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Smarter photo albums, without the work
March 22, 2016
Remember the last time you went on a trip or had a fun weekend? You probably took photos and videos—lots of them—but didn’t do much beyond posting a couple on social media. Maybe you thought about making an album to share with your family or friends, but picking out the best photos and organizing them can feel as fun as unpacking your suitcase—so more often than not, they just sit on your phone or computer.
Starting today, after an event or trip, Google Photos will suggest a new album for you, curated with just your best shots. It’ll also add maps to show how far you traveled and location pins to remember where you went—because it's not always easy to recall the late-night diner you hit on your road trip, or which campsite you pitched the tent in when arriving after dark.
You can add text captions to the album to describe the view from the
small hill
huge mountain you climbed, and turn on collaboration to let others add their own photos. Or if you want to create one yourself, any existing album can now be customized with maps, location pins, and text. Voilà: You have a
beautiful album
ready to share.
This new album experience is rolling out today on Android, iOS, and the web. We’re taking the best of stories and bringing them to albums, so your adventures are easier to browse, edit, collaborate on, and share.
Posted by Francois de Halleux, Product Manager, Google Photos
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtARddbbjh6kt3fZ4RnxDTJp1iaHiCiTTpVu2b3lijDxHDZidIMbRrOrR4Z3EeIGL2I7kepKv5C2dQgs89btga_QEhK-X7qM7NhMBSM-GwAUS6ooINzHH2J_vx5kouiwsuo4vZ/s1600/GooglePhotos.jpg
Francois de Halleux
Product Manager
Google Photos
Shared memories made easy with Google Photos
December 10, 2015
Sharing photos and videos between friends and family after your birthday bash or holiday gathering shouldn’t be difficult. But between the great shots your brother has buried on his iPhone and that friend who keeps forgetting to email you her pics, you're often left reliving the event through just the photos and videos you took yourself.
Today we’re introducing shared albums in Google Photos—a fast and simple way to pool your photos and videos that makes it easier to bring everyone’s memories together.
With the launch of Google Photos in May, we made it simpler to share images and albums by sending links over SMS, email, or messaging apps. With today’s launch, you can now make the albums you send collaborative. People receiving the shared album can join to add their own photos and videos, and also get notifications when new pics are added. You can even save photos and videos from a shared album to your Google Photos library, so that you can hold onto them even if you weren’t the one holding the camera.
Best of all, there’s no setup—select photos, make an album and then send the link off to whomever you’d like. And it works no matter what device your friends and family are using—tablet or laptop, Android or iPhone.
Shared albums is rolling out today on
Android
,
iOS
and the
web
. Time to create an album and revisit that holiday party from another angle!
Posted by James Gallagher, Engineering Lead, Google Photos
IMAGE URL
James Gallagher
Engineering Lead
Google Photos
11 things to know about Google Photos
October 20, 2015
There’s nothing like reminiscing over family albums, capturing that perfect sunset pic, or finding the throwbackiest of throwbacks for #TBT. When we launched Google Photos in May, we wanted to make all these experiences even better—with unlimited high quality storage so you never need to worry about where to store your snapshots, automatic organization and great search so you can quickly find the photo you’re looking for, and easy sharing so you can send any photo to anyone with just a link. Five months later, we’ve crossed more than 100 million monthly active users—and to celebrate, we’ve collected a few factoids we’ve discovered about people and the things we photograph, along with a few tips.
1. One hundred million of you are using Google Photos.
Thanks to everyone who’s given Google Photos a whirl!
2. You’re all foodies… or at least you want people to think you are.
Note: Search for “pizza” on an empty stomach at your own risk.
3. Let the good times roll.
Try searching “Halloween” (“pumpkins” and “costumes,” too) for a seasonal trip down memory lane.
4. Dogs rule.
We can’t make your dog Internet-famous, but we can help you find the photo that will get them there. Try searching for breeds of dogs, from French bulldogs to Great Danes.
5. Dude, where’s my car?
Search for car types (truck, sedan, convertible) to find it fast. Sweet!
6. Paris, nous t’aimons
We’d recognize the Eiffel Tower anywhere. No, really: we’ll add it to your Places even without a geotag. Baguette not included.
7. You really
aren’t
sick of baby photos.
Pro tip: in the U.S., you can even add a private name label with their nicknames to find pictures of your favorite little ones fast.
8. The GIF that keeps on GIFing
Haven’t made a GIF yet? Start by selecting photos, tapping the + button, then select “Animation.”
9. You need some space.
You can safely delete backed-up photos and videos from your device, and still access them using Google Photos. Never run out of space on your phone again!
10. It’s Adventure Time.
Proving you’re outdoorsy has never been easier. Create a collage of your #NoFilter sunsets by selecting a few photos, tapping the + button, and selecting “Collage.”
11. We’re so vain.
Searching for “selfie” works, too, the next time you need a dose of self-confidence.
Posted by Chris Perry, Product Manager and Data Guru, Google Photos
Google Photos has crossed more than 100 million monthly active users—and to celebrate, we’ve collected a few factoids we’ve discovered about people and the things we photograph, along with a few tips.
S’more to love across all your screens
September 29, 2015
From your watch to your phone to your TV, we want to help you stay connected, entertained and informed across all your screens. Today we’re introducing a few new things that do just that: two Nexus phones, a tablet for work and play, updates to Chromecast and features for some of your favorite apps—all working together to make your day a little bit easier and more fun.
New Nexus phones
We made Android to be an open platform that anyone can build on, and today there are 4,000+ Android devices in all shapes and sizes. Android’s diversity is why it’s become the most popular mobile platform in the world, and the latest version,
Marshmallow
, takes Android to a new level of performance.
While we love all the Android devices out there, every year we build
Nexus
devices to show off the latest and greatest, directly from the people who built Android. Today we’re introducing the latest Nexus treats, both running Marshmallow, sweetened by amazing apps and sandwiched by some cutting-edge hardware (see what we did there?):
Nexus 6P
is the first all-metal-body Nexus phone. Built in collaboration with Huawei, this 5.7” phone is crafted from aeronautical-grade aluminum, with a USB Type-C port for fast charging, a powerful 64-bit processor, and a 12.3 MP camera sensor with massive 1.55µm pixels (hello, better photos!). The Nexus 6P starts at $499.
You’re not the only one who misses your Nexus 5. We’ve joined forces with LG to bring it back with the new
Nexus 5X
, which gives you great performance in a compact and light package, with a beautiful 5.2” screen and the same 12.3 MP camera and Type-C port as the Nexus 6P. Nexus 5X starts at $379.
Both phones include a new fingerprint sensor, Nexus Imprint, which gives you quick and secure access to your phone, as well as use of Android Pay (in the U.S.). They are available for pre-order
on the Google Store
from a number of countries, including the U.S., U.K., Ireland and Japan, and come with a free 90-day subscription to Google Play Music. In the U.S., pre-orders include a $50 Play credit to help you stock up your favorite music, apps, games and shows. And, finally, for you Project Fi fans out there, you'll be happy to know Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X will work on your favorite network. Request an invite to our Early Access Program at
fi.google.com
.
Pixel C
We’re expanding the Pixel family by introducing the
first Android tablet built end-to-end by Google
. The Pixel C brings together the benefits of a full-size keyboard with the portability of a tablet. The tablet and keyboard attach magnetically (no docking mechanism FTW), so it’s easy to switch between typing and using the touch screen.
And if you’re familiar with the
Chromebook Pixel
, you’ll immediately see the family resemblance: the Pixel C has the same beautiful aluminum design, great display and USB Type-C port. The Pixel C will be available in time for the holidays on the Google Store.
Cast ALL the things
Today we’re introducing two new Chromecast devices. The new
Chromecast
has a fresh design, and is easier to plug into TVs with crowded ports. It supports the latest Wi-Fi standards and adapts more easily to changing Wi-Fi conditions in your home, so you get higher quality video with less buffering. Most importantly, we added two new colors. ;)
Chromecast Audio
is a small device that plugs into your existing speakers, so you can stream your favorite music, radio and podcasts over Wi-Fi, similar to Chromecast. It works with tons of apps, including Spotify, Pandora and Google Play Music. Just like Chromecast, it works from anywhere in your home with your favorite devices, including Android, iOS, and laptops. And it’s available
on the Google Store
and other online retailers for just $35—way less than most Wi-Fi speakers today.
We’ve also updated the Chromecast app to make it easier for you to find great things to watch or to play, across the thousands of apps that work with Chromecast—whether you feel like browsing or want to search for a specific TV show or movie. For Cast-enabled apps that aren’t already on your phone, we’ll suggest one for you. The updated Chromecast app is rolling out on Android and iOS over the next few weeks.
Your favorite apps... for the whole family
All your shiny devices get even better when you have great apps to go with them. So we’re making a few updates to Google Play Music and Google Photos.
First, Google Play Music will offer a new family plan later this year. Up to six people will be able to use one account for a shared fee of $14.99 a month (instead of $9.99 per person). Get the dance party ready.
Sharing is a theme of today’s Google Photos updates, too. We’re adding Chromecast support to give you that old-school slideshow experience—dimmed lights optional. In the U.S., you can now add private labels to your photos to make it easier to search for specific pics of people with things, places or other people—say, that photo of Mom at the Grand Canyon, or of your daughter with her pet bunny. And soon you’ll be able to pool all your photos and videos with friends and family in one place, and get updates as soon as new photos are added. Best of all, there’s no setup involved, and you can use any device. So that dance party we mentioned earlier? Now it’s easier to gather all the memories from everyone who was there.
More to love, for more people
From Nexus to Chromecast to Pixel C to Photos, these updates are more than the sum of their parts—they unite great apps with devices that are designed to support them. They’re built to work together, so they
do
—seamlessly, across all your screens.
Posted by Hiroshi Lockheimer, VP Android, Chromecast and Chrome OS at Google
Today we’re introducing a few new things to help you stay connected, entertained and informed across all your screens: two Nexus phones, a tablet for work and play, updates to Chromecast and features for some of your favorite apps.
Picture this: A fresh approach to Photos
May 28, 2015
Every second of every day, people around the world are capturing their memories through photos and videos. Humankind has already taken trillions of photos and will take another
trillion
this year alone.
But the more moments we capture, the more challenging it becomes to relive those memories. Photos and videos become littered across mobile devices, old computers, hard drives and online services (which are constantly running out of space). It’s almost impossible to find that one photo right at the moment you need it, and sharing a bunch of photos at once is frustrating, often requiring special apps and logins.
We wanted to do better. So today we’re introducing Google Photos—a new, standalone product that gives you a home for all your photos and videos, helps you organize and bring your moments to life, and lets you share and save what matters.
A home for all your photos and videos
Google Photos gives you a single, private place to keep a lifetime of memories, and access them from any device. They’re automatically backed up and synced, so you can have peace of mind that your photos are safe, available across all your devices.
And when we say a lifetime of memories, we really mean it. With Google Photos, you can now backup and store unlimited, high-quality photos and videos, for free. We maintain the original resolution up to 16MP for photos, and 1080p high-definition for videos, and store compressed versions of the photos and videos in beautiful, print-quality resolution. For all the storage details, visit our
help center
.
Organize and bring your moments to life
Google Photos automatically organizes your memories by the people, places, and things that matter. You don’t have to tag or label any of them, and you don’t need to laboriously create albums. When you want to find a particular shot, with a simple search you can instantly find any photo—whether it’s your dog, your daughter’s birthday party, or your favorite beach in Santa Barbara. And all of this auto-grouping is private, for your eyes only.
The app can also help you quickly enhance photos and combine them in new ways to help you relive your life’s moments. In one tap, get instant adjustments tuned to the photo’s color, lighting, and subject to make each photo look its best. Press the “+” button to create your own collages, animations, movies with soundtracks, and more.
If you swipe to the left, you’ll open the Assistant view, where we’ll suggest new things made with your photos and videos, such as a collage or a story based on a recent trip you took. After previewing the creation, you can choose to keep, edit, or discard it.
Easily share and save what matters
With Google Photos, you have the choice to share your photos and videos however you want across any service you choose, from Hangouts to Twitter to WhatsApp. But even then, it’s still remarkably difficult to share a lot of photos just with friends and family and keep the ones shared with you—it usually involves a lot of downloading and re-uploading across a number of different services. We wanted to make sharing much simpler and more reliable.
You can now take any set of photos and videos, or any album, and simply create a link to share hundreds of photos at once. The recipient can see what you shared without a special app or login, then immediately save the high-quality images to their own library with a single tap. So now it’s easier to hang on to the photos you care about even if you weren’t the one holding the camera.
If you want to give Google Photos a whirl, it's available now on
Android
,
iOS
and the
web
. With this launch we've made a lot of progress towards eliminating many of the frustrations involved in storing, editing and sharing your memories. But we have a lot more in store—so as you keep snapping photos and capturing videos, we’ll keep working on making them even easier to store, share and bring to life.
Posted by Anil Sabharwal, Head of Google Photos
Google+ Stories and Movies: memories made easier
May 20, 2014
A suitcase full of dirty clothes. A sad-looking house plant. And 437 photos and videos on your phone, tablet and camera. This is the typically messy scene after a vacation. And although we can’t do your laundry (thanks but no thanks), or run your errands (well, maybe
a few
), we’d still like to help. Enter Google+ Stories, which can automatically weave your photos, videos and the places you visited into a beautiful travelogue.
No more sifting through photos for your best shots, racking your brain for the sights you saw, or letting your videos collect virtual dust. We’ll just gift you a story after you get home. This way you can relive your favorite moments, share them with others, and remember why you traveled in the first place.
Stories will be available this week on Android and the web, with iOS coming soon. In the meantime you can browse my story below (click to start), or explore a few others by paraglider
Tom de Dorlodot
, DJ
Steve Aoki
and Allrecipes photographer
Angela Sackett
.
When it’s less about travel, and more about today's events (like a birthday party, or baby’s first steps),
Google+ Movies
can produce a highlight reel of your photos and videos automatically—including effects, transitions and a soundtrack. Today we’re bringing Movies to Android, iOS and the web, so lots more people will receive these video vignettes.
A movie of my daughter’s first bike ride, created automatically by Google+
To get started with Stories and Movies, simply
back up
your photos and videos to Google+. And that’s it.
Auto Awesome
will get to work in the background, and you’ll get notified when a story or movie is ready.
In fact: if your photo library is already online, you may already have stories waiting for you. So look for the new app in
Google Play
, view the full list of improvements
on Google+
, and enjoy your walks down memory lane.
Posted by
+Anil Sabharwal
, Director of Product Management
Google+ Hangouts and Photos: save some time, share your story
October 29, 2013
We could all use more time for ourselves, and less time figuring out technology. So today's improvements to Google+ Hangouts and Photos aim to take a lot of the work out of messaging, video calling and photo editing.
Hangouts
Hangouts enable conversations among close friends, as well as broadcasts with the entire world. Today we're improving both:
Hangouts for Android now supports
location sharing and SMS
. This way you can send a map of your current location (vs. finding and typing an address), and you can send and receive SMS (vs. switching between apps).
Animated GIFs
also play inline.
Broadcasters can now
schedule Hangouts On Air
, then promote them with a
dedicated watch page
. Once you're live,
Control Room
lets you moderate the conversation with eject and remote mute.
In both cases, the video calling experience is significantly improved. It's now
full screen
across mobile and desktop, and it
fixes and enhances webcam lighting
automatically.
From left to right: location sharing; SMS support; and animated GIFs
From left to right: schedule your Hangout On Air; promote it with a dedicated watch page; and moderate the conversation with Control Room
From left to right: video call before lighting fixes; video call after lighting fixes
The Android app and video calling features will be available in a few days, while the On Air improvements will roll out over the next few weeks.
Photos and videos
Photos and videos capture life's most precious moments, but it’s way too hard to save, organize, edit and share your stuff. Google+ can make things easier, automatically.
For starters,
full size backups and background sync
are coming soon to Google+ for iOS. This way you can backup your photos as you take them.
In addition,
finding your photos is actually fun
. We now recognize over a thousand different objects—from sunsets to snowmen—so you can just type what you’re looking for, and find matching items in your library.
Auto Enhance improves each photo you add to Google+, and now you can now
dial the enhancements up or down
. If you’re already processing your images elsewhere, you can choose to
exempt an album entirely
.
If you like to edit on the go, then you’ll enjoy Snapseed and its new
HDR Scape
filter. While high dynamic range (HDR) imaging requires multiple photos to create its effect, HDR Scape can deliver similar results with a single tap.
We’re also adding
Analog Efex Pro
to the Nik Collection (still just $149). With it you can reimagine your images using classic cameras and processing methods—from toy and medium format to wet plate and vintage.
From left to right: photo searches for "beach", "sunset" and "snow"
From left to right: original image; Auto Enhance at "normal"; Auto Enhance at "high"
From left to right: original image; image enhanced with Snapseed HDR Scape
Auto Awesome can help bring your story to life in creative ways. Today we’re adding three new techniques:
Action.
Maybe it’s your child’s first gymnastic meet, or you’re skateboarding with a friend. Action can take their tumble or half pipe trick, and create a strobe-effect photograph.
Eraser.
When you’re taking pictures of landmarks, people and cars often get in the way. Eraser can take a sequence of these photos, and erase whatever’s moving to give you a “cleaner” image.
Movie.
Movie produces highlight reels from your photos and videos—complete with effects, transitions and a soundtrack—automatically. You can share the movie as is, or dive into the editing process to customize even further.
From left to right: sequence of action shots; Auto Awesome Action
From left to right: sequence of images with people in the way; Auto Awesome Eraser
All of today’s photo and video improvements will be available this week. Auto Awesome Movie works on certain devices with Android 4.3+, but all the other app features are widely supported.
With 540 million people active across Google each month, 300 million people active in just the stream and more than 1.5 billion photos uploaded every week, the Google+ community is growing faster than we ever could have imagined. Today’s updates are our way of saying “thank you”—we hope they save you time, and help you share your story.
Posted by
+Vic Gundotra
, Senior Vice President
Google+: Communities and photos
December 6, 2012
For our international readers, this post is also available in
Chinese
,
French
,
German
,
Italian
,
Japanese
,
Russian
,
Portuguese
and Spanish (
Spain
,
Latin America
).
- Ed.
During the holidays we reconnect with loved ones and rediscover what makes us tick. And it's times like these that remind me why we started Google+ in the first place: to make online sharing as meaningful as the real thing. Too often our online tools miss the subtlety and substance of real-world interactions, and Google+ aims to fix this. Fortunately we've got a vibrant community to guide us.
Today Google+ is the fastest-growing network thingy ever. More than 500 million people have upgraded, 235 million are active across Google (+1'ing apps in Google Play, hanging out in Gmail, connecting with friends in Search...), and 135 million are active in just the stream.
This enthusiasm, we think, stems from our building tools that build real relationships—in a live hangout, around a breathtaking photo, or with an inner circle of friends. So today we're launching two new improvements that help bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to software.
Google+ Communities: for all the people you ought to know
From
photography
to
astronomy
(and
everything
in
between
), Google+ has always been a place to crowd around common interests and meet new people. What’s been missing, however, are more permanent homes for all the stuff you love: the wonderful, the weird, and yes, even the things that are waaay out there. With Google+ Communities there’s now a gathering place for your passions, including:
Public or private membership to support all kinds of groups—from topics and interests to local neighborhoods to regular poker nights
Discussion categories to find the conversations you care about most
The option to start hangouts and plan events with community members
The ability to share with your community from any +1 button across the web
To give it a try just click on the new "Communities" icon (rolling out today), then create or join your favorite community. It’s only a preview, and mobile’s coming soon, so we’re keen to get your feedback.
Snapseed: beautiful photos with your mobile device
Great pictures aren’t taken, they’re made—and Nik Software has been helping people make awesome photos for years. Having
welcomed Nik
to the Google family, we're excited to bring their Snapseed app (last year's iPad app of the year) to Android. It includes:
Basic adjustments
like tune, straighten and crop
Creative filters
like drama, black & white, and vintage that you can apply individually or in combination
Control Point technology to selectively enhance your photo—to brighten just a face, for instance, or deepen just the sky
The ability to share your creations via Google+ and other services
Snapseed is rolling out now to
Google Play
and the
App Store
, and starting today, both versions are free.
Sample image created with Snapseed; gallery available
here
This time of year we honor the past, and imagine what’s ahead. So we want to thank you for lending your big hearts to this
small project
. And we invite you to a future where everyone’s cared for and comfortable in their own skin—in life
and
online. Let’s keep building Google+ together, and let’s be excellent to each other this holiday season.
Posted by
Vic Gundotra
, Senior Vice President
The Google Photography Prize 2012 winner
April 25, 2012
Last week we shared the names of the
10 Finalists
for the
Google Photography Prize 2012
. Today we’re delighted to announce the winner: Viktor Johansson from Sweden.
Viktor is a 24-year-old student at the Swedish photography school Nordens Fotoskola Biskops-Arnö. The judges were captivated by his series that focused on Christoffer Eskilsson, Sweden’s best male diver from 10 meters. Viktor spent three days with Christoffer in Eriksdalsbadet, Stockholm where Christoffer trains and perfects his craft. Viktor came to realize that training to become the number-one male high diver in Sweden is a lonely pursuit.
Viktor has chosen to show us an alternative perspective on the life of a professional athlete—a view that we’re not used to seeing from sport photography in the media. Instead of glamorous action shots of an athlete in competition, he’s produced arresting and unexpected photographs that focus on the long, lonely hours of repetitive training and practice that it takes to excel in a field.
In addition to the exhibition at Saatchi Gallery, London, Viktor will go on a once-in-a-lifetime photography trip to a destination of his choice with a professional photography coach.
Posted by Obi Felten, Director of Consumer Marketing EMEA
Celebrating the Google Photography Prize Finalists
April 16, 2012
Back in November we announced the
Google Photography Prize 2012
, a competition offering student photographers a chance to share their best photographs with the world.
Groundbreaking photographer Ansel Adams once said, “There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs,” so we left the themes for submission suitably broad, with 10 categories that combined classic photography genres with online photography trends including “Night,” “Travel,” “Sound/Silence” and “Me.”
We were thrilled by the interest in the contest: nearly 20,000 students from 146 countries took part, of which 100 were shortlisted. You can see these in the gallery on our
website
.
Our
judging panel
of seven leading photography experts chose the 10 finalists whose work will be shown in our exhibition in the Saatchi Gallery. Today we’re announcing the finalists:
Collin Avery
(U.S.),
Viktor Johansson
(Sweden),
Kyrre Lien
(Norway),
Alexandra Claudia Manta
(Romania),
Balázs Maté
(Hungary),
Adi Sason
(Israel),
Oliver Seary
(UK),
Dana Stirling
(Israel),
Sasha Tamarin
(Israel),
Zhao Yi
(China). Here are examples of the finalists' work—you can see their full albums on their Google+ profiles.
If you’re in London, come to the Saatchi Gallery to see the work of our finalists displayed alongside a new exhibition of international photography,
Out of Focus
, starting April 25. The overall winner of the Google Photography Prize will be announced on April 24, and will go on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to a location of their choice with a professional photographer as their mentor.
We hope you enjoy these fantastic photos as much as we did.
Posted by Obi Felten, Director of Consumer Marketing EMEA
Google Photography Prize: Looking for the photography stars of the future
November 10, 2011
Google+ is only a few months old, but the photography community is already thriving on it. Take a look at the profiles of
Scott Jarvie
,
Thomas Hawk
,
Colby Brown
or
Claire Grigaut
to see just a few of the inspiring photographers on Google+. More than 3.4 billion photos have been uploaded to the platform in the first 100 days.
We’re really excited about this, and think great art deserves great exposure. So we’re teaming up with
Saatchi Gallery
, London for the
Google Photography Prize
, a chance for students around the world to showcase their photos on Google+ and have their work exhibited at a major art institution.
The contest is open to students around the world (some exceptions apply, see
google.com/photographyprize
for more details). From far-away places to up-close faces, there are 10 different
categories
to spark your imagination. And there are some great prizes to be won: 10 finalists chosen by a jury of renowned photographers will show their work at Saatchi Gallery, London for two months in 2012 alongside Out of Focus, a major photography exhibition, and win a trip to London to attend the exhibition opening event with a friend. One winner will go on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to an amazing destination with a professional photography coach.
It’s easy to enter: After you pick a category, upload your photos to Google+ and share them with the world as a public post, then visit the submission form on
google.com/photographyprize
by January 31, 2012 to enter.
Saatchi Gallery, London will share updates on their
Google+ page
for the contest, so add it to your circles if you want to see the great work that’s being submitted.
We can’t wait to see your photos!
Update
Nov 14:
We've had a few questions and comments about who can enter. The contest is open to all students in higher education, including but not limited to those studying photography. Please have a look at the eligibility criteria on the
contest website
.
Posted by Obi Felten, Director of Consumer Marketing, Google EMEA
Google moms share tech tips for your family
May 6, 2011
As a Googler I often take my work home with me—in a good way. With two young boys at home, life is always busy, so my husband and I are always looking for ways to save time, get organized and enrich our lives in simple ways. Because the products I beta test and use in the office have become an integral part of my own family life, for Mother’s Day this weekend I’d like to share some favorite tips, including a few from other Googler parents.
Capturing and sharing memories
Instead of keeping 500 crayon masterpieces, store digital photos of all your kids’ artwork in
Picasa Web Albums
Collect trip or party photos in one place by letting all of your paparazzi upload their snapshots to a
collaborative online album
Tag friends and family
in Picasa photos so you can easily create and share personalized
collages
,
gift CDs/DVDs
or
movie slideshows
Use
Picnik
to edit your Picasa Web Albums photos. Use the “Create” tab to add text, stickers, frames and other effects to your photos—your kids can help, and you can email them as digital cards to distant relatives
Safely share home videos with family by inviting them to view a
private YouTube video
Keep a running family history by encouraging relatives around the world to contribute stories and biographies in a
shared Google doc
or
blog
Communicating and entertaining
Video chat
through Gmail for free with long-distance grandparents and friends—this is also great for connecting kids with their parents when traveling
Entertain kids on the run with kid-friendly YouTube channels—like
Sesame Street
and
School House Rock
—
Android apps
or your own photos and videos on your mobile phone (kids love watching themselves!)
Have your kids help you create a video card or a cartoon on
YouTube
Explore the world from the couch—fly around Google Earth on your
mobile phone
or
tablet
On camping trips, use
Sky Map
to explore and name constellations. You can even
travel back in time
to show your kids what the sky looked like on the day they were born
Read the classics—like
Anne of Green Gables
,
The Wind in the Willows
and
Grimm’s Fairy Tales
—for free from Google eBooks; for older kids, many books that are required reading for school are also
free
. Google eBooks are accessible and readable on devices your family probably already has—like laptops or smartphones
My son Kai chatting with his dad while on a business trip
Organizing and planning
Plan a group trip by creating a
shared Google document
or
site
with proposed dates and activities.
Navigate around traffic
and find the nearest pit stop with
Google Maps for mobile
Using
My Maps
, get family and friends to help you collect ideas for activities in your area that are family-friendly
Schedule family events, playdates and birthdays on a
shared Google Calendar
Track everything from infant feeding schedules, holiday gifts and thank-you notes to travel packing lists and family budgets with
Google spreadsheets
; look at the
Template Gallery
to customize yours
Use
forms
in Google spreadsheets to send invitations to birthday parties and collect RSVPs (there are templates for these, too)
Use the ingredient filter in
Recipe View
to find recipes that exclude ingredients your kids won’t eat—like [
meatballs without onions
]—or use the time filter to find easy recipes your children can help prepare like
chocolate chip cookies that take under 30 minutes
Share a shopping list on Google Docs—whomever goes to the store can easily access it from the new
Google Docs app on Android
I hope these tips inspire moms (and dads) to celebrate your family this weekend. Here’s hoping you can save time and energy to focus on having fun with your kids!
Posted by Cathy Cheng, Webmaster Manager and proud mom of Kai (3 years) and Jin (10 months)
More “I do”s, less “to-do”s: wedding planning simplified
February 10, 2011
(Cross-posted on the
Google Docs Blog
and the
Google Photos Blog
)
For many, your wedding day is one of the biggest, most momentous days of your life. The perfect dress, the right tuxedo, the proper shade of blue, the three-tier cake with chocolate fondant, and all of your closest family and friends—these are just a few of the many things you might think about for your special day. Although there’s much to consider and a lot of work to do, the payoff is great: it’s one of the happiest days of your life.
To help you plan this important day we’ve created wedding-specific templates in Google Sites, Google Docs and Picnik, and gathered tips and tricks for using these and other Google products at
google.com/weddings
. From wedding websites to save-the-date cards, these tools simplify wedding planning, letting you focus your time on the fun things—like tasting cakes!
We teamed up with renowned wedding planner
Michelle Rago
, who provided her insight and creativity to guide the designs you’ll find on this new site. Michelle also shared her experience to provide tips and advice to keep your guests comfortable and you sane.
We’re also hosting a wedding sweepstakes, so if you’re getting married in the next year you can
enter for a chance to win $25,000
towards your dream wedding (see
Official Rules
). Plus, Michelle Rago and her team will advise the winning couple on location, flowers, food and other design elements to create a day that is uniquely their own.
(
Update
March 29, 2011
: The Google Dream Wedding Sweepstakes is closed and is no longer taking entries. Thanks for your interest.)
Visit
google.com/weddings
to start planning, or share the site with your favorite betrothed couple and help them on their way to wedded bliss.
Posted by Lisa Conquergood, Senior Product Marketing Manager
Announcing the Panoramio Photo Contest
November 1, 2010
(Cross-posted from the
Lat Long Blog
)
The
Panoramio
community enables you to share your photos and explore them on
Google Earth
,
Google Maps
and other places. If you’ve never geo-tagged a photo,
watch this video
to learn how easy it is to add photos to the Panoramio layer in Google Earth.
Now you can add some excitement to your photo project and enter your photos to the monthly
Panoramio Geotagged Photo Contest
! Starting this month, we’ll be giving away the new Casio
Hybrid-GPS camera EX-H20G
to the winner of each category (Scenery, Heritage, Travel and Unusual Location). The Panoramio community reviews all of the submissions and votes for what they consider to be the best each month.
Casio’s new Hybrid-GPS camera combines a GPS engine with autonomic positioning made possible by a motion sensor. This makes geotagging easy—both outdoors and indoors.
If you haven’t joined the
Panoramio
community yet, try it out and don’t forget to participate in our
monthly contest
. To enter your photo, click on “Submit to the contest” and choose a category. Good luck and we can’t wait to see your photos!
Posted by Gerard Sanz, Panoramio Community Manager
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