INTERNET GIANT Google yesterday celebrated the 10th anniversary of its incorporation as a company and the hiring of its first employee.
In those 10 years, Google has gone from being the search engine favoured by the technology vanguard to a ubiquitous supplier of internet technologies.
The once plucky start-up, which began life on the campus of Stanford University as a project of graduate students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, last year became the world's most valuable brand, according to market research firm Millward Brown, knocking arch-rival Microsoft off the top spot and leaving long-established brands such as Coca Cola, Wal Mart and IBM in its wake.
A software breakthrough by Page and Brin allowed it to deliver far more relevant search results than its competitors. With millions visiting its site, Google came up with a simple idea that delivered billions in profits - displaying small text ads beside search results.
Internet industry veteran Colm Grealy, who co-founded Ireland Online and is managing director of internet advertising agency SalesOnline, says that initially people did not realise they were paid advertisements because they were relevant to what they were looking for. Prior to that, internet advertising had been predominantly intrusive banner ads that may have had little relevance to the viewer.
"They have became phenomenally successful because anyone with a credit card can advertise," says Grealy.
With the profits rolling in, Google could concentrate on introducing new services - with mixed results. Its image search and Gmail e-mail service have been successful and the acquisitions of video sharing service YouTube and blogging platform Blogger enabled it to cement its position as a top internet destination. But shopping comparison service Froogle and social network Orkut failed to take off.
In 2004, Google opened an office in Ireland to act as its operations centre for Europe, the Middle East and Africa and which now employs more than 1,600 staff. As in the Californian "Googleplex", the young Dublin workers enjoy good salaries, free food and soft drinks and a laid-back management style that includes no set hours of work.
Yet, as Google enters its second decade, concerns have arisen over its dominant position. Google handles nearly two-thirds of online search queries, drawing greater scrutiny from regulators and privacy watchdogs.
Google says it is guided by its unusual corporate motto: "Don't be evil". It will have to achieve its ever-expanding ambitions without alienating its 650 million users or tarnishing its brand.
Its goals far exceed internet search and advertising. Now it is digitising health records and books, selling business software on the internet and trying to extend its online dominance to mobile phones.
Microsoft and other rivals are trying to check its ambitions. Media company Viacom sued Google for $1 billion, accusing YouTube of copyright infringement.
For all its success, Google depends on one cash cow, search advertising, and the promise of other initiatives remain just that. Another decade of success will require Google to deliver the innovation that marked its first decade.
That's precisely what Google intends to do, says Marissa Mayer, Google's vice-president, search products and user experience.
"From my earliest conversations in the summer of 1999, we have spent our time brainstorming about the future," Ms Mayer said. "We aren't taking a lot of time to reflect on the past 10 years. We are much more focused on the next 10 years." - ( Additional reporting: LA Times service)
