How Big is the Internet?

Seems like Google thinks it has the answers to everything lately. So, in that spirit, they also take the time to notify the world
how big is the internet.

According to Google, the web had a billion pages in 2000. Nowadays, Google claims the net holds over a trillion indexed page. That's 1,000,000,000,000 unique URLs for you.

I found this part in Google's post very interesting: "We don't index every one of those trillion pages -- many of them are similar to each other, or represent auto-generated content similar to the calendar example that isn't very useful to searchers. But we're proud to have the most comprehensive index of any search engine, and our goal always has been to index all the world's data".

So, basically, Google decide which pages you should see. All in the name of helping you, the stupid surfer, to find the info you need more easily.

Really?

I find it extremely annoying that Google thinks it should educate us on every step. I really dislike the fact that when I search for a specific word, Google show off by giving me results that include similar words. If I looked for the word VIDEO, I want results with that word, and that word only. Not VIDEOS, not CLIPS and not MOVIES. Just VIDEO, thank you very much.

Thank God for the Plus sign (+). Problem is, not many users know or want to utilize the advanced search options. So they rely on what Google gives them, and they get lazier by the day. After all, if it isn't in the first three results of Google - it ain't really THERE, right?

This is not about personalized search or natural search. This is about dumbing down the users, and making them more dependent on products like Google, to do the work for them. I think it's bad news to the internet and to the users.

Frank Herbert had it right: Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind. If we give up our thinking and let machines think for us - we won't be around for very long.