Hasta La Gadget!

Google tested a limited field run of a new search method that integrates a user’s Gmail and Drive with search in Gmail so that files, emails, and documents that are relevant to the search term appear in the search results as you type. Back in August when this started, the feature was a hit, according to Google, prompting the company to expand field run to more users. As of today, anyone can join the field test to get personalized search results.

Most of the personalized information via the test run will be displayed in the auto-complete drop-down results in Gmail as you type, which you can see in the screenshot above. For searches on Google.com, the personalized information will be displayed on the right-side of the screen, keeping your search results clean and easy to scan through. The personalized Google.com search results will still include Gmail, as it did in the initial field run, as well as other data from Google services, including Drive and Calendar.

If you’re keen on getting personalized Google results in your normal searches, as well as the expand Gmail search feature, you can sign up for the field run here. The field trial is currently only available for users with an @gmail.com email address, and is only available in English. When you click the Join button, assuming you’re already logged into your Gmail account, you’ll see “Thanks for joining! You will get an email confirmation when your account is ready. You can return to this page to leave the field trial.”

Other features with the Gmail and Search field trial includes an enhanced flight tracking feature, which pulls flight information from your Gmail when you search and displays it in the auto-complete results, with a link you can click to view the confirmation message that is nestled in your inbox somewhere. New Gmail search under the field run also includes a consolidation of links that have been shared in Gmail that are relevant to your search term. If you decide the new search results aren’t quite your thing, you can leave the field run any time by returning to the field run page and unsubscribing from it.

[via Official Gmail Blog]

Google expands personalized results in Gmail and Search is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The days of using thumbnails of scantily-clad and well-endowed women to drive clicks to your YouTube videos – thereby placing them higher in the search results – are over. Today, YouTube announced that it’s changing what it bases its search rankings on. Instead of determining search placement by looking at the number of clicks a video has received, YouTube will instead be basing its search results on the time spent viewing the video.

In other words, if the vast majority of users watch your video all the way through, it will do better in the search rankings. If a lot of viewers stop watching your video after the first few seconds, your video’s search engine results with suffer. Naturally, this works two ways: it gives those who produce good content more exposure, while it keeps people on the site longer.

Keeping people on the site longer means more advertising revenue for YouTube, so it’s a win-win situation, so long as you’re among the content creators who are putting out engaging videos. YouTube has even added a “Time Watched” report to analytics pages, so you can see which of your videos keep people watching and which ones are making people look elsewhere. YouTube says on the Creators Blog that it has “started” to adjust search engine results in this way, so it sounds like this feature will see a gradual roll out over the coming days.

This sounds like a great idea to us, but it makes us wonder if creators will start making shorter videos so a larger number of viewers make it to the end. Would something like that even work? There are a lot of questions surrounding this change that still need to be answered, and you can bet that concerned content creators will be asking all of them in the next few days. What do you think of this new way of ranking videos in YouTube search results?

YouTube search rankings no longer based on clicks is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Google has been taking advantage of its sheer domination of search to act as a custodian for human culture, whether it’s famous artwork or wonders of the world. The most direct example of this archival impulse may have arrived today through the launch of historical exhibitions at the (virtual-only) Google Cultural Institute. Starting with 42 exhibitions, the project delves into major historical events with both a guided, mixed-media tour as well as the kind of free-form exploration you’d expect from Google, such as hunting down a specific person, place or time range. The focus helps Google tell both textbook-level history as well as private stories. Though small at present, the collection is taking further submissions that could lead to a much broader internet resource for learning — an expansion that we can’t help but embrace.

Continue reading Google offers historical exhibitions, wields its search powers to tell untold stories (video)

Filed under: Internet, Alt, Google

Google offers historical exhibitions, wields its search powers to tell untold stories (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 01:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yahoo’s new CEO Marissa Mayer has been surprisingly open and upfront with Yahoo employees. That is a significant change from how things were run at Yahoo previously. According to a source cited by AllThingsD, Mayer will be unveiling a plan to help turn around Yahoo to workers this week in a surprising bit of transparency.

The internal memo pegs the meeting for Tuesday and turnaround efforts will initially focus on improving Yahoo’s search efforts and advertising platforms. Mayer will be performing two meetings with one in the morning and one later in the day to accommodate foreign staff. Mayer also tips in the memo another all-hands staff meeting for October 1.

The October meeting will cover the rollout of a new system and process for tracking goals within Yahoo. The system will be used to track annual goals and grade them on a company level and then the level of departments, teams, and individuals. That is certainly a good thing because tracking goals is important when you’re trying to turn around a company in as much trouble as Yahoo.

Yahoo is expected to begin to spend significantly on search and advertising platforms. AllThingsD, also reports that Yahoo is expected to revamp its search partnership with Microsoft. Other things at Yahoo expected to be addressed include a refreshed Yahoo homepage and refreshed e-mail offerings. Both of those aspects are expected to be redesigned to substantially focus on the consumer experience. Perhaps most interesting item in the story at AllThingsD is Kara Swishers note that she is no longer embedding the full text of internal memos. She hints that Yahoo may be monitoring the use of those free smartphones we mentioned before in an attempt to catch people leaking internal documents.

[via AllThingsD]

Mayer tipped to unveil turnaround strategy to Yahoo troops this week is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Adding to the fun and games already hidden within its search box, Google’s new not-so-secret addition gives you a quick way to calculate exactly how many degrees your favorite (or most obscure) actor falls from Kevin Bacon. Sure, it may take half the debate out of it, but at least the definitive answers are now out there — just type in “bacon number” followed by your thespian of choice.

Filed under: Internet

Google adds ‘Bacon Number’ easter egg to its search engine originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 11:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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