From the time I began using computers Google has always been there, and it is no secret how influential and powerful this entity is within the business and media world. Since being founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google now serves “hundreds of thousands of users and customers around the world” (“Company Overview”). Here is a brief company overview:
The name Google was built off the word “googol” which is the mathematical term for a 1 followed by 100 zeroes. “Google doodles” were introduced in 1998, and since then more than 1,000 different doodles have been posted on homepages around the world. Do-it-yourself ads were introduced in 2000, called AdWords, and enables people to create “online ad campaigns” (“Company Overview”) for their businesses with displays, mobile and video ads, and simple text ads. Gmail was launched in 2004 and features fast searches and an ample amount of storage. Google, Inc. went public on August 18, 2004 and the Initial Public Offering was 19,605,052 shares of Class A common stock.
Google acquired “digital mapping company Keyhole in 2004 and launched Google Maps and Google Earth in 2005” (“Company Overview”), which now features live traffic, directions, and the ability to “explore” the ocean and moon. YouTube was acquired in 2006 and today, “60 hours of video are uploaded to the site every minute” (“Company Overview”). Android was introduced in 2007, Google Chrome was launched in 2008, and Google+ began in 2011 with the mission to make “all of Google better by including people, their relationships and their interests” (“Company Overview”). On the company website, there is a page called “Ten things we know to be true.” It is a statement of what they believe and what they strive to maintain.
- Focus on the user and all else will follow.
- It’s best to do one thing really, really well.
- Fact is better than slow.
- Democracy on the web works.
- You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.
- You can make money without doing evil.
- There’s always more information out there.
- The need for information crosses all borders.
- You can be serious without a suit.
- Great just isn’t good enough.
(Click here for more information on these Google points)
Google’s CEO described “the perfect search engine as something that understands exactly what you mean and gives you back exactly what you want.” In just a short time, Google has grown tremendously, and I believe its products and services will continue to grow as it offers more for the public, for businesses, and for the web.
Source:
“Google Company.” Company Overview. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Oct 2012. <http://www.google.com/about/company/>.