Oral-B Pro-Expert Toothpaste meets Masterchef

I was in a rush between events the other night so couldn’t stay long enough to be able to report properly on the fantastic event that was held by Oral-B Pro-Expert toothpaste to make us all aware of what certain foods can do to your teeth. They took over The Cookery School in Little Portland Street London an brought in Masterchef winner Tim Anderson for a cookery masterclass, so it was extra-gutting to have to leave, but thankfully the lovely Alan from ShineSquad creative media  was there to report back in a post for The Life Edit.

‘Tim had come up with some great, but intimidating sounding dishes for us to cook. From the TV series I remember the unbelievable Mocha steak with miso sauce. I could hear the swish and the sizzle of the opening titles and set up my blue chopping block, sharp knives and prepared to dice.

First up was the sashimi. I think of a bit of sliced raw fish and dab of wasabi. No, this was another winning dish. You’ll be the talk of the oriental supermarket getting all the ingredients – but that’s half the fun. It’s actually very easy to make – (no cooking, remember?) and it tastes divine.  Think of a cold  Sole Veronique. The beautiful fish anchors the texture in your mouth, dashed with a zing of passion fruit and a cold, nutty squelch of seaweed.

Sashimi With Passion Fruit Foam and Wasabi Tsuyu Granita Serves 3

For the sashimi Ingredients: 300g sashimi grade tuna, mackarel, or other oily fish – yellowtail is recommended as it’s fatty and buttery in winter. Scale and fillet the fish. Try and get it done at the fishmongers. To keep the sheen effect of the fish don’t saw it. Sharp slice through. Trim into a solid rectangle. Cover with cling film and keep cool.

For the seaweed salad Ingredients: 10g dried kaiso (sea vegetable) salad, 10g hijiki (a dark-coloured grassy seaweed which is nutty and chocolatey, savoury but not salty). Soak the seaweeds in warm water for 30 minutes, until tender. Drain and reserve the seaweed water.

For the passion fruit foam The foam doesn’t have any texture or add wetness so it doesn’t intrude on the texture of the dish. Ingredients: 1 passion fruit, 30ml water, 2g lecithin, 0.25g xanthan gum (all natural ingredients!) Mix all the ingredients with a hand blender. Pass through a fine sieve and reserve.

For the wasabi granita Ingredients: 30 ml shoyu, 8g wasabi powder, 5ml rice vinegar, 5ml mirin, 5 dashi no moto powder, some ice. Granita is a fancy slush. Blitz all ingredients together in a food processor into a chunky slush. Keep frozen until ready to plate up.

To serve Slice the fish into 1cm thick strips. Place a mound of seaweed salad in the center of the bowl, and arrange the fish on top. Spoon some granita on top of the fish. Whip the foam mixture with a hand blender until frothy, and add 3-4 small spoonfuls of foam around the plate. Place a small sprig of dill sticking out of each bit of foam.

Here’s the second and spectacular dish we prepared.

Hen’s Nest of Tea-stained Egg, Leek Bhaji Nest and Chana Masala Purée

For the egg Ingredients: 4 eggs, 1tspn chai tea, 240ml water, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 thread of saffron. Cook the eggs in rapidly boiling water for 4 minutes (use the stopwatch on your i-Phone, as Tim did), place in a bowl of iced water. Boil fresh water and combine with the tea, soy sauce and saffron. Marinate the shelled eggs in the liquid for 24 hours (ours came prepared).

For the leek bhaji nest Ingredients: 2 leeks, 30g plain flour, 1 tspn garam masala, 1/2 tspn chilli powder, 1g cumin seeds,  small bunches of fresh coriander, cress, pea shoots, salt and a lime. Cut the leeks into 2 inch chunks, then slice into a fine julienne with the grain so that you get blades of grass that will make the shape of the nest. Combine the garam masala, chilli and plain flour into a large bowl and dredge the leeks through, shaking off any excess. Fry the coated leeks in oil (rapeseed is best) at 180C until golden brown and crispy. Drain on kitchen towel and season with the salt.

For the purée Ingredients: Vegetable oil, 1 onion, 1 clove of garlic, 1 tspn ground coriander, 1 tspn cumin seeds, 1/2 tspn chilli pwder, 1 thread of saffron, 200g tinned tomatoes in juice, 150ml water, 250g cooked chickpeas, 6g tamarind paste, 1/2 tspn paprika, 1g garam masala, 1/2 tspn salt, 1tspn Tabasco sauce, 50g butter, 1 tspn peaty whisky. Chop the onions and garlic and saute in the vegetable oil along with the coriander, cumin and chilli until soft. Add the tomatoes, water, saffron, chickpeas, tamarind paste and the rest of the spices and cook until the liquid has reduced to a paste. Add the butter and whisky and blend to a smooth paste.

To serve Spoon a dollop of the purée on the plate and with a pastry brush, sweep a diagonal line of purée across to the rim of the plate. Spoon some more purée on the plate in the center, arrange the leek bhaji straws in a nest shape on which to place the half opened tea-stained egg.  Garnish with finely chopped coriander. You could also pickle this dish overnight in the fridge to give it some extra bite.Again, it’s so easy to make. Frying the chopped leeks to create the twigs for the nest is pure genius and any old egg in the fridge soaked in tea can look like a fluorescent Fabergé. The bird theme presentation, with a playful splat of purée, is fun.

Not only have we had a smile on our face, it was a brighter one with the Oral-B Pro-Expert All-Around antibacterial and fluoride toothpaste. Get a free sample from their site and follow them on twitter @OralB_UK

Here’s the dental bit: Pro-Expert has taken decades to develop and only just been made available in the UK.  It’s‘teflon for teeth’ – it coats the teeth before and helps after staining foods and drinks. The biggest challenge in oral healthcare as we live longer is enamel erosion not cavities. We also have to be careful of plaque, gum problems, sensitivity, caries, staining and tartar. In fact anything too acidic will rot the teeth so cola, for example, has the worst effect on teeth with its pH of only 2.5 (The pH value of battery acid is 1 and water is 7).  So if you are going to be eating and drinking damaging foods make sure you rinse with a glass of water immediately after and then brushing later. Even some mouthwash is too strong to use regularly, although it’s a good idea for bad breath, but for regular use the Oral-B Anti-Plaque Alcohol-Free Mouth Rinse is recommended. £3.49 for 75ml from Boots, supermarkets and other retailers.'

2012 global award winners RISE to the top

Our business at Google is rooted in STEM and CS, so we’re passionate about supporting organizations that are expanding access to these fields, especially for students who might not have the opportunity otherwise. The annual Google Roots in Science and Engineering (RISE) program supports organizations running innovative STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and CS (computer science) enrichment programs for K-12 and university students around the world.

This year, the Google in Education group received a record number of inspiring applications for RISE. We expanded the awards to include Sub-Saharan Africa, and in total, we’re awarding more than $340,000 in funding to 13 U.S., eight European and five African organizations.

Our recipients are diverse, ranging from girls robotics teams building high-tech machinery in Nairobi to after-school programs that have students configuring cluster computers in Salt Lake City. Below are just a few of the outstanding organizations receiving RISE awards this year for their efforts in advancing CS and STEM education:

United States

• Santa Clara Valley Society of Women Engineers, San Jose, California. GetSET is a program created for underrepresented ethnic minority girls in the San Francisco Bay Area to expose them to engineering while building self confidence through leadership workshops, tours of technology companies and participation in team-building exercises.
• Saturday Academy, Portland, Oregon. Saturday Academy serves 2nd-12th grade students from Oregon and SW Washington with high quality and creative learning opportunities taught by STEM experts, including hands-on, real world activities that create meaningful connections between academic content and practical application.

Europe

• Frauennetzwerk Informatik at Universität Passau, Passau, Germany. University students from Passau act as ambassadors for computer science, engineering and math by reaching out to juniors and seniors at their former high schools and running workshops on topics like robotics and mobile app development. Ambassadors go on to serve as mentors to the students throughout their high school and college careers.
• The Centre for Academic Achievement, Dublin, Ireland. This center runs free after school educational classes in a university setting for bright primary school students from disadvantaged areas. Each term, students from 32 local primary schools have the opportunity to study science, math and engineering subjects and are encouraged to pursue college degrees in the future.

Sub Saharan Africa

• Savana Signatures, Tamale, Ghana. Savana Signatures educates youth and women, building their capacity to access information for the benefit of Ghana’s social and economic development.
• Fundi Bots, Kampala, Uganda. Fundi Bots is a technology outreach program for students in high school and university that uses robotics to introduce young children to the endless possibilities of technology in both their day-to-day lives and potential careers.

Organizations interested in applying for 2013 funding can sign up for more information here. We look forward to hearing about all the great work being done in CS and STEM education.

Posted by Roxana Shirkhoda, K-12 Education Outreach

BOOM! Big explosions with Viktor and Rolf for Spicebomb!

A new male fragrance which had us all a tweeting like mad this week launched itself onto some 40 bloggers in a car park in W1. Yes you heard right, a car park.

We were all lulled into a false sense of security over champagne at The Charlotte Street Hotel (very nice too) but were then marched round the corner by men in black to an undercover car park complete with large industrial and cranky lift and no heating.

Thank goodness we were forwarned about wrapping up. Huddled in the dark in front of a large screen we waited... and then there was a large explosion and the air was filled with tiny pieces of metallic confetti and the scent of Viktor & Rolf's new fragrance, Spicebomb.

This was not ordinary way to spend a Wednesday night but I am happy to have more of these please!
What a way to launch a fragrance, the male counterpart to Flowerbomb which I do wear as a daytime staple. The evening continued with plum cocktails with bits of floating gold was it? I'm pretty sure it was but after the third glass it all went a bit hazy. I do remember that even some of the canapes had hidden popping candy. Anyway enough of the treats and what about the fragrance? Well, and it wasn't just the alcohol talking, everyone loved it! It's the right balance of ingredients and is quite irresistable...

The bottle is definitely made for boys although the fragrance will be worn by everyone I'm sure.

I can't describe it better than they do themselves so here you go -

Spicebomb is born of the incendiary encounter between two accords with virtually opposing tones: the first is irresistibly addictive, blending a heart of incandescent spices – chilli and saffron – with the all-masculine roundness of leather and tobacco, along with the distinguished brute strength of vetiver. The second is explosive, fusing fresh zesty notes of bergamot and grapefruit, while cold spices – elemi and pink pepper –leave the mark of their icy bite.

Spicebomb is a burst of spices tamed by an enveloping freshness, a controlled surge of power.

So now you know. On sale at Harrods now and nationwide from March 7th 2012 Spicebomb by Viktor & Rolf is £45 for 50ml and £60 for 90ml.
Photos by Karen Hatch.

Cara Membuat Kotak Space Banner Iklan Di Blog (Updated)

Menampilkan space iklan di blog memberi peluang & informasi pada advertiser bahwa blog tersebut menawarkan space iklan yg dapat disewa. Apalagi jika blog tersebut memiliki kredibilitas, rank, serta traffic tinggi, maka advertiser/pemasang iklan pasti akan berbondong-bondong untuk memasang iklan/banner iklan di blog tersebut. Namun tidak ada salahnya juga bagi blog baru memberikan space/ruang

Presents for Sixty Year Olds - what do you get?

My neighbour has just turned sixty and is having a big party to celebrate. Sixty year olds of a previous generation were definitely OLD, now again just like forty is the new thirty, sixty is definitely the new fifty and that is certainly the case with my neighbour. He does the gym, works from a home office at the bottom of the garden, has a history in the music industry and still has his finger firmly on the pulse, which is not weak but vibrant and strong. He also is a bugger to buy for. Not only is he my sixty year old neighbour but he's a man and they are always difficult anyway. If he wants a boy's toy he'll go and buy himself one. I wouldn't want to choose clothes for him - way too personal. And a bottle of champagne? Nice though it is it's a bit lacking in thought really.
So I was fascinated to read about how the brains behind Tyrells crisps, one William Chase, decided to go into vodka production as he had too many potatoes on his hands. Chase Vodka quickly went on to win the Best Vodka in the World award in 2010 at the San Fransisco Spirits Awards - an amazing success that needs to be celebrated more in the UK I reckon.

According to a feature in The Guardian he had no distilling experience but decided to aim for the connoisseur market and invested 3 million in a distillery. The potatoes have a slight natural sweetness so the vodka has a distinctive flavour. 'The reason other people stopped making vodka out of potatoes is because you need so many spuds.' Chase tells The Guardian, 'The first time we made vodka we had an artic-load of spuds and there was only a few litres.' 'You can get a bit more of a yield out of wheat but with potatoes it has a natural sweetness to the product and the consistency of a fine wine.'
He now produces 1,000 bottles a week and it's loved by Americans but understandably less so by the Poles and Russians!
Now I felt I was on to something in terms of a gift idea for the 'man who has everything' so popped into John Lewis who I knew stocked a limited supply of the brand. I had read somewhere that they had produced a very limited batch of Marmalade Vodka so was amazed to see an unlimited supply on the shelves next to the original brand. This is the original limited to 1000 bottles label...

Photo - thestyleking.com

And this is what you can now buy in John Lewis, Waitrose and from their website.

 They make this by 'marinading our Chase Vodka with the finest Seville Orange Marmalade and then infusing it in our Alambic Copper Pot still to create this totally unique marmalade experience.' Wow - the perfect gift for a sixty year old, a limited edition vodka with a twist! They suggest he tries it neat, chilled or use it to make a Breakfast Martini - problem sorted!

The Detox Kitchen - day five!

Nearly through to the end and I'm actually, and if I'm honest, starting to feel that it has had effect. I have spent the beginning of the week feeling bloated and the bloat has now gone, so my stomach is a bit flatter and I feel, well, lighter somehow. I don't think I've lost much (if any) weight but I do feel that this has kick started my metabolism after Christmas and I can now move on to do so...
So last day and what did we have...

Breakfast was a watermelon and raspberry juice with a pot of sunflower seeds. I am not sure about a juice for breakfast I must say as I was hungry and chomping my way through my snack of carrot and celery with hummus by half ten, so it was a bit of a long way until lunch. Thank goodness for the herbal teas!

Lunch was a chicken breast with pesto brown rice and pearl barley which was filling and made up for breakfast and my afternoon snack was a bit of a strange concoction of butter bean mash with mint and corriander. Tasted okay but would have liked some more veg to go with it really.

My last supper was a delicious butternut squash curry with quinoa followed by Canteloupe melon with blueberries.

It's over. I will miss the bags outside my door every morning and the fact that I haven't had to think about what I am eating. I have made a few minor transgresions I will admit, I have always been a bit of a rule breaker. But they were only minor and not major mortal sins and have kept me going through to the end. I feel less sluggish and set for a more weight loss regime. If you want to detox without thinking about it then give The Detox Kitchen a go.

The Detox Kitchen Day One
The Detox Kitchen Day Two
The Detox Kitchen Day Three
The Detox Kitchen Day Four

The Detox Kitchen - day four

Yesterday was a bit of a disaster trying to stick to The Detox Kitchen regime as the evening found me at two events both with champagne and I am afraid I drew a line at sticking to water. So I retoxed, not badly but I did retox and do I feel bad for it? Do I heck! Today a grey dawn dawned and I promised to be better and back on track so my day started with a shot of beetroot juice, the ubiquitous tablets and a breakfast of porridge oats with blackberries and raspberries and almond milk.
My snack was a tub of cherry tomatoes with beetroot and apple juice which was really refreshing then lunch was meant to be a lightly steamed broccoli broth with ginger and garlic and a pot (a very small one I might add) of hazelnuts. This didn't happen as we don't have a microwave at work so I did break my fast and have a soup from Pret - I really am not a cold soup lover I'm afraid.

My afternoon snack was Edamame beans - oh I really do love these.

Supper was a smoked salmon fillet with sesame fried vegetables and puy lentils - this was great as I prefer salmon fillets smoked and I love puy lentils. I gently warmed it in the oven and it really was good.

And then the snack was grapes, raspberry coulis and flaxseed. I am still not taking the clay as I just can't but it feels good to be a bit more back on track.

One more day to go!

The Detox Kitchen Day One
The Detox Kitchen Day Two
The Detox Kitchen Day Three
The Detox Kitchen Day Five

More Options for Google+ Badges

Webmaster Level: All

Update on February 2, 2012: The new Google+ badge is now out of preview and available to all users on all sites.

When we launched Google+ pages in November, we also released Google+ badges to promote your Google+ presence right on your site. Starting today in developer preview (and soon available to all your users), we're adding more options for integrating the Google+ badge into your website. You can configure a badge with a width that fits your site design and choose a version that works better on darker sites. You'll also see that Google+ badges now include the unified +1 and circle count that we added to Pages last month.

If you’re still considering whether to add a Google+ badge on your website, consider this: We recently looked at top sites using the badge and found that, on average, the badge accounted for an additional 38% of followers. When you add the badge visitors to your website can discover your Google+ page and connect in a variety of ways: they can follow your Google+ page, +1 your site, share your site with their circles, see which of their friends have +1’d your site, and click through to visit your Google+ page.

The Google+ Badge makes it easy for your fans to find and follow you on Google+. With these additional options, we hope it's even easier to create a badge that fits your website.

Follow the conversation on Google+.

Posted by Lucy Hadden, Software Engineer, Google+

What’s new with Sitemaps

Webmaster level: All

Sitemaps are a way to tell Google about pages on your site. Webmaster Tools’ Sitemaps feature gives you feedback on your submitted Sitemaps, such as how many Sitemap URLs have been indexed, or whether your Sitemaps have any errors. Recently, we’ve added even more information! Let’s check it out:


The Sitemaps page displays details based on content-type. Now statistics from Web, Videos, Images and News are featured prominently. This lets you see how many items of each type were submitted (if any), and for some content types, we also show how many items have been indexed. With these enhancements, the new Sitemaps page replaces the Video Sitemaps Labs feature, which will be retired.

Another improvement is the ability to test a Sitemap. Unlike an actual submission, testing does not submit your Sitemap to Google as it only checks it for errors. Testing requires a live fetch by Googlebot and usually takes a few seconds to complete. Note that the initial testing is not exhaustive and may not detect all issues; for example, errors that can only be identified once the URLs are downloaded are not be caught by the test.

In addition to on-the-spot testing, we’ve got a new way of displaying errors which better exposes what types of issues a Sitemap contains. Instead of repeating the same kind of error many times for one Sitemap, errors and warnings are now grouped, and a few examples are given. Likewise, for Sitemap index files, we’ve aggregated errors and warnings from the child Sitemaps that the Sitemap index encloses. No longer will you need to click through each child Sitemap one by one.

Finally, we’ve changed the way the “Delete” button works. Now, it removes the Sitemap from Webmaster Tools, both from your account and the accounts of the other owners of the site. Be aware that a Sitemap may still be read or processed by Google even if you delete it from Webmaster Tools. For example if you reference a Sitemap in your robots.txt file search engines may still attempt to process the Sitemap. To truly prevent a Sitemap from being processed, remove the file from your server or block it via robots.txt.

For more information on Sitemaps in Webmaster Tools and how Sitemaps work, visit our Help Center. If you have any questions, go to Webmaster Help Forum.

Written by Kamila Primke, Software Engineer, Webmaster Tools

Resources to support a new and open world for learning

Googlers are the types who never really leave the classroom. Guest speakers come to campus to give talks on subjects ranging from fiction to physics. Diverse groups of people work together to understand and solve big problems while groups of Googlers engage in passionate debate in our cafeterias. Given this environment, it’s no surprise how highly we value our external work in education. We have a growing number of successful education programs from primary school through to university, as well as a suite of free and open tools that reach families and classrooms around the world.

Recently, we decided to gather our resources and lessons learned into one place for educators everywhere. “Google in Education: A New and Open World for Learning” highlights how people are using Google resources to enhance teaching and learning. This booklet isn’t your typical annual report; it’s a living document for educators to use year-round. We’ve also revamped our website, google.com/edu, to be a one-stop shop for teachers, students, parents and organizations to explore all of our offerings. We’ve launched a Google+ page, where everyone can stay updated on our educational tools, products and programs, and join the conversation.

To develop all of these new materials, we went straight to the source, relying on dozens of educators to provide stories and feedback. We hope these resources will inspire and enable teachers, while affirming our commitment to increasing access to an excellent education for all.

Thanks to educators, students and supporters everywhere for helping to extend our spirit of lifelong learning into classrooms around the globe.

For more information about Google in Education, visit www.google.com/edu/about, and to stay updated on the world of education at Google and connect with fellow educators, follow us on Google+.

Posted by Jordan Lloyd Bookey, Head of Global K-12 Education Outreach

Google Earth 6.2: It’s a beautiful world

We're taking bird's eye view to a whole new level with the latest version of Google Earth, released today. With Google Earth 6.2, we’re bringing you the most beautiful Google Earth yet, with more seamless imagery and a new search interface. Additionally, we’ve introduced a feature that enables you to share an image from within Google Earth, so you can now simply and easily share your virtual adventures with family and friends on Google+.

A seamless globe


The Google Earth globe is made from a mosaic of satellite and aerial photographs taken on different dates and under different lighting and weather conditions. Because of this variance, views of the Earth from high altitude can sometimes appear patchy.

Today, we’re introducing a new way of rendering imagery that smoothes out this quilt of images. The end result is a beautiful new Earth-viewing experience that preserves the unique textures of the world’s most defining geographic landscapes—without the quilt effect. This change is being made on both mobile and desktop versions of Google Earth. While this change will appear on all versions of Google Earth, the 6.2 release provides the best viewing experience for this new data.

Grand Canyon before and after

Sri Lanka before and after

Share your explorations with Google+
Google Earth is a great way to virtually explore the globe, whether revisiting old haunts or checking out a future vacation spot. With the Google Earth 6.2 update, we’ve added the option to share a screenshot of your current view in Google Earth through Google+. If you’ve already upgraded to Google+, you can share images of the places you’ve virtually traveled to with your Circles, such as family, friends or your local hiking club. To try this new feature, simply sign in to your Google Account in the upper right hand corner of Google Earth and click “Share.” Images of mountains, oceans, deserts, 3D cities, your favorite pizza shop on Street View—you can now experience all these amazing places around the world with people on Google+.


Search improvements
We’ve also made some updates to the search feature in Google Earth. Aside from streamlining the visual design of the search panel, we’ve enabled the same Autocomplete feature that’s available on Google Maps. We’ve also introduced search layers, which will show all the relevant search results (not just the top ten), so now, when looking for gelato in Milano, you can see all the tasty possibilities. Finally, we’ve added biking, transit and walking directions, so if you’re itching for a change of scenery or looking for a new route for your regular commute, you can now use Google Earth to generate and visualize all your options.

Biking directions in Google Earth

Download Google Earth 6.2 and start exploring and sharing today!

Posted by Peter Birch, Product Manager, Google Earth

(Cross-posted on the Lat Long blog)

The Detox Kitchen - third day

Well I am feeling bright and chipper and a little less bloated so something in this diet from The Detox Kitchen must be working. I have, however, failed in that I cannot drink clay last thing before going to bed and I am sure I would be seeing more benefits if I was to do so. But I just can't so I think we'll have to agree to disagree on that one. Call me a wimp, accuse me of copping out, but I will be sick and as a way of losing a bit of weight it really isn't great. So I will stick to the regime of pill-popping, tea-drinking and munching my way through the delicious daily food boxes thanks very much.
Breakfast - a shot of wheatgrass followed by a juice of blueberry, apple and kiwi with a pot of cashew nuts and dried mango. Now I must admit that after yesterday's delicious porridge this was a bit meagre, but I just imagined I was sitting on a veranda over-looking a bay in the Caribbean and it seemed to get me in the right mood for all this fruit.

The mid-morning snack was steamed broccoli with semsame and flaxseed which I must admit it's a really weird choice for a snack, but there you go. Then lunch was a delicious stir-fried Asian spiced prawns and vebgetables with brown rice.

The mid-afternoon snack was toasted pumpkin seeds then dinner was chick pea and quinoa salad with red cabbage slaw followed by strawberries and pistachio. This was the most disappointing meal to date - if I'm honest it lacked flavour and seasoning and I love chickpeas but they need to be whole not crushed as was the case. Never mind.

I must admit I'm a big of a snacker during the day and nothing has lived up to the vegetables and houmous of the first day but I am very proud that I have avoided the Krispy Kreme's which were delivered to the office this week and have been malevolently staring at me from their box by the kettle...

The Detox Kitchen Day Five

The Detox Kitchen Day Four

The Detox Kitchen Day Two

The Detox Kitchen Day One

Update to Top Search Queries data

Webmaster level: All

Starting today, we’re updating our Top Search Queries feature to make it better match expectations about search engine rankings. Previously we reported the average position of all URLs from your site for a given query. As of today, we’ll instead average only the top position that a URL from your site appeared in.

An example
Let’s say Nick searched for [bacon] and URLs from your site appeared in positions 3, 6, and 12. Jane also searched for [bacon] and URLs from your site appeared in positions 5 and 9. Previously, we would have averaged all these positions together and shown an Average Position of 7. Going forward, we’ll only average the highest position your site appeared in for each search (3 for Nick’s search and 5 for Jane’s search), for an Average Position of 4.

We anticipate that this new method of calculation will more accurately match your expectations about how a link's position in Google Search results should be reported.

How will this affect my Top Search Queries data?
This change will affect your Top Search Queries data going forward. Historical data will not change. Note that the change in calculation means that the Average Position metric will usually stay the same or decrease, as we will no longer be averaging in lower-ranking URLs.

Check out the updated Top Search Queries data in the Your site on the web section of Webmaster Tools. And remember, you can also download Top Search Queries data programmatically!

We look forward to providing you a more representative picture of your Google Search data. Let us know what you think in our Webmaster Forum.

Posted by Chris Anderson, Google Analytics team, and Susan Moskwa, Webmaster Trends Analyst

Making form-filling faster, easier and smarter

Webmaster Level: Intermediate

One of the biggest bottlenecks on any conversion funnel is filling out an online form – shopping and registration flows all rely on forms as a crucial and demanding step in accomplishing the goals of your site. For many users, online forms mean repeatedly typing common information like our names and addresses on different sites across the web – a tedious task that causes many to give up and abandon the flow entirely.

Chrome’s Autofill and other form-filling providers help to break down this barrier by remembering common profile information and pre-populating the form with those values. Unfortunately, up to now it has been difficult for webmasters to ensure that Chrome and other form-filling providers can parse their form correctly. Some standards exist; but they put onerous burdens on the implementation of the website, so they’re not used much in practice.

Today we’re pleased to announce support in Chrome for an experimental new “autocomplete type” attribute for form fields that allows web developers to unambiguously label text and select fields with common data types such as ‘full-name’ or ‘street-address’. With this attribute, web developers can drive conversions on their sites by marking their forms for auto-completion without changing the user interface or the backend.

Just add an attribute to the input element, for example an email address field might look like:

<input type=”text” name=”field1” x-autocompletetype=”email” />

We’ve been working on this design in collaboration with several other autofill vendors. Like any early stage proposal we expect this will change and evolve as the web standards community provides feedback, but we believe this will serve as a good starting point for the discussion on how to best support autofillable forms in the HTML5 spec. For now, this new attribute is implemented in Chrome as x-autocompletetype to indicate that this is still experimental and not yet a standard, similar to the webkitspeech attribute we released last summer.

For more information, you can read the full text of the proposed specification, ask questions on the Webmaster help forum, or you can share your feedback in the standardization discussion!

Posted by Ilya Sherman, Software Engineer

Updating our privacy policies and terms of service

In just over a month we will make some changes to our privacy policies and Google Terms of Service. This stuff matters, so we wanted to explain what’s changing, why and what these changes mean for users.

First, our privacy policies. Despite trimming our policies in 2010, we still have more than 70 (yes, you read right … 70) privacy documents covering all of our different products. This approach is somewhat complicated. It’s also at odds with our efforts to integrate our different products more closely so that we can create a beautifully simple, intuitive user experience across Google.

So we’re rolling out a new main privacy policy that covers the majority of our products and explains what information we collect, and how we use it, in a much more readable way. While we’ve had to keep a handful of separate privacy notices for legal and other reasons, we’re consolidating more than 60 into our main Privacy Policy.

Regulators globally have been calling for shorter, simpler privacy policies—and having one policy covering many different products is now fairly standard across the web.

These changes will take effect on March 1, and we’re starting to notify users today, including via email and a notice on our homepage.



What does this mean in practice? The main change is for users with Google Accounts. Our new Privacy Policy makes clear that, if you’re signed in, we may combine information you've provided from one service with information from other services. In short, we’ll treat you as a single user across all our products, which will mean a simpler, more intuitive Google experience.

Our recently launched personal search feature is a good example of the cool things Google can do when we combine information across products. Our search box now gives you great answers not just from the web, but your personal stuff too. So if I search for restaurants in Munich, I might see Google+ posts or photos that people have shared with me, or that are in my albums. Today we can also do things like make it easy for you to read a memo from Google Docs right in your Gmail, or add someone from your Gmail contacts to a meeting in Google Calendar.

But there’s so much more that Google can do to help you by sharing more of your information with … well, you. We can make search better—figuring out what you really mean when you type in Apple, Jaguar or Pink. We can provide more relevant ads too. For example, it’s January, but maybe you’re not a gym person, so fitness ads aren’t that useful to you. We can provide reminders that you’re going to be late for a meeting based on your location, your calendar and an understanding of what the traffic is like that day. Or ensure that our spelling suggestions, even for your friends’ names, are accurate because you’ve typed them before. People still have to do way too much heavy lifting, and we want to do a better job of helping them out.

Second, the Google Terms of Service—terms you agree to when you use our products. As with our privacy policies, we’ve rewritten them so they’re easier to read. We’ve also cut down the total number, so many of our products are now covered by our new main Google Terms of Service. Visit the Google Terms of Service page to find the revised terms.

Finally, what we’re not changing. We remain committed to data liberation, so if you want to take your information elsewhere you can. We don’t sell your personal information, nor do we share it externally without your permission except in very limited circumstances like a valid court order. We try hard to be transparent about the information we collect, and to give you meaningful choices about how it is used—for example our Ads Preferences Manager enables you to edit the interest categories we advertise against or turn off certain Google ads altogether. And we continue to design privacy controls, like Google+’s circles, into our products from the ground up.

We believe this new, simpler policy will make it easier for people to understand our privacy practices as well as enable Google to improve the services we offer. Whether you’re a new Google user or an old hand, please do take the time to read our new privacy policy and terms, learn more about the changes we’re making and understand the controls we offer.

Posted by Alma Whitten, Director of Privacy, Product and Engineering

The Detox Kitchen - day two

The Detox Kitchen day two and I haven't cracked yet!

So I woke up this morning and I must admit I wasn't hungry (which I was fearing) and my stomach felt a bit flatter. I have, since Christmas indulgencies really, been feeling bloated and sluggish and I can definitely feel, even after just one day, things are beginning to take effect.

Today's bag contained the usual tablets and potions - the supplements are a Biocare Adult Mulitvitamin & Mineral tablet, 2 linseed oil 500 capsules which contain omega 3 fatty acids, 1 Biocare Bio Acidophilus which is a probiotic full of 'good' bacteria.

I must confess I couldn't face taking the Bentonite Clay last night, this aids internal cleansing and detoxing, but I just couldn't face it. Today's resolution is to take it and not make a fuss.

Breakfast was a shot of beetroot juice, the tablets and a porridge oats with agave raspberry and apple compote and almond milk which was filling.

Today's snack was carrot, celery and apple juice and lunch (which was my favourite one to date) was roasted root vegetable tagine with almond and pearl barley - which was stuffed full of crisp sweet potato and quite delicious.

Dinner was very filling but healthy, chicken with a smoked aubergine and puy lentil bake with rocket and a snack of kiwi with mint and blueberries. I feel healthier just typing this...

The Detox Kitchen Day One
The Detox Kitchen Day Three
The Detox Kitchen Day Five
The Detox Kitchen Day Four

The Detox Kitchen - a week of detox

I am doing a detox this week for a brand new diet delivery company in London called The Detox Kitchen. They deliver outside your front door early in the morning so you will have stuff for breakfast onwards and everything is balanced in terms of nutritents - they even supply you with some tablets and Pukka teas to keep things balanced and healthy. I will be blogging how I get on throughout the week - though how I'm going to live without coffee I do not know!

Each detox box that is delivered daily for 5 days contains

• Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner and pudding/snack
• Detoxing herbal teabags
• One little tub of psyllium husk (we are huge fans of this wonder powder!)
• One little tub of detoxifying bentonite clay
• A Biocare supplement program
• A 'shot of the day' - wheatgrass, beetroot juice, aloe vera and many more

You have to follow the sequence of breakfast, lunch and dinner and before breakfast I mixed Psyllium Husk with juice. This acts as a broom for the colon (nice!) and gets things moving as it were. I also have Bentonite Clay for bedtime for internal cleansing and detox. Yum.

For breakfast I had a beetroot, celery and apple juice with a little pot of brazil nuts - surprisingly tasty.
My mid-morning snack was humous and raw veg...
Then lunch was a delicious Quinoa and carrot, pepper salad with a dressing of coriander, soy and ginger vinaigrette.

My mid afternoon snack was a pot of Edamame beans which I love then I had to survive on a detox tea and lots of water until supper.

This was a Sri Lankan vegetable and prawn curry with lime pickle and saffron brown rice - it made a nice change to have some hot food. I was also sent a baked apple with cinnamon and nutmeg and a trace of a raspberry coulis - very nice indeed. Welcome little touch was a little pot of fresh mint leaves for making a mid-evening drink, these guys try to think of everything.

Will let you know how I feel tomorrow and what's on the menu!

The Detox Kitchen Day Two
The Detox Kitchen Day Three
The Detox Kitchen Day Four
The Detox Kitchen Day Five

Your Interview with President Obama

If you could hang out with President Obama, what would you ask him? Would your question be about jobs or unemployment? The threat of nuclear weapons? Immigration reform? Whatever your question is, submit it on YouTube for the opportunity to ask the President directly in a special interview over a Google+ Hangout from the White House.

On Monday, January 30, a few days after delivering his State of the Union address to the nation, President Obama will answer a selection of top-voted questions you’ve submitted in a live-streamed interview. Starting today through January 28, you can visit the White House YouTube channel to submit your video and text questions and vote on your favorites. Your YouTube questions will drive the interview, and several participants with top-voted questions will be selected to join the President in the Google+ Hangout to take part in the conversation live.



So take out your camera, check your hair and go to youtube.com/whitehouse to submit your question now. Need ideas? Visit youtube.com/whitehouse on Tuesday night at 9:00pm ET to watch the President’s State of the Union address live. The address will be followed by the Republican response on Speaker Boehner’s YouTube channel.

Video questions are preferred (though we also accept text) and should be about 20 seconds long. In the video description, be sure to tell us a little bit about yourself, like where you’re from.

Your Interview with President Obama will be streamed live at 5:30pm ET on on January 30 on youtube.com/whitehouse. You have until midnight ET on January 28 to submit your question and make your voice heard on the issues that matter to you.

Posted by Ramya Raghavan, YouTube News and Politics Manager

(Cross-posted from the YouTube blog)

Rice homeware - bright and colourful for the home

I love Rice - the Danish home ware and accessories company that is! They really brighten things up in the home and have some great accessories too. They were founded in 1998 and have just opened a shop in Neal's Yard, Covent Garden. Sadly you can't buy directly from the Rice website, but there are lots of links to where you can buy. They have strong social ethics - helping small communities from poor countries around the world by buying produce at a fair price - and above all their products are fun and sunny and make me, for one, smile.

The Shop in Neal's Yard, Covent Garden

Jagriti Yatra: a journey of entrepreneurship through India

As part of our ongoing commitment to entrepreneurship around the world, we recently took part in a worthy experiment crisscrossing India. Jagriti Yatra is an annual train journey that takes more than 400 of India's highly motivated youth (ages 20-26) on an 15-day trip to introduce them to India’s challenges, and to the individuals and institutions that are developing unique solutions to those challenges. The goal is to inspire these young people to develop and lead social and economic entrepreneurship in their own communities. Each year, around 50 experienced professionals also join the Yatra to serve as mentors, and this year, I—along with four other Googlers—went along for the ride.

This year’s “yatris” (participants) came from all four corners of the country—rich states and poor states, urban, semi-urban and rural. A large portion came from low-income rural families, and many of them (especially the women) had fought great odds to get a good education. Now, they wanted to give back to their communities.

The trip, which began in Mumbai on December 25 and returned on January 8, covered 8,500 kilometers and made 12 stops in a route that circumnavigated the entire country. Our days began at 5:30am and ended at 11:30pm, and the majority of time was spent pounding the pavement, from villages in Orissa and Uttar Pradesh to the suburbs of Madurai and Patna.

These visits brought us face-to-face with India’s major challenges. Confronted with the stark reality of youth abandoning their farming traditions, vast open-air garbage dumps in town centers, girls dropping out of school after eighth grade and unemployed undergraduates scrounging money to bribe their way into government jobs, the yatris were even more motivated to become agents of change in their country. The Yatra has led to a diverse range of startups, both planned and pre-existing—for example, I spoke with participants taking up organic farming in their villages, and to others who were inspired to establish career mentoring programs in their communities.

As first-time sponsors of this year's Yatra (which focused specifically on issues in healthcare, agribusiness, water and energy) we provided not only financial support, but also WiFi for the train journey and an SMS channel for Jagriti Yatra followers to get updates on the Yatra over SMS. We also helped set up the organization with a YouTube channel and a Google+ page so they could chronicle and share their journey with the wider world.

Throughout, the energy of the group was incredible; everyone was infused with the feeling that all things are possible if you persist. Jagriti Yatra has become the event for college students and would-be young entrepreneurs to participate in (this year, the organization received 3,200 applications for less than 500 spots). It was great to see so many young people focused on making a positive impact on society through entrepreneurship.



For more personal stories from the journey, visit the Jagriti Yatra Google+ page. To register for next year’s journey, visit Jagriti Yatra’s registration page.

Posted by Adhi Kesarla, Principal, New Business Development