Lord of the Web

As a way of celebrating their tenth birthday, Google has brought  Google 2001- a look at how the search engine was in January 2001.  Below an antiquated Google logo( the old logo has been brought in to give a undeveloped version feel, since by 2001 Google had started using the logo as we see it today-this can be verified by Archive.org’s WayBack machine) the input box invites you to search through “1,326,920,000 web pages”.

As 2001 was Google’s first year with a complete archived index,  it has chosen this year for its retropective into what it was,  rather than 1998, when the now search engine major began its operations.  Google states in their FAQ that “earlier versions of our index aren’t readily accessible … the January 2001 index is the best we can do.”

The FAQ also states that this index is not actually a perfect reproduction of the real 2001 index; the company says that it is a pretty good approximation. Some index entries have been removed as well, fro various reasons.  Google’s FAQ also adds that this special search engine won’t be live forever, but just for one month.

Google 2001 is a highly interesting trip to the past. You can get a feeling for what the web  was like back then, what topics were as of yet unknown or little talked about and what topics have ceased to exist.  Just try out “BitTorrent” to see what I mean.

Comment on any interesting search keywords that you find. Happy Searching throught the past.