9781422270424

collecting was so large that the Stanford computer network could barely handle it. One of the most significant changes they came up with was called PageRank, a ranking system they developed for how websites would be displayed following a search. Users who search using Google can see PageRank in action. The websites with the highest PageRank are displayed higher on a list of search results. The first version of Google was hosted on Stanford’s network in 1996, a full two years before Google became an official company. Google’s original web address was google.stanford.edu, which was part of Stanford University’s website. Google became so popular, though, that it was too much for an education website to handle. It needed to be moved to its own web address (also known as a web domain). Google.com was registered as a website in 1997. “When we were trying to name Google, we actually went through thousands of names,” Page explained in an interview. “We settled on googol because it sounds fun. It also means a very large number. It means one followed by a thousand zeros.” Google was used instead of googol to show that the search engine was different from the large number. STARTING THE COMPANY By the end of 1997, Google was finding its place on the World Wide Web. The duo left Stanford behind, effectively putting their education on hold, to pursue the great idea that would become one of the most well-known search engines on the Web. Google, Inc. officially began in 1998 and was already experiencing great success. The first version of the website was simple, and has

16

GOOGLE