T3 - Tech 100

Google is now bigger and more controversial than ever as Brin and Page continue to dominate the world of tech.

“Obviously everyone wants to be successful, but I want to be looked back on as being very innovative, very trusted and ethical and ultimately making a big difference in the world”, Sergey Brin once said. Who knows if he and partner-in-search Larry Page had even the faintest idea just how popular the omnipotent Google would become?

Google.com’s 12th year has been huge. The giant and enigmatic money-printing machine that is its search engine remains its most potent weapon, but beneath that there’s always something going on. From the constant bubble of new apps for the Android mobile platform, to the launch of the spouse-tracking Latitude, to the clamour over the roll-out of Street View in the UK – one small village in Buckinghamshire grabbed pitchforks and forces its camera car to go elsewhere – Google’s been bigger and more controversial than ever.

Whatever your concerns over Google’s mission to learn everything about everyone, there’s no denying Brin and Page’s influence on the worldwide web and, by extension, the world itself. Several hundred million search results are processed daily, and being at or near the top of its listings can make or break a company or news story. That’s real influence.