At Google News Lab, we believe technology can and should support the creation of quality journalism.
We know that the best journalistic innovations come from within the newsroom, when journalists and technologists work together at the centre of the action.
That's why we are thrilled to expand the Australia Google News Lab Fellowship in its second year, in partnership with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Walkley Foundation. Applications are now open.
We’re seeking Fellows to spend the 2017/18 summer embedded in the ABC newsroom, working on data journalism and product development projects that will help one of Australia’s largest newsrooms experiment and innovate with the latest storytelling technologies.

Google News Lab works with newsrooms, startups and journalism organisations around the world.

The Fellowship is open to anyone with technology skills that they’d like to apply to create new innovative forms of journalism, under the guidance of some of Australia’s most experienced journalists. Over the past two years we’ve steadily expanded the Google News Lab Fellowship program to help build the next generation of digital journalists across the world.
Last year we launched the program in Australia in partnership with Fairfax Media, placing Matthew Baker from the University of New South Wales inside the Sydney Morning Herald’s newsroom.

Australian News Lab Fellow Matt Baker (second from right) with other Fellows at Google headquarters last year.

Matthew worked on two main projects - a data-driven analysis of the late-night lockout laws in Sydney, and a recommendation tool designed to increase audience engagement.
We look forward to welcoming a new cohort of passionate Australian journalism innovators this year to expand and broaden the impact of the Fellowship program.

You can learn more about the fellowship program and our participating media organisations at the Walkley Foundation’s website. Applications are open until October 29.
Posted by Irene Jay Liu, Google News Lab Lead, APAC

Can getting online really boost your business bottom line? Turns out that digitally engaged small businesses are more than 50 per cent more likely to be growing, according to a new study released today.

The 2017 Deloitte Connected Small Business report found Australian businesses are becoming increasingly tech savvy, with more adopting digital tools to help their business thrive.

And they’re seeing great results - SMBs with advanced levels of digital engagement are 8 times more likely to be creating jobs. They’re also 7 times more likely to be exporting, which is good news for those businesses and the Australian economy.



Small businesses make a big contribution, accounting for more than two-thirds of private sector employment in Australia. This means the opportunities are huge.

Wine retailer Vinomofo is a great example of a business using the web to grow. They now employ more than 100 staff and supply over 540,000 wine lovers across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, and they're looking at expanding to other export destinations.

While digital engagement has increased, there is still huge untapped potential with the report finding 87 per cent of SMBs are not taking full advantage of digital tools. Small business operators identified a number of barriers to engagement, including a lack of digital skills. In fact, more than 60 per cent of businesses listed skills among the top 3 barriers to digital engagement.

We want all businesses to have the chance to succeed online, that’s why we created The Digital Garage, a free online digital skills training platform. You can also join one of our Digital Garage workshops - keep an eye out for events in your area (next stop Darwin)!

The online opportunity for small businesses is huge. Get the skills you need and help your business take off!

Posted by Richard Flanagan, Head of Business Marketing, Google Australia and New Zealand

Last year, we launched our first Pixel phone made by Google. We started on this journey by asking “What if smartphones were smarter and simpler?” We set out to make the smartphone experience better and bring the best of Google to the most important device in your life. With Pixel, we created the world’s best smartphone camera and the first phone with the Google Assistant. We were excited that so many of you liked it so much. So we didn’t stop there.

Today, along with a new family of hardware products, we’re excited to announce Google Pixel 2. With this launch, we want you to be able to ask even more from your phone—with the highest-rated camera in the world1 that helps you take great pictures and interact with the world around you, all-day battery life2 and an Assistant that understands you better and helps you get more done.

Pixel 2 is loaded with great features, so let me take you through a few of our favourite ones.

The best smartphone camera, again

Taking great photos and videos is one of the things you do most with your phone, so we set out to deliver the best photography experience. You get stunningly crisp, clear, and detailed photos in any light. You can also take high-quality portrait shots with the perfect background blurs, from both the front and back camera. New motion photos capture a few seconds of video around the shot so you can relive the moment around the picture. The Pixel 2 camera is powered by our computational photography and machine learning (ML) capabilities which make all these great features easy, fun and fast for you to use.

We’ve made video capture better too by combining both optical and electronic video stabilisation to give you remarkably smooth video, even when you’re on the move. All of these great features mean you can take the best photos and videos with Pixel 2. And don’t just take our word for it; independent camera experts, DxOMark, have rated the Pixel 2 camera as the best camera of any smartphone, with an unprecedented score of 98.1 To top it off, we’re once again providing free unlimited online storage for all of the photos and videos taken on your Pixel.4

Your camera will keep getting better over time. As just one example, coming soon and exclusive to Pixel, you’ll be able to play with Augmented Reality (AR) Stickers, so you can add playful emojis and virtual characters to your photos and videos and set the scene for your very own stories.

Search what you see

Pixel 2 owners will also get an exclusive preview of Google Lens — a new set of visual smarts that help you learn more about the world around you and get things done. It builds on Google’s advancements in computer vision and ML, combined with our Knowledge Graph which underpins Google Search. From day one, on your Pixel 2, you’ll be able to look up landmarks, books, music albums, movies, and artwork, by clicking on the Lens icon in Google Photos. You can also use Google Lens to copy URLs and contact info from a picture of a poster or business card. We’ll add capabilities on an ongoing basis, including to use of Lens in the Google Assistant.

The Google Assistant, built in

The Google Assistant makes many tasks—from sending a text or making a call, to finding an answer—faster, easier and hands-free.5 With Pixel 2, you can access your Google Assistant with a new feature called Active Edge. Just give the phone a quick squeeze—even when it’s in a case—and ask the Assistant for what you need.

Your Assistant now helps you manage more settings and apps on your phone. You can say “turn on do not disturb” on your way into the theater, instead of having to navigate through your settings.You can also control your music and find answers to pretty much anything. The Google Assistant on Pixel not only understands you better but can also be more personal to you, helping you get more done at any time.

Do more, worry less

We’ve all been caught with a dead battery, so we made sure the Pixel 2 has a battery that lasts all day.2 And if you ever need a quick boost, 15 minutes of charging gives you up to seven hours of usage.2 It’s also water- and dust- resistant to the IP67 standard3 and comes with important security features baked in. With monthly security updates from Google, your Pixel will always have the most advanced security precautions built in — no more worrying about updating or upgrading.

We’re also making it easy to switch to Pixel. Most people will be able to copy their contacts, apps, messages, photos, and even their iMessages from their old phones to Pixel in 10 minutes or less.6 It’s fast and painless.

Just give me the deets, already

Pixel 2 comes in two sizes, with the same great features in both. There’s the 5-inch Pixel 2 with a crystal-clear cinematic OLED display, which comes in Just Black, Clearly White and Kinda Blue. The 6-inch Pixel 2 XL has a razor-sharp pOLED 18:9 display which allows us to create a full screen, immersive viewing experience, and comes in Just Black and Black & White.

Both phones are powered by Android 8.0 Oreo and come with an always-on display which lets you see notifications at a glance on Pixel’s screen without having to touch the power button. The new Now Playing feature, exclusive to Pixel, shows you on the Always-On display what song is playing around you. With your permission it matches music to a database of thousands of songs that’s stored on your device, without sending any information to Google.

Alongside Pixel we’re launching new cases and accessories. That includes our customisable Google Live Cases, and a range of other cases, cables, headphones and more from over 25 partners in our “made for Google” program. The "made for" products will feature a badge on the packaging so you know they've been certified to meet Google's compatibility standards.

Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will be available nationwide from Telstra, JB- HiFi and Google Store. You can register your interest for Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL today at the Google Store and Telstra, and pre-order from October 20 starting at RRP $1079.  

There's so much more to Pixel 2, but I'm sure I've already violated some blog post length rules. I hope you'll visit the Google Store to find out more.

Posted by Mario Queiroz, Vice President and General Manager for Phones, Google

1 Based on a September 2017 test from DxOMark Mobile.

2 Based on use of the included charger and a mix of talk, data, and standby use with always on display off.  Actual results may vary, see website for details.  

3Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL have a water protection rating of IP67 under IEC standard 60529. Charger and accessories are not water resistant.

4 Unlimited original-quality online storage for photos and videos taken on Pixel until Jan 15, 2021; unlimited high-quality online storage for photos taken on Pixel afterwards. Requires Google Account + internet connection

5 Requires internet connection and Google account.

6 Transfer time depends on data stored on your phone. Some third-party data may not be transferred automatically. Visit g.co/pixelcare for information. For information on transferring other content and data that isn’t stored on your old phone, visit the Google Customer Care Centre.

Today, we’re welcoming a new product to the Google Home family: Google Home Mini. Mini is a small and mighty device for hands-free help in every room, packed with the power of the Google Assistant.

Google Home Mini

Mini makes the Google Assistant more accessible than ever at home. We designed it to fit naturally in any room. It’s sleek and smooth, with no corners or edges, and about the size of a donut. Its fabric enclosure is durable, yet transparent enough to let through both light and sound. The LEDs under the fabric light up to show you when your Assistant hears you. And it projects 360-degree sound so you’ll never miss a beat. With far-field microphones, Mini can hear you even when there’s music playing or there’s other noise in the background. Mini comes in three colors—Chalk, Charcoal and Coral. At $79 (RRP), Google Home Mini works on its own or you can have a few around the house, giving you the power of Google anywhere in your home.

The Google Assistant

The entire Google Home family has the Google Assistant built-in, so you can get answers from Google, tackle your day, enjoy your entertainment, and control your smart home (with an internet connection).  Your Assistant is always getting better, and today we’re introducing a couple of new features:

Step-by-step recipes

We really have our hands full when we’re cooking. We have to prep ingredients, clean as we go – all while carefully following instructions. Unless you’re a seasoned chef, your favourite recipe book may end up covered in dough. To help with this, soon your Google Assistant will free up your hands, save you from mess and keep you focused with voice-activated recipe instructions. Just say “Ok Google, next step” to keep moving through the recipe.

Find your phone

Lost your Android phone? No big deal. Soon you’ll be able to ask your Assistant on Google Home to “find my phone” and hear it ring in its last location, even when it’s on vibrate!

Broadcast

Soon you’ll be able to broadcast a message to let the family know when it’s time to get a move on. Just say “Hey Google, broadcast it’s time to leave for footy training!” and it’ll play on the other Google Home devices around the house.

Apps for the Google Assistant

Last month, we enabled apps for the Google Assistant with the launch of our developer platform, Actions on Google in Australia. This means lots of your favourite brands can build for the Google Assistant and Aussies can enjoy easy and fast access to more services and content.  Just say "Ok Google, talk to..." and your Assistant will connect you with a range of apps, including Woolworths, eBay, NAB, Optus, Domain, AFL (by Telstra), Concrete Playground, Word Bubble (by 3P Learning) and more.

Availability

Google Home Mini will be available for $79 (RRP) later this month from JB Hi-Fi, Telstra, Harvey Norman, Officeworks, The Good Guys, David Jones and Google Store. And you’ll be able to pre-order today from select retailers so you don’t miss out.

Posted by Rishi Chandra, VP, Product Management, Google Home 

Virtual and augmented reality have the potential to make computing more immersive, intuitive and powerful. With augmented reality, you can interact with digital objects that are integrated seamlessly in the real world around you. With virtual reality, you can experience what it’s like to go anywhere. We just announced the new Pixel 2, which gives you access to amazing smartphone AR and high-quality mobile VR in the same device.

AR: Have fun and get things done

Aside from taking great photos and videos, the Pixel 2’s camera is factory calibrated and optimized for augmented reality. It enables robust tracking, even in low-light conditions, and 60 frames per second rendering of AR objects. That means you’ll be able to have really engaging AR experiences.

Soon, we’re putting AR objects and characters at your fingertips in a new experience called AR Stickers. With it, you’ll be able to express yourself with playful emojis and set the scene for your very own stories. If you’re powering through an afternoon slump, you can take a picture with a tired cup of coffee from the Food-moji pack. Or, if you’re feeling festive, shoot a happy birthday video for your friend with lots of AR balloons. These stickers give you new ways to be creative and capture how you’re feeling, so you can share with the people in your life. It works right in the camera, and it’ll be exclusive to the Pixel.

We’ll release more new AR Sticker packs in the future, so keep your eyes peeled around the changing seasons, holidays and big pop culture moments. You’ll be able to interact with your favourite characters from “Stranger Things,” and be part of the scene as Eleven faces off against the Demogorgon. Team up with R2D2 to save the day with the Star Wars pack. Hang out with your favourite NBA Stars, and challenge Jimmy Fallon to a lip sync battle.

We’re previewing apps and experiences built by our partners with ARCore, the augmented reality SDK for Android. With Houzz, you’ll be able to bring the showroom into your living room and see how different furniture, accent pieces and more fit into your space. With Musical.ly, you can unleash your inner creative genius and pepper your video creations with awesome AR characters. Experience the real-time action of a League of Legends match through an augmented reality map, built by Grab Games. And with LEGO Brickheadz, have fun building virtual models in AR with characters that come to life, without fear of stepping on that last 2x4 brick.

AR Stickers and lots of other AR experiences will be available in the coming months.

VR: More immersive with an all-new Daydream View

We’re also announcing a new Google Daydream View headset, which you can pair with Pixel 2 or another Daydream-ready phone for great virtual reality. With this new headset, we kept the best parts of the original—it’s comfortable, easy to use and built with choice in mind—and made them even better. The new Daydream View has high performance lenses, which result in better image clarity and a wider field of view. It sports a premium two-tone fabric that makes the headset soft and light, and it’s coming to the Google Store in Fog, Coral and Charcoal, and to other retailers in select colours.  

There’s so much to experience on Daydream. Last year, we launched with 25 apps and games. Daydream now has more than 250 titles, so you’ll never run out of things to do. Over the last year, we’ve also seen how much people love watching immersive VR video on apps like YouTube VR. And no wonder: great VR video puts you in the center of the action. It’s a totally different experience from watching on a flat screen.

We’re bringing you more of these amazing, only-in-VR moments with a slate of new and exclusive premium content for Daydream. Get closer than front row seats with intimate performances from your favourite stars like Ed Sheeran in Austin City Limits Backstage. Hear personal confessions from huge comics like Trevor Noah in “The Confessional”, a YouTube VR original from Felix & Paul. Venture to all seven continents with Discovery’s TRVLR series, and blast off into space with IMAX in Google Play Movies.

Learn more and buy

With Google Pixel 2, you’ll have easy access to both AR and VR. We can’t wait for you to get your hands on it and start exploring. Learn more here.

The new Google Daydream View will be available later this year at Telstra, JB Hi-Fi and the Google Store for RRP $149.

Some apps / content require internet connection. Additional charges may apply.

Posted by Clay Bavor, VP of Virtual and Augmented Reality

What if your headphones could do more than let you listen to your favourite music? What if they could help you get things done without having to look at your phone? What if they could help you answer (almost!) any question just by asking, or even help you understand someone speaking a different language?

We wanted to make a more helpful pair of headphones. Today, we’re introducing Google Pixel Buds. They’re wireless headphones that not only sound great, but are seamless to use and charge, offer help from the Google Assistant, and have a few extra smarts so you can get the answers you need while keeping your eyes up.

Fit them, charge them, pair them—made simple

From getting the right fit, to keeping them charged, Pixel Buds are really simple to use. They’ve got a unique fabric loop, making them comfortable, secure, and quick to adjust without having to swap out pieces. We put all the audio controls into a touchpad on the right earbud, so there aren’t any buttons hanging on the cord. Just swipe forward or backward to control volume and tap to play or pause your music. Charging and storing them is easy - they nestle right into a pocket-sized charging case that gives you up to 24 hours of listening time. And, pairing them is a cinch. Just open the charging case near your Pixel or Android phone running Android 7.0 Nougat or higher with the Assistant, and your phone will automatically detect them and ask you if you want to connect.

Get help from the Google Assistant with just a touch

Pixel Buds bring Google smarts right to your ears, with answers and intel that would make James Bond jealous. Touch and hold the right earbud to ask your Assistant to play music, make a phone call, or get directions, all without pulling out your phone. If you have an upcoming meeting or you’re waiting on a text from a friend, the Assistant can alert you to a calendar event or incoming message, and even read it to you if you can’t look at your phone at that moment.

Be multilingual with Google Translate and Pixel

And, they can even act as your translator in real-time using Google Translate on Pixel. It’s like you’ve got your own personal translator with you everywhere you go. Say you’re on a trip to Melbourne’s Little Italy , and you want to order your pasta like a pro. All you have to do is hold down on the right earbud and say, “Help me speak Italian.” As you talk, your Pixel phone’s speaker will play the translation in Italian out loud. When the waiter responds in Italian, you’ll hear the translation through your Pixel Buds. If you’re more of a sushi or French comfort food fan, no need to worry, it works in 40 languages.

Pixel Buds come in three colors—Just Black, Clearly White, and Kinda Blue to match your Pixel 2 (sold separately). They’ll be available from the Google Store and select Telstra and JB Hi-Fi stores soon for $249 (RRP).

With Pixel Buds, we’re excited to put all the power of the Google Assistant into a pair of headphones you can take with you everywhere, so you can easily control your tunes, get walking directions to the nearest coffee spot or have a conversation with someone from another country without ever pulling out your phone.

Posted by Adam Champy,  Product Manager for Pixel Buds

More than 1 million people visit Tasmania each year. They go for the rugged landscape, great food and wine, historic sites and world-class cultural institutions. Many of these trips are researched and booked online, and that means there’s a great opportunity for digitally savvy local businesses to connect with consumers.

With this in mind, more than 120 business owners came together in Hobart last Thursday for a free digital skills training event, hosted by Google Australia and the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The workshop aimed to help small business owners gain new digital skills and make the most of the web. Tasmanian Minister for Information Technology and Innovation, Michael Ferguson joined the event and spoke about the great digital opportunity for Tasmanian businesses.



Research from Deloitte found that digitally engaged small businesses are 1.5 times more likely to be growing and 7 times more likely to be exporting, but many businesses are not taking full advantage of today’s digital tools.



Guests heard from local business owner Robert Knight on how he uses Google tools to promote his tourism enterprise The Bruny Island Long Weekend.

The Bruny Island Long Weekend is a family-owned and run business offering three-days of coastal walks, luxury camping and gourmet meals. Robert spoke about how he uses Google AdWords to reach new customers and shared tips for other businesses looking to engage online.

Images courtesy of The Bruny Island Long Weekend

Every month, Google drives tens of millions of direct connections between businesses and their customers in Australia including calls, online reservations and direction requests.

The opportunity for businesses in Tasmania and beyond is huge. Want to find out more about how to get your business online? Check out The Digital Garage online and find upcoming Digital Garage events - next stop Darwin!

Posted by John Ball, Country Manager, Google Marketing Solutions, Google Australia and New Zealand

Journalism provides accurate and timely information when it matters most, shaping our understanding of important issues and pushing us to learn more in search of the truth. People come to Google looking for high-quality content, and our job is to help them find it. However, sometimes that content is behind a paywall.
While research has shown that people are becoming more accustomed to paying for news, the sometimes painful process of signing up for a subscription can be a turn off. That’s not great for users or for news publishers who see subscriptions as an increasingly important source of revenue.
To address these problems we’ve been talking to news publishers about how to support their subscription businesses with a focus on the following:

• First, Flexible Sampling will replace First Click Free. Publishers are in the best position to determine what level of free sampling works best for them. So as of this week, we are ending the First Click Free policy, which required publishers to provide a minimum of three free articles per day via Google Search and Google News before people were shown a paywall. 
• Longer term, we are building a suite of products and services to help news publishers reach new audiences, drive subscriptions and grow revenue. 
• We are also looking at how we can simplify the purchase process and make it easy for Google users to get the full value of their subscriptions across Google’s platforms. 

Our goal is to make subscriptions work seamlessly everywhere, for everyone.
First Click Free 
We will end our First Click Free policy in favour of a Flexible Sampling model where publishers will decide how many, if any, free articles they want to provide to potential subscribers based on their own business strategies. This move is informed by our own research, publisher feedback, and months-long experiments with the New York Times and the Financial Times, both of which operate successful subscription services.
"Google's decision to let publishers determine how much content readers can sample from search is a positive development,” said Kinsey Wilson, an adviser to New York Times CEO Mark Thompson. "We're encouraged as well by Google's willingness to consider other ways of supporting subscription business models and we are looking forward to continuing to work with them to craft smart solutions."
Publishers generally recognise that giving people access to some free content is the way to persuade people to buy their product. The typical approach to sampling is a model called metering, which lets people see a pre-determined number of free stories before a paywall kicks in. We recommend the following approach:

• Monthly, rather than daily, metering allows publishers more flexibility to experiment with the number of free stories to offer people and to target those more likely to subscribe.
• For most publishers, 10 articles per month is a good starting point.
• Please see our Webmaster blog and our guide on Flexible Sampling for more detail on these approaches.

“Try before you buy” underlines what many publishers already know—they need to provide some form of free sampling to be successful on the internet. If it’s too little, then fewer users will click on links to that content or share it, which could have an effect on brand discovery and subsequently may affect traffic over time.
Subscription support
Subscribing to great content should not be as hard as it is today. Registering on a site, creating and remembering multiple passwords, and entering credit card information—these are all hassles we hope to solve.
As a first step we’re taking advantage of our existing identity and payment technologies to help people subscribe on a publication’s website with a single click, and then seamlessly access that content anywhere— whether it’s on that publisher site or mobile app, or on Google Newsstand, Google Search or Google News.
And since news products and subscription models vary widely, we’re collaborating with publishers around the world on how to build a subscription mechanism that can meet the needs of a diverse array of approaches—to the benefit of the news industry and consumers alike.
We’re also exploring how Google’s machine learning capabilities can help publishers recognise potential subscribers and present the right offer to the right audience at the right time.
“It's extremely clear that advertising alone can no longer pay for the production and distribution of high quality journalism—and at the same time the societal need for sustainable independent journalism has never been greater. Reader-based revenue, aka paid-content, or subscription services, are therefore not just a nice-to-have, but an essential component of a publisher's revenue composition,” said Jon Slade, FT Chief Commercial Officer. “The Financial Times is welcoming of Google's input and actions to help this critical sector of the media industry, and we've worked very closely with Google to aid understanding of the needs that publishers have and how Google can help. That mutual understanding includes the ability to set controls over the amount of free content given to readers, a level playing field for content discovery, optimised promotion and payment processes. It is important that we now build and accelerate on the discussions and actions to date.”
We are just getting started and want to get as much input from publishers—large, small, national, local, international—to make sure we build solutions together that work for everyone.
Richard Gingras, VP News, Google