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Thursday, September 07, 2006

Happy Birthday Google!

...

Google, the world's leading internet search engine, was created by two Stanford students. The engine introduced a unique concept of ranking pages based on how many other pages link to it; those with the most links are higher up on a search results list. Google also set itself apart with its homepage; instead of being laden with graphics that took a long time to download, it contained only a logo and search box.

At eight years of age though, Google is a newborn babe in comparison with other companies "in full expansion" out there... In full expansion it sure is though; GMail has been the latest fruitful addition to this virtual empire in full bloom! Bill Gates must be keeping close watch... Who says he owns a monopoly? Not on being a geeky student that made it big, somehow, he doesn't! *LOL*

I am most impressed not with the variety of brands offered by the company (Google, Froogle, GMail, Google Page Creator, Google News, Orkut, etc...) nor with the much-vaunted "Googleplex", but really with Google's tradition of creating April Fool's Day jokes! They have, over the years, come up with, in the languages list, the Bork! Bork! Bork! version, imitating the Muppet Show's Swedish Chef. They also offer versions in Pig Latin, Elmer Fudd, Hacker (H4X0R), and Klingon!

Now that is variety!

The expansion of the company though has enough variety already right there...
On September 28, 2005, Google announced a long-term research partnership with NASA (no less!) which would involve Google building a 1-million square foot R&D center at NASA's Ames Research Center. NASA and Google are planning to work together on a variety of areas, including large-scale data management, massively distributed computing, bio-info-nano convergence, and encouragement of the entrepreneurial space industry. The new building would also include labs, offices, and housing for Google engineers.
Time Warner's AOL unit and Google unveiled an expanded partnership on December 21, 2005, including an enhanced global advertising partnership and a $1 Billion investment by Google for a 5% stake in AOL. As part of the collaboration, Google plans to work with AOL on video search and offer AOL's premium-video service within Google Video. This will allow users of Google Video to search for AOL's premium-video services. Display advertising throughout the Google network will also increase.
Additionally, Google has also recently formed a partnership with Sun Microsystems to help share and distribute each other's technologies. As part of the partnership Google will hire employees to help the open source office program OpenOffice.org.
In August, 2006, Google signed a $900 million deal with Fox International Media to provide search and advertising on MySpace and other Fox-owned websites.


Yeah, but is there any money to be made there, you ask?
A buck -or several- apparently...
After the company's IPO in August 2004, it was reported that Founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, as well as CEO Eric Schmidt, have accepted a base salary of $1.00. They have all declined recent offers of bonuses and increases in compensation by Google's board of directors. In a 2006 report of the world's richest people, Forbes reported that Sergey Brin was #26 with a net worth of $12.9 Billion, and Larry Page was #27 with a net worth of $12.8 Billion.

Not shabby at all for a company that began with a misspelling of "googol," which refers to 10100 (a 1 followed by one-hundred zeros!)
The verb "google" was recently added to both the Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary, meaning "to use the Google search engine to obtain information on the Internet.
There goes the English language. Shakes must be turning in his grave - tossing and turning with the shakes too!

Link
Comments:
Googol...

And lo, many years ago, I dared hope for a fleeting second that Google paid homage to Russian author Gogol...!

Could have been worse: I could have thought, like other did, that Google was merely a typographical error on... Goggles!

But now this is digressing again...

Google helps out a lot of people - in many different ways!

Just ask "Philipp Lensen"
(why two "p"s, Phil?)

You probably use Google everyday, but do you know... the Google Snake Game? Googledromes? Memecodes? Googlesport? The Google Calculator? Googlepark and Google Weddings? Google hacking, fighting and rhyming? In this book, you’ll find Google-related games, cartoons, oddities, tips, stories and everything else that’s fun. Reading it, you won’t be the same searcher as before! (From the author of Google Blogoscoped.)

Buy, download, share
The book contains over 220 pages and is available to buy at Lulu.com for $16.50 or Amazon for $19.66.

You can also download the full book as PDF (or Word)... it’s free to share & remix & do fun stuff with.

Reviews
“Loved it! My wife (who rarely reads, and isn’t really into Google) has even picked it up and she’s all over it.”
– Garett Rogers, ZDnet

“The variation in style of each chapter was quite refreshing. Some chapters are quite short, others consist of just pictures, there are a couple of quizzes, short stories, a few games you can play with Google, plenty of interesting facts ... an excellent book for anyone who has an interest in Google or just wants to know what else you can do with the most popular search engine in the world. This isn’t a complicated reference guide on how to use Google as a tool – it’s an entertaining book on how to use Google as a toy!”
– Tony Ruscoe, Programmer, UK

“This is an excellent read for both the geeky and the non geeky folks. ... Verdict: Highly Recommended reading.”
– Peter Dawson, Canada


 
Philpp Lensen wrote that book...

The title of which is "55 Ways To Have Fun With Google"

The book has... 55 chapters (duh)!

Chapters
Egogoogling: Susan Is...
The Google Snake Game
Memecodes: Survival of the Fittest Web Pages
The Google Irritation Game, and the Google Image Quiz
Googling Proverbs
Browsing Images of a Site
A Brief History of Googlesport
What is Google, and what do people consider fun about it?
How Much Time Google Saves Us
Google Cookin’ a Lemon Chicken
Douglas Adams and the Google Calculator
Oops, I Googled Again
The Disappearing Google Logo, a Magic Trick
Fun With Google Maps, the Wiki Way
Dave Gorman’s Googlewhack
Google Q&A
Celebrate Google Non-Weddings, and More
Design Your SketchUp Dream House
Kevin Bacon and the Google Network
The Google Alphabet
Google Search Tips
Googlepark
Googleshare
The Shortest Google Search (and the One Returning the Most Results)
Google Rotated and Mini Google
The Google Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Google?
Recreate Google From Memory
The Strange World of Google News
Aliens Attack Google!
Top Ten Signs You Are Addicted to Google
Dig a Hole Through Earth
Googlebombing
Google Ads Gone Wrong
Life in the Age of Google
Google Hacking
Googlepolls: Ask the Crowd
Googlefights
What If Google Was Evil? Plus: Five Inventions of the Google Future
The Google Adventure Game
Egobot, Voice of the Web
Fun Google Gadgets
Forty-Two, or: A Science-Fiction Interlude
The Google Book of World Records
Spelling Errors Galore
Google Groups, Time Machine
Growing a Google Word
Most Popular Words, and PopSents
Create Google Poetry, Prose, and Collages
Funny Google Videos
The Realplayer Fish, or: Telling a Story in Synonyms
Google Parodies
The Google Images Prediction Trick
Fun With Google Translations
The Giant Google Painting
Googledromes


You can post your feedback in the Google Blogoscoped forum or on the Lulu page.

Got questions on the book? Please email me at philipp.lenssen@gmail.com


http://www.55fun.com/


Is it just my impression or did Lenssen (two "s"s now...) take his admiration of Paul Simon (and his classic song "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" in particular...) and his love of Google (!) and ran with that...

First rule for authors is, of course, "write what you know"...
 
Luce,

Happy Birthday Google!

I use google often, and have gmail.
I didn't realize they had so many things going on with different companies.
They must be great busnessmen and have good ideas for marketing themselves.

I learned some about marketing myself in one of my classes the other day.

Thanks for posting this article. It is really neat to see all the progress that Google has had.
You don't know what you can do to be sucssesful in life until you try.

That is what those guys did. They had an idea and took a risk and tried to make it work. They sucseeded. If they never had taken that risk of failure, then they would not be where they are today!

God Bless You Luce (\ô/)
((HUGE HUGS))
Countess
 
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