The Whitworthian

Issue date: 11/14/06 Last Updated: 12/26/07

I never thought I would say it, but Microsoft is no longer the "Evil Empire" of the computer service industry. They are lagging behind industry leader Google Inc. whose astronomical growth over the past two years classifies them as the new "Empire." The ?"Evil" stigma has not yet attached itself to Google, but before we know it, Google could own just about every service that users rely on in their daily lives. This is evidenced by Google's newest business ventures into the world of off-line advertising.

The public's general perception of Google is that it is the most comprehensive search engine and has the best web-based e-mail system. The public sees that Google has integrated e-mail with instant messaging and allows users to search academic journals, videos or images with the click of a button. It is easy to access and easy to understand. Best of all, everything is free!

While all these services are nice, they only scratch the surface of the Google "Empire." Google's stock is valued at more than $470 per share, while Microsoft's is floating at around $27 per share. Google is also the largest advertising agency in the world. The company makes money by selling advertising space on their search results pages and selling the rights to use the Google search engine to companies for use on their Web sites. Anytime the Google search bar is on a Web page, the company who owns that site is paying for the use. The key to Google's advertising philosophy is the "pay-per-click" model where the advertiser only pays Google when their advertisement is clicked on. This makes sure the advertiser is not losing money through paying ahead of time for an advertisement that may or may not work.

Google is flourishing because it is the best in the world at what it does. The company is focused on the consumer and tries to cater to the needs of everyone they serve. Their ability to organize the vast amount of information on the Internet is an incredible innovation that makes the Internet negotiable rather than a vast wasteland where information is hidden in every nook and cranny.

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