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What the world searched on Google after the US elections
Based on the search strings that trended for November 9th, the world turned to Google in an effort to understand the President-elect's surprise win and the United States' complicated voting system. Google Trends posted the most popular searches after Donald Trump was named the 45th President of the United States on Twitter, and as Mashable noted, it reflects a lot of people's confusion.
Google slaps 'repeat offender' tag on unsafe sites
Google is closing a loophole in its Safe Browsing search policy. While it already flags sites that violate its malware, phishing and other policies, bad actors can temporary halt those activities. Then, once the warnings are removed, they resume, and unsuspecting searchers are none the wiser. Starting today, however, Google is flagging such sites as "repeat offenders," and webmasters won't be able to appeal the warnings for 30 days.
Google searches for 'nasty' hit all-time high after Trump's comment
At the conclusion of the third presidential debate in which Donald Trump failed to show American he has the temperament or knowledge to lead the country, the embattled Republican candidate hissed "such a nasty woman" at his opponent Hillary Clinton. The internet reacted predictably: with outrage and streaming of Janet Jackson's 30-year-old hit "Nasty." But Spotify wasn't the only place that felt a "nasty" effect: Google says that searches for "nasty" have spiked more than 10 times over their normal level since last Thursday.
Google search results now include full localized ballot info
Google has been putting election-related information right at its users' fingertips in recent months -- the company made it easier to register to vote, has state-specific details on how to vote right in search results and it now highlights fact-checking stories in Google News. The latest addition to Google's slate of voter tools is localized polling place and ballot information. Searching for "who's on my ballot" will bring up results tailored to your location, and you can tap or click on the names to find out more details about each candidate.
Google search cards help you choose a college
Search for a college or university with Google and you'll soon see a new results card. These small, mobile-friendly summaries include graduation and acceptance rates, the average post-grad salary and the normal fees for undergraduate tuition. All of the stats are being pulled from the US Department of Education's "College Scorecard" site, meaning they're reliable and easy to compare. Of course, you've always been able to find this information yourself -- it just took a little longer rooting around the web. Now, it's easier to retrieve some quick, top-level information. So whatever you value the most -- be it projected earnings, or cheaper fees -- you can surface this information almost immediately. Which sounds pretty useful, whether you're just starting to think about your options, or narrowing down some colleges you've been deliberating for months.
Google tells you how to vote by state with a simple search
You're running out of excuses to not vote in this year's US presidential election. Google has rolled out a new, state-specific voting guide for anyone who searches "how to vote" or other related queries. Google breaks down the voting process in your state, complete with information on early voting, mail-in ballots, requirements and deadlines. There's also a drop-down menu that allows you to toggle among states.
Google puts earthquake data directly in search results
For anyone who has had the pleasure of waking up to a rumbling apartment building, only to Google the USGS Earthquake map, the search giant is now saving you another click in your search results. Starting today, a Google search for "earthquake" or "earthquake near me" will put that same US Geological Survey data right in your search results.
Google is testing internet speeds straight from search
For years Ookla has dominated internet speed test traffic, but Netflix recently unveiled a simpler option. Now, Google may be muscling into the game with its own test that works straight from search. Internet marketer Dr. Pete Meyers spotted an "Internet speed test" appearing directly in search results prompted by the query "check internet speed." If you click the "run speed test" box (below), Google's Measurement Lab checks your connection speed and gives more details that can help system administrators.
Google adds song lyrics to search results
Looking to capitalize on the constant stream of people trying to figure out how does that song go again?, Google unveiled a new featured placement for song lyrics Monday. So, the next time you google the lyrics for "Total Eclipse of the Heart," Bonnie Tyler's beautiful words will appear directly in your search results. The new feature is part of a multi-year licensing deal with Toronto company LyricFind, Billboard reports, and will actually result in a new source of income for musicians and publishers.
Google is making mobile search more visual with rich cards
Google's new "rich cards" format will make googling on your phone a more visual experience than what you're used to. It's sort of an evolved version of rich snippets, those search results that come with small images and a short sample of the web page's text, though it's not supposed to replace the older format altogether. The company is rolling out the feature for recipes and movies first. So, if you're doing a search for, say, X-Men: Apocalypse or a recipe for chocolate pie, you might see a carousel of cards right on top of the results page that can scroll sideways. For now, you can only encounter rich cards if you're using the English version of Google.com, but the company will likely roll it out for more categories and languages in the future.
Plan your entire vacation with a single Google search
Google Search's latest feature makes it possible to arrange your entire holiday (flights, accommodation, itinerary) from a single search. It's the company's first foray into travel on mobile, mimicking the move that most of us are making with our browsing habits -- off PCs and onto our phones. You can start with a seriously broad outset (Google's video demo suggests Europe), and then you can dig down into cities and places, pricing on hotel rooms and flights are simplified for broad dates which you can specify further if needed. That name's a little familiar though...
Google will make it easier to be 'forgotten' online in Europe
Google has been complying with the European Union's "right to be forgotten" laws for nearly two years now, but it hasn't always been easy. Up until this point, Google has been reviewing and potentially removing information related to a search for a person's name that appears to be "inadequate or irrelevant." But thus far, it's only been removing those results from the search engine in the country that the request originated from -- for example, Google.fr search results would omit information for a French citizen's request, but the data could still be found on Google.com.
Google makes it easier to keep up with the presidential candidates
It's an election year here in the United States. In truth, the candidates started eating up news cycles well before 2016 started. Regardless, keeping up with each of their platforms and statements on important topics is tough. Plus, there's the always confusing schedule of caucuses and primaries. So you can either have a live feed of all the cable news networks piped directly into your brain, or you can check out our election guide and Google's updated search and Now card results for candidates.
Google's iPhone app gets better (looking)
Not to be outdone by Microsoft's new Bing app for the iPhone, Google has just released version 10 of its main iOS search-focused app. It's not a massive revision like Microsoft released today but rather a tweak to put the iOS app on par with its Android counterpart. The biggest change comes in Google Now: cards are more clearly organized by different categories like "upcoming," "updates," "stories to read" and so forth. While they weren't exactly displayed randomly before, these new headings help make more sense out of the various info Google Now will throw at you at any given time. Google says "timely info" like details relating to upcoming travel will show up first, while less time-sensitive cards will show up lower down your feed.
Google launches beta testing program for Search app on Android
If you're the type to sign up for beta testing programs to get first access to upcoming features, then Google wants your help. Mountain View is looking for beta testers for Android's Google Search app -- Droid Life says the company has released a Now card looking for volunteers, but you can also join through the official Play page. Once you're part of the program, you'll get notified of new updates, as always, which you can get through Google Play. This time, though, you're downloading features ahead of most people, some of which might never make it to general release. For first timers, know that a lot of things that go through beta testing are still buggy and unstable, so prepare to use features that still don't work as intended.
Googling 'fun facts' will quickly ruin your productivity
It won't change your life, but oh boy is this a good time waster. If you scoot across to the Google homepage and type in "fun facts," the search engine will present you with a new type of answer box filled with a curious tidbit or two. The source of that particular knowledge will be listed below, followed by a blue bar with the option to "ask another question." Click that and you'll be presented with yet another random piece of information, with the classic "I'm feeling curious" query in the search field. Is this a new frontier in online productivity? No, but it's an amusing little addition to Google's search engine, and might distract you from the new logo on the homepage (we're still not used to it just yet).
Google mobile search highlights the freshest news stories
If you've performed a search with the Google box on your mobile device today, you might've noticed something a bit different in the results. When you make a query for a topic, now it'll populate results with a rotating carousel of the "freshest and most relevant content" from a single source according to Google's blog. In practice, it looks exactly like the GIF above. This'll even work for individual websites, too. For example, doing a search for "Engadget" brings up our recent stories, with a link to watch our JXE stream of Life is Strange in a YouTube section just below it.
Google expands definition of 'news,' adds Reddit to search results
Seen a few new sources showing up in the "news" section of a Google search lately? It isn't just you. Mountain View is pulling more websites into its news listings now including the likes of Reddit, as spotted by Search Engine Land. Google says that regardless of where it comes from, any content could show up under the "In the news" portion of a search -- even videos, press releases and social media posts. Brin and Co. note that this is an effort to expand the voices possible to give users the answer they're looking for online. Some examples Search Engine Land notes are the Yoast website-optimization blog popping up for "website maintenance" and the internet's front page appearing in searches for "TSA" and "Dunkin' Donuts." From what we can tell, however, that stops once you do an actual search under the Google News tab -- perfect if your definition of news is a bit stricter than Mountain View's. [Image credit: Shutterstock]
Google stops showing who wrote what in its search results
Google Authorship is no more. It has lived for only three short years, from the time Mountain View launched it in 2011, displaying people's faces alongside anything they've written on a website tied to their Google+ accounts. Yes, it stopped showing author's profile pics back in June, because the company wanted to unify mobile and desktop experiences, and Authorship snippets take too much space on a phone's screen. But now it's officially dead, dead, dead, with Google Webmaster Trends Analyst John Mueller issuing its death certificate. See, people haven't been using it enough, and when they do, they almost always miss a step in the set-up process, like forgetting to link back to the publishing site on their Google+ profiles.
Google and Twitter join forces for disaster alerts
Google's and Twitter's relationship has been a bit rocky since the former launched a social network of its own, but, for the greater good, that's changing. When a "more extreme" natural disaster strikes, Google Now, Search and Maps will populate with tweets related to the Public Alert event in an effort to add context, both on mobile and the desktop. On Google+, the search giant notes that these related tweets will serve to answer questions about school closings, nearby evacuations and to display what people closest to a storm are seeing. At the moment, this is only available for English-speaking countries, but Mountain View says it's working to add new kinds of social content to more places and its other products for the future. It isn't quite the Realtime Search of yore that added everyone's tweets to Search results, but it is something. If you had bets on The Blue Bird and Big G never ever getting back together, it's time to pay up.
