On September 7, 1998, the world witnessed the birth of an
amazing success story. That's when Google was born, and the rest
as they say is history.
Wow, what an understatement! Calling Google amazing is like
saying Tiger Woods is merely a great golfer. The fact of the
matter is, superlatives can't even begin to measure the impact
Google has had on society, or the world at large for that matter.
So, how did Google get to this point? Well, the answer to that
question can be broken down into three critical categories:
1. Brilliant management: Google's staff includes some of the
most experienced technology and business professionals in
Silicon Valley and around the world. This fine team is led of
course by co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Google has
5,680 full time employees as of December 31, 2005, many of whom
are technical/engineering.
2. Brilliant marketing: With a user base in the millions,
Google is able to identify points of friction quickly and smooth
them out. Google's point of distinction however, is anticipating
needs not yet articulated by our global audience, then meeting
them with products and services that set new standards. This
constant dissatisfaction with the way things are is ultimately
the driving force behind the world's best search engine.
3. A brilliant game plan: Google does not accept being the best
as an endpoint, but a starting point. Through innovation and
iteration, Google takes something that works well and improves
upon it in unexpected ways. Search works well for properly
spelled words, but what about typos? One engineer saw a need and
created a spell checker that seems to read a user's mind.
Realizing it takes too long to search from a WAP phone, Google's
wireless group developed Google Number Search to reduce entries
from three keystrokes per letter to one. Google always seems to
be at least one step ahead of the competion.
So, where did the name Google come from? The name "Google" is a
play on the word "googol," which was coined by Milton Sirotta,
nephew of American mathematician Edward Kasner, and was
popularized in the book, "Mathematics and the Imagination" by
Kasner and James Newman. It refers to the number represented by
the numeral 1 followed by 100 zeros. Google's use of the term
reflects the company's mission to organize the immense,
seemingly infinite amount of information available on the web.
Let's take a quick look at a few of Google's many
accomplishments:
Google AdWords
In October 2000, Google announced its new content-targeted
advertising program. Google AdWords was a huge "out-of-the- box"
success, boasting well over 100,000 advertisers to date.
AdWords Select
In February 2002, Google launched AdWords Select, an updated
version of the AdWords self-service advertising system with a
number of new enhancements, including cost-per-click (CPC)-
based pricing.
Froogle
In December 2002, Google introduced a beta version of Froogle, a
play on the word "frugal," a product search engine that enables
users to search for millions of products across the web.
Google AdSense
In June 2003, Google anounced AdSense, a program designed to
maximize the revenue potential of a website by serving highly
relevant ads specific to the content of the page, launches with
initial partners, including ABC.com, HowStuffWorks, Internet
Broadcasting Systems, Inc., Lycos Europe, Knight Ridder Digital,
About.com, CNET and others.
Google Deskbar
In November 2003, Google announced the Google Deskbar, a free
software download which enables users to search Google without
using a web browser.
Blogger
Also, in 2003, Google acquired Pyra Labs and became the home for
Blogger, a leading provider of services for those inclined to
share their thoughts with the world through online journals
(weblogs).
Gmail
On April 1, 2004, Google announced a new web-based mail service
called Gmail that will include a gigabyte of free storage for
each user. The service also includes a powerful search engine to
locate and retrieve messages, which are displayed in a
"conversation view" that chronologically arranges all emails
sent or received with the same subject line. Gmail also includes
relevant advertising delivered with the same technology that
scans web pages as part of the AdSense service.
Google Mini
The Google Search Appliance spawned a new blue Google Mini, a
smaller and lower-cost solution for small and medium-sized
businesses that want Google quality search for their documents
and sites. The Mini is the first (and so far only) Google
hardware product to be sold only through the Google Store.
Google Video Store
And 2006 arrived with a bang: a brand new Google Video store –
now featuring many titles from numerous content partners, and
the ability to view or download them using a new Google Video
Player. What's more, filmmakers can set the price and level of
copy protection for their productions, giving fans far more
variety than was previously available. While at the massive
Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, we also unleashed a
Google Pack – a free collection of safe and useful software for
improving the web experience.
So, what's next? Only Google knows for sure. But you can bet the
world will be watching!
**Carmella Giovanni is a free-lance writer currently living in
San Francisco, California. Carmella may be reached at
carmgiovanni@yahoo.com
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