Throwback Thursday: Happy Sweet 16 Google

I don’t mean to sound like one of those kids from the AT&T U-Verse ads, but kids today sure have it easy.

When I was a growing up, I had to use books and encyclopedias as references for papers–not ebooks or online resources. Compiling research literally meant getting up off my rear and going out to gather my research materials. I’d had to take special trips to the library and even use the microfilm reader if I needed to reference old newspapers. I mastered the Dewey Decimal System (or mastered trying to use it before getting fed up and asking the librarian to help). Back in the ’90s, the Internet wasn’t as search-friendly (nor did teachers consider the web trustworthy), so we were left with the old methods of research.

Eventually, search engines entered the scene to help making navigating the World Wide Web easier, and educators gave way to letting students use search engines, but even then, the process was a little messy. The original search engines, Yahoo! (est. 1994), Ask Jeeves (est. 1995) and Dogpile (est. 1996) provided Internet users with results, but they weren’t necessary quality. What good was the Internet if finding anything relevant was a ridiculous effort; going to the library was actually more efficient.

Standford PH.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin noticed the shortcomings of the early search engines, and the creative geniuses figured out a solution: delivering search results based on PageRank. And on September 4, 1998, they founded Google and altered the Internet forever.

Obviously Google changed the game for advertisers and brands with AdWords and really drove home the importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), but Google has had an absurd impact on the lives of average Internet users; gmail, Google docs, Google drive, Google maps, the verb Google are all mainstream as well as Google-owned sites like YouTube.  The company is now even moving into the physical world with drone technology. Looking around today’s world, living without Google is inconceivable.

In the name of Throwback Thursday and in honor of Google’s sweet sixteen, check out this video (which is a bit of a throwback itself as it was created for Google’s 10th anniversary) and get nostalgic about the early days of Google.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIrrPx9HEug

Cover Photo Source: Ai825

Cassandra is a Content Manager and Developer at SJG. She earned her BA from Fontbonne University in 2011. Outside the office, she enjoys an active, healthy and well-rounded lifestyle including reading, writing, running, golfing, watching films, listening to music, taking photographs, and consuming media and social media.