Hottest IPO of the year?

A Wired Magazine article has a very comprehensive guide to Google as it sits in its quiet period. Probably the best part of this article is page 4, where Google "superusers" give quotes regarding their use of Google. Probably the best quote (in my humble opinion) from a most unlikely source:

"It's not my homepage, but it might as well be. I use it to ego-surf. I use it to read the news. Anytime I want to find out anything, I use it."

Who's the quote from? (for those of you that didn't click through the link above) It's from matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons.

I would agree with Groening in my personal use of Google. And just like him, Google is not my homepage, but it probably should be. I suppose that it is the convenience of the ever-present Google toolbar in my browser that makes me feel comfortable to assign my homepage elsewhere, knowing that any time I want, I can search the web, Google news, Froogle, images, anything I want. As an added bonus, I can go to a site I want to blog about and simply click the Blogger button, which automatically puts the site URL into the blogging window.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Google is the fact that it has transcended the brand and turned into a word in common usage for a product; that product, of course being Internet searching. Ever heard anyone say "Google it," or "I Googled it" as if everyone should understand what that means? Of course you have. And the surprising part? Everyone does know what that means!