In a meeting today, I was having a discussion with one of our young staff members.  The optimum word being young. Interpret - Gen Y.  We were discussing how to make a website easier for users to find and I told her type in “Search Engine Optimization” in Google.  The discussion them turned to Google and how easy it is to get answers.  She then made the statement, “I wonder what it would be like if we couldn’t get answers in 5 minutes?”

For those of us that remember, Before Google, this question is shocking but we know the answer to that question.  Before Google we spent hours, days, even months researching projects and trying to find answers to questions.  Often finding only one or two solutions because of limited books and resources at hand.  Sometimes we found all the information needed, sometimes we made decisions on the information we had only to find we didn’t have all the facts.  Doing research and getting answers to questions could be a painful process.

With Google and a host of other search engines, getting answers to questions is fast and easy.  Type in anything and you will get something back.  Find out about people, restaurants, building permits, definitions, maps that you can drive the route, anything you want to know.  And the 5 minutes in the question, if you have access to the information, you can get it from anywhere in the world in 8 seconds or less.

Those who hate change would say that this rapid access to information is bad.  Others would say that the information in cyberspace contains a lot of misinformation.  But to me the question represents an exciting time in our lives.

With the information available and the ease of access, people today have the tools to be more informed, the resources to make better decisions, and the power to challenge the status quo.  Research can be completed in a shorter period of time with more detail than we even thought to be possible Before Google.  Projects can be completed faster and one can build upon the knowledge gained from similar project information all over the world.  This feeds the change engine and leads to faster growth and innovation.

So “What would it be like if we couldn’t get answers in 5 minutes?”  I know the answer to that question, lived it, survived it but I wouldn’t want to go back.  I like having instant access to information and believe that it is making the world a more informed, better place to live.

So to my young colleague, take this powerful tool and change the world……