Official Google Canada Blog: January 2013

Mapping creates jobs and drives global economic growth

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Originally posted on the Official Google Blog
Twenty years ago, we used paper maps and printed guides to help us navigate the world. Today, the most advanced digital mapping technologies—satellite imagery, GPS devices, location data and of course Google Maps—are much more accessible. This sea change in mapping technology is improving our lives and helping businesses realize untold efficiencies.
The transformation of the maps we use everyday is driven by a growing industry that creates jobs and economic growth globally. To present a clearer picture of the importance of the geo services industry, we commissioned studies from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Oxera. What we found is that maps make a big economic splash around the world.
In summary, the global geo services industry is valued at up to $270 billion per year and pays out $90 billion in wages. In the U.S., it employs more than 500,000 people and is worth $73 billion. The infographic below illustrates some examples of the many benefits of maps, whether it’s improving agriculture irrigation systems or helping emergency response teams save lives.

Click the image for a larger version
1.1 billion hours of travel time saved each year? That’s a lot of time. Also, consider UPS, which uses map technology to optimize delivery routes—saving 5.3 million miles and more than 650,000 gallons of fuel in 2011. And every eight seconds, a user hails a taxi with Hailo, which used maps and GPS to deliver more than 1 million journeys in London alone last year. Finally, Zipcar uses maps to connect more than 760,000 customers to a growing fleet of cars in locations around the world.
Because maps are such an integral part of how we live and do business, the list of examples goes on and on. That’s why it’s important we all understand the need to invest in the geo services industry so it continues to grow and drive the global economy. Investments can come from the public and private sectors in many forms—product innovation, support of open data policies, more geography education programs in schools and more.
We’re proud of the contributions that Google Maps and Earth, the Google Maps APIs and our Enterprise solutions have made to the geo services industry and to making maps more widely available, but there’s a long way to go. To learn more about the impact of the maps industry, see the full reports. Posted by Brian McClendon, VP Google Geo

The Super Bowl of Searches

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Battle of the Brothers
In Canada, searches for 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh are outpacing searches for his brother, and Ravens head coach, John Harbaugh by 85 %.

Cue the Commercials
In 2012, Canadians searched for ‘super bowl commercials’ on both Google and YouTube more than any other country in the world, including the U.S. In each of the last two years, PEI and Ontario searched the most on Google for “super bowl”; yet, Saskatchewan and Alberta recorded the highest volume of searches for ‘super bowl commercials’

Super Bowl of Calories
What's your game day menu? Canadian Google searches for “Chicken Wings” peak every year during the week of the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl vs. Stanley CupHow much do Canadians love the Super Bowl? According to Google Search Trends, Canadians search for the “Super Bowl” more than we search for our beloved Stanley Cup. In 2012, there were twice as many searches on Google for ‘Super Bowl’ in Canada than ‘Stanley Cup’. And as we get closer to the championship game this weekend, search activity is once again on the rise. In the last 7 days alone, Google searches in Canada for ‘Super Bowl’ have risen more than 480%.

Ravens vs. 49ers - Search Showdown
Searches for the Ravens and the 49ers are in a dead heat in the US. But it’s a different story in Canada, where searches for the Baltimore Ravens are outpacing 49ers searches by 45 percent. As we’ve seen in years past, geographic allegiances seem to factor into search activity as British Columbia is showing the highest search rates for the San Francisco 49ers and Ontario has the highest volume of Baltimore Ravens Searches. Nationally, Nova Scotia is leading all provinces in searches for “Super Bowl”.Battle of the BrothersIn Canada, searches for 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh are outpacing searches for his brother, and Ravens head coach, John Harbaugh by 85 %.Cue the CommercialsIn 2012, Canadians searched for ‘super bowl commercials’ on both Google and YouTube more than any other country in the world, including the U.S. In each of the last two years, PEI and Ontario searched the most on Google for “super bowl”; yet, Saskatchewan and Alberta recorded the highest volume of searches for ‘super bowl commercials’Super Bowl of CaloriesWhat's your game day menu? Canadian Google searches for “Chicken Wings” peak every year during the week of the Super Bowl.

Meet the 15 Next How-To Gurus on YouTube

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

www.youtube.com/BeforeAndAfterTV!www.youtube.com/BeforeAndAfterTVwww.youtube.com/bikemanforuwww.youtube.com/ButlerCollisionwww.youtube.com/cartoonblockwww.youtube.com/CrazyRussianHackerwww.youtube.com/jraciti1www.youtube.com/KennyChumskywww.youtube.com/melineywww.youtube.com/MyCupcakeAddictionwww.youtube.com/NaturesKnockoutwww.youtube.com/OnlineSoccerAcademywww.youtube.com/RachelsEnglishwww.youtube.com/tjw1963 www.youtube.com/verypinkknitswww.youtube.com/YourHowToDoPosted by Austin Lau & Matthew Yeager, YouTube Creator Programs, recently watched TheCraftyGemini

Moving from your desktop to a four-screen world

Thursday, January 24, 2013

BNN’s Tony KellerHeadlinethis clip

Posted by Leslie Church, Google Canada

Game On!

Friday, January 18, 2013

2013 vs 2012

Maple Leafs Searches on Google 2013 vs 2012

Searches for the Buds have jumped over 900 percent from where they were just a few short weeks ago. This week they surpassed Maple Leafs related searches when compared to the same time last year.

NHL vs NFL/NBA

While NFL-related searches have outpaced NHL searches over the past 90 days, it looks like the professional hockey is gaining on football despite increasing NFL playoff-related searches.

Posted by Aaron Brindle, Google Canada

Canadian Fun with the Google Maps API

Thursday, January 17, 2013

The Google Maps API offers infinite possibilities when it comes to blending geographic data and having fun with the world’s most accurate and comprehensive map. Here are just a few of our favourite Canadian-themed Google Maps API.
Tracking Polar BearsPolar Bears International has a great MAP illustrating the amazing ice-bound journey Canada’s polar bears are taking this winter.

Canada's Tobogganing MapThis MAP, from Edmontonian Charles Heard, helps you find a hill for those snowy days and add your favourite tobogganing run.

Drawing CanadaAnd finally, a bit of whimsy with this MAPS experiment from Darren Wein. Watch as Canada’s borders appear to be drawn by hand.

Posted by Aaron Brindle, Google Canada

It’s Awards Season! Finding Movie Magic with Google

Monday, January 14, 2013

And remember, as far as party tricks go during awards shows, nothing beats having a star’s Kevin Bacon number at your fingertips. Just type [Bacon number Quentin Tarantino] into your Google search bar to discover that Tarantino is just two degrees away from Kevin Bacon, having appeared in the classic Resevoir Dogs with Chris Penn, who was in the original Footloose with none other than Kevin Bacon.

Stay tuned with us as we bring you more movie magic leading up to the Oscars on February 24.

Posted by Leslie Church, Google Canada

Since the Oscar nominations were announced, searches are on the rise for most of the Best Picture nominees, but Django Unchained is in the lead with about 40% more searches over the past 7 days in Canada than its closest contenders, Les Miserables and Zero Dark Thirty, although both are closing in fast (and after last night's win, Argo may close in as well).

It might be surprising, but the Best Actor nominee that’s had the biggest search boost in the past 7 days has been Bradley Cooper, who leads his fellow nominees Hugh Jackman and Daniel Day-Lewis with almost 2-to-1 in searches at the end of the week.

Searches for Jennifer Lawrence – nominated for Best Actress in Silver Linings Playbook – have tripled in the past few days, and lead searches for the next most-searched nominee, Jessica Chastain, by a factor of 3-to-1.

If you’re wondering whether Canadians have focused more on the Oscars or the Golden Globes, searches over the past 30 days show a dead heat in terms of searches, with Oscars ahead by a nose.

Kevin Bacon numberResevoir DogsFootloose
Posted by Leslie Church, Google Canada

For Canadian marketers, March break begins in January

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Travel-related searches in Canada are up over 20% since the end of 2012, and are almost two-times more than during the same time last year. For travel marketers looking to capitalize on this surge or consumer interest, here are a few key takeaways from our Canadian Think Travel event held in Toronto late last year:

Digital is core to travel shopping: Travelers rely on the online space to plan travel, with 96% of travel shoppers using the Internet to research, and more than 70% of travel purchases now being made online. The planning cycle is long, with more than 40% beginning their research more than 4 weeks in advance of booking, and performing an average of 16 queries prior to booking.

GoMo: More than 50% of travel shoppers are researching on their mobile devices. Travelers expect a more informed and collaborative travel experience, driven by the growing functionality of mobile devices. Make sure you have a mobile-optimized site, and that consumers are able to find you when they are searching on their mobile devices.

Sharing is caring, and seeing is believing: Travelers are sharing more about their own trips, leading to more online content that will inspire others to dream. Video is increasingly becoming an important tool in the research process, with nearly 1 in 4 travel shoppers watching an online video, typically a customer testimonial or review. Be sure to engage with consumers where they’re sharing and watching - on YouTube, Google+, and other social networks.

For more information on consumer trends, marketing insights and industry research, please visit thinkwithgoogle.com/insights.

Posted by Andrew Swartz, Google Canada Team

Google Flu Trends offers grim diagnoses for Canada

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Achy, feverish, coughing? You’re not alone.
Google’s Flu Trends suggests that Canadians are experiencing one of the worst flu seasons in recent years, showing a 250% increase in flu activity compared to last year.
Health Canada’s FluWatch, reported that cases of influenza surged in December. And, looking at our search trends, January is shaping up to be even more miserable! Google Flu Trend analysis, based on aggregated search data, show flu activity is intensifying across Canada, with Quebec experiencing the highest volume of flu-related searches.
While some traditional flu surveillance systems may take days or weeks to collect and release data, Google search queries can be counted immediately. As a result, Google Flu Trends can be updated daily and may provide early detection of flu activity.

About Google Flu Trends
In 2007, a small team of engineers began to explore ways of accurately modeling real-world phenomena using patterns in search queries. We have found a close relationship between how many people search for flu-related topics and how many people actually have flu symptoms. Of course, not every person who searches for "flu" is actually sick, but a pattern emerges when all the flu-related search queries are added together. We compared our query counts with traditional flu surveillance systems and found that many search queries tend to be popular exactly when flu season is happening. By counting how often we see these search queries, we can estimate how much flu is circulating in different countries and regions around the world. Our results have been published in the journal Nature.
Flu Trends tracks and analyzes terms to provide estimates of flu activity in near real-time for 29 countries based on an analysis of large groups of certain search queries. Our estimates can be viewed on the Google Flu Trends website.
Posted by Aaron Brindle, Google Canada

Get organized with Google Apps for 2013

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Move the kitchen calendar online – See how your spouse’s and kids’ schedules line up with yours by sharing a Google Calendar. Different colours/calendars click on and off to show events for different members of the family, carpool schedules, swimming practices, birthdays etc.

Toss out bulky pocket organizers – Have your Google calendar agenda sent automatically to your cell phone each morning, and reminders of events throughout the day.

Organize your expenses for 2013 and keep track of your spending plan on Google Docs. Google Docs includes templates for personal finance, group budget planning and more.

Google sites is a free tool that lets you build collaborative websites. You can give anyone on your sports team, or PTA group permission to edit or just view the content of the site. You can make the site public or private. Sites makes it easy to embed the latest news updates, contact lists, videos, photos, group calendars and more.

Posted by Wendy Bairos, Google Canada

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