TIME TO TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT
GOOGLE
by W:.Tim Bryce, PM, MPS
timb001@phmainstreet.com
Palm Harbor, Florida, USA
"A Foot Soldier for Freemasonry"
"To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful."
- Google's mission statement
Most of us know of Google as the premier search engine on the Internet. However,
since its inception in 1998 by two Stanford University students, it has undergone
radical change. The company went public just three short years ago (2004) and is today
worth billions. With such capital behind them, they have embarked on several major
and minor development projects to compete with the likes of Yahoo!, Microsoft, and
others. This has also led them into acquisitions and partnerships to improve their
service. Today, Google is more than just a search engine, much more.
What does Google offer Freemasonry? Frankly, a lot. The purpose of this essay,
therefore, is to review some of the Google features that can not only be applied
for personal use, but from a Masonic perspective as well.
GOOGLE - is the new front-end to Google. It replaces the simple search
box long known by web surfers. Although you can still initiate a search
from the main screen, you can also establish a customizable desktop to
allow you to quickly access other Google features, such as news, weather,
calendars, tools, etc. This new front-end was developed to counter the
one offered by Yahoo! The new desktop is accessed from the main Google
URL which is simply:
http://www.google.com/
SEARCH ENGINE - the public is well aware of Google's search facilities but
most do not know how to register a web page for inclusion in the search engine.
Actually, it is quite simple to input a URL address which Google then "spiders"
to verify the page's existence. To do so, simply input your URL at:
http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl
GOOGLE EARTH - allows you to literally take a photographic tour of the globe and
zoom into geographical sites. This is the same facility as used by television news
networks to show photographs of geographical locations, however, there is both a
free and a professional version of the program (which comes at a price). For
Masonic purposes, this facility is useful for finding a location or, more importantly,
used when investigating a candidate to see where he lives and what kind of home he
has. For more information on Google Earth, see:
http://earth.google.com/
GOOGLE MAPS - is closely related to Google Earth and provides directions to locations.
If you press the "Satellite" button, you get a Google Earth photograph of the
location. For more information, see:
http://maps.google.com/
GOOGLE NEWS - provides a handy means to stay abreast of the latest news. Basically,
Google scours the newspapers of the world and catalogs various news items. From this,
you can perform a search on just about any topic you can dream up. For the fraternity,
try searching on keywords such as "Masons," "Masonic," "Freemasonry," and "Freemasons."
Even better, use the "News Alerts" feature whereby Google sends you an e-mail anytime
a favorite news item is posted (such as those pertaining to the keywords just mentioned).
The only thing the Google News service lacks is an input form to post Masonic News,
but maybe this will be a future enhancement. As an aside, Yahoo! offers a comparable
news facility. For more information, see:
http://news.google.com/
GOOGLE CALENDAR - is still in Beta test form but shows some good potential for keeping
track of appointments and key dates. Not only can you devise your own personal
calendar, but you can implement a separate Lodge calendar and allow it to be
shared with other Lodge Brothers (under "My Calendars"). For more information, see:
http://www.google.com/calendar/render
GOOGLE DOCS & SPREADSHEETS - is also under Beta test, but this is perhaps the most
interesting new feature they have added. Here, you can write and access letters,
reports, and spreadsheets. As such, this represents a genuine threat to MS Word
and Excel, as well as Windows overall as you are no longer dependent on the
operating system. As long as you have access to a web browser, you can edit your
word processing documents and spreadsheets from anywhere in the world, free.
You can even create PDF files for distribution elsewhere.
>From a Masonic point-of-view, Google Docs & Spreadsheets holds great potential in
terms of sharing Lodge reports, newsletters, petitions, and other documentation.
For more information, see:
http://docs.google.com/
BLOGGER - represents an acquisition made by Google and provides the means to
implement your own Blog. For Masonic Lodges, it also represents a handy way to
develop a basic Lodge web page. For more information, see:
http://www.blogger.com/
GMAIL - represents Google's e-mail facility and even though it is still in Beta
test, it is being widely received and is comparable to standard e-mail facilities
as provided by others, including Yahoo! (you are provided with 2048MB of space).
You can also hold Chat sessions if you so desire. For more information, see:
http://mail.google.com/
AdSENSE - one way Google makes its money is through the sale of advertising
space on web pages. Google AdSense provides a means for you to earn money
simply be allowing Google to place ads on your web page. You have a lot of
discretion in terms of what may be shown on your page too, for example you
obviously do not want to show pornographic or gambling ads on a Lodge web
page. AdSense provides the means to block such content. Bottom-line, AdSense
provides a means to earn money from relevant ads on your web site. For more
information, see:
https://www.google.com/adsense/
ORKUT - represents a means to network with other like-minded people and, as
such, represents a challenge to the domination of such facilities as MySpace and
Facebook. Like these others, there are Masonic groups in Orkut to post messages and
share ideas. It also represents a convenient way to start a group for your own
Masonic Lodge of body. For more information, see:
http://www.orkut.com/
GOOGLE VIDEO - is also in Beta test but is rapidly gaining acceptance. Here you
can locate video segments for display, including Masonic videos which you can access
using keywords like "Masons," "Masonic," "Freemasonry," and "Freemasons."
For more information, see:
http://video.google.com/
As an aside, you can also upload videos yourself at:
http://video.google.com/videouploadform?utm_campaign=gv-us-subcnt&utm_source=EM&utm_medium=link
GOOGLE SCHOLAR - is a new facility (and in Beta test) which offers a convenient
means to perform research by scouring documents on the Internet. This is
excellent for performing Masonic research, such as history, ritual, etc.
For more information, see:
http://scholar.google.com/
GOOGLE PRODUCTS - allows you to purchase items over the Internet and represents
a challenge to eBay and other on-line shopping services. Again, try performing
a search using keywords such as "Freemasonry." For more information, see:
http://www.google.com/prdhp?tab=vf
GOOGLE BOOKS - allows you to preview and purchase books on-line, including
Masonic literature (use keywords to locate). This represents a threat to
Amazon and the hundreds of other book sellers on the Internet.
For more information, see:
http://books.google.com/
GOOGLE PAGE CREATOR - provides the means for designing your own web page
(which is excellent for building Lodge web sites). This too is in Beta test
and can be found at:
http://pages.google.com/
GOOGLE GROUPS - represents a discussion group facility that is comparable
to the facilities provided by Yahoo! However, unlike Yahoo!, Masonic groups
are not as prevalent in Google's version. For more information, see:
http://groups.google.com/
GOOGLE LANGUAGE TOOLS - are useful for providing translation services. The
actual translation may not be perfect, but it gets the idea across.
For more information, see:
http://www.google.com/language_tools
GOOGLE LABS - represents the area in Google where all of these devices are
developed and tested. Here, you can see what Google is working on and play
with their latest innovation. For more information, see:
http://labs.google.com/
GOOGLE TOOLBAR - because of Google's growing domination, they have created
a toolbar for inclusion on your web browser. The toolbar makes it easy to
take advantage of Google's facilities and there are two versions available:
Firefox -
http://www.google.com/tools/firefox/toolbar/FT3/intl/en/
MS Internet Explorer - http://toolbar.google.com/T4/?rd=f
The Google products mentioned above represents only a partial list of the
utilities Google provides, most of which are available free of charge. I use
a lot of them myself in my daily operations. The only thing missing that I can
see is a VoIP telephone such as that provided by the Yahoo! Messenger service,
but I wouldn't be surprised if Google is already working on it.
It appears Google is not afraid of challenging anyone and seems to be taking
on the world, including Yahoo!, Microsoft, eBay, MapQuest, MySpace, Facebook,
Amazon, etc. And these other vendors should be worried as Google has gained
considerable momentum. In particular, Microsoft should be concerned as Google
is making the operating system irrelevant (something the Java programming
language tried to do years ago).
In terms of Freemasonry, Google offers many facilities that can be extremely
useful to Masons and their Lodges. But understand this, it is no longer
your grandfather's Google, it's a whole new ball game.
Keep the Faith.
Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.
NOTE: The opinions expressed in this essay are my own and do not
necessarily represent the views or opinions of any Grand Masonic jurisdiction
or any other Masonic related body. As with all of my Masonic articles herein,
please feel free to reuse them in Masonic publications or re-post them on Masonic
web sites (except Florida). When doing so, please add the following:
Article reprinted with permission of the author and www.FreemasonInformation.com
Please forward me a copy of the publication when it is produced.
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http://www.phmainstreet.com/timbryce.htm
Copyright © 2007 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.
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