Fridaygram: supporting nonprofits, yawning dogs, Easter egg in space
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| Scott |
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| Maya |
By Maya Amoils, Google.org, and Scott Knaster, Developer
Relations
Throughout this month, we’ve asked developers around the world to sign up for
Be Mindful in May, a one-month meditation
campaign that challenges participants to learn about meditation while simultaneously
dedicating their efforts to a global cause: providing clean water to people in developing
nations. So far the campaign has raised over $75,000 AUD for this important issue, and the
Google Developers
team has raised $1700 AUD.
The money raised through Be Mindful in May will go to
charity:water, an organization that’s helping
to bring clean, safe drinking water to the nearly 1 billion people who struggle every day
without it.
To help support nonprofits like charity:water, last month we released the
One Today mobile app as a limited pilot in
the US. One Today introduces users to new projects each day across a wide range of issues, and
enables users to donate $1 to the cause. One Today users can amplify their impact by matching
their friends’ donations. If you’re in the US, you can join the One Today pilot by
requesting an invite.
From making a difference in the world to wacky science, studies suggest that
dogs
yawn in response to humans. And not only that: further research shows that
sometimes, dogs yawn in empathy with humans yawning, while other times, dogs yawn because
they’re feeling stress, as when they’re listening to their owners. Much more research
involving yawning dogs and people will be necessary to fully sort this out.
Finally, if you’re previewing the
new
Google Maps, you might be interested in
this cool Easter
egg. And if you’re
not on the new Google Maps, you can
request an
invite. It’s really nice, and might even keep you from yawning.
Fridaygrams
provide a chance for us to focus on fun and interesting stuff that’s not necessarily related
to writing code. Sometimes we even get to feature inspiring content, like this week’s
information about helping nonprofits.
Maya Amoils is a member of the Google.org marketing team where she works on a number of the
team's charitable giving initiatives. Maya holds a BA in Science Technology & Society from
Stanford University. Outside of work, you can find her biking around the Bay Area or making
playlists on Spotify.
Scott Knaster is the editor of Google Developers Blog. He likes
family time, technology, and watching the San Francisco Giants win baseball
games.
