The Google Nation - A Google Dynasty?
The following is a Journal I did for Leadership class after watching the flash entitled "Epic 2015." [www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/epic]
After watching the "Epic 2015," I've realized the many pathways the world can take in just ten years.
With the introduction of Google, the world has become dependant on this supergiant in the World Wide Web. This Google giant has become a large part of our experience on the web.
Everyday lingo on the web has been morphed to become more convienient to the users who take the opportunities the web can bring. l33t, a speak which introduces numbers and letters to make typing more quick, (for example: "h1, marta. h0w r u 2day?") the world wide web has become a community of convienience, a community where everything does not have to be grammatically correct, a digital world without the laws of the real one.
This conveinience is woven into a webpage, a fad, called "Google," a websearch that allows the user to search virtually every webpage in existance, for any topic, any image, any news article...virtually, anything you wish to search for is found on this search engine. Google has become the most famous of the websites, being included in everyday speech. The word google, derived from the word "googol", 10^100, is applied to the dictionary in a way that most other websites have not had the privledge. The word google means to search for on the internet. The word has been transformed from meaning a noun, the Company Google, to a verb. It's a small change, but a significant one.
With the invention of Keyhole, and the buying out by Google, Google has been given access to the entire world - through satellites. These satellites take pictures of the world, and give the user a look at every single point in the world, zoom in, and find out what the city/town/area looks like. It has been used by CNN, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Oprah, Dr. Phil, and many other shows, solidifying Google as a secure presence in the world of technology. Google Earth has become the most powerful Earth-imaging program open to the public, and continues to dominate most of the imaging satellites orbiting our planet - a scary thought, if taken into context.
The next innovation is Gmail. With the invention of email, a user was able to send email, take email, send attachments, send anything to anyone in the world with an email address. At first, email space was limited - the companies were not sure if email was going to be a success. The user would have to continually check the email, delete or copy the email to another file onboard the user's computer so that the email space wouldn't get taken up. With the advent of Gmail, however, the user has been given complete control over the emails they recieve, never having to delete them again. With over 2,000 Megabytes of storage, Gmail has become the most advanced, the most convienent, and albeit the most unnatural email today. Gmail displays emails like conversations, rather than conventional "inbox/foward" style. The email is presented in a speech bubble, and any replies are put into their own speech bubble, enabling the user to quickly sort through the replies of any one email. Also, 2,000 megabytes is a lot to offer each user, and with over 100,000 users...that's a lot of servers to hold.
Google is rapidly becoming the most influencial presence on the World Wide Web. I do predict that this such company will someday take over the entire World Wide Web, evolving it - changining it... The idea of a "Google Grid," an evolution of the World Wide Web, is rapidly coming - each and everyday leads to new findings, new ideas. Google seems to be on an unusual path to the future, one that is filled with "coincidental" projects that are released seemingly everyweek.
And if we take into account what Google has become an aspect everyday life, a leader...a Big Brother. Slowly, Google is transforming into an omnipresent society of technology and convienience, growing into a computer which is everywhere, at any time, a world reminiscient of 1984 - but less dramatic.
If we dig deeper into the world today, we soon find that we depend on Google. The days of the iPod fad are waning - we are moving closer and closer to becoming a Google Nation, a twisted version of Marshall McLuhan's dream. The Fifth Estate is coming, the estate which doesn't fit into First, Second, Third, or Fourth.
This Fifth Estate, essentially the tie in to all other Estates, will become the last estate, first being Government, second being Clergy, third being the people, and the fourth being the press and news. Because this potential Google Grid doesn't fit, yet brings unity to all these, we can call it the Fifth and Final Estate - The Omnipresent, or more precisely...The Computer.
And that's pretty scary.
Long Live the Fifth Estate.