Google Turns 20, two

 
 
 

Vocabulary

buzz	platform	run/ran/run (2)
analyze	across (2)	find/found/found
offer	practical	charge (3)
range	major (2)	ecosystem (2)
access	powerful	draw/drew/drawn (2)
vast	respond	incredible
involve	segment	Android (2)
context	check (2)	hardware (2)
route	collect (2)	comes at a price
expand	target (2)	sell/sold/sold
critic	diminish	parent company
gather	giant (2)	launch (2)
display	software	in accordance to
search	platform	in other words
profile	revenue	around the clock
decade	excessive	competitor
pure	category	emphasize
query	core (2)	trademark
satisfy	chrome	approach (2)
doodle	signal (2)	founder (2)
aspect	interface	relevance
worry	novel (2)	how long (2)
eager	efficient	to this day
adorn	assume	image (2)
aspect	occasion	special occasion
expect	field (3)	innovation
quirky	request

 
 
 
 

Video: Google Turns 20, two

 
 
 
 

Transcript

For many people, their day begins with a buzz from their Android phone. It runs on Google’s mobile operating system, which is found in more than ninety percent (90%) of smartphones across the world.

The tech giant now offers hundreds of services. These eight are the most popular with one billion users each. They’re very practical and free of charge.

Users pay with their data.

Nicola Jentzsch, Qualification: Data Economist: “Google has grown incredibly powerful because many of its products and services are free to use. That way, users are drawn into the Google ecosystem.

These major platforms connect a vast range of services and products. And Google is involved in many market segments, from hardware to software and services.”

Breakfast with Google: a quick check of the news, weather and mail services. And the map to find the best route to work.

The tech giant’s services are certainly useful.

But that comes at a price: Google collects user data to sell targeted ads. Its parent company, Alphabet, reportedly earned nine-five billion ($95 billion) euros in revenue last year.

But critics say Google’s data gathering is excessive, and want a diminished market power.

Nicola Jentzsch, Qualification: Data Economist: “User data is analyzed, for example, in what’s called ad targeting. In other words, ads are displayed in accordance to the context of the search or the user’s known interest.

That’s Google’s main business at the moment.

It doesn’t sell the actual data, but it does sell access to its user profiles.”

Every day, Google responds to 5.5 billion search requests.

Google wasn’t the first search engine on the market when it launched two decades ago: competitors like Excite, Yahoo, and Altavista, weren’t pure online search engines. They emphasize curfew-created lists of websites organized by category.

When Google.com went online in 1998, it made search queries its core business; its trademark search window hasn’t changed to this day.

Google also had a novel approach to ranking websites: founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin assumed that when many website linked to one site, this signals relevance.

Sergey Brin, Position: Google Founder: “You’ve got the most relevant sites at the top, and Google also provides you with a really fast, efficient interface. What we really measure is how long does it take from when you have an information need until Google satisfies that need for you.”

While some critics worry about Google’s data gathering, others love its many free services.

The company expanded into ever more aspects of life, including the world of self-driving cars, all the while Google is eager to maintain its positive image, for example, by adorning its search platform with colorful doodles on special occasions.

Nicola Jentzsch, Qualification: Data Economist: “In the future, Google will become part of more aspects of our life, for instance, self-driving car technology and healthcare.

So we can expect major innovations in these fields.”

Google is everywhere, around the clock — and it’s even found a solution for when there’s no internet connection: Google’s Chrome browser offers a quirky game that even works offline.

 

 

Questions

1. Google is part of many or most aspects of people’s everyday lives. Is this entirely true, mostly true, in the middle, yes and no, it depends, largely false or completely false?

2. Does Google only provide users a search engine? What are some examples?

3. “The tech giant’s services are certainly useful. But that comes at a price.” What does this mean? Give examples.

4. What is “ad targeting” or “targeted ads”?

5. Google has always been a tech giant. Is this right or wrong? What was Google like twenty years ago?

6. Does Google have a strategy or secret for good engine searching? What is it’s strategy?

7. Everyone totally, completely loves Google. Is this entirely correct, mostly correct, partially correct, yes and no, in the middle, mostly incorrect or absolutely wrong?

 

A. I love Google. I depend on Google. Yes or no? What are some examples of your Google usage?

B. Do people and the media hail Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin as success stories and role models? Does everyone admire them?

C. What will happen with Google in the future?

D. Many people now fear Google. They are suspicious of Google and its intentions. What do you think?

E. Should people and governments do anything?