Everybody has already heard about this giant: Google. As the first search engine available on the Internet, Google is now a standard in everyday life, and doesn’t stop investing in new sectors.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin probably had no idea how big their acamedic project would have become! Recently celebrating its 9th birthday, the company is enjoying its incredible success on the web. Even if Google can’t do everything for you, it can do lots and can replace many of the products you’re using on your computer. After having reached 1st place for search engines in the world, the corporation has developed many new applications for Internet or desktop use, trying to sweep away its competitors. Here is a quick look at some services Google brings to you.
First, let’s talk about search possibilities offered by the search engine. Of course, advanced options such as Boolean operators, file types or dates are available on Google. But the difference is that in a click, you can search content within the web, blogs, or books! A lot of other functionality is provided by Google: find local stores, locate them on Google Maps and get the directions to it. Or explore the Earth with Google’s program of the same name. As if that wasn’t enough, the company offers you fitted options for scholars, shoppers or people needing topic-related search. If you need to sort the different pieces of information you find, Google Notebook is there to help you. And then, Google News and Reader will give you assistance for staying up-to-date by aggregating news and RSS feeds for you!
Expanding by buying existing companies, Google increased its power in multiple spheres: what about Google and advertising? This is generally agreed that the standard in web ads is Adsense, backed by Adwords for advertisers. Making Doubleclick its property, the firm knew what she was doing. As always.
Moreover, Google is on top and knows what users are looking for! Web 2.0 platforms are hosted by the company, allowing people to do a lot of things. Need to work without installing any software, getting all your files accessible from anywhere in the world, and share your productions with other people for collaboration purposes? Use Google Docs! Need a mail address? Create one on Gmail and get a big space for all your personal exchanges! Couple it with Google Talk, the instant messaging software of Google, and after that, why not let your friends take a look at your last holiday pictures? Try Picasa, a surprisingly easy and fast image retouching program, and then upload your photos to a free hosting server! Or write your own blog with Blogger, before joining the social community Orkut to find new friends. In addition, Youtube, another brand that Google acquired, and which contributed to the social web rise, will give you the keys to video sharing. In fact, that’s what Google does: it offers complementary services, aiming at getting as exhaustive as possible.
And Google doesn’t stop here: it is going to be present on your phone. Almost every service is already available in a mobile version. For example, Google Agenda can send you reminders for your mettings. Besides, Google is probably going to release its own Gphone soon. And many other projects are still in progress: see Labs.
Google is getting so big that it has decided to hire thousands of engineers in Europe to implement as much resources as what it already has in the USA. But here the question is: should we let Google grow without any limit, letting it expand its services, supposed to enhance our web experience, but which do it by collecting and tracking information about how we use the web? Besides, isn’t Google releasing products that aren’t always finished, launching new betas, non-finalized programs, or services that could sometimes be more functional?
PS : Merci à Jaime, mon professeur d’espagnol, de m’avoir donné cette idée d’écrire des articles dans d’autres langues ! Un texte en espagnol bientôt, je vous le promets !
Image : http://techfreep.com/google-hq-to-be-largest-corporate-solar-facility.htm
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