Years ago when Google started April Fool’s Days pranks we all fell for it - and it was a single prank. By now we are ready for Google’s shenanigans each year. I have spent some time scouring the web to see what they’ve been up to. I have found EIGHT pranks this year. Check them all out below.

1) They have always had advanced search, but now there’s REALLY advanced search to find pages with… “all of these words,” “”any of these words,” “words almost, but not quite entirely unlike,” “rhyming slang for,” and others. Check out really advanced search for yourself.

2) Everyone remembers the original 8-bit NES and many people have them connected to reminisce about the old days. Google has us convinced we can use our old Nintendo with a special Google Maps cartridge and modem connection to find our way around the world in 8-bits. You can watch the demo video here or go to google maps and click on “Quest” to try it for yourself.

3) On the go? Keyboard too small to write emails on? Now with Gmail Tap you can turn your 26-key QWERTY keyboard into 2 keys AND write 2 emails at once. Gmail Tap is a binary language, according to the website. It is actually just Morse Code if you look carefully. Click the download link to try it and they tell you it is too popular and you should try again tomorrow. Think the link will be there tomorrow? Me neither.

4) We all have our favorite YouTube videos. We all have the go to videos when we need a laugh. And we all know how many viral videos have been passed around email and social networks. Now you can have all of your favorite videos packaged neatly onto individual DVDs. If DVDs don’t fit your fancy, you can get them on Laserdisc, VHS Videocassette, or Betamax Tape. The entire collection is a mere 53,508 DVDs and they’ll even throw in a complimentary crate of wrapping paper if buying as a gift. I suggest choosing postal service when ordering as the shipping comes to only $6,210 for a total of $2,563,365 - although extended shipping times may be incurred over the shipping trucks or freight vessels. Order yours today here.

5) We have been hearing about Google offering fiber to consumers for a long time. Unfortunately, we were wrong in thinking single-mode or multi-mode fiber that transmits information via light. As it turns out, it’s an edible fiber bar. Google fiber is smarter in that it’s faster, customized, and simple. Faster means it travels to any nutrient deficient organ instantaneously. It is customized to deliver only the nutrients your body needs based on cues given by your intestinal tract. It is all in one slim, bar making it available when you need it most.

6) Everyone is developing for mobile platforms now. Considering people on dial-up modems is a lower priority than ever before. Developting websites for rotary phone users has never been a consideration. Now it can be. With Google’s new GoRo service, you an optimize your website for rotary service users because, as Google says, “Like the finger wheel on a rotary phone, technology is cyclical. Learn why mobile is on the way out and get ready for the return of rotary.”

7) Speaking of websites, Google Analytics has helped web developers/administrators learn how much traffic hits the website and where it is coming from. Google is now tracking a whole new “where” with Interplanetary Reporting. Be patient though, the new reports aren’t coming until the year 2030, when Google anticipates space travel becomes widespread. 

8) Finally, the fastest growing sport in America is NASCAR and Google is getting involved with autonomous driving. That is exactly what it sounds like… cars that drive themselves. Google racing is a new division that has partnered with NASCAR and will be fielding a team by midway through the NASCAR season. Check out that NASCAR drivers have to say about it in interviews - here. 

So there you have it - 8 new pranks from Google this year. Check them all out. Enjoy!

It is April first and the Internet is abuzz with April Fool’s Day pranks and chatter about the ones to look out for. Some people are using the web to protect and warn others and some see the web as a medium to discuss good ones to subject people to and finally, some use the web to conduct the prank. The most famous prankster on this day is Google. Every year, the web giant promotes a silly product or service as if it is 100% real and without fail, grabs the attention of unwitting participants and the cynics alike.

This year Google showed up with 2 pranks. Both are more clever than we’ve seen in recent years. 

The first prank is as simple as a job posting for an “Autocompleter.” As you type in the search box in Google, a complex algorithm is finding every combination of your letters to narrow the possibility of what you are searching for. Google has now posted a job for a human to do that. This job does not come easy though. One requirement that the applicant must possess is good typing skills - to the tune of being able to type 32,000 words per minute. See:http://www.google.com/intl/en/jobs/uslocations/mountain-view/autocompleter/index.html for the full job ad.

The bigger one is a new service they claim will be available soon. It is called Google Motion and it is the lovechild of Gmail and a Nintendo Wii. Gmail’s product manager, a paralanguage expert and a movement specialist all tell us how using your computer’s webcam along with pre-defined gestures will allow you to interact with your computer. Giving a hitchhiking like thumb toward your back is the obvious motion for a reply. Check out: http://mail.google.com/mail/help/motion.html to watch the video and sign up.

Just like every other year, the pranks are delivered with the professional design and apparent sincerity of true new service, but somehow, seem just outside the realm of possibility or sensibility. 

Many people on the web have come to look forward to Google’s yearly prank. It is fun to see this brand interact with its users and embrace a day like April Fool’s. Enjoy! Thanks Google!