Google turned 20 last year, and while it isn't the only search engine available, it certainly is the most popular.
Since it's creation the website has achieved things that were previously impossible, from SEO optimisation to seamless global collaboration. Here's a quick look at just some of the ways that search engines have changed the world forever.
Search engines have completely changed how we consume news and find out about current events. In the past, the population relied heavily on daily newspapers and tv/radio reports. However, today we can simply search a topic to find out why it is trending. Search engines have also given us the opportunity to comment on the news instead of merely taking it in.
Search engines give us access to limitless information 24 hours a day. But all that data is not good for our brains. In fact, research has shown that this excessive amount of information is not only bad for human discourse, it's also making us worse at remembering things.
Search engines have changed marketing forever. Whether its pay per click advertising campaigns or SEO optimisation, most businesses now promote themselves online and rely heavily on sites like Google to pull in results.
Google Maps (and Earth) has become much more than a tool for measuring distances. Since Google Street View came onto the scene in 2007, it's been possible to "visit" far-flung destinations or give your friends a virtual tour of your hometown.
Search engines have changed how workplaces collaborate and store documents. We can now upload, amend, edit and instantly share the changes with our coworkers. This has made the workplace more efficient and transparent.
Google Analytics was launched as a service in November 2005. It is now the most widely used web analytics service on the Internet. Companies around the world are able to use this tool to effectively track their data which has become a key component of success in recent years.