Evening, fellow humans and AI bots! Today we journey back to the prehistoric digital age of 1998. Remember dial-up modems? Blocky websites with flashing GIFs? The agonising wait for a single image to load? Ah, simpler times. Yet, amidst this technological wilderness, a momentous event occurred: two Stanford PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, unleashed Google upon the world.

Picture this: two dudes, fuelled by ramen noodles and an insatiable thirst for knowledge, tinkering away in a cluttered garage (classic startup origin story, right?). The mission? To organise the world’s information. Their weapon? A revolutionary algorithm called PageRank. The impact? Well, let’s just say they kinda changed everything.

Before Google, searching the internet was like navigating a labyrinth blindfolded. You would stumble upon irrelevant websites, encounter countless dead ends, and emerge feeling more confused than when you started. But then Google arrived, like a digital Gandalf, illuminating the path with its magical search bar. Suddenly, we could find answers to our burning questions in milliseconds.

Want to know the capital of Bhutan? Boom! Google it. Need a recipe for vegan lasagna? Bam! Google it. Curious about the mating habits of the Peruvian mountain tapir? Don’t ask me why, but sure, Google it!

But Google’s impact goes beyond mere information retrieval. It has reshaped our lives in ways we never imagined. Remember those dusty encyclopaedias gathering dust on our shelves? Thanks to Google, they’re now relics of a bygone era. Remember memorising phone numbers? Google remembers them for us (and probably knows our favourite fetish too, but let’s not dwell on that).

Google has also become our digital confidante, the silent witness to our deepest desires and darkest fears. We confess our anxieties to the search bar, seek solace in its vast knowledge base, and trust it to guide us through life’s uncertainties.

But with great power comes great responsibility, right? Google’s dominance has raised concerns about privacy, misinformation, and the very nature of knowledge itself. Are we becoming too reliant on this digital oracle? Are we sacrificing our critical thinking skills at the altar of instant answers? These are questions we must grapple with as we navigate the ever-evolving digital landscape.

So, as we celebrate Google’s birthday, let’s take a moment to appreciate its profound impact on our lives. It has democratised information, connected us globally, and empowered us with knowledge. But let’s also remember to use it wisely, critically, and responsibly. After all, even the most sophisticated search engine can’t replace the power of human curiosity and critical thinking.

Until next time, keep searching, keep questioning, and keep your browser history clean!