Google is taking over the world!!!

We are all familiar with the company, Google. Many of us use Google as our first attempt to find information on a particular idea or concept. The adage says that babies say goo-goo ga-ga, but everyone, adults and children alike are saying Google. Is Google taking over the world?

Many feel that instead of taking baby steps, Google has taken giant steps and is at the forefront of search engines and contiuously striving to be better at everything it can become a part of.

In the following CBS article titled, Google Wants To Be Your Hard Drive The Skinny: The "GDrive" Might Make Your Hard Drive Obsolete, But Would There Be Ads?, the story explains Google's idea to take over our hard drives:


I suppose we've known it all along: Google wants our brains. In the meantime, though, it will settle for our hard drives. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company is preparing a service that would let users store on its computers essentially all of the files they might keep on their personal computers, such as word processing documents, digital music, video clips and images.

Users could access their files via the Internet from different computers and mobile devices when they sign on with a password, and share them online with friends. Some of the storage space would be free, with additional storage allotments available for a fee. It could be released as early as a few months from now, according to some leaky people who declined to share their names.

Google already does some of this through its existing Web applications, but this service would tie everything together with a single search box. Other companies offer various Internet-based file storage services, but most have been slow to catch on. Some, like Yahoo's Briefcase, require users to go to a Web page and click through a few screens to upload a new file and set various limits.

For more on this article, please visit the following site: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/27/the_skinny/main3542366.shtml

Google has is always in the news because of its ability to continually create innovative ideas. It was recently in the news for getting into the cell phone market, offering google checkout, and has offered search engine applications, google scholar, blogger, maps, charts, documents and various other features.

In another article, Is Google spinning out of control? The search giant launched two ambitious alliances in as many weeks. I'm not convinced it can pull either of them off., the editor questions Google's ability to keep up with its own innovations and engenders the question, Is Google to large for its own good?

Read more about this article at the following address: http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/23/magazines/fortune/goog_outcontrol.fortune/?postversion=2007112513

Political Expression

Each year it is very interesting to see the new creative ways that presidential candidates choose to express/represent themselves. In the past candidates have used formal methods of pathos, ethos and more traditional campaigning techniques including using the media, phamplets, billboards, hosting rallies, forums, military tactics, snowballing, and celebrity .

With the introduction of the television, candidates were able to adress a larger audience and relate better to the public. Even if the candidates weren't able to campaign in particular areas, individuals were able to see them on the television screen and aware of their face in addition to their stance on particular issues.

Today, technology has had an increasingly productive affect on the choices of those interested parties. People can receive candidate information via text messages, blog, you tube, myspace etc.

Although technology has added new methods for campaigning, elections haven't done away with the outrageous aspects of campaigning. Please check out the following link that showcases a video created that explores the new video aspect of campaigns. (A citizen's crush on Barack Obama)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKsoXHYICqU

New technology has the potential to help make and break campaigns.

The Washington Post has set up a forum that allows voters to learn about each candidate and what they represent. The following link has information for each candidate:http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/

Supporters can participate in blogs that were set up by candidates. Clinton's blog address is http://www.hillaryclinton.com/blog/

Although candidates are able to give the perception that they are accessible through blogs, text messages, news, radio, television, and other forms of mass media, is the future president really going to be accessible to citizens and effectively address issues that are of public concern?

Candidates are able to reach out to the public through these various forms of technology , but they seem further out of reach than ever when the public faces controversial topics such as the war in Iraq, oil, gay marriage, and abortion.

Clinton and others may be on youtube, but are they really in the loop?