Official Google Canada Blog

Inviting more players to the game: YouTube Gaming comes to Canada

Thursday, March 10, 2016

For years Canadians have turned to YouTube to connect with their favourite gaming content, including content from top Canadian gaming creators like Vanoss, TypicalGamer and The Bajan Canadian. On YouTube, Canadians have found a community that is creating amazing content, including new collaborative and interactive formats that have reshaped the video game landscape, and pushed YouTube forward.
Now we’re inviting more players to the game. Starting today, we’re making the YouTube Gaming mobile app available on iOS and Android in Canada. YouTube Gaming is an app that keeps you connected to the games, players, and culture that matter to you, with videos, live streams, and the biggest community of gamers on the web—all in one place. We launched YouTube Gaming in the U.S. and U.K. last August, and we’re excited to invite new players to join us.

YouTube Gaming is built to be all about your favorite games and gamers, with more videos than anywhere else. We automatically pull in all gaming-related videos and live streams from YouTube to YouTube Gaming. From “Asteroids” to “Zelda,” more than 25,000 games will each have their own page, a single place for all the best videos and live streams about that title. You’ll also find channels from a wide array of game publishers and YouTube creators.
Keeping up with these games and channels is super easy, too. Add a game to your collection for quick access whenever you want to check up on the latest videos, or subscribe to a channel to get a notification as soon as they start a live stream. Uncover new favorites with recommendations based on the games and channels you love. And when you want something specific, you can search with confidence, knowing that typing “call” will show you “Call of Duty” and not “Call Me Maybe.”

We know live streams bring the gaming community closer together, so we’ve created a dedicated destination for them within YouTube Gaming. On Android, we’ve also made it simpler to broadcast your gameplay to YouTube. You can now record and live stream mobile gameplay on-the-go directly from Android devices using Mobile Capture in YouTube Gaming. You don’t need any additional hardware or software—just tap Go Live in the YouTube Gaming app, turn on your selfie cam and record your commentary with your phone’s microphone. We’re so excited to bring YouTube Gaming to Canada, and look forward to watching more together.
Posted by Alex Costa, Gaming Creator Partnerships, North America

New ways to plan your vacation while on the go

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

With spring around the corner, it’s time to look forward to sunnier skies—and summer getaways. And with more than half of Canadians saying they intend to vacation in 2016,* we see many Canadians turning to mobile phones to sneak in vacation dreaming and planning here and there—in line at the coffee shop, or on your way to a friend. In fact, Canadians spend an average of 30 days planning their trips, which last 8.6 days on average.**
But even as mobile travel planning grows, it can be hard to get all the right information in one place on a small screen. There are a dizzying number of questions to answer when planning a trip: What are the best places to visit? What time of year is good to go? What kind of prices can I expect?
Today we’re introducing something to make all this easier: Destinations on Google, which helps you discover and plan your next vacation, right from Google Search on your phone.
Search with Google on your mobile phone for the continent, country, or state you’d like to travel to and add the word “destination” to see an easy-to-browse collection of options. Destinations integrates a deep understanding of all the places in the world with Google Flights and Hotel search, so you can see available flight and hotel prices instantly. So instead of jumping between a dozen links or tabs to get the information you need, you can sit back and scroll—and leave the heavy lifting to us.

To find a vacation that’s just your style, search for a destination and something you’d like to do there, like “spain surfing,” “new zealand hiking,” or “colorado skiing.” We’ll suggest spots that fit with your hobbies and interests
Say you’re planning to take some time off in June or July, but you haven’t decided exactly when to go. The “Flexible Dates” filter lets you refine your results by month, so you can see when fares and rates are lowest within the time range you want, across multiple destinations.
Want to avoid crowds or bad weather? Select any destination and tap the “Explore” tab to see what the weather is like year-round and when your destination is most popular, based on historic visits from other travelers.
Once you've selected a destination, tap "Plan a trip" to see rates for hotels and flights. We show you highs and lows for the next six months, so you can find the right price tag for you. And as you slide left or right, the results instantly update with real-time fares and rates, pulling from the trillions of flight itineraries and hotels we price every day on Google Flights and Hotel search. You can also tap the pencil icon to customize results further with flight and hotel preferences, including number of stops, hotel class, and number of travelers. Whether you’ve got five days or 12, don’t fret about figuring out where to go first or which spots you can’t miss. Simply search for “Spain travel,” and click the blue arrow icon to browse the most frequently traveled itineraries. The suggested itineraries are based on historic visits by other travelers to those places, so you can use the wisdom of the crowd and save time researching.

And which destinations are Canadians interested in traveling this Spring? We looked at the cities and countries that have seen a spike in search interest in January and February compared to the preceding months, to determine the Trending Destinations in Canada for the upcoming travel season.

Whether you’re looking for a quick sunny getaway or planning an extensive trip overseas, we hope Destinations on Google make it smooth sailing to your next vacation. Bon voyage!
Posted by Jenn Kaiser, Communications Manager, Google Canada

*Google Consumer Survey, Canada, March 2016 ** Canada Travel Study. Google / Ipsos, November 2015

Moon Shot: A space story about life on Earth

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Right now, 16 private teams from around the world are in a race to the moon. They’re in a $30 million competition called the Google Lunar XPRIZE (GLXP), which challenges teams to design and build a rover, land it on the surface of the moon, drive it 500 meters across the lunar landscape, and send HD video and imagery back to Earth by the end of 2017. And soon, you’ll be able to learn their stories in a new digital documentary series from Google, Academy Award®-nominated director Orlando von Einsiedel, Executive Producer J.J. Abrams, Bad Robot, and Epic Digital.

The GLXP competition, which started in 2007, aims to kick off a new era of space exploration by enabling low-cost and efficient access to the moon. Not only is the moon our closest neighbor in space, it’s also the gateway to exploring the rest of the universe—and provides opportunities for discovery in the fields of science, technology, and human habitation.
The teams in the competition come from all walks of life, from Silicon Valley tech experts, to hackers in Germany, to IT specialists in India, to a father and son working out of their their Vancouver apartment. In a series of 9 digital documentaries, Moon Shot goes behind the scenes with each team, bringing to life their challenges, sacrifices, quirks, and most importantly, the reasons why they’re making the 238,900 mile journey to the moon.
The series will be available for free on Google Play on March 15 and on YouTube on March 17. Subscribe to the Google Lunar XPRIZE YouTube Channel to be one of the first to see it, and for more information, visit lunar.xprize.org.
Yasemin Denari Southworth, Marketing Manager, Google Brand Marketing

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

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