A great deal of Google's success as an advertising giant has been their unwavering commitment to measuring internet usage. No matter how important or irrelevant a person or piece of information may be, Google Inc. has taken it into their hands to ensure that no data slips through the cracks. At the beginning of our class, Dr. Drake posed a question; how do we determine what is important to our business? At one point in time Google executives probably asked themselves this very same question. In response, they deduced that Google aims to be the most elaborate internet company in the world and therefore any piece of information that uses the internet medium is relevant to their company. From click throughs on billion dollar company websites, to tracking search engine inquiries, to how many times "kittens inspired by kittens" is viewed on YouTube, every piece of data has its use in some way or another. (I am a firm believer that the extraordinary view count of the "new haircut" video was the main influence leading to the conception of the hit TV show Jersey Shore, but thats a discussion for another time and place.) This logic is what took this innovative company from a mere search engine to a technological giant. By taking responsibility for measuring every single aspect of how people use the internet, Google has positioned itself as one of the most powerful corporations on the planet. Their amount of intellectual property is second to none. However what is most impressive about all of this his how Google has managed to utilize this data. It's not just sitting around somewhere in a computer archive but rather it is being recorded, analyzed and applied to business decisions around the world. If a company wanted to launch an online marketing campaign, it would likely ask Google where its ads would be most effective in reaching their target market.
The problem inherent in all this is that if Google can obtain information from us electronically, certainly anyone can obtain info from them the same way. It seems that people are starting to recognize this. People are also starting to recognize the value of the data that Google has been able to amass. Proof of this notion lies in the recent attacks on Google stemming from Chinese hackers. They have been able to utilize extremely advanced programming language and algorithms to circumvent some of Google's safety measures. These attacks have caused a tremendous backlash and I will talk more about these events in my next blog.
I agree with this article, on most counts. Google has definately secured its spot as the most powerful internet enterprise, and in the process amassed a database that most likely contains more information, than any educational institution in existence(much of it is irrevelvant to education however). I have also seen the stories about the Chinese hackers in the news. I think that this is a major threat to international security, and hope that people in control are doing what needs to be done to restore, and increase safety measures.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this. Google is for sure the most well known, and powerful. I liked how you flowed this with your last post into the new material we learned as well.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree 100% with this article. Google is the BEST! It's gotten my research papers completed faster. But although this a very convenient source, I still get a little iffy about it. When I search a topic, how do I know this is correct legit information? There are just people's opinions. I think google is just a good source for getting a second opinion on information. The library has it all no matter how long it takes to find information.
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