Google

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=Definition=

Google is the world's second most popular search engine, and third most popular web portal, according to [|Alexa.com]website rankings. They are constantly adding new features and services to the Google brand.

=History=

Google was created by Sergey Brin and Lawrence Page, whom were roommates at Stanford University. Although they argued about many topics, they were both interested in creating an efficient method for searching for specific data in a large database. This shared interest led to the creation of Google.

=How //Google// Got Its Name=

Google is derived from the mathematical term **googol** coined by nine year old Milton Sirotta. A googol is a large number starting with the digit 1 followed by one hundred zeroes (in other words, 10 to the power of 100). It represents a very large number to contrast with the concept of infinity. Sirrota's uncle was American mathematician Edward Kasner who published the concept in his book //Mathematics and the Imagination// in 1938.

=How It Works=

According to Brin and Page, "For Google, the major operations are crawling, indexing, and sorting." Google performs these three steps and returns the results to the user in less than one second!

Crawling
Google's search engine uses special software programs called robotic spiders (or for Google, Googlebots). The Googlebots crawl through the web and collect data on every word it finds.

Indexing
Another piece of software then organizes the data into an index for each word. The index records which page the word appears in and its location in the document. The list of pages an index for each word can be very long. The word animal, for example, yields 244,000,000 results!

Sorting
When a user types in a question or a name in Google such as "Jean Chrétien" the search engine checks an index and then grabs every document on the World Wide Web that contains that word. It then sorts the pages by relevance and than returns the most important ones to the recipient. For better results, Google sorts the results using a method called PageRank. PageRank works like a popularity contest - it figures out which documents are most relevant and valuable to the user. PageRank gives a "vote" to a page when another page links to it. So, if I had a website and I had a link on my site to another site called "Moonlit Walk," then the site Moonlit Walk receives a vote. Also, PageRank analyses the status of the pages that cast the votes. Popular pages weigh more than less popular pages.

How does it do this?
Google is able to perform these actions through what we call 'search bots'. These search bots are what index the pages that are visited, creating a whole new index which is unique to every user. Also, [|RSS] (Really Simple Syndication) is part of google, and also another way to be specific to the user trying to utilize google.  =**Google and your Privacy**=

Google is, no doubt, a household name. With everyone from the computer elite to Internet neophytes using Google, the search engine is a wealth of information that many would like access to. The US government has tried to get information from Google (Google refused to provide the information requested). The amount of information that Google can provide about the way people use the Internet is staggering. On another, and more frightening level, they may have information regarding what specific users are searching for.

In August, Google's mottto "don't do evil" and it's commitment to protecting the privacy of it's user's searches was officially called into question. The [|U.S. Department of Justice] served Google a subpoena which, according to [|Google's offical Blog] on [|February 27th], demanded two months of user's search queries as well as the entire list of Google's indexed URLs.

The investigation hopes to make laws preventing children from accessing pornography stronger. ALthough this is a mission that most would agree with, it is somewhat alarming to think that the U.S. government feels it has right to information like this.

While the US Department of Justice specifically did not ask for any identifiying information, if Google is forced to comply with the request a frightening precendent will be set. Search engines, being the jumping off point to many Internet surfers, are an intimate part of the Internet experience for many people. If Google, and other search engines such as Yahoo, and MSN, begin to make information about their users available to the government, the Internet will remain forever changed, and a far less anonymous place.

=Key Features=

Gmail
This is email, the Google way. It offers a variety of servieces to web users, and also allows for [|POP] connections. The storage space grows for each user as Google grows simultaneously. It started at 2GB and has grown past 2.5GB. Gmail received the "PC World World Class Award" for being rated the second best product of 2005 according to PC World.

Froogle
An online shopping tool that searches the Internet for products. [|Google Froogle]

Image Search
An online search that is specific to finding images. [|Google Images]

Google Maps
Allows you to search for directions and locations of businesses and residential areas. [|Google Maps]

Leetspeek Google
Changes Google into leetspeak. [|LeetSpeak Google]

Google Talk
Instant messaging service that connects users around the world through text-based and voice messaging. Requires a Gmail account for it to be accessed. [|Google Talk]

Book Search
New project by Google, where they are taking many hard copy books and creating digital copies of those books for people to search through. [|Google Book Search]

Blogger
Google bought the Blogger company back in 2002, a website that allows users to post their thoughts online. Click here for more information about blogs. [|Blogger]

AdWords
Find buyers searching for what you want to sell. Connect with new customers at the precise moment when they are looking for your products or services. [|Google AdWords]

AdSense
A fast and easy way for website publishers of all sizes to display relevant Google ads on their website's content pages and earn money. [|Google AdSense]

Video
A beta search engine for videos uploaded onto the Internet. Similar to [|Youtube.com] The search engine is growing rapidly in content. Google's streaming technology allows the user to access certain points of the video without having to wait for the entire video to load. What Google does is that it begins the streaming download at the very spot selected on the timeline. [|Google Video]

Scholar
Provides a simple way to search for academic literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources such as, peer review journals, theses, books, abstracts and articles from academic publishers and professional societies. Google Scholar helps the user identify the most relevant information in the world of scholary research. [|Google Scholar]

Google Earth
(A 3D interface to the planet)

Google’s latest technology “Google Earth”, which operates with satellite imagery, puts the entire world’s geographic map at the tip of your fingers. Using Google Earth you can easily type in an address and it will simply take you to that location. You can see places where you would like to travel to, where your family/parents grew up, search for school, and even look at hotels and exactly where they are situated. Another unique feature about Google Earth is that you are able to get directions from one place to another and it does not have to be in Canada. It can be anywhere around the world.

This new program by Google is definitely an immeasurable project that can change the way people live and travel. For those that are unable to physically go and view some of these places, they have this great system which allows them to do so in a virtual way.

To learn more about this program and for a free trial click here: [|Google Earth]

=Googlewhack=

A Googlewhack is a search done on Google using only two words and the search returns with only one result.

A person who spends their time looking for these results are called Googlewhackers. The act of doing so it called Googlewhacking or Googlewhackingoff.

The problem with Googlewhack is, the moment one is found, it will be documented on probably more than one site and therefore won’t be a Googlewhack anymore.
 * Francophile Namesakes
 * dork turnspit
 * unconstructive superegos
 * bibliophilic sandwiched
 * dripstone ingles

Googlewhack Rules
Go onto the Google website and type in a query using only two words and no quotation marks. There must be no punctuations and numbers (just the alphabets from A-Z). If you find two words that come up with only one result you have found a Googlewhack. The catch is, Whack only accepts words that consist of 4-30 characters in length. Without these rules, it’s just too easy.

In addition, the two words must exist according to Google and not your opinion. The ultimate decision is Google’s. If you look at the blue bar at the top of your Google results, underlined (linked) terms are approved terms. As well, the sole judge is Google so it you look to the right end of the blue bar and see "Results 1 - 1 of (any number),' you found exactly one hit and therefore a Googlewhack! BUT, the result can’t be a thesaurus, dictionary, bibliography, glossary, or random garbage. They don’t count as whacks. The Whack Stack will tell you whether or not it is accepted as well. So just submit them there.

=News: Google and China=

After becoming successful on a national level many corporations aim for foreign markets where they can continue their successful business. Google has established many strong relationships with different foreign countries although with certain places there are different political stands that can make the relationship between them difficult. Often businesses need to accomodate and alter their objectives to meet the needs of that particular nation which is the case with Google and China. In attempts to gain larger entrance to China and foreign markets, Google has agreed to limit its search engine to accommodate the Chinese government. With the strong influence that the government has on Chinese citizens Google has decided to set up Google.cn which is a search engine that regulates and corresponds to the censors desired by the Chinese government. Many sites such as the BBC news site is inaccessible as well as information on things such as the independence of Taiwan and the 1989 Tiananmen square massacre (BBC). For blatent reasons Google would suffer financially if they were to dismantle the current relationship between Google and China.
 * [[image:http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif width="24" height="13"]] **While removing search results is inconsistent with Google's mission, providing no information... is more inconsistent with our mission** [[image:http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif width="23" height="13"]] Google statement ||

The many features that Google offers such as Gmail and chat room will not be accessible for obvious reasons, mainly avoidance of public uproar and governement control. Google rather have any possible influence on distributing information than not at all, although Google has agreed to let the users of their search engine know when their access has been forbidden.

=Interesting Stuff=

Google Holiday and Event Logos
Ever notice Google's main search engine homepage logo changing with the seasons? Their logos commemorate holidays and events. They even have an [|online collection] of all the logos. Dennis Hwang is the logo designer for Google. Also check out [|fan logos].

Google as a Verb
Nowadays, many people use the word "google" instead of saying "search." For an interesting read, see this BBC article, "[|Google calls in the 'language police].'"

=External Links=

[|AdSense] [|AdWords] [|Blogger] [|Froogle] [|Gmail] [|Google Book Search] [|Google Maps] [|Google Image Search] [|Google Video] [|Working at Google]

=Works Cited=

About Google Scholar. http://scholar.google.com/scholar/about.html

Littlejohn, E. “Web Culture and Design: Lesson 1”. 2005 Sheridan Institute of technology and Advance Learning, Oakville Ontario.

http://www.googlewhack.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googlewhack