Official Google Blog

g.co, the official URL shortcut for Google websites
In the world of URLs, bigger is not always better. In 2009, we helped shrink up long, unwieldy URLs by launching our public URL shortener, goo.gl.
Shareable Google News badges for your favorite topics
What Do You Love?
A while back, a few of us wanted to make a little tool that we could use to show just about anybody more of what Google makes.
Hats off to the winners of the inaugural Google Science Fair
Google Offers beta launching in New York City and the Bay Area
(Cross-posted on the Google Commerce Blog) Following our first launch of Google Offers beta in Portland last month, we’re bringing great deals to the Big Apple and the Bay Area starting today.
Tonight, watch the Google Science Fair final event live
The young scientists of the world have proven themselves truly impressive people—inventing technologies to improve the accuracy of prosthetic devices, developing video-audio memory aids for dementia patients and improving switch designs to prevent train derailments.
The first Google eBooks-integrated e-reader: iriver Story HD
Seeking the Americas’ brightest young minds for a spot at Zeitgeist Americas 2011
This year, we’re mixing up our annual Zeitgeist conferences with the launch of Young Minds, a competition hosted by youth engagement agency Livity, supported by Google and hosted on YouTube.
“Download map area” added to Labs in Google Maps for Android
Google Maps 5.7 for Android introduces Transit Navigation (Beta) and more
GoogleServe 2011: Giving back around the world
Over the last month, more than 7,700 Googlers helped serve their communities across 400 different projects as part of GoogleServe, an employee-driven initiative organized almost entirely by volunteers.
Evolving the Google design and experience
Introducing the Google+ project: Real-life sharing, rethought for the web
Update: For our international readers, this post is also available in French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. - Ed. Among the most basic of human needs is the need to connect with others.
Celebrating Pride 2011
More than a thousand Googlers participated in Pride celebrations in a dozen cities to support equality and remember the sacrifices of those who have made life better for members of the LGBT* community today.
Examining the impact of clean energy innovation
At Google, we’re committed to using technology to solve one of the greatest challenges we face as a country: building a clean energy future.
The J. Paul Getty Museum collection comes alive with Google Goggles
Webbing the gap between science and the public
We recently held an Innovation Workshop for the 2011 Google Science Communication Fellows, a group of early to mid-career PhD scientists chosen for their leadership in climate change research and communication.
Updated and more detailed Transparency Report
Google Apps highlights – 6/24/2011
An update on Google Health and Google PowerMeter
In the coming months, we’re going to retire two products that didn’t catch on the way we would have hoped, but did serve as influential models: Google Health (retiring January 1, 2012; data available for download through January 1, 2013) and Google PowerMeter (retiring September 16, 2011).
Supporting choice, ensuring economic opportunity
At Google, we’ve always focused on putting the user first. We aim to provide relevant answers as quickly as possible—and our product innovation and engineering talent have delivered results that users seem to like, in a world where the competition is only one click away.
Applauding the 2011 Knight News Challenge winners
(Cross-posted on the Google News Blog and the Google Public Policy Blog) Over the past few months, we’ve announced $5 million in grants to be distributed by the John S. and James L.
Wyoming has officially gone Google
Q: What do national parks, female governors and Google Apps have in common? A: Wyoming was the first state in the country to have each of them. This morning, Governor Matt Mead announced that the state of Wyoming has completed its transition to Google Apps for Government.
Google Translate welcomes you to the Indic web
Thousands of “hackers for good” build applications for humanity
(Cross-posted on the Google.org Blog) Earlier this month, thousands of “hackers for good” gathered in more than 19 different global locations—from Berlin to Nairobi, and Sydney to Sao Paulo—to participate in Random Hacks of Kindness #3.
Give Dad a ring with free calling from Gmail in the U.S.
Go Inside Search to get the most out of Google
Watch the lunar eclipse from anywhere
Knocking down barriers to knowledge
Tune in this morning for our search event
Today we're hosting a media event in San Francisco to talk about search and introduce some new search-related features.
Helping homeowners harness the sun
Helping publishers get the most from display advertising with Admeld
(Cross-posted on the DoubleClick Publisher Blog) It’s now clear that investments in new technologies, new ad formats and improved buying and selling processes are helping to grow the display advertising pie.
It’s a slam dunk for NBA web searches
Google Apps highlights – 6/10/2011
Leading the charge toward an electric vehicle fleet
(Cross-posted on the Green Blog) Over the last few years, several innovative electric vehicle (EV) technologies have emerged in the marketplace and we’ve been working to update our green transportation infrastructure.
There’s a perfect ad for everyone
It’s been an exciting year in the display advertising business—the movement of media online and the emergence of new technologies are causing incredible growth, and we’re investing significantly to help improve display advertising for publishers, advertisers and users.
A doodle for an instrumental inventor
The electric guitar brings back memories for me of exchanging riffs with friends and wearing out cassette tapes as I meticulously learned songs.
Know when your bus is late with live transit updates in Google Maps
Changes to the open Internet in Kazakhstan
(Cross-posted on the European Public Policy Blog and Public Policy Blog) Update June 14, 7:40pm: After we published this post, the Kazakhstan authorities issued new guidance stating that the order no longer applies to previously registered domains.
World IPv6 Day begins 24 hours from now. Websites, start your engines.
Back in January, we joined the Internet Society and a handful of leading Internet companies to announce World IPv6 Day. The announcement was a rallying call for adoption of the new Internet Protocol; now, less than six months later, participation has grown to more than 400 organizations.
From acquisition to in-app payments in less than one year
Practical steps towards a greener, energy-efficient cloud
(Cross-posted from the European Public Policy Blog) Update June 14, 9:14am: Videos of all the presentations at the Data Center Summit are now available on our website. Data centers are very important to us—they’re critical to the cloud services we deliver.
The curious guide to browsers and the web: now in 15 languages and open-sourced
Introducing schema.org: Search engines come together for a richer web
Ensuring your information is safe online
The +1 button for websites: recommend content across the web
Google Offers beta starts in Portland, Oregon tomorrow
Using search patterns to track dengue fever
(Cross-posted on the Google.org Blog) What does baseball have in common with gazebos? We’re not sure, except that people search on Google for both terms in similar patterns.
Our 2011 EMEA Faculty Summit
YouTube highlights 5/26
Coming soon: make your phone your wallet
Inside the Big Tent
(Cross-posted from the European Public Policy Blog) At our European Zeitgeist event, held annually near London, we traditionally erect a large marquee for a partner dinner and entertainment. This year we wondered if there was anything else we could do with the space once Zeitgeist was over.
AdMob celebrates one year at Google as mobile growth accelerates
As we approach the first anniversary of AdMob’s arrival at Google this Friday, it’s amazing to look at how much the mobile industry has grown since last year: an estimated 300 million smartphones were shipped, average smartphone data-usage doubled and hundreds of thousands of new mobile apps have be
Mining patterns in search data with Google Correlate
Thanks, YouTube community, for two BIG gifts on our sixth birthday!
Hacking for humanity in Silicon Valley and around the globe
Investing in the Alta Wind Energy Center
The votes are in for the Google Science Fair Finalists and People’s Choice Award Winner
(Cross-posted from the Google Science Fair Blog and on the Google Students Blog) From winged keels to water turbines, from prosthetic limbs to programming in pure English, it’s been a fascinating two weeks for our Google Science Fair judges.
Bringing tech knowledge to nonprofits through the HandsOn Tech Corps
Community service has always been important to us. When thinking of ways we can give back, we often focus on where our strengths lie—namely, in technical knowledge. More and more frequently, Googlers who volunteer note that many incredible nonprofits around the U.S.
Google Apps highlights – 5/20/2011
Japan Prize honors Googler Ken Thompson for early work on UNIX
Join us at Maker Faire
Making financial comparisons easy with Google Advisor
Financial decisions may be some of the most difficult decisions we face—whether it’s finding the right credit card or understanding the impact of paying an extra point on a mortgage.
Launch a mobile business with The Guide to the App Galaxy
Define, translate and search for words in Google eBooks
And the 2011 U.S. Doodle 4 Google winner is...
Introducing our official search blog
Bringing Google Apps educators together through regional user groups
From grading math quizzes with Google forms to plotting plant growth in a motion chart, teachers around the world are constantly generating new, creative ways Google Apps can improve instruction. To make it easier for educators to share great ideas beyond their school walls, we’re introducing eight
YouTube Town Hall: where your views count
Google Translate: the remix
When we built Google Translate we thought it was a cool tool, but we have to admit we had fairly straightforward ideas about what it would be useful for (lowering language barriers and making more web content available to people around the world).
Future female engineers come together in the Technovation Challenge
Google’s 2010 U.S. Economic Impact
Expanding Google News for more variety and multimedia
Remembering fallen journalists on video
We live in a world that feels smaller every day.
Celebrating 150 years of MIT
2011 marks the 150th anniversary of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, founded to speed along America’s industrial progress through scientific innovation.
Keynote and session videos from Google I/O now live
With Google I/O 2011 just two days behind us, we wanted to thank the nearly 1 million developers who joined us at Moscone Center, attended I/O Extended events and watched online via I/O Live from 161 countries around the world. The keynote presentations highlighted the momentum and vision for two o
This week in search 5/13/11
YouTube highlights 5/13
This is the latest in our series of YouTube highlights. Every couple of weeks, we bring you regular updates on new product features, interesting programs to watch and tips you can use to grow your audience on YouTube. Just look for the label “YouTube Highlights” and subscribe to the series.
Blogger is back
(Cross-posted from the Blogger Buzz blog)What a frustrating day. We’re very sorry that you’ve been unable to publish to Blogger for the past 20.5 hours. We’re nearly back to normal—you can publish again, and in the coming hours posts and comments that were temporarily removed should be restored.
3D dreams in the modern browser
Google Transit goes to Washington
Graduate with Google Apps
Millions of students will leave college this year with more than just a diploma. There’s a good chance that the graduating class of 2011 will also be experts in another field: Google Apps for Education.
60+ young women recognized as Google Anita Borg Memorial scholars
The Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship honors the memory of Dr. Anita Borg, who devoted her life to encouraging the presence of women in computing and founded the Institute for Women in Technology in 1997.
A new kind of computer: Chromebook
(Cross-posted on the Code and Chrome Blogs) A little less than two years ago we set out to make computers much better. Today, we’re announcing the first Chromebooks from our partners, Samsung and Acer. These are not typical notebooks.
Think Insights with Google: a new site for data lovers
It’s one of our guiding principles that data beats opinion.
Accelerating diversity outreach to businesses in local communities
Android: momentum, mobile and more at Google I/O
(Cross-posted on the Google Code Blog) This morning at Google I/O, the Android team shared some updates. It’s hard to believe a little more than two and a half years ago, we were just one device, launching in one country, on one carrier.
Welcome to the future of video. Please stay a while.
(Cross-posted from the YouTube Blog) It’s a Saturday and you want to watch your favorite YouTube star’s show, a big Hollywood movie, a clip of your friend’s weekend in Austin, a newly-released music video, a global sporting event, a live concert and breaking news from Japan.
From Alaska: Old Harbor Books, the 250th indie bookseller of Google eBooks
Vote for the Einsteins of the future
The results are in for the inaugural Google Science Fair: Since we first announced this competition, we’ve received more than 7,500 science projects from more than 10,000 students in more than 90 countries—making this the biggest science competition in the world.
Google I/O: countdown to the keynote kickoff
Sort by subject in Google Images
This week in search 5/6/11
Google moms share tech tips for your family
Using the power of mapping to support South Sudan
Google Earth optimized for Android-powered tablets
A world of curiosity: a peek at searches around the globe
The polls are open—vote for your favorite doodle!
Today, we’re thrilled to introduce the 40 Regional Finalists for this year’s U.S. Doodle 4 Google contest. This year we had a record number of submissions—more than 107,000 from talented student artists from every state across the country.
Sharing stories of the Holocaust for future generations
Google Apps highlights – 4/29/2011
This week in search 4/29/11
Celebrating Arbor Day with Save the Redwoods League and Google Earth
YouTube highlights 4/28/2011
This is the latest in our series of YouTube highlights. Every couple of weeks, we bring you regular updates on new product features, interesting programs to watch and tips you can use to grow your audience on YouTube. Just look for the label “YouTube Highlights” and subscribe to the series.
Businesses say “I do” to the royal wedding
As excitement gears up worldwide for the royal wedding this Friday, we thought we'd take a look at how wedding frenzy for everything from flowers to fruitcake is manifesting itself online.
Live from space: You talk to Commander Mark Kelly and the Endeavour Crew
(Cross-posted from the YouTube Blog) We’ve always jumped at the chance to bring the wonders of space a little closer to home.
Google Workshops: a place for Googlers to get their hands dirty
Browsing through time and space with GigaPan and Chrome
From the presidential inauguration to the World Series to gorgeous cityscapes, for the past few years the GigaPan team at Carnegie Mellon University has been making it possible to explore breathtaking panoramic photos from around the world.
This week in search 4/22/11
Celebrating Earth Day
Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain
Rodgers and Hammerstein weren’t kidding when they wrote what is now Oklahoma’s official state song. The gusts on the plains are fierce, which makes the Sooner State a great place to harness clean, renewable wind energy.
More predictions in autocomplete
Helping America’s startups grow
(Cross-posted on the Small Business Blog)Every business starts out small—whether with an idea or the hanging of a shingle outside an office or storefront. Even Google was once a small business, operating out of a garage in Menlo Park, Calif.
Google Toolbar 7—cleaner, fresher and faster
The royal wedding live on YouTube
Cross-posted on the YouTube Blog.
Add your local knowledge to the map with Google Map Maker for the United States
Shepherding the wind
Happy Tax Day! Now, where did your tax dollars go?
The taxman searcheth
Google Apps highlights – 4/15/2011
This week in search 4/15/11
Lights, camera, doodle!
Charlie Chaplin wasn’t just the greatest star of the silent film era; he also wrote, directed and produced more than 80 movies in a career that spanned decades and included such masterpieces as The Kid, The Gold Rush and Modern Times.
YouTube highlights 4/14/2011
Beefing up goo.gl with new features
Pagination comes to Google Docs
Investing in the world’s largest solar power tower plant
A trivia game where using Google is allowed
Messages for Japan
One month ago, a massive 9.0 earthquake and one of the worst tsunamis in history struck northeastern Japan.
Hotpot is going Places
(Cross-posted from the Google Places Blog) Last November, we introduced Hotpot, our recommendation engine to help people discover great new places when they search on Google.
ITA Software acquisition cleared for takeoff
How cool would it be if you could type "flights to somewhere sunny for under $500 in May" into Google and get not just a set of links but also flight times, fares and a link to sites where you can actually buy tickets quickly and easily? Well that's exactly why we announced our intention to buy ITA
If the green jacket fits...
1 billion computing core-hours for researchers to tackle huge scientific challenges
Computing is an invaluable resource for advancement of scientific breakthroughs. Today we’re announcing an academic research grant program called Google Exacycle for Visiting Faculty, which provides 1 billion hours of computational core capacity to researchers.
Bringing Google I/O direct to you with I/O Live
Ladies and gentlemen, start your editors! Registration now open for Google Code Jam 2011
Imagine you’re a ninja, trying to master your deadly grappling hook. Or perhaps you’re a chess grand master, outsmarting your opponent’s every move.
Supporting our beloved science museums
I touched the moon.
Real-time traffic graphs for the Transparency Report
There’s no place like home for math education
Last month, we mobilized a small but enthusiastic band of Google engineers to visit schools across the county as part of National Engineers Week. Googlers talked to kids about their career experiences and how they became engineers.
Free phone support for AdWords advertisers
We’ve worked hard to keep in touch with our AdWords customers and we’re always looking for new ways to support you. Currently we offer email and online support, and today we’re introducing free phone support for all of our U.S.- and Canada-based AdWords customers.
Google Crisis Response: a small team tackling big problems
Patents and innovation
The tech world has recently seen an explosion in patent litigation, often involving low-quality software patents, which threatens to stifle innovation.
This week in search 4/1/11
Gmail is moving, fingers are fitter, YouTube goes centennial
With the help of Gmail Motion, we’ve been working faster than ever this week to build new products and celebrate a few existing ones.
Searching for a Cinderella story
YouTube highlights 3/31/2011
Two new Google domains: Iraq and Tunisia
We offer search on different regional domains, such as google.fr for France and google.dj for Djibouti, in order to provide the most locally-relevant results.
Fresh new perspectives for your blog
New imagery of Japan after the earthquake
+1’s: the right recommendations right when you want them—in your search results
Ultra high-speed broadband is coming to Kansas City, Kansas
As part of our overall goal to make the web better for users, last year we announced a new project: to provide a community with Internet access more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have today.
An update on Buzz
User trust really matters to Google. That’s why we try to be clear about what data we collect and how we use it—and to give people real control over the information they share with us.
When in Rome: New Street View imagery of historic sites in Italy and France
Google Commerce Search 3.0: You won’t believe it’s online shopping
Now accepting student applications for Google Summer of Code
33 million streams in 189 countries around the world: The YouTube Symphony Orchestra Grand Finale
(Cross-posted from the YouTube Blog) On March 20, the Grand Finale of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011 was held at Sydney Opera House and live-streamed to the world on YouTube During the week-long festival leading up to the finale, 101 musicians from 33 countries joined together for the first t
This week in search 3/25/11
Google Apps highlights – 3/25/2011
Google search now supports Cherokee (ᏣᎳᎩ)
20 percent time spent coding in the clouds
This is the latest post in our series profiling entrepreneurial Googlers working on products across the company and around the world—even 35,000 feet above the ground.
Watch Lady Gaga’s exclusive Q&A with Google
(Cross-posted from the YouTube Blog) Google went totally Gaga yesterday, when the indomitable artist otherwise known as Stefani Germanotta clicked onto the Mountain View, Calif.
2011 European Scholarship for Students with Disabilities: results announced
(Cross-posted from the Google Students Blog) We're pleased to announce the winners of the second annual European Scholarship for Students with Disabilities.
1000 @Google Talks videos now on YouTube
Last week, the @Google Talks team uploaded its 1000th video to YouTube. If you’re not familiar with this series, we host talks by authors and commentators at Google, and post videos of their readings and talks on a dedicated YouTube channel.
Sprint integrates Google Voice
(Cross-posted from the Google Voice Blog) Over time, we've worked to bring an integrated Google Voice experience to your mobile device by building mobile apps, introducing Google Voice Lite, and most recently Number Porting.
National Engineers Week 2011: Classroom visits inspire students to pursue CS
We love using our computer science (CS) and engineering skills to solve some of world’s most interesting and important problems. We also know that not enough students are pursuing careers in CS and that the U.S.
YouTube Highlights 3/17/2011
This is the latest in our series of YouTube highlights. Every couple of weeks, we bring you regular updates on new product features, interesting programs to watch and tips you can use to grow your audience on YouTube. Just look for the label “YouTube Highlights” and subscribe to the series.
Coming soon: The YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011 Grand Finale live
(Cross-posted from the YouTube Blog) What began with auditions from around the world uploaded to YouTube, millions of video views, and hours of rehearsals, finally comes to life this Sunday, March 20.
More resources for those affected by the Japan earthquake and tsunami
You’re changing the world. We want to help.
(Cross-posted on the Google for Nonprofits Blog and Public Policy Blog) One of the greatest things about my job is hearing how terrific organizations are using technology to help their cause.
Ooh la la—ask Gaga a question!
(Cross-posted from the YouTube Blog) Attention little monsters! Channel your inner Oprah, because now is your chance to ask Lady Gaga everything you’ve always wanted to know.
Great documents come from great discussions
(Cross posted on the Google Enterprise Blog) The discussion about a document is as important as the document itself, but until now, there hasn’t been a great medium for this discussion to happen.
Supporting accessibility at CSUN
This week we’ll be at the 26th annual CSUN International Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference to talk with users and accessibility experts about how to make our products more accessible to people with disabilities.
Baseline to baseline, we’ve got the basketball games covered
What’s new with Blogger
Post-earthquake imagery of Japan
Assembling resources following the earthquake in Japan
(Cross-posted from the Google.org Blog) I was in the middle of writing code when the Google Japan office, on the 26th floor of Roppongi Hills in Tokyo, started shaking slowly. The rocking gradually increased, and I looked out the window to see the surrounding buildings all swaying ominously.
This week in search 3/11/11
Three years of Google + DoubleClick by the numbers, and video arrives on the DoubleClick Ad Exchange
In 2008, we acquired DoubleClick, and our efforts to make the display advertising landscape a better, simpler place for users, publishers and marketers began in earnest. Today marks exactly three exciting years together.