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"A few weeks ago, a school administrator shared a story about how he tried to block Google\u2019s chat feature, but his students created a workaround. They opened up a new Google Doc, shared it with friends, and used the sidebar chat to talk with each other. \nAlthough the behavior was worrisome to the administrator, it was hard not to be impressed at how cleverly these 7th graders interacted with the software. These students literally grew up on Google\u2019s products, and that's largely thanks to Google.\n\nSEE ALSO: How Google+ Can Succeed at Business Without Really Trying\nGoogle\u2019s foray into enterprise computing began nearly six years ago with the launch of Apps for Your Domain, today\u2019s Google Apps. Google offered the product for free to businesses, government agencies, and educational institutions. The practice is still in place for schools worldwide. \nNow, we know Google isn't necessarily evil, but is the company really that benevolent? After all, Google\u2019s free Apps for Education program appears to have had a rather interesting result: it\u2019s turning kids into loyal, long-term users.\nWith dwindling budgets, it\u2019s no wonder more and more schools are retiring costly on-premises hardware and making the move to Google. Today\u2019s young digital natives and their teachers are certainly embracing this modern technology. In fact, one educator required kindergarteners type their name into a Google Doc every morning in lieu of traditional roll call. \nWith kids as young as five and six immersed in Google\u2019s product suite, which provider do you think they\u2019ll choose when creating personal email accounts later on in life?\nTo some degree, this is already happening. Nearly half of Gmail\u2019s overall user base is under 25, a statistic mirrored by the student bodies of American colleges and universities. Of the nation\u2019s top 100 universities 66 have already gone Google. \nAccording to Northwestern, one of the first universities to make this move, students actually requested that the school implement the platform. A majority of students were already forwarding email to Gmail.  \nRecently, the University of Pennsylvania\u2019s School of Arts and Sciences also announced a Google Apps roll out slated for this summer. The school\u2019s director of student technology listed heavy mail forwarding as just one of the reasons for switching, with more than 50% of students forwarding emails from the current school mandated Hotmail platform to personal Gmail accounts.\nAnd finally, while Princeton University's administration may still be deciding between Google Apps and Microsoft's Office 365, the student body has already made up its mind. In a survey of 150 students piloting the two options, only two preferred Office 365 products.\nAs these early adopters enter the workforce, it will become difficult for companies to justify sticking with legacy messaging systems. These users may also end up impacting specific areas, like mobile. Today\u2019s youth are so attached to the Internet that two out of three list their mobile device as their most important technology appliance. Google claims 43% of the smartphone market and also happens to be the only operating system that supports mobile versions of Google Apps products. \nMobility is second only to social. That why Google+ essentially serves as the social layer on top of all Google products, enterprise included. What does this all mean? Only that growing up Google should not be considered a trend, because if Google has anything to do with it, it will be the norm. \nImage courtesy of iStockphoto, Skynesher"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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