YOU
SAY
WHAT?
Robert Fassbach, editor,
www.SeniorArk.com
September 27, 2007
I used Google to
do a search this morning. The logo above appeared at the
top of the page. Not recognizing its significance, I moved
my cursor over that strange "9". Up pops the message:
"Google's 9th birthday."
SAY WHAT?
Nine years old? Only nine years? Seems like it's
been around forever! There is some old broccoli in a bowl
at the back of my refrigerator older than that. My car is
10. My dog is 14. My wife is...."never mind"! The
last time I blinked, it was 9 years ago. I could
still see my feet 9 years ago. Nine years. No time at all.
How indicative of
the fast cyber world in which we live! Take a nap, and
everything has changed. I bought my very first computer in
1999. Shortly after. I remember being told by a very young
friend to try this new service with a strange sounding
name to do my searches. She called it "Google". "Surely
you are kidding me", I remarked. On a lark I did. "OK", I
thought. Just another way to find something. Who knew?
Today Google is
arguably the premier search engine in the world. The word
"google" has become synonymous with "search-for online".
If it isn't in the dictionary, it will be. (My dictionary
is 47 years old---we know it ain't there!)
Google was
co-founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in a dorm room,
while they were students at Stanford University and the
company was first incorporated as a privately held company
on September 7, 1998. Google's initial public offering
took place on August 19, 2004, raising $1.67 billion,
making it worth $23 billion. Through a series of new
product developments, acquisitions and partnerships, the
company has expanded its initial search and advertising
business into other areas, including web-based email,
online mapping, office productivity, and video sharing,
among others.
Google was added
to the S&P 500 index on March 30, 2006, replacing
Burlington Resources, a major oil producer based in
Houston.
At the close of
the stock markets YESTERDAY, September 26, 2007, Google is
valued at $177.18 BILLION !
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