20 Years Ago Today: Google Goes Public and Changes the Internet

On August 19, 2004, the American technology company Google Inc. launched its stocks for sale on the stock exchange. The company, founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin during their studies at Stanford, started business with a clear mission – to organize global information and make it universally accessible and useful.

Google is based in Mountain View, Silicon Valley, California. The company was registered as a private company on September 4, 1998. After its stock market launch, it expanded its activities through new products, acquisitions, and partnerships. The main revenues come from the Google Search engine, generating text results on the internet. The current CEO is Eric Schmidt.

Today, Google is part of Alphabet Inc., with divisions for cloud computing, email (Gmail), web maps, book digitization, and other services. The name Google comes from the mathematical term «googol» – a unit with 100 zeros. From its daily usage, the word "google" is now featured in the Oxford Dictionary as a verb for internet searching.

The current Google logo has been used since September 1, 2015, after a massive corporate reorganization - the style is modern and in line with the Alphabet Inc. logo. On holidays, anniversaries, and major events, the company changes its logo with so-called doodles - illustrations, animations, and games for the specific occasion. In 2011, Google patented the concept of «Google Doodle».

The dominant position in online search, broader access to information, and new functionalities have led to criticisms about privacy, censorship, and copyright. Nevertheless, Google remains one of the most influential brands that has changed the way we access, work, and search in the digital world.