This week our friends at Google are celebrating their 10th birthday. In the tradition of the Hobbits, Google had decided to give us all a present in the form of their oldest available search index.
Click on http://www.google.com/search2001.html and you can go back in history to 2001 and see what kind of results were delivered by Google. Search on Sarah Palin and you'll find nothing. A search on Windows Vista won't bring many computer related items. An iPod was an Image Proof of Deposit Document System.
I often use my own unique last name (Pytlovany) to test search engines. On Google in 2001 there were 77 items found when I searched. Today, Google reports that are 5,500 pages that include my last name. In 2001, WinPatrol was mentioned on 371 pages. This morning a Google search on WinPatrol shows well over a million.
What makes this really fun is that Google as partnered with archive.org so that when you click on the results there’s a good chance you can see what the resulting page actually looked like in 2001. Searching on John McCain or Joe Biden will give you access to many of their historic positions. There’s even a chat with John McCain on AOL.
Click on “View old version of the Internet Archive”
Here’s what our WinPatrol web page looked like seven years ago.
WinPatrol.com in 2001. Click for more
I’m told that Google 2001 will only be available for the month of October so use your imagination and see what fun you can have.
More screen shots:
Technologizer: Time Travel via Google
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