I love Google

It is not often that I attach myself so much to a brand. In fact, in most cases I can't stand the concept of "brand" and try to avoid any appearance of brand. I do not wear clothes with brand symbols on them (i.e. I will NEVER wear a Polo shirt with a horse on it or a Tommy Hilfiger shirt with the symbol, etc.). But once in a while a brand comes around that I just relate to. One was Mossimo back in high school that I thought was a great brand that I related to (not so much now, but once in a while I buy a Mossimo article of clothing).

But the last few years Google has proven to be such a brand. I love it - and love almost everything Google. In fact, it seems everything they come out with makes in impact on my life. This blog, for example, was only started since I found it in Google Labs. It has had a huge impact on my life and, presumably, my family. Google Talk has gotten me back into IMing. Googles corportate policies and philosophy have made me drool and it has become the number one place I would like to work as they focus more on flexibility and the understanding that free time is necessary in order to invent and be creative. Sitting at email all day does the opposite. Their semi-sponsored music player (Rhapsody) fits my needs as it plays all media types: mp3, apple, and .wmv. Their calendar tool has helped organize my own life - something that I use at work that I never was able to take advantage at home. Now I can have reminders sent to me and have events listed at home. Plus I can create a Young Men's Calendar that we as a presidency can use to list all events for the next 12 months with reminders, invites, etc.

Today they released a spreadsheet website that enables users to create/import/manipulate spreadsheets online. No need to purchase MS Office or MS Excel (which costs hundreds of dollars by the way!). Now we can have the basics for free. Does the first counselor not have Excel but you track everything in Excel? No problem now. Upload it into your Google Spreadsheet and you can then share it with other users and even allow them to edit it if you like. No software to buy or even download. And no need to back it up in case your brother crashes your harddrive, Google will store it for you and you can access it from any computer in the world. And at the same time, they are sticking it to Microsoft and Bill Gates. I love Google.