Why we all need to know Google's name

Why we all need to know Google's name

Do you know the name of Google? I bet most of you don’t know the real name of this search engine giant, which also provides some of the best email and productivity services in the world. If your answer to the question above was yes, then well done, you’re one of the rare people who know about it (at least most likely).

How did it begin?

Google's origins trace back to a program that was created at Stanford University by computer scientist Larry Page. The program, called BackRub, helped analyze and store information. Eventually, Page decided he needed help with his project, so he partnered with fellow student Sergey Brin.

The two founded Google in 1998 and funded it with $1 million in savings they had accrued while studying computer science at Stanford. They rented out an office in Menlo Park, California, and began hiring employees to work for them.

Google officially launched on September 4, 1998. It was originally spelled Google, but when users misspelled it as Googol, which is equal to 1 followed by 100 zeros (10), Google officially changed its spelling to Google in 2000. In 2004, Google moved into its current headquarters building the Googleplex which is located just outside of San Francisco.

Today, Google employs more than 50,000 people worldwide and has offices across six continents. Its mission statement reads: to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.

What does the future hold?

The future will likely hold many upgrades, including expanded services and new web applications. Google Analytics is a prime example of how the company has expanded beyond its search engine roots, offering analytics programs for ecommerce sites and blogs that extend far beyond the traditional Google interface.

In addition, look for more storage services such as Google Drive, which could give users access to their documents wherever they go via the cloud. And even though YouTube may be considered an upgrade from video-sharing site iFilm, there's little doubt that Google is working on other ways to further improve its video offerings in the future.

If you're looking for a complete list of products offered by Google today and those being considered see our guide on what Google offers now and in the future. Google has already begun introducing services beyond simple web searches, starting with Google News (which was designed to compete with Digg), Google Finance (competing with Yahoo! Finance) and Google Maps (which allows users to search for businesses).

While these sites were certainly not intended to directly compete with existing players, it’s clear that Google plans on taking over everything digital. With these acquisitions under its belt, here are some things we can expect from Google in the future:

Currently one of Google’s newest acquisitions is Buzz, which allows people using Gmail to share links and pictures through email. While similar services have been around since at least 2006 (such as FriendFeed), Buzz is easily accessible right within Gmail without having to create yet another account or log into yet another website.

What are my options?

There are a lot of questions that come up when you consider starting a new business. First, there’s figuring out what kind of business you want to start. Once you have that figured out, though, a lot of other questions pop up: What are my options? What kind of legitimate design would it be a good idea for me to pick? How can I afford to do it? What resources will I need once it’s launched? These are just some of the questions that arise during and after deciding on your business model.

But before any of these steps, one question looms largest: What should I call my company or product? Google is an interesting case study in brand naming because, in spite of its popularity, many people don't actually know how to pronounce its name. The word Google was originally supposed to be pronounced like googol, which is a mathematical term for 1 followed by 100 zeros (1 x 10).

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