I’m Feeling Lucky

Last week, Google announced a new feature that lets users customize Google.com with their own pictures. When I read about this, I groaned; here was another perfect example of Google peddling unbridled visual pollution in its unconscious drive to become the new Microsoft, purveyor of aesthetic misfires. I just couldn’t imagine a photograph that I’d like to see running in the background of their home page, the only truly elegant product that Google has ever designed. I mean, what would the point be?

Then Laura showed me the photo she uploaded. I stand corrected.

See the full-size image here.

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  3. Anne Jackson

    a super-cute pic! A world apart/nicer than yesterday’s “default” image, that creepy metallic swing contraption thing. But I have to say that I still prefer the plain background, even to great family pics–it’s just one less distraction.

  6. Naz Hamid

    I said it on Flickr and I’ll say it again: best Google background image ever. I think it’d be the only one worth putting up.

    Maybe Mr. P might make a good one.

    Time to go put our animals on Google…

  7. voroan

    that image is adorable and nicely composed I must say, but there’s something very ominous about the growing presence of Google’s mostly opaque do-no-evil empire that is underlined particularly well by your example. how far will we weave an unchecked technological monoculture into the fabric of our personal lives? how much will we willingly submit to them?

  10. Colin Watson

    Very cute pic indeed. I did the same thing with a picture of my little one but unbeknownst to me, Google added that pic to one of my Picasa albums and then shared it with subscribers. Imagine if I played a joke on my wife and used something ‘provocative’ – yikes!

  13. William

    Well, I wouldn’t be able to find a pic that would fit the background of Google either, but I strongly disagree with you when you say Google is trying to be more like Microsoft. Search-engine-wise Microsoft (Bing) have almost ripped off Google and copied its algorithm and many features.

  15. Mandeep Khunkhuna

    That picture works really well. I do think that the customisable option is a good thing for google as it will keep people coming back to them. People (including myself) love to customise things. Adding a photo to google, which is most likely to be someones homepage, gives google that opportunity to keep google instead of people choosing to use other search engines that are becoming popular at the moment, such as bing.

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