Google wins search engine popularity contest

By Leah Calderon, Features Staff Writer

What is the tallest mountain in the world? Who is the fastest man alive? What is the capital of Bangladesh? Where are you going to go to answer these questions? Let me guess… Google?

You and around 82 percent of all other Americans. Google has become the master of all search engines, it’s the go-to instant-answering agent and a most reliable sage of knowledge, presenting any gamut of answers within seconds. But would you believe that Google is the most popular tech company in the United States—even more popular than Facebook?

A new study shows that although people these days are constantly on their Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and every other social-networking site possible, Google reigns over them all in popularity.

Our generation is practically overwhelmed by technology. From iPhones to iPads and Macbooks, we have search engines attached to us wherever we go, and Google can provide an answer for just about anything in a matter of seconds to satisfy our curious minds. What does Facebook have on that?

An ABC/Washington Post poll asked over 1,000 adults which tech company they found most favorable and which ones they found most unfavorable. Around 82 percent found Google the most favorable tech company over Apple, Facebook and Twitter. Another 53 percent even found the company “strongly” favorable.  Most of the Google fans came from the younger age groups, who calculated at a strong 92 percent favorabilty for the popular search engine. College graduates clocked in at about 88 percent favorability, while the general public ranged around 66 percent.

Google only had about 9 percent unfavorability, which is surprising given the organization owns so much. What is even more interesting is that while we often label current generations as the “social-networking obsessed” generation, Twitter’s voters surprised everyone by voting it as more unfavorable than favorable. An almost equivalent number didn’t care enough to vote either way.

But Google’s diversity, versatility and convenient features like Google+, Google Chrome, Google Mail, and the hot, new creation Project Glass, puts it light-years ahead from the rest of the pack. With the new Project Glass, Google aims at creating an “augmented reality platform which would bring the benefits of Google’s mapping and social networking into real-world experiences,” say company reports. For instance, Project Glass would allow its beholder to Skype at any moment, allowing the receiver on the other end to see through the eyes of the beholder.

But Larry Page, current CEO of Google, states he is incredibly satisfied with the success of Google’s features, but that is not the only thing he wants Google to be known for. In his published “Future Outlook” piece, he dedicates an entire section to the “love and trust” connection he hopes to establish with its users. He has been furiously working to improve Google’s features so that users can have the best experience possible.

“It’s all about speeding things up so users can get on with the things that matter in their lives. That’s what we aim for,” said Page.