Official Google Canada Blog: July 2020

What emergency funding means for publishers around the world

Thursday, July 23, 2020

Lawton Constitution5,600 recipientsGoogle News Initiative Journalism Emergency Relief Fund

In South Korea, Kim Hong-tak from the Jeonnam Ilbo is using JERF funds to highlight the resilience of the local businesses affected by COVID-19. The publication has created a designated column focused on local small and medium sized businesses to highlight their strengths and values and serve as a bridge to connect them to the right government agencies for further support.

In the United Kingdom, DC Thomson used the funding to support new content teams to help generate 10,000 subscribers during lockdown. In Argentina, El Diario published an editorial describing how the funding will allow them “to continue..to keep the voices of the city and the region alive”. And, In Canada, Narcity Media will use the funds to increase their staff by hiring at least 1-2 new reporters.

These are a handful of stories among many we received since launching JERF in April. When COVID-19 was turning the world upside down, we didn’t know what to expect. The intent was simple: help address a very real need from local publishers and news sites globally that are facing financial hardship as a result of the economic and advertising downturn.

In the last few months, we have provided $39.5 million in funding to more than 5600 publishers in 115 countries. The money is being applied in diverse and creative ways, from ensuring basic reporting needs and giving emergency stipends to allow reporters to cover the crisis, to driving audience engagement and generating subscriptions.

Within two weeks of our announcement, we received more than 12,000 applications. The massive response gave us the opportunity to understand what “local” means in different parts of the world, and how dynamics ranging from newsroom size to ownership structure can differ depending on the region and the kinds of communities served. For instance, the average newsroom size varied from 20 in Asia Pacific to eight in North America.

We learned from publishers that advertising continues to be the sole source of revenue for most JERF recipients, with 50 percent claiming to be totally advertising dependent. A survey we carried out also showed that less than 30 percent of recipients operate some form of a paywall, while less than 18 percent rely on community contributions or memberships to support their journalism. That situation is changing, though, with 60 percent of the recipients planning to diversify their revenue streams by developing subscription, membership or contribution models.

Additionally, around 20 percent of publishers told us they are prioritizing a need for cultural change that includes a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion as well as organizational and business management.

The pandemic has affected everyone, and local news organizations have been at the forefront in helping their communities navigate COVID-19. At the Google News Initiative, we are trying to play our part with this funding and other initiatives as we all work towards the common goal of a sustainable, innovative and diverse news industry globally.

Posted by Ludovic Blecher, Head of Google News Initiative Innovation

A look at how Canadians are using YouTube to get their sports fix

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Reliving the magic of epic sports momentsincreased by 250%with Bautista himself

FIFATV is another great example of bringing fans together. They began uploading full-length classic soccer matches with the hashtag #WorldCupAtHome and encouraged viewers to get involved and suggest other classic matches to rewatch.

Getting to know our favourite athletes

Something interesting to come about while live sports have been on pause has been seeing and learning more about our favourite athletes and how they’re quarantining at home. One of my personal favourites is Canada’s own P.K. Subban, who’s been using his YouTube channel to give fans a glimpse into his everyday life.

When we spoke with Subban about his channel he told us, “It's been a great new way to connect with my fans around the globe, especially during this time. With live sports on pause, YouTube has helped me to stay engaged with my online community and share more about my life off the ice - my content may have even inspired some quarantine haircuts!"

Many other athletes have also used this time to connect with fans - check out the channels from Carmelo Anthony, Jimmy Butler and Raptors very own, Serge Ibaka.

Discovering new sports and building communities

If you had told me a year ago that I would be a fan of competitive marble racing, I wouldn’t have believed you. While it’s been around for a while, marble racing has become incredibly popular as a replacement sport with live sports on pause. What makes marble racing videos so exciting is that they emulate a perfect substitute for those missing televised sports by using multiple cameras, tournament brackets and play-by-play commentary at every turn for the marbles. To give you a sense of how popular the sport has become, Jelle’s Marble Runs videos were viewed over 9 million times globally in March 2020.

Another outcome from the pause of live sports has been watching sports enthusiasts build new communities on YouTube to share their love of the game. Beyond the Court is a group of seven long-time friends and basketball fans that missed live sports so much, they created a YouTube channel to connect with other fans and debate important basketball questions like, “Who is your 2020 NBA MVP?”, recapping Michael Jordan’s “The Last Dance” and even debating Vince Carter’s Legacy with the Raptors among other NBA based topics.

Despite the pause of live sports, there have been many bright moments that have brought fans together. In what feels like the longest “halftime” in sports history, through YouTube we’ve reflected on the iconic sports moments that moved us, caught a glimpse into the lives of our favourite athletes and found a new love for marbles. While it’s been a unique time to be a sports fan, it's inspired a new love for the game that is unmatched.

Posted by Soneeka Patel, Sports Partnerships Lead, YouTube Canada

“Hey Google, make a group call” now on Nest Hub Max

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Nest Hub Max “Hey Google, make a group call”

With group video calling on Nest Hub Max, you can now bring the whole family together, spontaneously check in with your siblings or host a weekly happy hour with friends for up to 32 people. To get started, you can create groups in the Duo mobile app, and from there just ask your Hub Max, “Hey Google, make a group call,” and tap on the Duo group you want to connect with. And with auto-framing, you can freely move around your kitchen or living room during your Duo video call, while staying in view.

“Hey Google, join my next meeting”

You can also try, “Hey Google, start a meeting” to connect with up to 100 people on Google Meet for fitness classes, book clubs, community gatherings or whatever else you’ve got planned. If you want to call into a meeting, say "Hey Google, join a meeting" then tap the "enter a meeting code" option and type it in to join. Or try asking, “Hey Google, join my next meeting” to instantly connect to the next call on your personal Google Calendar. Meet group video calling is launching first on Nest Hub Max.

Google Assistant and Nest have always made it easy to connect with friends and family⁠—and now, the more the merrier.

Google Play Pass: Enjoy apps and games without ads or in-app purchases

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Apps and games you already love, plus more to discover

To make all of these apps and games easier to find, we’ve added a new Play Pass tab for subscribers. Play Pass apps and games can also be found throughout the Play Store–just look for the Play Pass “ticket.” All apps and games found on the Play Pass homepage or throughout the Play Store with the ticket are completely unlocked with your subscription.

Share with your family

Just as with Google Play Family Library, family managers can share their Play Pass subscription with up to five other family members in their Google Family. Each family member can access Play Pass individually, so your experience won’t be affected by what others download. Play Pass also has a great selection of family-friendly apps and games—from Sesame Workshop to Learny Land—so the whole family can enjoy.

Get started

Once Play Pass is available this week, you can start your trial by simply opening the Play Store app on your Android device, tapping the menu at the top left, and looking for “Play Pass.” You can learn more here. Have fun!

The new Google Pixel Buds are available today for your listening pleasure

Monday, July 13, 2020

In October, we introduced the all-new Google Pixel Buds—with high-quality sound, an unobtrusive design that fits securely and comfortably in your ear, and helpful AI features. We wanted to make sure whether you're streaming content while working out, or sitting in a noisy room talking on a conference call, you have the best possible audio experience. Today, Pixel Buds are available in Canada for $239 in Clearly White.

We sat down with some of the team behind Pixel Buds to learn more about these new features, and also to hear how they’ve been using Pixel Buds.

Get started easily with Fast Pair
“I always used to use wired headphones because I had concerns about the reliability of Bluetooth connectivity, as lots of other earbuds have pairing problems, including the original Pixel Buds. With Pixel Buds, we focused on building Fast Pair to eliminate these pain points and easily connect to your phone.”
- Ethan Grabau, Product Manager

Clear calls with special mics and sensor Adaptive Sound for better audio Hands-free help with Google Assistant

Real-time translations with conversation mode
“Conversation mode was built to solve a simple problem: How can we use Translate on Pixel Buds to remove language barriers? Making the conversation as natural as possible even with the use of the phone was important, so we decided to create the split screen UI to show exactly what was being said, and translating it in real time on the screen. Any exposure to a different language is also an opportunity to learn, so we wanted to make the feature not only as helpful as possible for things like being in a different country, but also as simple as being able to help bilingual households across generations connect through language.”
- Tricia Fu, Associate Product Manager

Peace of mind with Find My Device
“The fear of losing expensive wireless earbuds is real, and in many cases a reason why people are afraid of trying them. We tried to reduce that fear a bit with Find My Device. If an earbud falls out when you’re walking or running, you know right away. But you may be less aware when you return home and absentmindedly put them down somewhere. So we built the ability to let you ring your earbuds from your phone. We also wanted to make sure we were thoughtful in what that experience is like. You can ring one earbud at a time, to focus on finding either the left or right earbud. The moment your hands touch the lost earbud, the ringing will stop. We hope people won’t need to use this feature often, but if they do, they can find misplaced earbuds more easily.”
- Alex Yee, Interaction Designer

Like Pixel phones and other Google devices, Pixel Buds will get better over time with new features, including an update to Find My Earbuds which will show the last known location of your earbuds.

Pixel Buds are available through the Google Store and retailers including (but not limited to) Best Buy, Staples, WIRELESS WAVE, Tbooth wireless and TELUS. Other colours—Almost Black and Quite Mint —will be available next month.

Bringing more opportunity to women founders and startups in Canada

Thursday, July 2, 2020

Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders is open for applications. Ten to twelve North American startups will be selected for an intensive three-month bootcamp to give founders the tools to prepare for the next phase of growth.launched Google for Startups Accelerator for Women FoundersLondonGoogle for Startups Accelerator for Black Foundersg.co/womenfoundersacceleratorPosted by Ashley Francisco, Head of Startup Developer Ecosystems, Canada

Official Canada Blog

What emergency funding means for publishers around the world

A look at how Canadians are using YouTube to get their sports fix

“Hey Google, make a group call” now on Nest Hub Max

Google Play Pass: Enjoy apps and games without ads or in-app purchases

The new Google Pixel Buds are available today for your listening pleasure

Bringing more opportunity to women founders and startups in Canada

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