serum.

Rhamnose is the secret ingredient and is a sugar derivative of plant origin which gives a long-lasting lifting effect and works on wrinkles. 10% of LiftActiv Serum 10 is this ingredient which is twice the concentration found in the day and night creams. Along with Vichy Thermal Spa Water which is laden with soothing and regenerating minerals, skin is plumped up and hydrated with hyaluronic acid - all going towards producing a product that helps make skin look younger yet is perfect for sensitive skins.

It has performed brilliantly in clinical trials with proven anti-wrinkle effect, is tolerant to even the most sensitive skins and is very light in texture so easily absorbed. Use morning and evening on thoroughly cleansed skin and, as with most serums, it can be used under your moisturiser.

Currently Vichy LiftActive Serum 10 Youth Enhancing Serum is £29.50 for 30ml and only available through Boots in the UK.

This is a sponsored post.

Ending the year with another clean energy investment

We’ve made a new $94 million investment in a portfolio of four solar photovoltaic (PV) projects being built by Recurrent Energy near Sacramento, California. This brings our portfolio of clean energy investments to more than $915 million. We’ve already committed to providing funding this year to help more than 10,000 homeowners install solar PV panels on their rooftops. But this investment represents our first investment in the U.S. in larger scale solar PV power plants that generate energy for the grid—instead of on individual rooftops. These projects have a total capacity of 88 MW, equivalent to the electricity consumed by more than 13,000 homes.

We’re investing alongside global investment firm KKR and Recurrent Energy, a leading solar developer. Google will provide a $94 million equity investment and SunTap Energy, a new venture formed today by KKR to invest in solar projects in the U.S., will provide the remaining equity.

We’re joining KKR on their first renewable energy investment in the U.S. We believe investing in the renewable energy sector makes business sense and hope clean energy projects continue to attract new sources of capital to help the world move towards a more sustainable energy future.

Solar panels at one of the Recurrent projects

The energy produced by these projects is already contracted for 20 years with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). SMUD recently created a feed-in tariff program (FIT) to help green the grid for Sacramento-area residents. We’re excited that these projects are the first to be built under the program.

We’ve had a busy year at Google. Since January, we’ve invested more than $880 million in clean energy projects. We believe the world needs a wide range of solutions—from wind, to transmission, to solar PV and concentrated solar—and we look forward to new opportunities next year to further expand our portfolio of clean energy investments.

Posted by Axel Martinez, Assistant Treasurer, Google Treasury

Make your own online scrapbook with 2011 green search trends

Last week we unveiled this year’s Zeitgeist, including the fastest rising searches in 2011. Those of us on the Google Green team were pleased that the search trends include several popular searches related to the environment (as you can see from the highlights video). So we created the Green Scrapbook to help you explore these green trends, choose your favorites, and reveal videos and surprising facts about them. As you click around, you create your very own collection of what green meant to you this year, which you can personalize with your name and share with your friends.

People have already started creating and sharing their Green Scrapbook. For example, Adam created one showcasing a video of a tapir (Belize’s endangered “mountain cow”) and highlighting what an LED light is. I created my scrapbook, too, where I could tell people about the microorganisms that light up Puerto Rico’s famous “bioluminescent bay.” I also let people know that if I could win an eco-friendly car, I’d choose a Tesla (there’s still time to get me one for Christmas!).

Once you complete your own scrapbook, you can share it on Google+ or anywhere you’d like by grabbing the unique URL to your scrapbook with the “get URL” link at the top right.

We’re working hard to create a better web that’s also better for the environment. We hope the Green Scrapbook sparks conversation and gets people thinking about all the ways they can make greener choices in their lives—whether it’s about the merits of rooftop [solar energy], or prompting people to think about [garbage islands] and then reach for a [reusable water bottle].

Posted by Erin Carlson Reilly, Google Green Team