On September 27, 2023, a significant milestone graces the tech world: Google’s 25th birthday.
Google’s history traces its roots to January 1996 when Larry Page and Sergey Brin initiated a research project while pursuing their PhDs at Stanford University in California. The project originally included a third key contributor, Scott Hassan, who served as the lead programmer and significantly contributed to the original Google Search engine. However, it’s worth noting that Hassan left the project before Google’s official incorporation as a company. Subsequently, he ventured into the field of robotics and founded Willow Garage in 2006.
Traditional search engines counted keyword appearances on pages, but Larry Page and his team envisioned a superior approach. They created PageRank, an algorithm that assessed a website’s significance based on the number and quality of backlinks.
Larry Page & Sergey Brin initially called their new search engine “BackRub“ because it assessed site importance through backlinks. They later renamed it Google, a misspelling of “googol,” a number (1 followed by 100 zeros), symbolizing their goal to offer vast information.
By March 1999, Google had shifted to Palo Alto, California, the heart of Silicon Valley. The following year, despite Page and Brin’s initial resistance, Google started selling text-based ads tied to search keywords. In June 2000, Google became Yahoo’s default search engine, replacing Inktomi.
In today’s world, Google’s influence reaches far beyond its search engine. Through products like YouTube, Android, Gmail, and Google Maps, it has seamlessly woven itself into the daily lives of billions worldwide. Google’s ascent in the tech sphere gained momentum when it secured the role of Yahoo’s default search engine in 2000. A pivotal moment followed in October of the same year with the launch of AdWords, setting the stage for Google’s eventual dominance in online advertising.
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Google’s Game-Changers: Android and YouTube‘s Journey to Stardom
In 2004, Google dropped a bombshell by unveiling Gmail with a mind-blowing 1GB of storage, instantly making it a must-have tool and shaking up the competition, including YahooMail and Microsoft’s Hotmail. And as if that wasn’t enough, they took their company public that very August.
Google wasn’t done yet! In 2005, they snagged Android and kicked off Google Talk for mobile. Then, in 2006, they made a big splash by picking up YouTube and diving headfirst into online videos. Fast forward to 2007, they went on a shopping spree, grabbing DoubleClick and becoming an online advertising powerhouse. Oh, and they also introduced Universal Search, so you could find all sorts of stuff with just one search. Go Google!
In 2008, Google introduced the T-Mobile G1 , its first Android phone, and unveiled the Chrome web browser. Subsequent years saw Google launching Google Glass, acquiring mapping startup Waze, and forming Alphabet, its parent company, with Sundar Pichai becoming Google’s CEO.
What Lies Ahead for Google’s Future?
Recently, Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai expressed his vision for the company’s future in a blog post. Google faces formidable competition across various product segments as it enters its next quarter-century. AI stands out as a key opportunity where Google is already a major player. The next 25 years will demand continued innovation for Google to maintain its leadership.
A Quarter Century of Google: Reflecting on 25 Remarkable Years
Also read: Google MAP Faces Lawsuit Over Bridge Collapse Mishap.
