Saturday, April 17, 2010

Enhancements to real-time search




Posted: 16 Apr 2010 05:03 PM PDT
This is one of a regular series of posts on search experience updates. Look for the label This week in search and subscribe to the series. - Ed.

Rich Snippets for recipes
Rich Snippets are the brief annotations you see beneath search results that summarize what's on a webpage. In addition to Rich Snippets for reviews, people, video and events, this week we unveiled a new Rich Snippets format for recipes. This means that when your search results include sites with recipe content, you might see quick facts pertaining to the recipe in your search results, like preparation or cooking times, right on the search results page.

If you have a site with recipes and want to be sure Rich Snippets show up in search results for your page, check out our documentation on how to mark up recipe information as well as our general help articles on Rich Snippets. Bon appétit!

Example search: [baked ziti]

Enhancements to real-time search
This week, we launched a new feature in real-time search that gives you the ability to search and replay the public archive of tweets on Twitter. While real-time search usually focuses on what's happening now, our new feature is helpful for viewing the history of what happened in the past and how people reacted to a particular topic on Twitter. You can zoom into any point in time — from a year, to a month, to a half-hour — and "replay" tweets from as far back as February 11, 2010 (and soon, as far back as the very first tweet on March 21, 2006). To try this feature out, click "Show options" on the search results page, and then select "Updates." You'll notice a new chart at the top of the page, where you'll be able to adjust the time range of the tweets you'd like to see. We hope you enjoy your trip down the 140-character memory lane.

Example search: [museum of modern art]

Oftentimes, there's great new content published to the web that everyone is talking about at one particular time. So, to help you find those sites, we also recently launched the top links for a set of update results, showcasing some of the top URLs that Twitter users are talking about based on a particular query. To view these links, click "Show options" on the search results page, and then select "Updates." You'll see a list of links on the right-hand side based on your query.

Example search: [ipad]

Google Suggest and spell correction enhancements
We've recently made some enhancements that make it easier and faster for you to get the most relevant answer using Google search. We've begun to tailor Suggest to U.S. metro areas, so you'll find that the suggested queries are more locally relevant than they used to be. Try searching for [parks in], and you'll most likely see suggested search queries for parks that really are in your neck of the woods.

In addition, we've improved our spelling correction feature. Sometimes, when you search for something that we're highly confident you've misspelled, we'll take you directly to the search results page for the correct spelling without asking "Did you mean...?" This week, we made this feature available in 31 languages across over 180 domains across the globe. We've also made some changes to how this feature deals with misspelled names. We realized that often when you search for a person's name, you include descriptive words (say, the person's profession or company) that can provide valuable context. We use these extra descriptors to offer you better suggestions, so you should soon find this feature for names more useful.

Example search: [jordin farmer lakers]

Stay tuned for more updates next week.

Posted: 16 Apr 2010 01:20 PM PDT
This is part of a regular series of Google Apps updates that we post every couple of weeks. Look for the label "Google Apps highlights" and subscribe to the series. - Ed.

Today's update includes a big batch of new functionality in Google Docs and several new capabilities in Gmail. So the next time you're in Google Apps, give these new features a spin.

Google Docs reloaded
On Monday we released a preview of the new Google Docs, which brings added features, higher fidelity for imported documents, more speed and faster collaboration to our browser-based productivity tools. Documents sport features that weren't feasible with older browser technology, like a new ruler for margins and tab stops, better bullets and numbered lists, easier image placement and character-by-character real-time collaboration in the browser. Spreadsheets now have a formula editing bar, drag-and-drop columns and cell auto-fill. They support up to 50 simultaneous collaborators, and are much faster and more responsive overall. We added Google drawings to the mix as well, so you can work with others to create flow-charts, schematics and other kinds of diagrams together in real-time.



Calendar integration in Gmail
To make it easier to schedule time with people without leaving your inbox, now you can see people's availability (if you have permission) and send event invitations from Gmail. As you're composing a message, click the "Insert: Invitation" link to choose a time that works for the recipients on your email and add details about your event. When you're done, the email message will display details about your event.


Drag-and-drop attachments in Gmail
Yesterday we introduced a simpler way to add attachments in Gmail: just drag files onto Gmail from your desktop or from a folder as you compose a message. You can drag multiple files at once, and on a Mac, you can even drag files from folders in the Dock. This feature works in Chrome or Firefox 3.6+ right now, and other browsers may support this feature in the future.


Nested Labels and Message Sneak Peek in Gmail Labs
Last week we launched two new Labs features in Gmail. Nested Labels lets you create hierarchies of labels, giving you more flexibility how you organize your saved email. Message Sneak Peek lets you preview messages without having to open them. Just right-click a message in your inbox to sneak a quick peek.


Gmail on the Apple iPad
We released a new version of the Gmail web interface specially designed for the larger screen of the iPad. Gmail on the iPad has a convenient two-pane display with a list of your conversations on the left, and full messages on the right.


Who's gone Google?
More and more colleges and universities are moving to the cloud with Google Apps. This week we're pleased to welcome the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse, UNLV, Meredith College and Belmont Abbey College. The State Library of Kansas, the Mind Research Network and more than 50,000 other businesses and organizations have also gone Google in the last few weeks.

I hope you're making the most of these new features, whether you're using Google Apps with friends, family, coworkers or classmates. For more details and updates from the Apps team, head on over to the Google Apps Blog.

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