Google is Developing Delivery Drones

At the end of last year, Amazon announced it was working on an autonomous delivery drone service called Prime Air.  Now it seems another internet giant has high ambitions too. The Atlantic just revealed that Google's moonshot program, Google X, has been secretly hard at work developing its own prototype delivery drone technology known as Project Wing.

This last month, around 30 tests were conducted in Queensland, Australia.  The team has successfully delivered a first aid kit, candy bars, dog treats, and water to a couple of farmers.

“We’re only just beginning to develop the technology to make a safe delivery system possible, but we think that there’s tremendous potential to transport goods more quickly, safely and efficiently,” Google said.

Because logistics physically connects people, products and places, these incredible advances in technology could become seriously disruptive forces. Companies are moving quickly and developing these functional systems even ahead of the FAA's expected regulatory framework. Should be an interesting ride.

Novartis and Google Develop Smart Contact Lens

Google has announced this morning it has struck a deal with Swiss pharmaceutical firm, Novartis.  The firms are planning on creating "smart" contact lenses that would help diabetics track their blood glucose levels. With over 358 million diabetics worldwide, the market for blood sugar testing is expected to be worth $12 billion by 2017, according to research firm GlobalData.  

Helping diabetic patients manage their disease by providing a continuous, minimally invasive measurement of the body’s glucose levels via a “smart contact lens” which is designed to measure tear fluid in the eye and connects wirelessly with a mobile device

Such potential profit could lead to further technological innovations. In this morning's press release, the companies are also announcing their aim to restore the eye's ability to focus - such as for those that need glasses in order to read.  Who knows what will come next, though it is easy to imagine a next-gen Google Glass type technology that is as non-invasive as a contact lens.

“Our dream is to use the latest technology in the miniaturization of electronics to help improve the quality of life for millions of people,” said Sergey Brin, Co-Founder, Google. “We are very excited to work with Novartis to make this dream come true."

http://multimediacapsule.thomsonone.com/novartis/foresight-announcement

Europe Censors Google

Recently, the European Union passed controversial legislation that grants people the "right to be forgotten," which forces Google to remove links if requested. While good intentions may have gone into the arguments for this new law, it appears there can be serious unintended consequences as some critics have vocally predicted. Legitimate, honest journalism can be removed from Google's search results and practically struck from the public record. This history-erasing link removal amounts to internet censorship. Many people are finding this disturbing.  There's already an example of potential abuse; Google had to stop displaying links in Europe to this BBC article about former Merrill Lynch CEO Stan O'Neal.  The article is a factual piece of journalism from a respected organization, not unfounded libel. Business Insider notes, "O'Neal led the bank in the mid-2000s, a period when it became dangerously over-exposed to the looming mortgage crisis. When the crisis hit, Merrill's losses were so great the bank had to be sold to Bank of America. O'Neal lost his job, but he exited with a $161.5 million golden parachute."

Robert Peston, the BBC Economics Editor, says, "There is an argument that in removing the blog, Google is confirming the fears of many in the industry that the 'right to be forgotten' will be abused to curb freedom of expression and to suppress legitimate journalism that is in the public interest."  

It appears O'Neal himself did not request the link to be removed, but rather someone who had simply commented on the post.  Business Insider concludes their piece on the story with, "Right now, thousands of people probably think that Stan O'Neal is on some quixotic quest to make people forget that he was at the wheel when Merrill drove off a cliff. And there is no evidence that that's the case. But because the law exists, we have no idea what the truth is. That ought to worry everyone."

To be fair, while the Google is complying with the law, it had fought against its passage. First it happened in China, and now Europe is censoring Google.  God Bless the USA, home of the free! Right? RIGHT??

Spamming on Social Media

Many times we as individuals find ourselves in trouble with social media.  And although not done on purpose receive the much dreaded warning from Facebook or Twitter that I am spamming. Spamming on social media is easy to do without even knowing it. Facebook, for example, offers a great way to find friends using an algorithm to show mutual friends. I like having friends on Facebook, lots of them to be exact, but have gotten in trouble because I’ve sent out too many friend requests.

The user on the other end rejects my request and therefore I am marked as a spammer.

Here is a handy guide to know when and what happens in the various social media sites and what they consider spamming.

Photo credit: http://mashable.com/2012/07/09/social-media-cheatsheets/

Quick Social Media Image Size Cheat Sheet

Very often I find quick reference cheat sheets and guides to help me in the world of Social Media. Our friends at Constant Contact recently shared this handy guide. Enjoy!

New Search Engine Plants Trees With Ad Revenue

The online search giant Google earned over $50 billion USD in the last twelve months. Rather than just Googling everything, consider using Ecosia.org, a German startup that has geniusly partnered with The Nature Conservancy's Plant a Billion Trees program.  One dollar plants a tree in Brazil's Atlantic Forest.  80% of Ecosia's ad revenue goes directly to planting these trees - over 200K trees and growing.

Try Ecosia for yourself and share it with others too!