What happens when you google ‘Google’.

In all my years of googling, I have never googled ‘google’. No, this is not a witty riddle, but rather a stark realisation on my part, that I have never actually familiarised myself with the many products and services offered by internet giant Google. After some heavy research, I have come to see that their range of products and services is not only vast but some are mind-blowingly advanced. When I heard of a bizarre new product called ‘google glass,’ I could barely believe it- a pair of glasses that display information in a smartphone-like format, that can communicate with the Internet via voice commands. According to google the product was developed to "be there when you need it and get out of your way when you don't”, implying they tackle the everyday struggle we face as humans, to divide equally our time between our smart-devices and our real lives. Other wild google products I’ve discovered include the ‘Google Self-driving Car’- a driverless car project that involves developing technology for autonomous cars and the ‘Google Cultural Institute’- a Cultural Institute bringing together millions of artifacts, with the stories that bring them to life, in a virtual museum. While all these are brilliantly innovative and ground-breaking ideas, I fear for the day where technology completely engulfs our world. I like driving my own car and going to real-life museums. Google offers fantastic services, hell, without it I wouldn’t be able to write this blog, but the thought of what’s to come for us as a result of these technologies makes me worry, as our value as humans seems to dwindle with each click of a mouse.

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Google. (2013). Our History In Depth. Available: https://www.google.ie/about/company/history/. Last accessed 20/03/2014.

Mohan, M. (2014). Over 101 Google Products And Services You Probably Don’t Know. Available: http://www.minterest.org/google-products-services-you-probably-dont-know/. Last accessed 20/03/2014