1. This work is licensed by Patrick Crispen to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 license.

2. a presentation by Patrick Douglas Crispen
Keeping Up With the Googlebots: What’s New at Google [as of November 2006]
a presentation by
Patrick Douglas Crispen

3. Googlebots?
Google has special programs called spiders (a.k.a. “Googlebots”) that constantly search the Internet looking for new or updated Web pages.
When a Googlebot finds a new or updated page, it reads that entire page, reports back to Google, and then visits all of the other pages to which that new page links.
Image source:

4. Eeek! Spiders!
When the Googlebot reports back to Google, it doesn’t just tell Google the new or updated page’s URL.
The Googlebot also sends Google a complete copy of the entire Web page – HTML, text, images, etc.
Google then adds that page and all of its content to Google’s cache.

5. A long time ago, in a PowerPoint far, far, away…
In Google 201 [available in the PowerPoint Files section of netsquirrel.com] we talk about how to search the stuff the Googlebots uncover.
In particular, we discuss
Google’s Pagerank algorithm,
Search engine math,
Query modifiers, and
Alternative query types.

6. “These are much deeper waters than I had thought.”
Google is a constantly-moving target.
Google adds new tools and features practically daily.
In this presentation, we’re going to track what Google has been up to recently.
Image source:

7. Our Topics New search options New search results features
New search tools
New classroom tools
New office tools
New net tools
New announcements

8. New google search options

9. Creative Commons is a not-for-profit organization of content creators who have built upon the “all rights reserved” concept of traditional copyright to offer a voluntary “some rights reserved” approach.

11. Google and Creative Commons
By default, Google doesn’t search for Creative Commons licensed content.
But, if you click on Google’s Advanced Search link [to the right of the search box]…

12. Usage Rights
There you’ll find a Usage Rights pull-down list with five options:
Not filtered by license
Free to use or share
Free to use or share, even commercially
Free to use share or modify
Free to use, share or modify, even commercially

13. Google Q&A
Answers to plain text questions now appear at the top of your search results.
What is the population of Iraq?
Where is Bulgaria?
When did Elvis die?
What is the budget of France?
How many people live in Canada?

14. Alternative Query Types
Google Calculator
Enter your equation or problem in the Google search box
Google Dictionary
Use define:keyword

15. Alternative Query Types
Google Weather
Enter weather: and the city, state, and/or zip code
Google Movie Showtimes
Use movie: and the city, state, and/or zip code

16. Google Recipes Search any ingredient or cuisine and the word recipes
steak recipes
french recipes
On the results page pull-down lists, you can refine your search by cuisine, course, or main ingredient.
See for a more powerful version that searches over one million recipes.

17. Google Music Trends google.com/trends/ music
Kind of like Google’s Billboard music charts
How it works:
Google Talk users opt in.
Google anonymously captures information about the music the users are playing on their computers.
Image source:

18. New google search results features

19. Google Music Search Enter the name of an popular US musical artist.
Click on the “More music results” link on the results page.
Google displays
Album titles,
Song titles,
User reviews, and
Links to online stores.

20. Click to Call
Some Google advertisements let you enter your telephone number.
Google calls you and then directly connects you to the advertiser.
Google foots the bill for the call.
The advertiser never sees your telephone number.
Google deletes your telephone number from their database “after a period reasonably necessary to operate the service.”

21. “Disappearing” Ads
Currently, Google’s premium advertisements appear in a blue box at the top of the results page, with secondary advertisements on the right side of the page.
If you don’t click on the premium advertisements, Google is testing a way to remember that and to move those premium advertisements to the right as well.

22. Book Downloads [PDF]
Google Books now lets you download PDFs of public domain/”full view” books.
Do a search at books.google.com and click on “Full view books.”

23. Click the Download button
Book Downloads
Click on a link
Click the Download button

24. new google search tools

25. Google Accounts
Many of Google’s newest tools require you to have a free Google account [which is not the same as a Gmail account].
To create a new Google account,
Go to google.com/accounts
Click on the “Create an account now” link
Follow the on-screen prompts

27. Google Custom Search Engine
If you have a Google account, you can now create [and share with others] your own personal search engine that only searches the sites you specify.
Examples
Econ Search Engine
Edublogsphere Search
Mrs. Gray’s Research Sites for Kids

28. Setting Up a Disneyland Search Engine
Go to google.com/coop/cse/ and click on “Create a Search Engine”
Login with or create a Google account

29. The Happiest Search Engine on Earth
Key in the search engine’s name, description, and keywords.
Enter the sites you want your custom search engine to search.
You can choose between searching only the sites you enter or emphasizing these sites but allowing users to search the entire web.

30. Query: “Why does a churro cost $20?”
Try it out!
Share it with others [Google co-op > My search engines > Homepage]

31. Google Personalized Search
Google Personalized Search is an option for users with Google accounts.
Google Personalized Search reorders your search results based on your history of past searches, giving more weight to topics that interest you.
For example, if you search for “fly fishing” today your future results for a search on “bass” will be more heavily weighted toward fishing than the musical instrument.
google.com/psearch

32. Google Mobile Maps
Google Mobile Maps is a downloadable cell phone application that lets you view maps and satellite imagery, find local businesses, see real-time traffic information, and get driving directions on your cell phone.
Just go to google.com/gmm in your web-enabled cell phone [including Treos!]

33. Google Accessible Search
labs.google.com/ accessible/
Identifies and prioritizes search results that are more easily usable by blind and visually impaired users [based on W3C’s WCAG 1.0].
This is a GREAT tool for sighted users as well because it ‘ignores’ many spam and obnoxious multimedia Flash sites.
Image source:

34. SearchMash.com Searchmash.com is Google’s new search engine test bed.
Features Google is testing:
Key in your query without clicking on the search box.
Click on a URL hit and a pull-down list lets you refine your search.
Image results automatically appear at the bottom of your results page.
You can “compress” [or hide] your search results to show only the title and URLs of the hits.

35. Google Earth 4
Everyone knows about Google Earth, but version 4 [released November 2006] adds some new features:
A new, simpler user interface
Texturized buildings [based on Google Sketchup]
Built-in drawing tools
The ability to share geographic information with others using KML files
Download at earth.google.com

36. NEW GOOGLE CLASSROOM TOOLS
Image source:
NEW GOOGLE CLASSROOM TOOLS

37. Google Notebook google.com/notebook
Google Notebook is a free research tool, available to everyone with a Google account, that lets you create a notebook of your online discoveries – quotes, images, etc.
Think of this as Google’s 3x5 index cards for internet research.
Step one is to download and install a free Google Notebook browser extension for IE or Firefox.

38. Using Google Notebook
The next step is to find a resource you want to remember – a text passage and/or an image.
Highlight that resource and then click on the Open Notebook link in the bottom corner of your browser.
Click on the Add Note button.
This adds the highlighted resource and its URL, but not the date it was accessed. 

39. Reviewing Your Notebooks
To view, edit, and organize your notes, either choose Open Notebook > Actions > Go to Full Page view or go to google.com/notebook
You can
Edit or delete existing notes
Manually add new notes
Create new notebooks
Share your notebooks with other collaborators

40. Google for Educators google.com/educators
Google for Educators offers teacher’s guides for Google’s most popular tools.
These teacher’s guides include
Basic information about each tool
Examples of how educators are using those tools
Lesson ideas
The site also offers lesson plans and videos from Discovery Education that show you how to use Google Earth and Google SketchUp in the classroom.
google.com/educators

41. The Literacy Project http://www.google.com/literacy/
The Literacy Project is a resource for anyone interested in reading and education.
The tool links on the left side of the page link you to literacy-related tools that can be accessed using Google’s tools like Google Scholar, Google Video, etc.
Image source:

42. Google Shakespeare
You can now search, read, and download the complete plays of Shakespeare.
books.google.com/ googlebooks/ shakespeare/

43. News Archive Search
Google News now lets you search through over 200 years of news articles.
Just go to news.google.com and click on the “News Archive Search” link.

44. “All The News That’s Fit to Search”
The default search shows articles in order of relevance to the query.
The timeline presents a timeline of events and articles associated with the query.

45. New google office tools

46. GMAIL
gmail.com
Gmail is Google’s free webmail service that gives you 2.65 gigabytes of storage [as of 11/2006].
Google account holders do not automatically get access to Gmail.
To sign up for Gmail:
Ask a friend to send you an invitation
Get an invitation code sent to your cell phone via SMS
To check your mail
Go to gmail.com
Download and install the gmail app on your cell phone

47. New Gmail Features
Voice mail: Google Talk users can send you voice mail messages.
Contact groups: You can now send s to groups rather than just to individuals.
Chat: You can chat with other Gmail users.
Contact picture: Like in your IM program, you can add pictures in your contact information.
Delete: You can permanently delete messages.

48. Calendar calendar.google.com
Google Calendar is available to everyone with a Google account.
Google Calendar works like most other calendaring systems [with a Web 2.0 interface].
You can add four types of calendars:
Personal
Public
Friends
Holiday
calendar.google.com

49. “I’m late, I’m late for a very important date”
You can create events and automatically send invitations to your guests.
Your guests can RSVP to your invitations via .
You can share a calendar with your friends, a group, or the entire world.
You can subscribe to additional calendars.

50. Google Docs & Spreadsheets
docs.google.com
Google Docs & Spreadsheets is available to everyone with a Google account.
Docs & Spreadsheets lets you
Upload Word or Excel files or create new documents and spreadsheets online
Edit your files online
Invite others to edit your files online
View the files’ version histories and roll back to previous versions
Publish the finished files to the world as web pages or blog posts
Download the final, edited files as .doc, .rtf, .pdf, .html, and/or .zip files

51. Sketchup
Google Sketchup is a free, 3D modeling program for PCs available for download at sketchup.google.com.
Video tutorials are available at the same site.
You can print your 3D models, upload them to a free 3D warehouse, or even add them to Google Earth.
Image source:

52. Sample Sketchup Images

53. New google net tools

54. Google Reader
google.com/reader
Google Reader is a free, online reader that lets you subscribe to and read RSS and Atom feeds.
You don’t need to download and install any software.
Just login with your Google account [of course] and then start adding your favorite feeds.

55. Google Personalized Homepage
You can create your own Yahoo-esque Google homepage that shows you
Your latest Gmail messages,
Headlines from Google News and other top news sources,
Weather forecasts, stock quotes, and movie showtimes, and
Bookmarks for quick access to your favorite sites from any computer.
Google Personalized Homepage [a.k.a., “iGoogle”] is available to everyone with a Google account.
google.com/ig

56. Google Gadgets
On the Google Personalized Homepage, click on the “Add Stuff>>” link.
This takes you to a page of almost 2,000 “gadgets” you can add to your Google Homepage.
You can also add these gadgets to other, non-Google webpages – see

57. Google Page Creator
Google Page Creator is a free, online, WYSIWYG web editor that lets you easily create your own webpage.
Google even gives you your own URL [user.google.com/home] and 100 MB of storage for your pages and uploaded files.
pages.google.com

58. New google ANNOUNCEMENTS

59. Google Annoucements
For more information about what’s new and what’s next at Google, I recommend visiting the following sites:
Google Labs
Google Press Center
Google Blog
Google Blogscoped

60. Our Topics New search options New search results features
Search search tools
New classroom tools
New office tools
New net tools
New announcements

61. a presentation by Patrick Douglas Crispen
Keeping Up With the Googlebots: What’s New at Google [as of November 2006]
a presentation by
Patrick Douglas Crispen

62. This work is licensed by Patrick Crispen to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 license.