2020, finally over: Stories from Google this year

5. The passage of time can be marked by eras of emoji. World Emoji Day coincided with the introduction of critters like 🦬 and 🐻‍❄️. And it really just wouldn’t be 2020 if new emoji mashups didn’t include the 😷 emoji and a few new ways to get in our feelings. Oh, my top emoji of 2020? Thanks for asking! Obviously, they were 😬, 🥴, 🙃, 💞 and 🍕.

6. Masks weren’t required to welcome new augmented-reality friends into our homes. From dinosaurs to kangaroos to the Cambropachycope (I know, I know, your favorite), there was no shortage of AR-created creatures at our disposal. (A popular fictional paleven made the cut.) 

7. We said goodbye to earworms with the launch of Hum to Search, a new feature where anyone can hum or sing a tune and find out what song is stuck in their head. The tool was introduced during Google’s live (streamed) Search event and talked about advancements in AI that are making Search more accessible and useful. And this year, Search became more visually friendly, allowing us to do things like use Google Lens to shop or turn to AR for help with homework.

8. Search isn’t the only Google tool that’s improved leaps and bounds since its inception: Google Maps turned 15! To mark this milestone, we rolled out a fresh look and helpful new features and also looked back on the journey. The work hardly ended there: Maps and Search also debuted real-time wildfire maps and information. And as the spread of COVID-19 affected how people moved around this year, Maps released multiple new features focused on helping people stay informed and safe and make decisions around travel, and My Maps was an incredibly important resource for communities everywhere, helping people find food banks and testing sites, among so many other things.

9. “The world must act now if we’re going to avert the worst consequences of climate change,” CEO Sundar Pichai wrote in September, announcing our latest efforts at achieving a carbon-free future, and eliminating our carbon legacy entirely. More good news: data centers are more energy efficient than ever. But small changes can make a difference, too: We shared tips on how everyone could become more sustainable at home. Other projects included hitting our hardware sustainability goals—and creating news ones—and making sure our own construction principles go above and beyond.

10. One thing we all relied on in 2020 was video calling. In May, we made Google Meet free for all—andthrough March 2021 all free Meet users can enjoy unlimited meetings without having to worry about the 60-minute time limit. Plus, a handful of new features specifically geared to help teachers with video schooling were added, and we shared tips on how to make sure video conferences are accessible to everyone. And I set my grandma up with a Nest Hub Max so we can video chat, and Google partnered with senior care centers so their residents could do the same with their families.

11. The world has been intensely focused on health during the pandemic—including mental health. We took an in-depth look at Blue Dot, an employee resource group at Google that works to normalize conversations about mental health. The Digital Wellbeing team worked on giving you more control and transparency over selfies, and Search launched an anxiety self-assessment tool. On a more personal level, Googler Carly Schwartz shared her journey to sobriety, and how Google tools can help others who are looking for help.

12. Despite the challenges of 2020, Googlers continued doing amazing things. We met Fabiana Fregonesi, a scuba diver who photographs and advocates for sharks, and Sarah Torney, who used old family photos to take us to turn-of-the-century San Francisco. And of course, in true 2020 fashion, more than a few Googlers came up with creative new hobbies for their time spent at home. Speaking of fashion: AI Engineer Dale Markowitz showed us how to use machine learning to create your own stylist.

All this just skims the surface: We also talked about what it’s like to work at home with our dogs and offered mobile photography tips—and yes, while time became more and more of a construct, it really was just this year that we introduced new Pixel phones and Nest devices. 

But with all that said, I think it’s time to say goodbye to this year. Farewell, 2020, and thanks for giving us plenty to write about. Here’s to ending the year on a grateful note, and looking forward to the next one with hope.