“Hey Google, read with Reese’s Book Club”
As a young girl growing up in Venezuela, I had an insatiable appetite for reading. From fictional novels to computer science manuals, you name it, I would read it. Books allowed me to get lost in other worlds, expand my imagination and ultimately inspire me to dream bigger. These days, you can catch me reading with my two young kids or when I take some quiet “me time” on the weekends.
That’s why I’m delighted that Google Assistant has partnered with Reese’s Book Club to offer a hands-free, immersive reading experience on Nest smart speakers, smart displays and Assistant-enabled mobile devices in English-speaking countries across the globe. Assistant users can now discover Reese Witherspoon’s monthly book picks, take a quiz for personalized book recommendations and get exclusive commentary about each book pick from Reese herself.
Equilibrium: 10 Tips to Balance Creativity and Process in B2B Content Marketing
Marketers have to continually earn and reward people’s attention. If we fail at that task, there are plenty of other content options out there. People — yes, even B2B buyers — want engaging, entertaining and valuable content.
That’s great news for those of us on the content side! It means we should be regularly exercising our creative muscles, breaking free of boring B2B, and coming up with new ways to delight our readers. How cool is it, for example, to make Ghostbusters references… for your job?
But as fun and creative as the work can be, there’s a cerebral and analytical side to marketing that we can’t neglect. If you came into marketing through creative writing, not the other way around, you may need to develop the left-brain part of the job:
- Writing for a specific audience
- Meeting audience demand for information
- Prompting the audience to take action
- Staying organized
- Improving results over time
Here are 10 tips that I use to make sure I stay grounded and organized, even while working on wildly creative content. (Speaking of which, our client Dell Technologies just published this spy-movie-themed eBook which is just lovely).
1 — Embrace Keyword Research
For too long, content creators treated SEO like an add-on — something you sprinkled in after the content was done. It wasn’t part of the creative process. It was just a thing you had to do to make sure the bots recommended your content.
But now we know better. Keyword research should be part of the content planning process. And not because it makes bots like your content better, either. A high-volume keyword means it’s a keyword that real actual people are searching for, because they have a need that must be met.
Every keyword is a statement of desire. For a creative content marketer, it’s the next best thing to a telepathic bond with our target audience.
And speaking of which…
2 — Learn Your Audience
If you’re a creative writer, you probably have an audience you’re used to addressing. When I was writing for my online comedy game, it was nerds like me — people who lived and breathed Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, et al.
At TopRank Marketing, however, I’ve written for CFOs, CEOs, cybersecurity experts, small business owners, millennials in the job market… in other words, a lot of people who aren’t a lot like my default audience. So I had to learn what each of these groups wanted, loved, hated, were afraid of, and needed. That means a lot of research to underpin your creative content.
3 — Involve Diverse Voices
How can you make absolutely sure your content will resonate with a broader audience? Bring more people into the creation process. That means bouncing ideas off of both the millennials and boomers in your office. It can mean talking to people in other departments, too — if you’re writing for CFOs, take a meeting with people in the finance department.
But beyond the internal collaboration, look for ways to highlight both respected industry experts and potential clients in your content. All of which requires you to…
[bctt tweet=”“How can you make absolutely sure your content will resonate with a broader audience? Bring more people into the creation process.” — Joshua Nite @nitewrites” username=”toprank”]4 — Release the Ego
There’s nothing wrong with taking pride in your work, of course. But we writers tend to be protective of the things we write — we don’t like too many people meddling about with our precious words.
When we’re writing for personal expression, that’s fine. But when it comes to marketing, we have to make sure the content is the best it can be for the target audience. And that means plenty of editorial oversight. It’s important to get feedback and quality checks on your work, and to keep your eye on the ultimate goal: Content that serves the brand, no matter whose name is on the byline.
5 — Read Other People’s Content
Stephen King famously said, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write.” That’s true in marketing as much as in thousand-page novels about killer clowns from outer space. There are three absolutely vital reasons to read other marketing content, especially content targeting the same audience you’re aiming for:
- Find great ideas to steal… er, borrow
- Find gaps where you can insert your own brilliant ideas
- Identify cliches to avoid
For example, you might want to start a blog with “In these uncertain times…” however if you’ve been reading other content regularly, you’ll know that 99% of all blogs written in 2020 started with that phrase, and you’ll be compelled to be more original.
6 — Don’t Confuse the Garnish for the Meal
About a month into my time at TopRank Marketing, I finally got to really flex my creative muscles. We were writing a superhero-themed eBook for a client. I went all out — each section had a full page about a superhero, followed by a page comparing the superhero to the client’s subject matter. So there was a section on Batman, and his methods, and his utility belt, and then a section tying in the metaphor to the cloud software we were writing about.
That first draft was one of my first lessons in letting go of ego and collaborating, too. My colleagues gently informed me that people wanted to learn about the technology, not the superhero stuff. I was giving people too much parsley and too little steak.
The creative theming in your content should provide a hook for your audience and liven up the subject matter. But it shouldn’t get in the way of the information you’re trying to get across.
7 — Have a Clear Next Step
Marketing content should compel your reader to take specific action. No matter how creative and fun your piece is — and it should be plenty of both — at the end, there should be a logical, meaningful, and measurable next step.
You should plan out the content journey and the calls to action before you write a single paragraph of content. Keeping the focus on the customer and their journey will help make sure your content is doing the work it should be.
[bctt tweet=”“Marketing content should compel your reader to take specific action. No matter how creative and fun your piece is, at the end there should be a logical, meaningful, and measurable next step.” — Joshua Nite @nitewrites” username=”toprank”]8 — Get Invested in Results
When you have measurable calls to action, the logical next step is to — wait for it — measure them. As a creative writer, my impulse when I’m done with a piece is to release it into the world and never look at it again. As a marketer, we have to do the opposite.
Don’t just check in on your content’s performance from time to time. Get into those results — who is reading the content? Who is bouncing off of it straight from the search page? How long are people spending with it, and how many of them are clicking your CTA link?
A larger organization might have people whose full-time job it is to look at those results. But you should be fixated on them, too; these metrics are an ongoing performance review from your target audience.
9 — Collaborate with Analytics Folks
As much as content marketers want to be invested in results, it can be hard to collect, analyze and visualize the data. That’s why we should be partnering up with people who eat, sleep and breathe data. Those analytical types who are writing queries and building pivot tables are indispensable allies for quality content marketing.
Talk to them, make friends with them, buy them cookies and take them out for the beverage of their choice. The more you learn about each others’ disciplines, the more effective your marketing will be.
And speaking of learning…
10 — Continue Your Education
I came into the marketing field with one very particular skill: I can write stuff people want to read, and I can do it quickly. But I only stayed in marketing because I kept learning about all the other aspects of the business.
We’re in the era of the T-shaped marketer now. If you’re a content specialist, you should also know a little about SEO, be conversant in analytics, and even take a lunch with the sales team from time to time. Everything you learn will inform your content and make you a better marketer — and will enable you to explore your creativity and still get meaningful, measurable results.
Looking for creative B2B content that inspires action? We’ve got you covered.
The post Equilibrium: 10 Tips to Balance Creativity and Process in B2B Content Marketing appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog – TopRank®.
Amazon annuncia la nuova generazione di Kindle Paperwhite
Investing in economic equity for Latinos
Ver abajo versión en español
Nine years ago, I stood as a volunteer in a room full of Black and Latino startup founders gathered together in the Google San Francisco office to pitch their companies. This introduction to the startup world was magical—the energy in the room, the powerful ideas and the potential of people who looked and sounded just like me.
For more than a year after that experience, I did everything I could to land a full-time position with the Google for Startups team. Lucky for me, a role opened up, and ever since I’ve been on a mission to help level the playing field for underrepresented founders around the world.
Fast forward to today and I still get butterflies in my stomach when I meet with founders and learn about their startups. My mission has not changed and I am proud to say we are more determined than ever to continue creating economic opportunities for Latinos.
Today, we are deepening our commitment to racial justice with a $15 million expansion focused on economic equity for Latinos in the U.S. Our goal is to help Latino entrepreneurs, job seekers and students have equitable access to funding, training and the support they need to succeed in today’s economy.
Despite being the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. small business ecosystem, and growing revenues at a faster rate, Latinos continue to struggle to secure funding and capital — the necessary fuel for business owners to grow their companies. Since 2015, more than $15 billion has been raised by Black and Latino founders, representing only 2.4 percent of the total venture capital despite representing more than 18.7% of the population. When Latino-owned businesses look for financing they remain significantly less likely to be approved for a loan despite reporting strong metrics on key lending criteria.
In an effort to close the opportunity and wealth gap for Latinos, we are unveiling a set of programs designed to open the doors to funding, training for the digital economy and empowering communities.
Introducing the Google for Startups Latino Founders Fund
We are making a $7 million commitment to the Latino startup community to help founders get access to capital needed to scale, and support organizations working to grow a robust community of Latino founders.
The Latino Founders Fund will give top founders cash awards up to $100,000 in non-dilutive funding: critical capital that helps founders retain ownership of their company and avoid debt. We’ve seen the profound impact the role that non-dilutive capital can have to supercharge a founder’s journey. While the capital is important, the fund includes much more than a check. Recipients from the Latino Founders Fund will receive hands-on programming and support from Google, deep mentorship from technical and business experts, as well as a vibrant community of fellow founders. This support will include $1 million in donated ads from Google.org, helping the founders raise brand awareness and reach new customers.
In addition to investments into Latino-led startups, we will allocate $1 million of the fund to support programs and community building organizations in the Latino startup ecosystem. We will expand our support of the Google for Startups partner network, and will also seek out new Latino focused organizations committed to this effort. For example, we’ll be providing scholarships for Latino founders to participate in Founder Gym, a long-time Google for Startups partner who runs a 6-week program training founders to raise funding for their startups.
We know that racial equity and economic opportunity are inextricably linked. This continues and expands on the success and impact of our Black Founders Fund, which welcomed 50 new founders today. In less than a year, recipients of the initial fund have gone on to raise more than $50 million in follow-on capital, and the vast majority of awardees have used those funds to create jobs.
Supporting Latino students and job seekers
Helping Latino students develop the digital skills they need to find and secure internships and jobs that will help them build successful careers is critical to closing the wealth gap. According to the National Skills Coalition, Latino workers are 14 percent of all workers, but account for 35% of those with no digital skills, and 20 percent of those with limited skills. This is why we are expanding the Grow with Google Career Readiness Program in partnership with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) to reach Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). We’ll provide a $2 million investment for college career services centers across the US to help train 200,000 Latino college students by 2025 in digital skills. Our hope is this program will open the doors to opportunities that didn’t exist before for Latino students by providing tools and resources to help them on their journey to an internship or job out of college, which can have a profound impact on their lifetime earning power.
For Latinos already on a career journey or those looking to make a change, we are making a $1 million Google.org grant to the Hispanic Federation to enhance the capacity of Latino-led and Latino-serving nonprofit organizations to provide career-aligned digital skills training to more than 6,000 Latinos over the next year. This is an expansion of our initial 2019 grant when Google.org seed-funded the Hispanic Federation to launch an accelerator to strengthen institutions serving the Latino community with workforce development and digital training programs. Over the last two years, in spite of the pandemic and economic downturn, through our partnership with Hispanic Federation we have reached more than 6,000 Latinos with digital skills training across several states. This builds on our ongoing commitment to the Latino community, which includes more than $20 million in Google.org grants over the past five years to help create more access to economic opportunity.
For a long time, Latinos have unfairly missed out on economic opportunities. Meeting and supporting Latinos throughout their entrepreneurial, educational and career journey is critical to closing the wealth gap. Today, we are reaffirming our long term commitment to help and empower Latinos reach economic equity. Our hope is these programs will create clear paths to financial prosperity and even more opportunities in the future.
Invirtiendo en equidad económica para Latinos
Por Daniel Navarro, Google for Startups
Hace nueve años estuve como voluntario en una sala llena de fundadores de startups Afroamericanos y Latinos que se reunieron en nuestra oficina de San Francisco para presentar sus empresas. Esta introducción al mundo de las startups fue mágica: la energía en el salón, las ideas poderosas y el potencial de las personas que se veían y sonaban como yo.
Durante más de un año después de esa experiencia, hice todo lo que pude para conseguir un puesto de tiempo completo con el equipo de Google for Startups. Por suerte mía, se abrió un puesto un año después, y desde entonces se ha convertido en mi misión ayudar a nivelar el campo de juego para los fundadores subrepresentados en todo el mundo.
Hoy en día todavía siento mariposas en mi estómago cuando me reúno con los fundadores y conozco sus nuevas empresas. Mi misión no ha cambiado y me enorgullece decir que estamos más decididos que nunca a seguir creando oportunidades económicas para los Latinos.
Hoy estamos ampliando nuestro compromiso con la justicia racial con una expansión de $15 millones de dólares enfocándonos en equidad económica para los Latinos en los Estados Unidos. Nuestro objetivo es ayudar a los empresarios, los solicitantes de empleo y los estudiantes a tener un acceso equitativo a la financiación, la capacitación y el apoyo que necesitan para tener éxito en la economía actual.
A pesar de ser el segmento de más rápido crecimiento del ecosistema de pequeñas empresas en Estados Unidos, y que sus ingresos aumentan a un ritmo más rápido, los Latinos continúan luchando por asegurar inversión y capital — el combustible necesario para que los dueños de negocios hagan crecer sus empresas. Desde 2015, los fundadores de empresas Afroamericanos y Latinos han recaudado más de $15 mil millones de dólares, lo que representa solo el 2.4 por ciento del capital de riesgo total a pesar de representar más del 18.7% de la población. Cuando los negocios de propiedad de Latinos buscan financiamiento, es significativamente menos probable que sean aprobadas para un préstamo a pesar de reportar métricas sólidas sobre criterios clave de préstamos.
En un esfuerzo por cerrar la brecha de oportunidades y riqueza para los Latinos, estamos presentando un conjunto de programas diseñados para abrir las puertas al financiamiento, capacitación para la economía digital e invertir en sus comunidades.
Presentamos el Google for Startups Latino Founders Fund
Estamos haciendo un compromiso de $7 millones de dólares con la comunidad de startups Latinos para ayudar a los fundadores obtener acceso al capital necesario para escalar y apoyar a las organizaciones que trabajan para hacer crecer una comunidad sólida de fundadores Latinos.
El Latino Founders Fund otorgará a los mejores fundadores premios en efectivo de hasta $100,000 dólares en fondos no diluibles: capital crítico que ayuda a los fundadores a conservar el control de su negocio y evitar deudas. Hemos visto el profundo impacto que puede tener el capital no dilutivo para impulsar la trayectoria de un fundador. Si bien el capital es importante, el fondo incluye mucho más que un cheque. Los destinatarios del Latino Founders Fund recibirán programación práctica y apoyo de Google, una profunda tutoría de expertos técnicos y comerciales, así como una vibrante comunidad de compañeros fundadores. Este apoyo incluirá $1 millón en anuncios donados de Google.org, lo que ayudará a los fundadores a aumentar reconocimiento de marca y llegar a nuevos clientes.
Además de las inversiones en startups lideradas por Latinos, asignaremos $1 millón de dólares del fondo para apoyar programas y organizaciones de construcción comunitaria en el ecosistema de startups Latinos. Ampliaremos nuestro apoyo a la red de socios de Google for Startups y también buscaremos nuevas organizaciones enfocadas en los Latinos comprometidas con este esfuerzo. Por ejemplo, proporcionaremos becas para que los fundadores Latinos participen en Founder Gym, un socio de Google for Startups desde hace mucho tiempo que dirige un programa de formación de fundadores de 6 semanas para recaudar fondos para sus startups.
Sabemos que la equidad racial y las oportunidades económicas están indisolublemente vinculadas. Esto continúa y amplía el éxito y el impacto de nuestro Black Founders Fund, que hoy dio la bienvenida a 50 nuevos fundadores. En menos de un año, los beneficiarios del fondo inicial han recaudado más de 50 millones de dólares en capital de seguimiento, y la gran mayoría de los adjudicatarios han utilizado esos fondos para crear puestos de trabajo.
Apoyo a estudiantes Latinos y solicitantes de empleo
Ayudar a los estudiantes Latinos a desarrollar las habilidades digitales que necesitan para encontrar y asegurar prácticas y trabajos que los ayudarán a construir carreras exitosas es fundamental para cerrar la brecha de riqueza. Según la National Skills Coalition, los trabajadores Latinos son el 14 por ciento de todos los trabajadores, pero el 35 por ciento de los que no tienen habilidades digitales y el 20 por ciento de aquellos que tienen habilidades limitadas. Es por eso que estamos expandiendo el programa Grow with Google Career Readiness Program en asociación con la Asociación Hispana de Colegios y Universidades (HACU por sus siglas en inglés) para llegar a las Instituciones de Servicio a Hispanos (HSI). Proporcionaremos una inversión de $2 millones de dólares para centros de servicios profesionales universitarios en los Estados Unidos para ayudar a capacitar a 200,000 estudiantes universitarios Latinos para el 2025 en habilidades digitales. Nuestra esperanza es que este programa abra las puertas a oportunidades que no existían antes para los estudiantes Latinos al brindarles herramientas y recursos para ayudarlos en su camino hacia una práctica o un trabajo después de la universidad, lo que puede tener un impacto profundo en sus ingresos de por vida.
Para los Latinos que ya están en su trayecto profesional o para aquellos que buscan hacer un cambio, estamos otorgando una subvención de $1 millón de dólares a la Federación Hispana para mejorar la capacidad de las organizaciones sin fines de lucro lideradas por Latinos y que sirven a Latinos para brindar capacitación en habilidades digitales alineadas con carreras a más de 6,000 Latinos durante el próximo año. Esta es una expansión de nuestra subvención inicial del 2019 cuando Google.org financió la Federación Hispanapara lanzar un acelerador para fortalecer las instituciones que sirven a la comunidad Latina con programas de capacitación digital y desarrollo de la fuerza laboral. Durante los últimos dos años, a pesar de la pandemia y la recesión económica, a través de nuestra asociación con la Federación Hispana hemos llegado a más de 6,000 Latinos con capacitación en habilidades digitales en varios estados. Esto se basa en nuestro compromiso continuo con la comunidad latina, que incluye más de $20 millones de dólares en subvenciones de Google.org durante los últimos cinco años para ayudar a crear más acceso a oportunidades económicas.
Durante mucho tiempo, los Latinos se han perdido injustamente de oportunidades económicas. Conocer y apoyar a los Latinos a lo largo de su trayectoria empresarial, educativa y profesional es fundamental para cerrar la brecha de riqueza. Hoy, reafirmamos nuestro compromiso a largo plazo de ayudar y empoderar a los Latinos a alcanzar la equidad económica. Nuestra esperanza es que estos programas creen caminos claros hacia la prosperidad financiera e incluso más oportunidades en el futuro.
Building community and funding Black founders
One of the unspoken truths of entrepreneurship is that it can be extremely lonely. When COVID-19 hit last year, I saw firsthand how the founders in our programs were affected. Office closures kept their employees apart, event cancellations kept founders from connecting, and many needed to pivot their startups to keep businesses afloat. Since our mission is to level the playing field for underrepresented startup founders, I knew we would have to show up in a new way to ensure these founders did not fall through the cracks.
The Google for Startups Black Founders Fund was built in response to both the financial and societal pressures facing Black founders. And while those pressures have always been present, they were magnified in 2020. Last year, we gave 76 Black-led startups up to $100,000 in non-dilutive funding, meaning founders do not give up any ownership in their company in exchange for funding. Founders used this capital to keep their doors open, pay their employees, and focus on building their businesses. With this second $5 million investment in the U.S. Black Founders Fund, bringing the fund’s total to $10 million, more founders across the United States will receive this funding. The fund also includes technical support from tools and teams across Google, including as much as $120,000 in donated ads from Google.org and up to $100,000 in Google Cloud credits.
Today, we’re announcing the next 50 recipients of our second Black Founders Fund in the U.S., leaders who are solving problems in education, healthcare, sustainability and more. The 126 founders who are now a part of the fund in the United States have consistently told us about the importance of giving back and paying it forward. In this spirit, we asked the first group of founders to nominate recipients for the second round of the fund.
We’ve seen that the fund has a catalytic effect for founders when raising capital after they receive these awards. In less than a year, our first group of founders went on to collectively raise more than $50 million in funding. In addition, about 80% of the founders used the awards to create jobs and reported the fund has helped grow their revenues. While the financial impact of that shouldn’t be understated, the most impressive takeaway I’ve witnessed since we started the fund isn’t about money. It’s the profound way this community of founders has shown up for each other, and ensured that they were not alone during this time.
Facilitated by our partner Goodie Nation, founders attend weekly meetings in small groups where they can connect with each other, sharing experiences and resources. Black Founders Fund 2020 recipient Gerald Youngblood of Tankee, a gaming network for kids, nominated Ofo Ezeugwu from Whose Your Landlord, a platform that provides more transparency for renters. Goodie Nation CEO Joey Womack introduced them to one another. Gerald shared advice on a negotiation and fundraising approach that worked for Ofo — and later surprised him with the news that he is a 2021 Black Founders Fund recipient.
We know that the challenges founders of color in the U.S. face when raising funds for their companies aren’t specific just to Black founders. That’s why today we announced the Latino Founders Fund to support Latino-led startups across the country as part of our broader $15 million commitment to economic justice for the Latino community. Since the inception of the Black Founders Fund in the U.S., we have expanded to support a larger group of Black founders globally, investing a total of $16 million in more than 200 founders across the U.S., Brazil, Europe and Africa. As we welcome the next group of the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund, we’re excited to see how the founders continue to connect and build amazing companies.
Increasing Google’s investment in New York
Google has been fortunate to call New York City home for more than 20 years, during which time we have grown to 12,000 employees. New York’s vitality, creativity and world-class talent are what keep us rooted here. It is why we’re announcing today that we are deepening our commitment to New York and intend to purchase the St. John’s Terminal in Manhattan for $2.1 billion, which will serve as the anchor of our new Hudson Square campus.
As Google moves toward a more flexible hybrid approach to work, coming together in person to collaborate and build community will remain an important part of our future. It is why we continue investing in our offices around the world. Our decision to exercise our option to purchase St. John’s Terminal further builds upon our existing plans to invest more than $250 million this year in our New York campus presence. It is also an important part of meeting our previously announced racial equity commitments, which include continuing to grow our workforce in diverse communities like New York.
The St. John’s Terminal site at 550 Washington Street, which we currently lease and expect to open by mid-2023, will be one part of the already sizable investment we’ve made in New York — Google’s largest office outside California. We’ve made substantial progress in building out our 1.7 million-square-foot Hudson Square campus that will serve as the New York headquarters for our Global Business Organization, which includes our sales and partnership teams. The St. John’s Terminal transaction will close in the first quarter of 2022.
St. John’s Terminal is a former freight facility that is being reimagined into a highly sustainable, adaptable and connected building. Its biophilic design connecting people more closely to nature will add numerous outdoor open spaces and reconnect the Hudson Square neighborhood to the waterfront. The building will also offset 100% of its carbon in support of Google’s ambitious carbon goals.
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Fino al 30 settembre è possibile accedere ai contenuti dell’evento formativo del 7 -9 settembre scorsi facendo una donazione a Exodus Roberto Re: l’evento di formazione Restart disponibile gratuitamente online per sostenere…
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Google apps, meet iOS 15
Get ready to hit update. iOS 15 is here — and with it, many new features to improve your favorite Google apps.
Fewer interruptions when you focus
If you’re someone who gets non-stop notifications throughout the day, we bet you’ll enjoy the new Focus mode on iOS. Focus mode is really useful when you’re trying to get work done, study or just need a digital break. We’ve updated Google apps to work with Focus mode and make notifications as relevant and timely as possible.
For example, if you’re navigating somewhere with Google Maps, we’ll still let you know when you need to make a turn or if there are changes to your route — like road closures or unexpected traffic. Focus mode won’t silence these helpful, timely reminders.
Similarly, the Google Home app will let you know if there’s an unfamiliar face at your door. And if you set a reminder in Google Tasks that’s linked to a specific time, like “take the cupcakes out of the oven at 11:45,” we’ll be sure to notify you.
But notifications that aren’t as urgent or don’t require immediate action will go right to the Notifications Center, where you can check them whenever is most convenient for you.
In the coming weeks, you’ll start to see these new notification changes roll out across Gmail, Meet, Tasks, Maps, Home and many other Google apps. Try it out, your future self will thank you.
New designs for Chrome and Chrome OS, by Latino artists
As we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, we pay tribute to the generations of Latinos who have positively influenced and enriched society, arts, culture and science in the United States.
As a proud Latina, I have seen first hand how our diversity is our strength. We use various terms to define ourselves (Hispanic, Latinx, Latino, Black, Mexican, Salvadoran, Puerto Rican, Brazilian, and more), yet we still can come together as one resilient community.
This year Chrome partnered with Latino artists to create a collection of themes that celebrate our heritage. You can use them to customize your Chrome browser and Chromebook wallpapers. The work reflects a variety of meaningful subjects, from family to the subtle ways we all stay connected. This collection continues our work commissioning contemporary artists to visually show how people use Chrome and Chromebooks to get things done, explore, find and connect on the web.
Meet the commissioned artists, and browse the 20 new backgrounds in the collection on the Chrome Web Store or in your Chromebook wallpaper gallery.
How a top Brazilian media portal uses Web Stories
Launched in 1996, Universo Online (UOL) became Brazil’s first major news website, featuring content from the daily edition of Folha de S.Paulo and other popular newspapers and magazines. Since then, parent company Grupo UOL has grown the publication into a leading media destination for Brazilians, expanding its audience reach to more than 109 million unique users. With a focus on news, health, lifestyle, gaming, sports, automotive and technology, UOL is now among the country’s top content producers — nine out of 10 Brazilian internet users visit the site.
In 2018, with the goal of expanding and creating more mobile-friendly content, UOL became the first media company in Brazil to launch Web Stories. This fast-loading, visual and tappable content format was also helpful for competing with social media sites. To attract attention, UOL needed more than great text and reliable information. Text, photos and video needed to be intuitive and engaging, so they decided to give Web Stories a try.
“In 2018, we encouraged our team to produce great Web Stories,” UOL Content Director Murilo Garavello says. “And starting in 2020, we started using tools to jump to a higher level of quality. In turn, we got a great response from our audience.”
During this time, the team also ramped up production, going from about 85 Web Stories per month in 2018 to between 125 and 175 per month in 2021. This was key to expanding UOL’s reach and boosting user engagement.
UOL experimented with Web Stories across its content areas, and the publisher’s developers incorporated these Stories into their own content management system (CMS). In July 2020, UOL adopted MakeStories, a drag-and-drop, no-code Web Stories builder, to make it even easier for busy journalists to produce Stories.
For the summer 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games, Nossa, UOL’s lifestyle channel, featured immersive Web Stories about Japan, inviting readers to learn about Japanese culture, food and nature.
And UOL’s Sports section produced a series in a comic book format looking at the fascinating Olympic history, including the story of the 1992 U.S. Basketball Dream Team and Brazil’s historic Olympic medals at the 2000 and 2008 Games.
UOL’s constructive journalism section, Ecoa (“For a Better World”), also adopted Web Stories. “Learn how to make a lip scrub in less than 5 minutes” offers a step-by-step guide to making natural cosmetics with a mix of explanatory videos, animated GIFs and photos. Ecoa also used Web Stories to create book-style content, like their Story on “The Day of Black Consciousness.”