Official Google Canada Blog: May 2016

Get out and Explore what’s cooking in your local neighbourhood!

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Canada’s neighbourhoods all have their own local foodie flair. And today, Google Maps is making it even easier for you to explore the best your city’s neighbourhoods have to offer with our updated Explore feature.

With just one tap, you can discover what is unique (and delicious!) about the neighbourhood you’re in - whether that’s an indie coffee shop in Gastown in Vancouver, a boulangerie in Montreal’s Outremont, or a taco joint in Kensington Market in Toronto. It’s as easy as opening your Google Maps app, setting your location, and then tapping “Explore around you”. You can even tell your Maps app how far of a walk or a drive you’re willing to take, and what time of day you’re looking for. The Maps app will give you a list of local spots to help you satisfy your craving or discover a new favourite.

The Explore feature is also great for when you’re visiting somewhere new - from New York to Tokyo, Maps is ready to help you uncover the best of what’s nearby. Our phones are powerful pocket guides to the cities where we work, live, play and visit, with location-related mobile searches growing faster than all mobile searches. For example, Google search interest in “restaurants near me” has increased 26X since 2011, and Canadian search interest in “near me” has increased by 400% year-over-year from 2015 to 2016. Whether you’re a tourist looking for a casual dinner or a local trying to find a new local watering hole, Google Maps for mobile provides the most detailed and useful information so you can make the best decision on where to go. After all, the best spot for a coffee on the go might not be the top pick for a place to linger and chat over biscotti with friends. With today’s Google Maps update, no matter the occasion — think Lunch nearby right now or Best spots for dinner with kids this weekend — you can be confident that Google Maps has you covered. Once you pick the category that suits your craving, you can see in-depth details about each location. Swipe through photos, get details (family-friendly? quick bite?), and check out ratings and reviews from Google and other diners. And for select spots, you also discover why it may be particularly relevant to you: for example, Google Maps may recommend a place that’s popular with other diners who visited a place you’ve been to in the past.

While Google Maps may offer a suggested list, such as lunch or dinner based on your location and time of day, sometimes a change of scenery is in order! Never fear, all options for nearby neighborhoods, categories and cuisines are all just one tap away. And if you don’t find the perfect place at first glance, you can choose to load more places from the area, expand the area or switch to a different category.

Happy Exploring! Posted by Nicole Bell, Communications Manager, Google Canada

Nothing but net! Dude Perfect delights Toronto fans

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Hundred of fans joined us as YouTube creators Dude Perfect visited Toronto this week. Fans and children from the MLSE Foundation participated in a day of basketball challenges with the world’s largest sports channel on YouTube, participating in dribble wars and knockout challenges with basketballs, as well as capturing lots of selfies.

The energetic sports fandom in Toronto mirrors what we see online everyday. YouTube has helped sports fans feel more engaged and connected with their favourite teams, leagues and athletes. Globally, the world has spent 5.7 billion minutes - or 10,000 years - watching Dude Perfect on YouTube!

To catch up on "did you see that?!" moments, fans hop on YouTube immediately after a game’s biggest moment. For example, minutes after after Jose Bautisa’s now infamous bat flip, searches spiked on YouTube. Sports fandom today extends beyond scheduled TV broadcasts with Canadian fans turning to YouTube for deeper engagement with their favourite sports, events, and athletes with nearly two-thirds of Canadian sports fans saying that they can get a closer, more personal look at athletes or sports teams on YouTube than anywhere else.2 Case in point: take a look at Dude Perfect’s Seattle Seahawks Edition ft. Russell Wilson video to see the Super Bowl-winning quarterback like you’ve never seen him before!

Across the board, sports fandom on YouTube continues to grow. In fact, search interest on YouTube was higher for the last Summer Olympics than for the last World Cup or each of the past six Super Bowls!1

Today, watching live sports is an even richer experience because our devices are always within reach. More than half of Canadian sports fans agree that YouTube is one of the first places they go before, during or after major sports events or news.2

Thanks to Dude Perfect (and Panda!) for visiting their passionate Canadian fans in Toronto. We, along with the millions of sports fans on YouTube, can’t wait to see what you’ll pull off next!

Posted by Jenn Kaiser, Communications Manager, YouTube Canada

1 Google Trends, YouTube Search, Worldwide, Jan. 2011–Mar. 2016.

2 Sports Fandom on YouTube, Google / Ipsos Connect, May 2016 (n=5,005 Online Canadian respondents age 18-54)

INNOVATE U - Inspiring Canada’s next generation of technology builders

Friday, May 13, 2016

Editor’s Note: Today’s blog is guest authored by Jennifer Flanagan, President and CEO of Actua

Today, 1,400 inquisitive and curious kids (and their teachers) joined Google engineers, Actua and the University of Toronto’s Engineering Outreach team for the first-ever INNOVATE U, a day of exploration and experimentation with science and technology.

Celina Ceasar-Chavannes, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister of Canada and MP for Whitby, speaks to students at Innovate U

We kicked off the day with a performance by DJ Scratch, who debuted a version of “O Canada” that had the kids dancing in the aisles of Convocation Hall. The kids also heard from Ann Makosinski, a young Canadian inventor whose pioneering use of thermal technology in creating The Hollow Flashlight catapulted her to a win in the Google Science Fair in 2013.

1,400 Ontario students visit Innovation Alley at Innovate U

NNOVATE U is a one-day event, designed to showcase the vast potential of STEM subjects. The kids and their teachers had an opportunity to participate in hands-on workshops with U of T engineering students, Actua outreach instructors and Google engineers, as well as to tour Innovate Alley, where they could try out everything from virtual reality tours of Canada’s arctic to solar-powered cars and the latest robotics.

Google Science Fair winner Ann Makosinski kicking off the day at Innovate U

For more than 20 years, Actua has worked to prepare young Canadians to be innovators and leaders by engaging them in exciting and accessible STEM experiences that build critical skills and confidence. This includes our Codemakers program, supported by Google, to transform the way youth engage with computer science. The three year Codemakers project will inspire over 100,000 youth across Canada in digital skill building experiences that move them from being consumers of technology to producers of technology. Events like INNOVATE U are part of Codemakers and give us an opportunity to create extra special and unique moments of inspiration for these kids - particularly those from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in STEM, like girls and Indigenous Youth. Today we hope to ignite a spark of curiosity that will increase the likelihood that they will pursue STEM studies and careers.

Together, we can show kids that technology offers everyone the potential to create, to collaborate and to invent.

Posted by Jennifer Flanagan, President and CEO of Actua. The University of Toronto is one of 34 Actua network members across Canada annually engaging 250,000 youth in hands-on STEM.

Official Canada Blog

Get out and Explore what’s cooking in your local neighbourhood!

Nothing but net! Dude Perfect delights Toronto fans

INNOVATE U - Inspiring Canada’s next generation of technology builders

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