Google is set as my default search engine. Google delivers me all of my e-mails. Google organizes my schedule each day. Google advertises my business(es). Google makes my business money. Google stores my documents, data, and information. Google allows me to chat with friends and colleagues. Google directs me where to go with their maps. And Google actually knows more about me than the government does.
…and that is where it gets scary. It is a safe bet to say that Google knows more about most Americans and their habits and personal information than the government (and more than one’s significant other) does. Google’s powerful technology grants them the ability to produce larger and longer records of each individual by harvesting search data, web history, and plenty of other information. Little do we know that day after day, year after year, Google continues to gather and simultaneously learn more about each and everyone of us.
Recently Google Plus, the company’s social network, has played a crucial role in tying a respective individual’s data together. Google representatives will highlight the advantages of Google Plus- stating that users have “a more consistent and seamless experience across Google’s multitude of products. Meanwhile, many users have rebelled against the forceful push of Google Plus stating that its practices are invasive. When it comes to social sharing with friends, most will choose Facebook over Google Plus. However, Google Plus will most likely still understand more about people’s social lives more than Facebook ever will. See, Google Plus, is Google’s way of creating a connection from each Google user’s products- from Gmail, to Youtube, to Maps, and more. It allows Google to see WHO you are, WHAT you do, and WHERE you are going. Regardless if one doesn’t ever return to the social network again after the initial signup process, the connection has still been made. (Google says Plus has 540 million monthly active users, but almost half do not visit the social network.) In order to use YouTube, you now need a Google Plus Account. Is one going to refuse to sign up for Google Plus and not access YouTube? We all know the answer to the question. Google controls us.
Google was started with a vision to be the ‘perfect search engine that understands exactly what you mean and give you back exactly what you want’. Google is now a well known verb and routine practice that continues to satisfy our searches for information, and might as well be labeled as an ‘addicting habit’ that we all have. As their technology advances with more and more search data, Google can now even predict behavior of its users before they search.
Think about this. Advertising is used to persuade us for activities such as shopping. So for example, you may see an advertisement on a bus-station bench about a new model of BMW, or a new pair of Nike shoes in a magazine. Google takes it a step further by utilizing historical data to predict your desires and put them in front of you before you even think about them. With the help of Googles new project (called ‘Conversions API’), they are able to merge offline consumer information with online intelligence- which strengthens Google’s predictability and advertising placement. Google can actually reengineer how your brain works by telling you what you want, and DELIVER it (or put it in front of you) before you even think about it.
The company focuses on improving the ways people connect with information. Google has created products such as Google Voice, to connect all of your phone lines and voicemails. Google Docs/Drive allows you to harvest all of your spreadsheets, docs, and reports in one cloud space, accessible anywhere in the world. Google Wallet, where you can use your phone as your wallet. Google Earth to explore the rain forest in Costa Rica, or the large tree at the end of the street in your old neighborhood. Products such as the Google Glasses have recently been released, and products as advanced as self-driving cars are on the horizon. To be considered the most powerful company in the world, a sense of foreshadowing/advancements are needed. Google’s innovations continue to amaze me. An interesting fact is that 2005, before the iPhone even existed (smartphones were rare at best), Gmail was available as a mobile application. Google is always one step ahead of the game. And for that I’m thankful.
Google is said to be worth in the upwards of $65 billion dollars with a customer base of 100’s of millions of people. From rudimentary services such as the Google Search Engine, to products of prototypes like self-driving cars; Google has something for everyone- and therefore has an influence on just about everyone. A company that has this much leverage over the human population, HAS to be considered the most powerful company in the world. The only thing that Google has yet to convert me on is becoming an Android user. But, 79% of the population feels otherwise as the market share still has Android ahead of the game. One thing everyone should appreciate about Google is that the company continuously makes improvements and innovations that allows us to enjoy the things that we love the most.
Oh yeah. And if none of the information here has you convinced that Google isn’t the most powerful company, consider this when you compare to another company: Google’s brand is so powerful that it even owned its place in the dictionary. Don’t believe me? Just Google it.
