Europe Blog
Our views on the Internet and society
Big Data, Part II: Mining gold in public data
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes, calls it a “goldmine.” Better yet, Europe enjoys plenty of the resource. What is so potentially valuable? The data collected by governments.
Under Mrs. Kroes’s lead, the Commission is taking important steps to open access to public data. It is creating a European Open Data Portal making the Commission’s data accessible and easy to use. The Commission would like other public administrations to follow suit.
Public data could boost Europe’s economies without requiring new public spending.
Estimates
suggest that the European Union could add EUR 40 billion per year in the continent’s economic activity if it fully opened up access to public data. Another recent
study
finds that direct and indirect economic impact of public data amount to about EUR140 billion annually. Individuals and firms can use this information to develop new business ideas.
Another benefit is increased accountability of public services. Openness in public administration helps to nurture trust in institutions -which is particularly needed in times of economic crisis. Empowered and informed citizens may feel more confident to explore new ideas and create new businesses.
France has taken a strong step forward in this field.
Etalab
, the French governement initiative launched the
data.gouv.fr
site late last year. Journalists, researchers, and all French citizens now can analyze line by line the budget of the French government, or know what books are held by public libraries.
Etalab encourages the public to develop apps with the information. Citizens are able to build applications such as
where does my money go
. Along with other companies, we are sponsoring a service called Dataconnexions, which aims to boost the reuse of public data in general and especially those of the portal data.gouv.fr.
Data Connxtions
is organising a number of events throughout the year 2012, including four contests application development. We are holding Google Open Data Workshop, the first of which was held on March 14. Excerpts are visible below.
Bravo! We look forward to seeing more initiatives like Etalab in the future.
Patricia Wruuck, Policy Analyst, Brussels and Elisabeth Bargès, Public Policy and Government Affairs, Google France
2012: The Year of Big Data
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
“Big Data” looks set to become one of this year’s big business trends, and to our delight, Europe is taking a new, positive view on this long overlooked resource. European Commission officials recently have outlined ambitious EU
plans
to benefit from the increasingly large and complex datasets that permeate the information economy.”
We’re excited about the promise of Big Data. This week, we hosted at a policy colloquium in Mountain View, titled “Empowering Data-driven Innovation." Our RSVP list included the United Nations, White House, and Census Bureau; scholars like UC Berkeley’s Marti Hearst; and representatives from companies such as Salesforce and General Electric.
A decade ago, researchers estimated that around five exabytes of data was produced each year. Today, more than
five exabytes
of data were stored online every day. We recently announced that 60 hours of video is uploaded each minute on YouTube and Facebook users generated an average of 3.2 billion Likes and Comments per day during the first quarter of 2012. From Fusion Tables and Public Data Explorer to Flu Trends and Translate, Google’s data innovations and initiatives have produced robust tools for making sense of data.
Recent
research
from MIT professor Erik Brynjolfsson suggests that data-guided management provides private companies with a crucial competitive edge and that companies making good use of data can have five to six percent higher productivity. Professor Brynjolfsson is coming to Brussels and speaking at the
Bruegel Think Tank
on May 7. Retailers such as Zara analyze data of sales and inventory to speed up the fashion cycle; instead of launching new collections each six months, Zara has new ideas on the shelves within weeks. By sharing data and using controlled experimentation, Fiat and Nissan have cut new model development time by 30 to 50 percent.
Data provides the raw material to uncover patterns. Digital technologies also facilitate experimentation. These insights can be used to create new products and services and keep improving them. At Google, we use data to test new services and algorithms. At any one time, we are running 100-200 experiments, analyzing patterns in the results and seeing which versions produce the best feedback. Our own chief economist Hal Varian has predicted that the skills needed to make sense of this data will turn the job of a statistician into something sexy.
Public administration, not just the private sector, can gain from data innovation. During his recent visit to Brussels, our executive chairman Eric Schmidt recounted how the Germany’s federal labour agency managed to save about EUR10 billion - all while speeding up placing people in jobs. Data based innovation similarly can help address societal problems, reducing, for example, traffic congestion and emissions through providing real-time traffic information.
Like all good things, data can be misused so we need sensible approaches to deal with privacy issues. Yet the gains from data-driven innovation far outweigh any risks. One particular area of interest here in Brussels is opening access to the reams of data collected by governments. We’ll discuss this topic tomorrow.
Patricia Wruuck, Policy Analyst, Brussels
Supporting innovation in journalism
Monday, April 30, 2012
The digital age generates reams of raw data. Much of that data is interesting or important, but since there’s a lot of it out there it’s often hard to find and analyze. This is where journalists can help. Journalists are experts at delving into complex issues and writing stories that make them accessible—essential skills for dealing with the data deluge of the digital age. In order to support and encourage innovative data journalism, we’re sponsoring a series of prizes all across Europe.
Let’s start in the Nordics, where we recently partnered with Danish newspaper Dagbladet Information and Southern Denmark University’s Center for Journalism to sponsor the
Nordic News Hacker 2012
contest. Contestants were asked to create and submit a piece of data journalism—anything from a data mash-up to a new mobile app.
This year’s winner is Anders Pedersen. Ander’s project,
Doctors for Sale
, inspired by
Pro Publica’s Docs for Dollars
investigation in the United States, used raw data to uncover doctors who receive money from the pharmaceutical industry. He wins a $20,000 scholarship to work with the
Guardian Data Blog
in London for one month to further his investigative skills.
Several thousand kilometers south of Denmark at the
International Journalism Festival
, the
Global Editors Network
announced the 60 shortlisted projects for the Google-sponsored
Data Journalism Awards
. Some 320 projects were submitted from a diverse group of applicants including major media groups, regional newspapers, press associations, and entrepreneurial journalists from more than 60 countries. Six winners will be announced during the
News World Summit
, on May 31, 2012 in Paris.
In Vienna, the
International Press Institute
recently announced the winners of their News Innovation contest, sponsored by Google. Fourteen projects were selected, including digital training in the Middle East, corruption chasing in the Balkans, and citizen photojournalism in the UK. All use digital data and new technologies to tell stories or reach new audiences. The
winners
received a total of more than $1.7 million.
Congratulations to all the journalists and publications who are embracing the digital world!
Posted by Peter Barron, Director, External Relations Europe Middle East and Africa
Opening the Big Tent in Moscow
Friday, April 27, 2012
Russians are embracing the Internet and the government is encouraging the move online - some 18 million Russians already have broadband access. Right now the Internet economy contributes less than 2% to Russia’s GDP, but small businesses, start-ups and tech powerhouses are growing so fast that’s expected to rise to around 5% of GDP by 2015.
With that as a backdrop, we held our first Big Tent event in Moscow to debate some of the hot issues facing the Internet and society. We had speakers and guests from across Russian government, business and media, alongside well-known international web gurus.
Arkady Dvorkovich
, aide to the Russian President, kicked off the day by describing how the Internet is playing an important role in building a new level of democracy in Russia.
A lively debate followed on the role the Internet plays, and can play, in Russian civil society. Author
Jeff Jarvis
, data pioneer
Jon Gosier
, Transparency International’s
Elena Paniflova
and head of
Bigovernment.ru
Raf Shakirov discussed whether Russia’s burgeoning online activism can make itself heard offline. Will government-hosted services protect whistle blowers, can crowd sourcing tools put pressure on government for everything from fixing potholes to political change, and what are the prospects of increased government censorship?
The issue of online piracy is a hot one in Russia and an international panel of artistic types debated whether the Internet is an instrument for creating or for copying.
Artemy Troitsky
, a celebrated Russian rock critic, drew gasps, tweets and applause when he said intellectual property belongs to everyone - like love or air - and showed no sympathy for the intermediaries who complain of lost revenues.
Marc Sands
of London’s
Tate
Gallery spoke of his organisation’s decision to put every single work they have online, including through Google’s
Art Project
.
Another key area of conversation centered on the economic impact of the Internet, specifically how to encourage innovation in fast-developing economies such as Russia, Brazil, India and China (the so-called BRICs). Why have global Internet companies generally failed to emerge from outside the US or Western Europe? Should Russia and other BRIC countries aim to create copycats of the global leaders, or entirely new business models? Jacques Bughin of
McKinsey
,
Leonid Boguslavksy
, one of Russia’s most successful Internet investors, and the digital trends author
Mike Walsh
didn’t agree on all the answers, but they were optimistic about the potential for growth in Russia.
Google has a big presence in Russia, with engineering offices in both Moscow and St. Petersburg. David Drummond, Google’s Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Chief Legal officer, came from our Mountain View headquarters to take part. He fielded questions on a range of topics, from our new
computer-aided glasses
to his opinion on what regulatory regime is most conducive for Internet innovation and growth.
You’ll be able to watch videos of all the sessions on our
YouTube channel
soon, alongside previous discussions and details of upcoming events. Next stop for the Big Tent is in London in May.
Posted by Peter Barron, Director, External Relations Europe Middle East and AfricaSoAndSo Team
Meeting a royal leader in Belgium
Thursday, April 26, 2012
It’s not everyday that you meet a crown prince to discuss the future of the Internet. We had the privilege this week to address Belgium’s
Prince Philippe
.
Each year, the Prince’s
foundation
invites 16 aspiring young journalists between the age of 20 and 25 to compete in a journalism contest called
Belgodyssee
- Belgian Odyssey.
Winners are picked in December. Importantly, the contestants come from all the Belgian’s three (French, Dutch and German) language communities and they are obliged to work together.
Before the competition begins, the contestants attend series of master class courses on journalism. Google was invited to speak about freedom of speech, alongside Belgium's top-notch journalists Alain Gerlache of French-speaking RTBF and Luc Rademakers, the editor in chief of Flemish national television VRT. In addition to this year’s contestants, more than 100 participants in previous years attended the event at the Residence Palace in Brussels.
All three lectures focused on journalistic responsibility in dealing with new social media and on freedom of expression on the net. We presented our approach to these issues. The debate was animated and the Prince himself intervened with a question about the limits of free expression. As a company with the explicit mission to “make all the world’s information universally accessible and useful” - we explained how we protect our users’ privacy in the face of government demands for information and how we grapple with the tough question of how much speech is too much speech.
Right now we are standing at a critical crossroads in ensuring human rights and civil liberties for people around the world. Its good to know that royal leaders are taking note and the next generation of journalists is taking interest.
Posted by Tineke Meijerman, Communications, Benelux
Celebrating Exceptional Young Minds
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Its time to celebrate the ten winners of our ‘
Zeitgeist Young Minds
’ online competition.
All are aged between 18 and 24 and have done something exceptional through science, the arts, education and innovation. They will attend Google’s annual Zeitgeist event near London on May 21 and 22, alongside some of today's greatest minds and innovators. While in London, they will participate in masterclasses and have their voices heard.
A panel of prestigious judges chose the winners. It included UK Digital Champion
Martha Lane Fox
, social entrepreneur and hip-hop artist
Akala
, award winning inventor
Emily Cummins
, software developer and founder of metaLayer.com
Jonathan Gosier
, and Channel 4 news presenter and correspondent
Jon Snow
.
The winners are:
Ada Umeofia, 19 from Nigeria:
WeBuilt: Africa is a design-centered social enterprise that redesigns and constructs market stalls for poverty-stricken Africans by recycling found building materials in slums.
View the entr
Alex Leboucher, 21 from France:
The Schoolbag (NGO) connects young people to education and a sustainable future by enabling children to pursue an education by providing eco-friendly school supplies.
View the entry
Elliott Verreault, 23 from Sweden:
It'sOneHumanity: The Humanitarian Social Network is inspiring a new humanitarian culture by leveraging the stories of humanitarian workers with the help of social media.
View the entry
James Boon, 23 from the UK:
Socially responsible enterprise ElephantBranded.com, sends a school bag to a child in Asia and Africa for each product sold on the website.
View the entry
Joel Mwale, 19 from Kenya:
Skydrop Enterprise Inc has brought safe drinking water to a community of 5,000 and has become a profitable enterprise from selling bottled water across Kenya and Uganda.
View the entry
Jordan Ridge, 23 from South Africa:
Made by Mosaic is a job creation project fro women in South Africa addressing the challenges of economic development in the townships.
View the entry
Maaike Veenkamp, 23 from the UK:
Off The Bench is a project with a core aim to empower young people through positive activities.
View the entry
Sibusiso Tshabalala, 20 from South Africa:
Developed reading clubs and a library renovation programme in South Africa to encourage critical thinking and thoughtful debate within local high schools.
View the entry
Simeon Oriko, 23 from Kenya:
The Kuyu Project trains school children on how to use social media for social change and promotes digital literacy.
View the entry
Simon Straetker, 19 from Germany:
An independent filmmaker, promoting conservational and social projects around the world making videos that engage young people with their natural environments.
View the entry
Congratulations! We're looking forward to hosting these talents here in the UK.
Posted by Elizabeth Dupuy, Event Manager, External Relations
Launching an Internet lecture program
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
In March, Belgium’s Prime Minister
Elio Di Rupo
visited our Brussels headquarters to celebrate our
partnership
with the Mundaneum, a pioneering 1920's Belgian project that we see as, in many ways, an ancestor of Google.
This month marked the launch of our joint lecture series, with an evening exploring linguistic diversity on the Web.The Mundaneum’s headquarters in the southern Belgian city of Mons was packed for the first Google-sponsored lecture. I was privileged to introduce the main speaker
Louis Pouzin
, the inventor of the
datagram
and designer of an early
packet
communications network.
From Google’s perspective, the Net offers fantastic possibilities to promote local languages. Our
Google Translate
now serves 53 languages, from Afrikaans to Yiddish, including Basque, Gujarati, and Swahili. At the click of a computer mouse, web pages can be instantaneously translated, allowing anybody, anywhere, to understand a web page.
In other ways, too, Google is committed to reviving and promoting local culture. Our partnership with Mundaneum is part of a larger project to revive the memory of Europe’s computing pioneers. The next lecture at the Mundaneum is scheduled for this autumn.
Robert Cailliau
, a Belgian computer scientist who, together with
Sir Tim Berners-Lee
, developed the
World Wide Web
. We look forward to seeing you in Mons.
Posted by Thierry Geerts, Managing Director, Belgium
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