Author Archives: Emily Wood

How Nehemiah Manufacturing Co. creates jobs—and second chances

Everyone deserves a second chance. That’s what motivated Dan Meyer and Richard Palmer when they founded Nehemiah Manufacturing Company in 2009. They wanted to bring manufacturing into the inner city of their hometown of Cincinnati, OH, and their goal was to hire people with backgrounds that would typically make it difficult for them to get a job. Some employees may have no work history or a criminal record, but Nehemiah believes they need the opportunity to prove themselves. Dan and Richard turned to the web to help their business grow, expanding Nehemiah from just 10 employees to 110 today.

Watch the video above to learn more about the mission of Nehemiah and the impact it's had on one of its employees.

Source: The Official Google Blog

With these Pixel tips, your photos will bloom bright

Spring has sprung, and so have desert wildflowers, daffodils along the highway, and even the tulips you picked up at your florist. Everything seems to be in bloom—and everyone is sharing photos of flowers on social media.

Your petal pics should be the best of the bunch. So with help from Brittany Asch of BRRCH Floral, we’ve gathered a few tips to help you take, store and share the prettiest photos of poppies, petunias, phlox or whatever blossoms you love best—with help from your Pixel, Phone by Google, of course!

Lighting is key. Check your exposure to ensure you're giving your plants and flowers the right amount of light to see the details. On Pixel, you can easily brighten or darken your shot to get the perfect amount of exposure. Tap the camera, the slide your finger up or down to adjust the exposure depending on the lighting conditions.
Consider your frame. Take note of the surrounding area (is it worthy of the ‘gram?). If it’s not, zoom in. If it is, capture a wider angle that shows the full view. On Pixel, you can use a compositional tool to help frame your shot. Look for the grid in the top right of the camera—your arrangement should be at the center of the grid. We recommend 3 x 3 as a ratio for flowers.
That Lens Blur, tho. This Pixel feature will make your photos look professional. Start by clicking on the menu bar at the top left; you’ll see the Lens Blur option second from the bottom. Click on it, take your photo and slowly raise your phone to capture the perfect lens blur. After you snap a photo you can also edit the placement and degree of lens blur. This is a great for up-close shots!
Grab a friend. Have him or her pose with your flowers to bring them to life and add depth to the photo.
Take as many as you want! With Pixel, you get unlimited high-quality storage with Google Photos for free, so you can try out as many shots as you need without worrying about filling up your phone with dud buds.
Find ‘em later. Just type “flowers” into the search bar in Google Photos for a bouquet of photos just waiting to be shared.

Don’t forget to share your snapshots with #teampixel for a chance to be featured on our Instagram account!

Source: The Official Google Blog

With these Pixel tips, your photos will bloom bright

Lighting is key. Check your exposure to ensure you're giving your plants and flowers the right amount of light to see the details. On Pixel, you can easily brighten or darken your shot to get the perfect amount of exposure. Tap the camera, the slide your finger up or down to adjust the exposure depending on the lighting conditions.
Consider your frame. Take note of the surrounding area (is it worthy of the ‘gram?). If it’s not, zoom in. If it is, capture a wider angle that shows the full view. On Pixel, you can use a compositional tool to help frame your shot. Look for the grid in the top right of the camera—your arrangement should be at the center of the grid. We recommend 3 x 3 as a ratio for flowers.
That Lens Blur, tho. This Pixel feature will make your photos look professional. Start by clicking on the menu bar at the top left; you’ll see the Lens Blur option second from the bottom. Click on it, take your photo and slowly raise your phone to capture the perfect lens blur. After you snap a photo you can also edit the placement and degree of lens blur. This is a great for up-close shots!
Grab a friend. Have him or her pose with your flowers to bring them to life and add depth to the photo.
Take as many as you want! With Pixel, you get unlimited high-quality storage with Google Photos for free, so you can try out as many shots as you need without worrying about filling up your phone with dud buds.
Find ‘em later. Just type “flowers” into the search bar in Google Photos for a bouquet of photos just waiting to be shared.

Don’t forget to share your snapshots with #teampixel for a chance to be featured on our Instagram account!

Source: The Official Google Blog

With these Pixel tips, your photos will bloom bright

Lighting is key. Check your exposure to ensure you're giving your plants and flowers the right amount of light to see the details. On Pixel, you can easily brighten or darken your shot to get the perfect amount of exposure. Tap the camera, the slide your finger up or down to adjust the exposure depending on the lighting conditions.
Consider your frame. Take note of the surrounding area (is it worthy of the ‘gram?). If it’s not, zoom in. If it is, capture a wider angle that shows the full view. On Pixel, you can use a compositional tool to help frame your shot. Look for the grid in the top right of the camera—your arrangement should be at the center of the grid. We recommend 3 x 3 as a ratio for flowers.
That Lens Blur, tho. This Pixel feature will make your photos look professional. Start by clicking on the menu bar at the top left; you’ll see the Lens Blur option second from the bottom. Click on it, take your photo and slowly raise your phone to capture the perfect lens blur. After you snap a photo you can also edit the placement and degree of lens blur. This is a great for up-close shots!
Grab a friend. Have him or her pose with your flowers to bring them to life and add depth to the photo.
Take as many as you want! With Pixel, you get unlimited high-quality storage with Google Photos for free, so you can try out as many shots as you need without worrying about filling up your phone with dud buds.
Find ‘em later. Just type “flowers” into the search bar in Google Photos for a bouquet of photos just waiting to be shared.

Don’t forget to share your snapshots with #teampixel for a chance to be featured on our Instagram account!

Source: The Official Google Blog

With these Pixel tips, your photos will bloom bright

Lighting is key. Check your exposure to ensure you're giving your plants and flowers the right amount of light to see the details. On Pixel, you can easily brighten or darken your shot to get the perfect amount of exposure. Tap the camera, the slide your finger up or down to adjust the exposure depending on the lighting conditions.
Consider your frame. Take note of the surrounding area (is it worthy of the ‘gram?). If it’s not, zoom in. If it is, capture a wider angle that shows the full view. On Pixel, you can use a compositional tool to help frame your shot. Look for the grid in the top right of the camera—your arrangement should be at the center of the grid. We recommend 3 x 3 as a ratio for flowers.
That Lens Blur, tho. This Pixel feature will make your photos look professional. Start by clicking on the menu bar at the top left; you’ll see the Lens Blur option second from the bottom. Click on it, take your photo and slowly raise your phone to capture the perfect lens blur. After you snap a photo you can also edit the placement and degree of lens blur. This is a great for up-close shots!
Grab a friend. Have him or her pose with your flowers to bring them to life and add depth to the photo.
Take as many as you want! With Pixel, you get unlimited high-quality storage with Google Photos for free, so you can try out as many shots as you need without worrying about filling up your phone with dud buds.
Find ‘em later. Just type “flowers” into the search bar in Google Photos for a bouquet of photos just waiting to be shared.

Don’t forget to share your snapshots with #teampixel for a chance to be featured on our Instagram account!

Source: The Official Google Blog

The High Five: all eyes on April

When your week feels like it will never end, just imagine how it feels to be a pregnant giraffe. Here’s a look at five of the top trending Google searches from the week of March 27.

The Raiders’ big bet

It’s official—the Raiders are moving to Las Vegas. This week, the Oakland franchise announced that they’ll be taking their talents to Sin City. Though the move won’t take place until 2020, people are already searching for season tickets. Still, questions remain—like what are the odds the team will get to keep their name?

We hardly knew EU

Raider fans aren’t the only nation facing change. British Prime Minister Theresa May triggered Article 50 this week, officially kicking off the process for the U.K. to exit the European Union in 2019. People turned to search to ask “What does Brexit mean for Britain?” and “How does Brexit affect the EU?” They’re also curious about how it will affect financial markets: “Brexit stocks” is the top trending related search to “stocks” worldwide in the past week.

A twist ending?

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confirmed that accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers will continue to work for the Oscars next year, putting an end to queries like "Did the Oscars fire Pwc?" and "Will the Oscars retain PwC?" But after this year’s Best Picture envelope mix-up, which was blamed on a employee distracted by his phone, PwC's accountants will have to stash their devices next time. Apparently when it comes to the movies, simply silencing your cell phones is no longer sufficient.

April the Giraffe

People across the internet are craning their necks to find out more about April the Giraffe, who’s awaiting the birth of her new baby calf at the Animal Adventure Park in upstate New York. The zoo launched a live stream for people to tune in to the birth way back in February. But yesterday, they announced that the “calf countdown” had begun. The timing—and the mama-to-be’s name—has some people skeptical: Top queries include “Is April the Giraffe an April Fool’s joke?” and “Is April the Giraffe a hoax?”

But seriously...

Only time will tell if April the Giraffe is having the longest labor in documented giraffe history or pulling your leg. But if the spike in searches are any indication, you should prepare to be pranked by someone out there this April Fools’ Day. Not by us, though. We’d never do that.

Source: The Official Google Blog

The High Five: all eyes on April

When your week feels like it will never end, just imagine how it feels to be a pregnant giraffe. Here’s a look at five of the top trending Google searches from the week of March 27.

The Raiders’ big bet

We hardly knew EU

A twist ending?

April the Giraffe

But seriously...

Source: The Official Google Blog

The High Five: all eyes on April

When your week feels like it will never end, just imagine how it feels to be a pregnant giraffe. Here’s a look at five of the top trending Google searches from the week of March 27.

The Raiders’ big bet

We hardly knew EU

A twist ending?

April the Giraffe

But seriously...

Source: The Official Google Blog

The She Word: Jen Holland and her career expedition

In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating the powerful, dynamic and creative women of Google. Like generations before them, these women break down barriers and defy expectations at work and in their communities. Over the course of the month, we’ll help you get to know a few of these Google women, and share a bit about who they are and why they inspire us.

Today we’re talking to Jen Holland, a program manager on our education team who once played a humming game on the “Ellen DeGeneres Show” with Ellen and Vince Vaughn. (Before you ask, no—there’s no video.)

You’re at a dinner party and someone asks what you do. How do you explain your job to them?

My team works on education products like Google Classroom and Expeditions (a virtual field trip app for schools) that aim to transform how teaching and learning happen in the classroom. As a program manager, I’m responsible for our product pilots in schools—where we work directly alongside teachers and students to develop our products based on what schools actually need.

I lead our efforts to bring Expeditions to schools all over the globe through the Pioneer Program, which has taken more than 2 million students in 11 countries on an Expedition. Finally, I’m responsible for all Expeditions content creation, which now spans more than 500 high-quality VR tours and 200+ teacher lesson plans. This week we added 40 more Expeditions which are all focused on women’s careers, and introduce students to what it’s like to work as an astronaut, engineer, or firefighter.

You've been on the Expeditions team from the beginning. What have you found most inspiring or surprising about the program?

The biggest joy I get is going into a class and seeing the magic of Expeditions take over. The students are totally engaged without even realizing it and ask incredible and inquisitive questions. The teachers can hardly believe what they are seeing and the smiles on their faces are just priceless. That’s what learning should look like every day.

The coolest part of Expeditions for me is that I had no background in VR or creating compelling VR content—let alone any experience running a global program. I spent tons of time watching YouTube videos, reading articles, going to conferences, and listening to podcasts to learn more about VR. It took a lot of trial and error, but as my dad always said to me, “if there’s a will, there’s a way.”

Guess you could call this Jen’s “Daydream” job ;)

A perfect fit! Jen poses in one of the cases used to hold Expeditions kits from Best Buy Education.

This is from an Expeditions shoot at a recycling center. Two 5th-grade girls in the Bronx were upset about the amount of trash their classmates were throwing away, and emailed Google saying they couldn't afford to take the whole school to visit the recycling center—and could we create an Expedition instead? Jen couldn’t say no! The team created five Expeditions showing the sanitation site, recycling center, the compost place, etc. All students got to go on the Expedition—and now the whole school has implemented several new recycling programs.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I really wanted to work in “business.” My dad was a business professor and my first “investor” when I was a kid (think lemonade stands and sewing ribbon belts!). As I grew older and spent more time with my dad’s friends—like Bill Campbell, who was the chairman of Intuit and a beloved advisor to Silicon Valley companies—I became fascinated by entrepreneurship and product development.

I’m also passionate about helping college students get the skills they need to be competitive from day one. I learned so much of my important “soft skills” on the job—I wish I’d had more coaching and opportunities to learn about things like project management, budgeting, business modeling, giving and receiving peer feedback, upward communication, etc. in classes. That’s one of the reasons I love working on Expeditions—which can help students explore college campuses and learn more about other careers—and why I volunteer with students on entrepreneurship programs.

Tell us about one of your mentors who helped you get to where you are today.

My college accounting professor, Dawn Massey, was not only a fantastic teacher, but also encouraged me to pursue my crazy ideas. When I took my first accounting class in college, I was miserable. I hated accounting. But by spending so much time with her, I got better. I ended up switching my focus and moved into finance—something I’d never considered because I thought I was bad at math. Fast forward, I ended up with an MBA in Finance and accepted a role on Google’s finance team, which eventually led to my dream job—the one I have now.

My second mentor was someone I mentioned already—Bill Campbell. He was a dear friend of my dad’s, and always made time for me. I learned from him that it’s always important to make time for individuals who willing to put in the effort and succeed, whether that be through informal coffee chats, mentorships, reviewing resumes, doing mock interviews, etc. You can always make time to help someone out.

How do you spend most of your time outside of work?

My husband and I love to host and have friends over for dinner parties—or really any kind of parties. I LOVE craft projects, floral arrangements, and baking and cooking. I enjoy traveling—my favorite place to visit is Maine, where my family spends every Fourth of July. And I especially love the time I spend volunteering and engaging with students. I started a program that teaches college students professional development skills to help them close the digital divide in their school's communities, and also hit the ground running in a job or internship.

Source: Education

The She Word: Jen Holland and her career expedition