Could you Live Without Google?

I can’t live a single day without Google. Its my online guide and i start and end my webmastering day with Google :)

To be honest, no. I cannot live without Google. I even use it to check my spelling! I think that Google will take over the world, really.

Nice blog post Chris!

I could not live without google because i have most if my documents on google docs and have all my widgets on igoogle so it’s impossible to live without google!!!

Hey Chris, this was a very interesting video, google has contributed allot to the internet and nearly everyone uses it, I don’t think it would be easy to live without it in the short-term but in the long-term a good replacement probably would calm everyone down, this is quite complicated but very interesting, I would be very interested to see what happens when google dies.
Thanks Chris, Great Video by the way

Google is my best friend, i could never live without it…

I only wonder if google can keep it simple. They have power, but thus far have only flexed their muscle a little.

I think even the people in China will find a way to get around any blocks put on them to use Google. I use it everyday and I don’t even try any other search methods.

This is a good topic. Since the main email service I use is gmail I would definitely find it very hard. I just love the speed and simple layout that gmail has in comparison with other email services.

I have been using Google before most folks knew there was a Google. (got tipped off to this great new search engine by a few folks way back when on a lil show called “tech TV…..) Hopefully It will never change or be forced to BUT in this world it seems change is inevitable. I remember when I laughed at folks saying how big they thought MySpace would become……silly me Huh? I think some young mind will find/rethink some idea that will at least equal Google if not replace it ONE DAY, But…..hopefully when that happens, the change will begood enough that we won’t miss Google.

Google could in theory could run its own internet network and have that going world wide and run it all. But if google was to do anything that would cause users not to like them any more then surly there would be another search engine that would spring up to fill the gap

*ponders if he should Pirillo it* :D

I use Google all the time, and I’ve never really considered that possibility. I trust Google does not use their position for political or nefarious reasons; and I have not seen evidence of that at all. I do my fair share of research on the web, mostly for convenience, and I have not seen what can be described as bias of any kind. *If* Google has done this in China, then that would be terrible, terrible, terrible. I hope that they have not.

Honestly… it’s 50/50.
I would say I could go without Google but I say it’s 50/50 because there’s always Yahoo or some other search engine but, like a default, Google is usually the “iHangout”, so to speak.

I honestly think that even Google, in all it’s highness, knows that it can be replaced just like it replaced the one before it. The beauty of the internet as it stands today is that anything can be created and this idea is what keeps things fresh and open. If the mighty “G” were to do something stupid like censor content, I think we would adopt something that would spring up in its place undoubtedly. Don’t even get me started on net neutrality… that’s a subject that infuriates me to no end. Why would I want to use a closed and directed internet? Anyway, as for where the future of the web is headed… I have a few ideas on where I’d like it to go but it all depends on the maintained openness. The only way to move beyond today is to keep everything on the table and develop from that pool of ideas… the more the better. Oh and as it stands today, no, I can’t live without my Google.

it’s really hard to live with out google i tired it but it very much in need for schoolkinds but the goverment controling this medium so we never know anything avout this world and the history is said they have to much power his is a fact if the can controle the internet the have to much power

I don’t think I’d be able to live without Google. I’m using it on a dayly basis. I sure did try other search engines but most of the time te results they give are far worse then the results Google is giving me. On the other hand, I don’t believe Google is abusing it’s powers to filter results, I mean they’re fighting for Open Source, they’re trying to be transparent; they rock :-)

The fear that Google will use it power to for ill is really misplaced, it is not like the Umbrella Corporation. It derives its power from a voluntary interactions and I believe that the internet is anarchical , a term I use in spite of its negative connotations. Some may say it is a democracy but that would require a power structure that separate from the individual user’s wants and desires. If the the internet was anything but anarchy it could do all the bad things mention in the blog, luckily it is anarchy. While I do not want to speak for others I know that I would not use a services that is trying to shape the information I receive for any malicious intent. I would likely not be proactive in trying to detect any deceit on the part of Google but I would bet that there would many people that would be and they would get the word out. The bottom is that Google needs us more than we need it.

Live without Google? I couldn’t do it. I use it for…well everything. If Google got a dime for every time I opened their page they’d have at least an extra $30 per day in their coffers.
I don’t know how you did it but my hat is off to you for even attempting it!

Me thinks you worry too much.

I could not live without Google. The main reason being that the school I go to uses Google Apps. If I didn’t use it, I would fail my way out of a degree. With that said, I use Google for so much. Google Reader, Google Calendar, Google Mail (Gmail), Google Docs, Google Earth, Google Scholar, YouTube, Google Checkout, GOOG-411, Google Maps, Blogger, and of course regular old Google.

It would stink to have to live without Google (especially during school) because it has directly connected us to all the information we need. Any other method of gathering information is draining and tedious, and we don’t have the attention span for that anymore.

If Google though, decided to not allow certain searches to come through, it happens anyway in many news programs. They don’t have to report the news they don’t want to, and that power can be used to prove their own standpoint.

I refuse to Google anything. Google is not a verb…it’s a commercial. I won’t use any Google products because they aren’t the best or the easiest to use; they are just the most widely advertised. People are too lazy to look beyond Google and that’s their right. But that’s one bandwagon I will stay off of.

Google has been my homepage for years , I don’t think I could live without it because I go there for EVERYTHING why you may ask , because Google know EVERYTHING for they really do :)

Chris,
I use Dogpile. It’s the best of all the search engines and it’s not that well known. People seem to be in a rut with Google - not me!!…go Dogpile!

It is amazingly arrogant that China can force rules on content coming into China while at the same time giving free rein to their own spammers to trash the Internet conent going out of China with their offensive and criminal spam and scams!

Now I admit I’m no business man… I never was, and my ideas tend to run to the altruistic, but were it me in the big chair, and a country, an entire country wanted to use my software? I would be all about the journalistic integrety. You want me to block certain content? Nope, sorry, there are other countries and you can take your business elsewhere. I feel that companies in that position have the opportunity to affect social change, and in cases like that… they also have the responsibility to do so as well. But of course, that’s just me.

I agree to some extent. But don’t you think with proliferation of mergers, even within the search engine community, there is the possibility that a new and open search engine could be absorbed by the like of Google?

I know there is a following of open source software, but the vast majority of individuals still use what is given to them on their brand box/white box computer. So does it not follow logically that with the growth and censorship capabilities of the huge search engines that they could in fact change the way we view information and news or history?

Just my opinion…

Absolutely. I use Yahoo for most all of my searches now. I haven’t looked back. I used to be a frequent Google user but I got tired of it, got a lot of misses. Yahoo does a better job than Google with their search and with the upcoming Search Monkey I think that things are going to get even better.

I honestly could not live without google, that may be cause my email is with them, but anyway, the real reason why is the fact that I use it so often, and I prefer it much more ofer Alta Vista and Yahoo! and all the others, its just so much more easier and to me more accessible.

well… google isn’t only the only one in the internet… somebody can live without it by using another site but the real question is: “could we live without the internet???” it seems to be hard if we don’t have internet in our lives…

This is interesting because I recently did a couple blog posts that somewhat promoted Google technology and posed the question from a little different perspective asking, “What Microsoft technology could you not live without?” I found that Google is playing a huge role in helping people to move away from Microsoft by providing great online technology that is free which can replace the popular Microsoft applications. Combine that with a Mac and other open source / free software or web apps and you have a quick & easy replacement to your common household PC without giving Microsoft more support for relatively little cost.

Great show Chris!! Google, in my opinion, is what made the internet what it is today, a more enjoyable experience. Google only gets better, so it is hard to imagine how great the future will be. I just wish I would have bought 1,000 shares of their stock when it was first offered..lol.

I loves my gmail, my igoogle page, my google cal, and of course my google search. I use google Analytics. I love the recent changes they’ve made in their video search.

All that, and could I live without google? Sure! I don’t see why. Everything they do there is something out there that does it as well. Many services may even be doing a better job, or at least on the verge of doing a better job at their function, YOU NEVER KNOW!

My point? Google is in no position to try and do something many people would consider “evil.” While it would take effort to switch from google to something else, we are NOT locked in. If google does something shady they will loss some market hold. So far they’ve been great. I hope they continue to be.

Hi chris!

First of all, I’m from argentina and my english isn’t rgeat, so sorry if I miss spell something, that being said, I’d like to share something that is happening to my cousin.
She uses google for everything!, i mean, every service or program that google made, she is either using as we speak, or she tried it at the very least.
She uses gmail, google docs, google esath, google calendar, google blogs, she pretty much has a GoogleLife, and i’ve even heard her say that she couldn’t live without it.

Another things is that, as google expands, providing new services (calendar, gmail, docs, etc)- and not only google, it’s a known trend that every application is moving on to the internet, to be used online, from a browser- more and more information is coming to the hands of a few, being really esay for them to regulate what goes back and forward on the net.

My wish is that the www wil balance itself.

this is my first comment on your blog, but ive been a suscriber of your youtube channel for sometime now.
best wishes

An argument that correlates the workings of a free-world internet search engine with the known censorship and human rights violations of a Communist government is doomed to be labelled fallacious.

That said…

I started using Google when it first came online, when I was on dial-up. It loaded quickly, and presented results quickly. I had previously used Yahoo’s search engine, which took more time to load and search. As Google matured, I found that its capacity to find what I was looking for far exceeded that of the other search engines. (YMMV.)

Today, Google still gives me better results than any other search engine. That’s why I use it.

For some, certainly, part of Google’s appeal is that it does NOT appear to censor information (while allowing the consumer the use of a safe mode for search results). Should Google start to “abuse” its “power”, some other company will develop to take their place. Google will not want this to happen, so will almost certainly continue to produce the product that has been overwhelmingly successful. (If we want to talk about abuse of power, we can switch the topic to Microsoft.)

I think as we all move closer to the cloud things get cloudier. I think that there will always be dictators that try to impose their will on society in general. Society is different for everyone and your culture effects your view of society. So as we become more detached from society in general the more we become controlled by the cloud. This may not make sense but that is okay i guess.

I think we have all became pretty dependent if you will on search engines. They simplify our mission to search for particular items or idea quickly.

I would say personally, yes, I am very dependent on google. I like it, I love it, I use it.

My daughter tells me to use ask.com and i’ve tried some others but I always come back to google. Perhaps its because of my love for gmail.

Anyways, I enjoy following you when I can chris…glad you have kept yourself in the geek forefront since the ‘call for help” days…which by the way I was an avid fan of.

Good Day!

Vapur

It’s still my first choice for web searches as it gives the most relevant results and only returns pages that include my search terms.

I used to use Google groups extensively for PC solutions. Of late it’s been unusable and I’m missing it. I can’t find any suitable alternatives.

Len

Short answer: NO! Long answer: Oh my days what would i do without google? the amount of times i’ve not done my homework and its found the page i need to use in a split second! got me out of quite a few detentions i can tell you that! Its speed is incredible i love the way they always change the google logo with the change in the season/date. It need not be said how much it totally blows Windows Live Search out of the water! Google has been my homepage for a LONG time and will remain so for a long time. Awesome video Chris, great topic. Keep it up!

probly not cuz i have google set as homepage on all my pc’s /mac just has so much info google has just hope they stay good and not turn evil

Hey, Chris !
Thanks for that i have actually tried it for 1 month.
And as you mentioned that it was really hard.
let me just tell you what made me not use Google for 1 month, actually i use google like so much. I think like hundred of times a day or maybe even more.
So this came into my mind that why not try to search with out Google.
I think i can’t even live without Google.
yeah, that’s all i just wanted to share this experience with you.
Thanks for reading.

Could I live without google? yeah right! Every day im on the computer I use google at least ones. Well lets hope google doesn’t turn into a propaganda site and it would be easy. It could ether be this open source of knowledge or a corporate agenda source of knowledge. I think sadly The government would use google for it’s own agenda, if history teaches us anything it’s that people would would rather silence others rather than defend it’s positions. I have a feeling we may hear something in the news about this kind of stuff and people will be pissed. Hopefully we raise above this , and see a change in the world we every thing is clearly viable with nothing to hide.

Chris Pirillo’s attempt

Are you joking??? Just thinking about life without Google makes me woozy! I use Google on an hourly basis and I rely on Gmail, Google Search, GMaps, and iGoogle sooo much that I would be just about be as gone as Google if it went away.

I first thought that it was my internet connection. Then i found that msn and yahoo was still up. I am having a very hard time getting any thing done on the internet i have been using google for so long i find it hard to use any other searches. I have gotten use to using yahoo for my searches now. But i still cant get to my email and i am waiting on info about going to collage. My website ads are not up so my website was not making any money at all on it. I hope every one else has a easyer time going with out google.

I don’t know how anybody ever found information without google. I could never live without it. thanks for the post chris

Living without google doesnt seem hard until you think about it
I use it so much if i think about it
But alot of bad people use google
inherintly google isnt the wrong the sites that it takes you to in that case
And i doubt anything is gonna take over google any time soon
And becoming a better group of people would be a whole lot easier if we didnt have punk kids on the internets

Could I live with out google. That is like saying could you like with out chocolate. Of course I could! But my life would be much harder. I am a HUGE fan of web-based email and I have accounts on pretty much every service, and GMAIL is by far the best. Their google apps and other services are excellent, and I use them alot.

Hmm….I don’t like it when governments and or big companies filter what you can and cannot look at. Not good. That is very very scary. If they can filter what you can look at and how you get your information then that means they can control how and what you believe. However, I do believe that there is a place for regulation of the net. Such as taking off pornography and that kind of things. Remember even though China has blocks on their citizens there is always a way around the block. Take a look at the world of hacking.

The bottom line is this. The internet can be used for good, and it can be used for bad. It is up to us what we do with it.

Hey this googlefasting is really quite an interesting idea. guess I’m gonna try this rather soon.

I guess you can live without google, as you proved (well, rather poorly). But I think google’s powerful search engine is not just extremely convenient and useful.
It’s an obvious fact that the internet wouldn’t be the way it is today if it wasn’t for google. I think the internet actually needed it, yes it was just waiting for this invention to be made.
It’s like modern surgery without anesthesia. I mean, it is possible to perform surgery without drugs. Theoretically. It would just involve excruciating pain (not having it at all) or using inconvenient and unreliable methods like hypnosis (substitutes like yahoo etc.)

I believe google was not just a turbo for the internet. It is is actually the motor oil, without which you would be in quite a hopeless situation trying to use the motor(/the internet)
It is crucial that we have google to rely on.

Having said that, I am quite intimidated by the power and influence this massive company has. Of course google just has to put up with the chinese government’s orders in order not to loose this evergrowing market. but the fact that google doesn’t stick to uninfluenced information strictly, raises the question of how long it will be until we get compromised results here in the ‘western world’.

I thank you very much for this blog. It has very much stimulated my mind as you might have noticed^^

Have a good one
Fabs (switzerland)

Frankly, I could not get all the stuff I do get without GOOGLE,He has been my BEST, tool I have had ever since I started withPIRILLO….Google gets to places that GOD, forgot it was there. Now that sentence does not sound all that great , but I have been out of school since 1955, I need to go to the PIRILLO school of talking and writing, he has a different slant on a lot of stuff, that I read. I just found out WHY,,, I did not know he lives in IOWA. iS THAT STATE have lots of grain growing , it looks like 3/4 of the state is fields, good money maker,
,

I could NEVER live without google. all the other searches dont have very go UI if u as me and ther are to many flash banners. I LOVE GOOGLE!

I truly will say that I would not be able to survive without google. For crying out loud, it’s my home page. Google and Facebook are my addictions, i go on them once to 31 times a day. Either for Sci & Tech in Google News or just for a quick search, I’ve always used google although there was a time that i thought dogpile was awesome, but i got over that stage in my life. But thanks chris for talking about all of this.

Chris Pirillo: “Do you use Google? Could you get along without it for a week? I tried it, and dubbed it Google Fasting. There’s no way I could do that again. It was really tough, believe it or not. I got an email from Mike recently, that raised a thought-provoking

I couldnt i use google , youtube, blogger, google docs all the time and gmail what about my ipod touch how would i search its set up for google and i mean bebo and other searches are ran by google.
So my awnser is no plus adsense is everywhere.
Thanks again Chris

i personally think google is trustworthy, but there needs to be some type of law in place so they aren’t tempted to do things wrongly.

Not only does Google have the ability to shape history in search results but being integrated into as many aspects of internet use as they are I think the scarier outcomes comes from what could happen with the information they wield. People seems so willing to hand out personal information to get something for free and Google has already begun to cater ads based on this. How long can someone in possession of this kind of information not abuse it? I don’t think I want to find out.

Yah… as an IT guy I could not only live without google, I could live without computers, and go back to the stone age, with pleasure.

There’s no way I would possibly be able to live without google, It’s always up as a second window on my computer just in case I have to quickly look somthing up. A week without google? That might be a cool experiment I might want to try later in the future.

google would have a hard time doing that in the state it is in now. the only possible way that could could happen is if they get a drunk CEO.

Yes I was one of the ones that was chatting on there and I absolutely could not live without google because I use it every day.

I think there needs to be some clarification. Google is a search engine, could I live without Google, yes, of course. There are many, many other search engines, many of them are not as good as Google, but they serve the purpose of general internet searching.

However, if the question is altered to: could you live without search engines, the answer is most certainly no. The reason being that without a search engine the internet’s usefulness is greatly reduced.

I think Google needs us more than we need it. Our traffic draws in their revenue from advertisers. Seems to me the only reason we rely so heavily on the use of Google, is because it has become so integrated into everything that we use. Google has learned how to permeate ever aspect of our online and sometimes offline lives. So I don’t see an inherent or acquired need for google, its just one of the simplest and smartest search engines being used right now. What we have come to rely on is the services these information trafficking companies provide…and I expect an increase in the quantity of services provided balanced with a small decrease on how well they work, or if certain services are necessary at all and not just bloatware.

I lived without the internets for 30 years, so… yes… I think I could live without Google for a week. Mind you, I wouldn’t be happy, but I could live. Apparently I’ll get to put it to the test this summer. We have a family vacation planned with some friends. A week in a cabin on a lake without internet or telephone. I plan to stock my iPod with lots of podcasts.

I know i can’t live without the cool features, and EVERYTHING that they have to offer

i probably wouldnt be able to go through my daily life with out google. i use google for almost everything.

I imagine that I could live without Google, to a certain degree because there are other search engines that are fairly close in functionality. Are there any major differences between Google and say Yahoo, aside from any aesthetic differences?

(pressed backspace and lost my last comment)

I could probably live without google - with yahoo, msn, dogpile, etc - but thats not the point. From what I understand its about censorship. I am definately for net neutrality as are most common users of the interweb. The stuff going on in China is all messed up so I guess they are an exception.

When google wants to start taking over they will end up like Realplayer and be in the virtual trash bin of life.

I think I could be able to live without google at least for a day or 2. I have my most visited/favorite links all setup in my.yahoo page. All the things I need in the daily basis to do my work and news updates / movies / TV shows and all are in that yahoo page. Or say in case I need to buy stuff computer components, i immediately know where to go - NewEgg, BhP photo… or If i need some information about network stuff, I usually just go directly to cisco if it concerns cisco. If I need a sample code about somthing, I go to csharpcorner or heaveanscode and a lot more. Of course I stil need google in the end, if I’m not finding what I need.

oh i forgot to mention about forums. although I’;m member to countless forums. I still use google to find for more. But usually i just go directly to forums like if it is something about home entertainment, i go to avsforum or say crutchfield.

One thing I missed though was google groups. I used to be a heavy user of google groups but now, I hardly used it. everytime i use it to find something I/m just not getting what i want. So i eventually stopped using it.

I could not live without Google to save my life. Especially since browsers started supporting the google toolbar. I do think it is possible that Google could be limiting our knowledge, sending us spiraling into the horror of futuristic satires as a form of reality. Also; I know this sounds disturbing, but a friend of mine that had a sick mind used to google image search for child porn, then he started complaining the google DOES NOT let you search for it anymore. There is a message somewhere along the lines of “searching for this is illegal, due to legalities with the U.S. government google has hidden the search results from you”. I know it’s an extreme example, but it goes to show Google can limit our searches too, and they could be keeping us from proper international news. Also, don’t worry I am not the aforementioned friend’s friend anymore :D

I could not live without Google. Yahoo doesn’t cut it for me. I know some people swear by Yahoo, and I don’t see how they do it when Google in my opinion is superior. Google is how I found all my web pages that I want to look at and surf. I use Gmail as one of my primary email accounts, so Gmail is a big part of my life. Also Google Maps. When I have to drive in a area that I am not familiar with I quick go on Google maps and print off a map. So I would die without Google.

i personally could not live without google. i use google probably 10 to 15 times a day. i would try not using google but it would cripple me and i would probably go insane from lack of new information

i could not live with out google. i use it at least 3 times a day. the thing is why is google so great, other places like yahoo and msn were the owners of the search and email (or aol for email) until google came along. i also have wanted to know how do they create the lists liek if you search chris pirillo. a page may comp up of pictures and some your webshow and your youtube account. how do they put that in there?

Google IS the internet! As far as I’m concerned, Google represents the internet as a whole. Years ago, when Google was new, I immediately knew that it was here to stay and was going to become popular. What I’ve always thought was the best feature is simply the cleanness of their interface, with even their ads not being obnoxious with flashing graphics and whatnot. Website CLUTTER has always annoyed me, and most other search sites used to have or still do, a bunch of **** all over the screen that overwhelms my poor, easily distracted brain.

As far as Google being a super power dominating force that runs the world, I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. Every sword has a double edge, and every tool can be used for good, or for evil. The internet is no different. That’s just life. Things will play out for the best, that is if you believe that good triumphs over evil in the end. Which I do.

Yahoo,Ask.com and other small search engines wont do the job we need Google to depend upon/” AM I RIGHT OR AM I RIGHT?”

a post today by Chris Pirillo

There is NO WAY I would live without Google.. maybe before I signed up for a google account, but now I do many things on Google, I read my email, check RSS feeds, use bookmarking, Google Calendar, and iGoogle to check most of that in one page. Even Youtube I use
To tell the truth, I actually read this blog post, in Google reader. Since I switched to Firefox, I’ve taken advantage of the built in Google search.
Google can be to the point where it can control your life……… I mean with all the Google services out there.
I also see Google replacing the Desktop OS with online apps pretty much.
I, and probably many other people rely on Google for so many things, if Google ever goes, well, it will be hard to find something as great.
Those are my mixed up thoughts on Google, if you could understand the mumble jumble. Great topic though. Sparked my interest. (Since I am a Google Fanboy, if you will).

~ Tyler J. Brown (Condoulo)

http://chris.pirillo.com/2008/05/07/could-you-live-without-google/

I probably could not even use the internet without google, I use it for everything from a Calculator to a Spell checker and a dictionary. There is nothing like google, I would probably use Yahoo though if I really had to dump google, But that is not going to happen anytime soon. Oh, and Google define: Society as an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization.

I definitely agree, Chris. Although it may be a bad thing that Google has so much potential, I fear that if we become too dependent on Google, we may lose sight of the bigger picture of the internet: communication. Even the fact that ‘google’ has become a household verb for ’search’ frightens me. If we allow Google to be the prime source of which we gain our knowledge, we’ll end up missing the bits and pieces not tracked (in a full respect) by Google. I’ll have to try Googlefasting and see how long I can go before needing to use it.

Google is the best service on the internet available, it’s really helped us look for all kinds of information available to us. Google is a crucial search engine that I’ve used ever since the internet was created.

ok, now what did people use before google. hmmmm…. i don’t remember; however, i don’t think any search engine works better. yeah yahoo and aol… (they are ok, well at least yahoo-who uses aol today) i still have my aol account because it is free and i don’t want to change. it is kinda like my grandmother’s phone number that never changed while my mom moved us around from state to state changing our phone numbers so many times, her’s was constant and that is why i keep my aol email addy. i use others from time to time. i don’t understand how it all works in the making of money for others but, i try to help a lil if I can and it seems like I am helping the company without a cost to me. does it cost me in some way? no, right? anyways. i am trying to post on as many links as i can but, there are over 400 pages of posts so which ones to choose from. hmm, like i said in an early post if it is meant for me…. there is no way that i am going to be able to post to all or close to all or very many posts period. I have 7 children, homeschool, and all just the regular daily activies. this is the first time i have taken the time out of my day to try to win anything this seems it is going to take up so much time. and alot of these post - i don’t even have a clue as to what they are talking about except win this or that free-of course i understand that clearly. lol. anyway i will keep trying because i certainly can’t afford it. so why not at least try, right? ok til later today when i have a few more minutes of “free time.”

Google is definitely shaping the way people are able to express themselves. Not necessarily in ways that could effect people in a bad way, but more in the sense that ‘So what if some people don’t like what your doing?’ There are so many people using services such as Google that anyone can find appreciation for what they are doing. Music for example - people love making music but some are just to shy to try! But services like YouTube let these people get their sound out there. Ron Jenkins for example is one of my favorite online musicians, his YouTube went from very few views to almost 1,000,000 on some. He now has 1 CD which is selling well, and another on the way. This service has literally given him is career. In that respect Google isn’t just something I wouldn’t want to live without, but something I couldn’t live this life without.

Google has me hooked with the services it provides because of its ease of use, flexibility and good online collaboration skills. I use Google Search, Gmail, Calendar, Notepad, Docs and Reader to run my virtual existence on a daily basis.
Nevertheless Google’s possibility to hide information from our reach will bring its own destruction as we, its users, could always stop using a censuring service and find alternative ways to escape its dominance.
Being an Eastern European I have the experience of censorship especially during the last years of communism and I’m sure that when human liberties are ignored the only way to resist the menace is finding options to it - namely online spaces that understand th