Google

Google has been teasing us lately with driblets of information on Glasses, their new heads up display. And this morning someone finally posted a video which had been shot with the device.

The clip is 15 seconds long. It’s shot in 720p and is a first-person view from someone bouncing around on a trampoline. The video quality is quite good considering the size of the camera and all the electronics shoved inside the Glasses.

Google has also shared a number of photos over on the Google Glasses fan page on Google Plus. Some are pretty decent.

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.

Google recently unveiled a major change to its mysterious and powerful search engine algorithm. Along with this “Penguin update,” many of the search engine optimization (SEO) techniques that websites once utilized no longer work.

The search engine giant is a major source of discovery for apps and web-based writers, so we’ve collected some advice to make sure your online writing doesn’t get punished by the Google Penguin update. The five tips follow below…

Google explained the update: “this algorithm represents another improvement in our efforts to reduce webspam and promote high quality content. While we can’t divulge specific signals because we don’t want to give people a way to game our search results and worsen the experience for users, our advice for webmasters is to focus on creating high quality sites that create a good user experience and employ white hat SEO methods instead of engaging in aggressive webspam tactics.”

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If the news in CNet’s interview yesterday is as true as it sounds then the best feature of Google’s hottest new product won’t actually be on it when it ships.

Rafe Needleman of CNet visited Google’s HQ yesterday and he got a close look at Goolge Glasses. He didn’t get to wear them, but he was able to pin down several Googler’s long enough to interrogate them on the device. Read more

Google+ has rolled out a whole toolbox filled with new options for video Hangouts in the new social network.

This AppNewser editor experimented with the new service today (recording the video chat about Internet Week embedded above). To help readers record videos, we’ve included a short guide below for recording your next Google+ Hangout.

The Google+ Hangouts Over Air feature will be rolled out for users over the next few weeks. Here’s more from Google: “Record and re-share. Once you’re off the air, we’ll upload a public recording to your YouTube channel, and to your original Google+ post. This way it’s easy to share and discuss your broadcast after it’s over.”

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Wish you could build book trailers or YouTube videos straight from your new Google Drive? The video embedded above will show you how.

Today on the Morning Media Menu, Social Times staff writer Devon Glenn showed us how the WeVideo editing app that lets you upload video with Google Drive. The company offers a free 1GB plan, letting users play with the new tool. Check it out:

People can use WeVideo to upload and store their video files directly from their mobile phones, desktop or laptop computers. From there, they can edit the files with tools comparable to those on iMovie, like adding filters or making transitions between clips. They can also add music from a cache of royalty-free tracks. As with Google Docs, WeCreate users can invite friends and colleagues to collaborate on the project without having to email each other the files. When the video is complete, they can share it on social networks like Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, and Twitter.

If you have a few minutes to spare this morning, try googling Zerg Rush.

Google is well known for embedding easter eggs in its various services, and today is no exception. This  one is a point and shoot game which references the classic PC game, Starcraft. Your goal is to shoot the zeros before they eat all your search results.

Enjoy, and have a happy weekend.

Google’s cloud storage solution is tipped to go live next week, and some of the apps and supporting information have already leaked.

The Next Web is reporting that Google Drive is likely to launch next Tuesday where it will be joining Dropbox, Amazon, Apple, and others in a very crowded market. Like its competitors, Google Drive will offer a free entry level service with 5GB of storage. That’s more than Dropbox’s free plan, but it’s also less than what Amazon offers (where you can get 20GB of storage for under a dollar)

Speaking of apps, Google Drive is rumored to have apps for OSX, Windows, iOS, and Android. What’s more, the OSX app has already leaked. TechCrunch found and installed it last night. It doesn’t work, of course, but the app does exist.

The American Booksellers Association (ABA) is speaking out against Google discontinuing the Google eBooks reseller program.

The response comes after the ABA learned that as of January 31, 2013, Google will no longer serve as an eBook whole seller for indies like IndieCommerce and Powell’s. The program will be discontinued in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France and Australia.

In a letter addressed to ABA members, ABA CEO Oren Teicher wrote: “To say the least, we are very disappointed in Google’s decision, but it was not entirely unexpected. However, we have every confidence that, long before Google’s reseller program is discontinued, ABA will be able to offer IndieCommerce users a new alternative e-book product, or choice of products, that will  not only replace Google eBooks as it currently works on IndieCommerce sites but that will be in many ways a better product.”

If you are researching books for younger audiences or just helping a young person try to navigate the Internet, Google has a feature that will let you set the specific reading level on search results.

For instance, a middle school science teacher looking up earthquakes might want different search results than a geologist that wants up-to-date research on a subject. To search Google by reading level, Google has published the following steps:

1. Click the  gear icon in the top right corner of the search results page.
2. Click Advanced Search.
3. Next to “Reading level” within the “Need more tools” section, select your desired reading level (basic, intermediate, or advanced) or choose to show all results annotated with reading levels.

UPDATE: Follow this link for another way to set your Google reading preferences.