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Google’s April Fools roundup
Tuesday 2nd April 2013 | Osh
Not one to shy away from April Fools pranks (Gmail Motion anyone?), Google has released a plethora of joke products aimed at the unsuspecting public. Let’s take a run through of what Google did for April Fools’ Day this year.
1) YouTube’s best video competition
One of the first jokes to pop up was a video posted on YouTube’s official channel. According to the video, the purpose of YouTube was to find the best video around, and after 31 March, it will shut down and reopen 10 years later to announce the winner, the prize being an MP3 player and $500.
2) Google Nose
This beta feature allows users to search for aromas, and also emulates the scent of a certain object for users to smell. The video demonstrates the feature being capable of creating scents of roses, new cars, and the inside of an Egyptian Tomb, as well as numerous people saying “Google Nose” into the camera (a rather blatant subliminal message – Google KNOWS, get it?)
3) Google Maps Treasure Hunt
In the video, it is explained that Google found a treasure map belonging to the pirate William “Captain” Kidd. Because the map is heavily encrypted, Google has decided to release the map to the general public by way of a new mode in Google Maps so everyone can help search for clues and decipher the map. What’s interesting is that this mode actually exists (you can access it here), so we’ll just have to see if anything eventually turns up.
4) Gmail Blue
A not-so-subtle poke at Windows Blue, Gmail Blue is literally its namesake – Gmail with everything in blue (“Compose” button, fonts, underlines, you name it). The Gmail team said they experimented with loads of colours before finally settling with blue (apparently Gmail Brown was disaster).
5) Google SCHMICK
Short for Simple Complete House Makeover Internet Conversion Kit, Google SCHMICK is an add-on for Google Street View, which allows users to pimp their houses with various themes (like the picture up-top). While SCHMICK doesn’t really exist, I could see how it could be used for obnoxious marketing ploys if it did.
6) Astronauts visiting your site
This one requires a little digging (and you using Google Analytics), but anyone who checks for Real Time visits to their websites on April Fools will find 41 visitors from the International Space Station. Dodgy, but at least you have something to brag about!
7) Google Fiber Poles
While Google Fiber is still only available in Kansas City, it’s apparently popular enough to be subjected to a joke feature. Essentially, this feature allows you to access the Internet by connecting to a utility pole. Dubious, but would actually be cool if it existed.
8) Google Apps: Levity Algorithm
This app transforms any sort of boring office tasks into ‘fun’ versions (i.e. “Business roundtable discussion” becomes “Chat with T. Fey”). The results are based on 50 years of comedy, and would actually make for an amusing feature if it wasn’t so out of place.
And there you have it! Of course these are all just jokes, but hey, we can dream right?
by Chase Chung
Source: Android Authority
