Last week we saw two major errors on the internet that caused some minor disruption for many people. In both cases the problem occurred within Google, and in both cases the problem caused minor disruption and interference to users.

Now, while these two events were minor and easily resolved, it does put us in an interesting position. These little disruptions caused significant ripples across the Internet. It was probably the first time in which Google’s been shown to be vulnerable in any way. The services were not taken offline this time, but what would happen if they were not so minor next time? What would happen to the internet connected world if Google were to go offline entirely for 72 hours?

I’m not the only one thinking these thoughts.

One wonders: If Google were to go down (or become essentially unusable — same thing) for, say, 72 hours or more, how disruptive would it be to the economy? Would online retailers see a slowdown in business? Would job-seekers remain out of work longer? Would the productivity of information workers (who supposedly spend a couple hours per day doing online searches) be seriously affected?

How would users of Google applications be affected by problems with the main search engine? Google offers over 70 services of various kinds. Does anyone even know what all the dependencies are?

Kas Thomas – CMS Watch

What is ironic is that this is not the first time similar points have been suggested. In the past, the same thing was said of Microsoft due to their dominance of the Desktop Operating System market. And before then, the same was said of IBM. And before that, the same was said of AT&T. When any single entity becomes so entrenched as the #1 provider in any market, that they hold more than 50% of the market share, these questions are always likely to be asked.

In Google’s case, they hold around 70% of the global market for search. In some territories that rises to around 99%.

I am most definitely not saying we should stop using Google. At this point, Google hold the market share they do because they provide by far the best services. Google Search still dominates because Google Search is still the best. Google Adwords still dominates because Google Adwords is still the best. Every day, more people are switching to Gmail because it is the best ;-) (Ok, I’m making that last one up. I personally think Gmail is the best, but thats just my subjective opinion.)

For me personally, if Google were to go offline, I would be completely lost. The last 5 or so years of my digital life exist entirely within Google. Google is my email provider. My IM provider. Their productivity tools such as Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Reader are where I do my personal work. Until recently, Google was my blog platform provider (but not my host.) My search history and even my browsing history exists in Google’s infrastructure. My bookmarks exist within Google’s infrastructure. I store my photos in Picasa and use Google Picasaweb to share them. I use Google Finance daily and Google News to keep updated on subjects that are important to me. I use Google Analytics to keep track of several websites I run and more.

And thats all just from my cellphone :-P

In short, for me, 72 hours without Google would be nothing short of disastrous. If it were longer, I would be completely lost. Honestly, the thought is so horrifying to me, I just can’t even contemplate it. Even when I do not have access to a computer or cellphone coverage, Google is still looking after my digital life for me.

What about yourselves? If Google were to go offline entirely for 72 hours, how would it affect your life? How would it affect your job?