Official Google Australia Blog

Catch Up On the First Google Start-Up Do

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Our week at Google Australia kicked off with our call for Sydney to build a Silicon Beach, and last night we brought over 200 aspiring Aussie entrepreneurs together at the first Google Sudo event near our offices in Pyrmont. We also streamed the event over a Google+ Hangout On Air, taking questions from a virtual audience that even included one entrepreneur from regional Queensland! You can catch up on the video of the event on YouTube.
As we announced a few weeks ago, Google Sudo is a new initiative that we hope will help create a robust and supportive ecosystem for start-ups and provide access to the insights, advice, and contacts that entrepreneurs need to succeed. Last night’s event focused on incubation and venture capital, led by entrepreneurs Mike Fox & Mike Knapp from Shoes of Prey (and former Googlers); angel investor Vivian Stewart from Sydney Angels; and VC Bill Bartee from Southern Cross Venture Partners.

The conversation was as lively as we expected, covering such topics as:

Staying in Australia vs going to Silicon Valley. Our panelists were in favour of staying put, for reasons ranging from the benefits of having your personal network nearby and easily accessible; to taking the time to prove your product and build the foundations of your business before making the jump; to the sizeable grants that the Australian government provides to young businesses.

The importance of a great idea. A theme throughout the conversation was the challenge of finding the truly unique idea -- the “purple cow”. Our panelists advised the audience that the hardest part is figuring out a problem that really needs solving, and observed that many successful start-ups are founded by someone who has really deep expertise in a particular area and can see what really should be done better.

Other questions included what trends investors are seeing in what’s being pitched to them, advice for “start-up fanboys” who are thinking about making the leap, what questions you should ask a potential investor, and what red flags investors look for in a fledgling team.

This is just the start of Google Sudo -- and we’d love to hear from you on what you’d like to see in future events and Hangouts. Watch last night’s video and then leave us your feedback here.

Posted by Alan Noble, Engineering Director, Google Australia and New Zealand

Local —now with a dash of Zagat and a sprinkle of Google+

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Finding the best places to go is an essential part of our lives, as are the people and resources that help us make those decisions. In fact, the opinions of friends, family or other trusted sources are often the first we seek when looking for the perfect restaurant for date night or the cafe that makes the best latte.

Today, we’re rolling out Google+ Local, a simple way to discover and share local information featuring Zagat scores and recommendations from people you trust in Google+. Google+ Local helps people like my husband turn a wish —“Hey, let’s celebrate with a cocktail” — into a night out: “Perfect, there’s a bar with great reviews just two blocks from here. Let’s go!” It’s integrated into Search, Maps and mobile and available as a new tab in Google+—creating one simple experience across Google.

Local information integrated across Google
From the new “Local” tab on the left-hand side of Google+, you can search for specific places or browse for ones that fit your mood. If you click on a restaurant, or a museum (or whatever), you’ll be taken to a local Google+ page that includes photos, summaries, reviews from people you know, and other useful information like address and opening hours.

Google+ Local is also integrated across other products you already use every day. If you’re looking for a place on Search or Maps, you get the same great local information there too. You can also take it on the go with Google Maps for mobile on your Android device, and soon on iOS devices.

Better decisions with Zagat
Last week, Zagat launched its first Australian survey and Zagat reviews will begin appearing in Google+ Local. Each place you see in Google+ Local will now be scored using Zagat’s 30-point scale, which tells you all about the various aspects of a place so you can make the best decisions. For example, a restaurant that has great food but not great decor might be 4 stars, but with Zagat you’d see a 26 in Food and an 8 in Decor, and know that it might not be the best place for date night.

Since Zagat joined the Google family last year, our teams have been working together to improve the way you find great local information. Zagat has offered high-quality reviews, based on user-written submissions and surveys, of tens of thousands of places for more than three decades.

Recommendations and reviews from people you know and trust
Your friends know what you like, and they probably like the same things you do. That’s why the opinions of people in your circles are front and centre. If you search for [italian] on Google+ Local, your results might include a friend’s rave review of the Tuscan-style pizza place nearby. Then, when you’re searching on Google or Google Maps for a great place to buy a gift for that same friend, your results might include a review from her about a boutique she shops at all the time.

You can also share your opinions and upload photos. These reviews and photos will help your friends when they’re checking out a place, and are also integrated into the aggregate score that other people see. The more you contribute, the more helpful Google+ Local will be for your friends, family and everyone else.

Whether it’s a suburb you’ve lived in for years or a city you’ve never been to before, we hope Google+ Local helps you discover new gems.

Today is just the first step, and you’ll see more updates in the coming months. If you’re a business owner, you can continue to manage your local listing information via Google Places for Business. Soon we’ll make it even easier for business owners to manage their listings on Google and to take full advantage of the social features provided by local Google+ pages. Get more information on our Google and Your business Blog.

Posted by Avni Shah, Director of Product Management

Building Sydney’s Silicon Beach

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

herePosted by Nick Leeder, Managing Director, Google Australia & New Zealand

KinCare goes Google: Elderly care with the cloud

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Today’s guest post is by Jason Howie, CEO of Australian aged care services organisation, KinCare. KinCare employs over 2,000 staff across Australia, most of whom care for the elderly and disabled.

At KinCare, we believe that every person has the right to age with dignity, an affirmation which has guided our business caring for the elderly in their own homes, for over 20 years. With this sentiment, we have grown from an organisation with one nurse and 15 clients, to employing over 2000 people in 13 offices right across Australia.

Historically, our IT solution had been a frustrating patchwork of different systems, which were slow and didn’t talk to each other. While they served a purpose once upon a time, we needed a unified system that had easy sharing and that could accommodate our ever-expanding team. In the end, a cloud-based solution was the natural choice.

With so many staff directly in the field that need access to vital client information, using a totally reliable and mobile system was a top priority for us. With Google partner Cloud Assist, the KinCare team made the transition to Google Apps in just three weeks. The roll-out was simple and feedback from staff has been that the Google Apps platform is easy and intuitive to use, so we didn’t need to provide intensive training. Having a system that just works is absolutely essential because we don’t have the time for people to travel to fix basic IT problems, like email issues. In fact, moving to Google Apps has allowed us to reassign our IT staff to more strategic (and interesting!) projects.

The Google collaboration apps, Gmail, Calendar, chat, and video has allowed KinCare staff to come to one place for collaboration. With Cloud Assist, Gamozzii and the Google App Engine we were able to develop a portal and mobile application (myKinCare app) that provides the field team with access to relevant information on-time, anytime. Information is centralised and secured. The systems have a single sign-on which is particularly good for those who suffer from password fatigue!

As an added bonus, all information is changed and updated in real time, meaning we share and get client updates instantaneously. When there’s no lag, there is no gap in knowledge. We’re even looking at devising a new intranet portal on Google Sites so we can continue to improve on our internal information sharing. When carers know their schedules, are aware of any last minute changes to appointments and have access to the latest health information about their clients, it helps us maintain a high level of informed care and improved patient safety.

Posted by Jason Howie, CEO of Australian aged care services organisation, KinCare.

Zagat: the “burgundy bible” comes to Australia

Monday, May 21, 2012

The Zagat guide was started more than three decades ago on the simple idea that the combined opinions of restaurant diners are inherently more accurate than reviews from a few critics. Each review contained the most accurate and up-to-date information through curating comments from real customers — making Zagat an early pioneer in what we now call “user generated content.”

Australian foodies may have used Zagat overseas, but they’ve not been able to rate their local spots. That all changes today as we open the voting period for our first-ever Zagat survey of Sydney. Locals are invited to voice their opinions about the Sydney restaurants and Sydney attractions they’ve visited over the past year.
To better ensure the ratings reflect a customer’s full experience, we want diners to separately rate the food, decor, and service on a 0-3 scale and then estimate the cost of a meal. After reading your ratings and comments, Zagat’s editors will curate this feedback and create accurate reviews that represent the combined experiences of local diners. This process ensures that readers are provided with reliable, structured information that doesn’t require going through dozens of comments before making a decision on where to eat.

An example of a Zagat entry Although Zagat is well-known for restaurant and bar reviews, it’s not just dinner and drinks we want to hear about. With the Sydney survey, we want to hear what you think of all attractions, including Taronga Zoo, Paddington Markets, and Cockatoo Island. In July Zagat will survey Sydney Nightlife and Shopping as well as Melbourne Restaurants and Attractions. A survey of Melbourne Shopping will take place in November.As we open the survey, we are also setting up special Zagat lounges across Sydney where you’ll be able to write your reviews, find out more about Zagat, and have the chance to win some great prizes. Here are the locations and schedules:

Westfield Pitt Street Mall 22 May - 26 May	Westfield Bondi Junction 28 May - 2 June
Sydney Film Festival 6 June - 17 June	Good Food and Wine Show 22 June - 25 June

We’ve all got that favourite restaurant we recommend to visitors of our harbour city, and we love to rave to mates about that tucked-away store that stocks our favourite hard-to-find items. Whether we’re foodies, shoppers, travellers, or just enjoy the finer things in life, we hope you find that Zagat makes it easier to share their experiences with your fellow Sydneysiders and the world. Posted by Anna Kricker, Sydney Community Manager, Google Australia

Good to Know: in Australia and in your language

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Over the past few months, we’ve introduced a consumer education campaign called Good to Know in the U.K., Germany and the U.S. Good to Know shares easy, actionable tips for protecting and understanding your online information.

Everyone wants to stay safe online, so we’re making our Good to Know site (google.com.au/goodtoknow) available in dozens more languages -- about 30 today, and an additional 30 in the coming weeks. (To change languages, just scroll to the toolbar at the bottom of the page). In addition to making our Good to Know site available in Australia, we’re also incorporating relevant local information into the Google Family Safety Center website, which includes tips for keeping your family safe online from Google and others. By partnering with Australian organisations like Kids Helpline and The Australian Communications and Media Authority, we hope to help Australians increase their web savvy.

You’ll be able to learn about how to protect yourself online, gain insight into how your data is used on Google and around the web, and get tips on managing your family’s online experience. For example, you can find out how to choose a strong password, recognise a phishing scam and double your account security with 2-step verification.

We all have a friend who uses the same password for every web service, leaves his mobile phone screen unlocked and thinks that a conversation about spam and cookies must be someone planning an unconventional meal. As digital literacy becomes increasingly important, we hope you’ll take the time to learn more about staying safe online and spread the word to your friends who look to you for tech help!

Visit google.com.au/goodtoknow to see a list of available languages and find out more.

Posted by Ishtar Vij, Public Policy and Government Affairs, Google Australia and New Zealand

The smartphone revolution isn’t coming - it’s already here

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

teamed upthinkwithgoogle.com/mobileplanet

Your customers have gone mobile...so should you: It’s safe to say that Australia’s mobile revolution isn’t coming - it’s already here. More than half of the Australian population now owns a smartphone, which means that more than half your customers do too. Businesses need a strategy that addresses mobile consumers.

Smarter phones make smarter shoppers, so be ready: The overwhelming majority of Aussies we surveyed (94%) have researched a product or service on their smartphone device, which means a mobile-friendly website is now essential to your bottom line: 61% said they wouldn’t return to a website that wouldn’t load on their phone.

If you’re local, they’re looking for you: 86% of smartphone users look for local information on their phone and 88% take direct action as a result, such as visiting or contacting the business. That’s almost double what our research found last year, making it doubly important for small businesses to be ready with a mobile website that clearly displays information like location and trading hours.

Multi-tasking with media: Australian smartphone owners are multi-screen masters, creating extra opportunities for advertisers to reach them as they multi-task. For example, 80% use their phone while doing other things like watching TV (48%), and 57% have searched from mobile after seeing an ad on TV. Businesses should complement their online and offline ad campaigns with mobile ads to reach their audience on all screens.

thinkwithgoogle.com/mobileplanetPosted by Jason Pellegrino, Head of Mobile Ads, Google Australia

Australia Blog

Catch Up On the First Google Start-Up Do

Local —now with a dash of Zagat and a sprinkle of Google+

Building Sydney’s Silicon Beach

KinCare goes Google: Elderly care with the cloud

Zagat: the “burgundy bible” comes to Australia

Good to Know: in Australia and in your language

The smartphone revolution isn’t coming - it’s already here

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