Dear Google Friends,
If the Googleplex is giving off a faint, pleasant aroma
of croissants and strong coffee, there's a thoroughly continental
reason for it. The opening of the Google France sales office
provides yet another reminder that Google is global. Read
on for the latest news on Google in Paris, Brazilian doodles,
why Uzbekis are feeling lucky, and more.
Vive la France: Google Opens Its Paris Sales Office
Everybody loves Paris, and Googlers are certainly no exception.
So it's no surprise that the opening of our French sales
office on June 12 gave us a significant boost in the joie
de vivre department. Google is very much at home in France
already (Google.fr launched in 2000) – as is Sergey
Brin, one of Google's founders, who made the most of the
opportunity to chat with the European press about everything
Google, from its international expansion to its advertising
programs.
The opening of Google's Paris office – which follows
similar expansion into the UK, Germany, and Japan –
provides a direct point of contact that gives French businesses
a better opportunity to reach the Google audience. Given
Google's rapid growth in France and in the rest of Europe,
that opportunity becomes more attractive all the time. And
because Google's advertising programs incorporate targeting
by language and by country as well as by keyword, Google
advertisers get a powerful tool for focusing their message
on the potential customers in Google's huge search audience.
For a sampling of the French press coverage (in French),
see:
http://www.google.fr/intl/fr/press.html
For information on Google advertising, see:
http://www.google.com/ads/
Google's Doodles: Have Logo, Will Travel
For those who get a kick out of our Google doodles –
the playfully tweaked Google logos that occasionally embellish
our homepage – here's a word to the wise: If you confine
your visits to Google.com, you're missing a lot of the action.
On June 21, for instance, Google.fr was graced with a holiday
logo celebrating France's Fete de la Musique. This past
weekend, Google.br and Google.de displayed logos honoring
the two finalists in the 2002 World Cup. On July 1, Google.ca
feted the Canadian national holiday. And while divining
the future can be risky, it seems unlikely July 14 (Bastille
Day) will pass unnoticed on Google.fr.
All these variations on the Google theme spring from the
fertile imagination of Dennis Hwang, an assistant webmaster
at Google whose first holiday logo appeared on Google two
years ago this week. To see what he's been up to since then,
visit:
http://www.google.com/holidaylogos.html
Multilingual UI: Feeling Lucky in 77 Languages
Speakers of Faroese, Sundanese, and Uzbek should be feeling
a little luckier now that they can Google in their native
tongues. With these newest arrivals, Google now offers its
interface in a total of 77 languages, ranging from Arabic
to Welsh. There are many others on the way – for instance,
translations into Bislama, Mongolian, Punjabi, and Sinhalese
are all more than halfway to completion.
While most people choose to view Google in the language
they know best, others relish the opportunity to visit a
foreign land from the comfort of their browsers. It's easy
to switch, and there's no penalty for playing the field.
What's more, if you aren't yet fluent in Klingon, Pig Latin,
or Elmer Fudd, this may be your best chance for a fully
immersive experience.
To view Google in a language other than English, visit:
http://www.google.com/preferences?hl=en
Do-It-Yourself Localization: The Google Translation Project
In the unlikely event your language of choice isn't available
just yet, you might consider joining Google's flock of volunteer
translators to help speed the process along. There's no
minimum commitment – you can translate a single sentence,
a page, or the entire Google site. To find out more about
joining Google's translation effort, visit:
http://services.google.com/tc/welcome.html
To search within a specific language or country or to
see a full list of Google's specific language and country
offerings, visit:
http://www.google.com/language_tools
Google's Global Stats: A Peek at the Numbers
Google users in the U.S. may be surprised to learn just
how global Google really is. In fact, more than half of
Google's searches come from outside the United States. Google
now ranks as the #4 global property on the web, according
to comScore Media Metrix, and ranks even higher in some
countries. In Germany, for instance, Google.de ranks #1
among all web properties with more than 7.8 million unique
users, and is #1 in search referrals as well (Nielsen/NetRatings,
May 2002 and StatMarket, May/June 2002). Google gained nearly
4 million unique users in May, more than any other top 25
global property, according to the Nielsen/NetRatings Global
Internet Index. This caps a year of steady growth in which
Google was the only new entry in the European top five since
Nielsen/NetRatings began measuring European online audiences
in 2000. "Google's pan-European success is unmatched
by any other regional properties," said Richard Goosey,
NetRatings' international chief of measurement science.
For a look at the latest Nielsen/NetRatings global numbers,
go to:
http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/pr/pr_020701_global.pdf
For a look at Google stats for France (in French), go
to:
http://www.google.fr/intl/fr/press/metrics.html
The Google Search Appliance: Google in a Box
It's hard to believe it's only been four months since
we launched the Google Search Appliance, aka "Google
in a Box." The growing list of satisfied customers
includes such heavyweights as The Boeing Company, National
Semiconductor Corporation, Cisco Systems, the University
of Florida, PBS.org, and Sur La Table, to name just a few.
These diverse organizations are putting the Google Search
Appliance to uses just as diverse, from helping employees
locate engineering documents to guiding customers as they
seek just the right place setting. To find out more about
the Google Search Appliance, visit:
http://www.google.com/appliance/
Good News for Google: PC World and the Webby Awards
Google was delighted to receive the award for Best Practices
(for the second year running) at the Sixth Annual Webby
Awards in San Francisco on June 18. In addition, Google
won the People's Voice voting for Best Practices and for
Technical Achievement. Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry
Page conveyed our sentiments in a five-word acceptance speech
(as required by Webby tradition): "This is yours, Google
users."
http://www.webbyawards.com/main/webby_awards/nominees.html
Google was also honored in June with PC World's 2002 World
Class Awards for Internet Product of the Year and Best Search
Engine. "How good is this site?" PC World asked,
then suggested that readers "remember this simple three-word
mantra: Try Google first. It's that accurate, that versatile,
that indispensable." High praise, and we appreciate
it.
http://www.pcworld.com/features/article/0,aid,97429,pg,5,00.asp
http://www.pcworld.com/features/article/0,aid,97429,pg,6,00.asp
Go From Google User to Full-Time Googler: We're Hiring
The more we do at Google, the more we need people to help
us do it. If you're feeling the urge to share your love
for search with a broader public, perhaps you should join
the Google team. You'll be making life better for millions
of search users worldwide while getting excellent benefits,
free lunches and snacks, and massage therapy in the bargain.
Most of our departments are hiring, notably our engineering
crew and our international sales offices. Does the life
of a full-time Googler sound appealing? Then check out our
jobs page and send us your resume. Our current openings
can be found at: http://www.google.com/jobs/great-people-needed.html
These are exciting times at Google. Thanks for your interest
and support as we continue to grow. We look forward to sharing
news with you in the coming months and wish you the very
best.
The Google Team
