In Planet Google, New York Times columnist Randall Stross provides a behind-the-scenes look at Google's massively ambitious plan: to become the one-stop shop for the world's information needs. Stross explains how one of the philosophies behind Google's plan is that information should be open and accessible ... which is part of why Google hated Facebook at first (since Facebook was a "closed-network model" - meaning "the more members that Facebook signed up, and the more time that they spent within its cozy but closed confines, out of reach of Google's spider, the slower the pool of searchable information for Google to find on the open Web grew").Stross also has a few chapters on the infamous algorithm that Google uses to process its search results. Apparently, Google is determined to have the algorithm, and not human bias, determine search results, even when (for example) anti-Semitic websites may be toward the top of the list when you search for the word "Jew." Stross also discussed the business side of Google and how company after company, including Microsoft and Yahoo, underestimated Google's technology and advertising model. Lawyers reading this book will also appreciate the brief discussion of the copyright issues brought up in the lawsuits filed against Google for scanning books into "Google Books."
Overall, there is something in here for everyone - the only downside is that some parts got a bit too tech-y for the average reader. I'm sure there is a better book about Google out there, but this one was good enough.
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