Will Google Search Make You Wealthier?

Well, knowledge is wealth and internet search is one of the most dominant means of acquiring knowledge these days.

On the new year eve of 2007, while relaxing at the Pondicherry beach side sipping some hard liquor, fancy thought flashed in my mind: is there a positive relationship between an individual's extent of use of a search engine and his or her economic condition? This led to a study. Data had been collected employing my students at Pondicherry University. Then, as usual, I lost interest.

Yesterday, while trying to liberate some desktop real estate, quite accidentally, I came across this old data set. Since I wanted to do something to overcome boredom, I played with the data for a while. The analysis yielded the following conclusions:

1. Search engine use and wealth do have a positive correlation.

2. Those who use Google search are wealthier than those who use other search engines, including meta-search engines.

An interesting question, yet to be answered is a 'chicken and egg problem': is it because some people use Google search that they are wealthier, or is it because they are wealthier that they use Google search? To answer this question needs a longitudinal study, with data collected at different points of time.

But, my gut feeling is that Google search is the 'cause' and wealth is the 'effect'. Why not Google itself commission a study and make me the principal investigator? If proven true, this can be a key promotional tool for Google. Even though search might be monotonous, who does not want to be wealthier!!!

Babu George, PhD

Assistant professor, University of Southern Mississippi, USA