Official Google Canada Blog: February 2016

From top dresses to Leo’s big win, Google Trends from the Oscars

Monday, February 29, 2016

As millions of people tuned in to watch the 88th Academy Awards, many also turned to the web to keep up with the action. In fact, Canada was the number one country searching for the Oscars worldwide, followed by the United States and Chile.
We took a look at search interest in across the night’s biggest moments. The award for “most-searched”goes to Leonardo DiCaprio whose acceptance speech for Best Actor was the most-searched moment of the night and most searched speech following the ceremony. Top Searched Oscars Moments.jpg

The 88th Academy Awards also featured several performances showcasing the nominees for Best Original Song. While Sam Smith took home the Oscar for "Writing's on the Wall" from Spectre, Lady Gaga’s performance for "Til It Happens to You" from The Hunting Ground was the most-searched in Canada.
And despite not winning a statue, global search interest for Canada's The Weeknd increased by 488% following his performance. Most searched performances.jpg

The red carpet is many people's favorite part of the show and we wanted to know which gowns caught people's attention. Afterall, Canadians tend to search for the looks they love, more than the looks that fell flat -- “best dressed” is searched 91% more on Google than “worst dressed” in Canada.
The results are in, and this year’s fashion winners are... Most Searched Red Carpet Dresses (1).jpg

Most Searched Red Carpet Dresses (1).jpg

Congratulations to all the winners - both online and offline! For the latest Canadian Google Trends, check back here weekly or follow along.
Posted by Jenn Kaiser, Communications Manager, Google Canada

And the (search) envelope goes to…

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Time to brush up on your movie trivia -- it’s almost Oscar night! Out of the major entertainment awards shows, the Oscars are the most popular in Canada in terms of search volume, and as we discovered in previously patterns in search behavior can help us predict which stars will go home with shiny gold statues.
Best Picture Want help with your Oscar pool? There’s no telling which film will win, but over the past year, the title of top film in Search is The Revenant.

Best Actor and Best Actress All of the Best Actor and Best Actress Nominees have all shown an upward trend in search volume since nominations were announced. When you compare search query volumes for this year’s nominees over the past year, Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant) and Jennifer Lawrence (Joy) appear to be Canada’s favourites to win their categories.

Best Supporting Actor and Actress Among this year’s nominees, Kate Winslet saw a huge surge in search volume in January following her nomination. But it is Canada’s sweetheart Rachel McAdams (Spotlight) is the most popular—searches for Rachel in the last 12 months outpace any of the other leading ladies. In the Best Supporting Actor category, Tom Hardy leads in search popularity in Canada, for his role in The Revenant.

Of course, we don’t have a Magic 8-Ball or access to the names in those top-secret envelopes, so our predictions are just that -- but it’s always enjoyable to look at how what people are interested in online plays out in the real world.
Stay up to date on what’s trending on Google in Canada, as we release real-time trends before, during and after this year’s awards ceremony!
Posted by Jenn Kaiser, Communications Manager, Google Canada

A Field Trip to the Polar Bear Capital of the World

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Editor’s note: Today’s post is authored by Julene Reed, director of Polar Bears International’s Tundra Connections program, which connects scientists and educators in the field with students in remote classrooms
An incredible journey takes place every fall when hundreds of polar bears migrate from the Canadian tundra to the shores of Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba—a northern town known as the “Polar Bear Capital of the World.” The polar bears congregate there, waiting for Hudson Bay to freeze over. Once the ice forms, the bears are on the move again, roaming the frozen bay during the winter months and hunting for seals. It’s an extremely rare opportunity to experience this amazing migration first hand, and it’s something to behold. But, it’s not easy to travel there. There are no roads to Churchill, so your best opportunity to see a polar bear there is to fly north from Winnipeg and hop on board a Tundra Buggy for a bumpy trip along the coastline.

A screen capture from the Google Expeditions tablet, of a polar bear roaming the tundra imaged with the Street View Trekker, providing educators with context and information for what the students are seeing through Google Cardboard.
But now there’s a way to experience the tundra these bears call home without packing a parka. In celebration of International Polar Bear Day on February 27th, Polar Bears International and Google are launching new Street View imagery and two new Google Expeditions: “Polar Bears and the Arctic Ecosystem” and “Churchill, Manitoba: Life in the Far North.” Using Google Cardboard and customized curriculum, students in classrooms around the world can now travel virtually with Google Expeditions and Google Street View to view polar bears and learn about the impact climate change is having on this unique ecosystem.

By tapping on the screen (left), teachers can guide students to specific aspects of the imagery they want to highlight, such as the Tundra Buggy and research tower, imaged with the Street View Trekker. Students view the imagery in Google Cardboard (right).
The stunning imagery highlighted within these Expeditions is the result of a long-term partnership between Polar Bears International and Google. The Google Maps team travelled to the Churchill region two years ago and then returned last fall. Over time, by returning to this ecologically–sensitive location and collecting Street View imagery and geospatial data, Google Maps users will have a virtual front row seat to witnessing the impact of climate change on the polar bear’s habitat.

A Tundra Buggy collecting Street View imagery outside Churchill.
These Expedition modules, developed in association with Polar Bears International, provide an opportunity to understand the consequences of rising temperatures in the Arctic. With the sea ice forming later every fall and melting earlier every spring, polar bears have less time to hunt, breed, and den. Google Expeditions offers students and teachers the opportunity to explore these issues and the polar bear’s fragile domain using Cardboard’s immersive 360° technology.
By bringing this virtual field trip to classrooms thousands of miles from the Arctic, we can offer a greater understanding of global warming and the plight of these majestic creatures. Posted by Julene Reed, director of Polar Bears International’s Tundra Connections program

Tributes and Trends: the 58th Annual Grammy Awards through the lens of Search

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

As millions of people tuned in to watch the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, many Canadians also turned to the web to keep up with the action. Here's a look at the Grammy nominees and moments that captured Canada’s imagination and brought people to Google Search.
Artists in the spotlight This year’s most searched performance was Broadway musical Hamilton, as Canadians turned online during the cast’s live performance to learn more about the show, the cast and tickets. In fact, searches for Hamilton tickets increased 9X following the performance and 50X following their win for Best Musical Theatre Album.
Sam Hunt and Carrie Underwood’s duet early in the evening was a search favourite, while the Eagles’ tribute to Glenn Frey was also at the front of the search pack. Canadians went to Google to learn more about the band following their performance, many asking “Who are the Eagles?”
Lady Gaga’s tribute to David Bowie was also a top-searched performance, with Gaga roaring through nine of Bowie’s best-known songs in six minutes. During the performance, Canadians searched for the lyrics to many of the favourite hits being performed on stage, but searches were highest for ‘Heroes.’
Here's a look at the nominees and moments that captured Canada’s imagination and brought people to Google Search.

The most searched red carpet looks The red carpet is many people's favorite part of the show. While no Grammy is awarded for "best dressed," we wanted to know which looks caught Canadians attention this year. The results are in and the most searched styles, in the hour after the red carpet show were: Red Carpet.png

Trending questions and artists we’re curious about Canadians also turned to Google to ask questions throughout the Grammy Awards. One of the night’s biggest moments came from an artist that wasn’t even present -- searches for ‘where is Rihanna?’ were trending in Canada, after RiRi dropped out of performing and attending over the weekend. We also saw searches for “Who is…” spike in the Best New Artist category, particularly for country musician Sam Hunt and Tori Kelly, the 23-year-old California pop singer who her start on YouTube. Grammy Qs.png

Search Predictions Before the ceremony started, we shared our “picks”- who would win if the Grammys were determined by search volume in Canada alone. Out of our three Google Search Picks, all three actually won! Best New Artist (1).png

This year's searches during the 58th Annual Grammy Awards and Red Carpet reveal the artists, albums and performances that Canadians love and those we turned online to learn more about. Afterall, Google's users are intrinsically curious. Why else would you search?
Happy searching!
Posted by Jenn Kaiser, Communications Manager, Google Canada

B Mine Canada! Share your Romantic Street View Locations of Canada with #SVHeartCanada

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

While Canadians may be romantics at heart, when it comes to planning February 14th, we’re stumped. Searches for Valentine’s Day Date Ideas are at an all-time high in Canada.

So, let’s help out our fellow love-struck Canadians with some ideas inspired by - what else - Canada! Here’s your challenge: find the most romantic places on Street View and share on social media using #SVHeartCanada. Let’s give Canadians searching for a great date some inspiration.

To get you started, we’ve put together a map of some of the most romantic locations in the country. From Polar Bear Watching on Canada’s Tundra, riding the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls to exploring the Cape Breton Highlands, enjoy some of Canada’s most interesting, remote and romantic locations with stunning Street View imagery.

Or how about Love, Saskatchewan? This aptly named village in Saskatchewan has received international recognition as people from around the world send their wedding invitations, Valentine’s Day cards and more to be stamped with the romantically oriented postmark before being forwarded to their final destinations.

And there’s also Old Quebec City. Dating back to 1608, this historic French colonial neighbourhood is like a little slice of Europe in Canada with its cobblestone streets lined with bistros and boutiques.

These are just a few romantic locals we came up with and we’ve mapped out even more hotspots here (create your own custom map using My Maps). But we’re just getting started.

This Valentine’s Day, let’s help our fellow Canadians out with some ideas for romantic destinations in Street View.

Make sure to share yours using #SVHeartCanada and we’ll re-post our favourites.

Love, Google Canada.

Building a safer web, for everyone

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Editor's Note: Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog.
Today is Safer Internet Day, a moment for technology companies, nonprofit organizations, security firms, and people around the world to focus on online safety, together. To mark the occasion, we’re rolling out new tools, and some useful reminders, to help protect you from online dangers of all stripes—phishing, malware, and other threats to your personal information.

1. Keeping security settings simple

The Security Checkup is a quick way to control the security settings for your Google Account. You can add a recovery phone number so we can help if you’re ever locked out of your account, strengthen your password settings, see which devices are connected to your account, and more. If you complete the Security Checkup by February 11, you’ll also get 2GB of extra Google Drive storage, which can be used across Google Drive, Gmail, and Photos.

Safer Internet Day is a great time to do it, but you can—and should!—take a Security Checkup on a regular basis. Start your Security Checkup by visiting My Account.

2. Informing Gmail users about potentially unsafe messages

If you and your Grandpa both use Gmail to exchange messages, your connections areencrypted and authenticated. That means no peering eyes can read those emails as they zoom across the web, and you can be confident that the message from your Grandpa in size 48 font (with no punctuation and a few misspellings) is really from him!

However, as our Safer Email Transparency Report explains, these things are not always true when Gmail interacts with other mail services. Today, we’re introducing changes in Gmail on the web to let people know when a received message was not encrypted, if you’re composing a message to a recipient whose email service doesn’t support TLS encryption, or when the sender’s domain couldn’t be authenticated.

Here’s the notice you’ll see in Gmail before you send a message to a service that doesn’t support TLS encryption. You’ll also see the broken lock icon if you receive a message that was sent without TLS encryption.

If you receive a message that can’t be authenticated, you’ll see a question mark where you might otherwise see a profile photo or logo:

3. Protecting you from bad apps

Dangerous apps that phish and steal your personal information, or hold your phone hostage and make you pay to unlock it, have no place on your smartphone—or any device, for that matter.

Google Play helps protect your Android device by rejecting bad apps that don’t comply with our Play policies. It also conducts more than 200 million daily security scans of devices, in tandem with our Safe Browsing system, for any signs of trouble. Last year, bad apps were installed on fewer than 0.13% of Android devices that install apps only from Google Play.

Learn more about these, and other Android security features — like app sandboxing,monthly security updates for Nexus and other devices, and our Security Rewards Program—in new research we’ve made public on our Android blog.

4. Busting bad advertising practices

Malicious advertising “botnets” try to send phony visitors to websites to make money from online ads. Botnets threaten the businesses of honest advertisers and publishers, and because they’re often made up of devices infected with malware, they put users in harm’s way too.

We've worked to keep botnets out of our ads systems, cutting them out of advertising revenue, and making it harder to make money from distributing malware and Unwanted Software. Now, as part of our effort to fight bad ads online, we’re reinforcing our existing botnet defenses by automatically filtering traffic from three of the top ad fraud botnets, comprising more than 500,000 infected user machines. Learn more about this update on the Doubleclick blog.

5. Moving the security conversation forward

Recent events—Edward Snowden’s disclosures, the Sony Hack, the current conversation around encryption, and more—have made online safety a truly mainstream issue. This is reflected both in news headlines, and popular culture: “Mr. Robot,” a TV series about hacking and cybersecurity, just won a Golden Globe for Best Drama, and @SecuriTay, a popular security commentator, is named after Taylor Swift.

But despite this shift, security remains a complex topic that lends itself to lively debates between experts...that are often unintelligible to just about everyone else. We need to simplify the way we talk about online security to enable everyone to understand its importance and participate in this conversation.

To that end, we’re teaming up with Medium to host a virtual roundtable about online security, present and future. Moderated by journalist and security researcher Kevin Poulsen, this project aims to present fresh perspectives about online security in a time when our attention is increasingly ruled by the devices we carry with us constantly. We hope you’ll tune in and check it out.

Online security and safety are being discussed more often, and with more urgency, than ever before. We hope you’ll take a few minutes today to learn how Google protects your data and how we can work toward a safer web, for everyone.

Posted by Gerhard Eschelbeck, VP, Security and Privacy

Super Bowl 50: Beyonce, Doritos and the hand jive

Monday, February 8, 2016

This year’s big game was filled with action, nostalgia and lots of star power. With all the excitement on the field, Canadians turned to Google to search for their favorite moments of the game - from going Gaga over the national anthem to an end-zone hand jive. Many of us couldn't get enough of the much-awaited halftime performance and went searching for more: Searches for Coldplay, Beyonce and Bruno Mars spiked dramatically during the halftime show, but the most searched performer during the course of the game was Beyonce.

Sunday's Halftime Show also featured some of the most iconic halftime shows of the past fifty years including the Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, U2 and Katy Perry. Canadians turned online to search for their favourite past performances, with Michael Jackson’s halftime show performance leading the search pack.

In the meantime, football fans in Canada found themselves searching more for the Carolina Panthers than the Denver Broncos during the game, until the Broncos' win when Canadian searches for the Broncos surged.
Big Game Ads
During the game, globally we spent 300k hours watching the big game ads and teaser videos on YouTube and we’ve seen nearly 4 million hours of watch time overall so far. Big game ads and teasers have been watched over 330 million times, with 60% of that coming from mobile devices — the first time the majority of views happened on mobile phones. And that game ain’t over yet. From a witty and sharable PSA to a startling ultrasound, here are the advertisers that Canadians searched for most during the Big Game.

In the years past, we've seen a big spike the day after the game as people get to work on Monday morning and reminisce about their favorite big game Big Game moment. In fact, last year more than 40% of total watch time for big game ads happened in the weeks after the game. So don't forget to vote for your favorite before February 10th at Midnight ET.
The big game might be over, but there's always overtime online! Posted by Jenn Kaiser, Google Canada Communications Manager

Official Canada Blog