Google turns 25! From SA to the world, here are the moments to remember

Twenty-five years ago, on September 4, the World Wide Web would never be the same again when Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded the search engine, Google. Over the years it has been understood that this is its official debut, but the pair picked September 27 as the official birthday (September 27 1998).

Speculation has run rife as to why they skipped two weeks of Google's actual birth for celebrations. Whether it's the day it was officially registered or an attempt to not be outshined by Beyoncé's birthday on the same day, The Telegraph suggests the 27th was chosen as the day its beloved Doodle went live.

The site has seen us glued to our screens for 25 years as the go-to place for all things web-related and continues to do so even today. In theme with the celebrations, we look back at Google's greatest moments that have shown its growth and digital footprint on pop culture.

GOOGLE BECOMES A VAMPIRE VERB

So what was the first series to mention Google in pop culture? The crown goes to the teen drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 2002. At this point, CNBC reports that Google was fast becoming hot property, with Yahoo offering to buy it from its founding duo for $3bn, which they declined.

SOUTH AFRICA'S ROYAL ENGAGEMENT

From South Africa to the UK, Meghan Markle won over the internet as the most-searched royal. As of 2022, Meghan remains the most Googled member of the family, with her wedding grabbing chart-topping interest in 2018. She also appeared in a 2019 report of the most Googled celebs in South Africa, with local soap Uzalo and load-shedding taking second and first place respectively.

BOOKS THAT BEAT THE BIBLE

Throughout the years, The Bible has outsold many sought-after titles on and off the web. However, there were a few times when the scripture lucked out. While the Qu'ran has been reported to come second, it would be the 1955 novel Lolita that would hold the initial title of the most Googled book. ABC revealed that in 2013, 50 Shades of Grey would leave The Bible in the dust, as it also proved that sex clearly sells for most controversial manuscripts.

When Google first kicked off, its main focus was allowing users to find sites with the necessary information they needed. However, it was tongues wagging at Jennifer Lopez's Grammy gown that made the team behind Google realise it was probably best to develop an image search function, since users were more interested in visuals rather than text associated with the famous outfit.

The image search option would only be available later that year with help from YouTube's current CEO Susan Wojcicki, who was Google's product manager at the time.

EVERYBODY HATES FRIENDS

While it is one of the most beloved early 1990s sitcoms, Google users of the time showed no major interest in Friends online. Digital marketing experts, Econsultancy, found that Google had no record of the show being among the top 10 searches during its 10-season run from 1994 to 2004.

Instead, The Simpsons held the top spot during the sitcom's initial run, with soaps like Days of Our Lives right behind the animated series.

GOOGLE GETS PRANKED

2016 may have been famous for many things, even being dubbed as the worst year ever, with a movie trailer to boot. However, taking the cake is Harambe the gorilla, who became the most-searched meme of that year. 

The gorilla was shot down after a boy fell into his enclosure, with then US president Donald Trump taking time from his jaw-dropping ascent into the White House to pay tribute. 

However, even Google would get its comeuppance when three teens would band together for the ultimate prank. They shared with BuzzFeed that they fooled the app into believing there was an error on a particular street name which Google's team changed to Harambe Drive as per their request.

BREAKING KIM KARDASHIAN

As the world embraced more social media platforms in 2014, it became commonplace to see stars famed for going viral and battle it out for more followers and likes. However, Kim Kardashian took the crown when she would “break the internet” that year for a photo shoot that paid homage to pop sensation Grace Jones.

However, her many nude selfies and reality musings were not enough to make her the most Googled celebrity. Jennifer Lawrence became the most Googled star, which should come as no surprise a year after her viral Oscar win, being cast in X-Men, and she was also the lead actress in The Hunger Games, which was showing part 1 of its final flick.

KEEPING UP WITH ZODWA WABANTU

For the 2010s decade, no other local celebrity has been able to amass the trending prowess and pulling power of Zodwa Wabantu.

Zodwa first came to prominence as a club dancer whose racy outfits ruffled many feathers. Other than being a viral sensation for her controversial opinions and conduct, Zodwa also had famous feuds with the likes of socialite Skolopad and actress Khanyi Mbau.