As my readers know, I"ve been one of Google"s harshest
critics. However, I"m also a firm believer that it"s okay to
criticize, as long as it"s justifiable and fairly balanced
with deserved praise.

Hence, in this article, instead of criticizing, I will be
saluting Google and several of its many accomplishments.

According to the dictionary, the definition of phenomenon is:

"A remarkable development or occurrence. A marvel. "

I think we would all agree that definition fits Google like
a fine tailored suit.

In 1998, singer Janet Jackson was the biggest star on the
planet. On September 7, 1998, Google Inc. opened its door in
Menlo Park, California. The door came with a remote control,
as it was attached to the garage of a friend who sublet
space to the new corporation"s staff of three. The office
offered several big advantages, including a washer and dryer
and a hot tub. It also provided a parking space for the
first employee hired by the new company: Craig Silverstein,
now Google"s director of technology.

Already Google.com, still in beta, was answering 10,000
search queries each day. The press began to take notice of
the upstart website with the relevant search results, and
articles extolling Google appeared in USA TODAY and Le
Monde. That December, PC Magazine named Google one of its
Top 100 Web Sites and Search Engines for 1998. Google was
moving up in the world.

The name "Google" is a play on the word "googol," which was
coined by Milton Sirotta, nephew of American mathematician
Edward Kasner, and was popularized in the book, "Mathematics
and the Imagination" by Kasner and James Newman. It refers
to the number represented by the numeral 1 followed by 100
zeros. Google"s use of the term reflects the company"s
mission to organize the immense, seemingly infinite amount
of information available on the web.

Anyway, the rest as they say is history, as Google continues
to write its remarkable history with each amazing new
achievement.

Let"s detail a few of Google"s more recent achievements:

Froogle

In December 2002, Google introduced a beta version of
Froogle, a play on the word "frugal," a product search
engine that enables users to search for millions of products
across the web.

Google AdWords

In October 2000, Google announced its new content-targeted
advertising program. Google AdWords was a huge "out-of-the-
box" success, boasting well over 100,000 advertisers to date.

AdWords Select

In February 2002, Google launched AdWords Select, an updated
version of the AdWords self-service advertising system with
a number of new enhancements, including cost-per-click (CPC)-
based pricing.

Google AdSense

In June 2003, Google anounced AdSense, a program designed to
maximize the revenue potential of a website by serving
highly relevant ads specific to the content of the page,
launches with initial partners, including ABC.com,
HowStuffWorks, Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc., Lycos
Europe, Knight Ridder Digital, About.com, CNET and others.

Google Deskbar

In November 2003, Google announced the Google Deskbar, a
free software download which enables users to search Google
without using a web browser.

Gmail

On April 1, 2004, Google announced a new web-based mail
service called Gmail that will include a gigabyte of free
storage for each user. The service also includes a powerful
search engine to locate and retrieve messages, which are
displayed in a "conversation view" that chronologically
arranges all emails sent or received with the same subject
line. Gmail also includes relevant advertising delivered
with the same technology that scans web pages as part of the
AdSense service.

To say that Google has had a meteoric rise to stardom would
be an understatement. Years ago, who would have thought that
the little search engine with the funny name would reach
such massive heights that a monolith like Microsoft would
find it tough competing.

So, what"s next? Only Google knows for sure. However, I for
one would like to see it tackle the current click fraud
problem with the same excellence, zeal and determination its
shown in its other remarkable achievements.