Saturday, March 28, 2009

The greatness of Google

For some time now, friends and blog-readers have accused me of having an anti-Google bias, thanks to many posts on my blog that didn’t share their unbridled enthusiasm about the company. However, for a knowledge-o-phile like me, Google has come as such a blessing that I can’t help but write this post.

As a child, I devoured books. I read everything I could lay my eyes on, and that included “Children’s knowledge bank”, Wisdom, Misha, “Baala vijnana” and many others. Still, so many questions remained unanswered. I had to wait for a book or a magazine article or for someone to answer the questions I had. Many an argument remained unresolved because there was no authoritative source for the subject.

Web 2.0 led by Google and Wikipedia and so many content providers has changed all that. Wondering about tectonic shifts? Go to Google. Thinking why the Afghans have had such a history? Read Wikipedia (but mind you, only as a starting point to other articles.) In an argument with a close friend over some obscure scientific fact? Type your question in Google.

Few companies have brought information to our finger tips like Google has. For that, thank you, Google.

Of course, I have a strong opinion on the Google-Wikipedia duopoly over information, but I’ll let someone else take potshots at it, here.

(PS: Before some of you start wondering, let me disclose: NO, I have not been offered employment at Google, nor am I in a race for working at that firm.)

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Gops

I totally agree with you that Google has provided a lot in terms of information and services - gmail, calendar, docs, reader etc.

But, so did other companies. I don't think this computer penetration would have been possible without a Microsoft or super computers without an IBM.

My opinion, and I guess you agree on this, is that Google has done a lot but it is not less evil than other companies. It is just another company who happened to make very good products, and is focussed on making a lot of money by providing brilliant services to people. And, I don't have a problem with that.

Gops said...

Hey Karthik,

Yep, completely agree...