My love for Google.com started out as innocent, almost cute-but before I realized it, I was obsessed, fanatical, addicted.
I have fallen in love with a search engine, and it loves me back.
I still remember the first time I googled. I was searching for the cheat codes to the game “Star Fox” for Nintendo 64. After that, I was hooked. For every question I had, I knew Google could help me find the answer. It was the wealth of knowledge I’d been searching for all of my life.
Early on I was only a casual user, googling only when I really needed to know something, like a good meatloaf recipe. But before long, I was staying up until endless hours of the night, googling anything that seemed even remotely interesting or important.
Searching things like “rhino and symbiotic relationships” and “colonial America and heroin” became all too common. Every time I searched, Google provided me with a link to the Web site that could answer my questions.
Hell, I even used Google to find out if “googled” is a verb. It is.
Then Google started providing more resources to fuel my obsession. They introduced tools like Gmail, Google Translator and Picasa. These tools made life easier, and I loved Google all the more for it. With Google translator, I could view German Web pages in English. With Gmail and the 2,000 plus mega bites of storage it offers, I can save e-mails for years to come.
They even let me personalize my Google homepage with things that interest me, such as Dictionary.com’s Word of the Day, which allows me to make statements like “using Google is a titivating experience.” This leads to links to The New York Times’ top stories, a weekly weather forecast and a quote of the day.
I don’t even need to leave my desk to be an informed citizen.
In 2003, Google released Blogger. This allows people to share their thoughts, feelings and experiences with the general public. Through Blogger I can live vicariously through people around the world. Mad props to Das Slug, the complicated Jew.
Google surpasses all other search engines through using only advertisements that I want to see. They base their advertising on keywords used in searches so I don’t have to put up with make-up advertisements as I search for power tools.
To understand a company better, look to their headquarters. Google’s headquarters appear to be more fun than a barrel of monkeys at an amusement park. They have lava lamps, beanbags and roller hockey. Is anything else necessary for a good time? I think not. Who doesn’t want to support a company that’s all about fun?
With all the things that Google does, it is no wonder I have fallen head over heels for a search engine. While, yes, it may be creepy and people may laugh at the Google tattoo that decorates my back, I still love the search engine that helps me find all the answers to life’s questions.
Top five reasons Google is better than anything else:
1. Google doesn’t mind helping me at 2 a.m.
2. Google won’t keep secrets from me.
3. Google won’t tell the government what I search for.
4. Google is not evil.
5. Google thinks I’m important.