Google Translate iOS icon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Recently, I was in Beijing and I witnessed something really amusing and impressive.

I went to a street hawker who was selling computer junk and I tried communicating with him. Well, apparently – China is a Mandarin speaking country with people having limited knowledge of English. So communicating with them is a big issue. Many many times, we just give up on communicating with a local in Beijing.

Now, our street vendor turned out to be an intelligent & indigenous guy. He knows that if he doesn’t communicate effectively with us, he will lose business and will ultimately lower his earnings.
So, How does he solve the problem?

He is selling technology, so simple - he uses technology to abridge the communication barrier. and how does he manage it – By using Google Translate. ( for those who don’t know about Google translate, its a google online application which can be used to convert one language into another – This amazing tool can be used to translate between 42 most widely used languages in the world ) His method of using the tool. He connects to a wi-fi network in one of the buildings in Haidian area. ( Haidian is the IT capital of Beijing and it houses majority of IT companies in China. )
Then, he goes to Google Translate (translate.google.com) and writes his message for us in Mandarin. He translates it into English. After reading the message, I can type my message in English in another browser window, which can be translated into Mandarin.
This is how we communicated and it was very lucrative for him. Our gang must have done over RMB 500 of shopping from him.

My learning from this incident is that – no matter how complex the problem is, if you want a solution badly enough, you will get it !!!

Another point I want to make is that Google is such an amazing company. I don’t see any revenue avenues for Google from Google Translate. However, they are still maintaining the product and are investing the dollars into it. The ideology & passion of the company to make internet is a better place is mind boggling. HATS OFF folks !!

Introduction to Author : Blog

Mr Amit Agrawal  - Having worked across 3 continents as a Technologist, Technopreneur, Retail Analyst and a Small Medium Business owner, He had experienced work culture in large multinationals to small 10 employee firms. 
This diverse set of experiences have inculcated a wider perspective about priorities of different businesses and key strategic goals for them.  Please visit Linked-in profile to get more information about him.

Image via Wikipedia

Many website owners’ ultimate aim is to generate revenue from their website. Thanks to Google that offer the best revenue program called AdSense which helps to get some easy advertiser to newbie blogger or website owner like me.

Design a website with some good content for at least 6 month & apply for AdSense. For my understanding its like Give n Take relation with Google with a WIN WIN situation for everyone involved in this system (Google, AdWords publisher & the Website Owner).

After getting my first approval for Google AdSense some 2 month ago I researched a lot what not to do while using AdSense. 

Below are some points that I had gathered which can help new AdSense publisher like me:

• Don’t click your own Ads – This is the best & easiest way to get your AdSense account blocked or Suspended. Never try to click your own ads, not even in your dream! Even I found some people tried to click their own ads using proxy & IP bypassing techniques but, you can’t hide it from Google. The Big Dad of internet is watching & its impossible to escape Him.

• Don’t Change or Alter Google AdCode – Some time Website face problem with the ad display size.  Even in my situation I found Google AdCode size doesn’t match my layout so; I thought I should make some changes in layout or size. But, after several try nothing happen. After searching found Google AdCode can’t be altered so, one Advice doesn’t waste your time by editing the Google AdCode.  Better change your website style sheet upon the Google AdCode format.

• Don’t Give Wrong Information – This is a most important part as whatever you earn from Google is accountable for taxation, better don’t try to fool Google by using any kind of fake information. If found any kind of wrong information not only Google ban you but, all your earned money will be vanish.

• Don’t Design your website as an ADS only Site- As a website owner our main concentration must on the content, NOT the ads. Google AdSense algorithm automatically display ads upon your content so, remember don’t paste ads on blank page or areas like Registration, Thank you pages. Even for visitor point of view it’s very irritating while someone lands in these kinds of sites. We should remember it’s  the visitor who helps us to earn.

• Don’t Beg for Ad Clicks – Google never allow website to begging or telling people to click on their website. I had found even some top blogger are doing this by writing help me to buy a beer kind of concept & got blocked by Google. They can survive coz they have a niche viewer with huge social media presence but newbie like me don’t have any alternate than Google so, If Google block our website then we will be finish.

• Don’t tell how much you earned from Google AdSense – Google is very strict on disclosure of your AdSense revenue on specific keywords. If you find anyone selling this kind of thing please beware.

• Don’t involve in click scamming – This is also one of the best practices to get banned from Google AdSense. Google is very much advanced to catch this kind of fraudulent. Google always keep tracks on how much your CTR & CPM. if you they found any kind of suspicious increment of clicks then they will catch & get you banned for sure. If, you find some UN expected high click from a page better tell Google about this so, they will help you in better way.

• Don’t Put Obscene content – Google has a strict rules & regulation for content standards. Content like Sex, Drugs, Alcohol, Weapon. As AdSense automatically generate keyword from your content it will be easy pick for Google to get you caught.

• Read Google term & condition – The last n Best of all point is “Read the Google’s terms & condition as much as you can”.

Related articles

• How to Add Google AdSense After Your Posts (savvyblogging.net)

Image by earthhopper via Flickr

Google Maps is adding a new feature that will tie the product more closely to the company’s social network, Google+.

The feature, called +snippets, lets users share data from Google Maps using an extension of the +1 sharing button. Google rolled out snippets in August and explained how they work in a post on the Google Blog: “When you share content from the +1 button, you’ll notice that we automatically include a link, an image and a description in the sharebox.”

Now, when you’re browsing Google Maps while signed in to your Google+ account, you can click the “Share” button on the right-hand side of the Google nav bar. A dropdown menu will let you add text, choose whom from your Circles to share with and more.

A post on the Google Blog, written by VP of Product Management Bradley Horowitz, describes when and why you’d want to use this feature:

Suppose you’re planning a weekend trip to Napa. Your packing list probably includes driving directions, hotel information and a list of nearby wineries. Many of you visit Google Maps for this kind of information already. But with +snippets, Google+ users can easily share directions or places (for example) with fellow travelers. Just click “Share…” in the Google+ bar at the top of the screen, and whatever you see on Maps is what you’ll see in the sharebox–ready to share with your circles:

Google has been integrating elements of Google+ into its other products since the social network launched over the summer. For example, in August, YouTube began letting users watch videos together via “Hangouts,” Google’s group video chat feature. Earlier that month, public posts on Google+ began appearing in Google Search results.

On September 2, the search engine also axed 10 products, including Fast Flip, Desktop, Aardvark and others; less than a week later, Google announced that it had acquired restaurant and hospitality review company Zagat.

the Google Blog showing how directions, place and searches can be shared on Google+ via Google Maps.

Source :- http://www.huffingtonpost.com

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• +Snippets For Google Maps (seroundtable.com)
• Snippets on Google Maps: if you can see it, you can share it (googleblog.blogspot.com)
• Google+ Allows You to Share Maps (mashable.com)
• Share Maps Info Using Google+ (marketingpilgrim.com)
• Snippets and Subscriptions: Google, Facebook Armor Up for Social Wars (wired.com)
• Home hunters get help from Google Maps (money.marksandspencer.com)

Image via CrunchBase

Google+, Google’s latest attempt at developing a popular social networking service, has users in a tizzy because of its no-negotiation policy regarding what it takes to be fake profile names.

According to ZDNet, “a striking number of Google+ accounts” were deleted over the weekend because of questionable profile authenticity. Limor Fried, ZDNet notes, had her Google account revoked–but later restored–for using the pseudonym “Ladyada” on her profile. The site also notes that another suspended user, a former Google employee nonetheless, named Kirrily “Skud” Robert, was asked to scan a photo of his photo ID to prove it was indeed him. Even William Shatner got axed from Google+: the actor, who played Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek, tweeted on July 18, “My Google+ account was flagged for violating standards. Saying hello to everyone apparently is against the rules maybe I should say goodbye?”

Getting cut from Google+ could mean losing more than just your social networking profile–you might even lose access to all of your Google accounts, including Gmail. As PCWorld reports, “to be clear, the stories we’re hearing so far are of people being suddenly frozen out of EVERYTHING…Given who we early adopters are, even a few more days of this unreasonable behavior could abort the whole G+ effort”.

To be fair, Google+ clearly states in its policy documents that members are prohibited from using professional titles, pseudonyms, and unusual characters in their name. “You can be certain you’re connecting with the right person,” Google says in defense of its stance on profiles. “Google Profiles requires you to use the name that you commonly go by in daily life.”

According to a conversation Robert Scoble said he had with Google Vice President of Social, Vic Gundotra, Gundotra acknowledged that Google had made some mistakes, though said Google is working to address how it requires users to use “common names,” as well as how Google communicates with its users. Scoble wrote, “He says they have made some mistakes while doing the first pass at this and they are learning. He also says the team will change how they communicate with people. IE, let them know what they are doing wrong, etc.”

Google seems to hope that using “common names” will create a closer-knit online community.

Nonetheless, it’s understandable that some users are upset about having to show proof of identification–or having their accounts canceled outright without having the chance to petition the decision ahead of time. Signing up for a social network online shouldn’t feel like going to the DMV to get your license renewed, and it’s certainly not what people expect from an Internet company such as Google.

“Google Plus’s names policy seems to have been scribbled on a napkin at the last minute, rushed into production while still half-baked, and confused even further by their haphazard, scattershot approach,” Jon Evans wrote in a post on TechCrunch. ” It’s too bad that the service has sacrificed a pile of goodwill over the last week by repeatedly publicly shooting themselves in the foot.”

Unless Google+ can find a kinder, more efficient and more accurate way of identifying people, then some users might just decide to abandon the service altogether–and not put in the effort required to return.

Source :- http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Related articles

• Complaints mount over Google+ account deletions (macworld.com)
• Morton Fox: Complaints Mount Over Google+ Account Deletions | PCWorld (pcworld.com)
• Complaints Mount Over Google+ Account Deletions (pcworld.com)
• Google VP: Why Google+ requires real names (news.cnet.com)
• Google+ Users Irked at Surge in Deleted Accounts (pcworld.com)
• Google+ users irked at surge in deleted accounts (infoworld.com)

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If you’re using Google+, you might have noticed that unlike many other social networks (such as Facebook and Twitter) there isn’t an option to create a vanity URL. Instead, each profile is identified by a long string of numbers in the URL (for example, 107030912810704099919).

According to Mashable, the reason Google+ doesn’t offer its own vanity URL shorteners is to keep out spammers who could possibly use that data to infer account information about the user. Google+ isn’t a standalone product, and elements of the social network will be baked into various Google products (including search and gmail), so it’s obvious why the company is placing so much importance on privacy.

The Wall Street Journal offers some additional insight into Google+’s security precautions, writing, “Google’s last social-networking attempt, called Buzz, blew up in its face over a privacy issue. The company has learned from that mistake, choosing to limit the number of users with initial access to Google+, in order to minimize damage if any problems popped up.”

For those users who simply must have a vanity URL for their Google+ profile, there is an alternative.

Mashable, notes that a newly launched web application called Gplus.to solves the problem of cumbersome URLs. For example, the service converts “https://plus.google.com/u/0/107030912810704099919/about” into an easy-to-read “Gplus.to/mrcoopersmith.”

CNET has created an instructional video with instructions on what to do.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you create your own personalized vanity URL:

1) Go to your Google+ profile (Open Google+ then click on your name)

2) In the URL at the top of the page, find the string of numbers that come directly after ‘plus.google.com/’ and before ‘/posts’ or ‘/about.’
Note: this is what you’re looking for: https://plus.google.com/#################/posts

3) Copy that string of numbers

4) Now, visit Gplus.to and paste the string of numbers into the appropriate field. You could also try using gplusID.

5) Where indicated, type in a nickname or shortener you want to replace the string of numbers with, and click ‘Add’.

6) That’s it! You’re done.

Source :- http://www.huffingtonpost.com

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• Adding Vanity URL for Your Google+ Web Page (edutekadvisor.typepad.com)
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• Get Unofficial Vanity URL Username for Google Plus Profile (madrasgeek.com)
• How to make your very own Google+ vanity URL (geek.com)
• Google+ has its minuses (news.cnet.com)
• Getting a user-friendly Web address on Google Plus (zdnet.com)

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In what may very well be the first major cybercriminal campaign exploiting the Google+ brand, spammers are sending out bogus Google+ invitations that in reality point to online pharmacies.

The messages look similar to the real emails that users may receive from friends who are already members of Google+.

However, clicking on the links will not take you to the new social network, but instead take you to a pharmacy website set up to sell the likes of Viagra, Cialis and Levitra to the unwary. In the case of the site shown below, they even have a special July 4th promotion – just in case you were hoping for additional fireworks on the night.

The spammers are no doubt hoping that the email will be too hard to resist for many people eager to see Google’s new social network, although just how many users will be tempted to buy drugs online is a mystery.

Source :- http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com

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• Google Release New Spam Bot In Form Of Google Plus (davidnaylor.co.uk)
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• I really wanted to hate Google Plus (webinknow.com)
• Do You Report Search Spammers To Google? (seroundtable.com)
• Google +: Google’s New Social Network (seroundtable.com)

Image via CrunchBase

First Google rolls out Google+, then redesigns Google Calendar, and now it’s fiddling around with Gmail.

Hidden in the Themes section of the interface and named “Preview” and “Preview (dense),” the clean look is more spread out than the classic Gmail interface, basking in white space that makes it easier to read.

According to Google’s official Gmail Blog, the idea was to “strip out unnecessary clutter and make Gmail as beautiful as it is powerful.” It’s all part of Google’s drive for a better experience that it calls “more focused, elastic and effortless” across each of its products.

The company says it will be gradually working on these new designs over the next few months. For now, you can get a sneak peak of the design you see here by going to the Themes tab in Gmail settings, and you’ll see the two new choices listed. The one at the top of this page is the “dense” version, and the other one is slightly more spread out.

Google’s calling these two preview themes “a sort of sneak peek” because it plans to make this design a permanent part of Gmail’s new interface, which “will eventually expand dynamically to accommodate different screen sizes and user preferences, but until then you can pick the information density that you prefer.”

Source :- http://mashable.com

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• GMail Got A New Interface And You Can Try It Now ! (netwidz.com)
• After Google Search, Gmail Joins The Redesign Club (techie-buzz.com)
• A preview of Gmail’s new look (gmailblog.blogspot.com)
• How to get the new Gmail right now (howto.cnet.com)
• New Gmail on the way, sneak peak now available (digitaltrends.com)
• Gmail gets Background Customization Feature (pratyushkp.wordpress.com)
• How to stop your Gmail account being hacked (blogoholic.in)

Image via CrunchBase

The mystery of the black menu bar at the top of your Google searches is solved. Apparently, it’s part of gearing up for Google’s latest assault on the social networking scene.

Facebook‘s latest competitor is alive, and it’s called Google+. (You say that name like you might read out a broken line of C code – Google plus.)

Although Google+ has officially launched – its web site says so – you can’t actually try it yet. More accurately, you may be able to. Or you may not.

In the groovy prose which typifies Google’s self-belief, it is “launching with what we call a field trial period, an invitation-only approach to help smooth out the rough edges as we start the project.”

To you and me, then, it’s still in closed beta.

Given the legal crisis Google plunged into with its Buzz product last time it took on Facebook, it’s reasonable to assume Google will be much more cautious on the privacy front this time round.

Nevertheless, if you’re interested in Google+, you should probably start getting ready now for its public launch by reading (or re-reading) Google’s policies on privacy. There are several.

There are Google’s terms. These are still dated 2007, so they still impose the same conditions, such as: only using Google’s user interface to get at Google stuff; permitting Google to update its software on your computer when it wants; agreeing to accept said updates; and allowing Google to watch what you do to send you targeted advertising.

Then there’s the Google Privacy Policy. But that’s just the start, because Google+ has its own brand-new T&Cs to peruse, too. There’s the Google+ Privacy Policy, the User Content and Conduct policy, and the Google +1 Button Privacy Policy.

And if you want to access Plus from a mobile device, there’s also the Mobile Privacy Policy.

You’d better read the Picasa Privacy Notice, too, in case you ever upload a photo. And that is supposed to happen automatically and instantly every time you snap a picture on your phone.

Actually, to save searching time, you can use the Google Privacy Center to dig into all 37 of of Google’s privacy policies, from +1 (like Like, it really means Recommend) through to YouTube.

The most intriguing items in the User Content section are the do as we say, not as we do clauses, such as “do not distribute content that facilitates online gambling, including online casinos, sports betting or lotteries,” and “do not drive traffic to commercial pornography sites.”

(Trying to find somewhere to bet online? Want to learn how to Start A Porn Business Now? Search on Google for “gambling” and “commercial porn sites” and you will quickly find out how to do just those things, with highlighted paid ads to make sure you don’t miss out.)

Remember the rules. Don’t be evil. Do as we say, not as we do. And definitely don’t compete for advertising clicks.

Anyway, happy privacy policy reading.

The good news is that you’ve still got time to give feedback on any of the Google+ terms and conditions which you find unpalatable. Google has listened before – for example, when its early T&Cs claimed intellectual property rights over everything you uploaded.

Google users rose a stink. Google paid attention, and swiftly relented.

Last year, 90% of you who took part in our poll said you wanted Facebook to become completely opt-in; if you’d like to see Google outdo Facebook by adopting an entirely opt-in model – where all features are off until you explicitly turn each and every one on – then this would be a good time to say so!

Source :- http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com

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Google is retiring two sites–Google Health and Google PowerMeter–due to low interest, the company announced.

“We want to satisfy the most pressing needs for the greatest number of people,” Google wrote in a blog post. “In the case of these two products, our inability to scale has led us to focus our priorities elsewhere.”

Launched in 2008, Google Health, a site that let users upload medical information online, was devised to make it easier for people to access and selectively share data about their health. Users could store records, import data from doctors and hospitals, set goals for personal wellness, and monitor daily activity. The site will shut down on January 1, 2012, though users can download their data until January 1, 2013.

Google wrote of the reason for its decision.

With a few years of experience, we’ve observed that Google Health is not having the broad impact that we hoped it would. There has been adoption among certain groups of users like tech-savvy patients and their caregivers, and more recently fitness and wellness enthusiasts. But we haven’t found a way to translate that limited usage into widespread adoption in the daily health routines of millions of people

Google PowerMeter will also be closed by September 16, 2011. PowerMeter let people monitor the energy they use, accessing data through smart meters and energy monitors, and showing people how much energy they use and when. The tool let people predict their costs and create goals for budget savings. With PowerMeter, Google hoped to help users lower energy consumption by making it simple to see the data behind the costs.

Google, which noted that the notion of the smart meter had since started to catch on across the country, explained that while they’re “pleased that PowerMeter has helped demonstrate the importance of this access and created something of a model,” that “our efforts have not scaled as quickly as we would like.”

Recently, the disappearance of the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button from certain search homepages sparked speculation that Google was killing the feature.

source :- http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Related articles

• Google pulling life support on Google Health, PowerMeter (arstechnica.com)
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• Google Health To Be Shuttered On January 1, 2012 (searchengineland.com)
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Image via CrunchBase

It is just like Facebook Like , but can do more

After unveiling the +1 button in March, Google has started rolling out the button for third party websites. Google previewed this button, which works like the Facebook Like button, at the Google I/O conference and confirmed that this button will be launched within this week.

The +1 buttons will be in different sizes – Small, Medium, Standard and Tall, with and without the +1 counter, and websites can tie the buttons into their own site logon systems to know which pages are accessed more by users, to keep a record of this. After sufficient number of people have the +1 page on their website, users can view different data such as age and sex of people who recommend those particular pages. This can be done using Google s Analytics system.
Is Google stepping up its social networking strategy? Yes, it is doing it steadily and surely. They tried it with Buzz, not long ago, and it didn t quite succeed. Now they are trying other ways to step up to Facebook in Facebook s backyard. Will they succeed? Only time will tell.

Source :- http://www.techtree.com

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