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When it comes to the Internet, it just doesn't get much bigger than Google. Google has conquered the search engine world so completely that its very name is synonymous with Internet search. How many companies (besides Xerox, of course) are recognized by Merriam-Webster's dictionary as a verb? In fact, an enthusiastic press corps and caffeine-fueled blogosphere scrutinize Google's every move. Is Google buying Twitter? Is it going to launch its own cell phone network? Is it thinking about removing blueberries from the Google cafeteria's fruit salad? The following is a list of the top 5 myths about Google, Inc., in no particular order. If any of these rumors sound too weird to believe, don't take our word for it. Google offers a ridiculous number of online services. There's the flagship Google search engine, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Earth, Google News, Google Talk, Google Docs and Google Calendar, just to scratch the surface.
Then there are popular Google-owned Web sites like YouTube, Picasa and Blogger. All of these services are absolutely free. So, how does Google make money? Does it make money at all? Since Google's debut, a persistent rumor asserts that the company has no business model and therefore makes no profit. That's one seriously misguided myth. Ninety-seven percent of the company's revenue came from advertising. How did they pull this off? Google has developed two highly profitable advertising models: Google AdWords and Google AdSense. AdWords are the advertisements that appear during Google searches above and beside the main search results. They're labeled as "Sponsored Links." Advertisers can use AdWords to write short text ads and tag them with keywords. Google then uses complicated algorithms to find the most relevant ads for certain Google searches. The advertiser doesn't pay Google each time his or her ad is shown. He or she only pays when someone clicks on his or her ad. Click-through costs can be as low as 10 cents, so it's not a steep investment for advertisers.
But for Google, all of those dimes add up quickly. AdSense works in a similar way, but the text ads surface on non-Google Web sites. If you run a Web site and want to earn a little advertising revenue, you can sign up with AdSense. Google uses its algorithms to show pertinent ads to site visitors. Every time a visitor clicks on an ad, the advertiser pays Google 10 cents or $20, depending on the popularity of a particular keyword. Google then gives you, the Web site owner, a small slice of that fee. What's the capital of Uruguay? Who was the first female NASA astronaut? What exactly is Newton's Second Law of Motion? Oh, that's easy! Google. Believe it or not, there was a time when the world expected you to actually remember and analyze those dates, facts and other bits of highly forgettable information you were taught in high school. Are we mad to let Big Brother Google to take over the world? Is Google Making Us Stupid?
Have you ever wanted to try out a new personality? Since we're stuck with ourselves, day-in and day-out, our own personalities might sometimes feel a little tired from time to time. So what can we do about this? There are, of course, costumes, which are probably the reason so many people look forward to Halloween -- they can be their favorite superhero for a night and revel in a little creativity. But not all of us are willing to play dress up throughout the calendar year, mainly because doing so violates generally held social norms. After all, most Web sites that offer some kind of online community allow their users to create avatars, an electronic image that represents the person controlling it. Generally, members can be as creative as they like with their avatar, either fashioning it as close to their appearance and personality as possible or creating an entirely different personality.
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