--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Google, as the supplier of the Web’s…" description: "\"“Google, as the supplier of the Web’s principal navigational tools, also shapes our relationship with the content that it serves up so efficiently and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/nicholas-carr-4579_technology_google-as-the-supplier-of-the-web-s-prin_1551925.jpg" --- # Google, as the supplier of the Web’s principal… ![“Google, as the supplier of the Web’s principal navigational tools, also shapes our relationship with the content that it serves up so efficiently and in such profusion. The intellectual technologies it has pioneered promote the speedy, superficial skimming of information and discourage any deep…” quote by Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/nicholas-carr-4579_technology_google-as-the-supplier-of-the-web-s-prin_1551925.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/nicholas-carr-4579_technology_google-as-the-supplier-of-the-web-s-prin_1551925.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f35/nicholas-carr-4579_technology_google-as-the-supplier-of-the-web-s-prin_1551925.jpg) > ““Google, as the supplier of the Web’s principal navigational tools, also shapes our relationship with the content that it serves up so efficiently and in such profusion. The intellectual technologies it has pioneered promote the speedy, superficial skimming of information and discourage any deep, prolonged engagement with a single argument, idea, or narrative.”” [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Web tools encourage quick browsing and shallow reading, hindering deep thought. **In simple terms:** Internet promotes superficial reading. Key Takeaway Practice focused, deep reading regularly. Themes technology attention cognition Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic study - creative writing - critical analysis - news consumption Key Concepts information overload digital media Questions to Reflect On - How can you cultivate concentration? - What habits foster deeper engagement? A Different Perspective Deep work may be harder in a fast‑paced digital world. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [The Internet, like all intellectual technologies has a trade off. As we train our brains to use it, as we adapt to the environment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/the-internet-like-all-intellectual-technologies-has-a-trade-off-as-we/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [I think if you look back through the intellectual history of human beings you can trace the way that intellectual technologies influence the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/i-think-if-you-look-back-through-the-intellectual-history-of-human/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [“Artificial intelligence would be the ultimate version of Google,” he said in a 2000 interview, long before his company’s name had become a household…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/artificial-intelligence-would-be-the-ultimate-version-of-google-he/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“Google keeps their formulas secret even as they devour more of our habits. CEO Eric Schmidt believes that what customers want is for Google…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-detweiler/google-keeps-their-formulas-secret-even-as-they-devour-more-of-our/) [Craig Detweiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-detweiler/) > [FACT of GOOGLE: 50% of the people use it well..as a search engine… The other 50% of the people use it to check if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/fact-of-google-50-of-the-people-use-it-well-as-a-search-engine-the/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“raises an interesting question about the new corporate giants that are colonizing large swaths of virtual space. He asks, “how hard would it be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-rifkin/raises-an-interesting-question-about-the-new-corporate-giants-that/) [Jeremy Rifkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-rifkin/) > [There's a lot of Google fascination out there and we share it, and we're going to compete, we're going to compete very, very hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/there-s-a-lot-of-google-fascination-out-there-and-we-share-it-and-we/) [Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/) > [I always liked to draw, and when I was a kid, the Internet wasn't big at all, so I would go to Internet cafes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-brian/i-always-liked-to-draw-and-when-i-was-a-kid-the-internet-wasn-t-big/) [Rich Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-brian/) > [Google has - at least at this point - maintained the line where it keeps organic results separate from the advertisements. But over time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wu/google-has-at-least-at-this-point-maintained-the-line-where-it-keeps/) [Tim Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wu/) > [We try to, when you come to Google, fulfill that need that you have as quickly as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-page/we-try-to-when-you-come-to-google-fulfill-that-need-that-you-have-as/) [Larry Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-page/) > [People with long memories and a vivid sense of the past have an immediate understanding of politicians like Donald Trump. They are not surprised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/people-with-long-memories-and-a-vivid-sense-of-the-past-have-an/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [I put my name into the Google search bar. Justine Bateman... And the auto-complete comes up. The auto-complete says that the top option is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justine-bateman/i-put-my-name-into-the-google-search-bar-justine-bateman-and-the-auto/) [Justine Bateman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justine-bateman/) > [I still am very afraid to Google myself. There are some embarrassing roaming photos that I wish weren't on Google. But I intend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nolan-gerard-funk/i-still-am-very-afraid-to-google-myself-there-are-some-embarrassing/) [Nolan Gerard Funk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nolan-gerard-funk/) > [“I am now convinced that Google searches are the most important dataset ever collected on the human psyche. This”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-stephens-davidowitz/i-am-now-convinced-that-google-searches-are-the-most-important/) [Seth Stephens-Davidowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-stephens-davidowitz/) > [Use Google Before Asking A Stupid Question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muskaan/use-google-before-asking-a-stupid-question/) [Muskaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muskaan/) ## More by Nicholas Carr > [“For the last five centuries, ever since Gutenberg's printing press made book reading a popular pursuit, the linear, literary mind has been at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/for-the-last-five-centuries-ever-since-gutenberg-s-printing-press/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“In programming the World Wide Computer, we will be programming our lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/in-programming-the-world-wide-computer-we-will-be-programming-our/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“What we’re experiencing is, in a metaphorical sense, a reversal of the early trajectory of civilization: we are evolving from being cultivators of personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/what-we-re-experiencing-is-in-a-metaphorical-sense-a-reversal-of-the/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“As long as algorithms determine the distribution of profits, they will also determine what gets published. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/as-long-as-algorithms-determine-the-distribution-of-profits-they-will/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“those with the helpful software were found “to aimlessly click around” as they tried to crack the puzzle.27”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/those-with-the-helpful-software-were-found-to-aimlessly-click-around/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“Our brains turn into simple signal-processing units, quickly shepherding information into consciousness and then back out again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/our-brains-turn-into-simple-signal-processing-units-quickly/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“What is different, and troubling, is that skimming is becoming our dominant mode of reading. Once a means to an end, a way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/what-is-different-and-troubling-is-that-skimming-is-becoming-our/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“They failed to appreciate how the network would funnel the energies of the people into a centrally administered, tightly monitored information system organized to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/they-failed-to-appreciate-how-the-network-would-funnel-the-energies/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“In the long run, the IT department is unlikely to survive, at least not in its familiar form.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/in-the-long-run-the-it-department-is-unlikely-to-survive-at-least-not/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“Personal memory shapes and sustains the “collective memory” that underpins culture.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/personal-memory-shapes-and-sustains-the-collective-memory-that/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“The near-continuous stream of new information pumped out by the Web also plays to our natural tendency to “vastly overvalue what happens to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/the-near-continuous-stream-of-new-information-pumped-out-by-the-web/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“The strip-mining of “relevant content” replaces the slow excavation of meaning.   IT”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/the-strip-mining-of-relevant-content-replaces-the-slow-excavation-of/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“The Net grants us instant access to a library of information unprecedented in its size and scope, and it makes it easy for us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/the-net-grants-us-instant-access-to-a-library-of-information/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“A 1989 study showed that readers of hypertext often ended up clicking distractedly “through pages instead of reading them carefully.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/a-1989-study-showed-that-readers-of-hypertext-often-ended-up-clicking/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“Activities of self-realization are subject to increasing marginal utility:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/activities-of-self-realization-are-subject-to-increasing-marginal/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) [Explore all 108 Nicholas Carr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) ## More Google quotes > [“You can't Google life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-tegie/you-can-t-google-life/) C Tegie > [Use Google Before Asking A Stupid Question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muskaan/use-google-before-asking-a-stupid-question/) [Muskaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muskaan/) > [“I am now convinced that Google searches are the most important dataset ever collected on the human psyche. This”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-stephens-davidowitz/i-am-now-convinced-that-google-searches-are-the-most-important/) [Seth Stephens-Davidowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-stephens-davidowitz/) > [Unless you're of a certain age, you may not know my name, but you can Google it - I was a pretty big movie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tab-hunter/unless-you-re-of-a-certain-age-you-may-not-know-my-name-but-you-can/) [Tab Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tab-hunter/) > [I still am very afraid to Google myself. There are some embarrassing roaming photos that I wish weren't on Google. But I intend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nolan-gerard-funk/i-still-am-very-afraid-to-google-myself-there-are-some-embarrassing/) [Nolan Gerard Funk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nolan-gerard-funk/) > [“A lot of the machines that Google is built on—commodity is the polite word for them—they're regular PCs and so they're not always the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-livingston/a-lot-of-the-machines-that-google-is-built-on-commodity-is-the-polite/) [Jessica Livingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-livingston/) > [I put my name into the Google search bar. Justine Bateman... And the auto-complete comes up. The auto-complete says that the top option is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justine-bateman/i-put-my-name-into-the-google-search-bar-justine-bateman-and-the-auto/) [Justine Bateman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justine-bateman/) > [People with long memories and a vivid sense of the past have an immediate understanding of politicians like Donald Trump. They are not surprised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/people-with-long-memories-and-a-vivid-sense-of-the-past-have-an/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [While it is often true that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, it seems like Yahoo's almost obsessive focus on Google is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-swisher/while-it-is-often-true-that-the-enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend-it/) [Kara Swisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-swisher/) > [The financial crisis just made the hole deeper, which is why our stimulus needs to be both big and smart, both financially and educationally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/the-financial-crisis-just-made-the-hole-deeper-which-is-why-our/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [I worry about Google's data ethics and about the idea of handing over the corpus of my life, but I can't deny that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/om-malik/i-worry-about-google-s-data-ethics-and-about-the-idea-of-handing-over/) [Om Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/om-malik/) > [We try to, when you come to Google, fulfill that need that you have as quickly as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-page/we-try-to-when-you-come-to-google-fulfill-that-need-that-you-have-as/) [Larry Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-page/) > [In January 2012, Google Plus started to roll out support for nicknames and pseudonyms, but those registering with a name other than their real-life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/in-january-2012-google-plus-started-to-roll-out-support-for-nicknames/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [We can see every square metre of the planet on Google Earth. But there is no substitute for that sensory experience of going out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cope/we-can-see-every-square-metre-of-the-planet-on-google-earth-but-there/) [Tim Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cope/) > [Many jobs at Google require math, computing, and coding skills, so if your good grades truly reflect skills in those areas that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/many-jobs-at-google-require-math-computing-and-coding-skills-so-if/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) Browse all 1,358 Google quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Google, as the supplier of the Web’s principal navigational tools, also shapes our relationship with the content that it serves up so efficiently and in such profusion. 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