Loy Okezie

As strange as “Planet Google” may sound, it really does exist. Randall Stross was probably the first man to land on that planet and has taken several people there, including me. Just got back from a 2-week exploratory visit to the place where all of the world’s information is being gathered, stored and organized.

Doesn’t that make you cringe?

Based on the unprecedented access he received to the highly secretive “Googleplex”, acclaimed New York Times columnist Randall Stross, in his book Planet Google takes readers deep inside Google, the most important, most innovative and most ambitious company of the Internet Age.

In Planet Google, published in September 2008, Stross shows penetrating research into the company’s strategy and provocatively examines its audacious vision for the future and the consequences not only for the business world, but for our culture and society at large.

In a nut shell:

Planet Google explores how Google has grown up and out; how early technology choices enabled it to extend its reach without limit; how its pursuit of information of all kinds has brought it unrivaled power; and how its power affects the general interests of everyone, for better or for ill.

Speaking about the amount of time that would be required for Google to organize all of the world’s information, Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt referred to a three-hundred-year timeline, which Stross described as “merely a dispassionate calculation”.

My thoughts

Randall Stross has displayed fascinating story-telling about a company that probably knows more about you than you may think. My guess is that Planet Google will be re-visited in the nearest future, and hopefully we’ll learn more insights into Google’s progress with its audacious plan to organize everything we know.

Will a future book expose some of Google’s secrecy? Will Google still be relying on its powerful ALGORITHMS? Or will it…errh…MEET HUMANITY? Will our personal data still be safe with Google? Will any other company dominate Google? Will Google really succeed?

In the next 10 years, will Google have successfully acquired Internet companies from Africa? Will Google have set up local operations in Nigeria?

After Google’s first ten years attempt to organize the world’s information, the biggest question is:

Will Google stay true to its famous “Don’t Be Evil” mantra, using its power in its customers’ best interests?

Only time will tell.

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If you have read this book, or have been to “Planet Google”, or even reside there, you can share your thoughts, views, opinions, fears or predictions. If you’re yet to read the book, grab your copy today!

Image Via: New York Mag

Tags: africa, algorithms, eric schmidt, googleplex, new york times, nigeria, planet google, randall stross