How to get the most out of google
Matt Warman looks at the services offered by the world’s largest search engine, including its new online universe
In Google’s new "Lively" service, the search engine giant invites users to create a computer character to represent them, an "avatar", and then to roam through a series of virtual "rooms", talking to other people, examining their furniture and watching their movies.
While the idea is not particularly new, and it’s certainly not going to revolutionise the web tomorrow, Lively demonstrates one key thing about Google: when it comes to the internet, this $23 billion California company really does have a finger in every pie.
The idea, as with the company’s popular email service Gmail, was born out of employees’ "20 per cent time". Under this policy, Google workers are required to spend a day a week working on projects outside their normal job that they find interesting. The key to much of the company’s success is that there’s often a commercial application, too. Indeed, it’s commerce that has made Google so vast in size: roughly 1.2 billion searches are made every day, and for each one Google picks up on the words you use and provides adverts next to the search results. That means if you search for New York, you’re presented with a map, sites packed with information, and also links to travel companies, each promising you the time of your life. Every time you click through to a new site from an advertiser’s link, Google makes a few cents.
How to get the most out of google
|
Matt Warman looks at the services offered by the world’s largest search engine, including its new online universe In Google’s new "Lively" service, the search engine giant invites users to create a computer character to represent them, an "avatar", and then to roam through a series of virtual "rooms", talking to other people, examining their furniture and watching their movies.
While the idea is not particularly new, and it’s certainly not going to revolutionise the web tomorrow, Lively demonstrates one key thing about Google: when it comes to the internet, this $23 billion California company really does have a finger in every pie. The idea, as with the company’s popular email service Gmail, was born out of employees’ "20 per cent time". Under this policy, Google workers are required to spend a day a week working on projects outside their normal job that they find interesting. The key to much of the company’s success is that there’s often a commercial application, too. Indeed, it’s commerce that has made Google so vast in size: roughly 1.2 billion searches are made every day, and for each one Google picks up on the words you use and provides adverts next to the search results. That means if you search for New York, you’re presented with a map, sites packed with information, and also links to travel companies, each promising you the time of your life. Every time you click through to a new site from an advertiser’s link, Google makes a few cents. And that, probably, is why we might see a lot more of Lively in the future, too. Sure, every amateur blogger and teenager will want a "room" of their own if the service catches on (it’s , testing officially only in the US but is accessible worldwide), but it’s commercial companies that will make or break it. As you can put picture frames on the wall and choose their contents, for instance, the possibilities for advertising are almost endless. All businesses have to do is entice you in - and it might not be long before pointing to a chair in, say, Ikea’s "room" is just a click away from buying it. |
Resources for
