Hit the Google Machine

"Why is the sky blue? Why does a duck quack? When's dinner ready?" Growing up, whenever I had questions I went and asked my Dad. No question too tough, he had answers. They may not have always been correct but he had them. A walking encyclopaedia of endless knowledge.

The day after a recent training session, I was in pain. Muscles, joints and tendons all conspired against me. Complaining to a team mate he abbreviated the mutual feeling with the acronym DOMS. "What's that?". "Hit the Google machine!" came the retort. If you're wondering, it stands for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, but that's besides the point.

I did a memory techniques course while studying at school. The teacher told us that if information is readily available then it becomes more difficult for the brain to retain it, to commit it to memory. If that information is always going to be at arms length then why hold on to it? Enter the smartphone and progression of ubiquitous Internet access.

Smartphones are now common as muck in the developed world. Often decisions on what restaurant or bar to visit hinge on the availability of free Wi-Fi. For those of us with the cash to spare, 4G is now available from some telco providers meaning faster download speeds. Google have launched hot air balloons with Wi-Fi routers attached to them - see Google Loon - and Facebook have plans to do the same with drones - see internet.org. Soon, even Bear Grylls will be able to stream House of Cards while holed up in a cave in some far flung destination. Who needs a compass when you've got Google Maps? Just keep an eye on how much battery you have left.

I might have kids some day and I wonder will they come to me with questions in the same way I went to my Dad? Or will they waltz over to the computer, maybe pick up the iPad or just take out their iPhone and hit the Google machine? 

Google has the lions share of the worlds Internet search traffic while other engines like Bing and Yahoo! are fighting for the scraps. With mobile technologies only ever at arms length, when we want information, it's the Internet we seek answers from.

Google is the Internet. Google is Dad.