Planet Google
One Company's Audacious Plan to Organize Everything We Know
Randall Stross
- Based
- on
- unprecedented
- access
- he
- received
- to
- the
- highly
- secretive
- "Googleplex,"
- acclaimed
- New
- York
- Times
- columnist
- Randall
- Stross
- takes
- readers
- deep
- inside
- Google,
- the
- most
- important,
- most
- innovative,
- and
- most
- ambitious
- company
- of
- the
- Internet
- Age.
- His
- revelations
- demystify
- the
- strategy
- behind
- the
- company's
- recent
- flurry
- of
- bold
- moves,
- all
- driven
- by
- the
- pursuit
- of
- a
- business
- plan
- unlike
- any
- other:
- to
- become
- the
- indispensable
- gatekeeper
- of
- all
- the
- world's
- information,
- the
- one-stop
- destination
- for
- all
- our
- information
- needs.
- Will
- Google
- succeed?
- And
- what
- are
- the
- implications
- of
- a
- single
- company
- commanding
- so
- much
- information
- and
- knowing
- so
- much
- about
- us?As
- ambitious
- as
- Google's
- goal
- is,
- with
- 68
- percent
- of
- all
- Web
- searches
- (and
- growing),
- profits
- that
- are
- the
- envy
- of
- the
- business
- world,
- and
- a
- surplus
- of
- talent,
- the
- company
- is,
- Stross
- shows,
- well
- along
- the
- way
- to
- fulfilling
- its
- ambition,
- becoming
- as
- dominant
- a
- force
- on
- the
- Web
- as
- Microsoft
- became
- on
- the
- PC.
- Google
- isn't
- just
- a
- superior
- search
- service
- anymore.
- In
- recent
- years
- it
- has
- launched
- a
- dizzying
- array
- of
- new
- services
- and
- advanced
- into
- whole
- new
- businesses,
- from
- the
- introductions
- of
- its
- controversial
- Book
- Search
- and
- the
- irresistible
- Google
- Earth,
- to
- bidding
- for
- a
- slice
- of
- the
- wireless-phone
- spectrum
- and
- nonchalantly
- purchasing
- YouTube
- for
- $1.65
- billion.Google
- has
- also
- taken
- direct
- aim
- at
- Microsoft's
- core
- business,
- offering
- free
- e-mail
- and
- software
- from
- word
- processing
- to
- spreadsheets
- and
- calendars,
- pushing
- a
- transformative
- --
- and
- highly
- disruptive
- --
- concept
- known
- as
- "cloud
- computing."
- According
- to
- this
- plan,
- users
- will
- increasingly
- store
- all
- of
- their
- data
- on
- Google's
- massive
- servers
- --
- a
- network
- of
- a
- million
- computers
- that
- amounts
- to
- the
- world's
- largest
- supercomputer,
- with
- unlimited
- capacity
- to
- house
- all
- the
- information
- Google
- seeks.The
- more
- offerings
- Google
- adds,
- and
- the
- more
- ubiquitous
- a
- presence
- it
- becomes,
- the
- more
- dependent
- its
- users
- become
- on
- its
- services
- and
- the
- more
- information
- they
- contribute
- to
- its
- uniquely
- comprehensive
- collection
- of
- data.
- Will
- Google
- stay
- true
- to
- its
- famous
- "Don't
- Be
- Evil"
- mantra,
- using
- its
- power
- in
- its
- customers'
- best
- interests?Stross's
- access
- to
- those
- who
- have
- spearheaded
- so
- many
- of
- Google's
- new
- initiatives,
- his
- penetrating
- research
- into
- the
- company's
- strategy,
- and
- his
- gift
- for
- lively
- storytelling
- produce
- an
- entertaining,
- deeply
- informed,
- and
- provocative
- examination
- of
- the
- company's
- audacious
- vision
- for
- the
- future
- and
- the
- consequences
- not
- only
- for
- the
- business
- world,
- but
- for
- our
- culture
- at large.
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