CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-15 21:36:27 (20 comments, 43 reshares, 191 +1s)

https://developers.google.com/events/io/ is a place to watch four different live streams of sessions from Google I/O right now!

I'm in the Google Wallet session where they just launched Instant Buy, a great way to make buying easier in Android apps.

Google also just added the ability to send money in Gmail: http://www.google.com/wallet/send-money/

I'm also really excited about the "autocomplete" session coming up later today. I'd recommend every webmaster to read more about requestAutocomplete(): http://www.chromium.org/developers/using-requestautocomplete Filling out forms to buy stuff is a pain, and autocomplete lets users sail through those forms and make it really easy to buy things on your site.

Oh, and Google's new All Access music pass looks quite cool. For $9.99/month you can play millions of songs and listen to... more »

2013-05-15 03:00:56 (6 comments, 20 reshares, 120 +1s)

Details emerge of the upcoming event, a massive XM anomaly in San Francisco targeting Ingress Report correspondent Susanna Moyer.

Which of the many incredible pieces of art submitted for Felicia Hajra-Lee's An Exotic Matter will be the one to grace the cover?

See the Collection here: http://goo.gl/v7HDd

And vote here to share your first choice: http://goo.gl/yPcPE

2013-05-15 00:36:20 (19 comments, 28 reshares, 173 +1s)

Incognito man has got you covered!

#io13   #chromeswag   #ifihadincognitoglasses  
 

2013-05-09 20:52:33 (29 comments, 24 reshares, 242 +1s)

I was reading an article about a law that would make it legal to unlock your cell phone. Sounds like a great idea, so I looked at the members of Congress who proposed it: +zoe lofgren, +Jared Polis, and Anna Eshoo. All people that I've researched and trust in Congress.

Then I saw one more name: Thomas Massie, from Kentucky. Huh. I'm from Kentucky, and that name was familiar for some reason. So I do a quick Google search to find out more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Massie .

It turns out that Thomas Massie built a company called SensAble Technologies that makes haptic feedback devices, which means that you could move your hand and feel resistance pushing back on you. We used their technology when I was in grad school studying computer graphics at UNC-Chapel Hill.

It's really encouraging to see an MIT-educated engineer representing the state of Kentuckyin... more »

2013-05-01 15:16:49 (17 comments, 8 reshares, 85 +1s)

Hey everybody, thanks for all the good #30daychallenge  suggestions!

Some of the more interesting suggestions I've gotten for 30 day challenges:
- a group of Google Developers is doing a "Mindful in May" challenge that is also raising money for clean water: https://plus.google.com/+GoogleDevelopers/posts/718YQPvrwuv
- Spend at least 30 minutes/day out in nature: http://30x30.davidsuzuki.org/
- Keep a food log/diary/journal. Apps that have been recommended: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/android , http://www.loseit.com/product/android , http://www.mynetdiary.com/android-calorie-counter.html , http://www.noom.com/calorific/
- bike to work each day (why wait until Bike to Work Day?)
- Switch primary laptop from Thinkpad to Chromebook Pixel. I've been using Thinkpads since 1998, to the degree that I'm addicted to the trackpoint controller, but the screen... more »

2013-04-29 19:09:43 (29 comments, 26 reshares, 116 +1s)

It's time to record webmaster videos again!

In a day or so I'm going to record new webmaster videos with +Michael Wyszomierski. If there's a question or topic you'd like me to make a video about, add it to https://www.google.com/moderator/#15/e=20ce74&t=20ce74.40

Remember: add your suggestion to the Google Moderator page--that's where I'll be looking, not in the comments here. :)

2013-04-29 17:56:32 (103 comments, 31 reshares, 132 +1s)

I'm trying to decide on my next 30 day challenge

Right now I'm thinking about keeping a food log/journal/diary, but I'm wide open to other suggestions. What 30 day challenges would you like me to try?

Also, if anyone has suggestions for an Android food logging app that's dead-simple and easy to use, I'd appreciate any suggestions for that too!

2013-04-23 17:56:47 (13 comments, 8 reshares, 69 +1s)

In five minutes you can watch my Google Hangout with +Tim O'Reilly and others about reinventing regulation at http://reinventors.net/roundtables/reinvent-regulation/

2013-04-22 17:43:59 (20 comments, 22 reshares, 77 +1s)

Reinventing Regulation

I'm doing a Google+ Hangout next week (April 23, 11 am PT) on a subject that I've been thinking about for a while: how should government regulation be updated for the 21st century?  Regulation has a bad name, largely because it is so easy to think of so many examples where it's done badly. When regulatory systems work, we take them for granted.

For example, without the "regulation" imposed by anti-spam efforts on the net, email would be unusable, search results would be useless, and reasonable discussions on blogs and other online forums impossible. Without the regulatory efforts of credit card fraud detection, e-commerce would be impossible. Without the regulatory efforts of the fuel injection system in your car, the traffic control system on a subway system, or the autopilot in an aircraft, transportation would be reduced to a... more »

2013-04-14 06:36:05 (83 comments, 179 reshares, 675 +1s)

Sure some other search engines have 5x the malware, but what about email uptime? The data look pretty good, actually: "for every 1 minute of Gmail downtime, [a competing email solution] is down for 103 minutes!"

2013-04-11 16:44:55 (53 comments, 20 reshares, 237 +1s)

Cats at rest. Ozzie is in front, Emmy in the back.

2013-04-07 04:23:13 (153 comments, 16 reshares, 695 +1s)

I just finished running the American River 50 mile race. I finished in roughly 12 hours and 30 minutes. I'm tired but but happy. :)

2013-04-04 16:19:52 (22 comments, 107 reshares, 261 +1s)

From the article:
"Google Inc. (GOOG), operator of the world’s largest search engine, is challenging a demand by the U.S. government for private user information in a national security probe, according to a court filing.

It “appears” to be the first time a major communications company is pushing back after getting a so-called National Security Letter, said the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an Internet privacy group. The challenge comes three weeks after a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that NSLs, which are issued without a warrant, are unconstitutional."

2013-04-03 21:09:54 (75 comments, 73 reshares, 242 +1s)

This is important: a new video by Larry Lessig about how money corrupts U.S. politics, and what we need to do to reclaim our democracy. Lessig also has a short (25K words for $3) book that goes with the talk. More info here: http://blog.ted.com/2013/04/03/how-we-can-make-elections-about-the-people-not-just-funders-an-excerpt-of-lawrence-lessigs-new-ted-book-lesterland/ 

2013-04-02 16:51:18 (137 comments, 18 reshares, 100 +1s)

What's your favorite running or workout songs?

I'm doing a 50 mile (!) run this weekend: http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/a-big-challenge-running-a-50-mile-race/ and I need more music. Please suggest good songs that would help pump me up while I'm running!

To make it easier for everyone to sample the songs, can you link to the songs on YouTube instead of just listing the artist/song name? That way, Google+ will automatically add links and it's easy for everyone to play the songs.

I'll start out! Here's a few songs I listen to when I run:

Martin Solveig & Dragonette - Hello [OFFICIAL VIDEO HD]

blink-182 - All The Small Things 

Val Emmich - "Get On With It"

Eminem - Not Afraid

The Vapors - Turning Japanese

Far East Movement - Like A G6 ft. The Cataracs, DEV
... more »

2013-04-01 17:28:46 (16 comments, 8 reshares, 63 +1s)

In the state of New York, they're very close to passing real reform of campaign financing to reduce the power of special interests and lobbyists.

I just donated some money; if you want to reduce the influence of money in politics, please consider donating here: http://goo.gl/wBWO9

2013-04-01 14:47:40 (35 comments, 4 reshares, 108 +1s)

I'm taking the opportunity today to mention that I'm running a 50 mile race this weekend!

2013-03-07 03:27:08 (39 comments, 9 reshares, 97 +1s)

Headed to Austin this weekend for South by Southwest? So are we! Here are just a few of the events you won’t want to miss:

Chrome
We're showing off our latest Chrome experiment "Find Your Way to Oz." On Friday, March 8 at 1:15pm at Galaxy Highland, the team will give a talk with Unit 9 on creative storytelling, followed by a screening of "Oz The Great and Powerful."

Google Playground
Stop by the Google Playground and get hands on with our latest experiments in reimagining advertising on Saturday, March 9 from 12-6pm at 340 E. 2nd Street (across from the convention center, http://goo.gl/r0iSn). The team will give a talk, "How will art, copy & code re-imagine advertising?" on Sunday at 3:30pm: http://goo.gl/rUWJW

Search
On Sunday, March 10 from 11am-12pm, Amit Singhal will take the stage withG... more »

2013-03-06 15:38:07 (25 comments, 18 reshares, 122 +1s)

Google Play is celebrating its birthday with a whole week of free and discounted downloads.

2013-02-22 21:50:05 (20 comments, 30 reshares, 173 +1s)

Second shoe drops: new White House Directive mandates OA

The Obama White House today directed federal agencies to develop open-access policies within the next six months. The directive comes from John Holdren <http://goo.gl/T02gj>, President Obama's chief Science Advisor.

White House announcement
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/02/22/expanding-public-access-results-federally-funded-research

Directive itself
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/ostp_public_access_memo_2013.pdf

This is big. It's big in its own right, and even bigger when put together with FASTR <http://bit.ly/hoap-fastr>, the bipartisan OA bill introduced into both houses of Congress just eight days ago. We now have OA mandates coming from both the executive and legislative branches of government. 

The two approaches... more »

2013-02-21 22:26:13 (18 comments, 47 reshares, 197 +1s)

Great discussion between +Limor Fried and +Barack Obama about software patents and tech in general.

2013-02-14 23:42:42 (71 comments, 2 reshares, 102 +1s)

I'm not sure I planned well when deciding to do a 30 day wheat-free/gluten-free challenge with my wife. No wheat makes it tricky to do some Valentine's day sweets. Then again, maybe that's a good thing?

2013-02-14 17:15:45 (35 comments, 61 reshares, 189 +1s)

The trailer for The Internship, the new movie set at Google, just came out. You can see my office from the courtyard of Google at 52 seconds in!

2013-02-14 16:13:47 (32 comments, 22 reshares, 267 +1s)

I didn't realize I left so many things on my desk when heading out.. I just hope the phone doesn't ring just yet :-).

2013-02-04 19:29:50 (270 comments, 9 reshares, 140 +1s)

What's the most dangerous thing you do? I'll start: I don't wash my fruit.

How about you?

2012-12-30 08:32:06 (104 comments, 83 reshares, 418 +1s)

I'm taking a week off the internet

The end of the year is a perfect time to think about goals. Did you get done what you wanted in 2012? What do you want to accomplish in 2013? Instead of setting year-long goals, I'm a big fan of trying out new things for a month at a time.

This month I'm going to try to unplug from Twitter and most news. I'm also going to cut down on replying to email.

I'm going to start out with a week without internet. Harper Reed called it a "reading vacation" at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/27/harper-reed-week-without-internet_n_2370432.html and I can't wait to curl up with a few books.

Is there something you've always wanted to learn or try? Why not give it a shot for 30 days and see how it goes?

2012-12-30 01:37:32 (57 comments, 15 reshares, 154 +1s)

I started using Instagram less than a week before Facebook bought it, and I didn't really use Instagram much after Facebook bought them. So I have a grand total of three photos stored with Instagram.

You can use Instaport to export your photos out of Instagram: http://web2.instaport.me/ . I exported my three pictures and I'm posting them here just so I'll have a copy of them.

2012-12-27 01:19:57 (113 comments, 172 reshares, 937 +1s)

Chrome is taking a really nice change to protect users.

Starting with version 25, Chrome will disable extensions that have been silently installed. In the future, if a program tries to silently install an extension, Chrome will check whether you really want that extension.

From the blog post: "This feature was originally intended to allow users to opt-in to adding a useful extension to Chrome as a part of the installation of another application. Unfortunately, this feature has been widely abused by third parties to silently install extensions into Chrome without proper acknowledgment from users."

Now when a program tries to install an extension without you realizing it, you'll get a heads-up from Chrome so that you can decide whether you really want that extension.

2012-12-26 05:58:04 (73 comments, 25 reshares, 138 +1s)

Celebrate the #HolidaySeason with #free TV episodes from your favorite series, such as Downton Abbey and The Walking Dead. Enjoy over 20 free episodes for a limited time: US- http://goo.gl/xcZns

2012-12-23 19:05:12 (9 comments, 12 reshares, 52 +1s)

Just made something you can use.

You probably have tools and gadgets you no longer use. Perfectly good ones, or maybe ones that are a bit worn, or perhaps you have a basement bin of parts that would be perfect for the right person. You may have thought about listing them on Craigs List for some pocket money. But you never will because its a bother. Yet your stuff may be exactly what your friends, or other readers of Cool Tools might be looking for -- especially if it is free for picking up.

Here is a better way to give away cool stuff: Cool Tools Freecycle.

Cool Tools Freecycle is a sub-app that is part of Human.io phone/tablet app which lets you instantly post anything you want to give away for free. Your item along with a quick photo is added to a list, which is sorted by distance. So when you look in the app, all the give-aways nearest to you show up first. You respond in... more »

2012-12-23 16:00:23 (40 comments, 13 reshares, 221 +1s)

Happy holidays from Emmy and Ozzie! Emmy is the orange cat and Ozzie is the gray one.

2012-12-18 19:55:05 (48 comments, 75 reshares, 256 +1s)

I'm just now watching this. Way too catchy.

2012-12-14 06:13:59 (163 comments, 5 reshares, 66 +1s)

I'm looking for some fun books to read over the holidays. Anyone have recommendations for light novels--nothing that needs too much of an attention span?

P.S. Graphic novel suggestions are fine too!

2012-12-13 17:05:26 (35 comments, 3 reshares, 69 +1s)

The holidays are a good time to think about organizations that help the hungry, the unemployed, the disabled, and the disenfranchised in our own community (which for our family is the San Francisco Bay Area).

Does anyone want to share pointers to smaller community-based charities, especially ones where most of the money goes to help people instead of for executives' salaries?

2012-12-13 05:01:23 (94 comments, 110 reshares, 531 +1s)

Here it comes--Google Maps for the iPhone!

2012-12-10 18:44:33 (28 comments, 51 reshares, 151 +1s)

It's a Festivus miracle when you go to Google and search for Festivus!

Try it at https://www.google.com/search?q=festivus

2012-12-09 05:33:10 (34 comments, 13 reshares, 143 +1s)

I'm a big fan of Fitbit. It's an electronic pedometer that syncs wirelessly. Today I got my 5,000 mile badge. It took me about three years to get.

In the past, the best daily step badge you could get was capped at 40,000 steps. Looks like Fitbit removed the cap though, because I got a 50,000 step badge today and I can see that there's a 55,000 step badge. My best step day ever was 62,888 steps, which was the same day I ran the San Francisco Marathon for the first time.

Fitbits make a great Christmas present, by the way. You can connect with friends to see how many steps your friends have been taking.

2012-12-05 23:00:01 (38 comments, 74 reshares, 171 +1s)

The story of my Skype account getting hacked

I have a Skype account, but I don't use it that often. In mid-November, I got 3-4 emails from Skype in Russian. I get a lot of email, so I didn't bother to translate them. Then I got this email:

"I am a researcher in the field of security. Unfortunately Skype support does not respond to a message about the vulnerability of their systems. You quadrupeds person and may be able to influence the situation.
I apologize ... Your password from skype account - [removed]. 
I also examine the security of your systems. If you're interested, I can send you the results.
With best regards...."

That's an interesting email to get. The next morning, http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2012/11/14/security-hole-allows-anyone-to-hijack-your-skype-account-using-only-your-email-address/ reported that Skypeh... more »

2012-12-05 19:03:26 (89 comments, 17 reshares, 193 +1s)

A sample of devices on a plane

Every time I'm on a plane and have a chance to walk down the aisle, I pop out my notebook and do a quick tally of which devices I see. Here was the tally on a recent Phoenix -> San Francisco flight:
Laptops running Windows: 6
Laptops running Mac: 4
iPhones: 4
iPads: 3
Android phones: 2
Kindle: 1
Sony device: 1
Tablet I didn't recognize: 1
Edit: Almost forgot, 1 Ubuntu laptop--mine :)

This was the most Windows laptops I've seen on a flight in a while, but it's still 6 out of 22 devices, and this was coach--I believe 1st class leans heavily toward Apple. If you have any doubt that we're in a post-traditional-PC era, either look around or wait a while longer and it will be more clear.

2012-11-29 18:17:10 (52 comments, 41 reshares, 106 +1s)

From the article: "Under the proposal before the Bundestag [in Germany], aggregators like Google would first have to obtain the permission of publishers to present even one-paragraph summaries of free content in Web search rankings."

2012-11-24 22:38:47 (23 comments, 17 reshares, 96 +1s)

BACK UP NOW, YO!

Okay, no funny business or contest entry or referral bonus or anything with this:  I've used www.crashplan.com  for years and really like it and they're having a big sale right now.  

GET YOUR DARN COMPUTER PHOTOS AND MUSIC AND EVERYTHING BACKED UP!

Many of you are in the middle of a long weekend.  You just took some family pictures.  You've got some free time.

Frankly, I DON'T CARE HOW YOU BACKUP.  Google Drive offers a lot of data at good prices and, as you can imagine, is pretty darn secure.  I've heard reasonably good things about Microsoft SkyDrive and Mozy and Carbonite, too.  Personally, I'd suggest automated online backups over anything else, but if you're really disciplined, knock yourself out, do a combination of backups :).

Just, for goodness sake, back up.  Friends,famous j... more »

2012-11-23 22:33:53 (13 comments, 14 reshares, 66 +1s)

Ready, set, play! Get up to 80% off US- goo.gl/skB43 this year’s top movies, books, apps and more. #CyberWeekend #GooglePlay

2012-11-22 22:40:58 (24 comments, 36 reshares, 130 +1s)

What's on your geek gadget gift list this year, either for you or as a gift?

I thought this Portal Sentry Turret was cute:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/ee85/

Fitbit has a new wireless pedometer:
http://www.fitbit.com/store

Here's a cool USB LED:
http://shop.thingm.com/blink1/

Or if your company went public this year, maybe the Tesla Model S:
http://www.teslamotors.com/models/design

One year I gave my grandfather a photo blanket with a picture of his barn:
http://www.photoweavers.com/photo-blanket.php

How about you--what fun or neat things do you like this season? Leave a link so other people can get gift-giving ideas. :)

2012-11-20 18:08:40 (19 comments, 90 reshares, 135 +1s)

Starting December 3, the world’s governments meet behind closed doors to discuss the future of the Internet. This meeting of the International Telecommunication Union or #ITU will take place in Dubai. Some governments want to use this meeting in Dubai to increase censorship and regulate the Internet.

Learn more about what’s at stake and how you can get involved: http://google.com/takeaction

A free and open world depends on a free and open Internet. And a #freeandopen Internet depends on you. 

2012-11-17 03:57:16 (28 comments, 29 reshares, 104 +1s)

I did a talk last month at the PubCon search conference. Here are the slides from that talk.

2012-11-15 03:37:21 (17 comments, 13 reshares, 224 +1s)

Looks like the CyanogenMod crew got their .com domain back under control. I really liked the last couple sentences of this post:

"We ask that you please not perform any vigilante actions, we do not condone any such thing; just let this fade.

We want to move on, get you the builds you expect from us, and not mess around with distractions."

That gives me a lot of respect for the folks over there. They don't want drama, they just want to hack phones to be more excellent.

2012-11-11 18:11:36 (48 comments, 1 reshares, 38 +1s)

I'm here in Santa Barbara today with my wife and her parents. What sights or activities would you recommend we do today? We've walked down State Street already and we're planning to check out the art fair down by the beach.

But what other close-by stuff should we see or do?

2012-11-11 06:18:46 (27 comments, 55 reshares, 220 +1s)

From a blog post by Nate Silver (the whole article is worth reading):

"Instead, some of the most accurate firms were those that conducted their polls online.

The final poll conducted by Google Consumer Surveys had Mr. Obama ahead in the national popular vote by 2.3 percentage points – very close to his actual margin, which was 2.6 percentage points based on ballots counted through Saturday morning.
....
Perhaps it won’t be long before Google, not Gallup, is the most trusted name in polling."

Check out Google's consumer surveys here: http://www.google.com/insights/consumersurveys/ It's easy and quite cheap for doing polls and consumer research.

2012-11-08 20:14:18 (11 comments, 22 reshares, 89 +1s)

Cool, Humble Bundle for Android 4 is out! Humble Bundle is a "pay what you want" deal to get six different games. Check it out.

2012-10-31 16:55:14 (85 comments, 14 reshares, 315 +1s)

For Halloween 2012, I decided to go as Mitt Romney. Meet: Matt Romney!