Fridaygram: supporting nonprofits, yawning dogs, Easter egg in space

Scott

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.