Although Google still hasn’t shared many details concerning how much money YouTube is or isn’t raking in, there’s good reason to believe the site’s doing just fine.  A relatively high-ranking Googler indicated in an interview that the number of entities using display ads is up by about 1,000 percent on a year-over-year basis.

This notion comes from Barry Salzman, Head of Media and Platforms, Americas at Google, and there’s not much room for misinterpretation.  Salzman spoke to Brian Womack, and Womack was able to report afterward that Google "boosted the number of advertisers using display ads on its YouTube video site 10-fold in the past year."

That’s a pretty impressive growth rate.  Indeed, it sounds possible that YouTube’s attracted more advertisers than it can handle (at least without plastering ads all over the place), which would mean that Google may be able to charge whatever it likes for display ads.

That state of affairs would obviously be beneficial for Google and its investors.  Plus, if Google’s turning away companies, it would help ensure that YouTube users are only exposed to the most relevant, interesting ads.

So perhaps YouTube’s struck a good balance between making money and not annoying users.  We’ll be sure to inspect Google’s next earnings report for more evidence on this front.

Google – along with 46 other organizations – is pressing harder than ever for progress in terms of informing consumers about their energy consumption.  Google – and those 46 other entities – wrote a letter to the president today, asking for his help in the matter.

The list of groups includes some impressive names, including AT&T, Best Buy, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Nokia, Verizon, and Whirlpool.  As for their goals, one aim is to educate people about generation sources of electricity, another’s to spread information about pricing, and the third is to let individuals determine precisely how they’re using energy.

The president’s supposed to step in by asking federal agencies, state governments, and corporations to work together towards these ends.  He could convene White House summits, too, and even give consumers a bit of a nudge (with simple verbal encouragement or something like "Cash for Caulkers").

In return, the letter’s signees promised, "We stand ready to assist you in your efforts to empower energy consumers, rebuild the economy, save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

It’s hard to imagine this appeal will go unanswered, so stand by to see if Google will begin to work with the government in yet another way.

Google – along with 46 other organizations – is pressing harder than ever for progress in terms of informing consumers about their energy consumption.  Google – and those 46 other entities – wrote a letter to the president today, asking for his help in the matter.

The list of groups includes some impressive names, including AT&T, Best Buy, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Nokia, Verizon, and Whirlpool.  As for their goals, one aim is to educate people about generation sources of electricity, another’s to spread information about pricing, and the third is to let individuals determine precisely how they’re using energy.

The president’s supposed to step in by asking federal agencies, state governments, and corporations to work together towards these ends.  He could convene White House summits, too, and even give consumers a bit of a nudge (with simple verbal encouragement or something like "Cash for Caulkers").

In return, the letter’s signees promised, "We stand ready to assist you in your efforts to empower energy consumers, rebuild the economy, save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

It’s hard to imagine this appeal will go unanswered, so stand by to see if Google will begin to work with the government in yet another way.

Let’s be honest: someone who’s incapable of copying and pasting an address into Google Maps may not be worth having as a customer.  But most companies like to make things easy on people, and a new Google Maps gadget should ensure that it’s easy for would-be clients to find businesses.

A post on the LatLong Blog explains, "This simple gadget allows webmasters to add customized Google Maps directions to their business locations. . . .  The gadget allows you to pre-fill the ‘To’ field with one or multiple addresses.  Customers are then able to print their directions with a single click."

This should increase the convenience factor of businesses’ sites, even as it allows firms to make sure potential shoppers don’t wander away.  A nice touch is that companies can keep messy street addresses out of the "To" fields, as well – it’s possible to use more recognizable names and aliases. 

As you can see, Legoland California’s already taken advantage of the Google Maps offering.  More serious entities like Emeril Lagasse restaurants and Harvard have put it to use, too.

The gadget’s available in 23 languages, so it’s probably just a matter of time until businesses all over the world are on much better terms with Google Maps.