A second study, The Internet and the creative industries: measuring growth within a changing sector ecology, examines current approaches to measuring the ‘creative sector’; and the impact of the internet on the role of independent artists and small businesses in the business of culture. Drawing on case studies from the UK, France and Sweden, the research finds that the Internet has increased the numbers of creative sector SMEs and 'sole traders.'
In the music industry of twenty years ago, for example, a single record label hired lawyers, accountants, cafeteria workers. Today, many of these roles are distributed among small businesses and independent players. A band might be discovered on YouTube, hire professionals on an hourly basis to handle contracts, self-publish and self-market.
Until now, most research has failed to take into account this structural shift toward ‘unorganized content producers,’ suggesting that they fail to capture a great deal of activity. See below.
What is needed, the researchers conclude, is a new way of measuring the culture industry. Specifically, this new measurement must identify and measure the contribution of SMEs and sole traders. Only when we have reliable statistics can we truly understand the Internet’s impact on the business of news and culture.
Posted by Simon Morrison, Public Policy and Government Relations Manager
We're proud of the role Campus is playing in building this ecosystem, and eager to continue to grow London as one of the world's most exciting technology centres.
Posted by Eze Vidra, Head of Campus London and Google For Entrepreneurs Europe.
The exhibitions, curated by a historian appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, tell the story of how the Spanish explorers arrived in America and what they did there in more than three centuries. In addition to Florida, Spaniards settled the entire U.S. Southwest: Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. They built the region’s first cities and their missions, fortifications, and ranches left an indeliable mark on architecture. They build important roads. They brought new livestock and agricultural techniques. They even played a role in winning independence from the British.
Explore the Spanish legacy in the United States, and enjoy an example of how heritage and the Internet, old and new, can be combined to increase our understanding.
Posted by Barbara Navarro, Director, Public Policy, Madrid
For the nearly 3 million people living in and around Kampala, the Internet hasn’t been as fast and available as it could be; online activity often sputters on pre-broadband speeds or unreliable connections. That’s why today, we’re announcing Project Link, an initiative to build a super-fast, high-capacity fiber network to enable any local mobile operator or Internet service provider (ISP) to connect more people in Kampala to a faster, more reliable Internet.
Project Link’s network is available today to connect providers to long-distance fiber lines, equipping them with near-unlimited capacity to build and expand services to Ugandans. By making this connection, we’re strengthening a crucial piece of the Internet supply chain. Some parts of the chain are already strong: undersea cables are bringing data to Africa’s shores and mobile providers are expanding services across the continent. We’ve now built quality infrastructure in between these points to deliver the speed and capacity that supports the latest and greatest of the Web.
Project Link goes beyond basic access; it enables local providers to offer new mobile data plans or high-speed Internet for office buildings and universities, and support newer technologies as they come to market. For Kampala, we hope it’s a foundation to support the needs of a new crop of entrepreneurs and innovators: the media-rich projects of a successful musician, fast connections for local hospitals, or new digital learning tools for students.
As more of Africa comes online, the Web will grow stronger and richer from the contributions of a growing population. Project Link isn’t just about connecting fiber cables. It’s about connecting the people of Kampala and giving them an opportunity to contribute to a truly global Internet.
Google, joined by a group of partners, (CSIR Meraka Institute, TENET, e-Schools Network, WAPA, and Carlson Wireless), wanted to help make this potential a reality. In March 2013, the group launched a six-month trial using White Spaces to bring broadband Internet access to 10 schools in Cape Town, South Africa. The goal of the trial was to show that White Spaces could be used to deliver broadband Internet without interfering with TV broadcast.
After six months, we can report some good news: the trial has been a success. The participating schools, which previously had slow or unreliable Internet connections, experienced high-speed broadband access for the first time. Teachers were able to use videos in their lesson plans, make Skype calls to other schools, update school websites, and send regular email updates to parents. Students could use educational videos for research. Because the service was better and faster, teachers and learners used the web to enrich the classroom experience.
At the same time, multiple sources confirmed that there was no interference with TV broadcast. Trial partner Meraka Institute performed frequent scientific studies to measure any potential interference over the six-month period. We also provided tools for people to report any interference experience while watching TV. The final results of the test have been published for those who wish to take a deeper dive on the trial's outcomes.
ICASA, South Africa’s communication regulator, plans to use the trial outcomes as inputs into the White Spaces regulatory process. This is a big step to bringing this technology to more of South Africa. We hope the results can be useful in encouraging others to consider White Spaces to help bring the power of the Internet to more people in more parts of the world.
Posted by Fortune Sibanda, Policy Manager, Google South Africa
Individual Ukrainian companies gain by going online, the study show. Businesses with more active Internet navigated turbulent economic conditions in 2012. Their profits decreased only by 0.7% while companies with a weak Internet presence suffered a 7.3% drop.
Amid Ukraine's tough economic climate, the online sector still is seeing tremendous growth. Hopefully, the report will alert Ukrainians - government officials, business leaders and technology leaders - that the Internet could do even more to drive forward a transformation from its agricultural and traditional industrial past to a shining digital future.
Over the past three years, we’ve continued to add more details to the report, and we’re doing so again today. We’re including additional information about legal process for U.S. criminal requests: breaking out emergency disclosures, wiretap orders, pen register orders and other court orders.
We want to go even further. We believe it’s your right to know what kinds of requests and how many each government is making of us and other companies. However, the U.S. Department of Justice contends that U.S. law does not allow us to share information about some national security requests that we might receive. Specifically, the U.S. government argues that we cannot share information about the requests we receive (if any) under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. But you deserve to know.
Earlier this year, we brought a federal case to assert that we do indeed have the right to shine more light on the FISA process. In addition, we recently wrote a letter of support (PDF) for two pieces of legislation currently proposed in the U.S. Congress. And we’re asking governments around the world to uphold international legal agreements that respect the laws of different countries and guarantee standards for due process are met.
Our promise to you is to continue to make this report robust, to defend your information from overly broad government requests, and to push for greater transparency around the world.
Posted by Richard Salgado, Legal Director, Law Enforcement and Information Security
Our Trekker operator taking a well-earned rest while the gondolier does the hard work
The beautiful Piazza San Marco, where you can discover Doge's Palace, St. Marks' Cathedral, the bell tower, the Marciana National Library and the clocktower
We covered a lot of ground—about 265 miles on foot and 114 miles by boat—capturing not only iconic landmarks but several hidden gems, such as the Synagogue of the first Jewish Ghetto, the Devil’s Bridge in Torcello island, a mask to scare the same Devil off the church of Santa Maria Formosa and the place where the typographer Manutius created the Italics font. Unfortunately, Street View can’t serve you a cicchetto (local appetizer) in a classic bacaro (a typical Venetian bar), though we can show you how to get there.
Compare the modern streets with paintings of the same spots by artists such as Carpaccio and Cesare Vecellio
Or delve into historical maps of Venice, like this one showing the Frari Church, built in 1396
Finally, take a look behind the scenes showing how we captured our Street View imagery in Venice.
The Floating City is steeped in culture; it’s easy to see why it’s retained a unique fascination and romance for artists, filmmakers, musicians, playwrights and pilgrims through the centuries—and now, we hope, for Street View tourists too.
Posted by Daniele Rizzetto, Street View Operations Manager (and proud Venetian!)
