To Google or not to Google...

A week ago, on February 22, Chris Pirllo, uber geek, decided to take a break from Google:

I've been growing increasingly concerned over how Google is starting to do more... and the world is just letting it do more without asking questions (because most users trust the brand blindly). Google is everywhere. I want it to be everywhere, but I also don't want it to be everywhere - because that's very scary. I trust that they will continue to "do no evil" (as opposed to "do know evil?") - but perhaps there's such a thing as "too big?" I have to prepare for the worst.

...

I'm going to live without searching for anything on Google (or using Google software) for a week... ohmygod.

You’re a better man than I am, Charlie Brown: I don’t know if I could do it. I’ve said for years now that without access to the Internet I feel like part of my brain has been turned off, but when I really think about it, it’s Google that makes my brain feel bigger. I mean, sure, there are plenty of other search engines out there, but Googling something has become so instinctive and automatic to me that to have to stop and think about where I’m gonna go to search throws a big ol’ spanner in the works.

Is Chris right, though? Maybe... There’s a Google seach box built into Safari, the browser I’m using, and there’s something a little insidious about that. Ask.com just killed Jeeves in an attempt to better compete with Google. When cartoon spokesmen are getting axed, has it all just gone too far?

How’s it going for Chris? He’s blogging the experience, of course, and yesterday he decided to extend his experiment for another week.