Google: what it is and what it is not

Reviewer: Shu Zou

Google is far more than a Web site or a technology. It has become a social phenomenon, where online behavior is newly defined. In this article, the discussion focuses on more than a simple definition of Google. It analyzes Google from a business perspective, where the searching giant creates value from technology innovation, establishes a smart and effective business model, and benefits from its "network externalities." The success of Google is built on the knowledge and applications of earlier search engines, such as Yahoo! In addition, the success of Google does not seem to be a case of winner takes all. Most of Google's products, such as its search button and toolbar, can be downloaded and installed without any charge to customers. We hardly ever type in uniform resource locators (URLs) these days, or even save things in our favorites folder, because we can now "google" almost anything, and the results of searching are so handy. The purpose of searching is to save time in locating the right information. Google does a very good job of searching. It attracts millions of users. But searching is not enough, at least for a business. Also attractive to online users are searching-based services, such as local search, Froogle, buying answers to your questions, and free blogger. The key to Google's success is that it catches the trends of new Internet-based technologies. Thousands of users have built blogs on blogger, and the service is totally free. People publish their thoughts, receive feedback, find people with the same interests, and make comments. It would be interesting to investigate how Google changes our behavior on the individual level, or on the level of interpersonal communication. For example, would our trust in Google searching weaken our efforts in doing research__?__ What is the effect of Google search on academic plagiarism, such as in college classes__?__ How does Google affect business information sharing and security__?__ We can probably gain a more thorough understanding of the Google phenomenon by considering such questions. Online Computing Reviews Service