What is Google?
Google is a world-renowned online search service company and one of the biggest technology companies on earth. The company has grown from a few employees to over 70,000, with offices in more than 70 countries around the globe. Founded in 1995 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google became an internet juggernaut and a fundamental force behind the development of the world wide web as we know it. Its name even entered the lexicon as a verb, with “to google” becoming synonymous with searching the Internet.
Google’s search engine returns results for web pages, images, news and maps, as well as answering questions, displaying weather forecasts, currency, unit and time conversions, word definitions, and more. The order of search results is determined by a priority ranking system known as PageRank that evaluates the number and quality of other websites that link to a given webpage. Other hidden criteria are used to improve the accuracy of searches as well.
Beyond its search engine, Google offers a variety of Internet-related products and services including email, online document creation, mobile phone and tablet computer software and hardware, advertising and cloud computing. The Google Maps app provides a detailed, street-level view of any location on the planet and enables users to find restaurants, hotels and other businesses in the area. Google also offers a variety of software tools for developers to create sites and applications.
The company’s physical product offerings include the Pixel smartphone line, Chromebook laptop computers and the Nest smart home device. In addition, Google Fiber is a limited-area service that provides a high speed fiber internet connection. New innovations are constantly under development in the Google X research and development division, with projects such as self-driving cars and augmented reality glasses.
In addition to its vast portfolio of online services and products, Google has become a powerhouse in the advertising industry. Ads based on searches are the main source of revenue for Google, accounting for over half of the company’s 2023 revenues.
Despite its massive size and many different product lines, google is best known for its search engine, which has become one of the most popular online resources in the world. The service has made it possible to locate almost any information quickly and easily, and its popularity has led to the growth of a culture surrounding the term “to google”. Google’s success has also created many critics who question the use of personal information for the purpose of advertising and concerns over other traditional business issues such as monopoly, restraint of trade, anti-competitive practices and patent infringement. Dedicated groups of Google critics have formed, including the Reddit online community /r/degoogle.