No need for fussing or fighting, my friend. Now you can live on a Yellow Submarine, march in Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Band or go to Strawberry Fields Forever. Starting on December 24, all 13 of The Beatles’ iconic original albums, plus four essential Beatles collections, will be available to stream on Google Play Music—enough music to fill up eight days a week.
The best-selling band in history, with 20 number one Billboard Hot 100 hits, The Beatles continue to be one of the world’s most beloved bands decades after their last original album. So, what lyrics take a sad song and make it better? What albums get you through a hard day’s night? Come together, right now, to take a look at some of the top Beatles searches, according to Google Trends.
Bonus: If you open up the Google app on your Android phone and say “Ok Google, play the Beatles,” There will be an answer. Let it stream.
In the words of Ed Sullivan: “Ladies and Gentlemen, The Beatles!”
Posted by Gwen Shen, Music Partnerships, Google Play
Editor’s note: This year, we’ve expanded the lens of what you can see on YouTube, transporting you to new places to see new things. We brought virtual reality (VR) features to YouTube’s Android app so that you can feel as though you are right there and 360-degree video support so creators can share new perspectives with their fans. Now we’re widening the lens even further by bringing you a new interactive video format, Google Spotlight Stories. For select Android devices now. More soon.
A humble caretaker is surprised when a mysterious stranger causes mischief on the roof. He investigates, but can’t seem to catch even a glimpse of the troublemaker. And so the chase goes... room to room… up and down… The stranger remains just out of sight, leaving behind only a trail of gifts…
Meanwhile, you’re following the action at your own pace, from whatever angle you please—behind you, to your left, to your right, or in front of you. All on your mobile phone.
“Special Delivery” is the latest of several Spotlight Stories to come out of Google ATAP (our Advanced Technology and Projects group). With Google Spotlight Stories, your phone becomes a window to a story happening all around you. The sensors on your phone allow the story to be interactive, so when you move your phone to various scenes, you unlock mini-stories within the story.
We didn’t want anyone to miss Aardman’s “Pink Panther”-style holiday caper! So we also made a YouTube 360 version for other Android devices, iOS devices, and the web. You can find both versions of “Special Delivery” on the Spotlight Stories YouTube channel, and you can also watch with Google Cardboard. Next year, we’ll bring Google Spotlight Stories to more Android devices and the YouTube iOS app.
You’ll want to watch “Special Delivery” a few times to find all the surprises within the story. In the full interactive experience, you’ll encounter 10 subplots, three potential ways to view the ending, and 60+ moments where you can decide to follow the story in different ways. Each viewing is unique. We don’t want to spoil the ending, so that’s all we’ll say for now…
Posted by Kurt Wilms, Senior Product Manager, YouTube VR, recently watched “Special Delivery,” and Rachid El Guerrab, Technical Project Lead, Spotlight Stories, Google ATAP, recently watched “Time Couch.”
A humble caretaker is surprised when a mysterious stranger causes mischief on the roof. He investigates, but can’t seem to catch even a glimpse of the troublemaker. And so the chase goes... room to room… up and down… The stranger remains just out of sight, leaving behind only a trail of gifts…
Meanwhile, you’re following the action at your own pace, from whatever angle you please—behind you, to your left, to your right, or in front of you. All on your mobile phone.
“Special Delivery” is the latest of several Spotlight Stories to come out of Google ATAP (our Advanced Technology and Projects group). With Google Spotlight Stories, your phone becomes a window to a story happening all around you. The sensors on your phone allow the story to be interactive, so when you move your phone to various scenes, you unlock mini-stories within the story.
We didn’t want anyone to miss Aardman’s “Pink Panther”-style holiday caper! So we also made a YouTube 360 version for other Android devices, iOS devices, and the web. You can find both versions of “Special Delivery” on the Spotlight Stories YouTube channel, and you can also watch with Google Cardboard. Next year, we’ll bring Google Spotlight Stories to more Android devices and the YouTube iOS app.
You’ll want to watch “Special Delivery” a few times to find all the surprises within the story. In the full interactive experience, you’ll encounter 10 subplots, three potential ways to view the ending, and 60+ moments where you can decide to follow the story in different ways. Each viewing is unique. We don’t want to spoil the ending, so that’s all we’ll say for now…
Posted by Rachid El Guerrab, Technical Project Lead, Spotlight Stories, Google ATAP
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mbUAzRH7Bao/VnjmzqSrsjI/AAAAAAAARm8/Sj0CZl2NS3g/s1600/SLS_SpecialDelivery_Twitter_1.gifRachid El GuerrabTechnical Project Lead, Spotlight StoriesGoogle ATAP
Between last-minute gift shopping, airport pickups, cookie baking, and ugly-sweater parties, there’s a lot to do this season. So you may have missed a few updates from around Google that can actually make your holiday season a little brighter (or at least make your to-do list go a little faster. Won’t make your sweater any less ugly, though). Here’s a look at what we’ve unwrapped recently:
Add this one to your to-do list: Reminders in Google Calendar Whether it’s “send holiday cards” or “use up FSA,” you can now add Reminders to Google Calendar to help you complete your to-do list. These aren’t like those calendar entries you create yourself that you plain-old ignore completely and that then disappear. With Reminders, if you don’t complete the task and dismiss the Reminder, it’ll pop up on your calendar again the next day. And the next. And the … until you can’t take it anymore and just send those holiday cards already. You’ll thank us when your list is checked off. Twice.
Now on Tap gets handier for the holidays Now on Tap helps you get quick information without leaving the app you're using by tapping and holding the home button on Android phones—and new updates make it even handier for the holidays. So if you get a text with your cousin’s flight number, you can tap and hold to see the flight’s status, then respond without having to juggle between searching and texting. If you ordered a gift online and want to know if it will make it down the chimney and under the tree on time, tap and hold your confirmation email to get tracking info. Consider it your own personal Santa’s Little Helper.
Tell the family when to expect you with trip bundles There’s probably a lot going on in your email right now if you’ve got an upcoming trip home or holiday getaway planned. From your flight confirmation to rental car details, Inbox by Gmail already groups these emails into trip bundles so you can find everything you need for your trip quickly. Those bundles just got even more useful—you can now access them offline (good for on the plane), share the trip summary with friends or family, and add other pertinent emails (like that message with your aunt’s new address) to the bundle.
Templates in Google Docs go mobile If you’re collecting family recipes or planning a trip, templates in Docs, Sheets and Slides help you get started faster, so you can spend more time concentrating on the words you’re writing and less time worrying about how it looks. These pre-made templates are now available on Android and iOS so you can do more while on the go. Ho, ho, ho!
Posted by Abbi Tatton, Google Editorial ElfIMAGE URLAbbi TattonEditorial ElfGoogle
From November 30 through December 11, the French government hosted COP21 the UN Climate Change Conference which resulted in 195 countries coming together to adopt the most ambitious climate change agreement in history. Roughly 40,000 people attended including 195 nations and thousands of NGOs and corporations.
Over the past two weeks in Paris, Googlers have been discussing how sustainability has been making good business sense for us. We believe that strong action from the business community is critical to meeting the climate challenge. We were official sponsors of COP21 through the French Government, we co-hosted an event with RE100 and The Climate Group on the role of industry in driving renewable energy growth, and we showcased a Google immersive Portal display with rolling presentations of climate content from various partners!
At our event with The Climate Group and RE100, we hosted leaders from government and business at our Paris office to discuss the role that companies can play in leading the way to a 100% renewable energy future. More than 60% of global Fortune 100 companies have set public renewable energy or GHG reduction targets not only because they believe in environmental sustainability but because they think that renewable energy makes good business sense. Leaders from Google, Ikea, Unilever, Marks & Spencer, and Philips Lighting discussed their business cases for purchasing renewable energy, and were joined by officials from the European Commission and the South Australian Government to focus on the role of government policy in unlocking private sector demand for renewables.
To help showcase climate issues, the “Google Portal,” an immersive 9 screen, 3 x 3 meter square interactive display, was constructed in the public Climate Generations Area to allow people to explore and learn about their world, and to encourage public discussion. With 70 presentations, nonprofit demonstrations ranged from sea level rise by Climate Central, deforestation from Global Forest Watch and MapBiomas, coral bleaching from Underwater Earth and Sylvia Earle, and Climate Reality on the current state of climate changes. The Mayor of Paris, along with a broader coalition of mayors, presented their climate commitments before formal submission to the United Nations. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization discussed Collect Earth and land classification tool to enable country reporting and measurement and the EU Commission previewed the first look at a Global Water Surface map over the last 30 years. Google projects including Makani’s energy kites, the Earth Engine platform, a timelapse movie of the changing landscape, and YouTube’s #OursToLose campaign were shown.
It's great to see a strong international climate agreement coming out of Paris that moves us towards a zero-carbon economy. Climate change is one of the most significant global challenges of our time. Rising to that challenge involves a complex mix of policy, technology, and international cooperation and Google is committed to doing our part.
Now you can watch the candidates debate on YouTube, too.
Next month, we’ll join together with NBC News to present the final DNC sanctioned Democratic presidential debate before the first caucus and primary votes are cast—with the action live streamed on YouTube. The NBC News-YouTube Democratic Candidates Debate, hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus Institute and moderated by Lester Holt, will take place on Sunday, January 17, 2016, in Charleston, S.C., airing on NBC from 9-11 p.m. ET and streamed live on the NBC News YouTube channel.
With so many YouTube fans following this election closely, of course there will be an opportunity for you to get involved. Along with Google Trends data, the debate will feature questions from the YouTube community. Look out for more information on how you can engage in the coming weeks.
Since 2005 you’ve made YouTube a home for global politics, and today you watch more than 5 million hours of news on YouTube every day. Over the course of 2016, you’ll be able to find all of the major election moments unfold on YouTube—tune in to the NBC News YouTube channel January 17 to kick off the election year.
Posted by Brandon Feldman, YouTube News, and Steve Grove, Google News Lab IMAGE URLAUTHOR NAMEAUTHOR TITLEAUTHOR TEAM
From devastation to empowerment and tragedy to hope, our 15th annual Year in Search uncovers the moments that captured the world’s hearts—and questions that revealed who we are. From “How can I help Nepal” to “How can the world find peace?” here’s a look back at 2015, through the lens of Google search.
Searching for ways to help Within two minutes of the deadly attack on Paris in November, the French capital was searching for information on the assault underway in their city. Less than 10 minutes later, the rest of the world started searching. As of today, we’ve seen more than 897 million searches about the city as the world came together to “Pray for Paris.”
Global showings of support and offerings of help were a key topic in search this year. Following the Nepal earthquake, “how can I help Nepal?” was a top global search. From Somerville, Mass. to Ludwigsberg, Germany, people asked how to volunteer and what to donate.
Searching for perspective While questions around Nepal were similar around the world, the migrant crisis in Europe spiked a wider variety of queries. From Italy asking “How to adopt a Syrian orphan child?” to Germany wondering “Where are the refugees coming from?” the world turned to Google to understand the situation and what it meant for them.
In the U.S., the topic of guns brought varying questions. From Portland, Ore. to Austin, Texas, people across the country searched for “what is gun control,” “why do we need gun control,” “why won’t gun control work” and more to understand the issue. With more than 160 million searches, interest in gun control spiked higher than interest for gun shops—typically a more popular search—at multiple points in 2015.
Searching for acceptance In June, we met Caitlyn Jenner, someone we’d both always known and were meeting for the first time. Across the globe, she was searched more than 344 million times, and her story helped give a new voice to the transgender community.
People cheered “#lovewins” when the U.S. Supreme Court made a monumental ruling that gay marriages should be recognized at both the State and Federal level. The reaction was instant, with search interest in both same-sex marriage and the Supreme Court reaching higher than at any time in Google's history.
Searching for… the dress, the Force and the singer Turning to the Search watercooler, the year began with the world divided over an important question: is it white and gold? or blue and black? Days of debate and 73 million searches later, “black and blue dress” topped searches of “white and gold dress,” and the matter was settled forever (right?).
And though “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is just hitting theaters this week, it’s already taken the Internet by storm(trooper). The trailer alone garnered more than 155 million searches! But the all-time high for Google searches around “Star Wars” was in 2005 after “The Revenge of the Sith” came out in theaters—can we beat it this week?
Finally, what better way to close out the year than by saying “Hello”? With the debut of “25,” Adele broke records by the week, putting her album at the top of the charts and skyrocketing to the top of Google Search faster than any other musician this year.
Hundreds of stories in depth The 2015 Year in Search goes deeper than we've ever gone before. This year, we’re covering hundreds of news stories, sharing interactive guides and charts, and diving into the numbers by sharing things like how many times people searched for Adele (439 million, if you want to know!).
See how all of the biggest stories of the year compared:
Go to Google.com/2015 to explore the rest of the 2015 Year in Search stories and top trending charts from around the world.
Posted by Amit Singhal, Senior Vice President, Searchhttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-szT0CpTrHss/VnEWdApFBxI/AAAAAAAARlU/L-tT2ireW74/s1600/YIS-Mars-Blog.jpgAmit SinghalSenior Vice PresidentSearch
Sharing photos and videos between friends and family after your birthday bash or holiday gathering shouldn’t be difficult. But between the great shots your brother has buried on his iPhone and that friend who keeps forgetting to email you her pics, you're often left reliving the event through just the photos and videos you took yourself.
Today we’re introducing shared albums in Google Photos—a fast and simple way to pool your photos and videos that makes it easier to bring everyone’s memories together.
With the launch of Google Photos in May, we made it simpler to share images and albums by sending links over SMS, email, or messaging apps. With today’s launch, you can now make the albums you send collaborative. People receiving the shared album can join to add their own photos and videos, and also get notifications when new pics are added. You can even save photos and videos from a shared album to your Google Photos library, so that you can hold onto them even if you weren’t the one holding the camera.
Best of all, there’s no setup—select photos, make an album and then send the link off to whomever you’d like. And it works no matter what device your friends and family are using—tablet or laptop, Android or iPhone.
Shared albums is rolling out today on Android, iOS and the web. Time to create an album and revisit that holiday party from another angle!
Posted by James Gallagher, Engineering Lead, Google PhotosIMAGE URLJames GallagherEngineering LeadGoogle Photos
2015 was kind of a big year for YouTube. Along with a year-long celebration of YouTube’s 10th birthday, YouTube creators and their fans introduced the planet to the latest dance crazes, opened up discussions about diversity and inclusion, and lip-synced in cars and onstage in front of the whole, wide world.
Now it's time to look at the videos it seems like the whole world has seen: the top trending videos of 2015. From late-night hosts to Slow Mo Guys, Super Bowl ads to cops doing covers, these are the videos and creators we collectively watched, danced, and sang along to for more than 25 million hours this year.
We got together 150+ YouTube creators from all over the world for the 2015 installment of YouTube’s annual Rewind video, featuring everything from dance prodigies, to TV personalities, to an epic plastic ball fight.
Like what you see? If trending videos and creators are your thing (and you want to see them before next year’s annual round-up), check out the new YouTube Trending tab. You’ll get the videos that are taking off delivered directly to your Android, iOS, and desktop device—the best way to catch the videos, creators, and trends the world is talking about.
Posted by Kevin Allocca, Head of Culture & TrendsIMAGE URLKevin AlloccaHead of Culture & TrendsYouTube
Women around the world are creating and building incredible technology companies. We see this every day through our Google for Entrepreneurs programs—like #40Forward, which works with organizations to increase the representation of female entrepreneurs in startup communities, and our baby-friendly startup school Campus for Moms. Supporting these startups is important because teams with diverse perspectives and experiences—particularly in leadership positions—make better products for users.
But the data still tells us that women-led startups often struggle to get access to top investors who can help them raise money. Despite women owning 29 percent of U.S. businesses, female-led companies receive only 3 percent of venture capital—a lifeline for many startups to fund new product development and hiring.
With this in mind, today we're hosting our first Google Demo Day specifically for startups with female founders. More than 450 companies from 40+ countries applied, and we chose 11 female-led startups to join us in San Francisco for the event. These startups come from all over the world and span a variety of industries—from Kichink, a B2B e-commerce company in Mexico, to ChattingCat, a real-time translation service in South Korea.
At today’s event, each startup will have four minutes to pitch their businesses, followed by Q&A with a panel of judges. At the end of the day, the judges will crown a Judges’ Favorite, based on the strength of their business model, their team, and their product. Demo Days aren’t just a time to pitch investors; founders also receive mentoring and feedback from Googlers and Silicon Valley veterans through a series of talks and workshops.
Companies from our past two Demo Days have raised $3.5 million from investors who are in attendance, and millions more afterwards. For example, Durham, North Carolina-based beverage entrepreneur Tatiana Birgisson, who won our Demo Day in April, has raised more than $1 million for her energy tea startup MATI Energy.
But it's not just the people in the room who can take part in the big day. You can tune in to the live stream on YouTube at 10am PT today to see Demo Day in action. You'll also have the chance to vote for the winner of the "Game Changer" Award, an audience favorite trophy. We hope this Demo Day will not only shine a light on the participating startups, but on the exciting companies being built and led by female entrepreneurs everywhere.
Posted by Mary Grove, Director of Google for Entrepreneurshttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eEx8bgGGe1I/Vmhcryv1YwI/AAAAAAAARkU/92ZGHjnC5Uc/s1600/IMG_6152.JPGMary GroveDirectorGoogle for Entrepreneurs
