Reading this article reminded me of this video that the Museum of Media History created in 2015 about the Internet. It is called EPIC 2005 and you should definitely watch it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkFGsNtTFRI). Not only does it give the history of the Internet, but it also gives us the future, which is basically Google taking over the world. This sounds dramatic, but after reading this article you should know that while taking over the world is not the proper way of saying it, Google could own a good majority of it. In my media classes, we learn about how there are only seven media corporations that control the entire world’s media from television and film to newspapers and magazines (Time Warner, NBC Universal, Disney, News Corp, Bertelsmann, Viacom, Sony). While everyone thought these companies would continue to merge and become more powerful, what has happened is that Google has entered the arena and is slowly encroaching on the competition. What is scarier about Google opposed to the other “traditional” media companies (as they referred to them in the article) is that Google started on the Internet and what a lot of people do not realize about the Internet is that there are very few laws that protect users because it is so new and huge. One of the reasons that Google is so successful is because of the information that can be obtained about each user. We do not think cookies on your computer are creepy but what is happening is that cookies tracks every website you go to and every search you make. Imagine if someone followed you around all day and made notes about every building you went into and every store you shopped at. Now you are being stalked but online it does not bother anyone.
Now I’ve strayed from the point of the article, but it is interesting to see how Google works and the response from other media corporations. While I enjoy the products Google provides as much as the next person (Google revolutionized the Internet and they should get credit for that), I think the government should keep a close eye on them. Even though the article mentioned their seemingly lack of proper structure, it seems that Google is set up to succeed. They are expectant of future technology trends and will change accordingly to insure their status on top. One day they may be bought out by the new and improved system that somehow makes Google look old and slow but even then, we will continue to “google” everything.
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Like I said in my post, Google isn't going anywhere and I wouldn't mind if Google controlled everything. Well, let me not say everything, but if they helped improved technology and made things more accessible. And, like you said, even if something new comes along, we will continue to Google everything.
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