For a few years I have reluctantly signed up for one Google product after another. But I have done so with some hesitation, because with each new program added to my account dashboard, I rely more and more heavily on them. The fact that they offer their products for free (or close to free for business use) makes me leery. However, what I have slowly found happening through this experience is my mindset has changed. Now I use Google as my model for expectations with other services. I find myself expecting programs that I download from the Internet to be free to use. I expect them to be cutting edge, easy and current with the changing technology. Has Google changed me into a socialist?

I subscribe to several RSS feeds for marketing and web technology. Not a day goes by where Google is not at the top of the talked about list. Everything is compared and measured against this Internet giant. The changes they make to their search engine dictate the way 90% of the way Internet companies do business and that warrants a close eye. Now with their popularity spilling over into the general marketplace, they will shape the future of how we use our computers in the cloud to do everyday activities. They have won our hearts with options like Gmail, YouTube and Blogger. They have taken elite technology and put it in our hands for everyday use, and we love them for it.

Embracing this technology is easy. Reconciling the change in world view is not. For now it appears that Google is the wave of the future. Google's cloud computing provides hosted applications that are accessible, free and easy to use. While I may resent my dependence on them, it appears that this relationship is here to stay and like the Borg, ‘resistance if futile'.

What is your view on Google as the wave of the future? Leave your opinion below!