The Official google.org blog

Public Alerts now on Google Maps

2012-01-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today marks the launch of a new Google Crisis Response project: 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 today’s 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

World Bank and Google join forces to empower mapping communities around the world

2012-01-17T08:26:00.000-08:00

(Cross-posted on the Google Lat Long Blog)

Today the World Bank and Google announced a collaborative agreement aimed at improving disaster preparedness and development efforts in countries around the world.

Under this agreement, the World Bank will act as a conduit to make Google Map Maker source data more widely and easily available to government organizations in the event of major disasters, and also for improved planning, management, and monitoring of public services provision.

The free, web-based mapping tool called Google Map Maker enables citizens to directly participate in the creation of maps by contributing their local knowledge. Once approved, those additions are then reflected on Google Maps and Google Earth for others around the world to see.

The Google Map Maker data includes detailed maps of more than 150 countries and regions, and identifies locations like schools, hospitals, roads, settlements and water points that are critical for relief workers to know about in times of crisis. The data will also be useful for planning purposes, as governments and their development partners can use the information to monitor public services, infrastructure and development projects; make them more transparent for NGOs, researchers, and individual citizens; and more effectively identify areas that might be in need of assistance before a disaster strikes.

Community mapper in Kampala, Uganda

World Bank partner organizations, which include government and United Nations agencies, will be able to contact World Bank offices for possible access to the Google Map Maker data for their various projects. World Bank country offices in Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Zambia, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Moldova, Mozambique, Nepal, and Haiti plan to pilot the Map Maker agreement.

The World Bank Institute (WBI) and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) will manage the World Bank’s involvement in the collaboration, building on previous joint mapping efforts. For example in April 2011, members of the Southern Sudanese Diaspora participated in a series of community mapping events organized by World Bank and Google to create comprehensive maps of schools, hospitals and other social infrastructure in this new country via Map Maker technology.

Google has enjoyed a strong relationship with World Bank for many years. As indicated by the World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region Obiageli Ezekwesili, “Today’s technology can empower civil society, including the diaspora, to collaborate and support the development process. This collaboration is about shifting the emphasis from organizations to people, and empowering them to solve their own problems and develop their own solutions using maps.”

France Lamy, Program Manager, Google.org

2011 Google Green Search Trends

2011-12-15T10:25:00.000-08:00

(Cross-posted from the Google Green blog)

One of the things I enjoy most about working on Google’s green team is understanding what gets people interested in green topics. One way to uncover that is to look at the most popular searches. This year’s Zeitgeist, released today, highlights the fastest rising searches in 2011 and includes several categories related to the environment.

We could have guessed that solar would be popular, but who knew so many people were searching for backyard chickens and garbage island? I learned a few things, too -- about an earless bunny that created a stir about radiation, and microorganisms that light up Puerto Rico’s famous bioluminescent bay.

To explore top green searches in the US in the Zeitgeist, you can find lists in the Science, Tech & Gadgets, and Quirky categories. The lists include top searches in alternative energy, rare wild animals, hybrid and alternative vehicles, environmental questions, what people are reusing, quirky environmental, waste disposal, and sustainability.

As part of Google Green, we created the Green Scrapbook so you can explore these green trends, choose your favorites, and reveal videos and surprising facts about them. As you click around, you create your very own 2011 Green Scrapbook, which you can personalize with your name on top and share with your friends. Check out the highlights video:

Google continues to create a better web that’s better for the environment. So it’s encouraging to see that 2011 was another year when people were using the web to find information and resources to make greener choices. We hope that the more we understand about garbage islands, the more we’ll choose to use reusable bags. And the more we understand what deforestation is, the more we’ll want to protect the cute red panda. I’m off to make my 2011 Green Scrapbook to help spread the word!

Posted by Erin Carlson Reilly, Google Green Team

Giving Back in 2011

2011-12-14T07:57:00.000-08:00

(Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog)

As the holiday season approaches we thought it was a good moment to update you on some grants we're making to support education, technology and the fight against modern day slavery.

STEM and girls’ education
Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) open up great opportunities for young people so we've decided to fund 16 great programs in this area. These include Boston-based Citizen Schools and Generating Genius in the U.K., both of which work to help to expand the horizons of underprivileged youngsters. In total, our grants will provide enhanced STEM education for more than 3 million students.

In addition, we're supporting girls’ education in the developing world. By giving a girl an education, you not only improve her opportunities, but those of her whole family. The African Leadership Academy provides merit scholarships to promising young women across the continent, and the Afghan Institute of Learning offers literacy classes to women and girls in rural Afghanistan. Groups like these will use our funds to educate more than 10,000 girls in developing countries.

Empowerment through technology
We've all been wowed by the entrepreneurial spirit behind the 15 awards in this category, all of whom are using the web, open source programming and other technology platforms to connect communities and improve access to information. Vittana, for instance, helps lenders offer loans to students in the developing world who have have a 99 percent repayment rate—potentially doubling or tripling a recipient's earning power. Code for America enables the web industry to share its skills with the public sector by developing projects that improve transparency and encourage civic engagement on a mass scale. And Switchboard is working with local mobile providers to help African health care workers create networks and communicate for free.

Fighting slavery and human trafficking
Modern day slavery is a multi-billion dollar industry that ruins the lives of around 27 million people. So we're funding a number of groups that are working to tackle the problem. For instance, in India, International Justice Mission (IJM), along with The BBC World Service Trust, Action Aid and Aide et Action, are forming a new coalition. It will work on the ground with governments to stop slave labor by identifying the ring masters, documenting abuse, freeing individuals and providing them with therapy as well as job training. Our support will also help expand the reach of tools like the powerful Slavery Footprint calculator and Polaris Project’s National Trafficking Hotline.

To learn more about these organizations and how you can get involved, visit our Google Gives Back 2011 site and take a look at this video:

These grants, which total $40 million, are only part of our annual philanthropic efforts. Over the course of the year, Google provided more than $115 million in funding to various nonprofit organizations and academic institutions around the world; our in-kind support (programs like Google Grants and Google Apps for Education that offer free products and services to eligible organizations) came to more than $1 billion, and our annual company-wide GoogleServe event and related programs enabled individual Googlers to donate more than 40,000 hours of their own volunteer time.

As 2011 draws to a close, I’m inspired by this year’s grantees and look forward to seeing their world-changing work in 2012.

Posted by Shona Brown, SVP, Google.org

Show your love for charities on Google+ this holiday season

2011-12-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

(cross-posted from the Official Google Blog)

We’ve been thrilled to see the ways nonprofit organizations use Google+ to raise awareness about their work, as well as the ways people connect with causes on Google+. In the past couple days, several entertainers have helped start a movement for this holiday season, drawing attention to their favorite charities on Google+ using the phrase #CauseILoveEm and creatively showing their followers what they love about these nonprofit organizations.

+Russell Brand is asking fans to volunteer for two hours of charity work at +Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles, +Los Angeles Animal Alliance or one of four other local L.A. charities. In exchange, he and Sarah Silverman will give fans two hours of live comedy.

+Usher and student participants in his New Look Leadership Academy asked people to do an international act of kindness and post descriptions of their acts including photos and videos as comments on +Usher's New Look Foundation. The acts with the most "+1"s will be re-posted by Usher and highlighted on the New Look Foundation website.

+Linkin Park posted a new video asking people to spread about the word about +Music For Relief and their new Power the World Give Light campaign, which encourages people to donate to provide solar-powered light bulbs for families in Haiti without electricity. People who share their website online and drive the most clicks will be eligible to win prizes.

+Dolly Parton and +Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, her early child literacy program that provides 700,000+ free books every month, are sharing Champion Spotlight stories about their community leaders and posting the 20 most inspiring Imagination Moments submitted by families who have benefited from this gift of reading.

Co-founder +Hugh Jackman and +Laughing Man Coffee & Tea asked people to share photos of themselves with Laughing Man's fair trade products (the profits of which go to charity) and to sound off on living their motto, "All Be Happy," using #CauseILoveEm to be included in a thank you photo album.

+Find Your Light Foundation and +Josh Groban announced the Fulfill-a-Wish campaign, spotlighting the needs of nonprofit arts organizations from across North America in videos and posts, and asking for your help fulfilling these holiday wishes.

We hope you’ll join these folks and lots of others in the Google+ community who have already started sharing their favorite nonprofits this holiday season. Say which nonprofit you like and what you like about them in a public post using the phrase #CauseILoveEm and mentioning the nonprofit’s Google+ page by typing “+” and the nonprofit’s name. Be creative and post videos, images and stories that will convince others to love them too. Through the end of December on our +Google for Nonprofits page, we’ll re-share great examples of the ways people are recognizing their favorite nonprofits and highlight some nonprofits with which you might want to connect.

If the nonprofit you care about most isn’t yet on Google+, be sure to let them know about our Google+ for Nonprofit community page that they can use to get started and learn more. Thanks in advance for caring about these organizations and doing something small to help them grow and achieve their goals during the holiday season.

Posted by Mimi Kravetz, Google.org, Senior Product Marketing Manager

Join Presidents Bush, Clinton, plus Bono and Alicia Keys this World AIDS Day on YouTube

2011-11-23T10:16:00.000-08:00

(Crossposted from the The Official YouTube Blog)

Did you know there are now 6.6 million people receiving treatment for HIV, compared to just 100,000 in 2002? Still, more than a thousand babies are born every day with HIV and there are 34 million people living with the disease.

This World AIDS Day, you can join the discussion about how to help bring about the beginning of the end of AIDS. We’re partnering with ONE and (RED) to bring you a panel of experts who will talk about the progress we’ve made, where we're falling short, and what it's going to take to end this disease for good. They’ll also answer some questions from the YouTube audience. Starting today, you can submit your questions to the panel, which includes Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton; Bono, co-founder of ONE and (RED); Alicia Keys, co-founder of Keep a Child Alive; and other leaders in the fight against AIDS, including representatives from the Tema Clinic in Ghana, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and the Saddleback Church.

On December 1, World AIDS Day, these leaders will answer some of the top-voted questions live on YouTube at a special event hosted by ONE, (RED) and an impressive list of partners and influencers.

According to ONE, if we recommit to the fight against AIDS, by 2015 we could end mother-to-child transmission of HIV, provide treatment to the 15 million people who need it, and drastically reduce new infections. With the support of donors, African governments, organizations, and the private sector the beginning of the end of HIV/AIDS is within our reach.

Submit your question today and become part of the beginning of the end of AIDS. The deadline to submit is November 28.

Ramya Raghavan, News and Politics Manager, recently watched, “Unhate Campaign”.

Vote for the Next Ashoka Changemaker!

2011-11-18T17:52:00.000-08:00

In July, we introduced you to the Ashoka Changemakers Citizen Media competition - an effort to source innovations that will boost media access and participation globally.

In an unprecedented response, Ashoka received hundreds of nominations from 75 countries, all seeking the the opportunity to be the next Ashoka Changemaker. Winners receive cash prizes, mentorship and will be considered for a full Ashoka Fellowship - joining a community of the most innovative and transformative leaders of our generation.

Finalists have been chosen, and now you have the chance to vote.

The polls are open now. Voting ends on November 23, 2011. May the most innovative entrepreneur win.

Posted by Meryl Stone, Program Manager, Google.org

Doubling Google Dengue Trends Coverage

2011-11-16T11:00:00.000-08:00

You may remember that we launched Google Dengue Trends earlier this year. Like Google Flu Trends, Google Dengue Trends uses aggregated search data to measure disease in countries around the world. Today we’re adding 5 new countries to Google Dengue Trends: Argentina, Mexico, Philippines, Thailand, and Venezuela. This brings our grand total to 10 countries where we provide dengue estimates in near-real time based on search activity.

In addition to country level estimates, for both Argentina and Mexico we’re able to offer some state level estimates, as well. And all data is freely available for download from the website. The models we’ve built for these countries are “experimental,” which means they have not been officially validated against health ministry dengue data for these countries. When and where possible, we will officially validate models in comparison against confirmed publicly available dengue data.

It can take weeks and months to collect dengue data through traditional surveillance mechanisms, and it’s our hope that the timely information (updated daily!) from Google Dengue Trends will be useful to public health authorities and individuals around the world as an earlier indicator of disease activity and a complement to existing surveillance systems. The sooner you know that there are dengue-spreading mosquitoes in action near you, the sooner you can take steps to prevent infection.

Posted by Vikram Sahai, Engineer, Google.org

Google+ Pages Now Available For All Nonprofits

2011-11-07T15:44:00.000-08:00

(Cross posted from the Nonprofits blog)

We’re committed to building online tools that help your nonprofit grow and thrive. One of our goals is to make it easier for you to connect with the millions of people who come to Google each day looking for organizations and causes to connect with. An important part of that connection is the lasting relationship you develop with your various constituents.

We want to make sharing online more like it is in the real world. That’s why the Google+ team introduced Google+ Pages - a new way to have customized conversations and interactions with your constituents - volunteers, donors, fans & more. Google+ is a great place for you to connect with consumers who are passionate about your cause.

With the launch of Google+ Pages, any cause, nonprofit or organization can now have a presence on Google+. We’ve compiled a few Google+ tips to help your create your Google+ profile, start posting, grow your circles, start a hangout, monitor the conversation and tell the world that your nonprofit is on Google+. A few organizations, Pencils of Promise, Save the Children and Museo del Prado, have started their own Google+ Pages. We hope their early work gives you some ideas & inspiration for your nonprofit’s Google+ page.

The Google for Nonprofits team is on Google+ too! Check out our Google for Nonprofits Google+ page and add us to your circles. We'll post community questions, host hangouts so you can meet the team & hear from experts, share tips & engage users in an ongoing conversation about nonprofits and technology.

There are also many resources to help you stay up-to-date on the latest news from Google+. We’ll post new information about Google+ for nonprofits on the Google for Nonprofits blog. Check back this week for more information about how nonprofit organizations can utilize Google+. You can also follow the Official Google blog to keep up with the latest Google+ product news and updates. If you need additional help with your Google+ page, check out the Google+ Help Center or post a question in the Google+ Page Discuss.

We look forward to connecting with you on Google+.

Posted by Leslie Hernandez Dinneen, Google.org Team

Google Online Marketing Challenge NGO Impact Award Winners 2011

2011-10-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

(Cross-posted on the Google for Nonprofits blog)

We’re pleased to announce the winners of the NGO Impact Award, a new award that recognizes Google Online Marketing Challenge student teams that made an outstanding difference to their nonprofit partners via superb online marketing campaigns. The deciding factors for these winners were the effectiveness of the campaign and a 200-word report on how the advertising impacted the nonprofit. The reports were judged by an independent panel of nonprofit leaders.

Prizes for the winners include:

1st place - $15,000 donation to the nonprofit partner
2nd place - $10,000 donation to the nonprofit partner
3rd place - $5,000 donation to the nonprofit partner

Congratulations to the following winners!

1st Place
Michael Albrecht and Christian Pfeifhofer taught by Dr. Horst Treiblmaier from Vienna University of Economics and Business worked with TrashDesignManufaktur. TrashDesignManufaktur is a non-profit organization in Vienna which offers unemployed persons the opportunity to learn new skills by up-cycling electronic waste and discarded machines into high-quality design objects, such as jewelry and furniture.

2nd Place
Sebastiano Comin, Simone Dolci, Elena Merazzi, Elena Moriondom and Giuseppe Scampa taught by Dr. Nicoletta Vittadini from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore collaborated with Istituto Oikos. Istituto Oikos works in Europe and in developing countries to advocate for and promote environmental conservation.

3rd Place
The team of Erin Blatzer, Lauren Davis, Carolina Thomas, and Jeffrei Clifton taught by Professor Steven Koch from University of Houston partnered with the Houston Symphony. The Symphony is one of America's oldest performing arts organizations and performs approximately 170 concerts each year for more than 350,000 Houstonians.

If you’re interested in being involved in next year’s Google Online Marketing Challenge NGO Impact award, stay tuned to our website.

Posted by Jessica Schwartz, Google AdWords Team

Support for Van Earthquake Zone in Turkey

2011-10-26T08:15:00.000-07:00

(Cross-posted on the Official Google Turkey blog)

Right after the earthquake in Van, we offered our Person Finder service in Turkish. So far, 4500 people have been registered. We have now created a 2011 Van Earthquake Landing Page in Turkish as well, where we will share updated information about the Van Earthquake from a single source.

Through the Google Earthquake Map placed on the Van Earthquake Page, you will be able to see the epicenter of the earthquake and the affected areas; follow up on the areas waiting for support and their needs; and find contact details for Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) branches and disaster management centers if you are interested in sending help.

In addition to these resources, we will also be donating $500,000 to the Turkish Red Crescent through Google.org for providing support to the region.

Posted by Zeynep Inanoglu, on behalf of Google Turkey and the Google Crisis Response teams

A New Geothermal Map of the United States

2011-10-25T09:03:00.000-07:00

(Cross-posted from the Google Green blog)

Imagine a renewable energy resource capable of producing more than 10 times the energy of the installed capacity of coal in the US. That’s the potential for Geothermal Energy in the United States, according to a recently completed 3-year project supported by Google.org to update the Geothermal Map of North America.

The study conducted by SMU Geothermal Laboratory, led by Principal Investigator Dr. David Blackwell, incorporated tens of thousands of new thermal data points to create the most data rich perspective on US geothermal resources to date. The full results can be seen in the updated Google Earth layer on U.S. Geothermal Resources and in SMU’s paper to be presented at the Geothermal Resources Council Annual Meeting.

The project estimates that Technical Potential for the continental US exceeds 2,980,295 megawatts using Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) and other advanced geothermal technologies such as Low Temperature Hydrothermal.

2011 Geothermal Heat Flow Map of the US

The new estimates are compliant with the new global geothermal mapping protocol developed by SMU, Hot Dry Rocks PTY, GeoWatt Ag, and Google.org which is now recognized by the International Energy Agency and the International Geothermal Association. Under the protocol, Technical Potential is limited to depths of 3.5 to 6.5 km (6.5 to 10 km is considered “Theoretical Potential” under the protocol) and inaccessible zones such as national parks and protected lands are eliminated.

How'd they do it?

The SMU team has been developing entirely new pictures of the earth's geothermal resources. They started by aggregating thousands of new Bottom Hole Temperature (BHT) readings from oil, gas, and water wells in previously under-sampled regions of the U.S. For example, The 2004 Geothermal Map of North America used only 5 heat flow points informing geothermal estimates for West Virginia, compared to the additional 1,455 BHT points in the updated version. In addition, the team has improved estimates of heat flow through the earth's crust with better regional lithologic data.

The updated map is a testament to the incredible SMU team: Dr. David Blackwell, Maria Richards, Zachary Frone, Joseph Batir, Ryan Dingwall, Andrés Ruzo, and Mitchell Williams.

We’re excited that with improvements in EGS technology, all of these resources could one day be harnessed to provide clean, reliable, baseload power -- energy that’s available every hour of every day.

Posted by Parag Chokshi, Clean Energy Team, Google.org

Google Person Finder Launched in Turkish

2011-10-23T22:43:00.000-07:00

After the earthquake this afternoon in Van, Turkey, Google Person Finder has launched in Turkish for people looking for their loved ones in the region. Through Google Person Finder, people can enter a new record in the list for a person they're looking for. Anyone who has information for the missing people on the list can update the data. All data entered will become publicly available, viewable and usable by anyone. And you can help search and rescue teams by updating the status of missing people. To use Google Person Finder, visit this site: http://turkey-2011.googlepersonfinder.appspot.com/.

Google Person Finder was developed after the Haiti earthquake in January 2010 to help people who were trying to reach their friends and families, and to reunite them. We hope Person Finder helps people get the latest information on missing persons using one common source. After the Japanese tsunami, 600,000 persons records were entered into Google Person Finder. For more information about how it works, click here.

The Google Crisis Response Team

From the desert to the web: bringing the Dead Sea Scrolls online

2011-09-26T01:30:00.000-07:00

(Cross-posted on the Nonprofits Blog, the Official Google Blog and the European Public Policy Blog)

It’s taken 24 centuries, the work of archaeologists, scholars and historians, and the advent of the Internet to make the Dead Sea Scrolls accessible to anyone in the world. Today, on the eve of the new year on the Hebrew calendar, we’re celebrating the launch of the Dead Sea Scrolls online; a project of The Israel Museum, Jerusalem powered by Google technology.

Written between the third and first centuries BCE, the Dead Sea Scrolls include the oldest known biblical manuscripts in existence. In 68 BCE, they were hidden in 11 caves in the Judean desert on the shores of the Dead Sea to protect them from the approaching Roman armies. They weren’t discovered again until 1947, when a Bedouin shepherd threw a rock in a cave and realized something was inside. Since 1965, the scrolls have been on exhibit at the Shrine of the Book at The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Among other topics, the scrolls offer critical insights into life and religion in ancient Jerusalem, including the birth of Christianity.

Now, anyone around the world can view, read and interact with five digitized Dead Sea Scrolls. The high resolution photographs, taken by Ardon Bar-Hama, are up to 1,200 megapixels, almost 200 times more than the average consumer camera, so viewers can see even the most minute details in the parchment. For example, zoom in on the Temple Scroll to get a feel for the animal skin it's written on—only one-tenth of a millimeter thick.

You can browse the Great Isaiah Scroll, the most well known scroll and the one that can be found in most home bibles, by chapter and verse. You can also click directly on the Hebrew text and get an English translation. While you’re there, leave a comment for others to see.

The scroll text is also discoverable via web search. If you search for phrases from the scrolls, a link to that text within the scroll viewers on the Dead Sea Scrolls collections site may surface in your search results. For example, search for [Dead Sea Scrolls "In the day of thy planting thou didst make it to grow"], and you may see a link to Chapter 17:Verse 11 within the Great Isaiah Scroll.

This partnership with The Israel Museum, Jerusalem is part of our larger effort to bring important cultural and historical collections online. We are thrilled to have been able to help this project through hosting on Google Storage and App Engine, helping design the web experience and making it searchable and accessible to the world. We’ve been involved in similar projects in the past, including the Google Art Project, Yad Vashem Holocaust photo collection and the Prado Museum in Madrid. We encourage organizations interested in partnering with us in our archiving efforts to enter their information in this form. We hope you enjoy visiting the Dead Sea Scrolls collection online, or any of these other projects, and interacting with history at your fingertips.

Update 9/26/11: An earlier version of this post erroneously excluded our work on the Google Art Project. We've also amended the description of the partnership form to better define the types of partners who might want to submit their information to be considered in our archiving work.

Posted by Eyal Miller, New Business Development and Eyal Fink, Software Engineer, Israel Research and Development Center

South Sudan is now official on Google Maps

2011-09-16T10:52:00.000-07:00

(Cross-posted from the Google Lat Long Blog)

Following the Republic of South Sudan's recognition as the UN's 193rd Member State, we have updated Google Maps and Google Earth to reflect the new country borders.

Satellite view of the Republic of South Sudan
Google -- along with the World Bank, UNOSAT, and RCMRD-- is also helping to create better maps of South Sudan by supporting communities who map schools, hospitals, roads, and more with Google Map Maker. The events kicked off in late April at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and a satellite event in Nairobi at the same time.

The most recent of several organized community mapping events was hosted on September 7th by the South Sudan National Bureau of Statistics in Juba. Information Minister Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin indicated that such mapping efforts help bring together South Sudanese from all over the world. The events provide them with new ways to share knowledge and experiences.

Let’s continue mapping South Sudan and stay connected via our Sudan-specific email discussions.

Posted by France Lamy, Program Manager, Google.org

Submit your idea for improving access to media

2011-09-09T11:28:00.000-07:00

With one week to go until the entry deadline for Citizen Media: A Global Innovation Competition, run by Ashoka Changemakers with support from Google, we wanted to share some of the activity that this competition has generated. We think it may inspire a few more of you to enter your ideas for improving the access to and quality of information for people around the globe.

Ashoka selected and announced two early entry prize winners whose innovations are representative of the type of ideas we’re excited to see come out of this competition:

The Viewspaper - An online platform engaging thousands of young people in India and the United Kingdom. Shiv Dravid, Viewspapers’s founder, writes: "The Viewspaper provides a web platform, which uses open source technology and online marketing to crowdsource the views of young people from around the world."
FreedomBox - A platform to provide private, anonymous, and secure interpersonal communication. According to founder James Vasile, it will "put in people's own hands and under their own control encrypted voice and text communication, anonymous publishing, social networking, media sharing, and (micro)blogging."

Ashoka also asked journalists and practitioners to develop content on the nature and future of information citizenship. Here are some of these.

Citizen Media: Perspectives from Thought-Leaders - Five videos from thought-leaders in citizen media, including talks from Ethan Zuckerman (co-founder of Global Voices), Alisa Miller (CEO of Public Radio International), and Wadah Khanfar (Director General of Al Jazeera).
"Media is complicated." Or not. - A review of some of the conversations and trends from the MIT | Knight Civic Media Conference.
Arab Spring -- and the Long Winter Ahead - A look at the role of citizen media in the Arab Spring, tensions between technology and privacy, and conversations with thought-leaders in the field.

To date, this competition has generated incredible activity and discussion on Citizen Media and has gotten people involved from around the globe. It has received submissions from India, the United States, Pakistan, Egypt, the UK, and Brazil as well as other countries. If you want to discuss issues related to Citizen Media you can join the Twitter chat that Ashoka Changemakers is hosting on Monday, September 12, 3 -5 pm EST.

There’s still time to submit your idea to have the opportunity to win a prize of $5,000 and be considered for an Ashoka Fellowship (which includes a three-year living stipend, and access to a global network of changemakers).

We're excited to support this program and encourage you to enter the competition.

Mimi Kravetz, Google.org Team

Using technology in crisis preparedness

2011-08-31T04:00:00.000-07:00

In many ways, the arrival of Hurricane Irene last week drove home the importance of National Preparedness Month, an effort from the FEMA Ready campaign to encourage Americans to take steps to prepare for emergencies throughout the year. With people relying on the Internet worldwide, it’s not surprising that Google search data and a recently released American Red Cross survey show that people turn to online resources and tools for information and communication during major crises. First responders, who provide services in the aftermath of disasters, are also finding Internet and cloud-based tools and information useful—for improving their understanding of a situation, collaborating with each other and communicating with the public.

Today, in preparation for September’s National Preparedness Month, our Crisis Response team is introducing a new Google Crisis Preparedness website with information and educational tools on using technology to prepare for crises. On the site, you can see how individuals and organizations have used technology during crises in the past, including how two girls located their grandfather after the Japan earthquake and tsunami in March of this year and how Americorps tracked volunteers during the tornadoes in Joplin, Missouri in May of this year. There’s a section for responders with information on using Google tools in crises, such as collaborating efficiently using Google Docs, Spreadsheets and Sites, visualizing the disaster-related information with Google My Maps and Google Earth, and more.

Also, you can access a new public preparedness web resource launching today: Get Tech Ready, developed as a collaboration between FEMA, the American Red Cross, the Ad Council and Google Crisis Response. There, you’ll find tips on using technology to prepare for, adapt to and recover from disasters, for example:

Learn how to send updates via text and internet from your mobile phone in case voice communications are not available
Store your important documents in the cloud so they can be accessed from anywhere or in a secure and remote area such as a flash or jump drive that you can keep readily available
Create an Emergency Information Document using this Ready.gov Emergency Plan Google Docs Template, or by downloading it to record and share your emergency plans and access them from anywhere

We encourage you to take a moment now to see how simple, easy-to-use and readily-available technology tools can help you prepare for a crisis. You’ll be more comfortable using these tools in the event of a disaster if you’ve already tried them out—and even integrated them into your daily life.

Nigel Snoad, Crisis Response Product Manager

Search data reveals people turn to the Internet in crises

2011-08-31T03:55:00.000-07:00

People often share stories with us about the ways the Internet has helped them during natural disasters. Whether it’s accessing information about the event, communicating with loved ones during a crisis or finding out how to help respond in the aftermath, the web plays a valuable role.

We looked up some statistics from our search data for several natural disasters to get insights into this phenomenon. We see two consistent trends in search behavior and internet use in the affected areas: a substantial (and often dominant) proportion of searches are directly related to the crises; and people continue to search and access information online even while traffic and search levels drop temporarily during and immediately following the crises. While in some cases internet access is restricted due to infrastructure failures, generally Internet Service Providers continue to provide connectivity and users take advantage of it. The findings show just how resilient the internet can be in times of crises, compared to other infrastructure.

We expect these trends will continue, and to a great extent this drives the ongoing work of the Google Crisis Response team to improve the information available on the 'net during crises.

Joplin Tornado, Joplin, MO, USA, May 2011
The week of this year’s tornadoes in Joplin, Missouri, searches for terms related to help, safety and recovery were significantly up from normal levels. [Disaster relief] was 2054 percent greater than normal and [FEMA], [American Red Cross], and [National Weather Service] showed increases of 400-1000%. Despite the tragedy, in which 25 percent of the town was destroyed and 75 percent damaged, we still saw search traffic at 58 percent of normal levels the day of the tornado, and an immediate recovery toward normal Internet traffic occured within a day of the event.

Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, LA, USA, August 2005
During Hurricane Katrina, one of the largest U.S. disasters in recent memory, terms like [new orleans], [hurricane] and [katrina] topped search queries while search queries for resource providers like FEMA and the American Red Cross grew the fastest, according to our data. Even as 90% of the population was evacuated from New Orleans, we still saw search traffic at more than 50 percent of normal in Louisiana and 20% of normal in New Orleans, based on the previous five-day average.

The Internet has proven to be an essential resource during natural disasters internationally as well.

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, Northern Coast, Japan, March, 2011
During the Japan earthquake and tsunami, searches for earthquake information and impacts including terms like [outage], [tokyo electric power] and [rolling blackouts] gew the fasted and also topped the list of most searched queries across Japan. In fact, even in the hardest hit areas, where mobile and landline communications were disrupted, Internet services were largely unaffected. During this time, people entered 620,000 records into Google Person Finder, a tool developed by the Google Crisis Response team to help people find missing friends and loved ones in the aftermath of such disasters.

Chile Earthquake, Maule Chile, February 2010
Immediately following the earthquake, people searching online were actively looking for earthquake information; earthquake and news source search terms became eight of the top 10 queries. [Terremoto] was the most searched term, and two online news sources, Terra and Emol, and the National Office for Emergencies [onemi] also appeared as top keywords. While there was no search traffic for 15 minutes after the earthquake, within one day searches had recovered to 25 percent of normal traffic, and search traffic returned to pre-earthquake levels within just four days.

Haiti Earthquake, Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, January 2010
The month of the Haiti earthquake, [seisme]—or “earthquake”—was the fastest-growing search term, and it continued its surface as a frequently searched term for almost two months after the earthquake. In the capital city of Port-Au-Prince, at the center of the earthquake, search traffic stopped momentarily, but did not completely disappear even when the three submarine Internet cables were cut as a result of the earthquake. As outlined by this U.S. Department of Homeland Security Communications Summary, Internet Service Providers were able to quickly reroute connections through a microwave relay wireless communication between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. This allowed traffic to return to rise within one day, and reach normal levels within a few months, despite ongoing damage to the city and country’s infrastructure.

We’re excited about continuing our work to create and support products that make the Internet even more useful to people looking for information and communication during crises.

Ryan Falor, Crisis Response Product Manager

New York City Hurricane Irene Maps

2011-08-27T11:01:00.000-07:00

Cross-posted on the Google LatLong Blog.

Yesterday, we posted about our new Google Crisis Map, with the latest available geographic information on current disasters including Hurricane Irene. This morning, we put together a New York specific Crisis Map for Hurricane Irene, including Evacuation Zones, Shelter, and Storm Tracking. Sources include NYC Datamine, FEMA, American Red Cross and other organizations.

We hope this information helps you stay informed and be prepared.

Posted by Nigel Snoad, Google Crisis Response Product Manager

Just published: Assessing Google Flu Trends performance

2011-08-26T21:07:00.000-07:00

We’re pleased to announce that “Assessing Google Flu Trends Performance in the United States during the 2009 Influenza Virus A (H1N1) Pandemic” is now published in PLoS One. If you’ve wondered what changed between our pre and post swine flu Google Flu Trends models in the US, or if you’re just a flu data nerd, then you’ll definitely want to read it.

Each year we review our Google Flu Trends models and may update them, if an update would make them more accurate when compared with the official influenza data we benchmark against. In this paper, we, together with a member of the US CDC influenza division, provide details of how the original pre-H1N1 Google Flu Trends model for the US performed in comparison with the updated Google Flu Trends model when compared against the CDC’s ILINet (Influenza-Like-Illness) data.

Since the original Google Flu Trends model for the US was built using only seasonal influenza data (pandemic flu data didn’t exist in the five years prior to 2009), we did not know how Google Flu Trends would perform during an outbreak of pandemic flu. If the symptoms and complications of pandemic flu were similar to seasonal flu, we expected Google Flu Trends would be able to detect it.

Time series plots of ILINet data and original and updated Google Flu Trends estimates

A. ILINet data and Google Flu Trends estimates from 2009

B. ILINet data and Google Flu Trends estimates for the entire time period where GFT estimates are available: 2003-2009.

(Click on image to enlarge)

We found that while both the original and updated Google Flu Trends models performed well prior to H1N1, the updated model performed better during H1N1--particularly during the first wave of H1N1. Though generally getting the trend correct, the original model underestimated the magnitude of ILI activity during the H1N1. Why was this the case? In short, search behavior changed during H1N1. This was especially true for the categories “influenza complications” and “term for influenza." This is not unexpected, since differing complications and the fact that H1N1 began spreading during the northern hemisphere summer rather than winter likely played a role. It is interesting to see how the categories and examples of specific queries changed, though. For some specific examples, read the paper.

We’re soon headed into flu season for the half of the world in the Northern hemisphere, so let’s stay healthy!

Posted by Corrie Conrad, Google.org

Mapping Hurricane Irene

2011-08-26T16:38:00.000-07:00

Cross-posted on the Google LatLong blog.

With Hurricane Irene headed towards the East Coast of the United States, the Google Crisis Response team has assembled a collection of map data to help you keep track of the storm. From this map, you're able to get most recent hurricane-related information from such sources as NOAA's National Hurricane Center and FEMA.

To help explore this information, we've created the Google Crisis Map, a map viewer with the latest available geographic information. Here's some more information about the map's content and features:

Google Crisis Map always shows the latest, valuable information we've been able to uncover on the most current situation
You can zoom and pan the map using the on-screen controls, and turn layers of information on or off just by clicking
You can find out more about the map layers by visiting the linked websites of the content owners
The site is optimized for mobile, so you can look at the map on a mobile phone as well as your desktop
You can also share the map, or embed it on your website or blog by clicking share to find the URL and HTML code

Hurricane Irene map viewer

To provide feedback or comments on the map, or if you're aware of map layers or other datasets that you would like to see included on our maps, please submit them for our consideration at google.org/crisismap. We'll continue to update the Crisis Response website with other valuable resources on Hurricane Irene and relevant preparedness tips.

To view the projected and historical path of Hurricane Irene in Google Earth you can visit the Google Earth Gallery or download the KML file.

We hope these tools help keep you and organizations better informed about diaster preparedness.

Posted by Susannah Raub, Tech Lead, Google Maps API, Google Crisis Response Team

Map Makerpedia: A worldwide community of mapmaking knowledge

2011-08-16T22:50:00.000-07:00

(Cross-posted from the Google Lat Long Blog)

The collective expertise of the Google Map Maker community has benefitted millions of people who use Google Maps. Users have helped put cities, road networks, and universities on the map for the first time in over 187 countries and regions. Now, users have the ability to contribute more than their mapping edits; they can also share their experiences, knowledge, and local expertise.

Map Makerpedia homepage

Map Makerpedia is a new crowdsourced guide for Google Map Maker that features lessons, articles, and tutorials. Alongside the Lat Long Blog and Map Your World community, Map Makerpedia is part of Google’s effort to highlight the contributions of individuals and organizations. Similar to a Wiki, the site allows users to both submit content and make edits.

Students at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria are using Map Makerpedia to showcase their campus mapping project. Their contribution is more than a simple account of activities taking place but also contains information on event planning, preparation, and important challenges faced. These experiences serve as a guide for groups in other schools to follow, and these groups, in turn, can share their own experiences on the university mapping page.

Mapping in groups at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria

Map Makerpedia features a ‘Maps 101’ section, which puts Map Maker tutorials in a lesson-based form. Additionally ‘Map Maker on the Ground’ highlights the unique applications of the tool in the field, such as flood mapping in Pakistan, health mapping in Africa, and slum mapping across the world.

Map Makerpedia was designed for flexibility and collaboration at all levels, from new submissions to revisions. The initial design and much of the original content was shaped by the Map Maker Advocates, as well as Dr. Rob Lemmens from ITC.

Google Map Maker allows users to add and update geographic information for millions to see. Map Maker encourages users to make their mark on the map. Map Makerpedia enables users to build their Map Maker knowledge and also make their mark on the greater community.

Posted by Daniel Schier, Google.org

Mapping towards Crisis Relief in the Horn of Africa

2011-08-12T11:29:00.000-07:00

(Cross-posted from the Google Lat Long Blog)

In the wake of intense drought, the Horn of Africa is gripped by its worst famine in more than 60 years. Over 12.4 million people across Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia are threatened with hunger and disease as they are unable to access basic survival means. UN agencies and other humanitarian organizations are rallying to support refugees on the move, particularly to the thousands fleeing Somalia. Valerie Amos, OCHA Emergency Relief Coordinator, has stated that “This will not be a short crisis.” The emergency is expected to persist at least three to four months, and the number of people needing humanitarian assistance could increase by as much as 25 percent.

Ethiopia/Somali refugees. Water point in Kobe camp. Dollo Ado Region. UNHCR, G. Puertas, July 2011.

Fresh and accurate maps are among the many critical factors in assessing such a state of crisis, as they provide vital information to facilitate emergency response and planning. Thanks to the efforts of our satellite imagery partner, GeoEye, we now have high resolution imagery of locations with the most pressing humanitarian needs. This has made Google Map Maker community mapping efforts even more effective, by allowing the creation of improved maps over refugee camps in Kenya, Ethiopia and the city of Mogadishu. Volunteers are mapping roads, hospitals, schools, community centers, and water resources, among other vital landmarks. The map data contributed is being shared periodically with the UN agencies engaged in this crisis. Google has also donated 1 million USD to help local and international organizations provide famine and drought relief support in the Horn of Africa.

You can help the Horn of Africa during its time of crisis by creating detailed maps using your local knowledge of places, such as cities, roads, and natural landmarks. If you’re unfamiliar with the region, try pairing up with people who have local knowledge, who can help by reviewing and correcting your edits. To participate in these ways and more, and offer feedback, please join our Africa mailing list and visit the Horn of Africa community mapping site as we all map the way toward crisis relief.

Posted by France Lamy, Program Manager Emerging Markets, Google.org

A big push for big ideas in Pakistan

2011-08-10T11:30:00.000-07:00

(Cross-posted on the Lat Long blog).

Pakistan continues on a trajectory of exciting technology initiatives, sparked most recently by three consecutive Google Map Maker events in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore in early June. Following on the heels of these successful MapUps, P@SHA (Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT & ITES), in collaboration with Google, launched a fund to drive social innovation in Pakistan.

Islamabad: Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Dr. Mohammed Yaseen inaugurating “Social Innovation Fund” by P@SHA at PTA headquarters. Dr. Khawar Siddique Khokhar, Ms. Jehan Ara, President of P@SHA, Mr. Badar Khushnood, Country Consultant for Google, MD PSEB Mr. Zia Imran are also pictured

The purpose of the P@SHA Social Innovation fund is to encourage big ideas by providing the Pakistani people with financial support and guidance for social innovation projects. Google has provided a seed grant of US$250,000, which will be allocated to 25 all-star proposals that incorporate technology as a means of addressing a specific social need, such as flood relief or disease prevention. The idea is not simply to fund the creation of software, but to fund ideas that use Information and Communication Technologies as a platform for delivery and as a means for empowerment.

Contributed by Outreach Guru, Rabia Garib of CIO Pakistan

In addition to offering funding, P@SHA has established an oversight committee, advisory board, and outreach gurus from the business IT community to guide the shortlisted proposals from inception to reality. The hope is to create a safe harbor for eager entrepreneurs to jump-start ideas without the fear of failure. P@SHA President Jehan Ara anticipates that many of these ideas will emerge from Pakistani youth. According to Jehan, one of Pakistan’s main strengths is that 60% of the population is below the age of 24, something the country can leverage. Jehan believes a large number of these individuals are passionate about making a difference in the communities in which they live--and, to some extent, are already doing so.

P@SHA launch in Karachi, Pakistan: Mr. Ashraf Kapadia, Chairman of P@SHA, Mr. Badar Khushnood, Google Pakistan Country Consultant, Ms. Jehan Ara, President of P@SHA, Mr. Amin Hashwani and Mr. Danish Lakhani, members of the P@SHA Fund Advisory Board

Google Map Maker has already witnessed several such innovations in Pakistan, such as Sindh Flood Maps, FloodMAPS of Dr. Sohaib Khan, and http://www.local.com.pk/, which implement the Google Maps API to assist in disaster relief management. Proposals are being accepted through August, and are not limited by age, gender, caste or creed. P@SHA requires only that applicants be Pakistanis who are based in Pakistan and ready to share their innovations with the world.

Amongst others, we anxiously await any future mapping projects that may be in store following P@SHA’s announcement of winners in the early fall, and encourage all our avid Pakistani mappers and brilliant innovators to submit their big idea!

Posted by Lori Savageau, Community Manager, Google Map Maker

No more Guinea worm in Ghana!

2011-08-05T20:44:00.000-07:00

We’re proud to celebrate with Ghana and the Carter Center the elimination of Guinea worm (dracunculiasis) from Ghana. Several years ago Google.org provided $1,450,000 in funding to the Carter Center to support the eradication of this debilitating, 3,000 year old disease from Ghana. It’s now been 14 months since the last case of Guinea worm was reported there.

This is a fantastic accomplishment that took a lot of hard work by the Carter Center, the Ministry of Health and their partners. There is no drug to prevent the infection of Guinea worm disease. Thus, our funds supported health education, as village-based health workers were trained to educate people about the origins of the disease and how to prevent it. In addition, these health workers mobilized to treat water sources, advocate for the provision of clean water, and monitor and contain cases of Guinea worm. With our funds in 2008, the Carter Center achieved an 85% reduction in cases--the largest year over year percentage reduction seen in the history of the program! Ghana now enters an additional surveillance period to achieve official World Health Organization certification of its success.

Guinea worm is caused by a roundworm that lays its larvae in water. When people drink the infected water the larvae hatch inside them and can grow up to 3 feet in length before painfully emerging through their skin about a year later. There’s no way of knowing where the worm will emerge. It’s not unusual for it to exit near the ankle or foot, which impairs the victim’s movement and ability to work. It’s a slow and painful process to remove the worm without breaking it off in the patient. Often, affected individuals seek relief by submerging their sores in water, at which point the worm releases new larvae into the water and the cycle continues.

In 1986, when the Carter Center began the campaign to eradicate Guinea worm, there were more than 3.5 million cases across 20 countries in Asia and Africa. Today, only 3 countries remain: South Sudan, Mali and Ethiopia. So far this year only 800 cases have been reported.

To date, smallpox is the only human disease that’s been eradicated. The Carter Center is well on its way to making Guinea worm the second human disease to be wiped off the earth.

Update (8/10): Text amended to reflect that Guinea worm would be the second human disease to be eradicated. The animal disease Rinderpest was announced as successfully eradicated in June of this year.

Posted by Corrie Conrad, Google.org