Google To Introduce "Smart Jeans"!?

We've got smart phones, smart homes, smart cars.  Everything is getting "smart" these days.  In tech terms, this means the items are being linked digitally to combine their functionality with outside software, typically to make things easier, faster or just all around cooler.

Well, the latest smart object is here, as officially announced by Google earlier today.  Smart Clothing.

Surely, wearables have been a trend all year: booming during CES (Vegas's Consumer Electronics Show) and in blogs and startups.  But Google's announcement today of PROJECT JACQUARD is one of the first unveilings that just might be able to bring this trend mainstream.

Project Jacquard intermixes software development and fashion design to create conductive textile material that can be woven into any fabric to create "smart fabric". 

The video released on Project Jacquard (check it out on TechCrunch here) is pretty convincing.  As is the fact that Google announced it is partnering with Levi's to bring Jacquard-enabled clothing to the market.  

Look, Google isn't a fashion company, so the partnership makes sense.  Plus, how better to make this new technology open to the masses than in a trusty pair of blue jeans from Levi's!

The exact capabilities that will be woven into these jeans are still undefined.  In fact, the video touts, "Jacquard is a blank canvas for designers, we are excited to see what people are going to do with it".  

So, this begs the question..... if you were to buy "Smart Jeans" from Levi's, what would you want them to be able to do!?

10 Things NOT To Be This Halloween!

Ever experienced the social faux pas of wearing the same dress as another friend to a party?  Well, gentlemen probably not so much, it's a bigger deal for us ladies.  But let me promise you, it's never fun.  You awkwardly laugh and compliment each other's taste- but you know in the back of your head that everyone at the party is secretly doing a "Who Wore It Better" comparison!  

Well, my friend, let me save you from that- at least for your upcoming Halloween parties! Thanks to digital trend tracking, we can now determine ahead of time the most popular Halloween costumes of the year so you won't show up at a party with 20 people to be compared to!

An analysis of most trending Google searches for Halloween costumes resulted in this list of the most popular predicted trends for this year's costume parties.  The culprits are mostly from popular movies and television (Frozen characters are taking over!).  But even some social media viral videos are on the list! (Spider Dog, anyone!?)

So check out this infographic of Google's predictions for the most popular Halloween costumes!  And if you are looking to be truly unique this Hallows Eve, steer clear!

Google+, Say My (Nick)Name!

For the three years since its launch, Google+ has often been seen as the bronze metal of social media.  You've got Facebook and Twitter up there in Gold and Silver positions (which rank is dependent on who you ask!) and then, at the bottom of the totem pole is good old Google+.

Many have given rationale for this placement, and one very common thing that users complained about is the requirement to use their real names.  This complaint was heightened when Google+ started pushing comments through directly to YouTube, so real names were used there as well.  

Many don't want their legal name used in social media, for any number of safety of personal reasons.  On Facebook, you can list nicknames, maiden names or just choose not to have your last  name.  Twitter profiles don't need to represent your name at all!  But until yesterday, Google+ held strong to real names only.

Yep, I said until yesterday.  Google+ has finally raised the white flag of surrender and decided to allow users to go by any name they choose.  In an official statement on their own Google+ page, the company wrote: 

We know you’ve been calling for this change for a while. We know that our names policy has been unclear, and this has led to some unnecessarily difficult experiences for some of our users. For this we apologize, and we hope that today’s change is a step toward making Google+ the welcoming and inclusive place that we want it to be.

Well, Google+, apology accepted!  And from now on, you can just refer to me as DIVA!

Update: Turns out Google+ can't refer to me as just "Diva".  There are still some rules around the names!

- Must enter a first and a last name (though you could just put a period for one if you so choose)

- No names that violate their terms of service (mostly just naughty names).

- No pretending to be someone else (Though no word on how they will know.  But let's face it, Google knows everything!)

Google Doodle Tells Touching Story

If you have searched on Google at all today, you were greeted by a touching Google Doodle.  More specifically, what many social media leaders are referring to as the "most moving logo Google has ever posted". 

The doodle is a product of Google's "Doodle 4 Google" competition, which challenges US grade school students to create unique images for the iconic Google logo on the company's homepage.  This year's winner was 12th grader Sabrina Brady of Sparta, Wisconsin.  Her winning doodle is her depiction of the competition's prompt: "My Best Day Ever".

Sabrina explained, "When I was 10 years old, my dad came home from war. This was my best day ever."

Her image, entitled "Coming Home" is touching, and I can see why she won!  And now, today might rank up there as her second best day ever, since her image was hosted on Google all day, and she also won a $30,000 college scholarship, a Chromebook computer and a $50,000 technology grant for her favorite school.

Way to go Sabrina! 

What did you think of today's Google Doodle?  Do you have any other favorites from the past?