When we talk about native advertising, we’re talking about the kind of ads that take the form of content that users might expect to see on the site anyway. This can come in the form of videos, images, articles, tweets, status updates or other media, but all in all, it’s a trend that is rising quickly. Even as the trend is clearly pointing upward, some are concerned about what this means for the future of content and paid messaging, as a new eMarketer report indicates.

Do you think native advertising is a good direction for online ads to be trending in? Why or why not? Share your thoughts in the comments.

For a better understanding of native advertising, take a look at this infographic Solve Media put out a few months ago (via Mashable), attempting to explain it:

Despite those trying to draw lines between adverotirals and native advertising, Google pretty much sees them as going hand in hand. This makes sense, because either way, it’s a message that is being paid for, and if it’s being paid for, and it’s passing PageRank, that is a violation of Google’s quality guidelines, and will get you penalized.

In fact, while this is already something Google has frowned upon, the company has recently indicated that it will be cracking down on this more, so beware of that.

We recently looked at a video from Google’s Matt Cutts in which he ran down a lot of the changes Google is planning on making in the coming months, and he specifically talked about advertorials and native advertising during part of it. Here’s the video again, in case you missed it:

“We’ve also been looking at advertorials,” he said. “That is sort of native advertising – and those sorts of things that violate our quality guidelines. So, again, if someone pays for coverage, or pays for an ad or something like that, those ads should not flow PageRank. We’ve seen a few sites in the U.S. and around the world that take money and do link to websites, and pass PageRank, so we’ll be looking at some efforts to be a little bit stronger on our enforcement as advertorials that violate our quality guidelines.”

“There’s nothing wrong inherently with advertorials or native advertising, but they should not flow PageRank, and there should be clear and conspicuous disclosure, so that users realize that something is paid – not organic or editorial,” he added.

So, even as we see more and more of this kind of advertising saturating the web, webmasters better make sure they’re not also saturating Google’s index, because the search giant will not be shy about holding your site accountable, and that could have the opposite effect from the one you intended with the advertorial in the first place. Good luck finding advertisers when your site can’t be found in Google.

Beyond Google, as mentioned, others are also concerned about the native advertising trend.

“Although business prospects for native advertising are positive, the medium has its detractors,” says eMarketer. “Some media executives and marketers are wary of the blurring of lines between content and advertising that occurs with native ads, particularly in the context of news sites. Others question the return on investment of these ads, arguing that native ads cannot scale for multiple placements.”

They point to recent research from MediaBrix, which found that a high percentage of U.S. Internet users find ads that appear as content misleading:

“Despite the potential backlash against misunderstood native ads, media sites under monetization pressure are turning to native advertising to drive digital revenue,” says eMarketer. “Notable examples include Forbes, The Atlantic and The Washington Post. Others such as CNN and Hearst have said they are considering it.”

You can find eMarketer’s report here.

Are you concerned about native ads, or is this the future of online marketing? Let us know in the comments.

Google still has a long way to go, however, when it comes to maps, specifically indoor maps. The search giant already has quite a few indoor maps, but as it says, this is the next frontier.

“Mapping streets and buildings is the hard part,” Google says. “But the even harder part is mapping indoors. Not only is Google acquiring floor plans for major buildings and venues, but we’re also working out ways to provide positioning data inside those buildings. When GPS doesn’t work, how do you find your place on the map?”

Sarah Peterson and Waleed Kadous talk about just that in this Google I/O session, which Google has now made available to the general public:

The session takes a look at the Freebase APIs, and discusses how they can enhance applications to better understand people, places and things.

During the Google I/O keynote, Google SVP Amit Singhal said that Knowledge Graph already has over 570 million entities, and it continues to grow. He also announced the launch of Knowledge Graph in olish, Turkish, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese.

During Google I/O 2013, Derek Slater, Jen Pahlka and others hosted a session titled “Beyond SOPA: What You Can Do To Influence Tech Policy:”

From SOPA/PIPA and CISPA, to immigration and patent reform, government is taking a renewed interest in the Internet and the businesses we’re building on it — in some cases, there is even a new focus on the use of technology which can solve government problems.

As a result, government is looking for input from our community of entrepreneurs and developers about what our needs are as a community, and how they can build better public policy in our interest.

So, what are the most efficient, easy ways for you to get involved? Join us for a panel of some leaders in the Internet advocacy space to learn how you, as a developer, can get more involved in creating better policies that can affect your business.

First up is Developing for Glass with Timothy Jordan. He announced the Glass Developer Kit during this session, but there’s more than that:

By bringing technology closer, we can get it out of the way. This and other core concepts, design guidelines, UX paradigms, and APIs will be introduced as a baseline for Glass Development. Excellent examples will be shown and used to codify everything into a set of best practices. If you want to develop for Glass, this is where you start!

The other session is Voiding Your Warranty: Hacking Your Glass with Hyunyoung Sung and P.Y. Laligand:

Glass is ready for hacking! See what is possible with the hardware platform and how you can gain root access. Learn how to run your own experimental applications. Disclaimer: you’ll be stepping into uncharted and unsupported territory!

With that, you would probably do well to check out these three Google+ talks from the event, which dive into buttons, badges, etc. for publishers, getting the most out of Google+ in your organization, and a fireside chat with the Google+ platform team.

Here’s a basic walkthrough of all the new features.

Oh yeah, and today, Google revealed that it is bringing some new Google Offers visibility into Google+.

These particular webinars deal with Google+ and Enhanced Campaigns and campaign management and strategies for upgrading. They combine for about 90 minutes of information.

Earlier this week, Google revealed that about two million AdWords campaigns have been set to enhanced, up from 1.5 last month, when Google held its Q1 earnings call.

If you haven’t made the transition yet, you might want to check out this tutorial on the Enhanced Campaigns Upgrade Center.

All campaigns will be upgraded automatically on July 22nd.

Starting today, with a initial test run of a handful of brands, Google+ users will be able to see, save and share Offers from their stream.

“Millions of people follow brands they love on Google+ to keep tabs on them, get the latest news on products, join in on the conversation or simply to be entertained. Many people also engage with businesses to get great deals and discounts. Starting today, we’re making it easier to discover, save and share offers right from Google+.” says Google’s Dennis Troper.

The small group of brands that are part of this include ZAGAT, Hello Kitty, Art.com, NOOK, and Adafruit Industries. They will now be able to share offers with those who have them in circles. With one click, you’ll be able to save these offers straight from the post in your stream. After that, simply redeem using the Google Offers app of via email confirmation.

The Hill reports that the bi-partisan congressional Privacy Caucus sent an open letter to Google CEO Larry Page asking for clarification on Glass and the myriad of privacy issues it presents. The letter contains many of the same talking points that groups like Stop the Cyborgs have brought up in the past, but it seems to at least be giving Google the benefit of the doubt in this case.

Here’s some of the more interesting questions that many of us, including myself, would want answered:

“What proactive steps is Google taking to protect the privacy of non-users when Google Glass is in us? Are product lifecycle guidelines and frameworks, such as Privacy by Design, being implemented in connection with its product design and commercialization? For example, if a Google Glass customer/user decides to resell or to dispose of their Google Glas product, would there be any product capabilities incorporated into the device to ensure that one’s personal information remains private and secure?”

“In Google’s privacy policy, it states that the company “may reject requests that are unreasonably repetitive, require disproportionate technical effort … risk the privacy of others, or would be extremely impractical.” Please provide examples of when Google would reject requests on Google Glass that would risk the privacy of others? Would Google place limits on the technology and what type of information it can reveal about another person? If so, please explain. If not, why not?”

“Given Google Glass’ sensory and processing capabilities, has Google considered making any additions or refinements to its privacy policy? If so, please explain. If not, why not?”

There are a total of eight questions, but the above three are by far the most important. The last question is especially interesting as Google has run into complaints and threats of regulation when it changes its privacy policy. Even if Google were to change its privacy policy to reflect the the privacy implications of Glass, it’s a given that somebody would find something to complain about.

In addition to questions about its privacy policy, the Privacy Caucus drags the 3-year-old street view Wi-Fi data collection scandal into the spotlight yet again. They want to know if Google will be doing anything to prevent Glass from unintentionally collecting data. It’s somewhat of a moot point because Glass and the street view cars are very different. Even if Google Glass could store data from unprotected Wi-Fi sources, the paltry 16GB of onboard storage ensures that it wouldn’t be able to collect very much.

As for Google’s response to all of this, a spokesperson for the company told The Hill that Google is “thinking very carefully how [it] design[s] Glass because new technology always raises new issues.”

That’s about all we can ask for at the moment. It will be interesting, however, to see if Page actually responds to the letter. During his closing remarks at Google I/O on Wednesday, he raised concerns that the law wasn’t keeping pace with technology. Would he argue that privacy laws aren’t keeping up with what Google is trying to achieve with Glass?

You can check out my (admittedly long-winded) hands-on walkthrough complete with initial thoughts here, you know, if you want to learn more about it.

Today, Google has released their first ever promotion for the new product. It channels Dracula, who just needs to make a night-themed playlist he can dance to. And then share it on Google+, of course. You can check it out below:

You can start your free trial today. Eventually, the service with cost $9.99 a month., but if you sign up before June 30th you can knock two bucks off that monthly price. There is no ad-supported free option for GPMAA.