Blog Post 4

Image of Sergey Brin

My project was on the history and impacts of one of the out influential of Google. Google was created by two men by the names of Larry Page and Sergey Brin. 

The goal of Google was to make researching and finding information easier than ever. Before Google, the main way to research was through books or libraries where it would be time-consuming to try and find the necessary information you needed.

Therefore, Page and Brin began to create perhaps the most influential pieces of technology in human history. They started the process in 1995 but first released it in September of 1998. It's crazy to think it only took them 3 years to do this however it just goes to show how smart these two men were.

Not only did Google make researching easier, it also opened the marketing world with the development of websites and domains. Almost every business in the world nowadays has some assortment of an identity online and this makes finding their business easier than ever.

Image of Larry Page

Along with this, it made revolutionary changes to the world of communication. Social media would arise and allow new versions of instant communication to connect and keep in touch with friends or family. These changes are something that today's world thrives on. It didn't stop at just social media.

The rise of independent journalism was another huge impact stemming from the creation of Google. Prior to Google people primarily relied on major news channels for their information and news. This allowed complete control to be put into the hands of the media on what people know and believe. Independent journalism changed all of that as now average people who just wanted to put their thoughts into the world were able to spread their beliefs or news in different ways. Not only did it give the people more of a voice but it also inspired new media teams to arise.

History of the different Google logos

Although Google inspired many great things to come about it also opened the world to certain negative problems that would not be here without it.

One specific problem we can discuss relates to what I just talked about and that is the spread of fake news in journalism. Because it is now so easy to spread information, it is also very easy to spread fake information allowing those who don't know how to confirm this information to go down slippery slopes and believe or spread things that aren't true.

Another major problem that stems from Google is privacy. If you even downloaded Google Chrome you probably know about the notification you get that asks you whether you will let Google track your data for more personalized ads. Some people are fine with this and actually like it as they are heavy shoppers and want to see recommended things, however oftentimes people get weirded out by this question as it feels like you are almost getting stalked by the higher-ups. Not to mention no one really knows where this information is going.

The final problem I wanted to discuss relates to the rise in AI. Studies have shown that doing research through the web does not install it into the brain compared to reading a book or textbook on a specific topic. What this means is that not only does the web not keep necessary information in students' heads like it could, but it also influences laziness and the interest in AI continues to grow. With AI, students are beginning to not even attempt to do their work which isn't a big deal for smaller majors or minors however students who are studying to achieve a well-credited degree such as lawyers, doctors, or accountants are also using AI which is scary to think about. Imagine you go to the doctor and the only thing he can do is ChatGPT your symptoms or assign you the wrong prescription because he didn't pay attention in college. This could be devastating to the world.

As you can see Google has been one of the most revolutionary pieces of technology and has changed the world not only for the better but has also allowed some negative impacts as well.