When Google Goes Away

This week, I moved all of my work calendar items from Outlook to Google. The Outlook account I have is … let’s be kind and say “unreliable” (because of settings made on the back end at work, not inherent Outlook problems) and after some changes made this week, I can’t access email or my calendar through my phone. That means I have no idea what is going on unless I’m in front of a computer.

Seriously. I feel like it's 2007.

So, one of the tech guys saw me doing this and, after I mentioned that I was moving everything to Google because I couldn’t rely on our Outlook, he said “What happens when Google goes away?”

Ha, ha. Super funny, tech guy. Thank god they're so funny. They can't make our computers work, so we need some reason to keep them around.

This morning, though, as my insomnia kicked up at around 4, I started realizing how awful that would really be. Thinking of all that I would lose made sure that I was not going back to sleep today.

Google helps me run my life. If Google disappeared, both of my blogs would be gone. One of those blogs (as half-assed as it is) is the only record of the milestones in my son’s life. God knows his actual baby book is just sitting somewhere in this house, gathering dust.

My iGoogle homepage would be gone. This is my launchpad for everything. It has feeds for my Yahoo email, my Gmail, twitter, local news, the weather, that Google calendar I mentioned, links to the websites I visit most frequently (of course, I wouldn’t have to worry about my Gmail and calendar feeds, since those would be gone, too). I also have a separate iGoogle page to help me find ideas for the Chicago City Guide I maintain for SavvySource.com. Oh! And another entire page of job posting sites, that I go to when I have a terrible day and need to know what else is out there (hint: nothing).

Speaking of SavvySource, I also use Google docs for that. My invoicing spreadsheet is there, my list of ideas, both self-generated and from the SavvySource higher ups. The photos I use for features are there, too. My husband and I use Google docs for our grocery list and Costco list, and basically any document, spreadsheet, or photo I need to access at any time.

Hell, I’m writing this post in Google docs, right now.

And, oh shit. Reader! Translate! Maps! YouTube!

Basically Google owns my ass.

If, in some horrible, dystopian future,* Google did go away I would be so screwed.

*Remember how I’m reading more now? Atwood, man. She’ll mess with your head.