Google hopes to find new opportunities but this time it is not the development of technology, but on humanitarian aid issues. Two years ago, Google held a change of policy, under which would be devoted to tackling problems in which the company could provide support based on the strengths of the company. That is why Google has decided to create a philanthropic arm within the company which has been named Google.org.
In addition, the company has always been involved in various charitable campaigns, but this time Google has decided to raise a new challenge. According to project coordinator Megan Smith Google.org now seek to use their engineering knowledge in pursuit of solving world problems.
One of the clearest examples of this policy is to use Google Earth for free to everyone. A concrete example of the scope of the site was for a project to be held in the Santa Cruz mountains, which thanks to the free maps you could see how the project planned to have dimensions greater than those that had been stipulated, and groups Environmentalists were able to give warning of it. It is from that event came Google Earth Outreach.
Google Earth Outreach is a database with relevant information and maps of various parts of the world, including one I can access free information such as climate change reported, economic, cultural events are taking place, statistics health, etc … Google Earth Outreach is positioned to become an atlas of current and free for everyone.
Currently about 100 people working at Google.org, who have set targets to provide high fidelity information to poor countries where this information can be useful. The budget will go to philanthropic arm for 2011 will be $ 45 million dollars.
Other products that Google offers for free are Flu Google Trends, a system for tracking the incidence of influenza based on the number of queries related to the topic, Google PowerMeter, a program that lets you see the power consumption of your home; Re < C, a site which shows environmental and ecological information on maps, and Google Crisis Response, an information service in the event of natural disasters, which take great relevance in 2005 with Hurricane Katrina.
But as time passes it is clear that these applications should be able to be sold in any way, since ultimately Google no longer a company, a proposal could be selling information to companies engaged in the agricultural sector, but while applications still remain in small sizes will remain a “gift to humanity”.
Posted in 
Tags: