The Search: Ch. 8-End (John Battelle)

Wow, I honestly did not think that a book about the business behind Google could be as interesting as it actually was. I think the final chapters outlining some of the more recent developments with Google were the most interesting because it put a lot of the concepts into perspective.

Obviously the parts about the role of search in the modern world in regards to the ways in which governments can use or abuse the systems were incredibly interesting. In regards to China, Google is in a tough position as to how they can break into an incredibly large market and still follow their “Don’t Be Evil” slogan. I think that in some respects, Google is right in the path that they are taking, but they are also big enough to possibly change things in China. I think that Google SHOULD link to news stories that will not be available because I agree that it is better to know something exists and not be able to read it than to not even know it is there.

The role of Google in regards to the USA PATRIOT Act is again a tough place. Since they have to follow the laws of the United States, they could be forced to give up information that the public thinks is private, including GMail accounts, which is a scary thought. This problem is a bigger problem though with an unfair and unlawful act that needs to be reevaluated, far beyond just Google and search.

Oh to be a Google employee. To find out that so many of the workers that had been with the company made so much money off to the IPO made me a little jealous. I found it really interesting to find out that Google is able to avoid losing employees and having to buy them back via their Founders’ Awards which gives employees a rather large bonus for good ideas.

When Battelle ultimately calls what Google is creating as “the Force of the Many” where eventually everything will be linked up via the Internet is both an incredible as well as scary idea. We can already see it coming together in ways which make everything much easier. However, there are many things that I do not want linked up together. If everything that I do will one day be able to be seen by anyone, it makes the idea of identity theft and other things much more real and easy to do. The idea of clickstream is an example of this. Although it can be beneficial towards helping to know what things i like and what might be most beneficial to me, I don’t want these companies knowing EVERYTHING I do or search for online.

Ultimately, reading a book about a company such as Google gives excellent insight into information and media companies and how they came about and how they operate. However, it is also quite an interesting thing also to read a book written at a specific time and place which outlines things that have happened in the past as they happened. The future is untold as to what Google will ultimately become, but many of the ideas outlined in Battelle’s book might possibly come about. Who knows what will happen.