|
Author: Halstatt Pires Article source: http://www.webworldindex.com/. Used with author's permission.
The first question most people have is, "What the heck is a "Google?" It is a play on the word "googol," which is the mathematical figure 1 followed by 100 zeros. Depending on the level of your love for math, this is either the greatest or lamest name for a search engine. Regardless, the clever kids at Google have turned it into a cultural standard.
The Beginning
Larry Page and Sergey Brin co-founded Google in January of 1996, then known as BackRub. The boys were in the early twenties and classic computer geeks. Sergey was born in Moscow, alum of the University of Michigan and visiting Stanford. Larry was assigned to be his guide. During this visit, they obviously hit it off or today nobody would give a hoot about linking strategies.
Although two men and the name "BackRub" may raise some questions, the name actually referred to a method for producing search engine rankings. Specifically, the BackRub search engine was designed to analyze the "back links" to a site. Although BackRub developed a following with those in the know, nothing much happened for a few years.
1998
As with most new businesses, the boys needed some serious cash. The brass at Yahoo was interested, but initially passed. Sun Microsystems, of all companies, provided an answer. Andy Bechtolsheim was one of the founders of Sun and, thus, had the necessary deep pockets. $100,000 later, the new search engine company was on the way to stardom.
A New Name
As legend has it, BackRub became Google for a rather humorous reason. Apparently, Bechtolsheim accidentally made the $100k check out to "Google, Inc." You can make your own guess as to which one of the boys said, "Hey, I have an idea for a new name."
In September of 1998, Google opened a small office in Menlo Park, California. The rest, as they say, is history.
Today, Google is based in Mountain View, California. Google prefers email communication, but you can get a live voice by calling (650) 623-4000. If you really want to talk to them, refuse a charge from the company on the credit card you use for Adwords. They will contact you pretty quickly!
The company went public in 2004 [Symbol: GOOG] and has a stock value of around $250 per share. Larry and Sergey are sickeningly wealthy. One can assume that Andy Bechtolsheim is also doing all right.
The Future
In the last year or so, Google has certainly received its fair share of criticism. PageRank is almost useless in relation to ranking in search results. At the time of this writing, PageRank hasn't worked for three days, which means a change, shuffle, dance or whatever you want to call it is coming.
On the competition front, things are a bit murky. It seems a week doesn't go by without a patent lawsuit being filed against the company. MSN and Yahoo have started to raise the level of competition and more will be coming. Google's reliance on AOL as a traffic source is also a bit troubling given the continual loss of market share by the company that nearly brought Time Warner down. Gmail is dogged by patent issues, not to mention questions about violations of the privacy of users. All and all, things are not as rosy compared to a few years ago, but they can hardly be called bad.
Your guess is as good as mine when it comes to predicting if Google will become just another search engine. Personally, I think it will, but not because of any of the above. Instead, the evolution of the Internet suggests there will be a next "big thing." Who knows, maybe Google will get a Grub [Grub.org] in its Nutch [Nutch.org]. Halstatt Pires is with http://www.marketingtitan.com - an Internet marketing and advertising company comprised of a search engine optimization specialist providing meta tag optimization services and Internet marketing consultant providing internet marketing solutions through integrated design and programming services.
Balancing Act
One of the most obvious implications of the end of the "job for life" society is that if we wish to hold on to our job we need to demonstrate our utility to the...
Cat Litter Box Location Strategies
When you think about cat litter box placement, imagine if it's a place where you'd like to do your business.
Cell Phone - A Necessity Yes, Not a License To Be Rude
Be courteous when the phone rings, you don't want to incur cell phone
rage because someone feels you are being rude!
Before You Even Think About Dating Again
Is life passing you by? Is everyone having fun going out but you are getting left behind. Maybe you're a little older and haven't been on a date for a while. Ti...
Warning: Todays Non Profit Credit Counselors Are Yesterdays Bill Collectors!
Here's a dirty secret, today's "non profit credit counselors" are often just front organizations paid lucrative commissions by creditors to keep consumers from ...
Understanding Survey Software Features
If you take a look at the features that different survey softwares offer, you will quickly realize that understanding all of them is no mean task. But it is ver...
What a Five-year-old Taught Me About Decorating
A five-year-old's view of what a well-decorated room should include.
Where Does All the Time Go?
It is quite surprising when you sit and think about where all the time in one day goes. Twenty four hours is really a lot of time. But on most days it scarcely ...
A Link From An Ugly Duckling Website With A PR=1 Could Give You 10 to 80 Times More PageRank
Use the Ugly Duckling technique to get high ranking on Google and watch your Internet sales skyrocket.
Selecting Bean Bag Chairs to Suit Your Home Decor
This article features information on bean bag chairs, as well as tips on selecting styles and colors to suit different rooms and personal preference.
How I Lost Weight and Still Ate Junk Food
Sound too good to be true? Well think again! It's true, eat what you want whenever you want, and still lose weight. How do I know this? I've worked the program...
Reap Incredible Profit with This Simple Strategy
Developing and maintaining a strong database can mean the difference between profit and loss in your business.
What Can Happen to You as a Victim of Identity Theft, Facts & Figure
Facts you need to know about being a victim of identity theft...
Adverse Credit Mortgages - Real Estate Borrowing with Discordant Credit
Adverse credit mortgages are developed for those mortgage borrowers who have less than perfect credit. It is not difficult to find adverse credit mortgages. The...
The Rewards and Risks Of Personal Freedom
We all need to decide whether to "play it safe" in life and worry about the downside, or instead take a chance, by being who we really are and living the life o...
Sports Betting
Sports betting have become a great investment tool for thousands of bettors that wish to win money by wagering on their favorite sports. Betting sports has its ...
See Abundance In Your Prospects
If you are living life believing that there is scarcity on our planet, you will probably do business and behave that way. Not understanding that principle is w...
Resistance: A Network Marketers Worst Enemy
It holds us back from achieving our goals in a gripping way and we often end up going in circles for weeks… months… even years. And sadly for some...
Expand Your Business Using Venture Capital
Be realistic in your quest for venture capital. Venture
capital firms expect a business to be able to return their
investment not only with interest, but with a...
Retinol: One of the Best Over-the-counter Anti-wrinkle Ingredients
Learn abour Retinol: what is it, and how can it help to soften facial lines and reduce age spots...
4 Ways to Spoil Your Dog Rotten!
Just like humans our faithful dogs also love to be spolit rotten! Here's a few ideas on how to spoil your friend!
Life Coach – Excuse Me?
What is a life coach, anyway? I asked that question of my friend, Elaine, who had just completed her training at Coach Institute. She told me, "Therapy is about...
Dont Dig Your Own Pit
If you want to enjoy your life out of spending, enjoy if you have you have your own resources and money. But don't enjoy your life by becoming a debtor to some...
Performance Reviews - Seven Stupid Things Employees Do To Screw Them Up
Most managers and employees hate performance reviews. That's because both parties enter into the process and unintentionally self-sabotage the process. Find out...
|
Print this page