Google turns 21 years old – and is by no means past its prime

Google is the most popular and famous search engine on the Net. Which has, very recently, turned twenty-one.

That’s right, it’s been twenty one years now that we’ve used Google for our online researches – and much more besides. The Mountain View-based search engine originated a company that now offers a wide variety of services.

Nowadays, Google’s resources for its users are almost endless. Through the self-same portal, it’s now possible to read and send emails, browse high definition satellitar 3D maps, access online calendars, buy books and music and even chat with friends. And that’s only the beginning.

Created to be just one of the many search engines on the Net, Google has since become a world unto itself. Let’s trace “Big G”‘s history and find out what it may held in store for the future.

Google celebrates its twenty-first anniversary in Mountain View

Google was created on September 27th, 1998 by Sergey Brin and Larry Page, two young Stanford university PhD students.

Actually Google had been existing for about a year before this date – but this was when its spider hit an all-time record in indexed results. This brilliant result led Brin and Page to think that maybe their creation could be made accessible to everyone on the Web – making it much easier, and more intuitive, to surf the Internet.

The official name, Google, was inspired by the number googol and as a positive omen for the search engine’s indexed page, which were rapidly increasing beyond control.

Sergey Brin and Larry Page, however, could not begin to fathom the huge success that their creation was going to meet in the coming years. Google was slated to become a landmark for users all over the world.

Brin and Page’s society had a rather modest capital at the outset – only 100.000 dollars. Which would rise to 25 millions the next year. And it was only the beginning; back in 2014, Google’s revenues were about 159 billions, leaving the long-time rival Apple as a rather distant second place.

Twenty-one years of services, technology and innovation

Throughout Google’s twenty-first years, Brin and Page’s society introduced many startling news.

By now Google is no longer just a mere search engine. Technologic innovation is within everyone’s reach – from the Android OS to the revolutionary Google Glass.

One such example are the many features of Gmail, which was among the first services developed in Mountain View. Alternatively, the “phenomenal” Maps offers not just three dimensional maps but the opportunity to visit every place in the planet due to the advanced features of Google Earth.che è stato uno dei primi servizi sviluppati dall’azienda di Mountain View.

Furthermore, many websites and online business could monetize their hits thanks to the revolutionary AdWords and Google AdSense tecnhologies.

Google, however, did not just create brand new services; its ever increasing popularity allowed the company to acquire a plethora of tools and platforms that formerly existed on the Web. The most obvious example is Youtube, the video sharing community which nowadays is one of Mountain View’s stars.

Finding the future with Big G

Evolution never stops, especially in the technologic world.

As could be expected, Google has many news up its sleeve. The closest in terms of release is probably the dark mode which should be released shortly. Google, however, won’t be the only platform to offer a dark mode to its user. This feature is especially useful for laptops and smartphones as it significantly saves on battery – on top of being more relaxing for the sight.

Amongst the most technological innovations, we may look foward to an exclusive database that will allow Google to identify and penalize deepfakes. Deepfakes are those untrustworthy, yet totally believable contents which have been “plaguing” websites as of late. The new algorythm will tell them apart from genuine contents – in no small part thanks to the contribution of italian researchers.

Another upcoming innovations are talking mirrors, the last frontier of smart techologies. These devices may read mails, inform on weather conditions or monitor the street traffic as easily as any smart tv or tablet. The installation, called Talking Crafts, was introduced in Milan this September and promises to be one of the most interesting upcoming devices.

Enkey will bring you up to date with Google’s new projects. Because the future starts today – or so Mountain View wants to make everyone think.

This post is also available in: Italiano