Google for Non-Profits Blog

Google Maps Engine Grants For Nonprofits

2012-05-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

(Cross posted from the Lat Long Blog)

Today, we are excited to announce a new addition to the Google Earth Outreach Grants program. Now, eligible nonprofit organizations in the U.S., U.K., Brazil and Canada can apply for grants of Google Maps Engine, a platform formerly known as Google Earth Builder, for hosting, storing, managing, and styling map data. Google Earth Builder has been available to businesses since August 2011. A new name is just the beginning. Several nonprofit organizations, including World Wildlife Fund and Eyes on the Forest (a coalition of Sumatran NGOs), as well as Living Oceans Society, have already been using the platform to tell stories and engage their constituents in an interactive way. It's no secret that the natural habitats of wildlife such as tigers, rhinos, elephants and orangutans are disappearing at an alarming rate. The World Wildlife Fund, in partnership with Eyes on the Forest, uses Google Maps Engine to develop and publish Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data showing the reduction of ranges for these four endangered species. In addition, they are publishing maps on floral diversity and change in carbon stocks and forest cover over time.

While some nonprofits focus on terrestrial conservation, Living Oceans Society works to protect the British Columbia coastline. As GIS and mapping specialists, they create and publish maps such as kayak routes, dive sites, eelgrass beds, and oil and tanker traffic to inform residents of the recreational value of natural habitats as well as inform policy-makers about the risks that increasing industrial practices pose to the ecosystem.

With this addition of Google Maps Engine to the Google Earth Outreach Grants program, we’re releasing three new Google Maps Engine tutorials to educate nonprofits on how to use the product. We’ll also be hosting a Google+ Hangout on the Google Earth Plus page to provide more information about the program and answer questions from potential grant recipients. Tune in by visiting the Google Earth Plus page on May 24th at 10:30 a.m. PDT to join the Hangout on Air. More information about eligibility for a Google Maps Engine grant and how organizations can apply is available on the Google Earth Outreach Maps Engine for Nonprofits page.

Posted by Tanya Birch, Program Manager, Google Earth Outreach

Announcing The Next Series Of Learn With Google Webinars!

2012-05-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

(Cross posted from the Inside AdWords Blog)

Earlier this year, we introduced the Learn with Google webinar program, and we were delighted to see thousands of you show up to learn about a variety of Google advertising products and solutions. Today, we’re happy to announce the continuation of our series with 10 new webinars over the next few months. During each webinar we’ll share tips and how-to’s to help make the web work for your business.

Check out our upcoming live webinars below:

May 23 at 10am PDT: Getting Started with Google Analytics
May 24 at 9am PDT: Building Blocks of Digital Attribution
May 31 at 10am PDT: Introduction to TrueView for YouTube
June 5 at 10am PDT: GoMo: Mobilize your Site with Quick and Easy New Tools
June 6 at 10am PDT: Our Mobile Planet: Understanding U.S. Smartphone Consumers
June 7 at 10am PDT: Introducing Mobile Apps Inventory in AdWords
June 12 at 10am PDT: Get Local with ZIP Code Targeting to Increase Sales/Leads
June 14 at 10am PDT: Search Optimization: Tips, Tricks, and Tools
June 19 at 10am PDT: Bringing the Power and Control of Search to Display
July 10 at 10am PDT: Account Management Tools for Large Advertisers and Agencies

Visit our webinar page to register for any of the sessions and to access past webinars on-demand. We’ll be adding new webinars as they’re scheduled, so check back regularly for updates. You can also stay up-to-date on the schedule by downloading our Learn with Google Webinar calendar to automatically see upcoming webinars in your Google Calendar.

Whether your goal is to engage the right customers in the moments that matter, make better decisions, or go bigger, faster, we hope that you’ll use these best practices and how-to’s to maximize the impact of digital and grow your business. We’re looking forward to having you at an upcoming Learn with Google webinar!

Posted by Erin Green, Marketing Coordinator

GoMo: Build A Mobile Site In Minutes, The Recap

2012-05-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

(Cross posted from the Google Mobile Ads Blog)

In case you missed it, last Thursday Google hosted a mobile site builder product demonstration and broadcasted it live with Hangouts on Air on Think With Google’s Google+ page. During the Hangout, we featured two businesses building mobile-friendly sites in minutes. Participants included:

Dennis Mink, Chief Marketing Office from DudaMobile
Adrienne Burhoe, Chief Operating Officer from Top Mast Resort in Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Felicia Viening, General Manager from Savas Restaurant in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Key takeaways

Understand your mobile user and the content they need, and bring those elements to your mobile-friendly site
Make it easy for people to contact and find your business
Remember to paste the auto-redirect code to your desktop site
Create a mobile-friendly site today with Google’s simple and easy-to-use site creation tool

Check out the recorded video of our Hangout below and visit howtogomo.com/getstarted to build your own mobile site. It only takes minutes and Google will pick up the cost for the first year.

Posted by: Suzanne Mumford, Product Marketing Manager, Google Mobile Ads

Getting Started With Analytics

2012-05-14T10:23:00.001-07:00

It’s often hard to know how to improve your website. Sure, you may have the greatest resource hub ever, but are people actually using it? What’s the deal with metrics like time on site--is longer better because people are exploring your great content, or is longer worse because people are confused and lost? Google Analytics, a free tool that provides detailed information about your website traffic, can help you answer these questions. Once you’ve installed it on all pages of your website (instructions here), you’ll be slicing and dicing data in no time!

The first step towards analysis with Google Analytics is thinking about the different groups of people who might visit your site. Say your organization tutors low-income students. You might have three types of people visiting your site--donors, volunteer tutors, and the students themselves. Take a second and make a list of all the different sorts of people who might visit your own website.

Next, think about what these groups of people might be looking for. The students might want to know when you’re closed for holidays, or they might be looking for resources to help them with that tricky geometry homework. Donors could be trying to donate online, or maybe looking for more information about your organization’s mission. Volunteers may be looking for a list of upcoming volunteering events, or for a sign-up link for your newsletter.

Once you’ve figured out who is visiting your site and what they might be looking for, it’s time to use Analytics if these people are getting what they want. The “Goal” feature of Analytics is designed for just this purpose. URL destination goals are a great place to start. This goal type allows you to track visits to specific pages of your site--for example, the “Thank You page” that comes up after a successful online donation, or a page with information about volunteering hours. You’ve already figured out what your visitors are looking for--now translate these into URL destination goals!

Once you’ve created these goals, they’ll show up each of your reports within Analytics. You’ll be able to look at goal completion rate, which is one way to measure your website’s effectiveness. You can compare goal completion rates for different referring sites or landing pages, allowing you to see which of your partnership efforts is the most effective.

Now that you have a good sense of how your website is performing, you can begin to find ways to make it even better! One great report to look at is the “Visitor Flow” report, which shows you the pages people visited en route to your goal URLs. Take a look at these paths and see if anything looks unexpected. Did a high number of users end up on the resources section of your site after visiting the donation section? Did many users visit ten pages before finally finding your hours of operation? Are there popular paths that involve both pages targeted specifically at donors and pages targeted at beneficiaries? If so, this may suggest that the flow of your website is confusing. Consider including more direct links to your goal pages on your home pages to facilitate use of your site.

Your website should make it easy for all of your visitors to find what they’re looking for--you wouldn’t want to miss out on potential donors because the online donation process is confusing, or turn away volunteers who can’t find an updated calendar! With just a little set-up, Analytics can help you determine whether your website is helping you or hindering you--and it can show you what you can change to improve your performance.

Posted by Eva Breitenbach, AdWords Team

Google+ Hangouts On Air: Broadcast Your Conversation To The World

2012-05-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

(Cross posted from the Official Google Blog)

Last year we introduced Hangouts On Air to a limited number of broadcasters, enabling them to go live with friends and fans, for all the world to see. Since then, this small community has grown the feature in lots of creative ways. And they’ve made one thing crystal clear: when groups of passionate individuals can broadcast live, together, the results are truly remarkable:

Today we're excited to launch Hangouts On Air to Google+ users worldwide. So if you have something to say—as an aspiring artist, a global celebrity, or a concerned citizen—you can now go live in front of a global audience. With just a few clicks, you’ll be able to:

Broadcast publicly. By checking "Enable Hangouts On Air," you can broadcast your live hangout—from the Google+ stream, your YouTube channel or your website—to the entire world.
See how many viewers you’ve got. During your broadcast, you can look inside the hangout to see how many people are watching live.
Record and re-share. Once you're off the air, we’ll upload a public recording to your YouTube channel, and to your original Google+ post. This way it's easy to share and discuss your broadcast after it's over.

Of course, launching millions of live stations takes some doing, so we're rolling out Hangouts On Air gradually, over the next few weeks. In the meantime you can save the date for an upcoming hangout...

- CBS This Morning: May 8th at 4:20am PT / 7:20am ET	- Cadbury UK: May 11th at 1:30pm PT / 4:30pm ET
- Conan O’Brien: May 8th at 7:30pm PT / 10:30pm ET	- The Nerdist: May 11th at 3:00pm PT / 6:00pm ET
- CNBC: May 10th at 1:15pm PT / 4:15pm ET	- Jamie Oliver on Food Revolution Day: May 19th at 5:00pm PT / 8:00pm ET
- Global Poverty Project: May 10th at 4:00pm PT / 7:00pm ET	- A special series from The New York Times’ Opinion department

… sign in to Google+ to see what’s live right now, or find inspiration in the many broadcasts that have already aired.


A news van for everyone. KOMU-TV anchor +Sarah Hill invited locals to share live coverage of the recent protests in Montreal; Fox 11 LA anchor +Maria Quiban invites viewers to join her on Good Day LA.	Town halls with today’s leaders. President +Barack Obama, Governor +Mitt Romney, UN Secretary-General +Ban Ki-moon, and many others have connected with citizens via hangout.


Live concerts from your living room. Musical artists like +Suite 709 and +Daria Musk perform live for those inside the hangout, and for everyone else tuning in.	Classes anyone can attend. Chef +Larry Fournillier, Professor +Noah Diffenbaugh, and +FAWN share their cooking, climate change and fashion expertise, respectively, via hangout.


Roundtables about any topic. Photographer +Trey Ratcliff, soccer football enthusiast +Sabotage Times and celebrity trend spotter +Young Hollywood talk about the issues they find interesting.	Face-to-face meetups with all of your favorites. +David Beckham, the +Miami Hurricanes, +Tyra Banks, the +Indianapolis Colts and +Geek & Sundry have all enjoyed meet-and-greets with their fans.

We can’t wait to see what you’ll share with the world.
Posted by Chee Chew, Engineering Director

GoMo: Mark Your Calendar To ‘Hangout on Air’ And Learn How To Build A Mobile Site In Minutes

2012-05-07T20:44:00.001-07:00

Did you know that 40% of mobile web users reported that they’ve turned to a competitor’s site after a bad mobile experience1? With about half of all Americans now owning a smartphone2, it’s time for businesses to meet user expectations by delivering a mobile experience as good as the desktop experience. In short, it’s time to step up to the plate and build a site optimized for the mobile web.

Google can help. We recently teamed up with DudaMobile to release a free mobile site builder. In three easy steps you’re able to get started with mobile: (1) enter your site’s URL, (2) customize your site and (3) redirect mobile users automatically to the new mobile-friendly version. It’s free and takes just a few minutes to complete!

Join us on Thursday, May 10th at 1pm EST/10am PST and watch as Google showcases how two businesses, Top Mast Resort in Massachusetts and Sava’s Restaurant in Michigan, go mobile and build mobile-friendly sites--live on air.

You’ll see how Top Mast is preparing to take advantage of mobile travel purchase intent - which is five times higher than online travel purchase intent, according to InsightExpress. You’ll also see Sava’s move ahead of 95% of restaurants that do not have mobile-friendly sites, according to a study by Restaurant Science.

Finally, you’ll hear from the CMO of Dudamobile, Dennis Mink; he’ll talk about best practices when using the mobile site builder and walk through important questions to ask yourself when building a mobile-friendly site.

Details on how to tune in

Sign into Google+ on Thursday, May 10th at 1pm EST/10am PST
Go to the Think with Google Google+ page
Look for the stream post and click to enter the live stream

Be sure to set a reminder in your calendar! If you have questions before or during the Hangout, post them with the hashtag #GoMoSite as a comment on the Google+ page.

Posted by Suzanne Mumford, Google Mobile Ads Marketing
Source: (1) Gomez 2011 (2) Nielsen February 2012

Increasing Transparency In Quality Score

2012-04-25T12:43:00.000-07:00

(Cross posted from the Inside AdWords Blog)

Today, we’re introducing more details about your Quality Score in AdWords.

Using the status hover for a keyword in the Keywords tab, you’ll see the traditional 1-10 numeric score and new ratings for each main factor in Quality Score. The new ratings have a relative scale so you’ll understand whether your performance expected clickthrough rate, ad relevance, and landing page experience is average, above average, or below average compared to other advertisers.

We’ve heard from advertisers that having more insight on Quality Score can help you better focus efforts to improve performance. Improving ads quality is great for users, too.

One final note: This launch gives you information you can use to improve your Quality Score, but it doesn’t change how Quality Score or ad rank are calculated.

Posted Jen Huang, AdWords Product Manager

Google At NTC 2012

2012-04-18T13:38:00.002-07:00

We’re still winding down from the week spent with NGOs and technology gurus at NTEN’s Nonprofit Technology Conference (ntc 2012), but our spirits are high after all of the great interactions we had and the excellent content that was presented.

We had the privilege of conducting an all-day training on Monday, 4/2/12, before the conference got into full swing on Tuesday, and it proved to be a super productive day of sessions geared to give attendees a handful of simple and effective takeaways about Google Apps, Analytics, Earth, Google+, Grants, mobile and YouTube to implement right away with their organizations.

The workshop trainings will be available via Google for Nonprofits YouTube channel in the next two weeks.

We were also honored to present a session titled ‘Technology as a Catalyst for Openness’ presentation focused on how nonprofits are leveraging online technology to be more open with their constituencies.

Our biggest highlight of the week, though, can be summarized in one word: you.

It was great to be able to connect, answer questions and hear all of your incredible stories in the Google lounge throughout the conference and share our own experiences by posting to our Google+ page. We even got to test out support via Google Hangouts for those teammates of ours that couldn’t join the event in person.

So, a big thank you to all of you who joined us and made this event so inspiring. We look forward to many more occasions like this one, where we’re able to connect with you to boost your organization’s impact with technology.

Posted by Jessica Vaughan, Google Grants Team

Google Ads - Now On Google+

2012-04-06T13:17:00.002-07:00

(Cross posted from the Inside AdWords Blog)

When we launched Google+ Pages last November, we aimed to provide you with a way to post updates and news about your business, have engaging conversations with customers, and send tailored messages to specific groups of people.

We’re now excited to share that Google Ads will be joining Google+ Pages to provide you, our advertising partners, with the latest Google advertising product news, training, tips and Hangouts that can help make the web work for you. We hope it will become a useful resource for growing your business, reaching customers in the moments that matter, and making smarter decisions.

Click to view page

Here’s a quick peek at what you can expect from the Google Ads page on Google+:

Stay ahead of the curve with the latest launches and updates for Google's advertising solutions, including search, display, mobile, social, YouTube and Google Analytics
Receive how-to information, best practices, and recommendations
Learn about upcoming trainings and events
Attend Hangouts with product experts

Add Google Ads to your circles here. We look forward to connecting with you on Google+.

Posted by: Christina Park and Katie Miller, Ads Product Marketing

Why Maps Matter: Using Digital Cartography Tools To Change The World

2012-03-30T11:08:00.002-07:00

(Cross posted from the Lat Long Blog)

People have created maps since early civilization, but only recently have digital mapping tools like Google Earth and Maps made it easy to build sophisticated and interactive maps that can be disseminated to hundreds of millions of people online. Non-profits have taken advantage of these tools to create maps that matter, and that are truly initiating change around the world. That’s why my team, Google Earth Outreach, exists: to help public benefit organizations use Google’s mapping tools for good.

Find out how non-profits are changing the world with maps.
There’s no better inspiration for creating your own map than the stories of accomplishment from organizations like the ones featured in the video above. We invite you to check out the new Success Stories section of the Google Earth Outreach website. Along with a completely new look and feel, our website now allows you to learn all about a variety of organizations that are using maps for good.

Get started by reading about how the Amazonas Sustainable Foundation partnered with Google to collect Street View imagery for the Amazon. It’s now possible to virtually float down the Rio Negro and its tributaries, see ground-level images of riverside communities, and trek down a trail into the Amazon rainforest, all without leaving the comfort of home. You’ll also learn about Architecture for Humanity, an organization using Google SketchUp to design architectural solutions for communities in need.

Collecting Street View imagery in the Amazon
Once you’ve read through the stories and have an idea of what you might like to create, you can browse through our tutorials or request a software grant for our enterprise-level products like Google Earth Pro. Or, if you’re interested in an overview of all the tools available to you from Google, feel free to check out our Explore Tools page, where you’ll find information about the many Google mapping tools (both free and Pro) that are available to non-profits.

If you’re looking for additional training beyond the tutorials, check out our new Events page, where you can see where Google Earth Outreach will be next and where we’ve been in the past, including rich resources from past workshops.

If you want to change the world, we hope these new tools help. Happy mapping!

Posted by Raleigh Seamster, Google Earth Outreach

Google For Nonprofits At NTEN 2012

2012-03-29T12:40:00.002-07:00

Google for Nonprofits is getting ready to attend the 2012 Nonprofit Technology Conference April 3rd through 5th. We are kicking it off April 2nd with a pre-conference of 10 workshop sessions, for participants of all skill levels, on how to best use Google products as a nonprofit. On April 3rd, our keynote address will take a look at how Google and the internet are promoting openness around the world. We will also have a lounge area during the conference so if you are attending please stop by to learn and ask questions. We hope to see you there and check out the Google for Nonprofits Google+ Page for live updates from the conference!

Posted by Leslie Hernandez Dinneen, Google for Nonprofits Team

Google For Nonprofits Google+ Hangout: AdWords Optimization

2012-03-27T13:23:00.002-07:00

On Tuesday March 20th, the Google for Nonprofits team held a hangout on AdWords Optimization. Thank you to all of the nonprofits that participated! Our three main takeaways from the conversation were 1) Make sure to set a goal for your AdWords campaign before getting started 2) Use conversion tracking to measure how successful your campaign has been at accomplishing your goal 3) If you have limited time, download and use the AdWords Editor for offline editing and use the Opportunities Tab to find recommendations on improving your campaigns. You can replay the Hangout below for more great tips!

Don’t forget to check out the Google for Nonprofits Google+ page and add us to your circles! We’ll post community questions, continue to host hangouts so you can hear from experts, share tips and engage users in an ongoing conversation about nonprofits and technology.

Posted by Leslie Hernandez Dinneen, Google for Nonprofits Team

An Update To The YouTube Nonprofit Program Goes Live

2012-03-12T10:34:00.006-07:00

(Cross posted from the Official YouTube Blog)

Last Saturday, we joined the American Foundation on Equal Rights to live-stream “8,” a star-studded play that depicts the Proposition 8 trial surrounding same-sex marriage. On World AIDS Day in December, the ONE Campaign and RED live-streamed a day-long symposium on the end of AIDs.

Today, we’re opening up the opportunity to live-stream to all members of the YouTube Nonprofit Program. Nonprofits, from small to large, will now be able to engage live audiences in charity concerts, conferences, and other special events to raise awareness about their causes and drive donations in real-time.

The YouTube Nonprofit Program is currently open to registered organizations in the U.S., U.K., Australia and Canada and offers premium benefits like donate buttons/overlays, custom thumbnail selection and channel branding. To learn more and apply, please click here. For organizations who are already members of the Nonprofit Program, you can enable live-streaming in a few simple steps, outlined here.

Ramya Raghavan and Jason Toff, YouTube Nonprofit Team

Modeling Cultural Heritage Sites With SketchUp Pro

2012-03-09T14:30:00.004-08:00

(Cross posted from the Official SketchUp Blog)

CyArk is a non-profit organization dedicated to digitally preserving cultural heritage sites. They do this by collecting, archiving, and providing open access to data created by laser scanning, digital modeling, and other state-of-the-art technologies. CyArk is also one of the many recipients of SketchUp Pro licenses as part of our SketchUp for Nonprofits program. This case study came to us from Justin Barton, a Technical Services Manager at CyArk.

A perspective view of 3D laser scan data (terrestrial LiDAR imagery) of Mission San Francisco de la Espada, San Antonio, Texas.

As part of the ongoing effort to educate the general public and disseminate information in an interactive environment, CyArk uses millimetrically precise data from heritage sites captured with 3D laser scanners to model the sites in SketchUp Pro. In order to do this, we use two methods:

Method 1: Orthorectified imagery

Our 3D laser scan processing software allows us to export orthorectified images of the data. We begin by exporting a plan of the structure to build a basic block model from. The plan is brought into SketchUp Pro, scaled, geo-located (all of our scan data is geo-located with GPS), and then the model is created from the accurate plan data.

Using orthorectified imagery created from laser scan data to trace out the model in SketchUp Pro.

After we create the block model, we import orthorectified elevation views of the structure. We then trace the outline of the building and “push out” the unwanted parts to create the unique architectural shape. The elevation view is also used to overlay the photo-real texture information.

Method 2: Direct modeling from 3D scan data

We are also able to use the Pointools plugin for SketchUp that allows us to load the 3D laser scan data point cloud directly into SketchUp. This allows even more precise modeling directly over the data. Again, orthorectified images of facades are used to overlay texture information.

A 3D laser scan data point cloud, brought into SketchUp Pro using the Pointools plugin. (Note: This image has been altered to improve visualization of the process.)

After modeling is complete, visitors to the CyArk website and projects interact with them in two ways: CyArk has an online, Java-based web app that allows users to view 3D point clouds directly, or view solid models such as those created in SketchUp Pro or other 3D meshing software.

3D model of Mission San Juan Capistrano, San Antonio, Texas created in SketchUp and viewed in CyArk’s free online 3D Viewer.

The other way that users can interact with 3D models on CyArk’s website is by using the Google Earth plugin, which we’ve integrated into a web page on the site. This provides a navigable 3D environment in which users can see geo-located SketchUp models while interacting and viewing geo-located multimedia items such as architectural CAD drawings, videos, 360-degree panoramic images, photographs, historic imagery and more.

A 3D model of Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo, San Antonio, Texas created in SketchUp and viewed in Google Earth on the CyArk website. Multimedia items (architectural drawings, videos, panos, historic images, etc.) are geolocated on the Google Earth interface and represented as a variety of type-specific icons that surround the model.

In addition to modeling directly from accurate 3D survey information (as seen here in the San Antonio Missions project and associated iOS mobile app), CyArk and our partners have taken advantage of SketchUp Pro’s easy modeling platform to create historic reconstructions of sites and site features that no longer exist. For example, for a project with Fort Laramie National Historic Site, eight historic reconstructions were created in SketchUp. Users visiting the Google Earth map of the project can choose to see the Fort as it appeared in seven different time phases, as well as a detailed reconstruction of the Post Hospital. All were created from extensive research, historic photographs/sketches, consultation with park experts, and metrically accurate laser scan data of structures, standing ruins, and remaining foundations as the base for the models.

SketchUp Pro provides CyArk the tools to quickly and accurately model historic sites to create interactive 3D environments for members of the public, educators, students and researchers to access online. This aids us in fulfilling a significant part of our mission to share, disseminate and educate.

Thanks for sharing this story, Justin. If you’re interested in getting involved with CyArk, you can find out more about volunteering, becoming a partner or donating to CyArk on the Get Involved web page.

Posted by Chris Cronin, SketchUp Pro Team

Introducing The Learn With Google Webinar Program

2012-03-05T10:27:00.002-08:00

(Cross posted from the Inside AdWords Blog)

At Google, one of our goals is to help make the web work for your business. Today we're introducing the Learn with Google webinar program that does just that, by sharing best practices and tips across a variety of products, including search ads, mobile ads, display ads, YouTube and Google Analytics.

We're kicking off the program with eight live webinars in March:
March 13 at 10am PDT: 5 Tips to Start Marketing your Business with Video
March 14 at 10am PDT: Introduction to the Google Display Network
March 15 at 10am PDT: GoMo: Mobilize your Site and Maximize your Advertising
March 20 at 10am PDT: Understanding Mobile Ads Across Marketing Objectives
March 21 at 10am PDT: Reaching Your Goals with Google Analytics
March 22 at 10am PDT: GoMo for Publishers
March 27 at 10am PDT: Manage Large AdWords Campaigns with Less Effort
March 28 at 10am PDT: 3 Tips to Get More out of your Video Advertising Campaigns
Check out our new webinar page to register for any of the sessions or to access on-demand webinars. We'll be adding new webinars as they're scheduled, so check back regularly for updates. You can also stay up-to-date on the schedule by downloading our Learn with Google Webinar calendar to automatically see upcoming webinars in your Google Calendar.

Whether your goal is to engage the right customers at the right time, make better decisions faster, or get the most from your marketing dollars, we hope that you'll use these tips and how-to's to maximize the impact of digital and grow your business. We're looking forward to having you join us!

Posted by Erica Tsai, Product Marketing Manager

Webinar Tomorrow - Getting Your Business On Google+

2012-02-27T11:28:00.004-08:00

(Cross posted from the Inside AdWords Blog)

Are you interested in connecting with your customers in new ways? Join our live webinar on Tuesday, February 28th at 10am EST (3pm GMT) to learn more about how you can bring your business and your customers closer together using Google+.

Key topics that'll be covered in the presentation by Google+ experts include:

Setting up a Google+ Page for your business
Best practices and great example cases for using Google+
Promoting your Google+ Page
Improving the performance of your online marketing with +1

Follow In Darwin's Footsteps With The iNaturalist Mobile App

2012-02-24T09:44:00.002-08:00

(Cross posted from the Lat Long Blog)

Editor’s Note: Today’s guest author is Dr. Scott Loarie, a fellow at the Carnegie Institution for Science at Stanford and co-director of iNaturalist.org, a biodiversity citizen-science website. Pepperwood Preserve was the recipient of a Google Earth Outreach Developer Grant, funded through the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at the Tides Foundation. We’re excited to share how the iNaturalist Android application developed as a result of this grant is being used in action at Pepperwood Preserve.

Last weekend, as I rolled back a piece of bark at Pepperwood Preserve to reveal a big black beetle, I was reminded of a great story about Charles Darwin. Out collecting beetles, Darwin already had a beetle in each hand when he spotted a third. To free up a hand, he popped one of the beetles in his mouth. No sooner had he done this when it excreted some sort of burning liquid onto his tongue forcing him to spit it out, drop the second, and miss his chance for the third.

Now in 2012, all I had to do was point my phone at the beetle and snap its picture with the iNaturalist app (available on iOS and Android). Beetle mishaps aside, following in Darwin's footsteps wasn't really something non-scientists could participate in until recently. Specimens had to be collected, stuffed and shipped to museums where they were identified, labeled and catalogued. But with new technologies like Google Maps and smartphones, contributing data to museums now only takes a single click.

Pepperwood Research Specialist Morgan Kennedy demonstrates how to use the iNaturalist app to observe a native grass at Pepperwood Preserve.

Last Saturday, Morgan Kennedy introduced the Pepperwood Vital Signs project on iNaturalist.org, a citizen-science website I help direct, to a group of about 20 community members at Pepperwood Preserve. The project aims to map the distribution of plants and animals across the preserve with geo-referenced photos contributed by community members. The community members participating in the project often don't know the name of the species they are photographing, but by passing the contributions on to international museum consortiums and conservation organizations, iNaturalist photos are usually identified by scientists and experts within a few days.

Over the last year, community members have documented more than 400 distinct species by uploading more than 900 geo-referenced photos from Pepperwood. As the pilot preserve participating in the new Bay Area Open Space Council BioAtlas initiative, Pepperwood is developing ways to use iNaturalist to assemble the contributed data into digital education materials that can be used by the preserves to further engage and educate their community members.

This Google Map shows the Pepperwood Boundaries and more than 900 contributions to the Pepperwood Vital Signs project on iNaturalist.org.

Saturday's training was especially exciting because Morgan demoed the new Android App that iNaturalist developed with the support of a Google Earth Outreach Developer Grant to Pepperwood. By making the contribution of data to museums easy and fun, the Android app clears a major barrier towards recruiting non-scientists to participate.

These reinforcements couldn't have arrived sooner. Plants and animals are disappearing about 1,000 times faster than normal with ongoing climate and land-use change, and one of the most difficult hurdles towards addressing these challenges has been the basic scarcity of information about where plants and animals persist and where they do not. Without the help of non-scientists, the handfuls of museums and graduate students tasked with providing this information simply can't scale to meet these challenges.

Want to get involved? Download the app (on iOS or Android), get outdoors, and start documenting nature from wherever you are in the world! If you want to start your own regional project, like the Pepperwood Vital Signs project, you can do that here. You'll be following in Darwin's footsteps - just don't be tempted to put any beetles in your mouth!

Posted by Scott Loarie, co-director iNaturalist.org

Encourage Students To Get Involved With Doodle 4 Google

2012-02-21T16:16:00.002-08:00

You are probably familiar with Google's decorated logos, or "doodles." But did you know that for the last five years Google has invited students across the US to submit their own doodles for a chance to be featured on the Google homepage? The Doodle 4 Google contest encourages students to use their imagination and artistic talents to redesign Google's logo for millions to see. The doodling theme for 2012 is "If I could travel in time, I'd visit...." and we can't wait to see the great drawings kids come up with! For some inspiration, click here to meet last year’s winner, Matteo Lopez.

In addition to seeing his or her art on the Google homepage on May 18, 2012, the Doodle 4 Google 2012 National Winner will also receive a $30,000 college scholarship and a $50,000 technology grant for their full-time school. 50 State Winners will win a trip to New York City and 10 finalists per state will see their art displayed in a local museum or gallery.

With little more than a month left in the contest, we wanted to let you know how your organization can help raise awareness of this opportunity:

If you work with students:

Tell students you know about the Doodle 4 Google contest
Pass out submission forms
Host a doodling party
Share the story of Matteo Lopez
Engage students in discussion of the theme "If I could travel in time I'd visit...."

If you work with schools or educators:

Send an email to local schools and educators about the Doodle 4 Google contest
Use your social media networks to raise awareness
Share the Submission Packet Request Form, where schools and after-school programs can receive free submission forms in the mail
Tell schools about the opportunity to win a $50,000 technology grant

Happy doodling!

Posted by Megan Stevenson, Local Consumer Marketing Team

A 'Next' Step For YouTube Nonprofits

2012-02-17T08:49:00.000-08:00

(Cross posted from the Official YouTube Blog)

Last year we launched YouTube NextUp to accelerate the growth of the next big YouTube stars. Then in October, we announced YouTube Next Chef and YouTube Next Trainer to turbocharge up-and-coming cooking and fitness channels by great YouTube video creators. We’re excited to share the latest addition to the Next Creator family of programs: YouTube Next Cause for nonprofits.

YouTube Next Cause is designed to help organizations that are already changing the world better use online video to drive action. At a one-day summit in San Francisco on April 2, selected participants will get access to everything from training in YouTube fundamentals, to promotion and community engagement tips, to one-on-one consulting sessions to grow their YouTube presence.

We’ve always sought to make YouTube a platform for nonprofits to broadcast their messages. And we’ve seen amazing things happen when the YouTube community comes together in support of great causes. With 4 billion views a day, we want to make sure nonprofits have the tools they need to reach the global audience on YouTube and turn video views into donations, volunteerism and awareness.

Applications for YouTube Next Cause are due on February 27, 2012 at 11:59PM PT, and the selected nonprofits will be announced on March 5. This program is open to organizations that are part of the YouTube Nonprofit Program (full eligibility requirements). You can apply online at: http://goo.gl/ODbI6.

Check out what nonprofits are doing on YouTube at youtube.com/nonprofits. And tune in around March 5 to learn more about some of the great nonprofit organizations chosen and what they’re doing to change the world!

Posted by Hunter Walk, YouTube Team

Lay Claim To Your Personal Conservation Plot With Adopt-an-Acre

2012-02-15T13:14:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite quotes is by American anthropologist Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

We can each play an active role in changing the world for the better by preserving areas we care about. The Nature Conservancy has just made it easier with their Adopt-an-Acre program. They’ve updated their mapping tool today as the result of a Google Earth Outreach Developer Grant, which offers funding to organizations that create clever, cutting-edge applications using Google mapping technologies.

One of the solutions for widespread habitat loss is to acquire large plots of land for conservation. Since 1991, the Adopt-an-Acre program has protected more than 600,000 acres spanning from North America to Africa and Australia, even protecting offshore areas critical for delicate coral reefs and humpback breeding grounds.

Adopt an acre through the Nature Conservancy
There are two featured areas that allow you to adopt a specific acre, the Nash Prairie Preserve in Texas and the Warm Springs Mountain Preserve in Virginia. Simply fly to ground level on the embedded Google Map and choose your acre. You can also select your plot through Google Earth by clicking on the “View in Google Earth” link. This map enables any interested individual to make a pledge and help restore an acre of land to its pristine state.

The Nash Prairie Preserve in Texas is a beautiful and vital tall prairie grassland. These prairies used to cover wide expanses in the Bottomlands region of coastal Texas, but these areas have been reduced due to metropolitan encroachment. More than 120 bird species and 300 plant species thrive in this disappearing ecosystem, which you can help protect.

The Warm Springs Mountain Preserve in Virginia is the other area within a 77,000 acre wildlife corridor where you can adopt a specific acre. If you have a connection to the Allegheny Mountains in Virginia, or if you are passionate about preserving species like the interior dwelling songbird, you can choose from a variety of landscapes, pristine rivers and mountain forests to conserve.

Best of all, you can adopt an acre in the name of a loved one or as a gift to someone else. Their name will appear on the map alongside others who have entered their names in support of preserving our wild America.

Learn more about what nonprofits have done with mapping technologies on the Google Earth Outreach website.

Posted by Tanya Birch, Google Earth Outreach

Lights, Cameras, Causes: The 2012 Nonprofit Video Awards

2012-02-10T10:26:00.000-08:00

For the third year, YouTube is teaming up with See3 Communications to present the DoGooder Nonprofit Video Awards, a celebration of the best non-profit videos on the site. If you’re a nonprofit who made a video in 2011, you’re eligible and encouraged to submit.

It doesn’t matter if your organization is small and scrappy, large and global, or somewhere in between. We’ll award prizes like $3,500 grants, free admission to the Nonprofit Technology Conference, and a spotlight on the YouTube homepage to small, medium and large organizations, plus a special award for “Best Video Storytelling.”

Need more details? Watch this video:

The deadline to enter is February 29, 2012 and you must be a member of the YouTube Nonprofit Program at the time of judging, to enter. Full rules are available here.

Get those cameras rolling and good luck!

Posted by Ramya Raghavan, YouTube For Nonprofits Team

Public Alerts Now On Google Maps

2012-02-01T13:06:00.000-08:00

(Cross posted from the Official Google.org Blog)

Last week a new Google Crisis Response project launched: Google Public Alerts, a platform designed to bring you relevant emergency alerts when and where you’re searching for them.

If a major weather event is headed for your area, you might go online to search for the information you need: What’s happening? Where and when will it strike? How severe will it be? What resources are available to help?

The Google Crisis Response team works on providing critical emergency information during crises. Our goal is to surface emergency information through the online tools you use everyday, when that information is relevant and useful.

With the launch of Public Alerts on Google Maps, relevant weather, public safety, and earthquake alerts from US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Weather Service, and the US Geological Survey (USGS) will be accessible when you search on Google Maps. For instance, at the time of this post, “Flood Indiana” triggers an alert for a Flood Warning in Northern Indiana.

If you click through to “more info” on this alert, you’ll find a page showing more details about the alert, with the full description from the alert publisher, in this case the National Weather Service, a link to their site and other useful information.

Whether you see an alert depends on which alerts are active at a given location, their severity, and your search query. If you’re interested in seeing all of the active alerts in one place, visit our homepage at www.google.org/publicalerts. This page also provides a link to more information on our new platform and gives instructions to interested organizations who want to make their emergency data available through this tool.

We’re learning as we go and we’re working hard to continuously improve the range and relevance of the content you see, so we’d really like your feedback. Please send feedback our way using the link at the far right of our Google Public Alerts homepage.

We hope Google Public Alerts provides you with information to make better decisions in times of crisis.

Posted by Steve Hakusa, Public Alerts Engineer

Resources To Support A New And Open World For Learning

2012-01-26T15:16:00.000-08:00

(Cross posted from the Official Google Blog)

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

YouTube For Nonprofits, Reloaded With New Tutorials And Features

2012-01-23T13:15:00.000-08:00

(Cross posted from the Official YouTube Blog)

Nonprofits are an important part of the YouTube community, and their videos have educated and inspired audiences since the early days of the site. We launched the YouTube Nonprofit Program in 2007 to help organizations take their work to the next level, and since then, more than 16,000 nonprofits have joined the program. There are hundreds of nonprofit organizations with millions of views on YouTube, and dozens with more than ten million views, like Greenpeace, Khan Academy and UNICEF.

We’ve made a couple of updates to the program that we hope will help nonprofits use video in new and compelling ways.

The Playbook Guide: YouTube for Good. This is a how-to resource specifically targeted at nonprofit organizations, with sections on how to create content, raise funds, connect with other community members and more.

Improved features. As part of our new Channels design, we’ve made the donate button on nonprofit channels even more prominent, making it easier than ever to support the causes you care about.

If you’re a YouTube Nonprofit Program with other ideas about how we can make the program better, tell us your suggestions in the comments below! If you’re a nonprofit in the U.S., U.K., Canada or Australia and not yet a member, visit www.youtube.com/nonprofits to learn more and apply.

Posted by Valerie Streit, YouTube Team

Biodiversity On The Move

2012-01-19T12:52:00.000-08:00

(Cross posted from the Lat Long Blog)

Editor’s Note: Today’s guest author is Ari Daniel Shapiro from Atlantic Public Media (APM), a non-profit public media organization in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. APM was the recipient of a Google Earth Outreach Developer Grant, funded through the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at the Tides Foundation. We’re excited to showcase how Atlantic Public Media has weaved Google Earth and KML tours into engaging stories about the diversity of life.

Life gets around. Tiny Arctic Terns soar from the Arctic to the Antarctic, and back, in a single year. A kind of sea algae known as “sea grapes” roam from Australia to the Mediterranean as stowaways, and then promptly conquer their new home.

As a radio producer, I’m used to telling these kinds of stories with audio, weaving together interview tape, ambient sound, and narration. For the last two years, I’ve worked with Atlantic Public Media and the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) to produce an audio series entitled One Species at a Time. Each episode pays homage to a different organism that gallops or creeps or pulses on our planet. We collaborate on these stories with Marie Studer, the EOL's Learning and Education Director, who has championed our podcast as way to make the natural world come alive and generate excitement amongst people who want to learn about it and explore.

While our podcast and public radio programming brought these tales of the natural world to listeners all over the planet, we always look for ways to tell these stories better and share them more widely. Eduardo Garcia Milagros, a biologist and KML developer in Spain, approached us last year with the idea to use Google Earth as a platform for these mini-documentaries. Brimming with enthusiasm, he shared “When I first opened Google Earth, I went to see my hometown. Once I started exploring KML capabilities, I realized that Google Earth can be an amazing educational tool, especially when you have a good story.” Inspired by his excitement, we decided to identify species whose stories could really be best illustrated through a map, such as the Arctic Tern’s annual migration.

Our tour on Arctic terns can be viewed on YouTube or downloaded and explored in Google Earth.

Incorporating Google Earth into our narratives proved to be an interesting challenge for me and Jay Allison, my editor on the project and the Executive Director of APM. We wanted to make the most of the map as a medium to bring to life the tale of the Arctic Tern and other species for viewers. By integrating geographic animation and imagery from all over the world with the audio and images from contributing scientists, we were able to support and enhance the story. For example, in the sea algae tour below, we circle the globe to the Amazon rainforest to illustrate a phenomenon in the ecology of the Mediterranean.

Our sea algae tour can also be found on YouTube or downloaded for viewing in Google Earth.

These tours combine voice, sound, images, video, and data-driven animations to explain how two creatures have been able to travel so much of our planet. Coming from a public radio documentary background, we tend to approach things from a purely narrative or poetic angle, but Google Earth tours allow for audio/visual dialogue as well. The movement isn't purely in the story. The map can become part of a “conversation,” and we're just beginning to explore the possibilities.

We hope to produce more of these Biodiversity on the Move tours in the future; we’d like to hear what you think of them and what we can improve next time. Drop us a line on the Encyclopedia of Life blog.

Posted by Ari Daniel Shapiro, Atlantic Public Media and the Encyclopedia of Life