Here are five myths about Google that will never die

By Businessinsider.in & Agencies

'If you are using Google's services, including search, Gmail, Maps, YouTube etc. Google knows almost everything about you', these are a couple of myths that people have for a long time. Here is a list of five myths about Google that will never die.

Google is Only a Web Search Firm

Search is Google's primary product. Its search engine is so widely used that `Google' has become a dictionary-approved verb, and the company makes virtually all of its money by selling ads connected to search. But Google's ventures into self-driving cars and balloons that deliver internet connectivity from the stratosphere show that it's not just a search company.

Its long-term plan is to become an artificial-intelligence company. Google has built a research group around AI and machine learning, and it even hired renowned AI guru Ray Kurzweil.

Google Glass Was a Total Failure

Headlines proclaimed that Google Glass `flopped' and `failed' after the company announced it would stop selling its goofy $1,500 eyewear. As a consumer product, Glass was declared clunky and too expensive. But it shouldn't be measured only in terms of its commercial success.

That's because Google viewed it as an experiment, a way to explore wearable computing and learn lessons it can apply to other, presumably less-hideous-looking products. Though Glass didn't catch on, it created tremendous buzz and established Google as a pioneer in the market.

It's a Leading Force in Silicon Valley

The company made news for publishing numbers on its workforce demographics in May 2014, which encouraged Facebook and Yahoo to follow suit. Internally, Google has launched workshops to teach employees about 'unconscious bias', and it has donated millions to groups that aim to get women interested in tech careers.

In February, Google announced $775,000 in grants to CODE2040, an organisation trying to help African Americans and Latinos join the industry. But, Google's 11 member board of directors boasts only three women and no African Americans.

Google Controls Internet Search

Google dominates the search market so thoroughly that in 2009, when Microsoft introduced its Bing search engine, even people who admired the product thought that it didn't stand a chance. Six years later, Bing has a 12% market share in search and Google has 75%.

The real threat to Google's search business comes from Amazon and Facebook, and from the changing habits of online shoppers.Amazon and Facebook aren't in the search business, strictly speaking, but increasingly people turn to these sites to learn about products.

Google is the Biggest Brother

If you are using Google's services, including search, Gmail, Maps, YouTube, Drive, Google+, Android, and Picasa, Google knows a lot about you: your location, browsing history, the videos you watch, your age, gender and interests.That's earned the company plenty of Big Brother comparisons.

There is a Big Brother online, It's the NSA. The National Security Agency is the one peering into every major tech company's systems, hoovering up personal information, and refusing to talk about what it stole or why.