Google's 25th birthday — A message from CEO Sundar Pichai

Google and Alphabet CEO, Sundar Pichai penned a celebratory blog for Google's 25th birthday: Questions, shrugs and what comes next: A quarter century of change.

Innovation and shurgs — here's an interesting annecdote from the blog.

“An essential truth of innovation is that the moment you push the boundary of a technology,

it soon goes from extraordinary to ordinary...

“Years ago, when I was studying in the U.S., my dad — who was back in India — got his first email address. I was really excited to have a faster (and cheaper) way to communicate with him, so I sent a message.

“And then I waited…and waited. It was two full days before I got this reply:

'Dear Mr. Pichai, email received. All is well.'

“Perplexed by the delay and the formality, I called him up to see what happened. He told me that someone at his work had to bring up the email on their office computer, print it out, and then deliver it to him. My dad dictated a response, which the guy wrote down and eventually typed up to send back to me.

“Fast forward to a few months ago: I was with my teenage son. 

He saw something interesting, took some quick pictures and shared them with his friends. Then they exchanged a few messages, and it all seemed faster than the time it would take me just to pull out my phone.

“How I communicated with my dad all those years ago compared with how my son communicates today shows just how much change can happen across generations. Technology that takes us years to adapt to is second nature for our kids. Ideas my dad marveled at as science fiction — taking a call from your watch, or telling your car to play your favorite song — make my children shrug.

“Those shrugs give me great hope for the future.

They set a high bar for what the next generation will build and invent...and I can’t wait to see what will make their children shrug, too.”

Happy birthday, Google!