11 Facts About Google: Explore The Less Known

Google Logo Icon (Credit: Google)

One of the most recognisable companies in the world today, Google has shaped the digital environment in ways that still affect our day-to-day existence where from its modest origins as a search engine to its development into a major worldwide technology company, Google has come to represent innovation and state-of-the-art technology. Beyond its popular services like YouTube, Gmail, and Google Search, however, there are a number of noteworthy details about the company's growth and history that the general public is not much familiar with. As doctoral students at Stanford University, Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google in 1998 as a search engine with the straightforward goal of organizing the world's knowledge and making it accessible and helpful to everyone. Google has developed beyond its beginnings as a search engine over the years, acquiring numerous other businesses, starting creative initiatives, and entering a variety of fields like artificial intelligence (AI), driverless cars, and healthcare. The narratives that have created Google's history are what really set the firm apart, not just the goods and services it provides, o let us explore the 11 lesser-known facts that highlight some of the most intriguing facets of Google's growth as follows:

1. Google’s First Doodle Was a Burning Man Reference: A defining feature of Google's design language are its recognizable doodles, which are colorful and occasionally mischievous variations of the company's logo. However, the original Google Doodle was made as a straightforward announcement rather than to commemorate a special occasion or holiday where co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin made the decision to go to the Burning Man Festival in 1998 and this yearly event in the Nevada desert honors art and community. As a lighthearted tribute to the event, they changed the Google logo to include a stick figure behind the second "o" in "Google" to alert users that they were not in the office where this initial doodle indicated the start of a routine practice whereby Google regularly commemorates anniversaries and holidays through their creative logos.

2. Google Has a "Memory" Game of Its Own: The "Google Memory" game (which is only available during the holiday season) is among the most entertaining of Google's many Easter eggs, which are hidden features or games. An interactive game that resembles the straightforward yet engaging memory matching games that were popular in the late 1990s will appear if you search for "Google Memory" or even "Google in 1998" where the game acts as a humorous reminder of Google's fun nature and provides a nostalgic look at the internet company's early years. It is the ideal illustration of how Google invites customers to participate more interactively with its brand by fusing fun and functionality.

3. The Google Search Algorithm Was Originally Called "BackRub": Prior to "Google" being a household name for internet searches, the company's search engine was known as "BackRub" where its main purpose, evaluating a webpage's backlinks to assess their relevancy and significance, inspired the name. In reality Page and Brin's search algorithm represented a significant shift from earlier search engines that mostly used keyword-based indexing where the innovation was that Google's algorithm, which was later renamed PageRank, ranked pages according to the quantity and quality of external links not forgetting that the mathematical word "googol," which denotes the number 1 followed by 100 zeros, served as the inspiration for the name "Google," which reflected the founders' goal of organising a vast amount of data on the internet.

4. Google Was Almost Bought by Excite

   Google's search engine was not as powerful in its early years as it is now. In fact, Larry Page and Sergey Brin hoped to sell their search engine for $1 million when they offered it to Excite, one of the top search engines at the time. George Bell, the CEO of Excite, rejected the offer because he thought it was too costly and when Google's popularity soared a few years later, Excite received an offer for the same deal, but this time it was for $3 billion. Excite declined once more. Given that Google went on to become the industry leader in search and one of the most valuable corporations in the world, this choice is now generally considered to be among the largest lost opportunities in tech history.

5. Google’s First Office Was in a Garage: Similar to other Silicon Valley gigantic corporations, Google's first office was a modest garage rather than a fancy corporate structure whereby Susan Wojcicki, who would eventually become the CEO of YouTube, rented a garage in Menlo Park, California, to Page and Brin in 1998. The pair initially created and improved the search engine that would transform how we obtain information in the garage, which is now seen as a representation of Silicon Valley enterprise with Google's headquarters having grown into expansive campuses over the years, but that garage is still a significant aspect of the company's beginnings.

6. Google's 20% Time: Google's "20% time" strategy is one of the main factors contributing to its ongoing innovation where employees are encouraged under this policy to set aside 20% of their working hours, or roughly one day each week, to focus on side projects unrelated to their main responsibilities and by giving workers the opportunity to explore new ideas and pursue personal interests, 20% time is intended to promote creativity and innovation whereby this philosophy gave rise to some of Google's most popular products, such as Gmail and Google News giving workers the latitude to try new things while helping Google develop an innovative culture that fuels its success.

7. The "I’m Feeling Lucky" Button Costs Google $110 Million Per Year: More than just a playful feature, Google Search's "I'm Feeling Lucky" button leads users straight to the top search result and it is a costly one whereby according to Google, the "I’m Feeling Lucky" button costs the firm about $110 million annually in overlooked advertising income and this is due to the fact that visitors who click on the button avoid the advertisements that often show up next to search results, which means Google does not profit from those clicks not forgetting that the feature is still widely used, and many users appreciate the button's unusual, random nature despite the price.

8. Google’s Data Centers Use a Lot of Energy: Google, one of the biggest computer firms in the world, runs enormous data centers that supply electricity to all of its services, including Google Search and Gmail making the energy consumption of these data centers high. Nonetheless, Google has spearheaded initiatives to improve the energy efficiency of its data centers where in reality, Google has made great progress in lowering its carbon footprint and was among the first tech firms to openly reveal how much energy it uses. By 2020, Google has all of its data centers powered by 100% renewable energy, making it one of the tech industry's most environmentally responsible businesses.

9. Google Owns More Than Just Google: After undergoing a significant corporate reorganisation in 2015, Google was acquired by Alphabet Inc., a recently established parent company established to oversee Google's growing range of initiatives beyond search and advertising. While Waymo (self-driving cars), Verily (life sciences), and Sidewalk Labs (smart cities) are independent companies, Google remains focused on its core business under Alphabet and by making this transition, Alphabet was able to concentrate on long-term discoveries that have the potential to transform whole industries and streamline its numerous projects.

10. Google's Environmental Conservation Efforts: Google has demonstrated a strong commitment to sustainability in the environment where the business has made a number of other efforts to lessen its environmental effect in addition to powering its data centers with renewable energy like for instance, Google has made investments in programs to assist conserve natural resources and has designed its campus buildings to be energy-efficient not forgetting that along with supporting numerous conservation initiatives globally, Google also uses less water in its operations and protects endangered species, thus, the company's dedication to environmental sustainability remains a significant aspect of its culture.

11. Google’s Moonshot Projects: Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is well-known for its "moonshot" projects, which are large-scale, ambitious endeavours meant to address some of the most pressing problems facing the globe whereby these initiatives range from the development of Waymo's self-driving cars to Project Loon's high-speed internet (which uses balloons to bring internet to rural locations) and although some of these initiatives border on the fantastical, they show Google's commitment to innovation and pushing the envelope of what is conceivable. Even if not every moonshot has materialised, they all demonstrate Google's continuous efforts to use cutting-edge technology to address difficult global concerns.

Summary

There are many intriguing tales, interesting features, and ground-breaking inventions during Google's development from a little search engine in a garage to a major player in the global digital industry. Beginning as "BackRub" and continuing through its ambitious moonshot projects, the corporation has consistently changed how we use technology and the above little-known facts provide insight into the company's distinctive culture and dedication to environmental sustainability, innovation, and tackling major global issues with Google surely surprising us with even more ground-breaking innovations in the future as it develops and grows.