Tag Archives: developers

Eight women kicking butt and taking (domain) names

Who do you think of when you hear the words sister, daughter, mother? How about when the words are leader, founder, CEO? As a mom of three, I want my kids to grow up in a world where the second set of words is as likely as the first to bring a woman to mind. Which is why we’re elevating the voices of women and making sure their stories are heard in today’s #MyDomain series. On this International Women’s Day, Google Registry is sharing eight new videos — all featuring female leaders who are taking care of business on their .app and .dev domains. 

Alice Truswell

Alice Truswell is co-founder of Snoop.app, a money-saving app. “Fear being forgettable more than fearing not fitting in,” she says, “because the earlier you get comfortable with your voice, the earlier you can start refining results.”
A video interview with Alice Truswell
10:25

Annie Hwang

Annie Hwang is co-founder of Jemi.app, a company that helps creators and public figures interact with their audiences and make money. “Don't let imposter syndrome ever stop you,” she advises. “We've grown up in a society where we are constantly told that we should be a follower. Don't be a follower anymore; be a leader!”
A video interview with Annie Hwang
10:25

Elena Czubiak

Elena Czubiak is the developer and designer behind saturdaydesign.dev and co-founder of imaginarie.app. She quit her day job in 2018 to start her own business and hasn’t looked back since. Elena says, "Remember that although it might feel like starting over, you'll quickly see that your unique experiences will help you solve problems and make connections that nobody else could."
A video interview with Elena Czubiak
10:25

Ifrah Khan

Ifrah Khan is co-founder of Clubba.app, a platform that provides virtual creative extracurricular clubs (led by college students) for kids ages 6 to 12.  Ifrah encourages entrepreneurial women to find and connect with other women who are also working on their own ventures. “Really talk to them and get to know their journey,” she says. “If they fundraised, how did they fundraise? Fundraising is so hard when you start your own business in general, but as a woman it’s even harder.”
A video interview with Ifrah Khan
10:25

Rita Kozlov

Rita Kozlov is a product manager who leads the Cloudflare Workers product, which uses the workers.dev domain. Rita’s advice for women who want to become a product manager is, “Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions. In product management that’s definitely 100% a strength and never a weakness.”

A video interview with Rita Kozlov
10:25

Romina Arrigoni Samsó 

Romina Arrigoni Samsó is founder and CEO of ADDSKIN.app, a social marketplace for skincare, where community recommendations help customers choose the best products. Romina says, “La gracia de la tecnología es que como dice el dicho, el avión se construye en el aire. Lo importante es lanzarse,” which translates to, “The grace of technology is that, as the saying goes, the plane is built in the air. The important thing is to launch.”
Romina Arrigoni Samsó
10:25

Soraya Jaber

Soraya Jaber is co-founder and CEO of Minsar.app, a no-code AR-VR creative and publishing platform. “We don't care about your age, your gender, your race, or sexual orientation — there is no space where you are not allowed,” Soraya says.“Don't hinder yourself, jump into entrepreneurship. I can assure you that's a hell of a great adventure!”

A video interview with Soraya Jaber
10:25

Stefania Olafsdóttir

Stefania Olafsdóttir is the co-founder and CEO of Avo.app, a next-generation analytics governance company. Her advice? “It’s way more important to be brave than to be perfect.”
A video interview with Stefania Olafsdóttir
10:25

To see a special video featuring all these amazing women, check out goo.gle/mydomain. If you have a unique story to share about a .app, .dev, or .page domain and would like to be considered for our series, please fill out this short application form. Here’s to helping tell the stories of women everywhere so that we may inspire generations to come.

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These Black tech creators are changing the domain

In honor of Black History Month, the Google Registry team is featuring six Black creators on their #MyDomain video series.

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GameSnacks brings HTML5 games to Google products

Last February we announced GameSnacks, a HTML5 gaming platform from Area 120, Google’s workshop for experimental products. We launched GameSnacks to test whether lightweight, casual games would resonate with people who use the internet via low memory devices on 2G and 3G networks, especially in countries like India and Indonesia.

Since then, millions of people from around the world have played our games. GameSnacks now has more than 100 games built by early game development partners. These games span multiple genres: classics (e.g. Chess), racing games (e.g. Retro Drift), puzzle games (e.g. Element Blocks), and hypercasual games (e.g. Cake Slice Ninja) to list a few. You can check out the full catalog by visiting gamesnacks.com.


Today, we’re sharing how we’ve broadened our efforts by bringing HTML5 games to Google products. We’re also inviting more game developers to join us as we grow the platform.

Finding HTML5 games to play is hard

When I mention HTML5 web gaming to friends and family, they fondly remember Flash gaming sites from 10 or 15 years ago. Web games have come a long way since then. Mobile browsers can now render rich graphics, and engines like Phaser, Construct and Cocos make it easier for developers to build HTML5 games. 

HTML5 games tend to be small, enabling them to load quickly in a variety of network conditions, whether on 2G near the outskirts of New Delhi or on an intermittent connection on a New York City subway. Users can play them on any device with a web browser: Android, iOS, and desktop. And across these devices, users don’t need to install anything to play. They simply tap on a link and start playing games immediately.

However, the distribution landscape for HTML5 games is fragmented. Developers have to painstakingly modify their HTML5 games to work across each app they integrate with or web portal they upload to. Discovering HTML5 games to play is often difficult.

We’ve been thinking about how we can make HTML5 game developers’ lives easier to ultimately get more HTML5 games out to more users. Here’s a closer look at how we’re doing this.

A new way to discover HTML5 games across Google products

Back in February 2020, we announced our partnership with Gojek to bring HTML5 games to their users and give developers a new distribution opportunity. Since then, we’ve been bringing the GameSnacks catalog to users across a variety of different Google apps. 

First, we’ve made it easy to access GameSnacks games directly from the New Tab page in Chrome, starting with users in India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Kenya. Users can get to gamesnacks.com via the Top Sites icon on Chrome on Android. The Games section is one of the most frequently visited sections of the page.

The game Stack Bounce played on Google Chrome in mobile.

Blast through blocks in Stack Bounce on GameSnacks on Google Chrome.

Second, we’ve brought GameSnacks games to Google Pay users in India. Google Pay initially started as a way to help users pay friends. Increasingly, they allow users to get many more things done: book rides, order food and now, entertain themselves.


Google Pay users in India can play GameSnacks games from the Games section of the app.

Bolly Beat played on Google Pay in India

Bounce to the rhythm in Bolly Beat on GameSnacks on Google Pay.

Third, we’re experimenting with bringing GameSnacks games to the Google Assistant. When select Android Assistant users ask to play a GameSnacks game, they can start playing instantly.


The game 99 Balls played on Google Assistant.

Ask Google to play 99 Balls on GameSnacks on Google Assistant.

And finally, we’re experimenting with surfacing GameSnacks games in Discover. Select users in India will see GameSnacks games appear in their feed:

The game Tiger Run on Google Discover.

See how far you can run in Tiger Run on GameSnacks on Google Discover.


GameSnacks will be a one-stop shop for developers to bring their HTML5 games to Google users, no matter what product they’re using. Over the coming months, we’ll look for more opportunities to bring GameSnacks games to more Google products.

An open call to game developers

We’re committed to helping game developers succeed with HTML5. Beyond continuing to help developers reach more users, we’ll help developers build meaningful gaming businesses by helping them better monetize HTML5 games. We’ll soon start experimenting with next-generation AdSense for Games ad formats with a select number of GameSnacks games.

Meanwhile, we’re continuing to add more high quality HTML5 games to our catalog. If you’re a game developer interested in being an early GameSnacks partner, reach out and let’s work together.

A Czech developer helps fellow students learn remotely

As students all over the world were making the transition to online learning last spring, 17-year-old Matěj Krček, a Google Developer Group member, realized that many of his fellow students in Czechia needed tutorials in their native language on how to use Google Workspace.


Matěj usually works on coding and programming projects within his Google Developer Group, a program that connects local developers with similar interests, and it gave him a deep familiarity with Google technologies.  He realized that sharing his knowledge with others in their own language was a seemingly small initiative that could have a big impact. So even though it was beyond the scope of the group’s usual activities, he reached out to his local Google Developer Group leads, who helped connect him to the Grow with Google team to produce a series of instructional videos in Czech. 


A major focus of Matěj’s videos was helping students replicate their in-person learning experience. So he offered tips on things like digital time management with Google Calendar, how to save and keep track of assignments on Google Drive and best practices for submitting assignments via mobile phones with Google Workspace. 


Along with these organizational lessons, Matěj offered tips and tricks for younger students, many of whom were using the internet on their own for the first time. These videos centered on helping them understand proper internet etiquette, how to find supplemental learning materials, and how to work with others virtually.  


After his tutorials went live on the Grow with Google website, Matěj had the chance to share his unique lessons on online learning at the Czech Ministry of Education Conference. His talk focused on what practices he had seen particularly help students succeed in this new virtual environment. 

A screengrab of Matěj speaking at the Czech Ministry of Education virtual conference.

Matěj speaking at the Czech Ministry of Education Conference.

He offered meaningful insights from the perspective of a virtual student: 


  • Children are more likely to engage with learning materials and videos made by people their own age. 

  • Students need more independence to manage their time and flexibility when submitting their assignments. 

  • Learning is the easiest when teachers and students are all working from the same applications, platforms and UIs. 


Matěj’s insights have clearly resonated in the virtual classroom, with his videos currently having reached over 70,000 views. As Ivana Kopkova, who worked on the project as a member of the Google team, puts it, “Thanks to Matěj’s help starring in our videos, we were able to better understand the needs of students like him and deliver quality video tutorials on our Google YouTube Channel.” 


If you’re a developer like Matěj who wants to make a positive difference, learn more about a Google Developer Group near you.

These Black tech creators are changing the domain

Posted by Jermaine Robinson, Google Registry Team

Illustration of 6 developers

It’s been two years since the Google Registry team launched its #MyDomain video series, which highlights creators in tech. While we’re proud of the initiatives we’ve featured so far, we want to do a better job of representing all voices. In honor of Black History Month, we’re featuring six Black creators who are making waves in the digital space.

Dairien Boyd, #MyDomain Video

Dairien Boyd is a founding member and principal designer at All Turtles, a mission-driven product studio. He’s responsible for building experiences that are both fun and useful within mmhmm.app — a project born out of the COVID-19 pandemic. The new reality of working remotely set Dairien and his team on a path to design a better way to deliver presentations — one that works in an all-video conferencing world. They created a powerful presentation tool that provides immersive backgrounds and visual effects to help add a bit of fun to virtual meetings.

Benjamin Williams, #MyDomain Video

Benjamin Williams also found new sources of inspiration during the pandemic. A software engineer at Google by day, Williams launched floward.app — a journaling and creative writing application that encourages “imperfection” — as a way to cope with the challenges and stresses that come from being stuck at home. By providing daily thought-provoking prompts, users can get their thoughts down on “paper” within a simple UI that intentionally prevents going back and making revisions; this way, they stay in the flow of writing instead of fixating on what they’ve already written.

Rhianna Jones, #MyDomain Video

A writer and model by day, Rhianna Jones started a campaign for “Afrovisibility” as a true passion project. Her campaign, which pushes for more widespread adoption of natural hair emojis within universal keyboards (including Android and iOS), went viral. It wasn’t long before her domain — afrohairmatters.page — helped Jones connect with industry leaders. “The opportunity to collaborate only helps the culture move forward in a direction that better represents the rainbow of tech users,” Jones says. While it might seem small to some, the addition of natural hair emojis is a major step towards promoting Afrovisibility in everyone’s daily digital language and lives — especially for a younger generation that is all about ✊? ? ??‍ ?.

Michael Broughton, #MyDomain Video

Michael Broughton, CEO of Perch, launched his credit-building app after getting denied a loan to cover the remainder of his college tuition while attending the University of Southern California. “I was told to get a credit card in order to build credit, but when I applied for a credit card, they said I needed to build my credit score first,” he says. “This made me realize how difficult it can be for individuals to develop their personal finances without already having a foot in the door.” Instead of feeling defeated, he channeled his frustrations into launching getperch.app, a service that helps others build credit history and boost their credit scores.

Edward Cunningham, #MyDomain Video

Edward Cunningham is cofounder and CTO of NXSTEP.app, a platform that allows high-school seniors to connect with current college students to get deeper insights into life within the walls of various academic institutions. By connecting with currently-enrolled college students, seniors can better determine the right college for them. It’s like matchmaking for higher education: helping students decide on their future alma mater based on personality, interests, and goals.

Adesina Tyler, #MyDomain Video

Adesina Tyler is our youngest creator in this month’s #MyDomain series. Tyler is a junior in high school, juggling the complexities that come with distance learning, schoolwork and extracurricular activities. As busy as he’s been, he somehow found the time to launch wondershop.page as part of his participation in Google’s technology program, Code Next. He built his website (an online retail store) as a way to better understand the basic building blocks of e-commerce.

Videos of everyone featured above are available at goo.gle/mydomain. Ensuring proper representation of all groups is crucial for everyone in tech. We all benefit and learn from hearing the full spectrum of voices — especially the voices of those who’ve been underrepresented for far too long.

We want to actively do our part in moving the industry in the right direction by celebrating all entrepreneurs, founders and creators. If you have a unique story to share about an .app. ,dev, or .page domain and would like to be considered for our next series, please fill out this short application form and help us produce and share content that better represents all of us in an industry that still has a long way to go.

These Black tech creators are changing the domain

It’s been two years since the Google Registry team launched its #MyDomain video series, which highlights creators in tech. While we’re proud of the initiatives we’ve featured so far, we want to do a better job of representing all voices. In honor of Black History Month, we’re featuring six Black creators who are making waves in the digital space. 

Dairien Boyd

Dairien Boyd is a founding member and principal designer at All Turtles, a mission-driven product studio. He’s responsible for building experiences that are both fun and useful within mmhmm.app — a project born out of the COVID-19 pandemic. The new reality of working remotely set Dairien and his team on a path to design a better way to deliver presentations — one that works in an all-video conferencing world. They created a powerful presentation tool that provides immersive backgrounds and visual effects to help add a bit of fun to virtual meetings.

Dairien Boyd interview
10:25

Benjamin Williams

Benjamin Williams also found new sources of inspiration during the pandemic. A software engineer at Google by day, Williams launched floward.app — a journaling and creative writing application that encourages “imperfection” — as a way to cope with the challenges and stresses that come from being stuck at home. By providing daily thought-provoking prompts, users can get their thoughts down on “paper” within a simple UI that intentionally prevents going back and making revisions; this way, they stay in the flow of writing instead of fixating on what they’ve already written.

Benjamin Williams interview
10:25

Rhianna Jones

A writer and model by day, Rhianna Jones started a campaign for “Afrovisibility” as a true passion project. Her campaign, which pushes for more widespread adoption of natural hair emojis within universal keyboards (including Android and iOS), went viral. It wasn’t long before her domain — afrohairmatters.page — helped Jones connect with industry leaders. “The opportunity to collaborate only helps the culture move forward in a direction that better represents the rainbow of tech users,” Jones says. While it might seem small to some, the addition of natural hair emojis is a major step towards promoting Afrovisibility in everyone’s daily digital language and lives — especially for a younger generation that is all about ✊? ? ??‍  ?.
Rhianna Jones interview
10:25

Michael Broughton

Michael Broughton, CEO of Perch, launched his credit-building app after getting denied a loan to cover the remainder of his college tuition while attending the University of Southern California. “I was told to get a credit card in order to build credit, but when I applied for a credit card, they said I needed to build my credit score first,” he says. “This made me realize how difficult it can be for individuals to develop their personal finances without already having a foot in the door.” Instead of feeling defeated, he channeled his frustrations into launching getperch.app, a service that helps others build credit history and boost their credit scores.
Michael Broughton interview
10:25

Edward Cunningham

Edward Cunningham is cofounder and CTO ofNXSTEP.app, a platform that allows high-school seniors to connect with current college students to get deeper insights into life within the walls of various academic institutions. By connecting with currently-enrolled college students, seniors can better determine the right college for them. It’s like matchmaking for higher education: helping students decide on their future alma mater based on personality, interests, and goals.

Edward Cunningham interview
10:25

Adesina Tyler

Adesina Tyler is our youngest creator in this month’s #MyDomain series. Tyler is a junior in high school, juggling the complexities that come with distance learning, schoolwork and extracurricular activities. As busy as he’s been, he somehow found the time to launch wondershop.page as part of his participation in Google’s technology program, Code Next. He built his website (an online retail store) as a way to better understand the basic building blocks of e-commerce.

Adesina Tyler interview
10:25

Videos of everyone featured above are available at goo.gle/mydomain. Ensuring proper representation of all groups is crucial for everyone in tech. We all benefit and learn from hearing the full spectrum of voices — especially the voices of those who’ve been underrepresented for far too long. 

We want to actively do our part in moving the industry in the right direction by celebrating all entrepreneurs, founders and creators. If you have a unique story to share about an .app. ,dev, or .page domain and would like to be considered for our next series, please fill out this short application form and help us produce and share content that better represents all of us in an industry that still has a long way to go.

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Simplifying our Play Store policies on gamified loyalty programs

Google Play is a vibrant platform where developers are constantly innovating to delight users and address emerging needs. Striking the right balance between developer creativity and user trust is critical to building a thriving ecosystem that enables these innovative solutions to become successful businesses. We accomplish this balance through a set of policies that are regularly reviewed and revised, to ensure that we do right by both developers and users.

App developers in India are actively building uniquely Indian features and services.  One example is the use of mini games, quizzes and other gamification techniques to delight users and convert them into loyal customers. These experiences are often launched during important festivals and sporting events, and getting it right within the specific time window is critically important. This is one of the things we discussed when we spoke to several startup CEOs in India and around the world in the past few months. And, as part of the very first policy update of 2021 we are clarifying and simplifying the policies around loyalty programs and features. 

Based on feedback from developers globally, we have updated our policy guidance on gamified loyalty programs that are based on a qualified monetary transaction in the app and offer prizes of cash or other real-world value. 

The update provides more clarity on policy requirements for loyalty program disclosures and features. It is designed to safeguard users and optimize the developer experience. For example, the policy provides updated guidance on the use of features such as a spin-the-wheel experience, a guessing game, or a 1:1 points redemption to drive loyalty. See the Play Policy Center for more details.

While we do not allow Real Money Gambling apps on the Play Store in India, we remain committed to engaging with industry and government bodies as they deliberate on measures that will best support this industry.

Today we are also launching a web resource called How Google Play Works – a repository of useful information and best practices to enable developers to continue delivering innovative and secure apps and games to people around the world. It also contains India-specific details on programs that local developers can leverage to find success and scale. For users, this site helps to demystify key aspects of the Google Play platform, and explains how user security and protection remains at the heart of everything we do.

As India’s digital ecosystem continues its exponential growth, we consider ourselves fortunate to play a part in its success. We are committed to enabling a trusted ecosystem and being responsive to the needs of India’s entrepreneurs as they build innovative and engaging experiences for consumers around the world.

Posted by Suzanne Frey, Vice President, Product, Android Security and Privacy

Join us for #30DaysOfFlutter

Posted by Nikita Gandhi (Community Manager, GDG India), Nilay Yener (Program Manager, Flutter DevRel)

Happy New Year folks. It’s the perfect time of year to learn something new! Do you have an app idea you’ve been dreaming of over the holidays? If so, we have just the opportunity for you! Starting February 1st, leading up to our big event on March 3rd, join us for #30DaysOfFlutter to kickstart your learning journey and meet Flutter experts in the community. Whether you are building your first Flutter app or looking to improve your Flutter skills, we have curated content, code labs, and demos!

Flutter is Google’s open source UI toolkit for building beautiful, natively compiled applications for mobile, web, and desktop from a single codebase. It’s one of the fastest growing, most in-demand cross platform frameworks to learn and is used by freelance developers and large organizations around the world. Flutter uses the Dart language, so it will feel natural to many of you familiar with object-oriented languages.

Jump in, the water’s fine!

Along with the curated content, we will also have four live AskMeAnything sessions (#AMAs), where you can meet members of Google’s Flutter team and community. You can also join us on the FlutterDev Discord channel, where you can meet the other members of the community, ask and answer questions, and maybe make some new Flutter friends too!

Does this sound exciting? Visit the 30 Days of Flutter website to get more information and to register to join.

#30DaysOfFlutter Schedule

Your learning journey with Flutter for the month will look like this::

Week 1

Receive curated content to your inbox. Meet other Flutter Devs on Discord. Attend Kick Off Webinar on February 1st.

Week 2

Receive more content. Start building your first Flutter app. Join the webinar and ask your questions.

Week 3

Work on your app and attend the 3rd webinar to ask your questions.

Week 4

Complete your project and learn how to share it with the Flutter community.


Are you ready to learn one of the most in demand developer skills in the world?

Sign up to be a part of the journey and be sure to follow @FlutterDev on Twitter, to get updates about #30DaysOfFlutter.

What I learned from Google for Startups Founders Academy

For years, I struggled with eczema and dry, itchy, sensitive skin. I looked endlessly for products that were healthy, effective and designed for the Black community. When I couldn’t find what I was looking for, I decided to create my own. As a former human rights attorney, I am passionate about giving people access to things that make their lives better and more beautiful. Spraise is a healthy skincare company designed to meet the needs of women of color. At first my local community loved the product, but I needed guidance to take the company further. That’s when I found out about, and applied to, the Google for Startups Founders Academy. 

Since graduating the program, my team has doubled in size and our revenues have increased by 150 percent. I’m grateful for the lessons I learned, the community that we cultivated and for the impact that this made for my business. And it’s not just me: Over 85% of the entrepreneurs I completed the program with  have seen growth in their startup, whether that means job creation, revenue growth, new pathways to investment, fresh strategic partnerships or brand exposure.


The program is designed to help early stage technology startups grow their revenues and obtain access to capital. We met with Googlers, industry experts and investors on topics like sales, strategy, hiring and fundraising. For the duration of the program, Google brought a venture investor, Tony Wilkins, onboard to help us refine our pitches and hone our fundraising plans. Another mentor, Goodie Nation founder Joey Womack, directly connected me with three investors who we’re currently having conversations with. The sales curriculum, which Google uses for its own employees, helped us  close deals to enter several new retail markets. 

But it's so much more than business. The team at Google truly put their hearts into this program. In the midst of America’s reckoning with the pandemic and racial justice, they moved quickly to make therapists available to all Founders Academy participants  at no cost, and I still work with mine to this day. It meant so much that they cared not only about the success metrics of our business, but also the success and well-being of the founders who were running them.

The community aspect of the Founders Academy was equally important. For several months, I worked (virtually) alongside 45 other incredible founders who were solving a wide variety of problems with their startups from helping Americans to get out of debt to helping employees more virtually communicate over short-form video. I formed a relationship with a fellow beauty entrepreneur, Tiffini Gatlin of Latched & Hooked; she connected me with resources to repackage our product while I shared inventory best practices with her. My fellow founders and I would cheer each other on over big wins and support one another during down times through daily notes of encouragement and virtual happy hours. It can often feel daunting to run a startup solo, so being alongside others that are going through the same thing was truly a lifeline. 

Starting today, Google will be accepting applications for its second cohort of the Founders Academy. They are in search of promising Black, Latinx and veteran founders across the United States to join this equity-free, six-month immersive program. Interested startups can apply online through February 9. 

What I learned from Google for Startups Founders Academy

For years, I struggled with eczema and dry, itchy, sensitive skin. I looked endlessly for products that were healthy, effective and designed for the Black community. When I couldn’t find what I was looking for, I decided to create my own. As a former human rights attorney, I am passionate about giving people access to things that make their lives better and more beautiful. Spraise is a healthy skincare company designed to meet the needs of women of color. At first my local community loved the product, but I needed guidance to take the company further. That’s when I found out about, and applied to, the Google for Startups Founders Academy. 

Since graduating the program, my team has doubled in size and our revenues have increased by 150 percent. I’m grateful for the lessons I learned, the community that we cultivated and for the impact that this made for my business. And it’s not just me: Over 85% of the entrepreneurs I completed the program with  have seen growth in their startup, whether that means job creation, revenue growth, new pathways to investment, fresh strategic partnerships or brand exposure.


The program is designed to help early stage technology startups grow their revenues and obtain access to capital. We met with Googlers, industry experts and investors on topics like sales, strategy, hiring and fundraising. For the duration of the program, Google brought a venture investor, Tony Wilkins, onboard to help us refine our pitches and hone our fundraising plans. Another mentor, Goodie Nation founder Joey Womack, directly connected me with three investors who we’re currently having conversations with. The sales curriculum, which Google uses for its own employees, helped us  close deals to enter several new retail markets. 

But it's so much more than business. The team at Google truly put their hearts into this program. In the midst of America’s reckoning with the pandemic and racial justice, they moved quickly to make therapists available to all Founders Academy participants  at no cost, and I still work with mine to this day. It meant so much that they cared not only about the success metrics of our business, but also the success and well-being of the founders who were running them.

The community aspect of the Founders Academy was equally important. For several months, I worked (virtually) alongside 45 other incredible founders who were solving a wide variety of problems with their startups from helping Americans to get out of debt to helping employees more virtually communicate over short-form video. I formed a relationship with a fellow beauty entrepreneur, Tiffini Gatlin of Latched & Hooked; she connected me with resources to repackage our product while I shared inventory best practices with her. My fellow founders and I would cheer each other on over big wins and support one another during down times through daily notes of encouragement and virtual happy hours. It can often feel daunting to run a startup solo, so being alongside others that are going through the same thing was truly a lifeline. 

Starting today, Google will be accepting applications for its second cohort of the Founders Academy. They are in search of promising Black, Latinx and veteran founders across the United States to join this equity-free, six-month immersive program. Interested startups can apply online through February 9. 

21 websites and apps to make your 2021 better

Posted by Christina Yeh, Google Registry Team

GIF of animated person sitting at computer

Google Registry is always on the lookout for interesting websites that have launched using our top-level domains. 2020 was a rough year, so to help you make 2021 (at least a little bit) better, we’ve rounded up 21 ways you can start something .new, get .appy, turn a new .page, and make .dev(elopment) a breeze.

Start something .new:

  1. Collage.new: Looking for a new direction in 2021? Craft an inspiring vision board with BeFunky’s Collage Maker.
  2. Resume.new: If you’re looking for a new job this year, spruce up your resume with one of CV2You’s customizable templates to open the door to new career adventures.
  3. Hire.new: Hiring for new roles and jobs in 2021? With ZipRecruiter, you can post your job and reach quality candidates to join your team in no time.
  4. Site.new: Have a website you’ve been meaning to build? With easy-to-use tools and professionally designed templates, you can launch your website using Google Sites.
  5. Shopify.new: Starting a new side hustle? With Shopify’s powerful tools, anyone can quickly start a business and launch an online store.
  6. Flutter.new: Been dreaming up a great idea for an app? Get it done in the new year with Flutter, Google’s toolkit for building beautiful applications for mobile, web and desktop.

Get .app(y):

  1. Puppr.app: Do you have a new dog in your life? Get help training your furry friend with lessons, tricks, and live chat.
  2. Uhmmm.app: Fight the awkward silence in your online meetings with free elevator music.
  3. Sayana.app: Track your thoughts and feelings, get tips on coping with your emotions and talk to people in a similar life situation.
  4. Glitterly.app: Make videos with animations, effects, stock videos and images in just a few clicks.
  5. Get.reface.app: Say cheese! Use your selfies to make fun face swap videos and gifs.

Turn to the next .page:

  1. Nxt.page: Recreate spontaneously meeting with friends and colleagues online, using this Chrome extension.
  2. Funnies.page: Start your morning with some humor by getting five new comics from artists around the world, delivered daily to your inbox.
  3. Web.page: Find design inspiration, trends and techniques for building websites.
  4. Volition.page: Track your goals and progress any time, anywhere with this web app.
  5. Byline.page: Interested in creative writing? Try this multiplayer app, where you build stories line by line, knowing only what the previous author wrote.

Make .dev(elopment) a breeze:

  1. Projectjob.dev: Find and hire developers that are a perfect match for your requirements by exploring the work they’ve done before.
  2. Htmldom.dev: Try this handy reference for manipulating web pages using Javascript.
  3. Nodesign.dev: Use existing design tools to complete your development project.
  4. Practice.dev: If practice makes perfect, you can improve your skills by solving real web development challenges and learn by doing.
  5. Daily.dev: Get the latest developer news from tech blogs on any topic you can think of, all in one place.

Happy New Year from all of us at Google Registry! We hope these websites and apps help you get the most out of 2021.