Google is getting bigger and the world is getting smaller.

Last night at the Tech Trends lecture series in the Union, Grady Burnett, head of online sales and operation at Google, Ann Arbor, discussed three things; Entreprenuership, where Google is taking the future of technology and Google’s 6-month-old Ann Arbor operation.

Besides providing Web users with easily accessible information, Burnett said Google gives small businesses a chance of survival in the big business world.

“From buying nativity scenes from New Zealand to setting up a piano competition, what [Google] does is it drives the global economy what I believe is small businesses,” he said.

Burnett said each Google search displays the most appropriate advertisements based on speed, scale and relevance.

Google, along with other pioneers of technology, have redefined the computer by making mass amounts of information a mouse click away. Burnett referred to the web as an information cloud.

“By making all of that information available on the Web, the network becomes the computer, not the actual machine that I’m carrying around.”

There have been 555 million new Google users since 2000, Burnett said, and 110 million of them came from China.

“It is growing at such a rapid rate which is making this world much much smaller,” he said.

Establishing a new operation in Ann Arbor is one of the ways Google is expanding, according to Jennifer Cornell, vice president of Eiler Communications, Google’s Ann Arbor public relations company.

“One of the things we are trying to do here is recruit,” Cornell explained. “Our target is to get 1,000 employees over the next five years.”

According to Burnett, the Midwest is a perfect match for Google.

“We’ve had such a ridiculous warm welcome here in the Midwest and have been able to find a tremendously intellectual population that’s able to challenge and stimulate new ideas,” Burnett said.

Google has a very unique workplace and work attitude, Burnett said, and is always looking for intellectually stimulating employees.

Twenty percent work time is one way in which Google promotes an ambitious workplace. Burnett explained each employee is entitled to spend 20 percent of their work time researching whatever they desire.

Brian Kupla, director of budgets for student affairs, said the new operation in Ann Arbor could provide Bowling Green students with a great opportunity.

“Google is a very cutting edge and innovative company and it is interesting to see where they think the technology trends are going.”