The Story of Google
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We’ve all been using the search engine and regularly so, but do we know how this genius of a platform was created? In a world where ‘Google it’ has become a euphemism for ‘look for it’, it seems impossible to think of a past where Google didn’t exist. Ever wondered about the story behind the search engine that brought the knowledge of the entire world to our fingertips? Well, here it is.
The beginning
The story begins on the Stanford University campus in 1995. Sergey Brin, a student at Standford was designated to show Larry Page around. At the time Page was just someone considering Stanford for his grad school.
Was it a smooth sail from there?
Not really. Page and Brin disagreed on almost everything during that first meeting.
So, how did the search engine happen?
Well seems like Page and Brin didn’t let the disagreements on the first meet deter them from striking a partnership a year later. The two built a search engine that would use links to determine the importance of individual pages on the World Wide Web. The search engine was called Backrub. And all this happened from a dorm room!
Wait, what about Google?
So, Backrub’s name was soon changed to Google as we know it today. The name, according to Google itself is a play on the mathematical expression for the number 1 followed by 100 zeros. It reflected Page and Brin’s mission ‘to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.’
How did Google get out of the dorm room?
Google caught the attention of Silicon Valley investors and academicians. Google Inc. was born in August 1998 when Sun co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim wrote Larry and Sergey a check for $100,000.
What did Page and Brin do?
With the recently acquired investment, the team made an upgrade from the dorm room to their first office in Menlo Park, California, owned by Susan Wojcicki ( now CEO of YouTube).
Wow, what was the office like?
Um, it was basically a garage laid with bright blue carpet and occupied by desktop computers and a ping pong table. The tradition of keeping things colorful continues to this day.
What happened next?
It was just the beginning of good days. The company expanded by putting in place a sales team hiring engineers, and other employees. Soon, Google introduced its first company dog, Yoshka.
Did they get out of the garage?
You bet, they did! Google moved to what is now known as ‘Googleplex’, Google’s current headquarters in Mountainview California.
Despite being the world’s most popular search engine, Google continues to strive harder every day. From servers made of lego to Google doodles, Google finds a way to make everything unique.
Google’s website, where most of this information is taken from, reads “The relentless search for better answers continues to be at the core of everything we do. Today, Google makes hundreds of products used by billions of people across the globe, from YouTube and Android to Gmail and, of course, Google Search. Although we’ve ditched the Lego servers and added just a few more company dogs, our passion for building technology for everyone has stayed with us – from the dorm room to the garage and to this very day.”
