Google has emerged as one of the most influential and memorable pop culture artifacts of our time. What began as an experiment in a Stanford University dorm room in 1995 has rapidly become the most widely recognized search engine in the world (Google.com). Since then, the American company has been offering a free internet search service, web-based email, online maps, and social networking. The Google search option has become so widely used that its name became a verb!
The ease of using Google has made it one of the best known brands almost entirely through word of mouth. The Google Toolbar, usually left in the top ribbon of your internet window, is an option that enables you to conduct a web search from anywhere on the web. One of the great features of the search engine is the option to use the “I’m feeling lucky” button. The user can enter a couple of misspelled key words and the search engine will try to find the most popular and probable topic to those words.
Google made the wise decision to generate their revenue by displaying advertisements. Many advertisers pay to have their advertisements show up on the web page when it is relevant to their product. This targeted advertising has been very successful for Google and the advertisers as well as useful to the person browsing. One of the other best decisions the company made, and my favorite, is to not allow pop-up ads of any kind on the site. If the user occasionally receives a pop-up, it would be from within a particular site visited or from using a URL that tried to look like the original Google URL (Google.com).
I think Google is a great popular culture artifact as it has influenced so many. People are almost obsessed with Google for their information needs as they completely ignore other sources available. Whether you’re young or old, “Googling” has become the way to find information these days. I think the name Google in itself quickly gained an emotional attachment. It’s a fun and quirky word that is easy to remember next time you sit down at your computer. The Google search engine doesn’t just represent a new way to find information; it represents a new era for humans and their computers. I think Google created a path for web-intimidated people to become comfortable with using the internet for their information needs. Using Google, anyone can look up directions, check on store hours, and view homes for sale with a simple search word!
References
Google.com (2008). About Google, Google, Inc. Retrieved July 9, 2008, from http://www.google.com/about.html
2 comments:
Stacy -
Believe or not I've just recently been using google. Your blog was very informative. I hadn't heard of the "I'm feeling lucky" button and I didn't realize they don't allow pop-ups.
I know Google is the most popular but I have heard of Dogpile (you click Go Fetch to do the search) and Altavita (I think). Are there others you have heard of?
Karen
Stacy,
When Google first came out it was offering free gmail accounts to help spur the momentum. The reality is they never intended to charge for the accounts and the fact that you have unlimited storage, is one of its biggest selling points. Another great fact is that you can send attachments without any size limits, which makes it wonderful for transferring pictures back and forth. The one thing that I find inconvenient, however, is that in order to post a picture inside your email message, the photograph must be already on a web server. Is this what you have discovered? This is a great artifact, Stacy, and it was a great read.
tammi
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