Google tests a new feature that shows the estimated number of words next to certain search results. The word count is usually displayed for articles, but only for a small numeral of results. You'll almost certainly think twice before clicking on a hunt result that has 50,000 words, unless you're looking for an in-depth account.
Maybe Google will also add an higher search feature that lets you limit the search results to short articles or long documents. A summarization characteristic would also be helpful.
Gmail Labs has a new characteristic for organizing your messages: Smart Labels. Many people create filters that label messages from mailing lists, newsletters, so Google decided to use false intelligence algorithms to classify messages. Right now, there are only three smart labels: bulk (for newsletters), notifications (for confirmation messages, alerts) and forums (for mailing lists). By default, all the messages labeled as "bulk" are routinely archived, but you can change this setting.
"Smart Labels play nice with other labels and filters too. On the Filters tab under Settings, you'll find that these filters can be edited just like any others. From there, you can also edit your obtainable filters to avoid having them Smart Labeled or change whether mail in a Smart Label skips your inbox," explains Google.
In fact, when you create a filter, Google shows an extra option: category. You can choose from: bulk, forums, notifications, personal, promotions. The first three categories already have matching smart labels and all the messages classified as "promotions" are labeled "bulk". The "personal" group includes the rest of your messages.
Google's classification algorithms aren't perfect, so you may find messages that don't belong to one of three categories, but they're labeled as "notifications" or "bulk". Use the "labels" drop-down to remove the labels that are wrongly added and help Google improve its algorithms.
The latest design revive of the Google Docs homepage extra many useful features, but also made some contentious changes. Google decided to hide helpful information like the last modified date and the list of collaborators from the list view because it was obtainable in the sidebar.
If you missed the old boundary, you can now switch to the particulars view and see some additional in sequence next to the filename.
There's also a little icon that lets you for the moment hide the sidebar. For some reason, Google Docs doesn't enduringly hide the sidebar when you click on the arrows.
This is the latest in our series of YouTube highlights. Every couple of weeks, we bring you regular updates on new product features, interesting programs to watch, and tips you can use to grow your audience on YouTube. Just look for the label “YouTube Highlights” and subscribe to the series. – Ed.
In past weeks, we’ve featured two more YouTube interviews with leaders through the World View program and seen more footage come in from across the Middle East as unrest there continues.
David Cameron and John Boehner on YouTube
In YouTube World View’s second interview, YouTube and Al Jazeera English sat down with British Prime Minister David Cameron. Ten thousand people submitted questions, and in the interview, the Prime Minister shared his thoughts on what should be done in Libya, and talked about increased taxes for banks in the U.K. and Britain’s role in Afghanistan.
And as the budget debate rages on the U.S. Capitol Hill, we asked viewers from across the U.S. and around the world to submit questions to Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH). The final interview will be posted to YouTube on Friday, March 4.
We’ll have another interview in the coming weeks—check YouTube World View for more details soon.
Join us on YouTube for Carnaval in Brazil
An estimated 100 million people travel to Brazil each year to experience Carnaval, the iconic celebration on the streets of Salvador, Bahia. This year, you can join the festivities on the Carnaval YouTube channel via computer or mobile phone. Watch live feeds of Salvador’s multi-day street fest from Thursday, March 3 through Tuesday, March 8. If you’re lucky enough to be there in person, find out how to buy a pass to Google’s street-side camarote (cabin) at the celebration at www.youtube.com/carnaval.
February’s “On The Rise” winner
After tens of thousands of votes, D-trix from theDOMINICshow has been named February’s “On The Rise” contest winner. He beat out tornado chasers, graphic artists and pop stars for the honor. When D-trix isn’t spoofing Justin Bieber, he’s dancing or teaching people how to rap. Congratulations!
Making YouTube seven times faster
To help you better enjoy all the great content that’s uploaded to YouTube every minute, we recently increased speed for uploads and playback. Google’s cloud computing capabilities help us process videos in chunks on different machines—making our video-processing seven times faster than in 2008.
Ad Blitz winner
Super Bowl ads are always a big draw of the game. This year, we added Super Bowl spots to the Ad Blitz gallery so you could vote for your favorites. More than 2.7 million votes were cast, and 3.5 million views took place on mobile devices. This year’s winner, Chrysler, was featured on the YouTube masthead for the Saturday following the game.
This week’s trends on YouTube
Here are a few recent highlights from YouTube Trends:
* Britney Spears built up anticipation for her latest music video.
* Dramatic footage poured in from across the Middle East: Libya, Iran, Algeria and Yemen.
* A funny moment from "Family Feud" got "passed around."
We’ll have another update for you in a couple of weeks. Until then, visit us at the YouTube Blog.
The new Google Profiles border lets you upload multiple profile photos and button between them with a simple click. Visitors can see all the photos you've uploaded, so you must be cautious when you replace a profile photo. It's not enough to click "change photo" and upload the latest image: you should also click on the image and delete the preceding profile photo.
Profile photos are stored in a Picasa Web album, just like the photos from the Scrapbook section. The main dissimilarity is that profile photos can be cropped or shortened in Picnik.
If you previously have a Google Profile, it's a superior idea to upload a new profile photo. The new border uses bigger photos, so your old avatar looks pixelated.
Google Profiles has a new user interface that emphasizes the profile photo, includes a lot of new sections and uses encrypted relations. You can now click on a part of your profile to edit it, add "10 words that explain you best", bragging rights, association information, structured in sequence about your education and employment, a scrapbook with your favorite photos. Another modify is that you can now hide the Google Buzz tab from your profile.
The new Google Profiles is closer to a social networking feature, but it's just one part of the puzzle.
Picasa Web's homepage has been redesigned to highlight the photos recently uploaded by the people you're following. The homepage no longer displays all your albums, so you'll only be able to see the most fresh 8 albums.
"This new design centers around photos that are attractive to you. We wanted to give you faster access to the newest photos from your family and friends along with some great photos from the gifted Picasa community. When you log in to Picasa Web Albums, you will not only see your own albums, but albums that have been common with you, the latest public albums from people you follow, and featured photos from the Picasa community right on your home page," explains Google's Ping Chen.
While "recent activity" has always been a section on the homepage, now you can no ignore it. YouTube's homepage has lately switched to a feed view, a stream of actions popularized by Facebook.
If you don't like the new homepage, bookmark this URL: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/myphotos or click "My Photos" when visiting the homepage.
