How Google will change the world…
I remember very well a visit to Florida with my mother to see my aunt and uncle. One night my uncle and I were geeking out on his new computer and he showed me something I would never forget: Google.com. Given, it’s hard to avoid the existence of Google these days but what I remember about it so well was the impact it had on me. I had been using MSN Search and Yahoo! Search for so long that the simple interface seemed almost alien to me.
Today, more than a decade later, you can still go to Google.com and see the exact same page I saw that evening my uncle showed it to me with few modifications. They aimed for something and they got it oh-so-right. What makes Google different is their lack of concern about the revenue model. It’s not that they don’t care about making money but that their goal is to et the product perfect first, then make adjustments. In the early days people would always wonder how Google was going to make any money… Their response was usually, “right now, we’re focusing on how to make everything much easier to find online. In doing so, we believe that we’ll uncover a revenue model at some point.” And so they did.
It’s not about search anymore.
Google has moved up from their humble beginnings as a search engine. They now offer 25 search products, 2 communities for developers, 14 social media and organization sites, a web browser and most recently mobile solutions. They offer some products that most people don’t even know about, like Knols, Orkut, Wave and SketchUp. So basically, they’re kinda a big deal.
With the success of most of their current projects, they’re moving up even farther… Rumors were alive a few years ago about Google working on some sort of top secret operating system that was going to be absolutely incredible and destroy the competition. What that turned into was Android, the beautiful open-source mobile operating system that has stolen 5% of the iPhone’s market share so far.
The Nexus One
The smartphone wars are still young and Google is taking the opportunity to jump in and build a better smartphone before Apple and Blackberry muck it up too badly. Google has just released the Nexus One, their very own smartphone running their Android operating system. They’re working to push carriers to build better networks and better hardware.
In 1975, Bill Gates and Paul Allen (the co-founders of Microsoft) had a vision “of a computer on every desk and in every home.” Google is pushing that one step farther by trying to put a computer in every hand. Right now the $529 price tag on the Nexus One is going to make that a bit daunting, but frankly it will probably be free in a few days. You’re probably wondering why on Earth I would be so stupid to think that Google would give a phone away for free. The answer is something that Mitch Joel touched on in his blog Six Pixels of Separation: Google doesn’t care about the money from the phone, they want the data.
Why Google will rule the world
If you’re sending your usage data to Google they can trend EVERYTHING from your smartphone… It’s not just going to know what you’re looking for, it’s going to know where you are (GPS), who you are connected to (Contacts and Facebook), what you do (Twitter), where you’re going (Google Maps w/ Navigation), what you like, what you’re taking pictures of (hello Google Goggles) and anything else they can come up with.
Should you be scared? Probably not. I mean c’mon, their motto is “Don’t be evil”. They are using the information for the betterment of humanity. We don’t have to worry about Google taking over the world with their deadly array of supercomputers any time soon (though we should remain ever-mindful).
On the other hand, Sprint has given GPS information to the cops over 8 million times from their Electronic Surveillance Department (via Ars Technica). Worry about them.
Is Google really going to change the world?
Probably. It may not be as drastic as creating world peace or housing the homeless or feeding all the starving children, but they have definitely made their impact on the world and there’s not a doubt in my mind that they’ll continue to do so in a manner that is beneficial to mankind.
So thank you for enjoying this presentation of opinions brought to you by Trezy’s brain. Hope to hear from you in the comments.
