January 2021 Summaries

Google is advancing its commitment to privacy by enhancing its differential privacy technologies across various products and making these innovations more accessible to developers and businesses worldwide. Notably, Google has integrated differential privacy into core services like Chrome, Google Maps, and the Assistant, and has used it in COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports to support global decision-makers while safeguarding personal data. This year, Google plans to offer app developers new metrics in a differentially private manner through the Google Play console, allowing insights without compromising user privacy. Additionally, Google is open-sourcing a differentially private SQL database query language extension to democratize privacy-safe data analysis. In partnership with OpenMined, Google is developing a version of its differential privacy library for Python developers, expanding its accessibility. Google also continues to enhance TensorFlow Privacy, improving its performance and collaborating with institutions like Princeton University and Stanford Medical School to test and understand the privacy of machine learning models. Through these efforts, Google aims to provide world-class privacy protections while fostering an open-source ecosystem.

#30DaysOfFlutter is a month-long learning initiative starting February 1st, designed to help developers of all levels enhance their skills with Flutter, Google's open-source UI toolkit for creating natively compiled applications across mobile, web, and desktop platforms from a single codebase. The program features curated content, code labs, and demonstrations tailored for both beginners and experienced developers, alongside four live Ask Me Anything sessions with Google’s Flutter team and community experts. Participants have the opportunity to engage with peers on the FlutterDev Discord channel, fostering a sense of community and collaboration. The event culminates with a major event on March 3rd, providing developers a chance to showcase their projects and share their learning experiences. Flutter leverages the Dart language, making it approachable for those familiar with object-oriented programming, and is recognized as a rapidly growing, high-demand skill in the tech industry.

Google Registry compiled a list of 21 websites and apps designed to enhance the year 2021 by leveraging their top-level domains for various initiatives. These offerings include tools for creating vision boards, enhancing resumes, and launching websites or online stores, with tools like BeFunky's Collage Maker, CV2You's customizable templates, and Google Sites. For app development and side hustles, Flutter and Shopify provide resources to bring ideas to life. Additionally, apps like Puppr, Uhmmm, and Sayana cater to dog training, easing online meeting silences, and emotional tracking, respectively. Other entries, such as Nxt.page and Funnies.page, aim to recreate spontaneous connections and deliver daily humor, while resources like Projectjob.dev and Daily.dev support developers by offering matchmaking services and curated tech news. This collection aims to inspire productivity, creativity, and personal growth throughout the year.

Elevate by Google Developers is a professional development program designed to help tech professionals, particularly Google Developer Groups organizers and Women Techmakers Ambassadors in the US and Canada, enhance their skills through a series of workshops focused on leadership, communication, teamwork, and professional identity. The program ran for three months, featuring 18 guest speakers, the majority of whom were from underrepresented genders, and included sessions on persuasive communication, networking, salary negotiation, and team building. Participants reported positive outcomes, such as securing new roles at companies like Twitter and Accenture and negotiating better salaries, by applying the skills learned in these workshops. Elevate emphasized the importance of creating inclusive work environments where employees feel valued, thereby enhancing their productivity and willingness to contribute. The program's success has led graduates to apply these learnings in their workplaces, fostering more supportive and effective team cultures.

The 2021 Solution Challenge, organized by Google Developer Student Clubs, invites university students worldwide to develop solutions for real-world problems using Google technologies to support the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Created in 2015, the 17 SDGs aim to eradicate poverty, ensure prosperity, and protect the planet by 2030. Participants in the Solution Challenge are encouraged to use technologies such as Android, TensorFlow, Google Cloud, and Flutter to address issues like employment, economic growth, and climate action. The competition offers various prizes, including mentorship from Google experts, subscriptions to Pluralsight, and features on Google platforms, with the top three teams receiving Chromebooks and meetings with Google executives. Students can join by registering online, selecting one or more SDGs, and submitting their projects by March 31, 2021. Google provides participants with resources like live sessions, mentorship, and codelabs to enhance their submissions, with winners announced over three rounds from May to August.

Google announced two new features, App Discovery and Deep Linking, to enhance the integration and user experience of smart devices with Google Assistant through the Home app. App Discovery utilizes suggestion chips in the app to help users quickly find and link their smart home Actions without requiring extensive development work. Meanwhile, Deep Linking allows developers to guide users directly to the account linking flow with a single tap, facilitating a faster onboarding process. These features aim to increase engagement and satisfaction among users by simplifying device setup and integration, and they can be implemented with minimal engineering effort. Developers are encouraged to explore these new tools and provide feedback through various channels to improve the smart home ecosystem.