the Importance of Being Googled
I’m Googled and I want everyone to know it. I’m proud that a search engine thinks I’m worthy enough to devote over 100 web pages to me. It’s the ultimate ego booster. Sometimes, I find myself typing my name on Google just for the sheer joy of seeing the web page numbers come up: 150, and all for me? I love it! Who said instant gratification was dead?
And for those of you too righteous to be swayed by such meaningless drivel, I’ve got one word for you; whatever. And no, I’m not suffering from low self-esteem or severe insecurity and no, I wasn’t ignored as a child. I like feeling wanted, known, loved and wooed. By a search engine. Yes. But then it’s Google so I don’t really care.
Google. That search engine that’s revolutionised the way we ‘do’ the Internet. Google. That bastion of Internet democracy that’s put me on equal footing with J-Lo, Madonna, Julia Roberts and Tony Blair by simply acknowledging my online presence. And they say democracy is dead. Viva Google!
I blame my (once) long lost cousin in the States. She sent me an email. Hello, she wrote. I got your email address from the internet. I couldn’t believe it. Quickly, I raced to the Google web site (as you do) and typed in my name. And bingo! I was hooked. Addicted to my online fame. Inwardly, I pitied the poor suckers who paid for enhanced placements on search engine results. Schmucks, they’re all schmucks.
“Why don’t you Google it?” I said to my sister when she asked me for information on something. She gave me a haughty look that said: If I‘d wanted to Google it, I would’ve. But I didn't which is why I asked you. This was no time for sibling bickering. I picked up my laundry and swum out of the room with sisterly dignity. Am I the only person in the world fixated with all things Google? I wanted to cry out.
“I’m not on Google!” my older sister wailed after trying to trace the historical roots of our family name which incidentally is Libyan and spelt ‘Senussi’ (and yes, I got it from Google).
“I know,” I smirked. “I am.”
She shot me a dirty look and returned to the computer screen.
Google, Google on the wall. How did you do it? How did you transform, revolutionise and turn the internet on its head simply by reinventing (or is that changing) the rules of search engine functionality? But you’re not a search engine are you? You’re infinitely more than that but I don’t know what or who to call you. But who cares? I’m famous! I’m on the same online footing as J-Lo! I exist online and Google knows it and acknowledges it! Glory! But I digress.
How Google did it or as told on the Google website.
This is the stuff internet legends are made of. Google company founders; Larry Page and Sergey Brin met at Stanford University as computer science students. They shared a common interest in retrieving relevant information from a massive set of computer data and in 1996, they began working on a search engine called Back Rub. So named because of its unique ability to analyse the ‘back links’ pointing to a web site.
The company’s founders began to perfect their technology and called on their friend; David Filo, Yahoo! founder who convinced them to grow their service by starting a search engine company. Unfortunately (is that fortunately?), none of the major dot com boomers of the day were interested in their new technology. Strapped for investment cash, Larry and Segey approached Andy Bechtolsteim, one of the founders of Sun Microsystems who wrote them a cheque for $100,000. The rest as they say, is internet history. For more on Google’s history, go to www.google.com/corporate/history.html. A word of warning; prepare to be dazzled and to go green with envy.
How to be Googled.
In a nutshell, it’s all about links, links and more links. Here’s how Google explains it:
“The heart of our software is PageRank®, a system for ranking web pages developed by our founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Stanford University…Page Rank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves "important" weigh more heavily and help to make other pages "important."
Important, high-quality sites receive a higher PageRank™, which Google remembers each time it conducts a search.”
That, in a nutshell, is how I came to be famous (internetically speaking of course). But I am not selfish. My online glory I will not keep to myself. Those craving the recognition I’ve come to love and rely on for self-worth can enjoy what I’ve got. Have a look at the following links and sit back to enjoy your online fame.
Viva Google!
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