Official Google Canada Blog

Welcome to Toronto’s #DigitalMainStreet

Monday, June 13, 2016

Toronto’s well-known neighbourhoods are teeming with energy and life, boasting an eclectic mix of shopping, culture and food that have put the city on the map. And, as the digital world changes the way consumers make decisions and purchases, the city’s businesses are adapting to optimize the potential of going online. This transition, however, poses a challenge for many small enterprises as they often aren’t sure how to get started.

That’s why we have partnered with the City of Toronto to launch Digital Main Street, a program that will help 40,000 Toronto businesses adopt the digital tools and technologies to help them grow. Digital Main Street is a platform that is free for main street businesses to join, helping them navigate the often confusing and overwhelming online universe by acting as a guide to all things digital.

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Over the next few months we’ll be working with the city to offer programming that will help businesses amplify their online presence and reach more consumers from Canada and around the world. In fact, we started earlier this month with BIAcadamy, hosting 47 business improvement areas (BIA) at Google Canada and providing training so they can help businesses in their neighbourhoods get online and grow globally with Google tools, like Adwords, AdWords Express and Google My Business.

Last year, over half of the trillions of Google searches conducted globally happened on smartphones, and critical to the success of Toronto’s main street businesses will be capitalizing on this move to mobile. As part of the Digital Main Street program, we’re arming Toronto businesses with digital tools that will help them get in front of potential customers during key moments when they are searching for products and services close to home. Canadian search interest in “near me” has increased by 400% year-over-year. We know that these searches lead to sales. In fact, 74% of shopping conversions occur within one hour of the initial search.1 There’s unlimited potential for small businesses to take advantage of mobile tools to be present during these moments.

As a former startup ourselves, Google has a passion for entrepreneurship and innovation. We’re proud to be part of the Digital Main Street team and look forward to supporting Canadian entrepreneurs and helping our businesses grow.

Posted by Sam Sebastian, Managing Director, Google Canada

1 Google Canada Nielsen Mobile Search Moments, 2016

Google Photos: One year, 200 million users, and a whole lot of selfies

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Just over a year ago, we introduced Google Photos with one mission: To be a home for all your photos and videos, organized and brought to life, so that you can share and save what matters.

Now 200 million of you are using Google Photos each month. We’ve delivered more than 1.6 billion animations, collages and movies, among other things. You’ve collectively freed up 13.7 petabytes of storage on your devices—it would take 424 years to swipe through that many photos! We’ve also applied 2 trillion labels, and 24 billion of those have been for ... selfies.

To celebrate our first birthday, we’ve gathered a few of the team's favourite tips and updates we’ve made in the past year, so you can keep all that good stuff going…

1. To fly through Google Photos on the web at photos.google.com, press Shift-? to see a list of keyboard shortcuts.

2. Narrow down your search results by searching for more than one thing at a time. Search for two people: “Mom and Dad,” or a person and a place: “Mom Muskoka,” a place and a thing: “Muskoka bear” or a person and a thing: “Mom bear” to find that photo of your mama bear with the real bear.

3. Running out of Google storage? On photos.google.com, under settings, you can choose to convert all of your uploaded content from “Original quality” to the free “High quality” size to recover lots of space.

4. Enter your favorite emoji (😎 🍂 💗 🎂 ) into search to pull up your corresponding photos. Not joking.

5. On photos.google.com, easily find the photos you recently uploaded by going to search, then choosing "Show More” and then “Recently Added.”

6. Tap into your device folders from the top of the albums page on Android, and see which folders are being backed up. Double-check that all those screenshots are safe!

7. Create a shared album for your family. Every time someone adds a new photo, everyone will get a notification so they can see your latest photo or video.

8. Occasionally photos can appear out of order in your gallery—perhaps because the date was incorrectly set on your phone or camera when you took them. On photos.google.com, you can edit both the time and time zone of a photo or group of photos to put them in the right order in your library. Change one and they all get adjusted.

9. At the top of the albums page on mobile, scroll the carousel to the right and tap on the videos tile to get a view of all the videos in your library (on photos.google.com, you’ll see videos at the top of the album page).

Thanks for a wonderful first year—keep it up; all those selfies aren’t going to take themselves!

Posted by Anil Sabharwal, Vice President, Google Photos

Mobile web pages that load as fast as you can say … AMP!

Thursday, June 2, 2016

The mobile web just got a whole lot faster Canada, with the launch of Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP). As of today, Canadians will see AMP webpages in relevant mobile search results, offering lightning-fast renderings of webpages from a number of Postmedia’s leading brands (including the National Post), The Globe and Mail, TC Média, The Toronto Star, Global News, The Weather Network and hundreds of other national and international websites.

Until AMP, time had the occasional habit of sloooooowing down on the mobile web. A slow mobile web is a bad experience for users seeking information online, and it’s bad for publishers who want readers to quickly access and enjoy the content they’ve created. And research suggests that people will abandon a mobile website if it doesn’t load in three seconds. That's why, last October, we joined others across the industry on the Accelerated Mobile Pages Project, an open source initiative to make the mobile web as fast as possible.
Webpages built with AMP load an average of four times faster and use 10 times less data than equivalent non-AMP pages. AMP HTML allows websites to build lighter weight versions of standard webpages, loads rich web pages and smart ads instantaneously, and offers the benefit of the same code working across multiple platforms, apps, browsers and devices.
When you search for a story or topic on Google from a mobile device, webpages created using AMP will appear when relevant in the Top Stories section of the search results page. Any story you choose to read will load blazingly fast—and it’s easy to scroll through the article without it taking forever to load or jumping all around as you read. It’s also easy to flip through the search results just by swiping from one full-page AMP story to the next. In most cases the pages render instantly.
Go ahead and try it out - it's how reading on the mobile web should be: fast, responsive and fun. Posted by Mladen Raickovic, Head of Partnerships, Google Canada

Deadline for Google Community Grants is fast approaching!

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

It’s that time of year again!!! The deadline to apply for Google Community Grants is one month away. Google Canada is looking for innovative non-profits in Toronto, Montreal or Kitchener-Waterloo who are pushing the needle in the following areas:

Delivering or promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) or Computer Science (CS) Education for K-12 students, especially among underserved communities (at-risk youth, New Canadians, girls, Aboriginal communities and youth from low-socioeconomic households)
Closing the digital divide by helping to improve access to technology to those who do not have regular access.

Through our Community Grants program we have had the opportunity to support a range of organizations such as Ladies Learning Code, Scientists in School and Pathways to Education.

Applications are due June 30th, 2016 and any registered Canadian charity is eligible to apply, so if your organization has a project or program underway in one of our focus areas please submit your application online through one of our three community programs depending on your location:

When Google evaluates proposals, we look at impact first. We’re looking for projects which are at the community level but have scale and sustainability. We don’t tend to fund applications for short-term employment positions or office overhead costs (rent, utilities, etc).

If you believe your organization fits these guidelines, please submit your proposal today using one of the links above. For any further questions please contact Canada’s community affairs manager, Lauren Skelly lskelly@google.com

Celebrating My Account's first birthday with improvements and new controls

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Editor's Note: Cross-posted from the Google Blog
A year ago today, we launched My Account, a hub that gives you quick access to controls for safeguarding your data and protecting your privacy on Google. My Account puts privacy and security tools in one place, including long-standing features like Ads Settings and newer ones like the Privacy and Security Checkups. Collectively, these tools make it easy for you to control your privacy and security from any device.

In the past year, more than one billion people around the world have used My Account. Now, on the first anniversary of its launch, we're excited to introduce three new features to easily access your controls and protect your data.

A helping hand when you lose your phone
We entrust our phones with some of our most personal data: texts from loved ones, family photos, work emails, bank account information, and more. In the wrong hands, that data could cause trouble. Unfortunately, millions of phones are stolen every year in the U.S. alone, and countless more are lost in taxis, cafes, and couch cushions around the world. But when your phone goes missing, it’s not always easy to figure out where to start, who to call, or how to keep your information safe.

Find your phone is a new feature that will help you if your phone is ever lost or stolen. In a few simple steps, you can not only locate your phone, but also lock and call it, secure your account, leave a callback number on the screen, and more. The feature can be used to find lost Android and iOS devices, and soon, you’ll also be able to access it by searching Google for “I lost my phone.”

New ways to access My Account
People are increasingly using their voices to navigate apps and services—for example, mobile voice searches on Google have tripled in the past two years. So, we’re making it easier to get to My Account just by using your voice. In the latest Google app you can simply say, “Ok Google, show me my Google account,” and we’ll take you right there. This is available today in English, with other languages coming soon.

We’re also making it easier than ever to find My Account by searching Google. Coming soon, you’ll be able to simply search for your own name, and if you’re signed in, you’ll see a shortcut to My Account.

When you entrust your data to Google, you should expect powerful security and privacy controls. These features are just the latest in our ongoing efforts to protect you and your personal information. We'll continue to make updates based on your feedback.

Posted by Guemmy Kim, Product Manager, Account Controls and Settings

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)

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