It is the Goliath of the Web, with search, e-mail, e-commerce, instant messaging, classified ads, and even its own virtual planet with Google Earth -- all adding up to one mega-market cap.

CNN: 15 years of the World Wide Web

But as lovely a treasure as it is, an old-fashioned printed world atlas is not on the same plane or even the same planet as Google Earth (and its sister, Google Maps).

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The number one place on the planet for marketing spend is Google Adwords, and make no mistake about it, this is an increasingly finite resource.

FORBES: The Dangerous Seduction of the Lifetime Value (LTV) Formula

In 2009, after a doodler read an article about the 25th anniversary of videogame Tetris, Google contacted Honolulu-based Blue Planet Software Inc.

WSJ: A Holiday Card From Google

Back in the halcyon days, not long ago, when Google was widely admired as among the planet's coolest and most progressive companies, it might have been given the benefit of the doubt in all these cases, by the public at least.

ECONOMIST: Google and antitrust

Facebook passed Google as the most visited site on the planet, with one out of every four webpages viewed in the U.S. belonging to Facebook.

FORBES: Wondering What Facebook Is Really Worth

Google's founders have a passion for saving the planet from carbon.

FORBES: High Network Individual

With a few keystrokes in a Google search we can now find almost any piece of information on the planet.

FORBES: Why Can't We Do Big Things Anymore?

Everyone else on the planet is desperately trying to make sure that their results come high up in the Google index.

FORBES: The French Don't Seem To Understand This Economics Of Google Thing Really, Do They?

After developing an easy-to-use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) App that links to Google (GOOG) Mail, his Insightly is one of the most popular ones on the planet.

FORBES: Anthony Smith's Short Hop From Perth to San Francisco