Happy 14th B-Day Google!

Surprise to Google who turned 14 years old today (9/4/2012). Last year Google didn't post its very own Happy 13th B-Day doodle! Since I couldn't find one on the internet, I thought you'd enjoy last years "Google Rocks 13th B-Day" doodle rendition (below), didn't have time to create one this year.

So let's all celebrate Google’s B-Day.

Ever since Google was born (September 4, 1998), there have been whirlwinds of internet momentum, controversy, and innovation.

Google doesn't appear to be slowing down any time soon. Google has created and acquired so much since it’s 13th B-Day.

Of the total 116 acquisitions Google has to date, 33.6% were from the past two B-Day cycles, the most recent B-Day cycle, from September 5th 2011 to September 4th 2012, Google made 15 acquisitions (Google made 24 acquisitions the previous B-Day cycle, Sept. 5, 2010 to Sept 4, 2011.)

Interestingly, from February 12, 2001 through August 30, 20010 (12 B-Day cycles) Google has made a total of 78 acquisitions, on average, roughly 6 acquisitions per year.

Below is a listing of acquisitions since it’s 13th B-Day, Sept. 4, 2011:


● Sept.   7, 2011 – Zave Networks, digital coupons for Google Offers program
● Sept.   8, 2011 – Zagat, restaurant reviews for Google Maps and Places programs
● Sept. 19, 2011 – DailyDeal, daily deals for Google Offers program in
● Oct.   11, 2011 – SocialGrapple, social media analytics for Google+ Plus
● Nov. 10, 2011 – Apture, instantaneous search for Google Search
● Nov. 14, 2011 – Katango, social circle organizer for Google+ Plus
● Dec.   9, 2011 – RightsFlow, music rights management for YouTube
● Dec. 13, 2011 – Clever Sense, mobile apps for Google Android
● Mar. 16, 2012 – Milk, Inc., social network Google+ Plus
● Apr.   2, 2012 – TxVia, online payment for Google Wallet
● Jun.   4, 2012 – Meebo, instant messaging for Google+ Plus
● Jun.   5, 2012 – Quickoffice, productivity suite for Google Docs
● Jul.  20, 2012 – Sparrow, mobile apps for Gmail Google
● Aug.  1, 2012 – Wildfire Interactive, social media marketing for Google, Google+ Plus
● Aug. 13, 2012 – Frommer’s, travel guides to enhance Zagat for Google Maps and Places programs

To think it took Larry Page and Sergey Brin less than 2 years to incorporate Google -- in 1996, both were PhD students at Stanford University, working on a research project when Yahoo! and AOL were the major search engines.

Fourteen years later Google has embarked on hundreds, if not thousands of innovations, ventures and acquisitions. Below is a brief timeline of my most notable Google milestones (note clicking on the table below, and then once again, will enlarge for viewing):

This chart (as of last year, 9/4/2011) has not been updated with the latest additions listed above. Will try to update soon. Bookmark this blog and visit frequently. Thanks!