(Cross-posted from the Google Docs Blog.)

Google Moderator helps anyone find the best input from their audiences, whether it’s suggestions on how tostop the oil spill, debate questions at the Copenhagen climate change conference, or questions for Katy Perry. Starting today, you can use Moderator inside your Google Sites as well. For example, if you have a restaurant site, you can embed Google Moderator on your suggestions page to get input from your restaurant patrons. Here’s how:

1. Create a series at Google Moderator.

2. Start editing a page in your Google Site, and go to Insert and then More gadgets. Click on Featured and select Google Moderator at the bottom.


3. Click Select and then you’ll see the settings screen below. Copy and paste the URL from the series you created into the Moderator URL box, and make sure to check the Include a scrollbar on gadget when necessary option.

4. Click OK, save the page, and you’re all set! Your visitors will be able to start submitting and voting on suggestions immediately.

If you want to learn more about Google Moderator, check out the Google Public Sector Blog. You can also embed Moderator on other web sites, your YouTube channel or in your own applications with our API.

Posted by Eric Hysen, Software Engineering Intern

If you haven't tried Moderator yet to receive questions and input from your audiences, it's now easier than ever. YouTube user CompHelp put together a great video, Google Moderator: Easy Way To Interact With An Audience. Take a look to see Moderator in action.



After you've taken a look at the video, check out Moderator and the just-launched Moderator in YouTube to use Moderator yourself.

Posted by Eric Hysen, Google Moderator Team

[Cross-posted from the YouTube Blog.]

YouTube is about starting a conversation. Every day, hundreds of millions of videos spark dialogues on everything from the future of the African continent, to what should be done about the oil spill, to the best slam dunk of all time. But until now, it’s been difficult to harness those free-flowing discussions.

That’s why, starting today, we’ve integrated the ability to use Google Moderator into every single YouTube channel. Moderator is a versatile, social platform that allows you to solicit ideas or questions on any topic, and have the community vote the best ones up to the top in real-time. We previously used Google Moderator as part of our interviews with President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Here’s how it works: You set the parameters for the dialogue, including the topic, the type of submissions, and the length of the conversation. Watch as submissions get voted up or down by your audience, and then respond to the top-voted submissions by posting a video on your channel. The platform operates in real-time, and you can remove any content that you or your audience flag as inappropriate. You can also embed the platform on your own website or blog.

For more details on how to set up your Moderator series, visit youtube.com/moderator. And please note that in order to participate in a Moderator series, you'll need to be logged into a Google account that is linked to a YouTube account. To see how 12 YouTube users, including Michael Buckley, the New York Times, Stanford and Howcast, are using the feature, check out the YouTube Blog.

Posted by Olivia Ma, YouTube News Manager, and Ginny Hunt, Product Manager, Moderator

We created Google Moderator to empower citizens across the world to directly connect with their government officials, and part of that mission is making Moderator available to as many people as possible. Last month, we powered the YouTube/Facebook Digital Debate in the UK, where over 10,000 people participated in asking and selecting questions via YouTube and Facebook for party leaders David Cameron, Nick Clegg, and Gordon Brown. This is the first time we've brought Moderator to Facebook, and we're excited to be making it available to more people.

We've also been hearing from people who want to tightly integrate Moderator into their own sites and apps. To make that possible, this week over at the Google Code Blog we announced the new Google Moderator API, which allows you to create custom interfaces for Moderator. Inside Google, we've already used it to build an Android app, a Wave gadget, and a visualization of where questions came from when Moderator was used to interview President Obama.

We're excited to see what you can build, so read the announcement for more details and check out the API to get started!

Posted by Eric Hysen, Public Sector Team

Google Moderator is empowering citizens across the world to directly connect with their government officials. Today, Special Report with Bret Baier on Fox News used Moderator to solicit questions for Baier's exclusive interview with President Obama. In just one day of voting, nearly 5,000 people cast over 100,000 votes on over 4,000 questions. Check out the questions viewers submitted and the video of the interview below:

Just a few hours earlier, YouTube's Steve Grove took your questions on the new National Broadband Plan to Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski. Chairman Genachowski took 17 questions in the interview, exclusively from user submissions on Moderator. Check out the video below and see all the questions on CitizenTube.

Rounding out the day, Google's Patrick Pichette headed north to interview Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, again using questions submitted through Moderator.

We're excited to see governments and news organizations alike embracing technology to connect with more people than ever before.

Posted by Eric Hysen, Public Sector Team