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Joe Pasternack Leaving UNO Basketball Team for Job at Arizona

Daniel Dean — Sun, 20 May 2012 06:06:53 +0000

Joe Pasternack has resigned as men’s basketball head coach of the University of New Orleans’ team in order to become an assistant coach at the University of Arizona’s men’s basketball team under head coach Sean Miller. “It was very difficult for me being from New Orleans to leave the city that I love,” Pasternack said. “But this was an opportunity, and I’ve looked at many opportunities in the past two years I let go by the wayside, but this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Sean Miller is the total package. He’s one of the top coaches in all of college basketball.”

Joe Pasternack’s contract at the University of New Orleans was very close to its expiration date, and the plan was for him to sit down with Athletic Director Amy Champion in order to decide on a new deal. That plan completely changed once coach Miller called him. Miller considered a number of candidates for the assistant coach job, but Pasternack’s impressive reputation and wide experience lead Miller to decide that he is the best candidate.

“To me, I just want to be in a situation where we’re competing for Final Fours and national championships,” Pasternack said. “That to me is the most important thing for me and my family, to be in a situation where we can compete at the highest level. This is one of the elite programs in all of America. When you look at Arizona basketball, you can put them at the same level as Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas.”

Prior to his coaching career at the University of New Orleans, Pasternack was an assistant coach at California for eight seasons, and also served as a student manager under Coach Bob Knight at Indiana. Coach Knight helped Pasternack to make his decision, and told him that the University of Arizona job is too good to pass up.

Help Desk Hangouts: Getting to know Chromebooks, Part II

googlesmallbusiness — Sat, 19 May 2012 10:10:31 +0000

Editor’s note: Each week on the Google+ Your Business page, we’re putting you in touch with Googlers and users who can help you as a business owner get the most out of our products and features.

In our latest Help Desk Hangout On Air, we continued our conversation about Chromebooks for your business (if you missed the first one, check out our recap). Chrome product manager Glenn Wilson and Will Paulus walked us through the management console, which allows you to oversee your fleet of Chromebooks in a low-touch, scalable way. Miss the event? You can watch the whole thing on the Google and Your Business YouTube channel. And, if you’re interested in learning more about Chromebooks, fill out this form (http://goo.gl/pP0mg) to stay up to date on all the latest news and product announcements.

Check out the video description on the YouTube page for a minute-by-minute breakdown.

Some of the questions we answered during the Hangout:

What can I do with the Chromebooks management console?

Quite a bit! The typical actions include:

Setting configuration settings for your managed (enrolled) devices, like turning off Guest mode.
Setting configuration settings for users on your domain, like force-installing certain extensions.
Tracking device state, like when a device was last used, or what version of the OS it is running.

What about user login tracking? I want to know who the last person to use a Chromebook was.

We’ve heard this request a lot recently — it’s on our to-do list.

Will there be remote wipe available if the Chromebook is lost or stolen? Similar to the mobile policy in the management console.

First, it’s important to note that every Chromebook encrypts all user data, so even if it is stolen, there’s no way for anyone to get to your data without your password. Remote Wipe is on our list.

Can you block based on content type? Like block gaming and adult sites?

We don’t have content type filter in the management console; however, most administrators use a third-party filtering service to do this. You would simply set your devices and users to use the proxy setting the third-party service gives you. If you are interested in finding which filtering services work well with Chromebooks, please contact sales.

Be sure to join us for next week’s Hangout at 11 a.m. PDT Wednesday May 2, when we discuss Google Earth Pro. We’ll be collecting your Earth questions early next week on the Google+ Your Business page.

Posted by Toby Stein, Google+ community manager

Alliance Charge Hires Additional Technical Support Employees

Daniel Dean — Sat, 19 May 2012 07:19:40 +0000

Online processing consulting firm, Alliance Charge, announces its recent hiring of additional technical support employees to meet demand. Recently the consulting firm announced it has hired 10 information technology employees.

Leading online processing consulting firm, Alliance Charge, recently announced its hiring of 10 savvy professional, friendly IT employees.

“Alliance Charge is committed to offering professional, full-service, helpful services, in order to do so, we needed additional technical support employees who could answer all our customers’ questions and concerns,” said Paul Skinner, Alliance Charge Spokesman.

The full-time technical support positions were filled by knowledgeable, experienced IT personnel, said Skinner. The new IT personnel will provide Alliance Charge customers with answers to questions regarding use and troubleshooting of online programs, as well as answers to any other technology related questions.

“Alliance Charge is happy to be able to hire additional staff and further grow as a family, we hope to continue growing and offer top-notch services,” said Skinner. “Alliance Charge is always on the hunt for the best solutions and employees,” said Skinner. “We simply want the best for our customers.”

Alliance Charge was formed in 2007 to play a bigger role in the online interactive and content management systems business. In addition, Alliance Charge provides payment consulting services as well as content management systems development. Alliance Charge specializes in serving companies that require reliable online payment processing solutions. In addition, Alliance Charge focuses on providing solid solutions for companies that want to leverage their payment processing capabilities.

More About Alliance Charge
Online processing consulting firm, Alliance Charge, is a subsidiary of Myroxon Holdings Ltd, a European based company. Alliance Charge provides a proprietary payment gateway directly linked to the banks across the globe, the company processes credit and debit card payments, verifies and processes e-Checks online, and more. Alliance Charge is considered an innovative global online processing consulting company. Alliance Charge was founded in 2007 to play a bigger role in the online interactive and content management systems business. Alliance Charge provides payment consulting services as well as content management systems development.

For additional information, interview, and image requests contact:
Paul Skinner
PR Manager
Alliance Charge

Joe Pasternack Named New Assistant Coach at Arizona

Daniel Dean — Sat, 19 May 2012 06:26:43 +0000

Joe Pasternack, previous head coach of the University of New Orleans’ men’s basketball team, will be the new assistant coach for the University of Arizona’s men’s team.

In his high school career, which took place in Metairie Park Country Day School, Pasternack played four years of high school basketball. He graduated from Indiana in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in marketing.

Prior to his coaching career at the University of New Orleans, Joe Pasternack was a manager for the Indiana basketball team for four years under coach Bob Knight and was an assistant coach at California.

He is known for his passionate and workaholic approach to all of his given positions.

Happy Birthday DoubleClick Search V3

googleadwords — Sat, 19 May 2012 05:00:07 +0000

DoubleClick Search V3 is one year old! Over the last year we've focused on:

Campaign Management
Deeper Insights
Bid Optimization
Better Results

To learn more about a year of DoubleClick innovation, visit the DoubleClick Search blog.

Posted by Allison Sommer, Inside AdWords crew

At Sinking UNO, Summer Recruiting Proves to Be Anything But Easy

Daniel Dean — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:32:45 +0000

In 2007, Joe Pasternack, then assistant coach at California, was offered a job as the University of New Orleans’ men’s basketball team’s (‘The Privateers’) head-coach, and he accepted it. Going back to his home-city in order to help rebuild the team after it was ruined by Hurricane Katrina seemed like the right thing to do. During his first year as head-coach, he lead ‘The Privateers’ to finish 19-11, their best record since 1997. "I thought we had turned the corner," he said. Unfortunately he thought wrong.

With only a year left to his own contract as, Joe Pasternack, had to face the challenge of finding an entirely new team by the time the school year began at the end of August. The big problem, though, is that he needed to recruit players who were willing to enroll to the university and play for ‘The Privateers’, UNO’s basketball team, without receiving athletic scholarships. This is due to the fact the the university has, without too many choices, decided to move its athletics program from Division I to Division III because of major financial issues that they were experiencing as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

Pasternack did everything that he possibly could in order to find the best players for the new team, who would also be able to afford paying for their own tuition. He attended a two-day scrimmaging camp, in order to find and invite the best players to the university’s basketball skills camp which takes place only a few weeks before the school-year begins. He was able to gather 40 players for the university’s basketball skills camp. "I'm sure a lot of you know our situation," Pasternack told attendees. When he finishes explaining UNO's plight, he says, "What that means is, we have a lot of spots open."

By the end of the long and odd recruiting period, Joe Pasternack had a new team in front of him that he would need to build. "We started with one kid," he says, "and finished with 19."

Carbon stocks and cultural mapping in the Amazon Rainforest

googlelatlong — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:04:35 +0000

In 2008, the Google Earth Outreach team visited the Surui tribe in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest for the first time, upon request of Chief Almir Naramagoya Surui. Their goal was to learn how to share and preserve their culture using Google Maps, Google Earth, and other online tools including Picasa, YouTube, and Blogger. We were honored to play a role in empowering the indigenous people of a region that had been ravaged by illegal logging to tell their stories to millions of people around the world. Filmmaker Denise Zmekhol documented this experience in a video called Trading Bows and Arrows for Laptops.

Then, in 2009, Rebecca Moore, head of the Google Earth Outreach team, returned to the Amazon to teach the Surui about Open Data Kit (ODK), a new suite of open-source tools that streamlines the process of data collection in the field with Android phones. Using ODK, the tribe takes pictures of what’s happening on the ground for proof of the illegal logging that is taking place on their territory.

The Surui also began using ODK and Google Earth to visualize the carbon reserves of the forest they live in. This process is part of their 50-year sustainability plan, and serves as a model for how indigenous tribes who have lost much of their ancestral land to logging and deforestation can thrive with the help of a new emerging market based on carbon credits.

Chief Almir, in his joint presentation with Rebecca Moore, celebrated the validation of the Surui Forest Carbon Project on Saturday, May 12th at TEDxBeloHorizonte in Brazil. This is a groundbreaking outcome for the Surui people for two reasons. First, this is the first indigenous-led project in the world to be validated. Equally important, it’s also the first REDD+ project in Brazil to get certified by both the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) to sell stocks in the carbon market, and the Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB) Gold Standard to get extra gains from other ‘co-benefits’ of forest preservation, such as increasing biodiversity for a region, or preserving the livelihood of local communities who depend on the forest. The project was validated by Rainforest Alliance and the Brazilian NGO IMAFLORA.

The Surui and their partner IDESAM have already measured a baseline of carbon stored in the indigenous reserve and will avoid the emission of 6 million tons of carbon over the 30 years of the life of the project by avoiding the deforestation of 40 thousand hectares of forests and protecting an additional 200,000 hectares. Coordinated by Forest Trends, the Surui will work with the Brazilian government and those who want to neutralize their emissions to develop financial mechanisms to ensure the forest is protected and well managed, while also assuring the quality of life for the Surui community. The primary financial vehicle has been designed by FUNBIO, a Brazilian NGO specializing in creating financial mechanisms for conservation.

The TEDx talk was made on the heels of another Google Earth Outreach workshop held in Cacoal, Rondonia in May -- this one intended to teach the Surui people how to create a cultural map using Google Earth. Creating a new platform for storytelling online and an interactive repository for shared memories, the Surui students have interviewed their elders to map their ancestral sites, such as the site of first contact with western civilization in 1969, places where the tribes battled with colonists in the 1970s, as well as places of interest, like sightings of jaguars, capybaras and toucans. Once the Surui students have completed the first version of the map, it will be available for all to explore both as a Google Earth KML, powered by Spreadsheet Mapper 3.0, and as a narrated tour in Google Earth.

We are very excited for Chief Almir, the Surui people, and their partners, including ECAM, Amazon Conservation Team, Forest Trends, IDESAM, Kaninde, FUNBIO, among others, who are entering into a new phase of global significance with the validation of the Surui Forest Carbon Project and the Surui Cultural Map.

Posted by Tanya Birch, Program Manager, Google Earth Outreach

Naftali Feig Marks 7 Years Since Opening Business

Daniel Dean — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:00:39 +0000

Founding Partner of R & N Property Investments, Naftali Feig, recently marked the company’s seventh year in business. R & N Property Investments is a Cleveland-based real estate investment firm that purchases bank-owned homes and sells or rents them after renovation and home improvement work.

Naftali Feig founded R & N Property Investments in 2005. The Cleveland-based real estate investment firm purchases bank-owned homes, prior to releasing the properties to the market, Naftali Feig and his team renovate and repair the properties.

Since first establishing the real estate firm, Naftali Feig has been in charge of performing all due diligence on investment opportunities, job costing, designing and implementing property improvements, developing company growth strategy, hiring and overseeing professional tradesmen for projects, negotiating service contracts, cash-flow forecasting, bank reconciliation, budgeting, financial reporting and more.

“I completed a whole range of tasks,” said Naftali Feig. “I am a team player with strong leadership skills and a unique ability to see the larger picture while remaining detail oriented”

Since Naftali Feig recently relocated to Israel, he has handed over day-to-day operations of R & N Property Investments to his business partner.

Recently Naftali Feig marked his 12th year in the business profession. Naftali Feig, a native Israeli resident, moved to the United States with his family when he was seven years old. While living in the United States, Naftali Feig attended various American schools and education establishments.

In 2000, he graduated from Touro College with a Bachelor of Science in Finance. While a student at Touro College, Naftali Feig specialized in international financial markets, international bond trading, security analysis and options trading. Most recently, prior to his move to Israel, Naftali Feig graduated from Cleveland State University with a Masters of Business Administration.

Over the years, Naftali Feig has worked for a number of organizations, including Integrated DNA Technologies, Progressive Fashion Warehouse, Progressive Foods and most recently R & N Property Investments.

Naftali Feig is currently residing in Israel with his family and is seeking job opportunities in the business arena.

More About Naftali Feig
Naftali Feig, a native Israeli resident, holds 12 years of business and finance experience under his belt. Naftali Feig attended undergraduate and graduate school in the United States. Naftali graduated from Touro College with a Bachelor of Science in finance, recently he graduated from Cleveland State University with a Masters of Business Administration. Naftali Feig is a results driven business professional who is highly skilled at increasing revenue for organizations. Naftali Feig’s specialties include project management, accounting, strategy, planning, finance, real estate, and cost cutting. Naftali Feig is currently searching for challenging employment in Israel. Naftali Feig is married and has three children.

Making more pages load instantly

googlewebmastercentral — Fri, 18 May 2012 11:04:47 +0000

Webmaster level: All

At Google we're obsessed with speed. We've long known that even seemingly minor speed increases can have surprisingly large impacts on user engagement and happiness. About a year ago we rolled out Instant Pages in pursuit of that goal. Instant Pages makes use of prerendering technology in Chrome to make your site appear to load instantly in some cases, with no need for any extra work on your part. Here's a video of it in action:

We've been closely watching performance and listening to webmaster feedback. Since Instant Pages rolled out we've saved more than a thousand years of ours users' time. We're very happy with the results so far, and we'll be gradually increasing how often we trigger the feature.

In the vast majority of cases, webmasters don't have to do anything for their sites to work correctly with prerendering. As we mentioned in our initial announcement of Instant Pages, search traffic will be measured in Webmaster Tools just like before this feature: only results the user visits will be counted. If your site keeps track of pageviews on its own, you might be interested in the Page Visibility API, which allows you to detect when prerendering is occurring and factor those out of your statistics. If you use an ads or analytics package, check with them to see if their solution is already prerender-aware; if it is, in many cases you won't need to make any changes at all. If you're interested in triggering Chrome's prerendering within your own site, see the Prerendering in Chrome article.

Instant Pages means that users arrive at your site happier and more engaged, which is great for everyone.

Posted by Ziga Mahkovec - Software Engineer, Instant Pages

Improvements to AdSense reporting features

googleadsense — Fri, 18 May 2012 07:01:59 +0000

We’ve recently made a few improvements related to AdSense reporting to help you find information more quickly and to address some of the most common asks we’ve heard from you. Good things come in threes -- so here are three recent updates to look for in your account:

1. View all-time reports

When selecting a date range for your reports, you’ll now have an ‘All time’ option to view all earnings, impressions, and clicks accrued since your first impression. If you used the previous AdSense interface, you may remember this feature -- it now has a new home in the current AdSense interface as well.

2. Quickly access reports from the My ads tab

We’ve added quick links to your reports under the My ads tab, eliminating the need to search for ad units or channels in your reports. When viewing your ad units, custom channels, or URL channels on the My ads tab, just click ‘View report’ below a specific line item to view performance data for that particular ad unit or channel. This feature is particularly useful if you’re looking for channel data that isn’t linked to ad units in the interface, and will help you save time.

3. Download CSVs in the correct local formatting

Just as the placement of commas and periods can change the meaning of sentences, the same is true when it comes to numbers and figures. As you may know, an amount written as $1,000.00 in the US or UK would be written as $1.000,00 in most of Europe and South America. Previously, only the $1,000.00 format was available for downloadable reports, which created difficulties for a number of international publishers trying to export CSVs to analyze the data. Now, based on your language preference, you can export CSVs with figures in the relevant format.

Have any feedback or suggestions to share? Feel free to leave a comment or post them on our AdSense +Page.

Posted by Arlene Lee - Inside AdSense Team

Arizona Wildcats Basketball: Miller Hires Pasternack as Assistant Coach

Daniel Dean — Fri, 18 May 2012 06:14:22 +0000

Sean Miller, head coach of University of Arizona’s men’s basketball team, has hired University of New Orleans’ head coach, Joe Pasternack, as his new assistant coach for the Arizona Wildcats.

Coach Miller also considered former University of Arizona player Damon Stoudamire for the job, but Pasternack’s impressive reputation and previous coaching experience lead Miller to decide that Pasternack is a better candidate.

"I want to thank UNO and my players for the opportunity over the last four years," Pasternack said. “It is very difficult to leave the city of New Orleans.” He explained that he could not pass up on the opportunity for working with top coach Sean Miller in one of the elite basketball programs in the country.

Announcement: Custom alerts will sunset on June 30, 2012

googleadwords — Fri, 18 May 2012 05:11:46 +0000

When we first created custom alerts, we wanted to provide advertisers with a way to be notified when certain behaviors or changes occurred in their AdWords account. Over time, we observed that most advertisers wanted to take action when such triggers occurred within their accounts. Many of these actions can now be done by creating automated rules - a tool within AdWords that enables you to schedule automatic changes to specific parts of your account based on the criteria that you specify.

Based on automated rules adoption, we have decided to sunset custom alerts. Starting June 15, we will disable creation of new alerts and by the end of June, we will stop triggering existing alerts. This means that on June 30, you will not see custom alerts in your AdWords account. If you selected email as your notification method, this means you will no longer receive alert emails.

We are actively working to bring you an email-only option in automated rules so you can be notified when a rule requirements are met without taking any action. In the meantime, check out some of the common ways you can use automated rules to save you time in managing your account.

Posted by Prashant Baheti, AdWords Product Manager

Join Google Analytics on Google+

googleanalytics — Fri, 18 May 2012 04:00:16 +0000

Google Analytics users are part of a passionate community. Many of you go beyond using the product and actively seek a connection with Google team members and other GA users to stay at the edge of what’s next. For example, more than 80,000 readers subscribe to the Google Analytics blog through our RSS feed, our videos on YouTube have been viewed more than 3.5 million times and well over 100,000 people follow us on Twitter.

So it isn’t surprising we’ve received requests from many of you to participate on Google+. We’re excited to fulfill that expectation with a brand new Google+ page for Google Analytics.

Join us on Google+ today

Check out our Google+ page and add us to your analytics, marketing or related circle. We’ll be sharing the latest and greatest about Google Analytics and digital marketing overall to help you become a better practitioner and achieve more with your efforts.

Expect everything from how-to’s/tips, technical advice, interesting stats, plus some fun mixed in for good measure. In addition to useful updates, we’re planning to give you the opportunity to hang out live with some of the team members behind Google Analytics. If there’s anything else you’d like to see, please add a comment to this thread on Google+ and we’ll be happy to consider it.

Posted by Adam Singer, Google Analytics Team

All is Not Well on the New Orleans Front

Daniel Dean — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:15:46 +0000

In 2010, the New Orleans Saints earned Super Bowl victory. This victory meant a lot and was a big deal for the city after the terrible and unfortunate experience they had to go through in the event of Hurricane Katrina. Together with the entire city, Joe Pasternack, the then-head-coach of the men’s basketball team, ‘The Privateers’, at the University of New Orleans, who was born and raised in the city, celebrated. Mixed with the happiness, though, Pasternack also felt very worried. "I grew up here and I'm a huge Saints fan," Pasternack said. "I couldn't be more excited. But everything here is not rosy. Not at all. Our university is struggling mightily still."

When New Orleans’ beloved sports team celebrated its best moment, its university’s athletics department was undergoing a nightmare. During that time, the University of New Orleans announced that it will, without a choice, have to move its athletics programs from NCAA Division I to Division III status due to major financial problems which arose as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

"This is our flagship school - the University of New Orleans," said Vanessa Pappillon, whose godson Charles Carmouche is the Privateers' leading scorer. "To not have a Division I sports program at the university that belongs to the whole city, to every socioeconomic level, is inexcusable. We have a lot of wonderful distractions happening in this city but how can you say we're entirely healed with what's happening to our university? We're not."

When Joe Pasternack accepted the coaching job at the university, he knew that things will not be easy for him there. But he is a hard and dedicated worker, as well as a New Orleans native. He did not only think that he could make it work, he also wanted to make it work. “This was a dream job for me,” he said.

Pasternack did many good things for the university’s basketball team. During his first year as head-coach he helped secure a $1 million donation from former Privateer Gabe Corchiani and his business partner, John Georges. Also during his first year, he lead ‘The Privateers’ to finish 19-11, their best record since 1997.

Since then, though things have only gotten worse for the university and for Pasternack’s team. During the following year was when the university decided to drop its Division classification. Joe Pasternack was told that he could not offer athletic scholarships to his team players anymore. At the end of that season he had to place his own players on other teams. Teams that would be best for them to play for. "I understand what the chancellor was up against and I suppose Division III is better than nothing, but I feel so badly for the kids," Pasternack said. "These kids wanted to be here."

Alliance Charge Marks Fifth Year in Business

Daniel Dean — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:06:22 +0000

Online processing consulting firm, Alliance Charge, recently hit its five-year milestone. The company was first founded in 2007 and since then has grown to cater to partners and clients nationwide and beyond.

Online processing consulting firm, Alliance Charges, has five years under its belt. Recently, Alliance Charge celebrated its five years in the online payment processing and consulting field.

“Alliance Charge is gaining notice among clients nationwide and beyond,” said Paul Skinner, Alliance Charge spokesman. “Our company owners applied the lessons and knowledge they obtained from working at other payment processing firms. Over the years they meshed their concepts together, and that is how Alliance Charge was born.”

Alliance Charge is planning to expand a range of a payment processing and consulting services for clients starting this summer. In addition, the company recently launched a professional customer service call center and improved its processing technology.

“All in all, I think Alliance Charge is doing really well and can only rise from here,” Skinner said. “We are looking forward to marking more milestones with every passing year.”

Alliance Charge is a subsidiary of Myroxon Holdings Ltd, a European-based company. The company was founded in 2007 to play a bigger role in the online interactive and content management systems business. In addition, Alliance Charge provides payment consulting services as well as content management systems development.

More About Alliance Charge
Payment processing consulting firm, Alliance Charge, is a subsidiary of Myroxon Holdings Ltd, a European based company. Alliance Charge was founded in 2007 to play a bigger role in the online interactive and content management systems business. Alliance Charge provides payment consulting services as well as content management systems development.

For additional information, interview, and image requests contact:
Paul Skinner
PR Manager
Alliance Charge

Businessman Naftali Feig Moves to Israel

Daniel Dean — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:06:21 +0000

Founding Partner of R & N Property Investments, Naftali Feig, recently decided to leave his home in Cleveland and relocate, along with his family, to Israel. Naftali Feig is searching for full time employment in the new land.

Former Cleveland resident and businessman, Naftali Feig, recently packed his home belongings and moved to Israel in search of new challenges.

“I wanted to provide my family with a good life, Israel has always felt like home,” said Naftali Feig. “Something about Israel drew me back.”

Naftali Feig, a native Israeli resident, moved to the United States with his family when he was seven years old. While living in the United States, Naftali Feig attended various American schools and education establishments.

In 2000, he graduated from Touro College with a Bachelor of Science in Finance. While a student at Touro College, Naftali Feig specialized in international financial markets, international bond trading, security analysis and options trading. Naftali Feig’s specialties include project management, accounting, strategy, planning, finance, real estate, and cost cutting. Most recently, prior to his move to Israel, Naftali Feig graduated from Cleveland State University with a Masters of Business Administration.

Naftali Feig has about 12 years of business experience under his belt. Over the years Naftali Feig has worked for various organizations including Integrated DNA Technologies, Progressive Fashion Warehouse, Progressive Foods and most recently R & N Property Investments.

Naftali Feig was Controller / Operations Manager of R & N Property Investments, a real estate investment firm that purchases bank-owned homes and sells or rents them after renovation and home improvement work. The firm is located in Cleveland, Ohio and is currently being operated by Naftali Feig’s business partner.

“I’m confident that my experience and education in the United States will be an asset as I continue my career in Israel, ” Naftali Feig said.

More About Naftali Feig
A native Israeli resident, Naftali Feig holds 12 years of business and finance experience under his belt. Naftali Feig attended undergraduate and graduate school in the United States. Naftali graduated from Touro College with a Bachelor of Science in finance, recently he graduated from Cleveland State University with a Masters of Business Administration. Naftali Feig is a results driven business professional who is highly skilled at increasing revenue for organizations. Naftali Feig’s specialties include project management, accounting, strategy, planning, finance, real estate, and cost cutting.

Continuing to bring people front and center in Gmail

googleapps — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:05:06 +0000

Posted by Itamar Gilad, Product Manager

Email is more than just messages going back and forth -- it's also about the people sending them. That's why today we're introducing changes that continue to bring people front and center in Gmail, just as we did with profile photos in conversation view, the people widget and last year's integrations with Google+. Today’s changes include quick access to contact details when viewing past conversations as well as improved integration with Google+ circles.

Quick access to contact details
When you search for an email address, the search results will now show you contact details in addition to that person's profile photo and the emails sent from and to them. From here, you can start a chat, call their phone and more. Plus, if your contacts have a Google+ profile, this information will stay up to date automatically.

You can get to these same results in a variety of ways including from the people widget, contacts and the chat list search menu.

Improved circle integration and circle search
In addition to adding contact details to search results, we've made some improvements to the circles integration announced in December. When you select a circle, you'll now see profile photos of people in that circle at the top right of the page. Plus, when you click on these images you'll be taken directly to search results with contact details.

Circles are also now supported in search and filters. Find messages from a specific circle by typing circle:[circle name] in the search box. You can also find mail from any of your circled contacts by searching with has:circle. You can refine your search even further with other criteria and create filters based on circles. This means you can now view all the unread emails from your ‘Friends’ circle or automatically star every message that comes from your ‘VIP’ circle.

These updates are helping us to provide a more consistent, beautiful experience across all of our products. Quick access to contact details will be rolling out to everyone today. To take advantage of circles and more in Gmail, you'll need to join Google+.

Find facts and do research inside Google Documents

googleapps — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:05:04 +0000

Today we’re introducing the research pane—a new feature that brings the web’s wealth of information to you as you’re writing documents.

The research pane taps into Google Search directly from Google documents, so whether you want to add a cool destination to your itinerary for an upcoming trip to India or you're looking for the perfect presidential quote for a political science paper, you don’t even have to open a new tab.

You can access the research pane from the Tools menu by right clicking on a selected word that you want to learn more about, or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+R on Windows or Cmd+Alt+R on Mac. From the research pane, you can search for whatever info you need to help you write your document. With just a couple clicks you can look up maps, quotes, images, and much more.

If you find something you like, you can add it by clicking the insert button or, for images, by dragging them directly into your document. If appropriate we’ll automatically add a footnote citation so there’s a record of where you found the info.

Hopefully bringing knowledge from the web to Google documents will make your writing process just a little bit more efficient.

Posted by Sarveshwar Duddu, Software Engineer

Answering to our users – delivering on commitments

doubleclickpublishernetwork — Thu, 17 May 2012 09:05:08 +0000

Last year at IAB’s Innovation Days, I made a number of predictions, all focused on answering one central question: how can we put the user at the center of all that we do? One year later, I think it’s time for a progress report - to hold ourselves accountable and see how far we’ve come. I presented an update on some of my predictions earlier today at Digital Media Summit, hosted by Luma Partners:

Prediction: People will have a direct say in 25% of the ads they see:
Update: We’ve seen choice friendly formats take off across the industry. In our own network, engaged views of TrueView skippable ads grew 4x last year. Going beyond ads, we rolled out paywall alternative Google Consumer Surveys, which has already shown more than 300 million surveys, with an average publisher RPM of $12. Given all the innovation, I actually think we aimed too low and that consumers will have a say in well over half of the ads they see.

Prediction: Engagement rates across all display ads will increase 50%
Update: This increase in engagement will be driven by two factors: relevance and creativity. While technological innovations continue to improve relevance, we believe rich media will be the key to unlocking the creative potential of digital advertising. According to Nielsen AdRelevance, rich media impressions almost doubled in 2011. We’re committed to helping creative agencies scale and optimize rich media ads with templatized ad units in the latest version of DoubleClick Studio.

Prediction: 35% of campaigns will use metrics beyond clicks and conversions
Update: As we move to a model that seeks to drive engagement versus just clicks, we need new measures of success. We’re working with the industry-wide “Making Measurement Make Sense” (3MS) initiative to establish new standards for brand advertisers to measure reach and engagement. And just last month, we launched the Brand Activate Initiative with several pilots for new metrics — Active View, which shows brands whether their ad has been seen; and Active GRP, the digital counterpart to the gross rating point. We’ve already received interest from dozens of major brands.

As an industry, we’ve made plenty of progress over the last year. With all the innovations to do right by our user, I actually have two new predictions I’d like to add to the list.

New Prediction: 25% of brands will favor digital ads over all other media
This is a pretty bold prediction, considering today this number is probably close to none. So why are we so bullish? First, audiences continue to move online: in 2011, households with broadband internet but with no cable TV, increased 23% (Nielsen Cross-Platform Report Q3’11). Second, so is content: the newly launched YouTube Original Channels alone will introduce 25 new hours of original programming a day. Third, technology is offering new levels of control and measurement: technologies like real-time bidding will allow for improved targeting while initiatives like 3MS and Brand Activate will demonstrate effectiveness. With reach, control, quality content and measurement, I think the real question will become, why wouldn’t a brand name digital their favorite medium?

New Prediction: 100% of campaigns will be integrated everywhere
All signs indicate that campaigns that reach across screens - TV, desktops, smartphones and tablets -- are more effective. For example, in a study conducted by Google and Nielsen Multi-Media Labs in September 2011, users who saw a multi-screen Volvo campaign had a 24% higher brand recall than those that viewed their ads on TV alone. We’re increasingly seeing increased interest in buying across screens on our own platforms, like DoubleClick for Publishers Mobile, where we’ve seen the number of impressions delivered double every quarter.

The online advertising ecosystem is complex, and in order for digital advertising to be a medium that provides a great experience for consumers, marketers and publishers alike, we all need to work together. For our part, we’ve invested in hundreds of partnerships to better support publishers, and advertisers, ultimately serve our users. Happier consumers will drive better performing ads, more money for publishers and increased ad spend (including marketing budget) for agencies. I look forward to seeing the continued innovation that this “user revolution” inspires and working with all of you to move towards the bright future I hope we all envision for this industry.

Posted by Neal Mohan, Vice President of Display Advertising

Joe Pasternack

Daniel Dean — Thu, 17 May 2012 06:25:05 +0000

Joe Pasternack has joined the Wildcat men’s basketball program of the University of Arizona, as their assistant coach, on May 19, 2011.

In the beginning of his career, Joe Pasternack spent eight seasons as an administrator and coach at the University of California. During the four years prior to his new job at the University of Arizona, Pasternack was head coach of University of New Orleans’ men’s basketball team.

He was the UNO’s team’s third coach in three years, and proved to be worthy of the position when leading the team to 19 wins during the 2007-2008 season, the most wins that team has known since 1997. On top of that, Pasternack also helped the team to defeat a nationally-ranked team for the first time since 1993.

In addition to many successes, Joe Pasternack also had to face many challenges during his UNO coaching career, as the team downgraded from Division I to Division III, which caused many of its good players to leave the team. Pasternack never lost hope, though, and quickly found creative ways to find and recruit new players.

Pasternack is well-prepared for his new assistant coaching job, after the previous 12 years of coaching and administrative experience which he has gained.

Announcing the next series of Learn with Google webinars!

googleadwords — Thu, 17 May 2012 05:03:10 +0000

Earlier this year, we introduced the Learn with Google webinar program, and we were delighted to see thousands of you show up to learn about a variety of Google advertising products and solutions. Today, we’re happy to announce the continuation of our series with 10 new webinars over the next few months. During each webinar we’ll share tips and how-to’s to help make the web work for your business.

Check out our upcoming live webinars below:

May 23 at 10am PDT: Getting Started with Google Analytics
May 24 at 9am PDT: Building Blocks of Digital Attribution
May 31 at 10am PDT: Introduction to TrueView for YouTube
June 5 at 10am PDT: GoMo: Mobilize your Site with Quick and Easy New Tools
June 6 at 10am PDT: Our Mobile Planet: Understanding U.S. Smartphone Consumers
June 7 at 10am PDT: Introducing Mobile Apps Inventory in AdWords
June 12 at 10am PDT: Get Local with ZIP Code Targeting to Increase Sales/Leads
June 14 at 10am PDT: Search Optimization: Tips, Tricks, and Tools
June 19 at 10am PDT: Bringing the Power and Control of Search to Display
July 10 at 10am PDT: Account Management Tools for Large Advertisers and Agencies

Visit our webinar page to register for any of the sessions and to access past webinars on-demand. We’ll be adding new webinars as they’re scheduled, so check back regularly for updates. You can also stay up-to-date on the schedule by downloading our Learn with Google Webinar calendar to automatically see upcoming webinars in your Google Calendar.

Whether your goal is to engage the right customers in the moments that matter, make better decisions, or go bigger, faster, we hope that you’ll use these best practices and how-to’s to maximize the impact of digital and grow your business. We’re looking forward to having you at an upcoming Learn with Google webinar!

Posted by Erin Green, Marketing Coordinator

Younger viewers say hello to online video in 2012

googleadwords — Thu, 17 May 2012 05:03:05 +0000

As more consumers reach for their smartphones, tablets and laptops for news and entertainment, there’s a new segment of viewers that watch less than two hours of TV per day - the “light TV viewer.” Around 31% of adults 18 to 49 are light TV viewers. And this segment is growing - households that opted for broadband internet instead of cable TV grew 22.8 percent over the past year, according to the latest Cross Platform Report from Nielsen.

To understand how this trend will impact advertisers in 2012, we partnered with Nielsen to conduct six cross-media studies looking at viewership patterns and campaign effectiveness across TV, YouTube and the Google Display Network (GDN). The conclusion? The light TV viewer is more efficiently reached with cross media campaigns on YouTube and the GDN than with TV alone.

The Light TV viewer
Consumers in this group tend to be younger (49 years old and below), diverse, college-educated, high-income, social-networking, and influential consumers. Our research found that light TV viewers overall averaged only 39 minutes of TV a day. Since this audience watches significantly less TV than the general population, they can be difficult to reach with TV advertising alone.

Additional reach, lower cost
On average, YouTube and GDN campaigns added 4 percentage points of incremental reach to light TV viewers - and it cost 92 percent less to achieve these results online than it would have on TV. The research also showed that TV failed to reach 63 percent of light TV viewers.

By shifting budget from TV networks that primarily reach the “heavy TV viewer” audience to YouTube and the GDN, you could more efficiently reach light TV viewers. In our study, a projection done for Reebok found that advertiser could decrease impressions to heavy TV viewers by 40 percent and increase impressions delivered to light TV viewers by 76 percent, showing more ads to a valuable, hard-to-reach audience.

Increased frequency and recall
Finally, our research showed that online campaigns added much-needed frequency to help increase brand recall for the light TV viewer. Combining YouTube and GDN drove a 27 percent increase in impressions, since even light TV viewers exposed to both TV and online ads saw more online ads than TV.

Overall, the results suggest that adding YouTube and the GDN to your TV network campaigns improves effectiveness in several powerful ways, helping to:

Reach a valuable, complementary, younger audience
Add much-needed frequency to light TV viewers
Deliver media more evenly across light and heavy TV viewers, reducing waste
Do all of this both efficiently and affordably

To learn more about how to reach the lightest TV viewer, visit Think Insights to view more findings from the full study.

Posted by Sheethal Shobowale, Advertising Research Manager

*MediaMark
**Nielsen

New UA Basketball Hire Brings Lesson of Adversity

Daniel Dean — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:12:47 +0000

Ever since he was a high school student Joe Pasternack knew that he will have a basketball career, but not in uniform. "I knew I wasn't going to play in the NBA for a lack of size, so the next best thing was to learn the game and coach," he said.

Pasternack spent four years as a student under coach Bob Knight. At the end of four years, Knight called California coach Braun in order to recommend Pasternack for a job. After only two years as a video coordinator, Braun made Pasternack assistant coach at the early age of 24. "His work ethic is second to none," Braun said, complimenting Pasternack. "He's going to outwork you, and he's very thorough, very detailed in his approach. That not only manifests itself in game preparation and scouting but also in recruiting, because he was tireless."

When he finished assistant coaching at California, Joe Pasternack became head-coach of ‘The Privateers’ basketball team at the University of New Orleans. That is where he went through a few of a basketball coach’s worst nightmares. Over his four years at UNO, Pasternack watched his team’s budget shrink as a result of a major decrease in enrollment due to Hurricane Katrina. Towards the end of his coaching career he was not able to offer students athletic scholarships, which led many students to leave his team, putting him in a desperation for new players, whoever would agree to join. "We told them, 'Look, you can come for a year and then transfer out, and it will give you a chance to play college basketball,’” Pasternack explained.

After dealing with such challenges, nothing will ever seem too difficult for Joe Pasternack. Not even the assistant coaching job that he accepted at the elite basketball program of the University of Arizona. University of Arizona’s head-coach Sean Miller was in need to replace his previous assistant coach, Archie Miller. He considered a few candidates for the job, and in the end decided that Joe Pasternack is the best choice. "When you replace someone like Archie, who did so many good things for us, it's tough to find that well-roundedness. And to me we really found that in Joe," Miller said.

"I feel very very fortunate that coach Miller gave me this opportunity," Pasternack said. "I believe being on the Arizona basketball staff is one of the top four or five jobs in America. To be able to learn from him even more and compete for championships, to me, is an incredible opportunity."

Imagery Update: Week of May 14th

googlelatlong — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:11:16 +0000

The Google Earth and Maps Imagery team recently published another batch of aerial and satellite imagery. In this post, we’ll focus on U.S. cities and locales, as the largest amount of new high resolution aerial imagery covers regions in the United States.

High on the list of things associated with the United States are over-sized automobile tail fins. Our first aerial image shown below is of Cadillac Ranch, located near Amarillo, Texas. The series of partly buried and tilted Cadillacs is a public art homage to the iconic American auto.

Cadillac Ranch, Texas
Our next example is of Downtown New Haven, Connecticut. The image shows the center park square of New Haven Green, which is surrounded by eight squares of the same size that comprise a nine-square downtown area that was first drawn out in 1638, and represents the first planned city in the United States.

Downtown New Haven, Connecticut
Few U.S. rivers are more well-known than the mighty Mississippi. The aerial image below, snapped last month, shows a portion of the river’s northern extent where it forms Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Metrodome Stadium, home of the NFL franchise Minnesota Vikings, can be seen in the lower left corner. The team has played its last game there and is about to sign a 30-year deal to build a new downtown stadium.

Section of Downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota
The final example shown below is a section of the “Magic Dragon,” more commonly known as the Lake of the Ozarks. This sinuous man-made reservoir was formed by the damming of the Osage River in South-Central Missouri. More than 70,000 residences line the shoreline and the Bagnell Dam can be seen in the upper-right corner of the image.

Section of Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri
If you’d like to receive an email notification when the Google Earth and Maps Imagery team updates your favorite areas(s), we’ve got just the tool: The Follow Your World application!

These are only a few examples of the sites that can be seen and discovered in our latest batch of published imagery. Happy exploring!

High resolution aerial updates:
U.S. cities: Big Lake, TX; Bowie, TX; Bridgeport, CT; Cleveland, OH; Danville, VA; Dickinson, ND; Farmington, MO; Grand Forks, ND; Hartford, CT; Minneapolis, MN; Providence, RI; Quincy, IL; Richlands, VA; Traverse City, MI; Youngstown, OH

Countries/regions receiving high resolution satellite updates:
Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antarctica, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, France, French Polynesia, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Svalbard, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

These updates are now available in both Google Maps and Google Earth. For a complete picture of where we updated imagery, download this KML for viewing in Google Earth.

Posted by Eric Kolb, Geo Data Strategist

Visit the Baltic nations of Estonia and Latvia with Street View

googlelatlong — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:11:09 +0000

You can now virtually visit the Baltic States of Estonia and Latvia using the Street View feature in Google Maps.

Lets start in Estonia with a peek into the capital of Tallinn, a medieval city characterized by its cobbled streets and red roofs. Here’s a view the Town Hall Square.

View Larger Map

Also in Tallinn you have the Toompea Castle, which is a historic site built on top of the Toompea Hill and now houses the Parliament of Estonia.

View Larger Map

Moving south to Latvia, lets first visit the square of Riga Dom Cathedral, which is one of favourite places both for locals and city guests to relax in an outdoor cafe, listen to live music and experience a true atmosphere of medieval old town.

View larger map

Also, take a look at the bridge over river Gauja in Sigulda. Thanks to the picturesque valley, many newlyweds choose to cross the bridge, symbolizing their wedding as two shores coming together. If you ever happen to visit (at least on Street View), be sure that you will get only the warmest welcomes from wedding guests.

View larger map

There are a ton more sites to visit through Street View and we hope this can inspire you to visit these two countries in the near future! To learn more about Street View please visit www.google.com/streetview.

Posted by Karl Pae, Google Estonia and Didzis Vilcans, Google Latvia

And the 2012 Model Your Town Competition winner is…

googlelatlong — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:11:04 +0000

Getaria, Gipuzkoa, Spain!

Over the past several months, hundreds of teams from all over the world have submitted stunning geo-models for our Google Model Your Town Competition. These examples of pure 3D civic pride are breathtaking to behold. Difficult as it was, the SketchUp team managed to pick six finalists, after which we asked the general public to vote for their favorite collection of models. Tens of thousands of you weighed in, and the talented team from the north of Spain were victorious. Zorionak! (That’s “Congratulations!” in Basque.)

Want to see how they won? Take a look at Team Getaria’s collection in the 3D Warehouse, pop over to our winners’ page, and watch this video to see their astounding work:

The winning team is a dynamic duo: Josetxo Perez Fernandez, 36, is a professional who works in computer administration; and Pedro Domecq Aguirre, 45, is a programmer, 3D data specialist and network administrator. Those are their day jobs, anyway. It turns out that they’re actually world-class, polygon-wrangling, texture-mapping, megabyte-optimizing, geo-modeling superheroes. And now they’re bona fide local heroes, too. Thanks to them, millions of people across the globe can now get familiar with the beautiful little town of Getaria.

The beautiful coastline of Getaria
Not only that, but we’ll also be awarding US$25,000 to a local school and hosting a celebration with the town of Geteria in honor of Pedro's and Josetxo's accomplishment.

Getaria Lighthouse on Mount San Antón
Zorionak to the winning town, to the other five finalists, and to all the other entrants who collectively modeled almost 25,000 local landmarks that are now available for all to enjoy in Google Earth’s 3D Buildings layer. The virtual world is a richer place thanks to your efforts, and the real one is a lot better off, too.

Posted by Allyson McDuffie, SketchUp Team

Quickly access your home and work locations in Google Maps

googlelatlong — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:10:56 +0000

With Google Maps, we’ve made it increasingly easy to save and re-find the places that matter to you. Last year, we introduced the My Places tab which organizes your saved Custom Maps, directions that you’ve previously looked up, and locations you’ve starred, checked-in and rated. Starting today, you’ll also be able to save your home and work locations in Google Maps when signed in with your Google account.

Imagine moving to a foreign country -- this means a new city, a new neighborhood, and even a new apartment to call home. That was how I began my summer last year, moving from Boulder, Colorado to Tokyo, Japan. In a new country where blocks, not streets, are labeled and addresses use a different formatting system, finding home was a feat in and of itself. And that’s how the idea to save home and work locations in Google Maps was born.

By saving these locations that are common to you in My Places, you’ll be able to access these addresses by simply typing “home” or “work” when searching or getting directions in Google Maps. Using these keywords will create a drop-down suggestion with the address you’ve set so that you no longer have to type the full address into the search box.

By saving your home and work locations in My Places, you’ll also see special icons to easily identify these locations on the map.

To set your home and work locations, you’ll need to sign in with your Google Account. Once logged in, click the My Places tab in Google Maps and save your home and work locations. From the My Places panel, you can also edit or delete your saved locations by clicking the drop-down to the right of the home or work icons.

With home and work locations saved in Google Maps, we hope to help you navigate your way to these frequently visited places, regardless of where you may be.

Update (5/15): Sorry for the delay, but home and work locations in My Places will be available soon. We'll update this post again when the feature is live.

Posted by Erika Yamasaki, Associate Product Manager Intern

Naftali Feig Celebrates 12 Years in the Business Profession

Daniel Dean — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:07:12 +0000

Founding Partner of R & N Property Investments, Naftali Feig, recently marked his 12th year in the business field. Over the course of the years, Naftali Feig has worked for a number of high-ranking companies. Recently he relocated to Israel and is seeking full time employment.

Naftali Feig has about 12 years of business experience under his belt. The former Cleveland resident has recently relocated to Israel, and is currently seeking employment in project management, finance, management and related fields.

“I’m very focused and motivated. My 12 years of experience have taught me to become resourceful in handling multiple management challenges,” said Naftali Feig.

“Education is very important to me,” said Naftali Feig. “After completing my Bachelors and working for a few years I was motivated to return to school and earn an MBA in order to increase my knowledge of business and management.”

Over the years Naftali Feig has worked for various organizations, including Integrated DNA Technologies, Progressive Fashion Warehouse, Progressive Foods and most recently R & N Property Investments.

“I am an innovative market manager with a unique ability to combine competitive analysis, current programming and relationship skills into bottom line results,” Naftali Feig said. “I am able to focus on many projects simultaneously, and yet I always give 100 percent.”

Currently Naftali Feig and his family are acclimating in Israel. Both he and his wife decided to move from Cleveland, Ohio to Israel because they felt a connection to the country.

“We wanted to raise our children here, there is something special about Israel,” Naftali Feig said. “I’m confident that my experience and education in the United States will be an asset as I continue my career in Israel.”

More About Naftali Feig
A native Israeli resident, Naftali Feig holds 12 years of business and finance experience under his belt. Naftali Feig attended undergraduate and graduate school in the United States. Naftali graduated from Touro College with a Bachelor of Science in finance, recently he graduated from Cleveland State University with a Masters of Business Administration. Naftali Feig is a results driven business professional who is highly skilled at increasing revenue for organizations.

Follow an email’s journey with Story of Send

googleapps — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:07:17 +0000

Posted by Erin Reilly, Google Green team

If you’re anything like me, you send and receive a lot of emails every day. But have you ever wondered where your message goes after you hit “send?” How does an email travel from your computer to your friend’s smartphone across the country or around the world?

We’re answering those questions with Story of Send, a new site that gives you a behind-the-scenes look into how all that virtual information makes its journey through the real world—from your Internet service provider to our data centers and beyond. Along the way, you’ll discover everything from where we filter for spam and scan for viruses to how we’re minimizing our impact on the environment through energy efficiency and renewable power.

We’ve included videos and photos throughout the journey so you can explore certain areas more deeply. For example, if you’re curious what data center servers look like, we’ve included some photos. Or you can watch a video to learn about how we purchase clean energy from wind farms near our data centers. And because technology doesn’t always have to be serious, you might find a vampire or two lurking around or uncover other surprises on the journey.

In the past, Gmail fans have shown us how emails connect people across the world. Now we’re providing a glimpse into how those emails go from one place to another. So hit send and start the journey today.

Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog

Instant Checkmate Works to Protect its Customers’ Online Identity

Daniel Dean — Wed, 16 May 2012 09:07:32 +0000

A background data provider, Instant Checkmate, allocates advice to shield its customers’ online identity.

Instant Checkmate works to assist its customers in protecting their online identities by offering several helpful suggestions. Instant Checkmate, which is considered a leading background data provider, explains that more than 10 million Americans fall to identity theft each year. Online Checkmate offers services that protect subscribers’ online identity and combat online identity theft.

"Instant Checkmate always looks out for its customers," said Kristen Bright, Instant Checkmate spokeswoman. "We strive to offer the most helpful tips and tools."

Officials at Instant Checkmate stress the importance of having an email account, in addition, Instant Checkmate recommends reducing the number of Web site operators to which personal information must be provided. Also Instant Checkmate officials recommend rejecting to allow Website operators to store financial and/or personal information.

Formed in 2009, Instant Checkmate, is anonymous, fast and affordable. Instant Checkmate supplies results from billions of local criminal records and federal state, public records, private databases and sex offender registries. Instant Checkmate customers receive their requested results in a timely manner directly to their own computer screen.

About Instant Checkmate
Instant Checkmate, has been serving as an online background check service since 2009. Instant Checkmate is available to individuals on a subscription basis. Instant Checkmate supplies results from billions of local criminal records, federal state records, public records, private databases and sex offender registries. For more information about Instant Checkmate, visit the company’s Web site.

For additional information, interview and image requests contact Kristen Bright, PR Manager, Instant Checkmate, 1-866-490-5980.

Mark your calendars for DoubleClick Insights on June 5th

doubleclickpublishernetwork — Wed, 16 May 2012 09:01:01 +0000

From our vantage point, we see unprecedented opportunity as the digital media world continues to grow and diversify. What does this mean for the future of buying and selling ads online?

Tune in and find out as Google's Neal Mohan, VP of Display Advertising sits down with industry leaders to explore how the digital ecosystem is swiftly evolving, and how advertisers and publishers can work better together to chart a path to capitalize on every opportunity, while simultaneously addressing the challenges we face.

The live stream will start on June 5, 2012, at 9:00 am PDT, and you’ll be able to watch from your computer, tablet, or mobile device.

Please register for this virtual event by visiting the DoubleClick Insights Live Stream page.

DoubleClick Insights
Tuesday, June 5th 2012
9:00am - 1:00pm PST
Set event reminder today

Following us on Twitter? Use the #dclkinsights as you're watching the event.

Posted by Stephen Kliff and Scott Brown, DoubleClick Marketing

Alliance Network Offers Real Time Solutions

Daniel Dean — Wed, 16 May 2012 07:10:39 +0000

Online processing consulting firm, Alliance Network recently debuted its latest real time solutions and leading edge global payment services. Alliance Network provides payment consulting services as well as content management systems development.

Online Payment processing consulting firm, Alliance Network has a following of hundreds of clients who have turned to the processing consulting firm for its real time consulting solutions and superior global payment services.

Alliance Network is always on the hunt for the best solutions of the industry. Alliance Network diligently works to receive reviews and feedback from its network of partners and clients on the best products and services for its specialized users’ accounts.

“Alliance Network provides a proprietary payment gateway directly linked to the banks across the globe, we process credit and debit payments taken on Web sites of all sizes worldwide,” said Paul Skinner, Alliance Network spokesman. “We basically are a one-stop shop for all online payment processing components.”

Alliance Network employs leading professionals who ensure the Alliance Network services will help take its customers’ businesses to the next level and beyond.

Alliance Network offers secure and fully protected online transactions. The company utilizes advanced technology that further guarantees its clients’ secure and protected online transactions.

Alliance Network is a subsidiary of Myroxon Holdings Ltd, a European-based company. The company was founded in 2007 to play a bigger role in the online interactive and content management systems business. In addition, Alliance Network provides payment consulting services as well as content management systems development. Alliance Network specializes in serving companies that require reliable online payment processing solutions. In addition, Alliance Network focuses on providing solid solutions for companies that want to leverage their payment processing capabilities.

“Customers can visit our Alliance Network Web site and expect top notch features, security and the highest protection,” Skinner said.

More About Alliance Network
Payment processing consulting firm, Alliance Network, is a subsidiary of European company, Myroxon Holdings Ltd. The company was founded in 2007 and specializes in serving companies that require reliable payment processing solutions. Alliance Network provides payment consulting services as well as content management systems development. Alliance Network provides a proprietary payment gateway directly linked to the banks across the globe, the company processes credit and debit card payments, verifies and processes e-Checks online, and more. Alliance Network is considered an innovative global online processing consulting company.

For additional information, interview, and image requests contact:
Paul Skinner
PR Manager
Alliance Network

Arizona Wildcats Assistant Coach Joe Pasternack Looking Forward to Helping in Tucson

Daniel Dean — Wed, 16 May 2012 06:30:27 +0000

Previous head coach of University of New Orleans’ men’s basketball team, Joe Pasternack, is excited about moving to Arizona with his family in order to pursue his new job as assistant coach of the University of Arizona’s basketball team.

One reason for the excitement is the fact that his wife is a big Arizona fan. "My wife was here for the 1997 national championship. Those were interesting times on game day when we (New Orleans team) played Arizona to see who she was rooting for." The second reason is his new team’s head coach, Sean Miller. "I think Sean is just a terrific leader. He's put together a staff where every single person is working on one common goal every single day. No egos. It's a team ego, and that's a credit to coach Miller finding these people. It's hard to find good people. You have to have players to be successful, but it starts with our staff, and that's probably the biggest thing I've been impressed with,” Pasternack said.

In his UNO’s coaching career Joe Pasternack has had to deal with many challenges, such as the team’s downgrade from Division I to Division III. Having an experience as head coach will definitely help him in his new job. He explained "for me, coming from being a head coach, a seat over, really helps me in the fact that I went from giving suggestions to making decisions, to now back to giving suggestions but being able to see the broad scope. I'm excited from a recruiting standpoint, game prep standpoint and in helping the staff any way I can."

Pasternack does not plan to be a head coach again any time soon.

Celebrate the best in digital creativity with Google+ at Internet Week New York and the Webby Awards

googleadwords — Wed, 16 May 2012 05:11:29 +0000

Once again, Internet Week New York is in full force, and we hope that you'll come and join Google+ for some of the festivities as the city’s digital thinkers, from developers to ad agency execs, collaborate on a week of panels and parties:

IAB Innovation Days: On Wednesday, May 16 at 1:45pm, Kate Stanford, Group Product Marketing Manager for Social Ads, will be giving a presentation at IAB Innovation Days at Skylight Soho about connecting with customers through a joint strategy across mobile and social platforms.

The Webby Awards: On Monday, May 21 at 5:30 PM, celebrate with the whole digital industry and Google+ at the 16th Annual Webby Awards, where we’ll be hosting an exclusive backstage Hangout On Air from the Webbys Google+ page during the show. Whether you're there in person, watching the live stream, or watching our Hangout, expect plenty of surprises and laughs. Connect with the Webby Awards on Google+ for more updates, and if you're there, say hello to the Google+ and Google Creative Lab teams at the afterparty!

We’re excited to share our thoughts about the future of digital advertising and marketing and proud to be part of New York’s technology scene. We hope to see you out and about!

Posted by Caroline McCarthy, Product Marketing Manager, Google+

Two new Analytics webinars — for advanced and beginning users

googleanalytics — Wed, 16 May 2012 04:28:51 +0000

Interested in learning how to use Analytics to make better decisions for your business? Here’s your chance; join us next week for two webinars. We’re partnering with the Learn with Google team to present an introductory session on Getting started with Analytics, and a more advanced session covering one of the most requested topics - Digital Attribution & Conversion. Here’s a little more detail on what we’ll cover:

Getting Started with Google Analytics
Level of content: Beginner
Covers the basics you need to get started with Analytics. Highlights the most helpful reports for ecommerce, bloggers/publishers, and lead generation businesses. Learn how to tag your campaigns and set up goals to measure if your marketing is a success.

Presenter: Justin Cutroni, Analytics Advocate
Date: Wednesday May 23rd, 2012
Time: 12 pm PT / 3pm ET / 8pm GMT

Building Blocks of Digital Attribution
Level of content: Intermediate/Advanced
Learn what marketing attribution is and what it can do for your business. This webinar will cover the basics of how attribution works, and we’ll show you how to set up your Google AdWords and Google Analytics accounts to enable important attribution tools--Search Funnels and Multi-Channel Funnels.

Presenter: Bill Kee, Product Manager, Google Analytics
Date: Thursday May 24th, 2012
Time: 9am PT / 12pm ET / 5pm GMT

These are free webinars, so be sure to register now and take a look here for more great webinars from other Google teams.

Posted by Ian Myszenski, Google Analytics team

University of New Orleans Coach Joe Pasternack Worked Hard to Put Team Together

Daniel Dean — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:23:23 +0000

Four months ago, the University of New Orleans’ men’s basketball team of head-coach Joe Pasternack, called ‘The Privateers’, was considered Division I and very successful. Since then, the University of New Orleans has decided to move its athletics programs from NCAA Division I to Division III status as a result of major financial problems, and since that decision much has changed within Pasternack’s team. "It's all because of Katrina," Pasternack said. "It's all about enrollment."

Having a Division III status athletics program, although the school was still classified as Division I, meant that the University of New Orleans was not allowed to offer athletic scholarships to its enrolling students anymore. This unfortunately led many of the university’s students who were on Joe Pasternack’s basketball team to leave the university for a different team. “That’s not what they signed up for,” Pasternack said.

In addition to the difficulty of losing some of his best and most experienced team players, Joe Pasternack also had to face the challenge of a reduced budget. “We were given a limited budget to make things work,” he said.

When it was time for him to recruit new players for his dwindling team, Pasternack had to follow Division I rules in recruiting, since the university was still classified as Division I. During the months of May and June he was only allowed to recruit new players on-campus. “We had some camps in our arena in June,” he said. He was allowed to attend recruiting scrimmaging camps out of state during two ten-day periods in July. In these recruiting events the players were mainly high school underclassmen, which was problematic for Pasternack, because of their inexperience and young age. “Very few seniors are looking for places to go,” he said.

After he found a player that seemed to be suited for his team, Joe Pasternack had to make sure that player could afford to pay for school, since he would not be able to receive a scholarship. "It was definitely a different type of recruiting," he said.

Joe Pasternack was able to recruit enough players for his team. The next step was to build a strong team with so many new faces. "We have to slow it down, " Pasternack said. "It's a totally new team, because we're starting from scratch. We're treating this as a Division I program, because that's what we are."

Keeping tabs on your tabs

googlechrome — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:04:48 +0000

Say you’ve found an awesome recipe on your work computer while... ahem... working hard at the office. But when you get back home, you can’t quite remember if it was two teaspoons of baking soda or two teaspoons of baking powder. Wouldn’t it be cool if you could pull up the same recipe on your home computer with one click?

With today’s Stable release of Chrome, you can. When you’re signed in to Chrome, your open tabs are synced across all your devices, so you can quickly access them from the “Other devices” menu on the New Tab page. If you’ve got Chrome for Android Beta, you can open the same recipe tab right on your phone when you run out to the store for more ingredients. The back and forward buttons will even work, so you can pick up browsing right where you left off.

Open tabs aren’t the only things that sync when you sign in to Chrome. Signing in to Chrome also syncs your bookmarks, apps, extensions, history, themes, and other settings. That way, when you sign in to Chrome, you can have your personal Chrome experience on all your devices. Just go to the Chrome menu and select “Sign in to Chrome.”

While Chrome will be updated to the latest Stable version over the next few days, the tab sync feature will be rolled out more gradually over the coming weeks. Thank you for your patience and we hope you enjoy staying in sync!

Posted by Raz Mathias, Software Engineer and Tab-Wrangling Server Jockey

Joe Pasternack Recaps His Time Working Under Coach Bobby Knight

Daniel Dean — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:09:41 +0000

Joe Pasternack, assistant men's basketball coach at University of Arizona, recently spoke about his time working under the acclaimed basketball coach, Bobby Knight. Joe Pasternack worked as Knight’s student manager at Indiana University.

Joe Pasternack, a native New Orleans resident, is the assistant coach for the men’s basketball team at the University of Arizona. Prior to his time with the Wildcats, Joe Pasternack served as the head men’s basketball coach at the University of New Orleans. A majority of Joe Pasternack’s experience stems from his time working under renowned coach Bobby Knight.

Knight is a retired basketball coach, he was nicknamed “The General,” Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men’s college basketball games.

A 1999 graduate of Indiana University with a Bachelor of Arts in business marketing, Joe Pasternack was a student manager under acclaimed basketball Coach Knight. As Knight’s student manager, Joe Pasternack completed day-to-day tasks of breaking down game film and assisting in scouting opponents.

“Each day was an incredible learning experience for me about leadership and the game of basketball. I felt everyday from 3 to 6 pm was the best three credit class I took at Indiana University. Coach Knight was one of the best leaders of all time in sports. He truly cared about preparing his players to be successful in life after basketball,” said Joe Pasternack, 35.

Joe Pasternack completed every task Knight requested of him. Joe Pasternack watched Knight teach the Indiana men’s basketball team and learned lessons that he applies today when he coaches.

“I felt that if you wanted to be a lawyer, you go to Harvard, if you wanted to be a basketball coach, you worked for Coach Knight,” Joe Pasternack said.

Joe Pasternack further added that Knight had taught him three valuable principles that he applies today; relentless work ethic, discipline and loyalty.

“Even today when it comes to teaching the game of basketball, I think back to the teachings of Coach Knight,” Joe Pasternack said.

More About Joe Pasternack
Joe Pasternack is a college basketball coach currently serving as an assistant for the Arizona Wildcats. Pasternack previously served as the head men’s basketball coach at the University of New Orleans. Joe Pasternack is a native New Orleans resident. A 1999 graduate of Indiana University with a Bachelor of Arts in business marketing, Joe Pasternack was a student manager under acclaimed basketball Coach Bobby Knight. Joe Pasternack is married to his wife, Lindsay, and together they have two children.

Naftali Feig Earns MBA Degree

Daniel Dean — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:09:38 +0000

Israeli resident and businessman, Naftali Feig, recently graduated from Cleveland State University with a Masters of Business Administration degree. Naftali Feig is a team player with strong leadership skills and a unique ability to see the larger picture while remaining detail oriented.

Founding Partner of R & N Property Investments, Naftali Feig, recently walked the stage to receive his Masters of Business Administration degree. The Cleveland State University graduate completed the intensive graduate studies within two years.

“I’m very proud to add to my resume the three letters, MBA,” said Naftali Feig.

“I’m very focused and motivated. My 12 years of experience have taught me to become resourceful in handling multiple management challenges,” Naftali Feig said.

In 2000, he graduated from Touro College with a Bachelor of Science in Finance. While a student at Touro College, Naftali Feig specialized in international financial markets, international bond trading, security analysis and options trading. Naftali Feig’s specialties include project management, accounting, strategy, planning, finance, real estate, and cost cutting.

While a graduate student at Cleveland State University, Naftali Feig completed a capstone project analysis and presentation project. Throughout the project, Naftali Feig provided strategic financial evaluation for the city of Independence, Ohio resulting in $2.5 million in budgetary savings and revenue increase.

Currently, Naftali Feig is living in Israel where he is seeking challenging employment opportunities in project management, finance, management and related fields.

More About Naftali Feig
Former Cleveland resident, Naftali Feig, a native Israeli resident, holds 12 years of business and finance experience under his belt. Naftali Feig attended undergraduate and graduate school in the United States. Naftali graduated from Touro College with a Bachelor of Science in finance, recently he graduated from Cleveland State University with a Masters of Business Administration. Naftali Feig is a results driven business professional who is highly skilled at increasing revenue for organizations. Naftali Feig’s specialties include project management, accounting, strategy, planning, finance, real estate, and cost cutting. Naftali Feig is currently seeking employment in Israel. Naftali Feig is married and has three children.

Joe Pasternack Comments on UNO’s Return to Division I

Daniel Dean — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:09:36 +0000

Assistant coach for the University of Arizona men’s basketball team, Joe Pasternack, recently spoke about the University of New Orleans announcement to return to Division I athletics.

Joe Pasternack served as head coach at the University of New Orleans for four years, when he was hired, he was the youngest head coach in America at 30 years old. In 2011 he left the team after the university decided to drop to Division II athletics. Following his time at the University of New Orleans, he became the assistant coach for the University of Arizona men’s basketball program.

Recently the University of New Orleans decided to return to the former NCAA ranking.

The University of New Orleans athletic program fell on hard times after hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. State budget cuts forced the University of New Orleans to stop subsidizing its sports teams. Last year the school made the decision to drop from NCAA Division I to NCAA Division II.

“It costs a lot of money to run a Division I athletic program,” said Joe Pasternack, 35. “The decision to return to Division I is terrific for the university. The University of New Orleans deserves a division I athletic program.”

Joe Pasternack grew up near the university and as a child he dreamed of becoming a college basketball coach. Eventually he earned himself the title of head coach for the University of New Orleans men’s basketball team. For four years Joe Pasternack stabilized the university’s basketball program.

During his first year, Joe Pasternack held a 19-12 record and helped the program defeat a nationally-ranked team (then-No. 21 North Carolina State) for the first time since 1993. In addition, Pasternack helped the University of New Orleans defeat Big 12 Power Colorado. Joe Pasternack and the University of New Orleans men’s basketball ended up winning more games pre-conference than they had in school history.

“It was a great experience working as a head coach but eventually, once the university dropped to Division II, I wanted to remain at the Division I level,” Joe Pasternack said.

Joe Pasternack further added that University of New Orleans staying in Division I could also help improve the athletic department’s bottom line. Joe Pasternack said he hopes the return to Division I will help increase student enrollment, which has dropped from 18,000 to 10,000 post-Katrina.

“The University of New Orleans returning to Division I is great for the city of New Orleans. Division I is where the university should compete,” Joe Pasternack said. “I’m happy for the university and the coaches at the University of New Orleans.”

More About Joe Pasternack
Joe Pasternack is a college basketball coach currently serving as an assistant for the Arizona Wildcats. He will conclude his first year working in the Wildcat program. Pasternack previously served as the head men’s basketball coach at the University of New Orleans. Joe Pasternack is a native New Orleans resident. A 1999 graduate of Indiana University with a Bachelor of Arts in business marketing, Joe Pasternack was a student manager under acclaimed basketball coach Bobby Knight.

World’s Tallest Lighthouses

googlelatlong — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:08:42 +0000

For centuries lighthouses have served as navigation aids, helping protect marine traffic from running aground on dangerous coastlines, rocks and reefs. As we’re ever-so-slightly fond of superlatives here at Google Sightseeing, we’ll take a tour of the tallest lighthouses around the world¹.

Top ten tallest lighthouses

The world’s tallest lighthouse is the 133m Jeddah Light in Saudi Arabia, which doubles as the control tower for this busy commercial port. The white tower and dome can be seen from about 40km away, and it’s a vital marker on this coastline which is dotted with dangerous coral reefs.

The second-tallest lighthouse is technically a monument rather than a true navigational aid, and is unfortunately (for us) located on an island in Lake Erie which is only covered by low-resolution satellite imagery. The 107m tall granite tower has the somewhat unwieldy title of “Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial”, and it commemorates a US naval victory over Britain in the War of 1812.

Just one metre shorter is the Yokohama Tower which also stretches the true definition of a lighthouse. While it is illuminated, the tower mainly serves as a tourist attraction with an observation deck and restaurant offering views of the city.

From here on we’re looking at more traditional lighthouses, built solely to serve as beacons for shipping. The fourth tallest lighthouse is found on the island of Île Vierge off the north-west coast of France. Built in the late 1800s, this lighthouse (like many around the world) has today been automated, though in this case a lighthouse keeper still lives on site. Despite the hazy image, Street View from the nearest point on the mainland gives us a good idea of how immense it is.

The Lanterna is one of the most famous landmarks in the Italian port of Genoa, and a lighthouse has stood on this spot since the 12th century.

The existing 77m tall structure dates to the 16th century, though it has been repaired many times following damage from lightning strikes and military action. While it’s visible from many parts of the city, it really needs to be seen from up close to be truly appreciated. There’s also a good museum at its base, though you’ll need to find your way past the busy ramps used by trucks going to and from the port.

Back to France for the sixth tallest lighthouse – the Phare de Gatteville. At 75m, the granite tower was the tallest in the world when it was constructed in the 1830s.

The recent launch of Street View imagery in Russia gives us a good look at the seventh tallest lighthouse – the Lesnoy Mole Rear Range Light in the commercial port of St Petersburg. The distinctive red and white stripes of this 73m tall structure also identify it as a range light – a marker to help sea traffic approach a narrow channel.

The eighth and ninth tallest are just a few kilometres apart on Hainan island in China. The Mulantou and Baishamen lighthouses are both 72m tall and mark the narrow strait between the island and the mainland.

Finally, the tenth tallest lighthouse in the world is the Storozhenskiy Light on Russia’s Lake Ladoga, but sadly it isn’t visible on satellite view yet.

Tall lighthouses around the world

The tallest lighthouse in the southern hemisphere is the Recalada a Bahía Blanca Light in Argentina – a 67m tall iron tower allegedly built by the same company that built the Eiffel Tower.

The recently launched Street View imagery in Poland allows us to see the world’s tallest brick lighthouse – the 65m tall Świnoujście Lighthouse.

The tallest lighthouse in the US is the Cape Hatteras Light in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Originally built in the 1860s, the structure was moved inland several hundred metres in 1999 to protect it from shore erosion. This video shows how it was moved.

The UK’s tallest lighthouse sits on a remote rock called Skerryvore off the west coast of Scotland, and isn’t visible on Google Maps, so instead let’s travel to Africa, where the tallest lighthouse is the Nosy Alañaña Light on the tiny Île aux Prunes off Madagascar.

Note that many don’t consider the first three to be real lighthouses, so in many cases the ‘tallest’ listing starts with the fourth on this list. ↩

Locations: Argentina, China, France, Italy, Japan, Madagascar, North Carolina, Ohio, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia / Categories: Monuments, Shadows, Street Views, Structures, Towers, Watercraft

View in Google Earth

Foundation Financial Group Reaches

Daniel Dean — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:28:31 +0000

Foundation Financial Group continues to achieve significant milestones in its goal to become the nation’s largest financial services company. The company recently eclipsed the $4 billion mark in loans funded and continues to experience strong growth across all of its business sectors.

“Foundation Financial Group employees are highly qualified and motivated individuals and are responsible for this milestone and our ongoing success,” said CEO Mark W. Boyer. “Their dedication and persistence continue to build Foundation Financial Group’s market share across the United States.”

With the number of loans funded by Foundation Financial Group, the company continues to help Americans afford their homes and improve their financial situations. Foundation Financial Group is known for its fast turnaround times and exceptional customer service.

Foundation Financial Group experienced record-breaking months in the fourth quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012. The company’s mortgage division ended November 2011 at 11 percent higher than November 2010, which was the record for Foundation Financial Group’s mortgage division. The mortgage division finished January 2012 at three percent higher than November 2011, which was also a previous record month for the company’s mortgages. The month of March 2012 was another record-breaking month for its mortgage business. Overall, the company finished the first quarter of 2012 at 10.4 percent higher than its previous best quarter. The company’s insurance division and tax divisions also experienced a record-breaking month in March.

Foundation Financial Group gives back to the communities it serves in a big way. Since 2010, through financial contributions, in kind donations and volunteerism, the company’s social investment is over $610,000 in support of philanthropic initiatives with a focus on education, workforce development, environment sustainability as well as health and wellness. In 2011, Foundation Financial Group employees contributed more than 1,000 hours of community service to good causes across the country.

The company also provided $15,000 to two individuals in its Funding Your Finances giveaway. Currently, Foundation Financial Group is giving away two different vacation packages from Southwest Airlines Vacations, along with $5,000 spending cash for each trip, as part of its 2012 Start Living giveaway.

About Foundation Financial GroupFoundation Financial Group, one of the nation’s fastest-growing financial services companies, specializes in mortgage lending, property and casualty insurance, life insurance, retirement services, personal taxes and corporate tax services. Foundation Financial Group operates seven regional centers as well as a branch network of retail storefronts across the Midwest. Foundation Financial Group offers mortgage refinancing and first-time buyer lending through traditional financing, as well as Federal Housing Administration and other government-backed home loan programs. Foundation Financial Group enjoys an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, the highest accreditation the BBB gives, and an industry-leading Federal Housing Administration compare ratio. For more information, call 866-334-1001.

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For additional information, interview and image requests, contact The AXIA Public Relations Firm at 866-999-2942, ext. 700.

Google Apps brings Brazos Bookstore into the 21st Century

googlesmallbusiness — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:17:06 +0000

(Cross-posted on the Official Google Enterprise Blog.)

Editor’s Note: Today’s guest blogger is Jeremy Ellis, General Manager of Brazos Bookstore, a neighborhood institution based in Houston, Texas.

Brazos Bookstore has been part of the Houston literary community since 1974. In addition to selling a diverse collection of books, we pride ourselves in connecting our community with authors from our area and around the globe. When the store’s ownership changed in 2006 and the possibility of shutting down became known, the community of Brazos fans petitioned to keep our doors open. Thanks to them, we’ve been able to continue our long-standing tradition where we host author events, readings and exhibitions from writers such as Walter Cronkite, Julia Child, Kofi Annan, and P. J. O’Rourke, to name a few.

When I joined the staff in September 2011, Brazos was still operating in many ways as it did in the 70s and 80s. Employees would schedule the author series on a single paper calendar, and only one of our computers had email set up. All of our software was outdated, and the programs that were available ended up causing more roadblocks than value.

We needed a system that could better manage our day-to-day operations. Since I was already familiar with Google from personal use, moving the bookstore to Google Apps for Business was a natural transition. Today, all seven of our employees are able to access their email and calendars from any computer in the store, at home, and on their smartphones. This accessibility not only eases communication between the staff, but also keeps everyone up to speed on events, shipments and other activities at the shop.

Scheduling author visits on Google Calendar is easy, instant, and live, and it’s saved us from double-booking authors. I’m now able to easily collaborate with our buyer when we’re planning in-store events, which has streamlined the process for ordering books and helps me track book sales from author readings.

Google Apps has given us the organizational tools we need to continue serving Houston’s literary and arts culture. Our vision over the past forty years hasn’t changed, and now we have the technology to support our store for the future.

Posted by Jeremy Ellis, General Manager, Brazos Bookstore

Instant Checkmate Debuts Official Blog

Daniel Dean — Tue, 15 May 2012 09:11:03 +0000

Online background data service, Instant Checkmate, recently announced the creation of its official company blog aimed at further informing its subscribers of all its latest news and services.

A background check provider, Instant Checkmate, recently debuted its official company blog designed to promote the company's diverse services and latest news and suggestions.

“Our new Instant Checkmate blog will be a great place to get in touch with us if you’re near a computer,” said Kristen Bright, Spokeswoman for Instant Checkmate. “The Instant Checkmate blog is designed to keep everybody up-to-date on the latest company happenings.”

Instant Checkmate provides criminal background checks in a fast and affordable manner. Instant Checkmate delivers the background check report results directly to the subscriber’s personal computer.

In addition to launching the company blog, Instant Checkmate has recently debuted its newest service, reverse phone lookup. The new service is being marketed as an even quicker and easier way for subscribers to further discover background information on individuals.

“Instant Checkmate is really excited to offer this new service,” Bright said. “Our newest method of discovering criminal histories on individuals will be just as effective, and twice as fast.”

About Instant Checkmate
Serving as an online background check service since 2009, Instant Checkmate is available to individuals on a subscription basis. Instant Checkmate supplies results from billions of local criminal records, federal state records, public records, private databases and sex offender registries. Instant Checkmate is a proud supporter of the nonprofit organization that address teen dating violence, Break the Cycle.

For additional information, interview and image requests contact Kristen Bright, PR Manager, Instant Checkmate, 1-866-490-5980.

Mobile Mondays: On Mobile, it’s as much about the user as it is the content

googleadsense — Tue, 15 May 2012 07:13:45 +0000

For this Mobile Mondays post we’ve invited Netbiscuits to offer you best practices and tips for creating a good mobile experience for your users. Netbiscuits is a leading cloud platform for the development and delivery of next generation web apps across all mobile devices and connected platforms.

Cultivating a user-focused mobile experience isn’t just about shrinking your existing website to fit a mobile screen. In a single day, a connected consumer interacts with your brand and consumes your content across smartphones, tablets, smart TVs and game consoles. To meet consumer demand for instant, optimized access, marketers must design engaging “connected experiences” that respond differently for each device as they each present unique size, capability, and content consumption challenges.

In solving these challenges, marketers need to focus on a responsive design that takes the multiplatform world into account and allows for a device-optimized “Content Centric” user experience. The layout should morph depending on the size and shape of the device’s screen ensuring the experience adapts as new devices are introduced in the marketplace.

Touch enabled devices have evolved the digital user experience by providing users with a “Parallel Response Experience” to their request as opposed to a “Sequential Response Experience” found in a traditional “Point and Click” mobile user experience. Designing a “Parallel” mobile experience with many touch enabled features ensures a more natural flow of information which dramatically increases site effectiveness. For example, instead of re-using a traditional website interface, many mobile commerce clients use a drag and drop interface for placing items in a shopping cart which has greatly increased sales on touch enabled devices.

Along with the design layout, responsive design must adapt a content centric approach to the user experience. Your users must be served content based on the topics for which they have shown interest as well as based on time of day, weather, or geographic location. A system remembering the items in your shopping cart has been an essential element of a cohesive e-commerce experience for some time. But this concept can be expanded upon by associating a broader range of content to the individual that results in the serving of an article that interested the customer earlier in the day or weather information for an upcoming trip. To foster a good user experience, this needs to be done in a streamlined, accurate manner that limits clutter.

One of the more challenging attributes of going mobile is the varying screen sizes of tablets and smartphones. When it comes to tablets, we advise clients to take a layered approach to designing and delivering a “one-page” experience. By embedding or layering a video or photo gallery on top of a page, consumer engagements and actions happen without forcing the user to leave the page.

Being responsive to the user’s device and serving appropriate content is done by using analytics. The insights gleaned from mobile, including device models, screen resolution, device capability, service provider, and preferred user language cannot be matched by traditional marketing activities. Compared against geographic location, savvy marketers use this data to define product offerings and regionalize discounts.

Once you understand these strategic points, you should also keep in mind these simple best practices:

Mobile is not a channel. Mobile is an integrated solution where CMS, CRM and commerce updates should occur at the same time and in the same systems as updates to your traditional website.
Research! Engage your team, friends and family to get insights on how they use their mobile devices. Conduct a competitive analysis to learn how your competitors illustrate and deliver their product and services.
Design your site to solve the main problems or situations customers might find themselves in. Consider what features, tasks or existing site elements translate best on mobile and implement them.
And finally, don’t simply duplicate your traditional website. Consumers want and expect a different experience on mobile.

Posted by Craig Besnoy, Managing Director, The Americas, Netbiscuits

Visit Netbiscuits.com to learn more about the Netbiscuits platform.

Arizona Coach Sean Miller Hires a New Assistant

Daniel Dean — Tue, 15 May 2012 06:30:33 +0000

University of New Orleans’ men’s basketball team’s head coach, Joe Pasternack, has decided to leave his team, which has been dropping from Division I to Division II status, in order to become assistant coach at The University of Arizona.

“Joining one of the elite basketball programs in the country and working for one of the top coaches in college basketball - Sean Miller - was not an opportunity that I could pass up,” Pasternack said.

Sean Miller, Arizona’s head coach, is just as thrilled to be receiving Pasternack as his assistant as Pasternack is himself. “We are excited to have Joe and his family join our program. He has a wealth of experience in many areas that will serve us well moving forward.”

Looking Ahead at Next Generation Measurement

googleanalytics — Tue, 15 May 2012 04:00:13 +0000

Marketers today have no shortage of data. In fact, there are more than 40 million online touch points measured every minute by Google Analytics. Technology advancements are helping marketers understand their customers more across channels and devices, and better analysis tools are finally making that massive amount of data accessible and actionable. This is fueling what we see as next generation measurement. Today I spoke at the Federated Media Conversational Marketing Summit about the most important trends that every CMO needs to know. Here's what I told them:

Next generation brand measurement

In many ways, brand measurement thus far has been an article of faith - but it doesn’t have to be. I think that soon you’ll be able to optimize for brand like you do for performance today with concrete results, in real time. This will help brand marketers make smarter decisions while a campaign is still in flight, rather than serving as a static report card given after the fact. To do all of this, we need to bridge the online and offline gap with brand equivalency metrics that translate GRP and TRP into online reach and audience targeting.

Recently we announced our Brand Activate Initiative as a first step, which gives metrics like Active GRP to assess online brand impact using reach and frequency, in the same way marketers are all already measuring GRP for TV. Active GRP is being built into the ad serving tools that our publishers and marketers already use, with the goal of making these metrics immediately actionable. This digital brand equivalency metric for GRP is the first in a series of exciting steps we’re going to see to improve measurement for brand marketers.

Next generation attribution

Over the last few years, we’ve made great leaps in the art of single channel measurement - identifying the right metrics in isolation for channels like TV, display, search and mobile. It’s time now to bring the channels together and figure out how they impact each other. In other words, we have to move from silo to portfolio.

At Google Analytics, we’re finding that on average, customers interact with a brand 4.3 times over a two day period before they finally make a purchase. We’re also seeing channels like mobile grow tremendously. For instance, mobile is now 8% of all conversions that we’re seeing in Google Analytics, and mobile conversions have grown by about 180% in just the last year. So you can’t afford not to know what paths customers are taking before they ultimately buy from you.

But in a recent study, more than 40% of marketers said that their main struggle with attribution is choosing the right model to even get started. We hear these struggles every day, and provide tools like Multi-Channel Funnels and Attribution Modeling to help marketers get started. Though there isn’t a one size fits all model, what we’ll begin to see in the industry is empirically-derived attribution models customized by industry and marketing objectives, which marketers can use as a base for experimentation.

It’s an exciting time in measurement, where data and marketing are finally getting married. I’m genuinely excited about what’s in front of us, and I hope you are too!

Posted by Amy Chang, Global Head of Product, Google Analytics

Street View: Your Summer Vacation Preview

googlelatlong — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:25:59 +0000

Summertime means summer travel. Whether you're planning the next family trip or group outing, Google Maps can help. Street View’s immersive views lets you preview your adventure by transporting you to famous landmarks and tourist destinations around the world. Over the years, our Partner Program has allowed us to showcase a growing number of notable amusement parks, zoos and other points of interest, with our 360-degree panoramic imagery.

For example, if you’re on the West Coast of the US and want to visit the world famous San Diego Zoo, search for “San Diego Zoo” , drag Pegmen to a spot inside the zoo, and take a tour. You can also virtually explore the zoos in Honolulu, Denver, Detroit and more.

San Diego Zoo, View Larger Map

If you’re looking for some amusement without the animals, take a peek at some of the largest amusement parks across the country. Visit Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, and catch a glimpse of how movie magic is made. You can also preview with imagery from Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Universal Studios Hollywood, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Great America, Busch Gardens, and Wet ‘n’ Wild Hawaii.

Universal Studios Orlando, View Larger Map

If you’re into high-octane trips to the racetrack, you can take a virtual look at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca or Infineon Raceway. Or if peace and quiet is more your speed, you can take a leisurely stroll through Balboa Park, the Chicago Botanic Garden, or Diamond Head park and trail.

Infineon Raceway, View Larger Map

Wherever you choose to adventure, feel free to explore these popular U.S. locations from the comfort of your desktop or mobile device. Let Street View imagery help you decide where to go on your next summer getaway. To see more popular locations, check out our Street View Gallery.

Posted by Chris Fiock, Program Manager for Street View

Increased Percentage Growth Recorded for Instant Checkmate

Daniel Dean — Mon, 14 May 2012 10:09:09 +0000

Background data provider, Instant Checkmate, records month-over-month subscriber growth. Instant Checkmate provides anonymous and affordable background checks, delivered directly to its users’ personal computers.

Instant Checkmate recorded an increased month-over-month subscriber growth rate for a consecutive 24-month period.

The recorded growth rate, announced in a recent shareholder meeting, pushed Instant Checkmate further up in the rankings of consumer background check providers. The growth rate exceeded the company’s expected target growth rate in 2009 by seven percent.

Improvements in systems, marketing and customer service are also expected to make an impact on the company's earnings. In the next fiscal year, Instant Checkmate expects exponential growth.

Consumer demand for straightforward, cost-effective background checks have partially facilitated the company’s increased rate of growth. The company is optimistic about future growth, mainly because of increases in subscriber retention and increased customer acquisition.

“Many are using Instant Checkmate because they realize how difficult it is to discern honesty on the Internet,” said Kristen Bright, spokeswoman for Instant Checkmate.

Instant Checkmate customers receive their requested background check results in a timely manner directly to their own computer screen.

“We provide quick and easy access to honest, accurate background reports,” Bright said, “The information that makes up our background reports stem from millions of various Web sites.”

About Instant Checkmate
Instant Checkmate, an online background check service since 2009, is available to individuals on a subscription basis. Instant Checkmate supplies results from billions of local criminal records, federal state records, public records, private databases and sex offender registries. For more information about Instant Checkmate, please visit the Instant Checkmate Web site. To contact Instant Checkmate or connect with Instant Checkmate visit them on Facebook.

For additional information, interview and image requests contact Kristen Bright, PR Manager, Instant Checkmate, 1-866-490-5980.

Joe Pasternack Persevered at New Orleans

Daniel Dean — Mon, 14 May 2012 06:05:09 +0000

Joe Pasternack, who was hired in 2007 as the new men's basketball coach at the University of New Orleans, has now accepted an assistant coaching position at Arizona. Alongside with Arizona’s team’s coach, Sean Miller, this new job is a great opportunity for Pasternack and should improve his career.

His coaching career at the University of New Orleans started out rough since the university decided to move the basketball program there from Division I to Division III, which meant that Pasternack was unable to offer players scholarships, which lead many of the team’s players to leave The Privateers, UNO’s team, for different teams.

Despite the unfortunate changes to his team, Joe Pasternack never lost hope, and always did the best that he could in order to help his team grow and be accomplished. New Orleans athletic director Amy Champion mentioned that Pasternack had served New Orleans well.

"I want to thank UNO and my players for the opportunity over the last four years," Pasternack said. "It is very difficult to leave the city of New Orleans.”