Who Needs Doctors When I Have Google?

While reading the book The Googlization of everything (And Why We Should Worry) by Siva Vaidhyanathan, I could not help but think of when friend of mine proved a doctor wrong and diagnosed herself with tonsillitis. And how did she manage that? She Googled her symptoms! With Google she was able to come to the true conclusion while the doctor with years of schooling and medical training was not. When retelling this story to me she enthusiastically stated "who needs doctors when I have Google?!" Moral of the story: WHO NEEDS ANYTHING WHEN THEY HAVE GOOGLE?


Google has all the answers. For as long as I can remember, Google has been the most dominant browser on the Internet. It has been set as my home screen for when I launch the Internet for years. There has never been a moment when I haven't gone to Google first when conducting an Internet search. Why is this? Because Google is trustworthy. Or at least it keeps up the illusion of being so.


So let's start at the beginning; where did Google come from? Well for starters it was invented in 1996 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Both PhD students at Stanford University. It originally ran under the Stanford website and eventually morphed into the leading browser in the Internet industry.


Before Google there was no organization to the web. Simply put, it was chaos. There was no hierarchy, there were other search engines, but none powerful or larger enough to handle the high demand of individual users. Because of this, when Google came into the picture there was no arguments, no fight for dominance. Google took control when no one else would. There was no voting in the decision, it just happened. These events can be compared to when Julius Caesar took over the state of Rome when it was in its own chaos. Once he had the power he maintained control through vast popular support by the people. Google did the exact same thing and has continued to do so over the years.


So how does Google manage to remain so popular even with all of the other competition out there? Google has figured out a way to make the web friendly. Not everyone can be tech-savvy Internet Einsteins. Google is aware of that and so they made the Internet user-friendly. Vaishyanathan said "Google has ensured that the web is a calmer, friendlier, less controversial and frightening medium - as long as one used Google to navigate it." (Vaishyanathan, 14). Google provides us with the notion that it knows how to make our lives better and that we do not need to worry about the minute details because it will take care of it for us. What sane person would turn that offer down? To let a search engine take care of all of the stressful details of our lives. However, we are blinded by the miracles of Google, we do not notice how it exerts control over its domain.(Vaishyanathan, 14).


Another way in which Google stays on top is by offering a wide variety of services. Over the years Google has developed dozens of user-friendly services. For example, Chrome, cloud, Google Books, Google Maps, Google Earth, G-mail, etc. Although not all of these services are the best in their respective categories, people prefer to keep all of their information with one organization as opposed to having everything sprawled out. Due to this, other firms still cannot compete even though when it comes down to it, their specific operating system may be better. 


In the early years of Google, it was at its core, search engine. However over the years, it has morphed into an advertising agency. Advertisement are what keep Google running. We go to Google for search results, advertising companies go to it for a chance to make money. Many may not realize it, but Google does sell a product; our attention. Google utilizes the fact that it has countless people using it everyday and allows advertising companies to insert their personal ads on side bars and in pop-ups when we preform simple searches. We are being sold without even knowing it. So how does Google decide who gets what ad-space? Google keeps track of what each individual searches (they also take into account one's geographical location) and which sites are the most popular. They then take that data and give it to the advertising companies. It is then up to the advertisers to choose which sits they want, then comes the bidding war. This is where Google makes their profits. The highest bidder owes Google the second highest bid and in return gets the ad-space they want. The most unbelievable thing about all of this is the fact that it happens every time you hit enter. Every time there is a search, Google has an auction and someone buys advertising space on your computer screen. "In 2008 Google earned more than $21 billion (97 percent of its revenue) from online advertisements." (Vaishyanathan, 27).


"But overall, no single state, firm, or institution in the world has as much power over web-based activity as Google does." (Vaishyanathan, 14). 


Google runs the world, or at least the world wide web. 


For now anyways. 




References:


"Julius Caesar." The Roman Empire. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.          <http://www.roman-empire.net/republic/caesar-index.html>.


Vaidhyanathan, Siva. "One: Render Unto Caesar (How Google Came to Rule the Web)." The Googlization of Everything: (And Why We Should Worry). Berkeley: University of California, 2011. Print.