Google's Great Search!
Another one of Google's secret projects is being scrapped. This time it's those barges the company built, one on each coast:
Nationally, USA Today apparently was only able to pick up the story after good old-fashioned journalism from the Portland Press Herald in Maine:
I say "good, old-fashioned journalism" because this is the way stories should be covered. That's with community members alerting beat reporters to new developments and then the media outlet putting resources on the story and revealing the details.
From my experience covering Silicon Valley, Google can be less than forthcoming.
But my concern is not just over some empty shipping containers floating in our bays and harbors.
This time it involves health issues. Mine, yours and possibly everybody else's.
You see, Google, with the help of some major University researchers, is getting ready to track the human genome.
This will be the company's third foray into the medical field. Don't expect an announcement from Google on this until the chiefs in Mountain View can spin it into whatever kind of story they want.
This time the details come from the researchers:
Did you see there about hundreds of volunteers willing to offer themselves up as guinea pigs?
True, the project undoubtedly offers the prospect of tremendous advances in healthcare. Bravo! But what can we say about a company that appears ready to delve into anything without fear of oversight?
My experience is one in which people are eager to give things a try in the hopes of catching the next big wave.
Take my colleague here, enamored with Google Glass, even though we hardly know how it is really playing out in the marketplace right now:
But in all seriousness, one has to be impressed by Google's unflinching quest for that next big thing.
I'm submersed, for example, in the company's YouTube crusade. I've got my own "channel." That last link I included is from my company's channel, courtesy of YouTube, a Google subsidiary. I've also got a personal "channel."
"Subscribe" and Google AdSense can populate my videos with their commercials, and I might get a few dollars if I play my cards right.
But to be fair, here is my Google promotion, courtesy of one of my favorite news sites:
Good work Google! I'm on the edge of my seat, waiting for more developments out of Mountain View.
I love how your tentacles seem to break off and form ever more divisions, although I cringe at the thought of how things can get messy when you've got your fingers in so many places.
