Ever So Humble
The Heart of Google's Wild Success Is a Home Page of Calculated Simplicity
By Alan Sipress
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 3, 2006; Page D01
Ever since Google Inc.'s famously spartan home page was released for public testing eight years ago, it has featured a prominent button beneath the search box giving users the cocky option of "I'm Feeling Lucky."
Google executives have long known that almost no one uses it.
But the company has no plans to evict "I'm Feeling Lucky," which whisks users directly to the top Web page matching their search query, even though this feature faces mounting competition from other Google services that could benefit from display on one of the most precious tracts of Internet real estate.
"If we took it away, there would be mass protests worldwide," said Marissa Mayer, vice president for search products and user experience. "It's part of our heritage. It's part of what users really like about us."
The Heart of Google's Wild Success Is a Home Page of Calculated Simplicity
By Alan Sipress
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 3, 2006; Page D01
Ever since Google Inc.'s famously spartan home page was released for public testing eight years ago, it has featured a prominent button beneath the search box giving users the cocky option of "I'm Feeling Lucky."
Google executives have long known that almost no one uses it.
But the company has no plans to evict "I'm Feeling Lucky," which whisks users directly to the top Web page matching their search query, even though this feature faces mounting competition from other Google services that could benefit from display on one of the most precious tracts of Internet real estate.
"If we took it away, there would be mass protests worldwide," said Marissa Mayer, vice president for search products and user experience. "It's part of our heritage. It's part of what users really like about us."