Google {{pp-semi-protect|small=yes}} {{otheruses4|the corporation|the search engine|Google search|the number 10100|Googol|other uses}} {{Infobox_Company | company_name = Google, Inc. | company_logo = [[Image:Google.png|250px]] | company_type = [[public company|Public]]
({{nasdaq|GOOG}})
({{lse|GGEA}}) | foundation = [[Menlo Park, California]] ([[September 7]] [[1998]]){{cite journal |url=http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2004-04-29-google-timeline_x.htm |title=The Rise of Google |journal=[[USA Today]] |date=[[April 29]], [[2004]] |accessdate=2007-08-01}} | founder = [[Sergey Brin]]
[[Larry Page]] | location_city = {{flagicon|U.S.}} [[Googleplex]], [[Mountain View, California|Mountain View]], [[California]] | location_country = [[United States|US]] | area_served = [[Worldwide]] | key_people = [[Eric E. Schmidt|Dr. Eric E. Schmidt]]
([[Chairman]]) & ([[CEO]])
[[Sergey Brin]]
([[Technology President]])
[[Larry Page]]
([[Products President]]) | industry = [[Internet]], [[Computer software]] | products = See [[list of Google products]] | market cap = [[United States dollar|US$]] 179.07 Billion (''2008'') | revenue = {{profit}}55.97% [[United States dollar|US$]] 16.593 Billion (''2007''){{cite web |url=http://investor.google.com/fin_data.html |title=Financial Tables |publisher=Google Investor Relations |accessdate=2008-01-31}} | operating_income = {{profit}}30.64% [[United States dollar|US$]] 5.084 Billion (''2007'') | net_income = {{profit}}25.33% [[United States dollar|US$]] 4.203 Billion (''2007'') | assets= {{increase}} [[United States dollar|US$]] 25.335 Billion (''2007'') | equity= {{increase}} [[United States dollar|US$]] 22.689 Billion (''2007'') | num_employees = 19,604 ([[June 30]] [[2008]]){{cite web |url=http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/revenues_q208.html |title=GOOGLE ANNOUNCES SECOND QUARTER 2008 RESULTS |date=[[July 17]], [[2008]] |accessdate=2008-07-17}} | company_slogan = [[Don't be evil]] | homepage = [http://www.google.com/ Google.com] }} '''Google Inc.''' ({{nasdaq|GOOG}} and {{lse|GGEA}}) is an [[United States|American]] [[public company|public corporation]], earning revenue from [[AdWords|advertising]] related to its [[Google search|Internet search]], [[Gmail|web-based e-mail]], [[Google Maps|online mapping]], [[Google Apps|office productivity]], [[Orkut|social networking]], and [[YouTube|video sharing]] services as well as selling advertising-free versions of the [[Google Search Appliance|same technologies]]. Google's headquarters, the [[Googleplex]], is located in [[Mountain View, California]]. As of [[June 30]] [[2008]] the company has 19,604 full-time employees. As of [[October 31]], [[2007]], it is the largest American company (by [[market capitalization]]) that is not part of the [[Dow Jones Industrial Average]].{{cite web |url=http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2007/10/31/googles-surge-would-make-casey-kasem-proud/ |title=Google’s Surge Would Make Casey Kasem Proud |date=[[October 31]], [[2007]] |publisher=[[Wall Street Journal]] |accessdate=2008-01-21}} Google was co-founded by [[Larry Page]] and [[Sergey Brin]] while they were students at [[Stanford University]] and the company was first incorporated as a [[privately held company]] on [[September 7]], [[1998]]. Google's [[initial public offering]] took place on [[August 19]], [[2004]], raising [[United States dollar|US$]]1.67 billion, making it worth US$23 billion. Google has continued its growth through a series of new product developments, [[List of Google acquisitions|acquisitions]], and [[Google#Partnerships|partnerships]]. [[Google#Environmentalism|Environmentalism]], [[Google.org|philanthropy]], and [[Google#Corporate affairs and culture|positive employee relations]] have been important tenets during Google's growth, the latter resulting in being identified multiple times as [[Fortune Magazine|Fortune Magazine's]] #1 Best Place to Work."[http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2007/full_list/ 100 Best Companies to Work For 2007]." ''[[Fortune Magazine]] (link published by [[CNN]]).'' [[January 22]], [[2007]]. Retrieved on [[January 8]], [[2007]]. The company's unofficial slogan is "[[Don't be evil]]", although [[criticism of Google]] include concerns regarding the [[privacy]] of personal information, [[copyright]], [[censorship by Google|censorship]], and discontinuation of services. ==History== [[Image:Google1998.png|thumb|right|Google in 1998]] {{main|History of Google}} Google began in January 1996, as a research project by [[Larry Page]], who was soon joined by [[Sergey Brin]], two [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] students at [[Stanford University]] in [[California]]."[http://www.google.com/intl/en/corporate/history.html Corporate Information: Google Milestones]." ''Google.'' Retrieved on [[February 23]], [[2007]]. They hypothesized that a search engine that analyzed the relationships between websites would produce better ranking of results than existing techniques, which ranked results according to the number of times the search term appeared on a page.Page, Lawrence; Brin, Sergey; Motwani, Rajeev; Winograd, Terry. "[http://dbpubs.stanford.edu:8090/pub/1999-66 The PageRank Citation Ranking: Bringing Order to the Web]." [[November 11]], [[1999]]. Their search engine was originally nicknamed "BackRub" because the system checked [[backlinks]] to estimate a site's importance.Battelle, John. "[http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.08/battelle.html?tw=wn_tophead_4 The Birth of Google]." ''[[Wired Magazine]].'' August, 2005. A small search engine called Rankdex was already exploring a similar strategy.Li, Yanhong. "[http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/search/wrapper.jsp?arnumber=707687 Toward a qualitative search engine]." ''Internet Computing, IEEE.'' '''2 (4),''' July-August, 1998, 24-29. Convinced that the pages with the most links to them from other highly relevant web pages must be the most relevant pages associated with the search, Page and Brin tested their thesis as part of their studies, and laid the foundation for their search engine. Originally, the search engine used the [[Stanford University]] website with the domain ''google.stanford.edu''. The domain ''google.com'' was registered on [[September 15]], [[1997]],{{cite web | url=http://whois.dnsstuff.com/tools/whois.ch?ip=google.com | title=WHOIS - google.com | accessdate=2007-08-10}} and the company was incorporated as ''Google Inc.'' on [[September 7]], [[1998]] at a friend's garage in [[Menlo Park, California]]. The total initial investment raised for the new company amounted to almost US$1.1 million, including a US$100,000 check by [[Andy Bechtolsheim]], one of the founders of [[Sun Microsystems]].Google. "[http://www.google.com/intl/en/corporate/history.html Google Milestones]." Retrieved on [[July 12]], [[2006]]. [[Image:Google Homepage.png|thumb|left|The main Google page as of [[June]] [[2008]]]] In March 1999, the company moved into offices in [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]], home to several other noted [[Silicon Valley]] technology startups.Fried, Ian. "[http://news.com.com/2100-1040-960790.html A building blessed with tech success]." ''[[CNET]].'' [[October 4]], [[2002]]. Retrieved on [[February 25]], [[2007]]. After quickly outgrowing two other sites, the company leased a complex of buildings in [[Mountain View, Santa Clara County, California|Mountain View]] at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway from [[Silicon Graphics]] (SGI) in 2003.Olsen, Stefanie. "[http://news.com.com/Googles+movin+on+up/2110-1032_3-1025111.html Google's movin' on up]." ''[[CNET]].'' [[July 11]], [[2003]]. Retrieved on [[February 25]], [[2007]]. The company has remained at this location ever since, and the complex has since come to be known as the [[Googleplex]] (a play on the word [[googolplex]]). In 2006, Google bought the property from SGI for US$319 million.Staff Writer. "[http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2006/06/19/newscolumn3.html Google to buy headquarters building from Silicon Graphics]." ''Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal.'' [[June 16]], [[2006]]. Retrieved on [[February 25]], [[2007]]. The Google search engine attracted a loyal following among the growing number of Internet users, who liked its simple design and usability.Thompson, Bill. "[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3334531.stm Is Google good for you?]" ''[[BBC News]].'' [[December 19]] [[2003]]. Retrieved on [[February 25]], [[2007]]. In 2000, Google began selling [[advertising|advertisements]] associated with search [[keyword (internet search)|keywords]]. The ads were text-based to maintain an uncluttered page design and to maximize page loading speed. Keywords were sold based on a combination of price bid and clickthroughs, with bidding starting at US$.05 per click. This model of selling keyword advertising was pioneered by [[Yahoo! Search Marketing|Goto.com]] (later renamed Overture Services, before being acquired by [[Yahoo!]] and rebranded as [[Yahoo! Search Marketing]]).Sullivan, Danny. "[http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=2166331 GoTo Going Strong]." ''The Search Engine Report.'' [[July 1]] [[1998]].Pelline, Jeff. "[http://news.com.com/Pay-for-placement+gets+another+shot/2100-1023_3-208309.html Pay-for-placement gets another shot]." ''[[CNET]].'' [[February 19]], [[1998]].Glaser, Ken. "Who Will GoTo.com?" [http://www.onlinepress.com/ OnlinePress.com].'' [[February 20]], [[1998]]. While many of its [[dot-com]] rivals failed in the new Internet marketplace, Google quietly rose in stature while generating revenue. The name "Google" originated from a common misspelling of the word "[[googol]]",Koller, David. "[http://graphics.stanford.edu/~dk/google_name_origin.html Origin of the name, "Google."] ''[[Stanford University]].'' January, 2004.Hanley, Rachael. "[http://daily.stanford.org/article/2003/2/12/fromGoogolToGoogle From Googol to Google: Co-founder returns]." ''[[The Stanford Daily]].'' [[February 12]], [[2003]]. Retrieved on [[July 14]], [[2006]]. which refers to 10100, the number represented by a 1 followed by one hundred zeros. Having found its way increasingly into everyday language, the verb "[[google (verb)|google]]", was added to the ''[[Merriam-Webster|Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary]]'' and the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' in 2006, meaning "to use the Google search engine to obtain information on the Internet."Harris, Scott D. "[http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/14985574.htm Dictionary adds verb: to google]{{Dead link|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/14985574.htm|date=July 2007|date=August 2007}}." ''[[San Jose Mercury News]].'' [[July 7]], [[2006]]. Retrieved on [[July 7]] [[2006]].Bylund, Anders. "[http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13720643/ To Google or Not to Google]{{Dead link|url=http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13720643/|date=August 2007|date=August 2007}}." ''[[The Motley Fool]] via [[MSNBC]].'' [[July 5]], [[2006]]. Retrieved on [[July 7]], [[2006]]. A [[patent]] describing part of Google's ranking mechanism ([[PageRank]]) was granted on [[September 4]], [[2001]].Page, Lawrence. "[http://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=US6285999 Method for node ranking in a linked database]." ''[[European Patent Organisation]].'' [[September 4]], [[2001]]. Retrieved on [[February 25]] [[2007]]. The patent was officially assigned to Stanford University and lists Lawrence Page as the inventor. ===Financing and initial public offering=== The first funding for Google as a company was secured in 1998, in the form of a US$100,000 contribution from [[Andy Bechtolsheim]], co-founder of [[Sun Microsystems]], given to a corporation which did not yet exist.Kopytoff, Verne; Fost, Dan. "[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/04/29/MNGLD6CFND34.DTL For early Googlers, key word is $$$]." ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]].'' [[April 29]], [[2004]]. Retrieved on [[February 25]], [[2007]]. Around six months later, a much larger round of funding was announced, with the major investors being rival venture capital firms [[Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers]] and [[Sequoia Capital]]. Google's [[IPO]] took place on [[August 19]], [[2004]]. 19,605,052 [[stock|shares]] were offered at a price of US$85 per share.Elgin, Ben. "[http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2004/tc20040819_6843_tc120.htm Google: Whiz Kids or Naughty Boys?]" ''[[Business Week]].'' [[August 19]], [[2004]]. Retrieved on [[February 25]], [[2007]].[http://investor.google.com/pdf/2004_AnnualReport.pdf untitled] Of that, 14,142,135 (another mathematical reference as [[square root of two|√2]] ≈ 1.4142135) were floated by Google, and the remaining 5,462,917 were offered by existing stockholders. The sale of US$1.67 billion gave Google a [[market capitalization]] of more than US$23 billion.Webb, Cynthia L. "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14939-2004Aug19.html Google's IPO: Grate Expectations]." ''[[Washington Post]].'' [[August 19]], [[2004]]. Retrieved on [[February 25]], [[2007]]. The vast majority of Google's 271 million shares remained under Google's control. Many of Google's employees became instant [[paper millionaires]]. [[Yahoo!]], a competitor of Google, also benefited from the IPO because it owned 8.4 million shares of Google as of [[August 9]], [[2004]], ten days before the IPO.Kuchinskas, Susan. "[http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3392781 Yahoo and Google Settle]." ''[http://www.internetnews.com/ internetnews.com].'' [[August 9]], [[2004]]. Retrieved on [[February 25]], [[2007]]. Google's stock performance after its first IPO launch has gone well, with shares hitting US$700 for the first time on [[October 31]], [[2007]],[[Daily Telegraph]] Issue 47,409 Business Section Page B5 date, [[7 November]], [[2007]] due to strong sales and earnings in the advertising market, as well as the release of new features such as the [[Google Desktop|desktop search function]] and its iGoogle personalized home page.La Monica, Paul R. "[http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/25/technology/techinvestor/lamonica/index.htm Bowling for Google]." ''[[CNN]].'' [[May 25]], [[2005]]. Retrieved on [[February 28]] [[2007]]. The surge in stock price is fueled primarily by individual investors, as opposed to large institutional investors and [[mutual fund]]s. The company is listed on the [[NASDAQ]] stock exchange under the [[ticker]] symbol '''GOOG''' and under the [[London Stock Exchange]] under the ticker symbol '''GGEA'''. ===Growth=== While the company's primary business interest is in the web content arena, Google has begun experimenting with other markets, such as [[radio]] and print publications. On [[January 17]], [[2006]], Google announced that its purchase of a radio advertising company "dMarc", which provides an automated system that allows companies to advertise on the radio.Levingston, Steven. "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/17/AR2006011701333.html Google Buys Company To Expand Into Radio]." ''[[Washington Post]].'' [[January 18]], [[2006]]. This will allow Google to combine two niche advertising media—the Internet and radio—with Google's ability to laser-focus on the tastes of consumers. Google has also begun an experiment in selling advertisements from its advertisers in offline newspapers and magazines, with select advertisements in the [[Chicago Sun-Times]].Gonsalves, Antone. "[http://www.informationweek.com/industries/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=175803378 Google Confirms Testing Ads in Sun-Times Newspaper]." ''[[Information Week]]''. " [[January 10]], [[2006]]. They have been filling unsold space in the newspaper that would have normally been used for in-house advertisements. Google was added to the [[S&P 500 index]] on [[March 30]], [[2006]]. It replaced [[Burlington Resources]], a major oil producer based in [[Houston]] which was acquired by [[ConocoPhillips]].{{Fact|date=June 2008}} ===Acquisitions=== {{seealso|List of Google acquisitions}} Since 2001, Google has acquired several small start-up companies, often consisting of innovative teams and products.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} One of the earlier companies that Google bought was [[Pyra Labs]]. They were the creators of [[Blogger (service)|Blogger]], a weblog publishing platform, first launched in 1999.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} This acquisition led to many premium features becoming free. Pyra Labs was originally formed by [[Evan Williams (blogger)|Evan Williams]], yet he left Google in 2004.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} In early 2006, Google acquired Upstartle, a company responsible for the online word processor, [[Writely]]. The technology in this product was used by Google to eventually create [[Google Docs & Spreadsheets]].{{Fact|date=June 2008}} In 2004, Google acquired a company called [[Keyhole, Inc.]], which developed a product called ''Earth Viewer'' which was renamed in 2005 to [[Google Earth]].{{Fact|date=June 2008}} In February 2006, software company Adaptive Path sold Measure Map, a [[weblog]] statistics application, to Google. Registration to the service has since been temporarily disabled. The last update regarding the future of Measure Map was made on [[April 6]], [[2006]] and outlined many of the service's known issues."[http://groups.google.com/group/measuremap-forums-important/browse_thread/thread/dffb45fd6d9748c1 Measure Map Forum - Known issues]." ''[[Google Groups]].'' [[April 6]], [[2006]]. Retrieved on [[September 10]] [[2007]]. In late 2006, Google bought online video site [[YouTube]] for US$1.65 billion in stock.La Monica, Paul R. "[http://money.cnn.com/2006/10/09/technology/googleyoutube_deal/index.htm?cnn=yes Google to buy YouTube for $1.65 billion]." ''[[CNN]].'' [[October 9]], [[2006]]. Retrieved on [[October 9]] [[2006]]. Shortly after, on [[October 31]], [[2006]], Google announced that it had also acquired [[JotSpot]], a developer of wiki technology for collaborative Web sites.[http://www.crackgoogle.com/content/view/23/ Google Buys Wiki Startup JotSpot]. [[October 31]], [[2006]]. On [[April 13]], [[2007]], Google reached an agreement to acquire [[DoubleClick]]. Google agreed to buy the company for US$3.1 billion. Louise Stort and Miguel Helft. "[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/14/technology/14DoubleClick.html?ref=technology Google Buys DoubleClick for $3.1 Billion]." ''[[The New York Times]]''. [[April 13]], [[2007]]. Retrieved on [[April 13]], [[2007]]. On [[July 9]], [[2007]], Google announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire enterprise messaging security and compliance company [[Postini]].{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/postini_20070709.html|title=Google to acquire Postini|publisher=Google (Press release)|accessdate=2007-07-18|date=[[July 9]], [[2007]]}} ===Partnerships=== In 2005, Google entered into partnerships with other companies and government agencies to improve production and services. Google announced a partnership with [[NASA Ames Research Center]] to build up {{convert|1000000|sqft|m2|-3}} of offices and work on research projects involving large-scale data management, [[nanotechnology]], [[distributed computing]], and the entrepreneurial space industry.Mills, Elinor. "[http://news.com.com/Can+Google+beat+the+new-office+curse/2100-1030_3-5884957.html Can Google beat the new-office curse?]" ''[[CNET]].'' [[September 28]], [[2005]]. Retrieved on [[February 25]], [[2007]]. Google also entered into a partnership with [[Sun Microsystems]] in October to help share and distribute each other's technologies.Kessler, Michelle; Acohido, Byron. "[http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-10-03-google-sun-team_x.htm Google, Sun make 'big deal' together]." ''[[USA Today]].'' [[October 3]], [[2005]]. Retrieved on [[February 25]], [[2007]]. The company entered into a partnership with [[Time Warner]]'s [[AOL]],Mills, Elinor. "[http://news.com.com/What+the+Google-AOL+deal+means+for+users/2100-1024_3-6010327.html What the Google-AOL deal means for users]." ''[[CNET]].'' [[December 28]], [[2005]]. Retrieved on [[February 25]], [[2007]]. to enhance each other's video search services. The same year, the company became a major financial investor of the new [[.mobi]] [[top-level domain]] for mobile devices, in conjunction with several other companies, including [[Microsoft]], [[Nokia]], and [[Ericsson]] among others."[http://mtld.mobi/company/about/investors dotMobi Investors]." ''[[.mobi]].'' Retrieved on [[October 14]], [[2007]]. In September 2007, Google launched, "Adsense for Mobile", a service for its publishing partners which provides the ability to monetize their mobile websites through the targeted placement of mobile text ads,"[http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/annc/20070917_mobileads.html Google AdSense for Mobile unlocks the potential of the mobile advertising market]." ''Google''. [[September 17]], [[2007]]. Retrieved on [[October 14]], [[2007]]. and acquired the mobile social networking site, ''Zingku.mobi'', to "provide people worldwide with direct access to Google applications, and ultimately the information they want and need, right from their mobile devices."Niccolai, James. "[http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,137853-c,google/article.html Google Buys Mobile Social Network Zingku]." ''[[PC World (magazine)|PC World]].'' [[September 29]], [[2007]]. Retrieved on [[October 14]], [[2007]]. In 2006, Google and [[News Corporation|News Corp.]]'s Fox Interactive Media entered into a US$900 million agreement to provide search and advertising on the popular social networking site, [[MySpace]].Staff Writer. "[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2006_August_7/ai_n16610613 Fox Interactive Media Enters into Landmark Agreement with Google Inc.; Multi-Year Pact Calls for Google to Provide Search and Advertising across Fox Interactive Media's Growing Online Network Including the MySpace Community]." ''Business Wire.'' [[August 7]], [[2006]]. Retrieved on [[February 25]], [[2007]]. On November 5, 2007 Google announced the [[Open Handset Alliance]] to develop an open platform for mobile services called [[Google Android|Android]].{{Fact|date=June 2008}} On March,2008 Google, [[Sprint]], [[Intel]], [[Comcast]], [[Time Warner Cable]],[[Bright House Networks]],[[Clearwire]] together found [[Xohm]] to provide wireless [[telecommunication]] service. ==Products and services== [[Image:Google Appliance.jpg|thumb|upright|Google appliance as shown at [[RSA Conference]] 2008]] {{main|List of Google products}} Google has created services and tools for the general public and business environment alike; including Web applications, advertising networks and solutions for businesses. ===Advertising=== Most of Google's revenue is derived from advertising programs. For the 2006 fiscal year, the company reported US$10.492 billion in total advertising revenues and only US$112 million in licensing and other revenues.{{Cite web|url=http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1288776/000119312507044494/d10k.htm|title=Form 10-K — Annual Report|accessdate=2007-07-14|publisher=SEC|work=EDGAR}} Google [[AdWords]] allows Web advertisers to display advertisements in Google's search results and the Google Content Network, through either a cost-per-click or cost-per-view scheme. Google [[AdSense]] website owners can also display adverts on their own site, and earn money every time ads are clicked. ===Web-based software=== The [[Google search|Google web search engine]] is the company's most popular service. As of August 2007, Google is the most used [[search engine]] on the web with a 53.6% market share, ahead of [[Yahoo!]] (19.9%) and [[Live Search]] (12.9%)."[http://rankabove.com/p/top-10-search-providers-august-2007/ August 2007 Search Share for Top 10 Search Engines from Nielsen//NetRatings] [[October 26]], [[2007]]. Retrieved on [[October 26]], [[2007]]. Google indexes billions of Web pages, so that users can search for the information they desire, through the use of [[keyword (Internet search)|keywords]] and [[operators]]. Google has also employed the Web Search technology into other search services, including Image Search, [[Google News]], the price comparison site [[Google Product Search]], the interactive [[Usenet]] archive [[Google Groups]], [[Google Maps]], and more. In 2004, Google launched its own free web-based e-mail service, known as [[Gmail]] (or Google Mail in some jurisdictions).Staff Writer. "[http://money.cnn.com/2004/04/01/technology/google_email/index.htm Google + e-mail = gmail]." ''[[CNN]].'' [[August 1]], [[2004]]. Retrieved on [[February 23]], [[2007]]. Gmail features [[e-mail filtering|spam-filtering technology]] and the capability to use Google technology to search e-mail. The service generates revenue by displaying advertisements and links from the [[AdWords]] service that are tailored to the choice of the user and/or content of the e-mail messages displayed on screen. In early 2006, the company launched [[Google Video]], which not only allows users to search and view freely available videos but also offers users and media publishers the ability to publish their content, including television shows on [[CBS]], [[NBA]] basketball games, and music videos.Tyler, Nathan. "[http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/video_marketplace.html Google to Launch Video Marketplace]." ''[[Google]].'' [[January 6]], [[2006]]. Retrieved on [[February 23]], [[2007]]. In August 2007, Google announced that it would shut down its video rental and sale program and offer refunds and [[Google Checkout]] credits to consumers who had purchased videos to own.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} On [[February 28]], [[2008]] Google launched the [[Google Sites]] [[wiki]] as a [[Google Apps]] component.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} Google has also developed several desktop applications, including [[Google Earth]], an interactive mapping program powered by satellite and aerial imagery that covers the vast majority of the planet. Google Earth is generally considered to be remarkably accurate and extremely detailed. Many major cities have such detailed images that one can zoom in close enough to see vehicles and pedestrians clearly. Consequently, there have been some concerns about national security implications. Specifically, some countries and militaries contend the software can be used to pinpoint with near-precision accuracy the physical location of critical infrastructure, commercial and residential buildings, bases, government agencies, and so on. However, the satellite images are not necessarily frequently updated, and all of them are available at no charge through other products and even government sources. For example, [[NASA]] and the [[NGA|National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency]]. Some counter this argument by stating that Google Earth makes it easier to access and research the images.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} Many other products are available through [[Google Labs]], which is a collection of incomplete applications that are still being tested for use by the general public.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} Google has promoted their products in various ways. In [[London]], ''Google Space'' was set-up in [[Heathrow Airport]], showcasing several products, including Gmail, Google Earth and Picasa."[http://www.google.co.uk/googlespace/ Googlespace Website]." ''[[Google]].'' Retrieved on [[February 26]], [[2007]].Donoghue, Andrew. "[http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,1000000097,39237536,00.htm Google turns Heathrow into testing lab]." ''[[ZDNet]].'' [[November 24]], [[2005]]. Retrieved on [[February 25]], [[2007]]. Also, a similar page was launched for American college students, under the name ''College Life, Powered by Google.''"[http://services.google.com/university/ College Life, Powered by Google Website]." Retrieved on [[February 25]], [[2007]]. In 2007, some reports surfaced that Google was planning the release of its own mobile phone, possibly a competitor to [[Apple Inc.|Apple]]'s [[iPhone]].Orlowski, Andrew. "[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/16/google_phone_confirmed/ Google Phone - it's for real]." ''[[The Register]].'' [[March 16]], [[2007]]. Retrieved on [[April 1]], [[2007]].Smith, David. "[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1973885,00.html The future for Orange could soon be Google in your pocket]." ''[[The Guardian]].'' [[December 17]], [[2006]]. Retrieved on [[April 1]] [[2007]].Ricker, Thomas. "[http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/18/the-google-switch-an-iphone-killer/ The Google Switch: an iPhone killer?]." ''[[Engadget]].'' [[January 18]], [[2007]]. Retrieved on [[April 1]], [[2007]]. The project, called [[Android (mobile phone platform)|Android]] provides a standard development kit that will allow any "Android" phone to run software developed for the Android SDK, no matter the phone manufacturer. In October 2007, Google SMS service was launched in [[India]] allowing users to get business listings, movie showtimes, and information by sending an [[SMS]].{{Fact|date=June 2008}} ===Enterprise products=== In 2007, Google launched [[Google Apps|Google Apps Premier Edition]], a version of Google Apps targeted primarily at the business user. It includes such extras as more disk space for e-mail, API access, and premium support, for a price of US$50 per user per year. A large implementation of Google Apps with 38,000 users is at [[Lakehead University]] in [[Thunder Bay, Ontario|Thunder Bay]], Ontario, Canada.Rickwood, Lee. "[http://www.pcworld.ca:80/news/column/8088b6470a01040800f483b40707b39a/pg1.htm Google Apps: Killer software or killer decision?]." ''[http://www.pcworld.ca/ PCWorld.ca].'' [[March 23]], [[2007]]. Retrieved on [[March 25]], [[2007]]. ==Platform== {{main|Google platform}} Google runs its services on several [[server farm]]s, each comprising thousands of low-cost commodity computers running stripped-down versions of [[Linux]]. While the company divulges no details of its hardware, a 2006 estimate cites 450,000 servers, "racked up in clusters at data centers around the world."Carr, David F. "[http://www.baselinemag.com/c/a/Projects-Networks-and-Storage/How-Google-Works-%5B1%5D/ How Google Works]." ''[http://www.baselinemag.com/ Baseline Magazine].'' [[July 6]], [[2006]]. Retrieved on [[February 7]], [[2008]]. ==Corporate affairs and culture== [[Image:Schmidt-Brin-Page-20080520.jpg|thumb|left|Left to right, [[Eric E. Schmidt]], [[Sergey Brin]] and [[Larry Page]]]] Google is known for its relaxed corporate culture, of which its playful variations on [[Google logo#History of the Google Doodle|its own corporate logo]] are an indicator. In 2007 and 2008, ''[[Fortune Magazine]]'' placed Google at the top of its list of the hundred best places to work."[http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2007/full_list/ 100 Best Companies to Work For 2007]." ''[[Fortune Magazine]] (link published by [[CNN]]).'' [[January 22]], [[2007]]. Retrieved on [[January 8]], [[2007]]. Google's corporate philosophy embodies such casual principles as "you can make money without doing evil," "you can be serious without a suit," and "work should be challenging and the challenge should be fun.""[http://www.google.com/corporate/tenthings.html Google Corporate Philosophy]." ''Google''. Retrieved on [[August 31]], [[2006]]. Google has been criticized for having salaries below industry standards."[http://www.mydanwei.com/query_salary.php?t_salary=google&type=salary&order_by=DATE_DESC Google Employee Salaries Data Survey] —Retrieved from mydanwei.com For example, some [[system administrator]]s earn no more than US$35,000 per year – considered to be quite low for the [[San Francisco Bay Area|Bay Area]] job market.Penenberg, Adam L. "[http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2005/04/67287 Why Google Is Like Wal-Mart]." ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]].'' [[April 21]], [[2005]]. Retrieved on [[February 25]], [[2007]]. However, Google's stock performance following its [[Initial public offering|IPO]] has enabled many early employees to be competitively compensated by participation in the corporation's remarkable equity growth.Shinal, John. "[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/08/22/BUGCL8BS201.DTL Google IPO achieved its major goal: It's all about raising cash for the company and rewarding employees, early investors]." ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]].'' [[August 22]], [[2004]]. Retrieved on [[February 25]] [[2007]]. Google implemented other employee incentives in 2005, such as the [[Google Founders' Award]], in addition to offering higher salaries to new employees. Google's workplace amenities, culture, global popularity, and strong brand recognition have also attracted potential applicants.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} After the company's [[IPO]] in August 2004, it was reported that founders [[Sergey Brin]] and [[Larry Page]], and CEO [[Eric E. Schmidt|Eric Schmidt]], requested that their base salary be cut to US$1.00.La Monica, Paul R. "[http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/31/technology/google/index.htm Google leaders stick with $1 salary]." ''[[CNN]].'' [[March 31]], [[2006]]. Retrieved on [[February 28]], [[2007]]. Subsequent offers by the company to increase their salaries have been turned down, primarily because, "their primary compensation continues to come from returns on their ownership stakes in Google. As significant stockholders, their personal wealth is tied directly to sustained stock price appreciation and performance, which provides direct alignment with stockholder interests." Prior to 2004, Schmidt was making US$250,000 per year, and Page and Brin each earned a salary of US$150,000. They have all declined recent offers of bonuses and increases in compensation by Google's board of directors. In a 2007 report of the United States' richest people, [[Forbes]] reported that [[Sergey Brin]] and [[Larry Page]] were tied for #5 with a net worth of US$18.5 billion each."[http://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/54/richlist07_The-400-Richest-Americans_FinalWorth.html The 400 Richest Americans]." ''[[Forbes]].'' [[September 20]], [[2007]]. Retrieved on [[September 22]], [[2007]]. In 2007 and through early 2008, Google has seen the departure of several top executives. Justin Rosenstein, Google’s product manager, left in June of 2007.{{cite web|url=http://searchengineland.com/071010-223444.php|title="Google Checkout Googler Benjamin Ling Checksout to Facebook"|publisher=Search Engine Land|date=2007-10-10|accessdate=2008-03-31}} Shortly thereafter, Gideon Yu, former chief financial officer of [[YouTube]], a Google unit, joined [[Facebook]]{{cite web|url=http://venturebeat.com/2008/03/04/facebook-hires-sheryl-sandberg-to-be-its-new-coo/|title="Another Googler goes to Facebook: Sheryl Sandburg becomes new COO"|publisher=Venture Beat|date=2008-03-04|accessdate|2008-03-31}} along with Benjamin Ling, a high-ranking engineer, who left in October 2007.{{cite web|url=http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/04/news/newsmakers/moritz_google_exec.fortune/|title="Top Google exec jumps to Facebook"|publisher=Fortune|date=2008-03-04|accessdate=2008-03-31}} In March 2008, two senior Google leaders announced their desire to pursue other opportunities. Sheryl Sandburg, ex-VP of global online sales and operations began her position as COO of [[Facebook]]{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/04/AR2008030402766.html|title="Facebook Raids Google for Executive"|publisher=Washington Post|date=2008-03-05|accessdate=2008-03-31}} while Ash ElDifrawi, former head of brand advertising, left to become CMO of [[Netshops]] Inc.{{cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/|title="Netshops Inc. Appoints Ash ElDifrawi as Company's First Chief Marketing Officer"|publisher=PR Newswire|date=2008-03-26|accessdate=2008-03-31}} ===Googleplex=== [[Image:Googleplexsouthsidesecondangle.jpg|thumb|right|The Googleplex]] {{main|Googleplex}} Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California, is referred to as "the [[Googleplex]]" in a play of words; a [[googolplex]] being 1 followed by a googol of zeros, and the HQ being a [[complex]] of buildings (cf. [[movie theater|multiplex]], cineplex, etc). The lobby is decorated with a [[piano]], [[lava lamps]], old server clusters, and a projection of search queries on the wall. The hallways are full of exercise balls and [[bicycle]]s. Each employee has access to the corporate recreation center. Recreational amenities are scattered throughout the campus and include a workout room with weights and rowing machines, locker rooms, washers and dryers, a massage room, assorted [[video game]]s, [[Foosball]], a [[piano|baby grand piano]], a pool table, and [[ping pong]]. In addition to the [[Recreation room|rec room]], there are snack rooms stocked with various foods and drinks."[http://www.google.com/corporate/culture.html About the Googleplex]." ''Google''. Retrieved on [[March 5]], [[2008]]. [[Image:Googleplex Welcome Sign.jpg|thumb|left|Sign at the Googleplex]] In 2006, Google moved into {{convert|311000|sqft|m2|-2}} of office space in [[New York City]], at 111 [[Eighth Avenue|Eighth Ave.]] in Manhattan.Reardon, Marguerite. "[http://news.com.com/2100-1024_3-6121970.html Google takes a bigger bite of Big Apple]." ''[http://www.cnet.com/ c net].'' [[October 2]], [[2006]]. Retrieved on [[October 9]], [[2006]]. The office was specially designed and built for Google and houses its largest advertising sales team, which has been instrumental in securing large partnerships, most recently deals with [[MySpace]] and [[AOL]]. In 2003, they added an engineering staff in New York City, which has been responsible for more than 100 engineering projects, including [[Google Maps]], [[Google Spreadsheet]]s, and others. It is estimated that the building costs Google US$10 million per year to rent and is similar in design and functionality to its [[Mountain View, California|Mountain View]] headquarters, including [[foosball]], [[air hockey]], and ping-pong tables, as well as a video game area. In November 2006, Google opened offices on [[Carnegie Mellon]]'s campus in [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]].{{cite news | url = http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/technology/10346550/detail.html | title = Google Completes Pittsburgh Office, Holds Open House | date = [[November 17]], [[2006]] | accessdate = 2008-01-13 | work = [[WTAE]] ThePittsburghChannel }} By late 2006, Google also established a new headquarters for its AdWords division in [[Ann Arbor, Michigan]].{{cite web| url=http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=202600809| title=Inside Google's Michigan Office| date=[[October 24]] [[2007]]| publisher=''[[InformationWeek]]''}} The size of Google's search system is presently undisclosed. The best estimates place the total number of the company's servers at 450,000, spread over twenty five locations throughout the world, including major [[network operations center|operations centers]] in [[Dublin]] (European Operations [[Headquarters]]) and [[Atlanta, Georgia]].{{Fact|date=June 2008}} Google is also in the process of constructing a major operations center in [[The Dalles, Oregon]], on the banks of the [[Columbia River]].{{Fact|date=June 2008}} The site, also referred to by the media as ''Project 02'', was chosen due to the availability of inexpensive [[hydroelectric power]] and a large surplus of [[fiber optic]] cable, remnants of the dot com boom of the late 1990s. The computing center is estimated to be the size of two [[American football|football fields]], and it has created hundreds of construction jobs, causing local real estate prices to increase 40%. Upon completion, the center is expected to create 60 to 200 permanent jobs in the town of 12,000 people.Markoff, John; Hansell, Saul. "[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/14/technology/14search.html?ei=5088&en=c96a72bbc5f90a47&ex=1307937600&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=print Hiding in Plain Sight, Google Seeks More Power]." ''[[The New York Times]].'' [[June 14]], [[2006]]. Retrieved on [[October 13]], [[2007]]. Google is taking steps to ensure that their operations are environmentally sound. In October 2006, the company announced plans to install thousands of [[Photovoltaic module|solar panels]] to provide up to 1.6 [[megawatt]]s of [[electricity]], enough to satisfy approximately 30% of the campus' energy needs.Richmond, Riva. "[http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?dist=newsfinder&siteid=mktw&guid=%7B630082C7-5370-46C2-8041-FC3FCA28CA16%7D Google plans to build huge solar energy system for headquarters]." ''[http://www.marketwatch.com/ MarketWatch].'' [[October 17]], [[2006]]. Retrieved on [[October 17]], [[2006]]. The system will be the largest solar power system constructed on a [[United States|U.S.]] corporate campus and one of the largest on any corporate site in the world. In June 2007, Google announced that they plan to become [[carbon neutral]] by 2008, which includes investing in energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, and purchasing carbon offsets, such as investing in projects like capturing and burning [[methane]] from animal waste at Mexican and Brazilian farms.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} ===Innovation time off=== As an interesting motivation technique (usually called [[ITO|Innovation Time Off]]), all Google engineers are encouraged to spend 20% of their work time (one day per week) on projects that interest them. Some of Google's newer services, such as [[Gmail]], [[Google News]], [[Orkut]], and [[AdSense]] originated from these independent endeavors."[http://www.google.com/support/jobs/bin/static.py?page=about.html What's it like to work in Engineering, Operations, & IT?]." ''Google.'' Retrieved on [[August 2]], [[2006]]. In a talk at [[Stanford University]], [[Marissa Mayer]], Google's Vice President of Search Products and User Experience, stated that her analysis showed that half of the new product launches originated from the 20% time.Mayer, Marissa. "[http://stanford-online.stanford.edu/courses/msande472/060517-msande472-300.asx MS&E 472 Course: Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Seminar Series]." (video link; an [http://www.stanford.edu/group/edcorner/uploads/podcast/mayer060517.mp3 audio podcast] is also available in [[MP3]] format). ''[http://etl.stanford.edu/ ETL Seminar Series]/[[Stanford University]].'' [[May 17]], [[2006]]. Retrieved on [[August 2]], [[2006]]. ===Easter eggs and April Fool's Day jokes=== {{main|Google's hoaxes}} Google has a tradition of creating [[April Fool's Day]] jokes—such as [[Google's hoaxes#2000|Google MentalPlex]], which allegedly featured the use of mental power to search the web."[http://www.google.com/mentalplex/ Google MentalPlex]." ''[[Google]].'' [[April 1]], [[2000]]. Retrieved on [[February 22]], [[2007]]. In 2002, they claimed that [[pigeons]] were the [[Google's hoaxes#2002: Pigeon Rank|secret]] behind their growing [[search engine]]."[http://www.google.com/technology/pigeonrank.html The technology behind Google's great results]." ''[[Google]].'' [[April 1]], [[2002]]. Retrieved on [[February 22]], [[2007]]. In 2004, they featured [[Google's hoaxes#2004: Google Lunar/Copernicus Center|Google Lunar]] (which claimed to feature jobs on the [[moon]]),"[http://www.google.com/jobs/lunar_job.html Google Copernicus Center is hiring]." ''[[Google]].'' [[April 1]], [[2004]]. Retrieved on [[February 22]], [[2007]]. and in 2005, a [[fiction|fictitious]] brain-boosting drink, termed [[Google's hoaxes#2005: Google Gulp|Google Gulp]] was announced."[http://www.google.com/googlegulp/ Quench your thirst for knowledge]." ''[[Google]].'' [[April 1]], [[2005]]. Retrieved on [[February 22]], [[2007]]. In 2006, they came up with [[Google's hoaxes#2006: Google Romance|Google Romance]], a hypothetical [[online dating]] service.Fox, Lynn. "[http://www.google.com/romance/press.html Google to Organize World's Courtship Information with Google Romance]." ''[[Google]].'' [[April 1]], [[2006]]. Retrieved on [[February 22]], [[2007]]. In 2007, Google announced two joke products. The first was a free wireless Internet service called [[TiSP]] (Toilet Internet Service Provider)"[http://www.google.com/tisp/ Welcome to Google TiSP]." ''Google.'' [[April 1]], [[2007]]. Retrieved on [[April 1]], [[2007]]. in which one obtained a connection by flushing one end of a [[fiber-optic]] cable down their toilet and waiting only an hour for a "Plumbing Hardware Dispatcher (PHD)" to connect it to the Internet. Additionally, Google's [[Gmail]] page displayed an announcement for [[Gmail Paper]], which allows users of their free email service to have email messages printed and shipped to a snail mail address."[http://mail.google.com/mail/help/paper/more.html Gmail Paper]." ''Google.'' [[April 1]], [[2007]]. Retrieved on [[April 1]], [[2007]]. Google's services contain a number of [[Easter egg (virtual)|Easter eggs]]; for instance, the Language Tools page offers the search interface in the [[Swedish Chef]]'s "Bork bork bork," [[Pig Latin]], ”Hacker” (actually [[leetspeak]]), [[Elmer Fudd]], and [[Klingon language|Klingon]]."[http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en Language Tools]." ''[[Google]].'' Retrieved on [[January 24]], [[2007]]. In addition, the search engine calculator provides the [[Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything]] from [[Douglas Adams]]' ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]''."[http://www.google.com/search?q=answer+to+life+the+universe+and+everything Google Search Results for 'answer to life the universe and everything']." ''[[Google]].'' Retrieved on [[January 24]], [[2007]]. As Google's search box can be used as a unit converter (as well as a calculator), some non-standard units are built in, such as the [[Smoot]]. Google also routinely modifies its logo in accordance with various holidays or special events throughout the year, such as [[Christmas]], [[Mother's Day]], or the [[birthday]]s of various notable individuals."[http://www.google.com/intl/en/holidaylogos.html Holiday logos]." ''Google''. Retrieved on [[May 21]], [[2007]]. ===IPO and culture=== Many people speculated that Google's [[initial public offering|IPO]] would inevitably lead to changes in the company's culture,[[Associated Press]]. "[http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2004/04/63241 Quirky Google Culture Endangered?]" ''[[Wired Magazine]].'' [[April 28]], [[2004]]. because of shareholder pressure for employee benefit reductions and short-term advances, or because a large number of the company's employees would suddenly become millionaires on paper. In a report given to potential investors, co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page promised that the IPO would not change the company's culture.Baertlein, Lisa. "[http://www.ciol.com/content/news/2004/104043001.asp Google IPO at $2.7 billion]." ''CIOL IT Unlimited.'' [[April 30]], [[2004]]. Later Mr. Page said, "We think a lot about how to maintain our culture and the fun elements. We spent a lot of time getting our offices right. We think it's important to have a high density of people. People are packed together everywhere. We all share offices. We like this set of buildings because it's more like a densely packed university campus than a typical suburban office park."Vise, David A. "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6742-2004Aug16.html Tactics of 'Google Guys' Test IPO Law's Limits]." ''[[Washington Post]].'' [[August 17]], [[2004]]. Retrieved on [[February 23]], [[2007]]. However, many analysts are finding that as Google grows, the company is becoming more "corporate". In 2005, articles in ''[[The New York Times]]'' and other sources began suggesting that Google had lost its anti-corporate, no evil philosophy.Rivlin, Gary. "[http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/24/technology/24valley.html Relax, Bill Gates; It's Google's Turn as the Villain]." ''[[New York Times]].'' [[August 24]], [[2005]].Gibson, Owen; Wray, Richard. "[http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/search-giant-may-outgrow-its-fans/2005/08/25/1124562975596.html3001.asp Search giant may outgrow its fans]." ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]].'' [[August 25]],[[2005]].Ranka, Mohit. "[http://www.osnews.com/story.php/17928/Google--Dont-Be-Evil Google - Don't Be Evil]."''[[OSNews]].'' [[May 17]],[[2007]]. In an effort to maintain the company's unique culture, Google has designated a Chief Culture Officer in 2006, who also serves as the Director of Human Resources. The purpose of the Chief Culture Officer is to develop and maintain the culture and work on ways to keep true to the core values that the company was founded on in the beginning—a flat organization, a lack of hierarchy, a collaborative environment.Mills, Elinor. "[http://www.zdnet.com.au/insight/software/soa/Meet-Google-s-culture-czar/0,139023769,339275147,00.htm Meet Google's culture czar]." ''[[ZDNet]].'' [[April 30]], [[2007]]. Retrieved on [[April 30]], [[2007]]. ===Philanthropy=== {{main|Google.org}} In 2004, Google formed a for-profit philanthropic wing, [[Google.org]], with a start-up fund of US$1 billion."[http://www.google.org/about.html About the Foundation]." ''[[Google.org]].'' Retrieved on [[October 11]], [[2007]]. The express mission of the organization is to create awareness about [[climate change]], global public health, and [[global poverty]]. One of its first projects is to develop a viable [[plug-in hybrid]] [[electric vehicle]] that can attain 100 [[fuel economy in automobiles|mpg]]. The founding and current director is Dr. [[Larry Brilliant]].Hafner, Katie. "[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/14/technology/14google.html Philanthropy Google’s Way: Not the Usual]." ''[[The New York Times]].'' [[September 14]], [[2006]]. Retrieved on [[October 11]], [[2007]]. ==Criticism== {{main|Criticism of Google}} As it has grown, Google has found itself the focus of several controversies related to its business practices and services. For example, [[Google Book Search]]'s effort to digitize millions of books and make the full text searchable has led to [[copyright]] disputes with the [[Authors Guild]].{{Fact|date=June 2008}} Google's cooperation with the governments of [[People's Republic of China|China]], and to a lesser extent [[France]] and [[Germany]] (regarding [[Holocaust denial]]) to filter search results in accordance to regional laws and regulations has led to claims of [[censorship by Google|censorship]].{{Fact|date=June 2008}} Google's persistent [[HTTP cookie|cookie]] and other information collection practices have led to concerns over user [[Google and privacy issues|privacy]]. As of [[December 11]], [[2007]], Google, like the [[Microsoft]] search engine, stores "personal information for 18 months" and by comparison, [[Yahoo!]] and [[AOL]] ([[Time Warner]]) "retain search requests for 13 months."{{cite news|author=Liedtke, Michael|title=Ask.com will purge search info in hours|url=http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071211/BIZ/712110335|work=Journal Gazette|publisher=Fort Wayne Newspapers|date=[[December 11]], [[2007]]|accessdate=2007-12-11}} A number of [[India]]n state governments have raised concerns about the security risks posed by geographic details provided by [[Google Earth]]'s satellite imaging.Sharma, Dinesh C. "[http://news.com.com/Indian+president+rails+against+Google+Earth/2100-1028_3-5896888.html?part=rss&tag=5896888&subj=news Indian president warns against Google Earth]." ''[http://www.cnet.com/ c net].'' [[October 17]], [[2005]]. Retrieved on [[July 23]], [[2006]]. Google has also been criticized by advertisers regarding its inability to combat [[click fraud]], when a person or automated script is used to generate a charge on an advertisement without really having an interest in the product. Industry reports in 2006 claim that approximately 14 to 20 percent of clicks were in fact fraudulent or invalid.Mills, Elinor. "[http://news.com.com/Google+to+offer+advertisers+click+fraud+stats/2100-1024_3-6098469.html Google to offer advertisers click fraud stats]." ''[http://www.cnet.com/ c net].'' [[July 25]], [[2006]]. Retrieved on [[July 29]], [[2006]]. Further, Google has faced allegations of [[sexism]] and [[ageism]] from former employees.Kawamoto, Dawn. "[http://news.com.com/Google+hit+with+job+discrimination+lawsuit/2100-1030_3-5807158.html?tag=nl Google hit with job discrimination lawsuit]." ''[http://www.news.com/ c|net news.com].'' [[July 27]], [[2005]].Staff Writer. "[http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071006/google_old_071006/20071006 Google accused of ageism in reinstated lawsuit]." ''[[CTV Television Network|CTV]].'' [[October 6]], [[2007]]. Retrieved on [[April 5]], [[2008]]. Google has also faced accusations in [[Harper's Magazine]]Strand, Ginger. "[http://www.harpers.org/media/slideshow/annot/2008-03/index.html Keyword: Evil]." Retrieved on [[2008]]-[[April 9|04-09]]. of being extremely excessive with their energy usage, and were accused of employing their "[[Don't be evil]]" motto as well as their very public energy saving campaigns as means of trying to cover up or make up for the massive amounts of energy their servers actually require. Also, US District Court Judge [[Louis Stanton]], on [[July 1]], 2008 ordered Google to give [[YouTube]] user data / log to [[Viacom]] to support its case in a billion-dollar [[copyright]] lawsuit against Google.[http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gvFPgT3MNrzaN7r-Y37eFI-qv4bA Afp.google.com, Judge orders Google to give YouTube user data to Viacom][http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7488009.stm bbc.co.uk, Google must divulge YouTube log] Google and [[Viacom]], however, on [[July 14]], 2008, agreed in [[compromise]] to protect [[YouTube]] users' personal data in the $ 1 billion (£ 497 million) copyright lawsuit. Google agreed it will make user information and internet protocol addresses from its YouTube subsidiary anonymous before handing over the data to Viacom. The privacy deal also applied to other litigants including the [[FA Premier League]], the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organisation and the [[Scottish Premier League]].[http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSSP21085220080715 reuters.com, Lawyers in YouTube lawsuit reach user privacy deal][http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jul/15/googlethemedia.digitalmedia?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront guardian.co.uk/media, Google and Viacom reach deal over YouTube user data] The deal however did not extend the anonymity to employees, since Viacom would prove that Google staff are aware of uploading of illegal material to the site. The parties therefore will further meet on the matter lest the data be made available to the court.[http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/831528/Viacom-backs-down-YouTube-lawsuit/ brandrepublic.com, Viacom backs down over YouTube lawsuit] ==See also== {{Col-begin}} {{Col-3}} *[[Gmail]] – Google's free Web-Based e-mail service *[[Google China]] – Chinese subsidiary of Google Web search *[[Google File System]] – Google's internal distributed file system *[[Google logo]] *[[Google platform|Google Platform]] – Google's server and system hardware architecture with geographic references {{Col-3}} *[[Google Reader]] *[[Google search]] *[[Google Translate]] – Google's Web translator *[[Google's hoaxes]] *[[Googlebot]] – Google's Web crawler {{Col-3}} *[[Googleshare]] *[[GrandCentral]] *[[Knol]] *[[Search engine]] *[[TrustRank]] {{Col-end}} ==References== {{reflist|2}} ==Further reading== * {{cite book|title=The Google Story|author=David Vise and Mark Malseed|publisher=Delacorte Press|date=[[2005-11-15]]|id=ISBN 0-553-80457-X}} * {{cite book|title=The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture|author=[[John Battelle]]|publisher=Portfolio Hardcover|date=[[2005-09-08]]|id=ISBN 1-59184-088-0}} ==External links== {{sisterlinks|Google}} *[http://www.google.com Google.com] *[http://www.google.com/corporate/ Corporate Homepage] *[http://googleblog.blogspot.com/ Official Google Blog] *[http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=100660&org=NSF On the Origins of Google] *[http://web.archive.org/web/19981111184551/http://google.com/ Earliest known google website from 1998] - [[archive.org]] {{Google Inc.|corporate=yes|products=yes}} {{IT giants}} {{NASDAQ-100}} [[Category:Google| ]] [[Category:Companies established in 1998]] [[Category:Internet search engines]] [[Category:Web service providers]] [[Category:Companies based in Silicon Valley]] {{Link FA|bar}} [[am:ጉግል]] [[ar:جوجل]] [[bn:গুগল অনুসন্ধান]] [[zh-min-nan:Google]] [[bar:Google]] [[bs:Google]] [[bg:Google]] [[ca:Google]] [[ceb:Google]] [[cs:Google]] [[cy:Google]] [[da:Google]] [[de:Google]] [[dsb:Google]] [[et:Google]] [[el:Google]] [[es:Google]] [[eo:Google]] [[eu:Google]] [[fa:گوگل]] [[fr:Google]] [[ga:Google]] [[gl:Google]] [[ko:구글]] [[hi:गूगल]] [[hr:Google]] [[io:Google]] [[id:Google]] [[iu:ᒎᒐᓪ/guugal]] [[is:Google]] [[it:Google]] [[he:גוגל (חברה)]] [[kn:ಗೂಗಲ್]] [[ka:გუგლი]] [[ky:Google]] [[rn:Google]] [[ku:Google]] [[lo:Google]] [[la:Google]] [[lv:Google]] [[lb:Google]] [[lt:Google]] [[hu:Google, Inc.]] [[ml:ഗൂഗിള്‍]] [[mr:गूगल]] [[ms:Google]] [[nah:Google]] [[nl:Google Inc.]] [[ne:गूगल]] [[ja:Google]] [[no:Google]] [[nn:Google]] [[uz:Google]] [[km:Google ស្វែងរក]] [[pl:Google]] [[pt:Google]] [[ro:Google]] [[qu:Google]] [[ru:Google]] [[sco:Google]] [[sq:Google]] [[scn:Google]] [[simple:Google]] [[sd:گوگل]] [[sk:Google]] [[sl:Google]] [[sr:Гугл]] [[sh:Google]] [[fi:Google]] [[sv:Google]] [[tl:Google]] [[ta:கூகிள்]] [[tt:Google]] [[th:กูเกิล]] [[vi:Google]] [[tr:Google]] [[uk:Google]] [[ur:گوگل]] [[wa:Google]] [[vls:Google]] [[yi:גוגעל]] [[zh-yue:Google]] [[zh:Google公司]]