Google aims to brighten your day with "Tell me something good" - IT News Africa

“Hey Google, tell me something good.”

Google Assistant is testing a new feature that will provide you with only positive news stories. Simply ask the Assistant “tell me something good” and you’ll be supplied with positive stories from all around the world that have been specially curated and summarised to brighten your day and maybe even your outlook on life.

“Hey Google, tell me something good.” Starting on Wednesday, 22 August 2018, Google Assistant users in the U.S. can learn about people who are solving problems for our communities and our world in a news update curated by @soljourno. Learn more at https://t.co/R50AYdlogt pic.twitter.com/QCu5ftBSn4

— Google News Initiative (@GoogleNewsInit) August 21, 2018

According to Google’s blog post on the subject: “The news has always played an essential role in our lives, keeping us informed about the world and the issues we care about. These days we’re consuming more news than ever, and sometimes, it can feel like there are only problems out there. But the fact is, there is a plethora of “good news” happening, and we’re not talking about unlikely animal friendships or random acts of kindness. Real people are making progress solving real issues—and hearing about those stories is a crucial part of a balanced media diet.”

These positive stories will come from a wide range of sources and be about a wide range of topics, all curated and summarised by the Solutions Journalism Network. You can expect to see stories like how Georgia State University coupled empathy with data to double its graduation rate and eliminate achievement gaps between white and black students, how backyard beekeepers in East Detroit are bringing back the dwindling bee population while boosting the local economy, and how Iceland curbed teen drinking with nightly curfews and coupons for kids to enroll in extracurricular activities.

All these stories align with the Solutions Journalism Network’s mission, which is to spread the practice of solutions journalism, highlight how problems are solvable and that doing better is possible.

To find out more about Google’s “Tell me something good”, watch the video below: