In this 21st century, more than at any time leading up to the present day, a significant number of the world’s population have become computer literate or have knowledge of the computer world at the very least. Our education system involves ever increasing tuition and usage of computers both in the classroom and for research so that future generations will be better equipped to integrate into the life that is ahead of them. No one knows what lies ahead although experts in the Internet search facilities have their own visions of what may yet be achieved.
This is an era of razor edge financial dealings, split second decisions involving huge sums in the closure of commercial deals. On-line banking allows everyone with access to a computer the ability to transfer funds from one account to the other, instantly or at a pre-set date from and to anywhere in the world. This effectively side-steps that telephone call or personal appointment at the bank when time is of the essence.  Obviously owning a computer doesn’t just give us more flexibility with our banking, computers store and collate a level of data that is completely unheard of within our own heads and gives us the ability to have access to information immediately and therefore the information required can be produced in days, hours and even minutes, essential in this age when everyone wants/needs the answers ‘now’.
With the various programmes available for purchase on the market, together with the Internet access to unlimited destinations or points of interest, the personal computer has now become as important as the car in getting us what we want and where we want to be but without leaving our chair. The natural progression of this generated freedom has been an increasing demand for information of every conceivable nature.  Hence the search for holidays that can now be booked on line, flight tickets that can be purchased, bus and train travel timetables that can be viewed, the best prices for our groceries – the list is infinite, but the one word for everything is search.
In this new area of industry, search was first made possible by the start of Google in 1999.   In less than 10 years they have become one of the most powerful companies in their field. During this period of time they have come to realise the importance and potential of the search engine in all fields, monitoring the enquiries being made and converting these to specific categories and requirements, 24/7.   Google has set goals, objectives, rules and regulations for web designers to make as much of the world’s information available on line whilst making it as search engine friendly as possible. Google’s tools bar highlights specific areas of search i.e. news, finance, and sports for ease of use. Consequently Google have become the foremost experts in this industry, whilst constantly striving for more sophisticated and finite search, ever aware of its importance to the public and website clients, whose sites are being visited.
However, alongside its importance in education and commerce, the computer has not remained in the sole domain of the general public. It has also become a very important asset to our police force, security, armed forces, politics and health (NHS), to mention but a few and the amount of data that can be contained for a limitless period of time is beneficial to all. For example this enormous memory bank has aided the police in solving cold cases, as more and more up-to-date information is added to their database. It is also possible to track the individual use of a person when studying their search patterns – especially pertinent when tracking the viewing of pornography, for instance. In a lighter vein, perhaps you are a follower of CSI – then you will be aware of computerised information and facilities – matching fingerprints, firing grooves on bullets, blood types etc.
The natural progression of this ‘life after the inception of Google’ was to attract other interested companies to the arena, bringing their own ideas on the manner in which search should be constructed. The concept that competition is good for everyone is not a bad one. Exclusivity breeds power which equates quite naturally to overall control. What happens when the server goes down, or there is a dispute of any kind? We all know what it is like when there is a power failure should you be caught in the supermarket or a lift!!  It is healthy that there should be alternative search engines all striving to give that level of search demanded today. Even a recession, of the kind we are now experiencing, can result in the growth of new areas of business. What better than a new website giving a shop window of your products directly to the searching public rather than continuing to meet the overheads on business premises.
So, new search engine companies will continue to start up, some larger than others but all with a common aim – to achieve the perfect search – either in specific areas or overall. Access to the Internet began with a dial-up service charged by the minute which has progressed to a monthly chargeable broadband service with the added benefit of wireless connectivity. It will be both exciting and interesting to see where this next will lead us – the world is our oyster!
An important reminder in closing: it is believed that it is imperative that the written word and manual storage of information and knowledge sources are not totally eclipsed by this ever encompassing search system. Neither should this part of our education system be allowed to disappear. The learning of spelling and grammar are every bit as important in our every day lives and is imperative when learning a new language. Holding debates, within the school environment, also breeds confidence and allows for social graces – crucial in possible future commercial dealings or peace- keeping exercises.  So perhaps we use computers too much? Perhaps Google has stopped up from opening up a dictionary or encyclopaedia? Who knows, but we mustn’t lose these skills in this Internet age.
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Is it just me or is this rush to get books into digital format seeming a bit of a mad frenzy? I would like to think I am fairly up to date with my technology, ok I have the odd moment of complete incomprehension but, the one thing other than my laptop that I love is books and lots of them. Anyone who has visited our home/office will know that both of us have a passion for reading, and I am the first to admit that I don’t feel comfortable reading a book on my laptop, or on a handheld device or on any screen at all really.
There are many ‘clouds’ out there, Yahoo, BT (though why anyone would entrust their data to BT is a mystery to me), hosted mail exchanges, photo sharing sites…. the list is endless. Our cloud of choice is Google, mainly because we were used to the way it looked, we could link our email and most importantly the analytics packages for our customers. 