The Google Yearbook: A Look Back Over the Past 12 Months
Whew! What a year this was – full of tumultuous world events
and major shifts in the business environment. As Google's
third year draws to a close, we find ourselves looking back
on a year that brought many changes for us as well. We've
grown a bit and added many new services for our users. Here
are just a few of the highlights from the last twelve months:
- Google began providing searchers with access to 3 billion-documents
- We developed new tools for finding information (e.g.,
Google Toolbar, spellchecker)and began searching new formats
(e.g., images, PDF files)
- Users were offered the Google interface in 66 languages and the
ability to translate search results automatically
- We acquired Deja's Usenet archives and expanded them
- Users honored us with another Webby award for "best practices" and
two Search Engine Watch Awards ("Outstanding Search Services" and
"Most Webmaster Friendly")
- We improved web searching for wireless users worldwide
- Dr. Eric Schmidt joined us as CEO and Wayne Rosing took over the
Engineering helm
- Usage of Google rose to more than 150 million searches per day
- We reached profitability as a company
As busy as 2001 was, we have even bigger plans for next year. We're
continuing to refine our breakthrough technology, making it faster,
more accurate, and even easier to use. Our goal as always, is to
improve the way you find information. We're confident you'll be
pleased with the results.
Head of the Class: The World's Largest Collection
of Web Documents
Google set a new standard for web indexing when we launched our 1
billion-page index in June of 2000. In just a few months time we've
doubled our index to more than 2 billion web pages, far and away the
web's largest. Plus, we've added 330 million images and 700 million
newsgroup messages to bring the total to more than 3 billion documents
available via a Google search. More than a quarter of the web pages in
Google's index are in languages other than English and millions more
are in non-HTML file formats including PDF, Microsoft Office, and
Corel documents. As Google grows, so does the quality of our results,
because our algorithm has more data about links to take into
consideration when evaluating a page. Sometimes, it seems, bigger
is better.
To read more about our growing index, visit:
http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/3billion.html
One for the History Books: Announcing the 20-year
Usenet Archive
Ever wonder what life was like online before the web? Now you can see
first hand, courtesy of the 20-year Usenet archive on Google Groups.
Usenet postings are text messages from users around the world
commenting on everything from the latest technologies to the latest
cultural trends. We've compiled what is believed to be the only
comprehensive 20-year archive of these discussion groups and made it
available to you. With more than 700 million posts, this unique
resource provides insight into the history and culture of online
communication, extending more than 10 years prior to the birth of the
web. Among the gems you can uncover are messages from Linus Torvalds
introducing Linux and Marc Andreesen presenting Mosaic and the Netscape
browser.
For a look at a timeline of historic posts, check out:
http://www.google.com/googlegroups/archive_announce_20.html
To post and read comments in Usenet forums, visit:
http://groups.google.com/
German 101: Ich Bin Hamburger
German Googlers are among our most inquisitive users, making Google a
leading search service in that country. So naturally, when looking to
expand our presence internationally, it made sense to establish a
presence near our loyal fans. Our new office in Hamburg will allow us
to provide local customer support and better service to advertising
clients in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. This latest opening
brings the number of Google sales offices outside the U.S. to four
(London, Tokyo, and Toronto being the others). Look for our
international presence to grow in the months to come as demand for
targeted Google advertising increases with our global traffic.
Find the closest Google sales office to you:
http://www.google.com/ads/offices.html
The True Googler's Guide to Google
What's life like at the Googleplex in Mountain View? You can find part
of the answer in the expanded All About Google section of our site, the
Google trivia fan's new best friend. Check out our updated history
section and "The 10 things Google has Found to be True". You'll learn
more about what drives us to constantly improve the state of search
technology, as well as the location of the 24-hour donut shop nearest
our headquarters (an essential ingredient in our success).
Brush up on Google's history at:
http://www.google.com/corporate/history.html
Check out "10 things Google has Found to be True" by visiting:
http://www.google.com/corporate/today.html
What's Hot and What's Not: Google's Year-End Zeitgeist
What captured the world's attention in 2001? Our Year-End Google
Zeitgeist feature provides a glimpse at what people were abuzz about
over the past 12 months, based on what they searched for using Google.
With more than 150 million queries per day, Google offers a unique
window into what is happening in the world moment by moment, as well
as a fascinating retrospective on the peaks and valleys of popular
culture. Remember "All your base are belong to us" and Mir's fiery
return to earth? Also, check out the year's most popular brands,
music, movies and people on the web as seen by Google users.
Get a peek into the collective online consciousness at:
http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html
Now Searching the X-Files: Google Adds More Filetypes
The web has lots of great information, but not all of it is posted in
easy-to-search HTML pages. In Google's never-ending quest to provide
access to all the information you need, we've expanded our search
capabilities to cover more than 20 additional file types, including
Adobe Portable Document Format (pdf), Adobe PostScript, Lotus 1-2-3,
Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word and Rich Text Format. You can view
these pages in their native formats if you have the programs loaded on
your computer, or as text in HTML formatted pages. This "view as HTML"
option ensures that you will not inadvertently launch a new
application or download a file that contains malicious code. Try it
out anytime you search on Google and get a result with the file type
identified in square brackets at the front (e.g., [PDF]).
For a complete list of formats Google searches, visit:
http://www.google.com/corporate/facts.html
How We Got That Story: Google Offers More News
In search of breaking news? Google now crawls millions of rapidly
changing web pages on a more frequent basis to ensure you always find
the most current information. News headlines are presented at the top
of results pages whenever a search is conducted on a timely topic.
Additional fresh content can be found within the results themselves.
And if you want a quick overview of what's happening right now, try
our news headlines page, which is constantly updated with breaking
stories from around the web. Another helpful service from Google,
now with the minty fresh taste of breaking news!
See what's in the news right now at:
http://www.google.com/news/newsheadlines.html
At the end of an eventful year, Google would like to take a moment to
thank you for your support, and to wish you a very happy holiday
season and a wonderful new year. We hope that in 2002 the information
we deliver will be welcomed always by you and those you care about.
Best wishes...
The Google Team
