GOOGLE IIIIIIITTTTTT

When thinking about the sheer size of google, I hadn't realized just how integral it has become in our lives. In fact, when I realized I wasn't sure if I should use "sheer" or "shear" in the previous sentence, where was the first place I looked? Google! It's snuck its way into my subconsciousness and there's no way to turn back. I think one of the most stunning statistics this article presented was that in one year Google brought in 2/3 of the ad revenue that all American newspapers bring in. To me, that statistic is insane. One company is bringing in 2/3 of what thousands of other companies do--and some of those companies couldn't be considered "small" by any standards...look at the NY Times or Boston Globe. Google has done some of the most amazing branding imaginable. When it first started out, it had some competition, like AskJeeves. I remember using AskJeeves in middle school. Now, because of Google, any other search engine (or media conglomerate, as Google has become) has become a relic of the past, a piece of nostalgia, like the Super Nintendo...God I miss my childhood.

I was also surprised to learn that Google had been affected by the recession. Granted, it shouldn't be surprising that everyone's seem some sort of problem arise from the events of the past year, but I think I assumed that a massive company like Google, that would probably receive a few billion hits a week even after a zombie apocolypse, wouldn't really experience the same problems as other corporations. However, the companies 400 layoffs and many more contract layoffs show that hasn't been the case, in fact, the number of cutbacks has probably gone up if the statistics at other companies are any indication. The article questions at times whether Google could fall into the same pit that IBM and some others fell into after a meteoric rise. I don't think that's the case. Google provides too valuable an asset to millions of curious researchers and stressed out students to falter anytime soon. Unless something better comes along, which I don't see happening anytime in the next decade or two because of Googles growing attempts to expand its services and capabilities even further, I think Google has a shelf life for as long as the internet exists. They've just got such a strong foothold and they seem to be digging in even deeper.

Nick