The Web, Google, and a Challenge
With all of the web projects I have going on right now, and all of the ones I'd like to do in the near future (such as redoing my portfolio), it's absolutely amazing and absurd how much we're affected by the Web right now. It was just 7-8 years ago that we were struck with this dot com boom. Remember? Every major company in the world put out some new nationally broadcast commercial. They were all the same really.. except each had a different [domain].com as the last second of the commercial.
Unfortunately, the web is painfully bad for me as I have a habit of impulse buying way too many things that I don't need. Of course, I also save a whole lot of money by ordering things from around the web, as opposed to "IRL" retail. I remember at the start of the dot com boom, I was still calling places like Musician's Friend and American Musical Supply to order things. I called Woodwind and Brasswind in 2000 to order a piccolo. I can't remember the last time I ordered something by phone, besides pizza, Chinese food, or Buffalo Wild Wings.
Today, it's just implied that every company has a website. It's hardly advertised. It's assumed you know how to find it if you want. Along those lines, where would we be without Google? I started using it back in 1999-2000, when it was still very young. I was switching from AltaVista. Today, Google is pretty much the starting page to the Internet… the "Homepage" if you will. Google may be proof that there is no end to the Internet. Or is there?
And so, I have a little challenge for you. Think of a major corporation, one that is nationally recognized. Now, think of one that does not have a website. If you think of one, write me a comment. Good luck.