by OnSight | Feb 2017 | Google
A talented student in Aurora, Colorado, could soon have her art on the Google homepage for hundreds of millions to see.
Google is announcing the 53 state and territory winners in its ninth annual Doodle 4 Google competition, a contest open to K-12 students across the United States to redesign the Google logo inspired by the theme “What I see for the future…”.
Madison J. Lee, a 4th grader from Black Forest Hills Elementary School in Aurora, is one of the 53 winners with her doodle, “What Awaits Us in the Future”, depicting a futuristic, alien-filled landscape. Her doodle was selected from thousands of entries received this year.
Secretary of State Wayne Williams was on-hand at Black Forest Hills Elementary School to help Lee celebrate during a surprise assembly.
“As someone who regularly uses Google and enjoys the ever-changing art, it is an honor to present this award,” said Secretary Williams.
To help their favorites succeed, everyone across the USA can vote for their favorite doodle from the 53 state winners. Voting will be open from February 23rd to March 6th on this site: http://www.google.com/doodle4google/vote.html, and the public vote will determine the five national finalists (one in each grade group).Voting ends at 5pm EST on Monday, March 6th. Google will announce these five national finalists and one of them as the national winner on March 31 — and the winner’s doodle will go live on Google.com that day.
The National Winner will take home a $30,000 college scholarship and his or her school will receive a $50,000 Google for Education grant towards the establishment and improvement of a computer lab or technology program.
To see a full list of state winners and to vote online, visit: http://www.google.com/doodle4google/vote.html
If you have any questions or would like to speak with a Google representative, please send an email to press@google.com.
by OnSight | Dec 2016 | Google
And the winner is…
Yesterday, Google released its 16th Annual Year in Search, an in-depth look at the stories, people, and topics that captured the world’s attention this year.
Below are the Top Trending searches, news/events, people, films and “near me” that Denver wanted to know more about in 2016.
Top-trending Denver searches 2016:
- COPA America
- Election
- Pokémon Go
- Powerball
- Olympics
Top-trending Denver news/events 2016:
- COPA America
- Election
- Olympics
- Orlando Shooting
- Brexit
Top-trending Denver people searches 2016:
- Donald Trump
- Hillary Clinton
- Michael Phelps
- Steven Avery
- Bernie Sanders
Top-trending Denver film searches 2016:
- Deadpool
- The Revenant
- Captain America Civil War
- Suicide Squad
- Zootopia
Top-trending Denver “Near me” or “Nearby” searches 2016:
- flower shops near me
- king soopers near me
- pho near me
Year in Search is meant to reflect “the spirit of the times”, and Google strives to capture this spirit through exploring the year’s new and exciting search terms. Trending searches are queries that have had the highest spike in traffic over a sustained period in 2016 as compared to 2016.
For more information as well as a video covering a global tour through 2016, visit the 2016 Year in Search website.
by OnSight | Apr 2016 | Google
People from throughout Colorado and across the globe can explore some of the state’s most beautiful and scenic locations from the comfort of their computers or mobile devices following today’s Google Maps release of more than 40 new Street View images from the Centennial State.
From exploring the Mesa Trail beneath the Flatirons in Boulder to taking in scenery in and around Rocky Mountain National Park; from wandering through Denver’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre or gazing at the grandeur of Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, the Street View images allow users to make virtual visits to many of Colorado’s most iconic and impressive landscapes.
Google’s Street View Trekker being used in the Grand Canyon.
The images were captured via Google’s Street View Trekker, a wearable backpack with a camera system on top, and Google’s newest Street View camera platform. The Trekker is worn by an operator and is walked through pedestrian walkways or trails on foot, automatically gathering images as it goes. That imagery is then stitched together to create the 360-degree panoramas you see today in Google Maps.
Tuesday’s release includes images collected by Google and others made possible by partnerships through the Trekker Loan Program with the Denver Convention and Visitors Bureau and Visit Estes Park.
Imagery released today includes:
Google Maps-collected sites
- Flatirons, Vista South Trail
- Flatirons, Prairie Vista
- Flatirons, Homestead Trail
- Flatirons, Shadow Canyon Trail
- Flatirons, Mesa Trail
- Flatirons, Marshall Mesa
- Flatirons, Community Ditch
- Flatirons, Marshall Valley
- Flatirons, Doudy Draw Trail
- Flatirons, Spring Brook Loop South Trail
- Flatirons, Towhee Trail
- Colorado State Capitol
- Garden of the Gods- Time Machine
Denver Convention and Visitors Bureau-collected sites
Visit Estes Park-collected sites
You can also access the images by searching for a destination in Google Maps for mobile (available for both Android and iOS), and then selecting the Street View option to start your own 360-degree tour.
This is all part of Google Maps’ efforts to make the world’s diverse heritage and beauty accessible to everyone. T o learn more about where the Trekker has travelled thus far, please visit: http://www.google.com/maps/about/behindthescenes/streetview/treks/
by OnSight | Dec 2015 | Google
Denverites in 2015 were interested in the hometown NFL team’s schedule, a hurricane, a movie about dinosaurs and the fate of NBA star Lamar Odom, according to data compiled by Google and releases as part of its Year in Search earlier this week.
We’re interested in Google, of course, as the firm that helps them with PR and press in Colorado.
Google’s localized search results found a good audience in the Denver-metro area, as the story was picked up by The Denver Post, The Denver Business Journal, 9News, Fox31 The Denver Channel (KMGH7) and KOA radio, among others.
Below are the Top Trending Searches, News/Events, People and Films that Denver wanted to know more about in 2015.
Top-trending Denver searches 2015:
- lamar odom
- broncos schedule 2015
- bobbi kristina brown
- jurassic world
- ronda rousey
- american sniper
- hurricane patricia
- super bowl 2015
- straight outta compton
- caitlyn jenner
Top-trending Denver news/events 2015:
- hurricane patricia
- paris
- nfl playoffs
- oregon shooting
- lunar eclipse
- blood moon
- mayweather vs pacquiao
- democratic debate
- charlie hebdo
- republican debate
Top-trending Denver people searches 2015:
- lamar odom
- bobbi kristina brown
- ronda rousey
- caitlyn jenner
- ruby rose
- stuart scott
- chris kyle
- donald trump
- sandra bland
- brian williams
Top-trending Denver film searches 2015:
- jurassic world
- american sniper
- straight outta compton
- 50 shades of grey
- the visit
- pitch perfect 2
- the martian
- minions
- inside out
- avengers age of ultron
Year in Search is meant to reflect “the spirit of the times”, and Google strives to capture this spirit through exploring the year’s new and exciting search terms. Trending searches are queries that have had the highest spike in traffic over a sustained period in 2015 as compared to 2014.
Google studied an aggregation of trillions of searches (or queries) that people asked Google Search this year. Data was used from multiple sources, including our public tool, Google Trends and internal data tools. Spam and repeat queries were filtered out to build lists that best reflect the spirit of 2015.
For more information as well as a video covering a global tour through 2015, visit the 2015 Year in Search website.
by OnSight | Jan 2015 | Google
At Colorado’s first Google Demo Day at Galvanize, sixteen Colorado startups had three minutes to pitch their budding businesses to a panel of judges including the creme de la creme of Denver tech, media, and business. These startup CEOs participated in gDemo Day in hopes of winning a trip to California and a chance to pitch their business to Google.
The OnSight team helped publicize the event, which featured 16 new companies (half which are helmed by women) pitching ideas that would revolutionize everything from parking spaces and farm-to-table restaurants to dating websites and water usage to a panel of judges consisting of a who’s-who of Denver tech, media, and business.
From The Spot blog:
Sixteen startups, 3 minutes each (give or take) and 2 hours. Okay, make that 3. Galvanize’s first-ever Colorado Demo Day ended Thursday night with the crowd gathered around the bar as judges took about 15 minutes to make their decisions.
Congrats to the three winners — Native, RXRevu and Conspire – who now get to travel to California and make a pitch to Google! (Last year’s hand-picked winner from Galvanize, GoSpotCheck, nabbed a $100,000 investment from judge Steve Case of AOL fame.)
Native re-introduces and updates the personal travel agent for the 21st century traveler. RXRevu allows you to compare and research prescription drugs from a simple app on your phone. Conspire harnesses the power of your email contacts by creating a social network from those connections.
Congratulations to the winners! And good luck in California!
Read more:
Denver Business Journal
by OnSight | May 2014 | Google, Press and Media
Coding for good at the Google GovDev Challenge.
About 120 coders, hackers, and software developers from around the region gathered at Galvanize in Denver on a sunny Saturday morning for the very first Google GovDev Challenge, a two-day live coding competition. The Google GovDev Challenge was created with the intent to improve citizen service, as well as to find creative solutions to challenges faced by state agencies. Winning teams took home up to $5,000 in awards.
On the first day of coding, participating partners, the State of Colorado and the State of Wyoming, presented the following three challenges to coders:
Challenge 1: Disaster Assistance Center Automation
Sponsoring agency: State of Colorado
Challenge 2: Disaster Assistance Center Materials Management
Sponsoring agency: State of Colorado
Challenge 3: Budget Data Transparency
Sponsoring agency: State of Wyoming
Participating coders had 24 hours to create solutions to the three challenges. Each challenge was judged based on the following categories:
- How well it solves the challenge (40%)
- Originality of the idea (20%)
- Technical merit (20%)
- Use of Google tools (20%)
Through the duration of the challenge, OnSight worked with Google and event partners and provided media relations consulting for the event. OnSight helped arrange and foster a partnership with Denver’s 9News that provided media coverage throughout the first-ever Google GovDev Challenge.
Here are a few clips of event coverage:
The Denver Post: Hackathons: Giving back to the community, one line of code at a time
Civic hackathons, popping up more frequently over the past couple of years, are turning into the geek’s way of giving back to the community.
Google partnered with Colorado and Wyoming a week ago to host a hackfest in Denver, where about 150 software developers hunkered down for a marathon, 24-hour coding session.
Participants ranged from hobbyists to partners at tech companies.
Their mission? To create solutions for challenges facing local and state governments.
KUSA-TV (9News): Coders challenged to create disaster app
KUSA – It’s a challenge to computer coders everywhere.
In Denver 150 of the country’s best software programmers are battling it out to create an internet app.
9NEWS reporter Eric Egan takes you into the world of a Google hack-a-thon in the video above.
Fremont County Radio: Wyoming Developers Win 1st, 2nd & 3rd Places at First Ever Google GovDev Competition
Lander, WY, May 21, 2014: Approximately 28 professional development teams from across Wyoming and Colorado gathered to participate in the opportunity to win up to $5000 from Google. Code Rangers, a Wyoming team made up of Wyolution co-owners Jared Kail and Mark Thoney, Sheridan Programmers Guild Owner, Anne Gunn, and Gannett Peak Technical Services Owner, Tighe Fagan won first place, and Gannett Peak Technical Services owner Ryan Fagan’s team, Auditor Search, won third place in the Wyoming Sponsored Category: Budget Data Transparency Challenge. Second place was given to Speed Goats, a Wyoming team made up of Lee Pepper of County 10 and Pitchengine, Jordan Dean, Marshall Moore, Shawn Becker and Jonathan Barella in the Colorado Sponsored Category: Disaster Assistance Center Materials Management.
According to govdevchallenge.com, software developers were given 24-hours to code and find creative solutions to challenges faced by government agencies in Colorado and Wyoming. Participants needed to make use of at least one Google tool in the final project. The competition offered one Wyoming challenge and two Colorado challenges for developers to take-on. Wyoming’s challenge was Budget Data Transparency, and the two Colorado challenges were Disaster Assistance Center Automation, and Disaster Assistance Center Materials Management.
County 10: Two Lander men among top placers in last weekend’s coding challenge in Denver
(Denver, Colo.) – Two Lander men, including one of County10′s own developers, took top spots in last weekend’s Google GovDev Challenge. The event brought computer coders from across Colorado and Wyoming to compete in a 24-hour coding contest, which was sponsored by both states.
County10′s Lee Pepper, as part of the Speed Goats team, took second place in the Disaster Assistance Center Automation challenge sponsored by the State of Colorado. Twelve teams participated in that challenge.
GovTech.com: Google’s GovDev Challenge Provides Real Solutions for Government
On May 18, Google wrapped up its first GovDev challenge, a 24-hour hackathon that challenged local software developers and entrepreneurs to solve problems facing state agencies in Colorado and Wyoming. More than 100 developers joined with government workers, community groups and organizers in Denver for the event, and when the coding was done, nine teams were awarded cash prizes. Officials said the event was a success because it produced software they may ultimately use in their businesses, it sparked new relationships between government and the public, and it gave their agencies new ideas on how to work.
At the start of the event, three challenges were announced, two for Colorado and one for Wyoming, and teams and individuals selected a challenge and began working.
