The first half is an interesting history of search, going back to nearly the origins of the internet, and a brief history of Google through ~2005. Since the book was published in late 2005, it has some of the same issues as "The Facebook Effect"--namely, the company the author is studying is too young to really know who or what within it will have true long-term importance. Obviously the core search product was important at the time, and AdWords, but beyond that it wasn't clear why Google was going to be such an important and valuable company.

There are plenty of examples to highlight: YouTube was only an emergent independent company that gets a 1 paragraph mention in the epilogue; Gmail gets fewer than a handful of references; Google Docs and Drive didn't exist; Maps was still an "X" project known by its pre-acquisition name of Keyhole; Google had just entered China; Android was still a few years away (hadn't yet been acquired when the book went to print); not to mention all the other Google X projects.

It's probably a more interesting book for the way it captures what happened in the search market between 1995-2004, and Google's very early history, than anything about Google as an actual business. AltaVista, Yahoo, and GoTo figure prominently in the book and I think a lot of people forget how contested and uncertain the search market was around 2000.

So: if you're going to read it, read it for its history of the search market through 2004, not because it's particularly insightful about either Google's history, the way Google works and makes strategic decisions, or the people and products that made Google what it is today.

What a fascinating topic! The author shared ideas about the economic potential of "search" that I had never considered, while at the same time offering an inside glimpse into seach giant Google that was quite enlightening.

Most stuff in this book I already knew (90%). But hearing it in a cohesive story is a great way to fodder new ideas - if you wanna think about the internet and where its going, its a great primer - and a quick read too.

Hearing the the Goto/Overture story was interesting. While it sounds obvious, its an impressive insight by Bill Gross that traffic with an intent (ie search traffic) is worth more than random traffic, and that if you played arbitrage in the middle you could make a lot of money. I like it when people can do math :)

I didn't know Google started in a garage. I learned more about Google's battle to stop SEO spammers. They usually change their algorithm to do this, which of course ends up screwing over legit businesses too - these legit businesses actually name each algorithm change like they were hurricanes - 'Florida' was when Google changed their algorithm on nov 14, 2003.

Quick read surrounding the origination of search engines and the growth of Google. Interesting to see the evolution and how quickly the progression was made.

I worked with AdWords, AdSense, Overture -- the whole nine -- early on, and this book gave me a whole new perspective on what I was part of.

This is a good read for people curious about the force of nature we call Google, and about search and the online advertising model in general. It's also way more personable and fun than a "For Dummies" tome or something written by an SEO guy with a shit-eating grin.

A few weeks ago, I saw a list of the best business books of all time. I was a bit proud of myself that I had read most of them--at had at least heard of the rest. For whatever reason, though, one book had escape me over the years: The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture. I was more than five years late, but figured that I owed it to myself to give it a read.

Like any other book worthy of a read on Google and its antics, this compilation too does not disappoint its readers, willing to dive deep to understand the content and grasp the technical-business aspects of Google Search Engine, the mention of which forms the core to the various other relative information provided in the 320 pages hardcover. The author in no way falls short of giving a complete insight into the 'The Search' facilitated by the work of the legend named Page-Rank Algorithm. In addition to its age old pseudo code, which has helped Google to provide optimized and relevant search results in the past and the recent past; the book focuses on the various new code components added to the existent pseudo code to enhance its search results. John Battelle is instrumental in his approach towards describing the ever reliable and lightning quick Google Search Engine, as a revolutionary invention or rather a development, which played a vital role in the exponential growth of the Internet industry with time and the brand Google alike, since 2001. It would not be wrong to say that, Google in its own right has been the most influential and successful company among the many other modern Internet technology giants such as Amazon, Yahoo, Microsoft, IBM, Flipkart to name a few. With the advent of the smartphones and its various technical features and applications (apps), Google has not been too reluctant to venture into Android application development for Smartphones. The best example of this initiative of theirs is the readily available Google app, which performs searches with a higher agility and in a time efficient manner as compared to Google search using a browser. As the historical legend has it, Google does not easily settle for a compromise on its simple user interface, and this anecdote holds good pertaining to Android Google app too. The author's work on the Google matter is commendable and commands respect from the techno and gadget geeks; who manage to hold on to this compilation, until its completion. The book also emphasizes on the various technological competitors that Google have had to combat in the past, in order for it to sustain its influential impact and competitive reputation, whenever necessary. The book makes a mention of various annotations illustrating the technical measures and business decisions made by Google to dodge the threats from its other technological rivals. The book keeps it simple, to impart to its readers, a motto which could be solely and rightly associated with Google - "Business and Technological initiatives for the welfare of humanity." It has an exemplary note on, how Google has surged ahead of its competitors during the various transition phases and transformations that the Information Technology sector has witnessed over many years. A brief glance at the author's wit, while expressing himself on Google matter could be a testimony to the fact that, Google's positive influence on Internet and its legacy are worthy of a research for a computer enthusiast or a computer scientist. To conclude, this book projects Google and promotes its initiatives in a reader friendly manner; and could be considered as a useful handbook for Google users. An eight on ten for this compilation, mainly for the simplicity with which the content is put forth and also for the spaced readability that the book offers. Makes for a good read especially after a sumptuous meal at lunch time.

This book is seven years old, which might as well be centuries in the internet age, but is still very much worth reading. There are many books about the history of Google, but few that understand both technological and societal challenges presented by the appearance of searchable indices of huge swath of human knowledge. It's also entertaining to mark the book's predictions to reality, and it does pretty well. Highly recommended.

John Battelle, having helped launch Wired in the 1990s and launched The Industry Standard during the dot-com boom, has the credentials and background to tell the story of searching the internet for fun and profit, by he could have chosen a better narrator than himself for the audiobook version.

The earliest history of searching especially the rise and fall of such early fore-runners as Lycos, Excite and Alta Vista is very interesting. The book's final act is a look forward, but the at Internet speeed, this book published in 2005 is already dated with many of the questions asked abouit Google Books already answers and the hype of the semantic Web already a tale of dated and dashed hopes.

Really interesting book on the history of search and its potentials. Highly recommend. If you have heard me spout off about how I think media will become free and ads will become more targeted to pay for it - you'll recognize my argument concept-for-concept straight out of this book. I have no original thoughts.....

An interesting read on the beginnings of the search industry as we know it today and the biggest player in the industry: Google.

Best book I've read on history of search engine from the good ol' Altavista days right down to Google. It reads more like a novel instead of a boring history book with Battelle as the lead character who gets to interview some of the 90s Tech Titans. You don't even have to be a Web Developer/Marketer to appreciate this book. Good read, highly recommend!