The Little Search Engine that Could: A Short Examination of the History of Search Engines

Out of sheer curiosity yesterday I googled myself yet again. My name popped up here and there for several different things, none of which was especially exciting. The most curious discovery is that I share my name with a dormitory at the University of North Carolina. (I discovered this after seeing a search result that said “a beautiful northwest view of Winston Hall.”)

Then with even more cyber recklessness I googled “Google.” (See "Bored Secretary googles Google") I am not kidding when I tell you it instantly gave me 116 million results for “google” in a mind-boggling 0.07 seconds. For reference, that is also the approximate time it takes for Mark Foley to hit on a new congressional page.

After perusing for a time I started pondering the origin of search engines. Before all the information of the infinite universe was available at our very fingertips, where did we go to find all the answers? The historical origin of search engines started with the immergence of homo-erectus man in 1932. Before computers, people relied on their ability to find things through simpler means, mostly by using their eyeballs. Eventually, man developed a written language and ultimately automobile reference manuals. After that, the transition to online searches was very natural.

The main impetus behind the development of online search engines was the phonebook. Most phonebooks are heavy. People have a natural aversion to heavy things. Phonebooks also require the senseless slaughter of trees. Since killing trees is now illegal in most states, putting all that information on the internet made perfect sense. Now, rather than looking for a mechanic in your town, you can even look for a mechanic in…oh…let’s say Suzdal, Russia for example. (His name is Artyom.)

Citing my scientific background (none) I decided to do something quasi-scientific. One of my favorite Far Side cartoons depicts a father challenging his son to answer the following question for the reward of a new bicycle: What is the average annual rainfall of the Amazon Basin?

I put this challenge to Google and within 0.29 seconds Google found 211,000 entries relating to rainfall in the Amazon Basin. (The answer was 80 inches.) Fifty years ago, had you desired to know the Amazon Basin rain totals, it would have required a trip to the encyclopedia or possibly the Amazon basin itself.

Search engines are not all fun and games. As easily as they make access to helpful information easier, they do the same for harmful information. In decades past, terrorists had to go to actual schools in any number of terrorism-sponsoring nations to learn how to make bombs. Now they can do a simple search on the internet and learn from a thirteen-year-old in Detroit. Likewise, pornographic websites have grown in number considerably from a mere 3 in 1993 to 234.5 trillion in 2006.

Traditionalists like me still derive a certain pleasure from the magic of discovery through turned pages. Dust on my fingers, dust in my eyes and deep paper cuts spark a certain nostalgia that search engines simply can’t recreate.

The future of search engines is unsure. I have several pieces of advice for Google’s future, which includes renaming their Spanish text search page El Goog, which is simply “Google” spelled backward. Of course, Google probably has a team of problem solvers who, when they don’t know the answer to something probably google it. (Talk about self-help!)

In the meantime, I will continue to faithfully use Google for all my search needs. To learn more about the history of Google and search engines in general just stop by their headquarters at (hang on a second) 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043.

That's the story of my life...