Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Explore Google's Language Tools

You might already know that Google recently added Cherokee as one of the languages available on Google.com. But that's not the only language available. You can pick from languages such as "Ga," "Kyrgyz," "Wolof," and even "Bork"!


You can do this from the "Language Tools" link to the right of the search box. In addition to changing the language, you can search for any terms in pages in other languages and automatically translate them (thanks to Translated Search), translate text, translate an entire web page, and visit Google sites in other domains (such as Google.fm for Google in Micronesia)!


So head over to Language Tools and explore! What language or tool did you find most fascinating?


Monday, March 28, 2011

Not-So-Googly Mondays: First Person Mario!

Awesome video on what it would be like to play a first-person Mario. What other games would you like to see as first-person?
 Created by Freddie Wong (courtesy of Devour.com).


Thursday, March 24, 2011

Third Thursday Interview: Katie Siegel

Learning about Google products is often easier when it comes from someone else's personal experience, and it's even better when such person is a professional constantly using the latest tech products. For this reason, Googly News brings you "Third Thursday Interview," a monthly posting every third Thursday of the month to bring you even more Googly News from very Googly people.


Googly News' very first "Third Thursday Interview" is Katie Siegel. Katie is manager of SEO/Search at MTV Networks. As a manager, she works with all of MTVN's brands and does reporting/analytics around their SEO efforts. This means sometimes reporting the effects, and other times projecting the outcomes of projects they’re embarking on.


First word that comes to mind when thinking of Google: Omnipresent. Between Google Analytics, Google’s ad network, and their constant crawling, Google is everywhere all the time.
First Google product you ever used: The first Google product I encountered was AdWords, and it was during a guest lecture at Stern. Google was fairly new at that point, so I didn’t know much about their products. I thought it was a fascinating way to generate revenue.
Google products you currently use: From a work perspective, the Google tool I use the most is AdWords (for keyword ideas and market data). For personal use, I find myself using Google Products and Google Maps the most.
Favorite Google product: Though we don’t really use it at MTV Networks, I really like Google Analytics. The interface is great, and it’s so easy to use. You get a lot of really valuable information at no cost.
Google product idea: I don’t have an idea for a specific product, but I would like to see them adopt more microformats for their search results. Microformats are basically result “types” like Places, Products, Media, etc. It allows you to break down your results based on attributes like price, duration, rating, etc. Exactly like the new Recipes product they are beta testing that you [Googly News] wrote about (which I am excited for and did not know about until I read about it on your blog :)). [Katie is referring to this article!]

Favorite Not-So-Googly product: I'm a big fan of Mint.com. It's hard to describe it without coming off as a giant nerd. It aggregates all of your financial data so you can keep track of your spending, create budgets, make savings plans, etc. It's a lot like most Google products: classic, simple design, easy to use, and great information.

To keep track of Third Thursday Interviews and more Googly News, make sure to follow Googly News on Facebook and Twitter.


Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Google Chrome Gets a Brand New Logo

The new logo hopes to better reflect Chrome's spirit to "make the web quicker, lighter, and easier for all" as well as to provide a simple and easy web experience. What do you think? Do you like the new logo better or will you miss the old one?


Monday, March 14, 2011

Not-So-Googly Mondays: Best House Ever

Wouldn't you want this house? (or at least the the water slide?!)

Courtesy of The Daily What.


Friday, March 11, 2011

Google Profiles Get Brand New Look

Rejoice! Google Profiles is getting a brand new, cleaner look. For one, the picture is now more than ever the center of attention as its size is much bigger than before. Google also hid the Google Buzz tab, and added more fields to the form to add details such as "occupation," "bragging rights," and more. Overall, the page looks much more organized and better showcases all the information. If you don't have a Google Profile yet, make sure to check it out by going to Google.com/profiles.


If you already have a profile, make sure to check out all the changes carefully. Google Profiles now lets you add multiple profile photos, all of which are publicly available. Also, if you crop your picture within the site, the uncropped photo will also be viewable. So visit Picasa and make sure you delete any photos you don't want on your profile.

 Old Google Profile
 New Google Profile!


Monday, March 7, 2011

Not-So-Googly Mondays: Sick of Angry Birds?

Angry Birdksy
Courtesy of Brandon Ortwein’s “Angry Birdsky."