Google Love

“In class Monday, we began exploring the vast power and influence of search giant Google, a company that seems to have a hand in just about everything having to do with new media.”

First off, I have to say, I’m a huge lover of Google.  I wouldn’t necessarily say that I’m addicted to it, but I definitely use it at least once a day.  I have tried other competitive sites, such as Bing, but have not liked using them as much as I do Google.  Most of the time, I use it to find URLs to sites that I do not remember.  Otherwise, I use it for research for school and my involvement on the speech team.  I use the other applications, such as GoogleMaps, on my phone more.  And, I’m also quite frequently on YouTube, for many reasons; mostly music.  Overall, I do not think that Google is too powerful of a resource.  It is very user-friendly and should not be ‘hated on’ just because so many people use it.  However, I do think that some people are way too dependent on its services.  I think that everything I do on Google, I know how to do in other ways, but it is just faster and easier to use Google.  I am ashamed of the people who are part of our society who look up definitions of simple words on Google; I still have a paper dictionary that I like to use.  

The entries from Siva Vaidhyanathan’s book had many valid points about Google’s practices with collecting data from its users.  I think that Google should be held more accountable.  But I also do not think it is that big of a deal for most people’s data to be collected.  I may seem more naïve than people who know more information about these types of situations, but I still think that other sites do the same thing, and Google gets more of the attention about it because it is so well-known.  

All of my opinions may be biased, but I know I am a Google-Lover, and I’m not afraid to say so.