Google as a cultural icon

In a recent New Yorker cartoon, two middle-aged men stand next to each other at a bar. One looks at the other with a bewildered expression and says, "I can't explain it -- it's just a funny feeling that I'm being Googled."

Google is no longer just a popular way to search for information online. It is a cultural icon. Just as the Internet has become a part of everyday life for millions, so has Google. People use Google to research travel destinations, locate sports stats, or -- as in the cartoon -- to seek out the scoop on co-workers. According to data from Nielsen/NetRatings and SearchEngineWatch.com, Internet users in the U.S. spent about 15.1 million hours in August searching at Google -- far more than at any other search site.

This must be an exciting time for the company, no doubt. Not only is Google the subject of a New Yorker cartoon, but it is widely recognized as the Web's leading search engine, with deals to provide search results for AT&T, Yahoo and other companies. But if Google's cultural cachet is reaching a new level, then the company is also learning about another side to its renown.

One Web company, SearchKing, recently sued Google, claiming it suffered damage because of a drop in its page rankings within Google's search results. "Google, as a provider of a ranking system upon which the Internet community relies, must apply the system in a matter that is not arbitrary," according to the company's complaint.

That seems like a stretch, but the lawsuit hints at the scrutiny Google now faces. It is a privately held company, but it is increasingly viewed as something akin to a public utility, providing a service to a worldwide audience.

Just consider a recent report, "Localized Google Search Result Exclusions," from the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School. According to the report, Google eliminated certain sites from the French and German versions of the service, apparently due to concerns about violating laws in those countries pertaining to racial and ethnic hatred. That may be a reasonable move on Google's part, considering the laws involved, but most companies don't have to worry about Harvard academics studying their practices.

Google was founded by two Stanford University computer scientists, and while it must be a thrill to see your company appear in a New Yorker cartoon, you've got to wonder whether it's not just a signal of cultural cachet, but also the degree to which you're likely to become a target for others.

Case in point: Authorities in China, according to another Berkman Center report, have apparently prevented Chinese citizens from gaining access to Google on some occasions.

Google doesn't look like much. The company's home page is spare. Unlike other portals to the Web, Google is not aiming to become the next AOL Time Warner or Disney. But the service Google provides is a powerful one, and there is a growing recognition -- from small-time entrepreneurs, from authoritarian governments, from ordinary Internet users -- that Google is not just another Internet company. Whether that is an opportunity for Google, or a potential threat to its success, remains an open question.

By Allan Hoffman
Last updated: Monday, Nov. 4, 2002, 8:05 am