Oh boy, this hasn’t aged well…
Just moments ago, I was typing the word “internet” into my Google Chrome URL bar, attempting to get to the Internet Archive, when this little nugget popped up as a suggestion, a (likely hastily-written) editorial of mine from 2012 titled “Google is Taking Over.” It made me chuckle, not just because of how clearly uninformed I was at the time of writing it (despite my best efforts to appear to the contrary), but also because it has aged about as well as … well, about as well as one might expect something talking about Google Plus and Google Glass to age seven years later. I’m not sure if this ever got published in my high school newspaper (I sure hope not), but I figured I’d share it, entirely unedited (spelling errors and all). Thankfully, I’ve come a long way since then.
Enjoy.
Google is Taking Over
Google has long been known as “the search engine”. When people have to look something up, almost all of them type google.com into the top bar. Since 2009, Google has introduced numerous other “apps” to compete against other companies and websites. They have developed so much that it seems Google is trying to monopolize the Internet. Google is not just a search engine anymore; it is much more. For those who did not already know, Google owns Youtube, the most popular website for sharing and watching videos. If you want to share memorable moments with family and friends, or be informed about world news and amateur reporting, or just waste your time browsing through funny songs and memes, you go to Youtube. Google not only helps people find things on the Internet, but also “owns” your entertainment and news. But it does not stop there. Google News provides instant updates of important entertainment, political, sport and world news.
If you want to read a book either for fun or for a school assignment, there is Google Books. Need to translate something from another language? There is Google Translate. Need to stay organized? There is Google Calendar and Google Tasks. Need to transfer documents from one place to another? Google Documents can help you with that! Want to make calls or text your friends? Forget a phone; Google Talk and Google Voice let you do it for free. Use Google Maps and Google Earth to navigate and explore the world. Use Picasa and Picnik, two sites also owned by Google, to edit and share your photos. Use Gmail to email your friends and family. And, of course, download Google Chrome, an entire web browser run by Google for “a faster way to browse the web”. That is only the beginning.
Google Offers will get you some great bargains on local restaurants and stores. Trust Google with your expenses on Google Wallet, and keep up with stock market trends on Google Finance. Make cool 3-D projects with Google SketchUp, find someone’s location with Google Latitude, or check out Google Play for great (not really) apps and games! And, of course, who does not want to connect with their friends and other people over the Internet? Forget Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or Instagram; Google Plus, Blogger, Google Groups, Orkut, Knol and Google Reader keep you updated on everything with feeds from all the social sites.
And now, to truly show their dominating power over the world of technology and the Internet, Google has announced that it is underway on developing Project Google Glass, a pair of glasses that act as a smartphone, with everything displayed on the lens. While the glasses do seem futuristic and stunning, like something straight out of a sci-fi film, it only further shows Google’s attempt to control the entire Internet and technological age. What could possibly be next, Google Human?
While Google has risen to fame and success as the web browser, their apparent efforts to become the one-stop internet site have fallen to the wayside. Still Google’s stocks grow, as more and more people get sucked into settling for the company’s cheap, want-to-be services. Still, it is doubtful that there will ever come a day when the “+1” button is more popular than the “Like” button.