Google Asia Pacific Blog: Australia

Bowling a Googley: ICC Cricket World Cup with Google

Monday, February 16, 2015

Cricket fans rejoice: the ICC Cricket World Cup is here again! Can the all-round prowess of the South Africans put aside the “chokers” tag? Or will the Lankan lions roar again after almost two decades? Indian fans will follow every move of the team’s attempts to bring the cup back home, while red-hot Australia and New Zealand will be keen to exploit home turf advantage.

We know how exciting the next few weeks are for you, and we have a bunch of fun experiences lined up on Google.

Scores faster than Lee or Akhtar
Over the next two months and 49 matches, a simple Google search for [cricket] will be your quickest source for the latest scores and team schedules. Stay tuned to the action anytime, anywhere.

Get instant scores and match schedules when you search [cricket] on Google

You can also stay updated on your favorite teams in the Google app with Now cards so you don’t even have to search. Download the ESPN Cricinfo app onto your Android phone, and you’ll start seeing Cricinfo’s Now cards pop up in the Google app.

Take the tournament’s pulse with Google Trends
Millions of fans will be searching on Google for noteworthy moments of the tournament, from the Duckworth-Lewis method to Virat Kohli’s hairstyle. Get into the conversation about what other cricket fans are buzzing about with Google Trends throughout the tournament—visit g.co/CricketTrends, or follow us on Google Australia's Twitter and Google+, or on Google India’s Twitter and Google+.

Real fans paint their face
Even if you can’t watch the games live, you can still show your support by painting your face like a true cricket fan— without ever getting your hands dirty. Take a photo of yourself and up to four friends who’d like their faces painted and upload it to Google+ with hashtag #PaintIndia, #PaintSriLanka, or #PaintAustralia...you get the idea (see details at g.co/CricketFacePaint). After uploading and tagging your photo, refresh the page to see the effect.

You can add the hashtag #CWC15Fans and publicly share your photo on Google+ for a chance to be shown on ICC’s official website. If you also add the hashtag #CastrolCheerForTheCup to a publicly shared photo on Google+, it might land on the big screen during the actual games for millions of viewers to see.

Look fierce: paint your face digitally with Google

And last but not least, keep an eye out for special doodles during the tournament, as well as Hangouts on Air with cricketers and commentators. We will post about the Hangouts on +Google India over the coming weeks.

Have a blast following great cricket, and may the best team win!

Posted by Varun Sud, Product Marketing Manager, Google India

The mobile Internet economy in Asia Pacific: what would you give up before your smartphone?

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Editors note: This post comes from Dominic Field, a partner and managing director at the Boston Consulting Group

Nowhere is the impact of the mobile Internet economy more evident than in Asia Pacific.

Mobile Internet revenues in five APAC nations—Australia, China, India, Japan and South Korea—total almost $300 billion, more than the U.S. and more than twice the five biggest economies in Europe combined. By 2017, we estimate that the five APAC nations’ mobile Internet revenues will more than double to $622 billion. The annual growth rate in India will be almost 40 percent.

Like everywhere else, consumers in Asia Pacific are the big winners. They get enormous value from their smartphones, tablets and other mobile services, as well as from the apps they install and the services they access. And costs are coming down fast, thanks to vibrant competition throughout the mobile ecosystem. The benefit consumers receive over and above what they pay for devices, apps, services and access can be quantified; economists call it consumer surplus. In the five APAC countries, this surplus totals $1.4 trillion a year. On a per person basis, the consumer surplus averages almost $3,000.

Here’s a snapshot of the mobile Internet’s impact in each of the five APAC countries surveyed in our new report, The Growth of the Global Mobile Internet Economy.

At 77 percent, Australia has the highest smartphone penetration of the five countries sampled (higher than Japan or South Korea), but there are still 8 percent of Aussies who would rather shower than give up their mobile Internet access.

Mobile Internet revenues in China ($144 billion in 2013) already exceed those of the EU5 (Germany, France, Italy, the UK and Spain) and they will increase two and a half times by 2017. The Chinese love their smartphones—30 percent would relinquish both showering and sex to keep their mobile Internet access.

India has the fastest growing mobile Internet economy of the five countries we measured. As network coverage expands, connectivity improves (from 2G to 3G and 4G) and costs come down, usage is expected to soar, with mobile Internet economic activity more than tripling between 2013 and 2017. And mobile commerce will grow from $6 billion in 2013 to more than $14 billion in 2017

Japanese consumers get the biggest per capita consumer surplus of the five countries sampled—almost $6,800 per person per year. Along with South Korea, Japan is perhaps the most mature mobile internet economy in the Asia Pacific region; Japanese consumers have been using mobile e-mail, contactless payments, and, streaming live video for two decades or more.

South Koreans are wed to their mobile devices. The country has the second highest mobile penetration rate in our sample—74 percent. Three-quarters of consumers would give up newspapers, chocolate, and fast food, and 60 percent alcohol and coffee. A third would abstain from sex and 20 percent from showering to keep their mobile Internet access.

Posted by Dominic Field, Partner and Managing Director, Boston Consulting Group

#YouTubeRewind 2014: Celebrating what Asia-Pacific created, watched and shared

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Everyday, the world’s pop culture unfolds on YouTube. If you needed any proof that YouTube represents so many things to so many people, look no further than some of the year’s top videos across Asia. From great white sharks to local comedy acts, and letting it go millions of times, here’s a celebration of the people, memes and moments that made up an epic year for Asia on YouTube:

Taiwan: 頂尖對決之穿褲子篇 Top Battles - Wearing pants

We all know how tough it can be to kick off the day on the right foot sometimes, but this guy in Taiwan managed to start his day by getting his pants on without using his hands. Since then, he’s not only spurred a global meme (look out for the shoutout in this year’s Rewind video), but also his new “Top Battle” series where he completes crazy, hilarious challenges based on his fans suggestions.

Australia: GoPro: Man Fights Off Great White Shark In Sydney Harbour

Uploaded in June, this video made waves in Australia as people watched, re-watched and speculated about whether or not this encounter with a shark was a stunt. Have a dive in through this GoPro and let us know what you think.

New Zealand: Safety in Paradise #airnzsafetyvideo

Over in New Zealand, one Kiwi brand got playful and had over 6 million people tune in to their video. In an effort to make safety sexy, Air New Zealand worked with Sports Illustrated to feature some of their top swimsuit models in their new in-flight safety video.

Hong Kong: Ronnie Chau [公屋潮文] 公屋●居屋●私樓

This Hong Kong hit was inspired by a trending article on HKGolden about what happens when a girl brings a boyfriend home to meet her parents. This parody of the different reactions to the boyfriend figure, based on where he lived, went viral shortly after it was uploaded in March.

Malaysia: I Give You Chance!

For Malaysians, YouTube is still as Malaysian as nasi lemak. Poking fun at the nation's favourite worst excuse for losing — by saying “I give you chance”, which is another way to say “I didn’t want to win anyway” — this video features two of Malaysia’s top YouTube vloggers and has been seen by over 2 million people.

Indonesia: Dodit - Pembalasan Buat Radit (SUCI 4 Show 8)

Indonesians love to laugh. This year, five of the top ten non-music videos in Indonesia were local comedy acts, including this one by Raditya Dika, a popular Indonesian YouTuber, writer, and stand-up comedian.

Singapore: Past vs Present: Teenagers

This year’s top videos in Singapore showed us that there’s nothing Singaporeans like better than laughing along with local creators, whether it’s revisiting school memories like in this video, or everyday life with Wah Banana’s “10 Types of People in The Hawker Centre”.

India: AIB: Alia Bhatt - Genius of the Year

While many of this year’s top videos in India highlight independent video creators who went viral covering spoof parodies of leading politicians and news anchors, this clip shows how India gave a thumbs up to leading Bollywood star Alia Bhatt for her self-deprecating humorous video created by the popular AIB group.

Thailand: คงไม่ทัน - สงกรานต์

In Thailand, music soared to new heights on YouTube. This music video by Songkran Rangsan, the winner of the Voice Thailand in 2013, has garnered nearly 100 million views — which is like everyone in Thailand watching the video 1.5 times since it debuted.

Philippines: Sarah Geronimo sings Frozen's 'Let It Go' on ASAP

Did you know that the Philippines was the top country in the world searching for “Let It Go” this year? It’s no wonder then that one of the most-loved YouTube videos in the Philippines in 2014 was a rendition of the song by popular singer and actress Sarah Geronimo, with nearly 6 million views.

Japan: Let It Go Beatbox Cover (from "Frozen") アナと雪の女王レットイットゴー

Meanwhile in Japan, “Let It Go” found a new beatboxing groove. This special collaboration between Daichi and HIKAKIN, two of the biggest human beatbox stars in Japan, landed over 5 million views.

Korea: 양띵 [탈옥을 꾀하는 자, 협력하라! 마인크래프트 감옥탈출 1편] 마인크래프트

In Korea, YangDDing had an explosive year on YouTube. By making Minecraft videos like the one above, she's become the first Asian female gamer to have a following of over a million strong on YouTube.

These are just some of the top YouTube hits from 2014 in Asia-Pacific. Check out our YouTube Rewind channel for more of this year’s favorite videos from around the world, including a mashup of the top branded videos and the top ads on YouTube. You can also visit google.com/2014 next week for Google's annual look at the people, places and events that captured the world's attention.

Posted by Gautam Anand, Director of Operations and Content, YouTube Asia-Pacific who recently watched "YouTube Rewind: Turn Down for 2014"

Take a dip or explore Australia's backyard on Street View

Friday, November 14, 2014

Cross-posted from the Google Australia blog

From the snow-capped summit of Mount Kosciuszko, to the beaches at Bondi and the seafloor of the Great Barrier Reef, every person can explore our country’s most beautiful locations on Google Maps.

To celebrate the once-in-a-decade IUCN World Parks Congress that’s taking place in Sydney this week, we’ve partnered with New South Wales National Parks and Catlin Seaview Survey to bring 21 parks and 27 underwater locations across Australia to Street View.

Beyond Mount Kosciuszko, bushwalkers can take a virtual hike through Fort Denison, Dorrigo National Park, Ku-ring-gai Chase, Cape Byron lighthouse and 16 other parks across New South Wales.

At the summit of Mount Kosciuszko

Looking over the cannons at Fort Denison

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West Head Lookout at Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park

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The view over Dorrigo National Park

Divers can get up close with Minke whales, a seahorse in Chowder Bay, Magic Point sharks, dolphins near Myrmidon Reef and even a Norman Reef sea turtle.

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A Minke whale in the Great Barrier Reef

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A sea turtle in Norman Reef

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Dolphins off Myrmidon Reef

From the depths of Sydney Harbour to the iconic Bondi Beach and all along the Great Barrier Reef, we hope you enjoy exploring these locations from a whole new perspective.

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Beneath the waves at Bondi Beach

We hope this new Street View imagery not only inspires adventure, but that it also helps people to learn more about the delicate ecology of our parks and underwater worlds.

Posted by Karin Tuxen-Bettman, Program Manager for Google Earth Outreach and Jenifer Austin, Manager of the Google Ocean Program

Get to know a Google Anita Borg scholar

Friday, October 31, 2014

Editor’s note: We invited Kagonya Awori, a PhD candidate in Computer Engineering at the University of Melbourne in Australia, to share her experiences as a Google Anita Borg Scholarship Award recipient in 2014. Twenty-eight women were selected from across Asia Pacific this year to receive funding towards their education and were invited to take part in a retreat in Tokyo last month.

Kagonya Awori from Nairobi, Kenya currently studying at the University of Melbourne, Australia

When I first heard about the Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship three years ago, I did not think I would qualify. I thought one had to conquer the world — kind of like Dr. Anita Borg did — before applying. Fortunately, last year, I got an extra push from my PhD supervisor who thought the program would motivate me further in my research. He was right.

There are few programs that celebrate women in tech. There are even fewer opportunities for women from across Asia who are passionate about technology to get together over workshops, technical talks, and a hackathon. The Anita Borg program challenges that. It is incredibly encouraging to meet like-minded women who have all advanced technology in their own ways — from mentoring others, to designing their own technologies or starting their own businesses.

APAC Google Anita Borg Scholars 2014 in Tokyo

The impact from the scholars’ retreat that was held in Tokyo can still be seen and felt. I bonded with women from nine countries and formed a network with other scholars from Australia and New Zealand. A group of us from Australia and New Zealand is working on increasing the participation of women in tech-related fields in our countries, through connecting with high schools, university students and industry. We framed our goal in three words – Inspire, Connect, Increase.

Scholars from Australia and New Zealand

Receiving an award backed by Google has helped open doors. My PhD research, which looks at designing social and situated technologies that support dispersed learning environments in transnational contexts, has drawn more interest as a result. I have also had the pleasure of being invited to give talks to my university peers thanks to the award. I am honoured to be celebrated at The University of Melbourne for work that I am doing both here and in my home country, Kenya. This recognition encourages me to keep doing what I am doing — if not better.

One of the scholars in her Google Anita Borg Scholarship t-shirt

I have now returned from Tokyo to Melbourne quite rejuvenated. My fellow scholars have inspired me to continue to investigate how technology can advance the world, and above all, to continue to encourage other women to do so. I never imagined that the time I committed to holding workshops, tech sessions, free class lectures, mentorships and initiating tech chapters would ever be recognised. I am now pleased to say these efforts were never in vain.

Posted by Kagonya Awori, PhD Candidate at The University of Melbourne, Australia and Google Anita Borg Scholarship Award recipient in 2014.

AU$3.5 million awarded to ten non-profits in the Google Impact Challenge Australia

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Cross-posted from the Google Australia blog

Today at Google Australia, ten non-profits pitched their ideas to a panel of judges in a bid to secure one of four Google Impact Challenge grants. Congratulations to the following non-profits who will each receive AU$500,000 in funding and support from Google:

Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME), for an online game to inspire young Indigenous students to learn maths and science

Engineers Without Borders Australia, for biodigester toilets to provide sanitation and energy in Cambodian communities

Infoxchange, for an app to connect homeless people with social services.

And the winner of the public vote, with more than a quarter of a million votes cast online over the last fortnight, is...

The Fred Hollows Foundation, for a low-cost mobile camera to detect and prevent blindness caused by diabetes.

We were so impressed by the quality of all the finalists’ projects that we decided to award them AU$250,000 each. Congratulations to these six organizations:

Asthma Foundation NSW, for sensors and a mobile app to access and report real-time air quality data
Alternative Technology Association, for solar lighting for remote households in East Timor
Penguin Foundation, for magnetic particle technology to remove oil from contaminated wildlife
University of New South Wales Aspire, for online educational and career development platform for disadvantaged students
University of Technology Sydney, for sensors to detect and report excessive groundwater depletion in arid regions
Zoo and Aquarium Association, Australasia, for an app to crowdsource data from travelers about the illegal wildlife trade.

Thank you to everyone who voted and a huge congratulations to all ten organizations. We look forward to working alongside you to support your projects and help create a better world, faster.

Posted by Maile Carnegie, Managing Director, Google Australia

Announcing the 2014 Google Anita Borg Memorial Asia Pacific scholars

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Today we recognize and congratulate the 28 Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship Asia Pacific recipients for 2014, representing 23 institutions in 9 countries across the region. They join another 67 scholars in our Greater China program announced earlier this year. Asia Pacific scholars receive a scholarship amount towards their tuition and will attend the Google Scholars’ Retreat in Tokyo later this month, consisting of workshops, technical talks, panel discussions, a hackathon and plenty of networking opportunities. Watch this video of highlights from last year’s scholars’ retreat held in Sydney.

We created the Anita Borg scholarship to encourage women to excel in computing and technology, and become active role models and leaders in these fields. Since bringing the scholarship program to Asia Pacific eight years ago, we’ve grown our alumni to over 400 talented women from Xi’an to Christchurch. Here’s the list of this year’s APAC scholars:

Judith Gammie, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia
Marnie Lamprecht, University of Queensland, Australia
Kagona Awori, University of Melbourne, Australia
Sarah Bennett, University of New South Wales, Australia
Sarah Heimlich, Macquarie University, Australia
Jaimie McGlashan, Deakin University, Australia
Samia Kabir, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Bangladesh
Shrutilipi Bhattacharjee, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India
Spandana Raj Babbula, Indian Institute of Technology, India
Vidhisha Balachandran, People's Education Society Institute of Technology, India
Vaibhavi Desai, Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology, India
Maria Francis, Indian Institute of Science, India
Kesha Shah, Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology, India
Lavanya Sita Tekumalla, Indian Institute Of Science, Bangalore, India
An Nguyen Thi Thu, Keio University, Japan
Mana Sasagawa, Ochanomizu University, Japan
Rieko Tsuji, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan
Ami Otsuka, Tsuda College, Japan
So Jung Yun, Korea Advanced Institute Science and Technology (KAIST), Korea
Minhae Kwon, Ewha Woman's University, Korea
Caitlin Duncan, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Roseanna Grundy, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Catherine Northcott, Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology, New Zealand
Reema Bajwa, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan
Qurat Ul Ann, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan
Hui Xian Lynette Ng, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Tao Chen, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Nuzla Ismail, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka

Dr. Anita Borg was not only an accomplished computer scientist who developed cutting edge systems, she was also passionate about dismantling barriers that keep women and minorities from entering this field of work. She founded the Institute for Women and Technology, began an online community for technical women called Systers, and co-founded the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing. We’re proud to keep her memory alive through the scholarship program.

If you’re interested in learning more about the scholarships we offer, visit the Google Scholarships site.

Posted by Cheryl Tang, Tech Staffing Programs, Google Asia Pacific

Meet Asia Pacific’s rising science stars

Friday, August 8, 2014

Approximately 1.4% of the world’s population, or more than 100 million people, have developmental disabilities which prevent them from communicating without the help of expensive and clunky devices. Around the world, 783 million people do not have access to clean water and 1.6 billion people—a quarter of humanity—live without electricity. These are major global challenges, and just two of the big issues that finalists from the 2014 Google Science Fair are trying to combat with science, technology and great ideas.

Sixteen-year-old Arsh Shah Dilbagi from India and seventeen-year-old Cynthia Sin Nga Lam from Australia were just named finalists in this year’s Google Science Fair—the largest online science fair in the world, offering students the opportunity to pursue their interest in science and technology. Young people can and have made significant contributions to solving some of today’s greatest challenges. Through the Google Science Fair, we want to support and foster the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Cynthia has created an eco-friendly and economical device that purifies and sterilizes waste to generate electricity through a sustainable process that only requires titania and light.

Arsh has developed an affordable and simple way for people who suffer from developmental disabilities to communicate. His TALK device detects variations in people’s breath which are converted into morse code-like signals which in turn can be turned into speech.
Next month, Cynthia and Arsh will travel to California to compete at Google HQ for the Grand Prize Award. The awards ceremony will be live streamed on the Science Fair YouTube channel and on our website, so tune in to be one of the first to find out this year’s winners. Cynthia and Arsh are also in the running for the Voter’s Choice Award. You can show your support by casting a vote beginning September 1, or learn more about the amazing ideas from young scientists around the world at the Google Science Fair website.

Posted by Clare Conway, on behalf of the Google Science Fair team

Make our world better, faster, with Google Impact Challenge Australia

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Cross-posted from the Google Australia blog

From conceiving the Hills Hoist to inventing the bionic ear and WiFi, Australia has a rich history of innovation, fuelled by a desire to solve tough problems with technology solutions. We believe technology can help solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges, and today we’re announcing a new program to support Aussie innovators in the non-profit sector who want to use technology to make an impact.

Starting today, Australian non-profits can submit their technology-driven ideas to Google Impact Challenge | Australia for the opportunity to share in AUD2 million of funding. We’ll reward the four winning submissions with a AUD500,000 grant plus mentoring and support from Google employees to help make each project a reality.

Australian non-profits with DGR status can apply online today at: g.co/australiachallenge.

We’ll announce ten finalists in October, and then open up public voting so Australians can select their favourite idea. On October 14, a judging panel made up of Glenn McGrath, Kim Williams, Anne Geddes, Maile Carnegie and Jacquelline Fuller will select three awardees. The fourth awardee will be chosen based on online votes from the public.

Other Google Impact Challenges around the world have supported ideas ranging from smart cameras for wildlife conservation to solar lights for off-grid communities to a mobile application that helps to protect women from domestic violence.

Non-profits, you have four weeks to submit your ideas. Entries close on July 29.

Whether it’s new technology to help alert residents of an approaching bushfire or an innovative way to tackle homelessness in a CBD, we look forward to hearing some big ideas about how technology can make a real difference to tackle some of the world’s biggest social challenges.

Posted by Alan Noble, Director of Engineering, Google Australia

When creativity and technology go to the beach

Monday, May 26, 2014

Cross-posted from the Google Australia blog

Technology is already helping solve some of the world’s toughest problems, from spreading Internet access more evenly, to making roads safer.

But what if it could be used to help tackle a situation a little closer to home for Aussies? Optus, one of Australia’s largest telecommunications companies, is teaming up with Shark Mitigation Systems, another Australian company, on a project that aims to help spot sharks at our beaches, and then alert lifeguards so they can take action.

How will they do it? Their idea is to place newly-developed sonar technology on a series of ‘clever buoys’ around popular beaches. If the buoys detect a shark-like object in the water, they can give lifeguards a heads up using a combination of the Optus Network and Google+ technology.

The idea for the project came about in a brainstorm between Optus, Google, and M&C Saatchi. We think it’s a great example of what happens when creativity and technology get together (and go to the beach).

The project is still in a proof-of-concept R&D phase, and is being tested in two states — Western Australia and New South Wales. Optus have big plans for this project, and we’re delighted to be supporting them.

Posted by Roberta Macdonald, Head of Creative Agency Engagement, Google Australia and New Zealand

Asia casts off! Chromecast comes to Korea

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Update: Chromecast has also arrived in Japan and Australia.

Whether it's K-Pop superstars, loveable penguins, or geriatric comedy antics — Koreans will now be able to use Chromecast to bring their favorite content on a phone, tablet or laptop to the biggest screen in their homes.

A streaming media device that plugs into any HDTV in your house, Chromecast makes it easy for people to watch their favorite 2NE1 music videos or episodes of Pororo on the big screen. Thanks to a partnership with Korean streaming media services Tving and Hoppin, Koreans will also be able to stream tens of thousands of videos, movies and popular TV shows such as Ssulzun, a celebrity-driven debate show, and SNL Korea, Korea’s version of Saturday night Live, as well as Reply 1994, a nostalgic drama about life in Korea in 1994.

Koreans are some of the most savvy consumers of content over the Internet in the world and the smartphone is already a much larger part of their media consumption than elsewhere. Over 60% of YouTube views in Korea come from mobile devices, compared to the 40% average for the world. All these mobile content lovers will now be able to bridge the gap between their smartphone and the biggest screen in the house. And let’s not forget that, in Asia, Korean TV content is often as highly, if not more, valued as hit American dramas, if search interest is anything to go by:

It’s great to see some of Asia’s premier content producers and some of Asia’s most advanced Internet users get closer together.

Posted by Mickey Kim, Head of Chromecast & TV Partnerships, Google Asia Pacific

Teaming up with teachers to inspire Australia's future innovators

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Australia has a proud history of invention. The boomerang. The ute. Cloud seeding. Wifi too. These are all inventions that have come from Aussies asking themselves “how could I make the world better, and people’s lives easier?”. In the past, invention was possible with a can-do attitude and a healthy disregard for the impossible. But in the future, we will need to add one new ingredient to this mix -- the ability to code.

In Australia, we are on the cusp of some changes to our education system that will see computer science and computational thinking introduced to students earlier in life. Computational thinking will form the backbone of many future industries - from medicine to mining - that’s why, starting today, we’re offering a free, online course to help primary school teachers across Australia bring these subjects into their classrooms.

We’ve partnered with the University of Adelaide to create an 8-10 week course that will help teachers implement the new Digital Technologies curriculum. The course provides resources and example-learning activities to make it easier to teach the national curriculum to kids from Kindergarten to Year 6. Participants will complete a portfolio of activities to be assessed, with feedback, and a certificate for successful completion.

Anyone interested in the course can sign up here. And for more on why inventors of the future should start arming themselves with coding skills today, check out our new website, Start with Code.

Posted by Sally-Ann Williams, Engineering Community and Outreach Manager, Google Australia

Safer Internet Day: Helping families stay safe online

Friday, February 14, 2014

The Internet has brought a number of incredible things to the world - from K-Pop to music awards to long-distance learning. And it should also be a safe space for families to explore, learn and enjoy together. That is why we’re working with partners around the world to get the word out about good Internet practices and how to best use our tools to keep users safe online.

To coincide with Safer Internet Day on February 11, we launched a nationwide campaign in India with the Digital Empowerment Foundation and the Voluntary Organization in the Interest of Consumer Education to bring a series of online safety workshops to schools, NGOs, consumer and industry groups across the country. In Australia, we hosted a roundtable with online safety advocates and in Japan, we’re supporting the National Information Security Center to raise public awareness around Internet security throughout February, which is Information Security Month.

At the first in a series of events we held in New Delhi, Dr. Gulshan Rai, Director-General at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, spoke of the need to educate and empower web users about online safety to make the most of the Internet’s potential. We couldn’t agree more.

Panel discussion at the launch of Internet Safety Week in New Delhi

Staying safe on the web starts with maintaining a conversation about it with our kids. Every family member should know the dos and don’ts of online safety and the consequences of inappropriate use. It’s important that kids feel they can ask parents for guidance when they encounter tricky online situations.

Google also invests in safety features and partners with parents, teachers and NGOs to make the Internet better. For example, turning on SafeSearch in Google Search or Safety Mode in YouTube helps filter out mature content that you might not want showing up on the family computer. On Android devices, doing something as simple as filtering apps in the Google Play store will limit what content your kids can download to your device.

We hope you’ll take time to sit down with your kids and start the conversation about basic Internet safety with them today. Visit our Google Safety Center for more advice on keeping your family safe online.

The new Google Safety Center

Posted by Vaishnavi Jayakumar, Public Policy & Government Relations Associate, Google APAC

Wish we were here

Friday, February 7, 2014

Now that everyone’s returning from their Lunar New Year travels, let’s take a look back at all the destinations Asia was searching for over the past year. The map below shows the top destinations searched on Google in a few Asian countries. Perhaps surprising for a country that is so far away from its nearest neighbors, Australia’s searches (in red) cast the widest radius across the world: its top travel destination was Disneyland (the nearest one being Hong Kong’s, 7,000 km away), and the second was Dubai, a staggering 12,000 km distance from Sydney. Tourists in China, on the other hand, like to stay close to home, with domestic travel spots like Hangzhou and Jiuzhaigou taking top billing. India stands out as the only country whose users searched for a U.S. city: Boston, home of MIT and Harvard.

Why does this matter? It’s a reminder that often the first step on a journey is taken online and that paying attention to those first steps in Asia is important. Asia will drive most of the growth of the tourism industry over the next 15 years.

Posted by Joyce Hau, Communications Senior Associate, Google APAC

RISE Awards 2014: Nurturing tech innovators in Asia

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Technology has the power to change the world for the better, which is why we want to inspire more young people in Asia to not just use technology, but create it.

The Google Roots in Science and Engineering (RISE) Awards were set up to help address this challenge globally, and we’re happy to announce that in 2014, two organizations from Asia Pacific have been awarded grants for their programs that will encourage more young people to pursue careers in tech. We especially like these initiatives because they’re built around youth who aren’t exposed to much technology in their education.

Engineers Without Borders in Australia will create and pilot new high school workshops to nurture more coders. They will do this partially by reaching out to students not traditionally engaged in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs.
Life is Tech! in Japan will enable more teenagers without access to computer science in their schools to take part in mobile app development classes and summer camps. The goal is to focus outreach especially to girls.

Japanese students tell us about Life is Tech!

Visit our site for a full list of our 2014 RISE Award recipients and to learn how to apply for funding. We hope to see more Asia Pacific RISErs in the future, creating new technologies to empower the region!

Posted by Hai Hong, RISE Program Manager

Enrolments now open at summer school for aspiring startup founders in Australia

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Cross posted from the Google Australia blog

Accounting, consultancy and laws firms have long had summer programs which help young people get a sense for what it would be like to pursue those career paths. But it hasn’t been easy for aspiring entrepreneurs in Australia to get a feel for what it’s like to do their first tech startup.

That’s why General Assembly and Google Australia have teamed up to offer Introduction to Startup Entrepreneurship, a free 8-week online summer school that will cover topics like how to develop an idea, design and branding, working with developers and marketing for startups. The program will also run weekly Google+ Hangouts to allow face-to-face interaction with course instructors.

Ten of the participants who complete the program and have worked to develop their ideas will be selected by General Assembly to attend a two-day boot camp at Google Sydney in March to further their entrepreneurial skills.

We hope this program will encourage more young Australians to follow their entrepreneurial passions, and contribute to Australia’s economic growth in the process. Tech startups have the potential to contribute over $109 billion of GDP and add half a million jobs by 2033, but to unlock this potential, we need more Australians to get amongst it!

The course begins on January 6, 2014. Click here to enrol now.

Posted by Alan Noble, Engineering Director for Google Australia

The Big Tent Extravaganza!

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Big Tent has been on a big tour, bringing our brand of open debate about the Internet and society to Bangkok, Singapore and Sydney for the first time and returning to Seoul to examine culture, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. Across some of Asia Pacific’s most exciting markets one thing above all became clear - people across the region are hungry to harness the web to grow their economies, enrich their lives and export the best their countries have to offer around the world.

We started in Singapore where the discussion focused on "Enabling a Culture of Innovation" – focused on starting a debate on what Singapore needs to become the hub of Asian innovation in a digital age. In a country with some of the best Internet infrastructure in the world, participants debated how Singaporeans can turn their networked society into an entrepreneurial one. The event featured lightning round speakers from local startup Viki, social entrepreneurship consultancy Syinc and online news commentator The Breakfast Network, who shared their experience of innovating in Singapore and the challenges they faced.

Panelists at Singapore Big Tent

From Singapore we moved to Seoul where the burning question was how can Korea turn the success of PSY and K-Pop into a sustainable cultural export industry. The Deputy Minister of Culture, Mr Hyun-jae Cho stressed the importance of open platforms and the need for Korea’s vibrant culture whether it’s drama, music, kpop, etc to spread globally; and Eric Schmidt, Google’s Chairman, encouraged Koreans to focus on what they do best - creating content people want - and do more and more of it. He also stressed the need to educate more software engineers who can develop products that can scale globally and shared his thoughts on what the most important thing about the Internet is: “to learn how to turn your phone off during dinner.” An important lesson for all of us!

Panelists speaking at the Seoul Big Tent

We then travelled South to sunny Sydney to discuss culture and content in the new digital age. The event brought together 150 leading figures from the creative arts, technology, business, media and government under one roof to engage in a high-energy discussion about the impact of the web on artists and content creators in Australia.

Christiaan Van Vuuren, Director, Bondi Hipster and Online Creator

Lizzy Spit and Arlene Zelina, two of Australia’s most exciting Google+ and YouTube sensations, took to the stage to perform new songs. But perhaps one of the more interesting contributions of the day came from Kim Williams, Former CEO of News Limited and Foxtel, who argued that “The net has no respect for the establishment in and of itself – it is a furiously strong levelling agent. New paradigms in all things are becoming commonplace. Nothing and no one is safe. Merit and performance increasingly rule the day.”

To wrap up this busy tour, Big Tent travelled to Bangkok where some of Thailand’s foremost Internet entrepreneurs, content creators and thought leaders gathered to ask the question, why not Thailand? Speakers discussed what’s holding Thailand back relative to its ASEAN neighbours and concluded that Thais need to get serious about investing in the Internet (and national infrastructure) and recognize the economic impact an open web will have on their economy, culture and creative potential. Eric Schmidt discussed Thailand’s future in a digital age, stressing the need for a mobile revolution as crucial for long-term development. He also argued that the solution to bad content is not censorship, but embracing more speech, good content and entering a debate of ideas.

Google Chairman, Eric Schmidt, and a Thai puppet in Bangkok

As we said in our introduction blog post, Asia Pacific is increasingly central to the growth and development of the Internet. The Big Tent Extravaganza celebrates this.

’Til next year!

Posted by Jon Steinberg from the External Relations team

Asia Pacific Blog