HAPPY 14th BIRTHDAY TO GOOGLE!

Hard to believe it’s been 14 years since the inception of everyone’s favorite search engine.  Happy Birthday, Google!    

There are very few of us on the planet who have not, at one time or another – or every day, for that matter – used Google to find information, to get driving directions or to self-diagnose by plugging in our symptoms (my doctor just loves it when I do that!).  Personally speaking, I’d be lying if I said that Google isn’t a part of my everyday life.  We use it at home, we use it at work – we even use it as a verb!  Want to know about something – just ‘Google’ it!

Think for a moment how much easier life is with Google in it.  Want to see movie listings?  You no longer have to run out and buy a newspaper.  Want a recipe for German chocolate cake?  Look no further than your keyboard.  Want to translate a paragraph quickly from English to French?  Google Translate is arguably one of the coolest things on the planet!  Heck, I once received a comment on one of my blogs in Russian and, of course, had no idea what it said until I – yup, Google Translated it (now I’m making up my own verbs).

This morning, I Googled Google to research some background information.  Here’s what I found out:

 - From Wikipedia: 

“The company was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while both attended Stanford University. Together, Brin and Page own about 16 percent of the company's stake. Google was first incorporated as a privately held company on September 4, 1998, and its initial public offering followed on August 19, 2004. The company's mission statement from the outset was "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful" and the company's unofficial slogan is “Don’t be evil”.  In 2006, the company moved to its current headquarters in Mountain View, California.”

And, did you know that Page and Brin named their project “Google” because Google is a play on the word "googol," or the "mathematical term for a 1 followed by 100 zeros”?   Cool stuff!

So, how are the Google team celebrating the 14^th birthday of their phenomenon?  From Google’s Official Blog:

“As Google turns 14 this month, we’re celebrating this creative spirit and officially launching Google for Entrepreneurs, the umbrella for our several dozen programs and partnerships around the world that support startups and entrepreneurs.” 

All the best, guys!  And, Happy Birthday to you, Google!!