This image wasn't my original blog, but since this class focuses on apocalypses I thought this would be a neat thing to post, as the UFO is a random image for Google to use . After our last class, I think we all had a better understanding of the word apocalypse, realizing that it can mean a series of things and could vary from person to person in some cases. I guess it was apocalyptic because of the UFO, and I would associate UFOs with the end of the world. But mostly I just thought it was kind of neat.
Why do UFOs usher in 'the end of the world' rather than an exciting new era of the world? In this case, Google is losing an "o" to the spaceship: the word—and by metonymic extension, the world—is being disintegrated. But are there other ways that we might imagine a spaceship interacting with the Google logo? It is curious how the Google logo functions as a sort of cipher for cultural trends and atmospheric disturbances.
ReplyDeleteI look it at this almost in a sense of the Spaceship is taking Google (or at least the o) into a world unknown. I think society has veered towards the belief that uncertainty is a devastating concept, or at least in my opinion. The spaceship could in fact represents a new technological burst that "Google" generated with its creation. It has changed the way people research making information easily accessible. It will not be long before Google disappears and something new and more exciting emerges, changing what is now mundane to our society.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Maria that humans tend to fear what they do not understand, which is why we automatically associate UFO’s with feelings of paranoia. Some people also perceive the afterlife with this same anxiety.
ReplyDeleteWhen I glanced at the image, I immediately saw it as just another Google logo and I moved onto the next post. Google puts up new ones each week or so; they probably couldn’t find a holiday or special event to celebrate so they just threw a UFO-themed logo up there.
However, I did some research on the subject (ironically, I googled it) and found an article that had some details about the logo. Apparently, the same day that Google posted the UFO logo, Google also sent out a message on Twitter that, when decoded from numbers to letters, spelled out “All your O are belong to us” (1). That phrase is taken from a popular internet meme, which was based on a poorly-translated Japanese video game. The original phrase used “base” instead of “O,” but it has become popular over the internet to replace “base” with any other term to proclaim one’s victory or superiority over something.
This is all quite nerdy, I suppose.
So, what are we to make of Google’s use of a popular internet meme? What are these O’s that Google claims to be taking over? Why is it that Google chose only one O to abduct and not both?
Google is a massive data-collecting, networking, and advertising corporation. It’s popularity grows by the second. Google aspires to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful” (2) but is this really a good thing? Should all information be categorized and accessible to the public? Is all knowledge meant to be known by all?
If an internet-apocalypse were ever to occur, I wouldn’t be shocked if the ever-growing corporations such as Google had something to do with it. As one of my professors once said, “Be careful what you wiki.”
Sources:
(1) True UFO: http://www.trueufo.com/2009/09/06/google-ufo-logo-mystery/
(2) Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google
This is an excellent follow up, Maria R.! Your comment is a well written and substantive example of how we can linger on material that seems ephemeral or evasive, and make connections that, as you suggest, have quite quirky yet grave implications. You demonstrate how we should consider pervasive media forms like Google, and how we can work to detect the apocalyptic potentials housed in something as innocuous seeming as an internet search engine.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with you, Maria! I mean it's amazing how everything is literally at our finger tips with the click of "Google Search". Has "Google" really taken over the world? The idea sounds funny, but at the same time we (society) have come to rely so heavily on it. It is our number one means of finding information and answers to just about anything or on anyone. You said it yourself, you used Google to find the description for the image that I had posted.
ReplyDeleteBut could this lead to something even more dangerous? There have been numerous times in high school and in my college career, that I have used "Google" to help with an assignment or attain background knowledge on something.** Many times I found myself using it when I felt something was too hard, to do on my own. But as time progressed I realized that my reliance on Google was inhibiting my own ability to think for myself. Rather than examine something on my own, I would jump to the computer and Google whatever it was that I was looking for. But could that reliance on such a powerful tool like Google be detrimental to society, or at least their ability to think for themselves?
Check out the latest installment of this: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/6215109/Google-releases-Martian-invasion-doodle-to-mark-birthday-of-HG-Wells.html
ReplyDelete