#googlefail: Are We Too Dependent?
An error in one of our systems caused us to direct some of our web traffic through Asia, which created a traffic jam. As a result, about 14% of our users experienced slow services or even interruptions.
Others believe that AT&T may be to blame (I was unable to get through on my iPhone’s 3G connection). AT&T, however, disagrees:
After reports on #googlefail being related to our network, we looked & have not identified any problems that could have caused the outage
Putting blame aside, the amount of infrastructure that Google supports is huge; from search functions to Google Apps, the Mountain View giant is literally everywhere. I’ll perform countless Google searches on a daily basis, check feeds in Google Reader, host my email on Google Apps, get directions via Google Maps – the list goes on. I’d go as far to say that at least 50 percent of my day revolves around Google.
I can't imagine my day without Google.
But even if we are too reliant, I don’t see an immediate way around it. Indexing the world is a tough job, but somebody has to do it. I’m a huge centralization buff, and there’s no better definition of that than Google.
One of Google's recently unveiled servers.
I’m not about to complain to the point of extremity. Most of the time, Google’s stability is exceptional. It’s also safe to say that they have a pretty firm hold on their servers over at the Googleplex – I’m more than willing to trade a few minutes of downtime for the existence of the awesome web giant.
Tags: Google, index, information, search, server
Matt Smith is a technology addict absorbed in Web 2.0, RSS, software development, and the blogosphere. He’s actively involved in the online community and is always in search of new business ventures. Whether it’s geeking out on his personal system, configuring a server, or collaborating with others, Matt is always plugged in to today's technology world. You can email Matt at 
October 7th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
I agree with you Matt. I can handle a couple minutes of down-time from Google. Their products are so convenient that it’s almost stupid to host your own apps. I like centralization as well. I try hosting my own apps, but mine never look as cool or flows as well as Google does.
With that said, since the last two #googlefails, I’ve rethought my depedence and I’m now slowly getting off the google-high one app at a time. I still use Google Reader daily, but I’m not so dependent on Gmail. I went back to using a desktop application to handle my emails. Since I’m on Linux (Fedora to be specific), I’m using Evolution. When I’m not on my desktop, I run Gmail. So; the only issue now is sometimes having to double my cleaning efforts. No one likes a messy inbox.