Official Google Canada Blog: October 2012

More Art Project online for you to explore

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Back in April we announced a major expansion of the Google Art Project. Since then 15 million people have explored the paintings, sculptures, street art and photographs contributed by our partners. From today the number of treasures you can view is increasing by more than 10% as 29 new art organisations from 14 countries bring their collections online. A wide range of global institutions, large and small, well-known and less traditional, are represented. Explore contemporary works at the Istanbul Modern Art Museum, admire works from the Art Gallery of South Australia (who have contributed almost 600 objects) and access the treasures of the famous Museum of Palazzo Vecchio in Italy. This round has also seen contributions from more unusual sources including a collection from the National Ballet of Canada, pre-Columbian art from Peru, and decorative arts from China.

Now that the total number of objects online is more than 35,000, we've turned our attention towards thinking of different ways for you to experience the collections.

The first is a great educational tool for art students, enthusiasts or those who are simply curious. A “Compare” button has been added to the toolbar on the left of each painting. This allows you to examine two pieces of artwork side-by-side to look at how an artist’s style evolved over time, connect trends across cultures or delve deeply into two parts of the same work. Here's an example: place an early sketch of Winslow Homer's 'The Life Line' from the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum next to the completed painting from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Comparing them in this way allows you to see how the artist's vision altered (or not) over the life of the work.

Beyond following us and discussing great art on our Google+ page, we have also created a Hangout app within the Art Project so that you can share your favorite collections and perhaps give your friends a personal guided tour. If there is a budding museum guide or an art critic within any of you it can finally be unleashed! Watch this video to see how it works.

http://youtu.be/vJmk7JiYZjc

Around 180 partners have contributed their works to the Art Project so far, more than 300,000 of you have created your own online galleries and we've had more than 15 million visitors since our last launch in April. The cultural community has invested great time and effort to bring these masterpieces online. Watch this space for more to come.

From Magazines to Movies: More Great Canadian Content now on Google Play

Monday, October 29, 2012

Introducing Magazines on Google Play for Canada Starting today, you can now purchase your favourite Canadian magazines directly from the Google Play store. It’s never been easier to stay on top of Canadian news and issues with Maclean’s, catch up on the latest trends with FASHION and Canadian Living, consider re-decorating with Style at Home, or get better acquainted with this vast country by checking out Canadian Geographic -- choose from dozens of Canadian and U.S. magazines on the Google Play Magazines App for Android. You can also read magazines online when browsing in Chrome. Just go to play.google.com and click “My Magazines.”
With Google Play all your latest issues will be instantly delivered to your tablet or phone and organized in your collection in the cloud. You can also flip through your magazine library to quickly decide what to read next or simply search for a specific title. Browse through the Play store to find your favourites, discover new titles, buy single issues and even subscribe to save on magazines like WIRED, Cosmopolitan and Men’s Health.

Magazines are available today on play.google.com, and will roll out to Google Play on devices over the coming days. Movies for Purchase on Google Play Pass the popcorn! On the go with any Android device, or curled up on the couch for movie night, you can now purchase movies on Google Play. In addition to all the great videos on demand available in the Google Play store, film buffs can now purchase movies to add to their permanent film library stored securely in the cloud. From From Battleship to Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax and from Neil Young:Journeys to Canada’s Oscar nominated Monsieur Lazhar there are hundreds of Canadian and Hollywood titles to choose from.

Movies are available for rent or purchase on play.google.com.
Posted by Avi Yaar, Product Manager, Google Play Magazines

Get your Google back

Friday, October 26, 2012

Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog If you’ve moved to Windows 8 and are getting acquainted with it, you may be looking for a couple of your favorite Google products that you use every day. To help you get the best experience possible on Google and across the web, we’ve designed and built a new Google Search app and Chrome browser for Windows 8 and created a simple site to help you get your Google back. doodles

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Posted by Tamar Yehoshua, Product Management Director, Search

Fashion Storms Toronto

Monday, October 22, 2012

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Now in its second season, YouTube Fashion Week Live is the first ever week-long live stream presented from Canada. This chic destination launched Friday October 19th, with programming scheduled through Friday, October 26th, and available on-demand for the rest of the month.
So prepare to get glamorous and take a spot in the front row by visiting Fashion Week Live on YouTube.
Posted by Renee Bulgin, Media Solutions Lead, Google Canada

Small and Mighty

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

It is small business week in Canada. And that’s kind of a big deal.

Small businesses make up 98 percent of all companies in Canada. They are the backbone of the Canadian economy. But, when it comes to the Internet, many small Canadian business are leaving money on the table.

Here are the facts: More than 80% of Canadians are online. About 1 in 5 Canadian searches on Google are seeking out local information, including nearby businesses and services. And small businesses and entrepreneurs who understand the enormous opportunity of going online report overall sales growth of up to 30% year over year. But, the reality is that many Canadian business have yet to harness this potential.

So, to mark this important week, we’ve assembled some quick tips for businesses looking to grow their businesses online:

Take advantage of free offerings. For retailers with physical locations, find yourself on Google Maps, and claim your location. Consumers are increasingly searching while they are on the go so make sure they know when they are near your business!

Take a closer look at the pages visitors land on. Remember, YOU don't choose the landing page of your website. When people search, the engine finds the most relevant page on your site and THAT's the homepage. If you have 1000 pages on your website, you have 1000 homepages. You can see in analytics reports where people are landing most frequently, and which pages are failing to drive traffic.

Figure out what people really think. Online tools like Google Analytics can measure what engages consumers on your website and how they respond to special offers on your site. With unprecedented knowledge of behaviour and trends, advertisers and marketers can use web analytics data to optimise the path from search to sale, reach new audiences and improve on their spend.

Consider all the options. How do your customers interact with your brand and your store? Have you considered mobile advertising? Start with mobile search – the number one activity of smartphone owners. Smaller screen, bigger buttons -- look into customising your website for mobile.

There are plenty of other resources out there, but hope that’s a good start! We want to make sure the Internet is working for you, because Canada is ready to do business online.

Posted by Wendy Bairos, Google Canada

Canada gets its Close Up!

Thursday, October 11, 2012

From High Park to Stanley Park, Niagara’s Botanical Gardens to Edmonton’s Devonian Botanical Garden, and from One Mile Lake to Trout Lake, the list of amazing Canadian destinations you can explore in Google Maps just got a whole lot bigger.

Today Google Maps announced its biggest update of Street View imagery ever. And included are dozens of Canada’s iconic parks, trails, university campuses and zoos.
So jump in and take a tour of these fabulous Canadian places!

Stanley Park Trail

View Larger Map

Toronto Zoo

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University of Alberta

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Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens

View Larger Map

Alberta
Banff
Sunshine Village
Edmonton
Devonian Botanical Garden
University Of Alberta

BC
North Vancouver
Capilano Suspension Bridge
Fairmont
Fairmont Hot Springs Resort
Kelowna
UBC Okanagan
Nanaimo
Beban Park
Biggs&Jack Point Park
Bowen Park
Buttertubs Marsh
Collery Dam Park
Maffeo Sutton Park
Nanaimo Port Authority Cruise Ship Terminal
Neck Point Park
Pipers Lagoon Park
The Parkway Trail
Westwood Lake Park
Noose Bay
Fairwinds Golf Club
Nelson
Lake Side Walk
Pemberton
One Mile Lake
Richmond
Cambie Community Centre
Dyke Road
Garden City Park
Hamilton Community Center
Hugh Boyd Community Park
Minoru Park
Richmond Nature Park
Richmond Olympic Oval
South Arm Community Centre
Steveston Community Centre
Squamish
Bike path through Garibaldi Highlands
District of Squamish
Old Highway 99 & Frontage Path
Surrey
Northview Golf And Country Club
Tofino
Bike Path along Pacific Rim Hwy
First St. Park
Tuff City Skate Park
Wickaninnish Inn
Vancouver
BC Sports Hall of Fame
Captain Cook Park And Sparwood Park
Clark Park
Everett Crowley Park
Fifty Five Avenue
Greater Vancouver Zoo
Heather Park
Museum Of Anthropology
Nitobe Memorial Garden
Parks along False Creek & Coal Harbour
Queen Elizabeth Park
Ray Peters Trail
Stanley Park
Trout Lake
UBC Botanical Garden And Thunderbird Stadium
Vernon
Predator Ridge Resort
Victoria
Royal British Columbia Museum
Sook Trail
University Of Victoria
Victoria Golf Club
Westshore Motocross Park

Ontario
Barrie
Horseshoe Resort
Brampton
Heart Lake Conservation Area
Wild Water Kingdom
Caledon
Albion Hills Conservation Area
Glen Haffy Conservation Area Trout Lake
Cambridge
Langdon Hall Hotel
Huntsville
Deerhurst Highlands Golf Course
London
University of Western Ontario
Niagara Falls
Niagara Parks, Botanical Gardens
Orangeville
Hockley Valley Resort Golf Centre
Ottawa
Bike Path along Colonel By Dr
St.Catharines
Brock University
Stouffville
Bruce's Mill Conservation Area
Sudbury
New Sudbury Conservation Area
Toronto (GTA)
Ashbridge's Bay Park
Canadas Wonderland
Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine
Dundas SquareExhibtion Place
University of Toronto at Mississauga
Waterfront Trail
Earl Bales Park
Exhibition Place
Flemingdon Park
Habitant Park
High Park
HTO Park Harbourfront Centre
Kensington Market
Lambton Golf and Country Club
Leaside Park
LindyLou Park
North Shore Park
Rowntree Mills Park
St.Lawrence Market
Toronto Zoo
Upper Canada College
Wilket Creek Park
Black Creek Pioneer Village

Quebec
Chelsea
Access1 Voie
Gatineau
The Mackenzie King Estate-Gatineau Park
Sherbrooke
Universite de Sherbrooke

Posted by Aaron Brindle, Google Canada

Women@Google: Empowering young women to make a difference with the G(irls)20 Summit Ambassador Action Fund

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

G(irls)20 Summit21 delegatesG20 Leaders SummitcommuniqueMexico CityG(irls)20 Summit Ambassador Action Fundfirst five projects

A team of volunteers in Kenya who fight for women's health

Project En Route
Posted by Sabrina Geremia, Integrated Solutions Sales Leader, Google Canada & Executive Sponsor of Women@Google Canada

Canadians taking their eyes off the puck on Google

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

2012 June - September

Posted by Aaron Brindle, Google Canada

As sure as the leaves change colour, fall is a time when a brief surge in NFL related searches on Google.ca are quickly eclipsed by the NHL as Canadians prepare for hockey’s season opener.

But things are very different this year.

We’re now 19 days into the NHL lockout and, with the start of the regular season looming, there is no deal in sight. Perhaps not surprising, searches for the NHL on Google were twice as common at this time last year.

Meanwhile, the amazing debacle of replacement refs in the NFL turned into a ratings boon and a significant spike in NFL-related searches on Google.

A tale of two leagues

In the face of disruptive labour disputes only one pro sports league came out on top in terms of Google searches. Or, as The Globe and Mail puts it, the NHL lockout is making NFL fans out of Canadians.

Google searches in Canada: NHL vs. NFL

2011 June - September