bdpatoday® | Google

Google’s new office is a love letter to Atlanta

ATLANTA, GA—Google has been a part of Atlanta for more than 20 years. There are more than 1,000 full-time Google employees in Georgia — in two offices in Atlanta and a data center in Douglas County — helping to build and support our products, and help our partners and customers across the South and nationally.

We recently opened our doors to the newest office space in Midtown Atlanta at the 1105 West Peachtree building. This new Google office encompasses 19 floors spanning 500,000 square feet, and is a part of our broader investment in local communities across the U.S.

Atlanta has a rich civil rights history and is home to top Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and tech talent. Continuing our long-term investment here will help support our Black Googler community in Atlanta, in line with our racial equity commitments.

Inspired by the city’s legacy for social change, our office was designed as an homage to the people of Atlanta, with each floor an ode to Atlanta’s cultural, musical and artistic history. We worked with more than 50 local and diverse companies to design and build the new space, including artwork from more than 20 local artists.

A giant heart outlining the Google Atlanta sign greets you in the lobby. One of the staircases features a rainbow design — in support and celebration of the LGBTQ+ community — inspired by the city’s nearby rainbow crosswalks. The WERD Cafe, our Googler cafeteria, is named for the first Black-owned and programmed U.S. radio station.

The lobby is decorated with warm vibrant colors and a relaxed sitting area with music memorabilia, a record player and a boombox. The ATL office lobby greets you with a mix of fun design and an emphasis on music. From record players to boomboxes, it’s a reflection of Atlanta’s musical history.

The lobby with, vibrant colors and relaxed sitting area, greets you with a mix of fun design and an emphasis on music. From record players to boomboxes, it reflects Atlanta’s musical history.

Our commitment to Atlanta extends far beyond the walls of our new office. In 2021, Google products helped provide $13.21 billion of economic activity for tens of thousands of Georgia businesses, nonprofits, publishers, creators and developers.

Today, we’re announcing a $1 million commitment to the Urban League of Atlanta to support their work in training underserved communities throughout Georgia. This grant will help jobseekers get digital skills training and place them in high-growth jobs.

On top of this, to bring equitable opportunities to more Georgians, we’re partnering with local community organizations and universities. We’re working with HBCUs like Clark Atlanta University and Spelman College to attract top talent, and partnering with the Technical College System of Georgia to offer Google Career Certificates to 22 colleges across the state at no cost.

Lastly, we are partnering with Mayor Andre Dickens and the Atlanta BeltLine to launch the Atlanta BeltLine Marketplace, an effort to help local Black, Latino and women-owned small businesses reach new customers by retrofitting rail cars into retail space. We’re providing Wi-Fi for the rail containers, a complete suite of Google Nest products, Chromebooks and free digital skills training.

We look forward to continuing to support and partner with our customers, employees and local communities in Atlanta for years to come.

^{by Matthew Pritchard
Google Atlanta Co-Site Lead and Global Business Organization Lead}

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BDPA Launches Google Cloud Academy

LARGO, MD (NBDPA) — From BDPA’s annual National Conferences, BDPA Tech & Career Talks, and other methods of engagement, networking, and mentorship, this new program will provide special offerings for cloud engineering and architecture. National BDPA seeks to create the next generation of Black technology thought-leaders deeply interested in the cloud space through this virtual series alongside the 12-week Cloud Academy.

The BDPA Cloud Academy is a 12-week program that will provide 50 College Students and Early Career Professionals (ECPs) the opportunity to learn about key cloud computing and technology concepts, get hands on experience with leading software from the leading Cloud providers, and get some experience applying core cloud concepts and technology to use cases based on Real World Evidence and current industry problems/situations.

Upon “graduation” students receive a BDPA Cloud Associate certification with an Industry Specialization and will have the opportunity to get a Google Cloud Digital Leader certification. There will be post-academy Fireside Chats that will allow program graduates the opportunity to interface with industry leaders and discuss the future of technology, society, and innovation.

ECPs or new BDPA Members may directly register their interests for the Academy’s next sessions by using this interest form.

^{— Source and graphic: National BDPA}
^{Top Photo: Google}

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Justice Department Sues Google For Violating Antitrust Laws

WASHINGTON—Today, the Department of Justice — along with eleven state Attorneys General — filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to stop Google from unlawfully maintaining monopolies through anticompetitive and exclusionary practices in the search and search advertising markets and to remedy the competitive harms. The participating state Attorneys General offices represent Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina, and Texas.

“Today, millions of Americans rely on the Internet and online platforms for their daily lives. Competition in this industry is vitally important, which is why today’s challenge against Google — the gatekeeper of the Internet — for violating antitrust laws is a monumental case both for the Department of Justice and for the American people,” said Attorney General William Barr. “Since my confirmation, I have prioritized the Department’s review of online market-leading platforms to ensure that our technology industries remain competitive. This lawsuit strikes at the heart of Google’s grip over the internet for millions of American consumers, advertisers, small businesses and entrepreneurs beholden to an unlawful monopolist.”

“As with its historic antitrust actions against AT&T in 1974 and Microsoft in 1998, the Department is again enforcing the Sherman Act to restore the role of competition and open the door to the next wave of innovation—this time in vital digital markets,” said Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen.

As one of the wealthiest companies on the planet with a market value of $1 trillion, Google is the monopoly gatekeeper to the internet for billions of users and countless advertisers worldwide. For years, Google has accounted for almost 90 percent of all search queries in the United States and has used anticompetitive tactics to maintain and extend its monopolies in search and search advertising.

As alleged in the Complaint, Google has entered into a series of exclusionary agreements that collectively lock up the primary avenues through which users access search engines, and thus the internet, by requiring that Google be set as the preset default general search engine on billions of mobile devices and computers worldwide and, in many cases, prohibiting preinstallation of a competitor. In particular, the Complaint alleges that Google has unlawfully maintained monopolies in search and search advertising by:

Entering into exclusivity agreements that forbid preinstallation of any competing search service.
Entering into tying and other arrangements that force preinstallation of its search applications in prime locations on mobile devices and make them undeletable, regardless of consumer preference.
Entering into long-term agreements with Apple that require Google to be the default – and de facto exclusive – general search engine on Apple’s popular Safari browser and other Apple search tools.
Generally using monopoly profits to buy preferential treatment for its search engine on devices, web browsers, and other search access points, creating a continuous and self-reinforcing cycle of monopolization.

These and other anticompetitive practices harm competition and consumers, reducing the ability of innovative new companies to develop, compete, and discipline Google’s behavior.

The antitrust laws protect our free market economy and forbid monopolists from engaging in anticompetitive practices. They also empower the Department of Justice to bring cases like this one to remedy violations and restore competition, as it has done for over a century in notable cases involving monopolists over other critical industries undergirding the American economy like Standard Oil and the AT&T telephone monopoly. Decades ago the Department’s case against Microsoft recognized that the antitrust laws forbid anticompetitive agreements by high-technology monopolists to require preinstalled default status, to shut off distribution channels to rivals, and to make software undeletable. The Complaint alleges that Google is using similar agreements itself to maintain and extend its own dominance.

The Complaint alleges that Google’s anticompetitive practices have had harmful effects on competition and consumers. Google has foreclosed any meaningful search competitor from gaining vital distribution and scale, eliminating competition for a majority of search queries in the United States. By restricting competition in search, Google’s conduct has harmed consumers by reducing the quality of search (including on dimensions such as privacy, data protection, and use of consumer data), lessening choice in search, and impeding innovation. By suppressing competition in advertising, Google has the power to charge advertisers more than it could in a competitive market and to reduce the quality of the services it provides them. Through filing the lawsuit, the Department seeks to stop Google’s anticompetitive conduct and restore competition for American consumers, advertisers, and all companies now reliant on the internet economy.

Google is a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, and is headquartered in Mountain View, California. Google is owned by Alphabet Inc., a publicly traded company incorporated and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware and headquartered in Mountain View, California.

^{— Source/Seal: Department of Justice •} ^{Photo/Graphic: Google}

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Apple and Google partner on COVID-19 contact tracing technology

CUPERTINO, CA — Across the world, governments and health authorities are working together to find solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic, to protect people and get society back up and running. Software developers are contributing by crafting technical tools to help combat the virus and save lives. In this spirit of collaboration, Google and Apple are announcing a joint effort to enable the use of Bluetooth technology to help governments and health agencies reduce the spread of the virus, with user privacy and security central to the design.

Since COVID-19 can be transmitted through close proximity to affected individuals, public health officials have identified contact tracing as a valuable tool to help contain its spread. A number of leading public health authorities, universities, and NGOs around the world have been doing important work to develop opt-in contact tracing technology. To further this cause, Apple and Google will be launching a comprehensive solution that includes application programming interfaces (APIs) and operating system-level technology to assist in enabling contact tracing. Given the urgent need, the plan is to implement this solution in two steps while maintaining strong protections around user privacy.

First, in May, both companies will release APIs that enable interoperability between Android and iOS devices using apps from public health authorities. These official apps will be available for users to download via their respective app stores.

Second, in the coming months, Apple and Google will work to enable a broader Bluetooth-based contact tracing platform by building this functionality into the underlying platforms. This is a more robust solution than an API and would allow more individuals to participate, if they choose to opt in, as well as enable interaction with a broader ecosystem of apps and government health authorities. Privacy, transparency, and consent are of utmost importance in this effort, and we look forward to building this functionality in consultation with interested stakeholders. We will openly publish information about our work for others to analyze.

All of us at Apple and Google believe there has never been a more important moment to work together to solve one of the world’s most pressing problems. Through close cooperation and collaboration with developers, governments and public health providers, we hope to harness the power of technology to help countries around the world slow the spread of COVID-19 and accelerate the return of everyday life.

As part of this partnership, Google and Apple are releasing draft technical documentation including Bluetooth and cryptography specifications and framework documentation.

by Fred Sainz
Apple

Google pledges $1 Billion to prepare workers for tech jobs

PITTSBURGH, PA // BDPA Pittsburgh // – CNET reported Thursday, October 12, 2017, Google’s introduction of $1 billion in new initiatives aimed at training and educating workers to help them find jobs and grow their businesses during a Grow with Google event. Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai (above) stated the search giant will spend the money over the next five years to fund grants directly to nonprofits globally as part of efforts to prepare people for the “changing nature of work.”

TechCrunch also reported Google is committing $10 million to Goodwill as part of this initiative — the largest Google.org has committed to one organization. That money will be used to help launch the Goodwill Digital Career Accelerator, aimed at preparing the American workforce for high-tech jobs. Grow with Google also will take the form of a national tour hosted by libraries and community organizations aimed at bringing training and career advice directly to local towns and cities. That’s part of the company’s goal of committing one million hours to employee volunteering over the next five years.

Google says it doesn’t want to leave anyone behind as technology changes the way people live and work.

– Source and photos: Alphabet (Google) , TechCrunch, and CNET

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HBCU Q&A with Facebook and Google

BALTIMORE, MD—For this semester’s Presidential Distinguished Speaker Series, Morgan State University is hosting a moderated panel discussion followed by questions and answers with Facebook’s Maxine Williams and Google’s Yolanda Mangolini.

“The Future of Tech and Your Role in IT”

Wednesday evening in Baltimore, March 29, 2017, at 6:30 PM on campus at Morgan State University.

The Presidential Distinguished Speaker Series was developed to bring the nation’s leading thought leaders from various professional fields of study to Morgan State University. The Series is in keeping with Morgan’s mission of serving as a leading academic resource by providing a platform for thoughtful and provocative discussions that explore the best ideas on issues that are pertinent to our students, our community, and our nation. The lectures will offer the opportunity for Q & A with the featured speakers.

Maxine Williams is the Global Director of Diversity at Facebook. In this role, she and a team of Diversity and Inclusions specialists develop strategies to attract, retain and support the growth of underrepresented people at the company. Maxine’s team works towards increasing the cognitive diversity-different ways of thinking based on people having different backgrounds, experiences and information-of all teams across Facebook. Prior to Facebook, she served as the Director of Diversity for a global law firm. Maxine graduated from Yale University before receiving her law degree with first class honors from Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. She has worked as an attorney in criminal, civil and industrial courts in both her native Trinidad and in the U.K. at the Privy Council. She has worked with multiple international organizations on development and human rights issues and has had a parallel career as a broadcast journalist and on-air presenter. Maxine is a director on the board of the Massy Group of Companies.

Yolanda Mangolini joined Google in 2006. She currently leads Google’s global Diversity & Inclusion function. Prior to joining Google, Ms. Mangolini was Senior Vice President, Head of Strategy in the Consumer Operations division of Wells Fargo’s Consumer Credit Group. In her role, she acted as the senior strategic advisor for the 1,400 person Servicing Operations business which included Loan Servicing, Customer Service, Collections and Fraud. Her primary responsibilities included managing both the Strategic Planning function for the Servicing business, as well as the Service Quality and Intranet teams.

Ms. Mangolini also worked as a Principal at the Boston Consulting Group in New York where she worked in a wide variety of industries including Retail, High Tech, and Financial Services, and across a broad spectrum of products (including brand strategy, shareholder value management and asset productivity). While at BCG, Yolanda’s case work focused on developing e-commerce, new market entry and organizational effectiveness strategies for companies in the Financial Services and Retail industries.

Before beginning graduate school, she spent two years as a Financial Analyst in the Media, Telecommunications, & Transportation group of Credit Suisse First Boston’s Investment Banking Division.

Ms. Mangolini holds a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude/Phi Beta Kappa from Villanova University’s Honors/Economics program, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

— Source: Morgan State University

Google’s New Gadgets Phone ‘Home’

Alphabet, Inc. Dials-Up ‘Pixel’ to Launch Google’s AI Thrust

by Tim Higgins and Nathan Olivarez-Giles

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Google, ubiquitous in internet search but long trailing in consumer hardware, announced today its new line of smartphones and detailed its latest efforts to infuse artificial intelligence (AI) into more of its products.

The unit of Alphabet Inc. unveiled its Pixel smartphone, touting its camera and quick charging ability—Google says the Pixel can derive seven hours of battery life from 15 minutes of charging. The phone, which will be Google’s first with a digital assistant built in, will retail beginning at $649. Google also said a bigger version, the Pixel XL, would be available.

That digital assistant is part of Google’s broader effort to integrate its work in artificial intelligence, which allows software to make inferences and decisions, to make products more useful with voice commands that may represent the next step in search.

Google also revealed details of its Home device, a personal assistant that aims to rival the Echo speaker, Amazon.com Inc.’s surprise hit that allows users to ask a virtual assistant named Alexa to answer questions and to perform tasks. Home, a voice-controlled speaker, will be powered by what the company calls Google Assistant.

— Sources: The Wall Street Journal, WSJ.com, CNBC, and Alphabet, Inc.
(BDPA.org | BDPADC.org)

Black Girls Code gets $2.8 Million space within Google NY HQ

Black Girls Code now has its own space within the confines of Google’s New York HQ – in a space worth $2.8m – with aims of connecting young girls directly with the tech industry.

by Colm Gorey, SiliconRepublic

NEW YORK —SiliconRepublic and CNet report Black Girls Code (BGC), an organization founded in 2011 by Inspirefest 2015 speaker Kimberley Bryant, has made strides in encouraging young black girls to pick up coding, given that they are one of the least represented groups in the wider tech sector.

Now, having previously stated that it hopes to introduce 1 million girls to coding by 2040, Black Girls Code has managed to acquire a direct line with the tech industry, having agreed a deal with Google to establish an office space in its New York HQ.

According to CNet, the office space, worth $2.8 million on the real estate market given its location in Manhattan, has been given to Black Girls Code as a gift to the organization.

‘We need a tech sector that looks like the society it serves’

The overall aim of giving the organization its own space next to Google is to shorten the time between a young black girl starting to learn to code, to them landing a job in the tech sector.

In a statement, Google’s head of external affairs, William Floyd, said of the creation of a permanent office space for the organization: “We need a tech sector that looks like the society it serves, and groups like Black Girls Code are ensuring that we can cultivate and access talent in communities of color.”

Photo: Renetta English (left), Past President BDPA-NY, Kimberly Bryant , Founder of Black Girls Code, and Judaea Y. Lane, Past President BDPA-NY participate in local BDPA Chapter workshops with other STEM organizations nationwide.

According to Google’s latest diversity report, only 19% of its workforce globally are women, and only 1% of its tech staff in the US is black, suggesting that black women are one of the least-represented groups in all of the tech industry. Read more...

— Sources and photos: SiliconRepublic, CNet, bdpatoday, and BDPA-NY

Google gives $1M to Bryan Stevenson’s racial justice effort

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — USA Today reports Google.org is teaming with Bryan Stevenson and his non-profit Equal Justice Initiative to push America to confront its violent racial history.

The philanthropic arm of the Internet giant says it will help bring online the public education programs on racial justice developed by this Harvard-educated lawyer and author of the bestseller Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption so that millions of people can be exposed to them.

Google.org made the announcement at its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters during an event with Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and hosted by Alphabet executive David Drummond to celebrate Black History Month and the company’s African-American employees known as the Black Googler Network.

Learn more…