by Gillian Taber

Created on: June 12, 2009

Google has become a part of our lives in a way that very few services ever do. The chances are that, when you need to know something or do research, Goggle is where you go. Once upon a time, before the internet, we used books and went to the library. Now we type a couple of words into Google and voila, instant access to everything you need.

The sheer scope of Google is perhaps one of the reasons it is so popular. There are next to no subjects that you can't find at least some information on via a Google search. Not only is the variety of information astounding but it is easily accessible.

Need to know what a stethoscope is? Google returns roughly 962,000 results on that search and covers everything from the very simplest explanation to the exact components and how to make one. Imagine trying to get the same breadth of information from one book in your tiny local library.

But Google isn't just about written information. Using Google you can search images. Again, the sheer volume of images uploaded to the net is often unbelievable and frequently bewildering. Using Google images and refining your search with the advanced options makes life a whole lot simpler.

Not only that - try to imagine searching for one image but not knowing the name of the image. Take the painting 'The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in the Sun' (William Blake). It really isn't the easiest title to remember but you need to find the picture. You can't remember the artist and all you do know is that it had a red dragon in it. Enter 'artist red dragon' into a Google image search and bingo! The fourth image displayed is the painting you are looking for.

This could take you hours of research in art books or at the library. It takes mere seconds on Google. For someone in the midst of an article with a deadline or a child with an art project to complete, this is a major blessing. It begins to become clear why Google is so popular.

What else does Google supply? You can search videos when you are bored or need to research a particular subject. Google maps and Google Earth have made finding anywhere in the world a breeze. Not only do we now have access to street maps online but we can use Google Earth.

Zoom in on anywhere in the world to get an actual image of the Great Wall of China, the Eiffel Tower or Times Square. Teaching children geography becomes so much easier when you can show them a place rather than just read about it.

Clicking on news or shopping takes you instantly to links related to your search. Want to buy a print of the painting or see where your nearest art exhibition is? One click and you are there. Google email (or Gmail) is yet another string to the Google bow and there can be hardly a website on the net that doesn't have Google ads on it somewhere. Those little Google spiders are crawling across the web and constantly bringing us new and updated content.

Google is popular because it is easy to use, enormous in its variety of content and uses and because we all know the name. We have come to accept that Google is the number one and when you want to know something important, what do you do? You go to the number one resource.

Google has become that for the majority of people. Most of us have all but forgotten what it was like before Google and our kids probably don't even think such a time existed. Google is a part of our lives and likely to stay the most popular way to search for things on the internet due to the fact taht we put it there.

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