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| Google for Nonprofits Newsletter November 2012 |
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| December 5, 2012 |
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2013 is almost here! As we count down to the new year, stay tuned to our blog, website and Google+ page for a look back at 2012 and the impact nonprofits have had. This Thursday December 4, we’ll be hanging with the YouTube for Nonprofits team so if you have YouTube-related questions, please join us! And in case you missed it, check out our most recent Hangout on Air featuring environmental nonprofits Earth Hour, Sierra Club, and The Nature Conservancy discussing best practices for using Google+.
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Ghetto Film School uses Google+ to teach master classes in filmmaking
The best thing about building tools is seeing what people do with them. Since Google+ launched, it’s been fascinating to discover people using it in ways we never could have dreamed up. Ghetto Film School’s story is the latest addition to the Google+ Stories YouTube channel. Each video captures how people—from small business owners to astronomy fans to journalists—are using Google+ to connect with others who share their interests. |
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AMBER alerts for missing children now in Google Search and Maps
We recently launched AMBER Alerts coordinated by National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the Google Public Alerts platform. If you’re using Google Search or Maps on desktop and mobile, you’ll see an AMBER Alert if you search for related information in a particular location where a child has recently been abducted and an alert was issued. AMBER Alerts will provide information about the abducted child and any other details about the case as they become available. Learn more.
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Google’s most advanced voice search has arrived on iOS
The new Google Search app for iPhone and iPad helps you find answers effortlessly — wherever you are and whatever device you’re using with enhanced voice search. Getting an answer is as simple as tapping on the microphone icon and asking a question like, “What foundations can be found in the Bay Area?” Your words appear as you speak, you get your answer immediately and—if it’s short and quick, like the status and departure time of your flight—Google tells you the answer aloud. Check out this video to learn more. |
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Supporting people with disabilities through outreach and accessibility tools
Globally, there are approximately 285 million visually impaired people in the world. It’s because of the wide impact better accessibility tools can have that we partner with organizations like the Vision Serve Alliance, which brings together the CEOs of U.S. nonprofits that serve the blind and visually impaired to network and share best practices. On November 8, we welcomed 63 of these executives to Google’s San Francisco, CA office to talk with the Google self-driving car team about the technology’s potential impact on mobility, and to demonstrate accessibility features in products like Chrome and Android. For more information on Google accessibility, read here.
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We recently chatted with Faith Lin, Civic Engagement Manager for Citizen Schools, about how they’re using Google tools and starting to integrate Google+. Citizen Schools has 586 apprenticeship slots serving over 5200 students nationally. To increase their recruiting impact, they’re encouraging previous volunteers to share their experiences as Citizen Teachers with colleagues and friends located around the country via Google+ Hangouts. In order to coordinate efforts and provide previous volunteers with tools to spread the word, they created a packet with email templates, key outreach dates, and information on their 2012 goals. Interested in joining their effort? Learn more about Citizen Schools on their website. |
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This month we caught up with Salvatore Domenick Desiano, an engineer on Google for Nonprofits, to learn more about Google for Nonprofits from an engineer’s perspective. |
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Q Why is Google for Nonprofits important for nonprofits?
A. Every part of Google sees the value of nonprofits, and want to give back to them. Google for Nonprofits (G4NP) combines multiple Google products into one place for nonprofits to access. Now nonprofits can sign up and get access to specific Google products and features that can help their organization. G4NP provides this support to nonprofits, no matter the size. This offers a tremendous amount of value for nonprofits since it can lower the cost of IT for them as well.
Q. Any cool stories from working on Google for Nonprofits?
A. From an engineer’s perspective, everything Google works on is used by a lot of people. Everyone at Google values our work, and wants to pitch in. That’s what I think of when I come to work in the morning -- knowing that all our efforts help others create social good.
Q. What is a day in the life of a Google for Nonprofits engineer like?
A. Day to day, I look mostly like an average Google engineer. I spend the majority of my time building new features. But on G4NP, there’s an entire other non-technical side. I have a steady stream of opportunities to talk with people in all parts of the company, whether they are technical and want to work with nonprofits or non-technical and want to talk to us about what nonprofits need. And sometimes we even go out into the field and meet the people who work at nonprofits. Meeting and working with these people from legal and marketing and communications is awesome and unusual for an engineer. We get to talk about everything from user experience on current products to bouncing ideas on what will be most helpful for nonprofits moving forward.
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