In the purest sense of the word I am not a Star Trek fan. I can’t stand the old show for a lot of reasons but it has produced some pretty funny William Shatner / Capt. Kirk impressions over the years (remember Chris Farley in Tommy Boy? “I ….. have….an…..idea……”). For a brief time though I was a fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Jean-Luc Picard, Number One and Data were fun.
What was most fascinating to me about that show was the arc about The Borg. It was a huge floating cube that went through space assimilating everything in its path into the collective conscience that was “The Borg”. Really not too unlike President Obama’s ideas but that’s for another post. Even the most fiercely independent and strong human could not resist the Borg, and alas, the good Captain Picard was assimilated and the ensuing antics made for fun TV. Of course, Jean-Luc prevails etc. etc. because he is independent and strong. I can only hope that things end as well for the US but once again that’s for another post.
Welcome to the cusp of a new decade and what I am officially calling “The Age of the Goog”. I am starting to see Google as the real life version of the Borg in that it is slowly moving along and without most people realizing it, simply assimilating us into their collective offerings of services. These services cover all aspects of life and do so in a way that has not been seen yet in human history. Big statement I know but just think about how fearful everyone, including the government, was of Microsoft. In comparison the amount of impact The Micro has on our lives is well, microscopic, when held up against the impact of “The Goog”.
Google affects all aspects of life independent of computing platform because it is the ultimate SaaS (software as a service) company. They deliver quality products and have done a decent job of supporting their offerings (despite recent Gmail glitches which are what prompted this line of thought from me).
Go to the Official Google Blog and see how they are making life easier for students through Google Docs. Look at how the Hot Trends in search are being used to tell us what is most important in the world at any given time. Google Apps is used by millions of small businesses. In fact, I would say that Google is more important to small business than the, gasp!, government’s own SBA (Small Business Administration).
While I am satirizing this a bit there is a slice of concern in this whole picture. I think about my kids looking to everyone else to solve a problem rather than doing it on their own. It won’t be because they’re bad kids either. It’ll be because they are human and will look for the easy way out in many cases. Face it, we all do.
So my question to you today is “Are you being assimilated into “The Goog”? If you are, is it a good thing? Are we too dependent on this new world order to even be able to do anything without it? Extreme? Sure, it can be viewed so but really, really think about your life right now. How much time is there with just another person and you? How much time is there without e-mail and smart phones? I am thinking more about this and wondering if I may not have lost my way a little. After all, when it’s all said and done Google won’t be looking to me for answers about anything will they? Nope, that’ll happen in front of another capital G and that’s the one that matters in the end.
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Brilliant post. Love the humor and very thought provoking topic. The last sentence prompted me to follow you on Twitter and your other endeavors. Well said!
@Linda – Thanks so much! I need to remind myself of that last sentence a lot in this business. When I put myself in the right place I always end up with a smile regardless of what’s going on – even with The Goog! Thanks again and stay in touch.
There are lots of Capital Gs, but I think I know of Whom you speak. :O) Technology was supposed to give us more time in the day, but really it has gobbled it up. I do believe I am too Goog’d. With my good sites I’ll see what Goog is doing with them throughout the day. With other sites maybe only once a day.
I spend lots of time writing for Goog, or at least writing so Goog will like me. I do try to train our kids to look for answers and think about problems. But half of the time, I’m tired. Just Google it son.
Thanks for the great article. I don’t twitter. I don’t need something else to eat up my time. But I did sign up for your email. Please everyone, spend sometime each week either on the phone, at the coffee house, or even at the dinner table with real people and real conversation.
cd :O)
I think maybe you are being a little bit paranoid, myself. And since you don’t like TOS Star Trek and only enjoyed TNG for a time, it forces me to doubt your judgement even more.
Yes, there is some sci-fi significance to Google, I think. But to me it’s more like the beginnings of the United Federation of Planets. All I can say is thank that big G in the sky that Google is on the idealistic, liberal, “futuristic” side instead of the conservative, Bible-thumping, closed-minded people who thankfully will never be able to see past their hypocrisy far enough to become what Google is.
But you didn’t want to discuss politics here, did you?
I’m really teasing. But I do think Google is the best, as long as the wrong people don’t take them over. That part does scare me. However, for better or worse, I’ve been assimilated.
Jan
@Jan – Thanks for the POV. Fortunately, we are all safe here at Frank Thinking!
Great post. Thanks. Google seems to tap into everything, so dominating.
official google blog ei? but why is it just on blogger?
anyways, great post, oh well google want to exist in every possible way so don’t get surprise if even on the comfort room there’s google
Thank you very much for sharing knowledgeable article. Keep posting.
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