Why Google Became the Google as We Know

Google. It used to be a website, but now, it has become a global sensation that is used as a “verb.” In other words, if you find yourself with a name of ingredient in the menu that you don’t recognize, you can “google” that word and in less than few seconds, you have the clear definition of that words (plus other information that you wouldn’t have known).

Just a few days ago, I came across a video by National Geographic on Google. I included the video link below (someone uploaded it on YouTube) that you can check out if you would like. It’s a nice video that got me thinking for a while and figured it could be a good blog post.

If there is something consistently surprising about the companies that are taking up the world now such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, and so fort, is the rate in the which they achieve that feat. Apple is without a doubt one of the strongest company in the tech world, but it has rather “long” history compared to Google or Facebook – and the difference can be several factors, but one main source due to the internet. Internet has made reaching out to bright individuals and maintaining large customer base at significantly low cost than before.

Now, that doesn’t explain all the stories though. If internet was the key reason, why is not all company Google? Besides the obvious difference in the type of websites or businesses they operate, I think it’s fair to say that the true success in entrepreneur is coming up with an innovation. It used to be that providing a better version of someone else’s products was the quick way to success. Not anymore – customers are constantly demanding fresher materials and contents so the service/goods a company offers has to be fresh – and new.

But, this isn’t just for tech world. A recent article about MOOC (massive open online course) from The New York Times stated something that is rather “new” in terms of online education because instead of trying to make an existing online education better, companies like Coursera have introduced peer feedback system and award certificates for completions.

That is certainly a different idea than existing online videos, where viewers just sit idly and listen/watch the audio/video coming out of their screen. But, that is no longer the case with more and more people having the access to web on their smartphones, so education – even for online – may become “active.”

Interestingly, many of these courses previously were offered on YouTube, which is owned by Google. Had Google not really maintained YouTube to the level that it grew now, this type of online education would not have arrived as soon.

So, what does that mean for most people? Use what Google offers. The number of products and services that Google makes available for free is astonishing – so now may be the time to take these resources to build next Google.