There’s an old saying that all news is local. But all news is personal too—we connect with it in different ways depending on our interests, where we live, what we do and a lot of other factors. Today we’re revamping the Google News homepage with several changes designed to make the news that you see more relevant to you. We’re also trying to better highlight interesting stories you didn’t know existed and to make it easier for you to share stories through social networks. Before: After: The new heart of the homepage is something we call “News for you”: a stream of headlines automatically tailored to your interests. You can help us get it right by using the “Edit personalization” box to specify how much you’re interested in Business, Health, Entertainment, Sports or any subject you want to add (whether it’s the Supreme Court, the World Cup or synthetic biology). You can choose to view the stories by Section view or List view, and reveal more headlines by hovering over the headline with your mouse. We’ll remember your preferences each time you log in. If you don’t want customized Google News, hit “Reset personalization” to clear all personalization preferences. If you haven’t previously customized and would prefer not to, simply close the “Edit personalization” box. You can always go back and change it later. To give you more control over the news that you see, we’re now allowing you to choose which news sources you’d like to see more or less often. You can do so in News Settings. These sources will rank higher or lower for you (but not for anyone else) in Google News search results and story clusters. We’ve also added keyboard shortcuts for easier navigation, like in Gmail or Google Reader. When you’re in Google News, hit the question mark key to pop up a full list of shortcuts. There are the subjects that interest you and then there’s the major news of the day. To make it easy for you to find the big stories like Hurricane Alex, we’re adding links to topics that many outlets are covering. You’ll find these topics in the Top Stories section on the left side of the homepage as well as in linked keywords above headlines. Clicking on a topic link takes you to a list of related coverage that you can add to your news stream. You can change your preferences any time in “Edit personalization.” We’re also more prominently displaying the Spotlight section, which features stories of more lasting interest than breaking news and has been one of our most popular sections since we introduced it last fall. And then there’s local news; we’re now highlighting weather and headlines about your city or neighborhood in their own section, which you can edit with whichever location you want to follow. Finally, you can now easily share story clusters with other people via Buzz, Reader, Facebook or Twitter. Just select the drop-down menu marked by an arrow on the top-right of each story cluster. In the drop-down, you can also choose to see more or less of the first news source. The redesigned Google News homepage is rolling out today in the English-language edition in the U.S., and we plan to expand it to all editions in the coming months. We’re making the ability to choose which sources you’ll see more or less often available in all English-language editions worldwide and plan to expand it soon. For more information about these changes, check out the video below or visit our Help Center . Posted by Kevin Stolt, Software Engineer

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Extra! Extra! Google News redesigned to be more customizable and shareable

by Stoney deGeyter Leadership isn’t just for those with the title or position of leadership. Every person, in any given situation, is a leader of something. You may not have the prestige or salary, but there is no doubt that you carry some leadership responsibilities, however small they may be. Very few leaders start at the top. They start somewhere way down the ladder and work their way up. The difference between them and the next person is that they exhibit strong leadership characteristics. Now, not everyone is a natural born leader, but we all lead in various ways. Whether you’re trying to get to the top, or simply being successful where you are, there are several aspects of your own personal development that must be achieved in order be effective as a leader at any level. John Maxwell provides 10 steps to developing courageous leadership: “Convictions that are stronger than my fears” A leader is one who overcomes their fears. This may be fears of stepping out, fears of trying something new, or even a fear of standing up to what you know is right. Most everyone has convictions but many are too timid to stand up when those convictions are challenged. To succeed as a leader your convictions must overrule your fears. “Vision that is clearer than my doubts” For any leader, vision is essential. A leader must be able to see where they are now, and look ahead to where they strive to be. While any vision comes with doubt, the doubt cannot be paralyzing to achieving the vision. “Spiritual sensitivity that is louder than popular opinion” Many people try to check their spirituality at the door when it comes to work and leadership, when in actuality they are inseparable. Spirituality is the core of who you are. Unfortunately, many allow trends, popular opinion, or even a louder voice in the room hold sway over what they truly know and believe in their heart. Spiritual strength is essential to establishing a firm moral foundation that cannot be blown over or toppled by the voices around them. “Self-esteem that is deeper than self-protection” Protecting oneself from outside forces and influences is a natural reaction. But sometimes people allow that to come at the expense of their own self-esteem. They protect themselves by going along and not standing out. This is contrary to true leadership. Leaders must be able to stand out and, by doing so, put themselves in a vulnerable position. Having the self-esteem to stick to your core convictions may leave you vulnerable, but no true leader ever succeeded under a roof of self-protection. “Appreciation for discipline that is greater than my desire for leisure” Greatness (or even desired goodness) can rarely be achieved without a measure of self-discipline. We all want and need leisure time, but those who stand head and shoulders above others almost universally have something in common. They are willing to sacrifice some of their precious leisure time for those things that help them grow mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally. “Dissatisfaction that is more forceful than the status quo” While I’m a firm believer in learning to be content where we are, there must also be a measure of dissatisfaction with things always being the same. Contentment helps us learn to survive and be happy with what we have. Dissatisfaction helps propel us forward to better things that we know can be achieved. While we cannot live in a state of unhappy dissatisfaction, we can use that dissatisfaction to grow our measure of success. “Poise that is more unshakable than panic” Nobody likes a panicky leader. While any leader may become worried or distressed, how they handle those situations says a lot about them. Keeping cool under pressure produces a calmness that spreads within an organization, allowing everybody to think with a clear head and develop strategies that will bring you through any crisis. Keep in mind, however that poise without action is just as devastating as panic… it just takes longer to feel the results. “Risk-taking that is stronger than safety-keeping” Leadership itself is a risk. There is no safety in standing up or stepping out when everybody else is just sitting around. Sometimes the risk is mental or emotional. Other times the risk will be financial. But there are very few profitable investments that don’t require some measure of risk. True leaders understand that risk is a part of the job. “Actions that are more robust than rationalization” It’s possible to rationalize your way out of anything. The problem is rationalizations reduce us to inaction rather than action. Nothing ever gets accomplished when we can find all the reasons not to do it rather than looking at why it needs to be done. Focus on the goals and find ways to to get there, instead of reasons not to try. “A desire to see potential reached more than see people pleased” Every person has potential for greatness. The biggest obstacle to such greatness is often those who we surround ourselves with. While we cannot put aside the needs of our friends and family for our own selfish ambitions, we cannot please everybody all of the time. Nor can you allow others to hold you back from achieving the success you deserve. Leading is rarely ever easy. Some have natural ability, for others it must be developed. But every leader faces the same trials and struggles. Learning to overcome the roadblocks and other obstacles that often try to set us back is essential if we are going to reach our fullest potential. Courageous leadership means finding ways to succeed regardless of our circumstances. It means putting ourselves out there, facing our fears, doubts and potential ridicule all for the greater good. While many people may not like what is required to become a leader, very few regret what they have to go through to achieve it. Be sure and visit our small business news site.

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10 Steps to Courageous Leadership

This is part of our summer series of new Search Stories. Look for the label Search Stories and subscribe to the series. -Ed. When I first brought my dog Yoshka with me to work, I didn’t expect he would go on to become a part of our company history and help inspire our dog-friendly culture. At Google, any employee can bring their dog to work, and it’s rare that I reach my desk in the morning without seeing a pup or two on the way. All these dogs—my own and those I meet around campus—seem to possess that uncanny canine ability to bring a smile to my face. I hope this week’s Search Story, Dog , will do the same for you. Visit www.youtube.com/searchstories to check out the whole collection, or to create your own story. Yoshka Posted by Urs Hoelzle, Senior Vice President, Operations & Google Fellow

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A Search Story for the dog days of summer

We recently released a new version of our Google Chrome browser with Adobe Flash Player built in, automatically bringing you the latest and greatest updates. To celebrate, we teamed up with a few creative folks to make Chrome FastBall , a Flash-based game built for YouTube. Want to race? Complete various games to get the shiny chrome ball to the finish line in the shortest possible time. (So far, the fastest time on the Chrome team is 1 minute, 20 seconds.) Try your luck with Chrome FastBall , and if you haven’t taken Chrome for a test drive yet, download the newest stable release of the browser at google.com/chrome . Update 9:22AM : Due to the overwhelming response to the game, some things aren’t quite working as we hoped due to server-side overloading. Please forgive the maintenance work as we get the game back up again. Thanks! Posted by Jeff Chang, Product Manager

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Race to the finish line in a flash

We recently released a new version of our Google Chrome browser with Adobe Flash Player built in, automatically bringing you the latest and greatest updates. To celebrate, we teamed up with a few creative folks to make Chrome FastBall , a Flash-based game built for YouTube. Want to race? Complete various games to get the shiny chrome ball to the finish line in the shortest possible time. (So far, the fastest time on the Chrome team is 1 minute, 20 seconds.) Try your luck with Chrome FastBall , and if you haven’t taken Chrome for a test drive yet, download the newest stable release of the browser at google.com/chrome . Update 9:22AM : Due to the overwhelming response to the game, some things aren’t quite working as we hoped due to server-side overloading. Please forgive the maintenance work as we get the game back up again. Thanks! Posted by Jeff Chang, Product Manager

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Race to the finish line in a flash

We recently released a new version of our Google Chrome browser with Adobe Flash Player built in, automatically bringing you the latest and greatest updates. To celebrate, we teamed up with a few creative folks to make Chrome FastBall , a Flash-based game built for YouTube. Want to race? Complete various games to get the shiny chrome ball to the finish line in the shortest possible time. (So far, the fastest time on the Chrome team is 1 minute, 20 seconds.) Try your luck with Chrome FastBall , and if you haven’t taken Chrome for a test drive yet, download the newest stable release of the browser at google.com/chrome . Update 9:22AM : Due to the overwhelming response to the game, some things aren’t quite working as we hoped due to server-side overloading. Please forgive the maintenance work as we get the game back up again. Thanks! Posted by Jeff Chang, Product Manager

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Race to the finish line in a flash

We recently released a new version of our Google Chrome browser with Adobe Flash Player built in, automatically bringing you the latest and greatest updates. To celebrate, we teamed up with a few creative folks to make Chrome FastBall , a Flash-based game built for YouTube. Want to race? Complete various games to get the shiny chrome ball to the finish line in the shortest possible time. (So far, the fastest time on the Chrome team is 1 minute, 20 seconds.) Try your luck with Chrome FastBall , and if you haven’t taken Chrome for a test drive yet, download the newest stable release of the browser at google.com/chrome . Update 9:22AM : Due to the overwhelming response to the game, some things aren’t quite working as we hoped due to server-side overloading. Please forgive the maintenance work as we get the game back up again. Thanks! Posted by Jeff Chang, Product Manager

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Race to the finish line in a flash

About a year and a half ago, I asked for suggestions for webspam projects for 2009 . The feedback that we got was extremely helpful. It’s almost exactly the middle of 2010, so it seemed like a good time to ask again: what projects do you think webspam should work on in 2010 and beyond? Here’s the instructions from an earlier post: Based on your experiences, close your eyes and think about what area(s) you wish Google would work on. You probably want to think about it for a while without viewing other people’s comments, and I’m not going to mention any specific area that would bias you; I want people to independently consider what they think Google should work on to decrease webspam in the next six months to a year. Once you’ve come up with the idea(s) that you think are most pressing, please add a constructive comment. I don’t want individual sites called out or much discussion; just chime in once with what you’d like to see Google work on in webspam. Add your suggestion below, and thanks!

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Webspam projects in 2010?

About a year and a half ago, I asked for suggestions for webspam projects for 2009 . The feedback that we got was extremely helpful. It’s almost exactly the middle of 2010, so it seemed like a good time to ask again: what projects do you think webspam should work on in 2010 and beyond? Here’s the instructions from an earlier post: Based on your experiences, close your eyes and think about what area(s) you wish Google would work on. You probably want to think about it for a while without viewing other people’s comments, and I’m not going to mention any specific area that would bias you; I want people to independently consider what they think Google should work on to decrease webspam in the next six months to a year. Once you’ve come up with the idea(s) that you think are most pressing, please add a constructive comment. I don’t want individual sites called out or much discussion; just chime in once with what you’d like to see Google work on in webspam. Add your suggestion below, and thanks!

Original post: 
Webspam projects in 2010?

About a year and a half ago, I asked for suggestions for webspam projects for 2009 . The feedback that we got was extremely helpful. It’s almost exactly the middle of 2010, so it seemed like a good time to ask again: what projects do you think webspam should work on in 2010 and beyond? Here’s the instructions from an earlier post: Based on your experiences, close your eyes and think about what area(s) you wish Google would work on. You probably want to think about it for a while without viewing other people’s comments, and I’m not going to mention any specific area that would bias you; I want people to independently consider what they think Google should work on to decrease webspam in the next six months to a year. Once you’ve come up with the idea(s) that you think are most pressing, please add a constructive comment. I don’t want individual sites called out or much discussion; just chime in once with what you’d like to see Google work on in webspam. Add your suggestion below, and thanks!

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Webspam projects in 2010?