Googlism – Worshipping the Google god

When in extreme profound adoration or reverence to something, people are known devote a lot of time and attention to it. Religion is one of those areas. And if you’re wondering what this has to do with online marketing I’ll get to the point. Some people worship Google and one has started a church about it called The Google Church.

Is Google God? It asks. Is God female? I ask. I’m not going to take that on, but in the Church of Google she is. She organizes the world’s information. She is everywhere. She is always expanding. She doesn’t forget either (a trait I love mostly and hate sometimes). We turn to her when we are in need or want answers.

Feeling lonely? Type it into Google and see what other’s advice. Cheaper than therapy, less intrusive than your priest, and always available. But like God you don’t often hear a voice. It’s internal. You get a list of answers and you can choose the one that helps you must. So there is no claim of absolute truth here, you’re free to worship in other churches too.

Here’s another parallel. Some people see Google as a threat: a threat to privacy, a threat to competition. Just like some may see God’s rules as restrictive.

According to Google trends, the term “Google” is searched for more than the terms “God”, “Jesus”, “Allah”, “Buddha”, “Christianity”, “Islam”, “Buddhism” and “Judaism” combined. We are always calling to her, each time we type in those keywords.

Actually the Church of Google is more for laughs and happiness through Google. It’s founder Matt MacPherson, calls it Googlism. He claims that in 2005, a minister within the church miraculously received an A on a paper written at the last minute. He used Google for help.

We missed their religious holiday but it was this month, on September 14th, the day Google.com was first registered. It’s all in good fun – and to be clear, it’s more about adoration for Google than about religion.