What do you Love?: Google (Why)

The "Why" do I love Google is even important than the previous post which was mostly a free and very liberal advertisement of Google and its services. The reason it is important is because this is the question I have been asked a few times (why am I such a big fanboy), and while I have always had my reasons, I never articulated them. So here we go:

1. The first and foremost is the UI of its services (or the lack of it). I mostly find the UI not getting in my way to do what I want to do. (though I didn't like the new Orkut interface and always preferred the older one). And once you get hooked to the interface, it is kind of difficult to accept any new interface, part of reason I always came back to Google after trying its alternatives.

2. Their services are well connected. What that means is that I can easily transfer and share my data from one place to another without much of a hassle. Another reason that made it difficult to use an alternative service.

3. One ID for all. And this polymorphism enables me to use its service without making yet another account. I mean why do I take trouble to make a Wordpress account (even though it may be better) when I have a ready-made blogger account?

4. They innovate. And at such mind blowing speed that sometimes it becomes difficult for the user to keep pace with it! Of course, this may be because they want to dominate the Internet or they don't want their competitors to gain market share, but to me as an end user, it's win-win situation.

5. Everything is free (well almost). And I like free! Especially when it's better than the next 'paid' service.

6. Of course, their main source of income is advertisements and hence while using their services one is bound to come across some. But they almost never are in your face (now compare it with a site like songs.PK which is so much riddled with advertisements that it is difficult to find out where the actual content is!). Besides I use Adblocker so I don't find the pesky ads.

7. I know mostly what they do is for their own profit, but they also keep user in mind (OK in most of the situations). And they have done some fantastic things without keeping profit in mind (promoting HTML5, open sourcing Android, and WebM & WebP codecs being a few of them). They also let users participate. Getting and working on feedback from them is a very important part of their working.

8. They support Open Source technologies. I do too!

9. This may sound weird, but part of the reason I love Google is because it is great competitor to some of the companies I don't like!

10. Another weird reason is that some people hate it because of it being a monopoly on Web, while I love to enjoy/defend it. Sometimes fanboys don't have rational reasons to justify their liking! :)

I know Google is not God. It has its shortcomings. But it has definitely made my life simpler and I love simplicity...

WIBWIB (Why I Blog What I Blog)

(Alright, so this is my 25th post so far on this blog. Half the distance covered :) Now irrespective of whether I complete my task of 50 (which I am committed to), I think I have proved to myself that I can also write.)  So, now probably is the time to introspect about why I blog or want to blog anyway:

1. I want to be coo!
Everyone wants; and who doesn't is not path3tic, but worse than that. I read about this thing called "blogging" a long time back, almost 4 years back at the start of 2007. I thought, "wow, how cool it will be to have a weblog of your own". Of course, every task worth doing required dedication and preservation. But we are not attracted to Photoshopping or dancing or programming, because it requires dedication but we find them coo! and dream ourselves looking coo! doing them.

2. I had something to say
OK, I am not very vocal. But that doesn't mean I have nothing to offer. Nothing goes in my mind. No thoughts cross the brain. In fact, it is quite the reverse, I think I respond to everything going on in my surrounding. But the inability to express myself was really damning. So, this blog is like my mouthpiece (think Shiv Sena's "Saamna" ;).

3. As a medium to communicate
Every time I meet a friend after long time they seem to be pretty eager to know about me. They want to know what's going on in my life. Using Internet messaging,Twitter, Orkut etc. are some of the ways to tell what's up! Blogging is a part of that long term strategy.

4. I think I can entertain
You know I find myself really boring sometimes. But that doesn't mean I want to die oblivion. I choose to be funny, if not so in real life, then in virtual second life. OK, I am not bragging that I am the funniest guy you will come around, but if the little amount of feedback I get for my posts are something to go by, you like reading it!

5. Desire to do something creative
I have another misconception about myself that I am not as much creatively blessed than my friends. I am just that guy who crams stuff and get some good marks and becomes "O holy studious RavS". And I want to challenge myself. I want myself to think I more than a book worm (which I am not anyways). Once my friend Katy (name changed due to privacy reasons) said that he wanted to change others' notion towards himself by doing new things, so he started writing poems along side painting and quizzing. These posts are somewhat inspired from that thinking.

6. To have a pet 'project'
Another friend (who doesn't want to be named) pushes me to have a project to look forward to. While the direction he prods in some other one, this blog is actually like a project to me which I am building, slowly and slowly, day by day. Some posts are so fantastic that I laugh on them myself while others look drab/stupid, which make me second guess about posting them. But, anyways, I am proud of whatever I have posted here and will continue to do so.

7. An Experimental platform
When I really do something 'on my own', I really like to experiment with it. My life itself is a big experiment for me. And this blog is an extension of that. I think you will agree that I have chosen different topics and sometimes different writing styles to post. In future I will continue to do that. I want to go beyond my limits as a limited writer.

8. To think clearly
A lot of thoughts keep roaming in my mind all the time. But they are vague. It seems like I am not sure about a few things, where I stand in my opinion about them (it happens with me a lot, during debates). So writing blog gives strength to my views and make them concrete, clear. Sometimes I get surprised reading my own posts (thoughts).

9. Typing practice :)
Alright, this is just a side bonus and not a primary motivation to blog.

PS: Well actually all above points are time pass/waste. The right reason is my competitive nature. Everybody seems to be creating a blog. I just want to say loud and clear, "Whatever you write, whatever you think; Doesn't Matter. MY BLOG IS BETTER THAN WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE OR ARE GOING TO HAVE. PERIOD" :$