Female IT students: A different type of Google Scholar

Posted by Will Blott, University Programs Manager

Google Sydney was recently taken over by emerging female leaders in computer science and related fields as the second annual Google Australia Anita Borg Scholarship retreat was held. 17 female students attended this year – as well as several female Googlers from both Australia and overseas - for two days of networking, discussions, learning and of course socialising.

Topics covered many areas from the technical – including user experience, software engineering and product engineering – to more broader discussions on the choices and challenges facing women in computer science. This year’s retreat was capped off by a celebratory private dinner cruise around Sydney Harbour.



The Google Anita Borg Scholarship started in the United States in 2004 in association with the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology to honor the legacy of Anita Borg and her efforts to encourage women to pursue careers in computer science and technology. Australia became the first country outside of the US to launch the scholarship in 2006 and this year was extended to students studying in New Zealand also.

Each scholarship recipient is awarded a $5,000 scholarship plus an expenses paid trip to the Grace Hopper conference in the US and the retreat in Sydney. Every finalist is awarded $1000 plus an expenses paid trip to the retreat also. To be eligible, students had to have had at least one year of undergraduate study remaining and be enrolled in study for the 2007 - 2008 academic year at an university in Australia or New Zealand. The scholarship this year received applications from students at 18 different universities across Australia and New Zealand.

Most finalists arrived at Google for the retreat as strangers. All left as friends.

We are pleased to announce this year’s scholarship recipients as Eva Cheng, University of Wollongong and Tracy Footitt, University of Western Australia .

We are pleased to announce this year’s finalists as:

• Anita Rahman, Monash University
• Barsha Karki, University of Technology, Sydney
• Flora Salim, Monash University
• Gauri Pradhan, University of Technology, Sydney
• Janet Saw, Monash University
• Jessica Manea, University of Western Australia
• Jette Viethen, Macquarie University
• Li Sun, RMIT University
• Nandika Thapar, University of Wollongong
• Nandita Sharma, Australian National University
• Valentina Haziri, Monash University
• Valerie de Silva, RMIT University
• Vineetha Menon, University of Technology, Sydney
• Wai Yau, RMIT University

Congratulations to all!

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REA Group and Google Maps

Posted by Richard Suhr, Enterprise Team

You probably know a lot about Google Maps, our free online Australian mapping service. We've written about the many great new features on this blog.

But did you know that we also have an enterprise version of Google Maps, for businesses that want to use Google Maps on their websites, with full enterprise-level support? A great example is when you visit a real estate site - by using Google Maps, the website owner can show you the property location, with the ability to zoom in or see satellite views.

We're thrilled to announce a new Enterprise Agreement with REA Group, which runs www.realestate.com.au and 16 other sites in 9 countries. REA Group uses Google Maps on its property details pages to show home hunters where properties are located. See an example here (nice property - we can all dream!)

Under the new agreement, the REA Group will begin using Google Maps in all its websites around the world (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Hong Kong, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom) and will continue to use Google Maps in Australia and New Zealand.

We're looking forward to developing our relationship with REA Group and to playing a small part in helping home-hunters find (literally) the house of their dreams.

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Vote 1 Your favourite doodle!

Posted by Ashley Gorringe, Doodle4Google Team

We're very excited that the top 32 entries from Doodle 4 Google My Australia can now be viewed online on the official website.

If you're not familiar with the initiative, we asked students across Australia to do their own version of the Google logo around the theme of 'My Australia'. Students from Years 1 to 10 were divided up across four age groups for each of the eight Australian states and territories. The ultimate winner, as chosen by Dennis Hwang, the original Google Doodler, will have their drawing shown on the homepage on Australia Day 2008, while the national age group winners will receive technology prizes for their schools.

We received thousands of entries, from which our expert judging panel had the challenging job of selecting the top 32, one from each age group in the eight states and territories. Our judges included Dare Jennings, cofounder of Mambo Surfwear, Geoff Buckley, managing director of Tourism Australia and Michael Grose, parenting and educational expert.

The drawings we received ran the gamut of Australian symbols. These included the beach, barbqecues, native animals and indigenous art.

You'll be able to vote for your favourite doodle over the next four weeks. We encourage you to check out the amazing creativity of Australian students and choose your favourite in each age category.

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Subscribe to Comments - by email!

Last night we pushed a small-but-crazy-useful new feature for all Blogger blogs: subscribing to comments via email. This makes it a lot easier to stay in the conversational loop after you’ve commented on a post somewhere. For example, you could follow along with these discussions from some recent Blogs of Note:

• Mustaches of the Nineteenth Century: An Astute Mustache Observation
• The Joy of Sox: WS 1: Red Sox 13, Rockies 1
• Wildfires 2007: All homes saved on Santa Ysabel reservation
  

You'll notice the new checkbox at the bottom of the Comment page, in the identity box:
In order to receive follow-ups via email, you’ll need to post your comment using your Google Account. We only send comments to your verified Google Account so that someone else can’t use this feature to send you email you didn’t sign up for.

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Lads Mags and Education: September Zeitgeist

Posted by Mel-Ann Chan, AdSense Team

[Zoo mag] came in as the top gaining search term on Google Australia in September. The website (which is also a weekly men’s magazine) claims to showcase “sex, sport and stupidity from around the web” – no wonder it was so popular! Those after a dose of more cerebral news looked up the [Herald Sun] and tuned into [2UE] radio.

The new television show [Summer Heights] High was a favourite for many in September. Chris Lilley’s creation features the antics of Ja’mie, Jonah and Mr G, in a “typical” Australian school. Another popular show in September was SBS’s [Mythbusters], the show that uses science to test myths about everyday life, often with unpredictable and hysterical outcomes.

Amongst all the stress of end of year 12 exams, many teenagers from Sydney have been considering the [University of Western Sydney] as a possible university selection, with some even trying for [scholarships].

Footy is always important in Australia, so it was no surprise that many people wanted to know more about the [Manly] team that made it to the NRL final. Swimming fans checked out what retired world champion [Ian Thorpe] was up to.

Out of water and onto the track, those with a need for speed checked out the latest [sports cars] online, while gamers built up the hype for the latest release of the strategic war game from Xbox 360, [Halo Wars].

Some people may not have been too happy in their jobs, and needed some inspiration on writing a [resignation letter]. What better thing to do after resigning than go on a holiday? [New Caledonia] was a popular option, with its unique blend of French and Asian culture.

Victorians looked forward to celebrating the fifth birthday of [Federation Square] and the nuclear disaster in [Chernobyl] from 1986 was remembered.

For breaking news and obscure information alike, people around the world search on Google. What follows is a summary of Google Zeitgeist results for the top gainers on Google.com.au in the month of September.

For more information, visit the Google Zeitgeist and Google Trends.

September's top gainers:

1. Zoo mag
2. University of Western Sydney
3. New Caledonia
4. 2UE
5. Herald Sun
6. Resignation letter
7. Federation Square
8. Ian Thorpe
9. Chernobyl
10. Manly
11. Scholarships
12. Mythbusters
13. Sports cars
14. Summer Heights
15. Halo Wars

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Environmental Blog Roundup

In honor of Blog Action Day, we wanted to highlight some of the many Blogger-powered blogs that are focused on the environment, climate change, and sustainability. Want to see more Blog Action Day participants from around the web? Find them on Blog Search.

• Cleantech Blog - Commentary on technologies, news, and issues relating to next generation energy and the environment.
• The Conscious Earth - Earth-centered news for the health of air, water, habitat and the fight against global warming.
• Earth Meanders - Earth essays placing environmental sustainability within the context of other contemporary issues.
• Environmental Action Blog - Current environmental issues and green energy news.
• The Future is Green - Thoughts on the coming of a society that is in balance with nature.
• The Green Skeptic - Devoted to challenging assumptions about how we live on the earth and protect our environment.
• Haute*Nature - Ecologically based creative ideas, art & green products for your children, home and lifestyle, blending style with sustainability.
• The Lazy Environmentalist - Sustainable living made easy.
• Lights Out America - A grassroots community group organizing nationwide energy savings events.
• The Nature Writers of Texas - The best nature writing from the newspaper, magazine, blog and book authors of the Lone Star State.
• Rachel Carson Centennial Book Club - Considering the legacy of Rachel Carson's literary and scientific contributions with a different book each month.
• Sustainablog - News, information and personal meanderings related to environmental and economic sustainability, green and sustainable business, and environmental politics.
• These Come From Trees - An experiment in environmentalism, viral marketing, and user interface design with the goal of reducing consumer waste paper.

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Blogger Play, in Gadget Form

Have you been enjoying Blogger Play? We introduced it here last month and so far it’s been mesmerizing viewers across the Internet with the latest photos as they’re uploaded to Blogger blogs.

Today we’re letting you take Blogger Play with you to your iGoogle homepage with the Blogger Play Google Gadget:

Click the button to get Play on your homepage!

We also took the opportunity to add keyboard control to the big version of Blogger Play: spacebar plays and pauses, and the left and right arrow keys move backwards and forwards.

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PostSecret: A Lifetime of Secrets

Congratulations to Frank Warren, whose 4th PostSecret book, A Lifetime of Secrets, comes out today and is climbing up the Amazon bestseller charts (it’s #50 as of this writing)!

Take a look at its trailer:

PostSecret is by far one of the most interesting blogs, a showcase of tiny, beautifully-presented personal stories. It has become a favorite Sunday read for many of us on the team. Read it!

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Blogging for the Environment

October 15, a week from today, is Blog Action Day, and the theme this year is the environment. If you have a blog and want to join in, all you have to do is use that day to post something related to the environment, in whatever way, shape, or form you prefer. You can pick an environmental issue that has meaning for you and let us know why it's important. Organize a beach or neighborhood cleanup and tell us about it. If you're into fiction writing, give us a story with an environmental theme. Have a podcast, videoblog, or photoblog? Join the fun! The idea here is to have a mass effect on public awareness by sharing as many ideas in as many ways as possible.

If you're game for participating, go register your blog with the 7,000+ other blogs (with 5 million readers!) that are already signed up. Also, see the Blog Action Day blog for more on how bloggers can change the world.

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DonorsChoose and your blog

From the Google Blog, a post you should all check out:

When it comes to philanthropy, everyone’s got something different to give – some people have money, others have time, and bloggers have devoted readers. The creative folks at DonorsChoose have a few ideas about how bloggers can help students and teachers.

In case you’re not familiar with DonorsChoose, it’s a site where teachers post needs they have for their classrooms, and donors fund those projects directly. If you’ve got a blog, a website, or even an email account, you can help by creating what’s called a challenge. Just pick some of your favorite projects and challenge your family, friends, and readers to fund them. If you’ve got a Blogger account, it’s easy to add your challenge to your blog in just a few clicks.

To support their recent expansion to schools all across the U.S., the DonorsChoose team is holding a little competition, keeping track of which bloggers and webmasters drive the most funding to schools.

We think this is a cool idea, so we want to help it succeed. We’re going to reward the winning bloggers with exactly what they gave to DonorsChoose, students, and teachers: traffic. The competition will remain open until the end of October - we'll then take a look to see who has helped raise the most money in each of the eight DonorsChoose challenge categories. We’ll post links to the winners’ blogs here, and we’ll also throw in a $500 gift certificate for each winner to spend on DonorsChoose.

So here’s our challenge to you: go create a challenge on DonorsChoose.

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