Is Your Child Destined for Google?

A natural curiosity and burning desire to learn are key traits of creative people, and Google emphasizes its support of these individuals during their hiring process. Google’s website opens up the doors to the world of the Googleplex, showcasing the company culture, the range of jobs, and highlights of the company’s mission, values, and internal systems. Only the most talented and prominent individuals earn a spot with Google; others might find alternatives with competitors, or launching ideas and projects on their own.

Regardless, the innate talents of these individuals surely started somewhere; as in most great things, there was a beginning. If beginnings can be traced to childhood years, here are some identifiable traits and characteristics of creative, gifted, and talented children that may just give them a chance to enter Google culture.

You know your child may be a future ‘Google-ite’ when:

1. You ask them what they would like for dinner, and they respond with a menu full of gourmet organic menu items printed off from their own home-made food recipe database.

2. You ask them what their favorite color is, and they respond with a rundown of the Google logo colors.

3. First words were sadly not ‘Mom’ or ‘Dad.’ Although sounding strikingly similar to ‘goo-goo'(a common first word), ‘Google’ came out of the young one’s mouth before the expected mother and father calls for attention.

4. When asked for their choice of bedtime story, they pull up a slideshow of their favorite fairytale created with Google Picasa. They play the main character.

5. You find Google Video clips of ‘Barney’ and ‘Dora the Explorer’ streaming on their iPod they’ve sneaked under a blanket.

6. Bedtime struggles consist of ‘just one final search’ for the latest news on SpongeBob; via Google

7. When you ask them where their shoes are for playtime, they run to the computer to track it using a GPS-enabling API they’ve installed onto a Google map. They explain to you how they’ve added a tracking chip on their favorite sneakers.

8. They respond to ‘How are you doing?’ in keyword strings such as ‘great, good, fine, fantastic, terrific, www.feelinggreat.com’

9. Lights out at bedtime no longer phases them; their nightlight is the Google homepage left open on the laptop screen.

10. They’ve created their own version of the game hide-and-seek. When you close your eyes, they jump online to Google. You find them plotting hiding places across the world on Google maps.

11. You ask them what movie they want to see at the theatre, and they grab your cellphone to download Google’s SMS listings for the area. Smart kid.

12. You ask them to join you to bake homemade cookies. They bring up ten variations of gourmet cookies with pictures downloaded from Google Image galleries to find the ‘perfect’ cookie.

13. When it was time for a diaper change, mom and dad found out because of the Gmail request with the subject line “Need some ‘backup help’ please”

14. You ask for their opinion on their favorite babysitter, and they direct you to their personal blog about the issue on Google Blogger.

15. When asked to find your misplaced keys, they ‘time’ their search process in seconds and give you a summary of ‘search results’ based on locations they checked around the house.

The future is in the children and youth of today, and companies such as Google are on the lookout for the exceptionally talented, creative, and bright among us. If your child or baby shows some preliminary ‘Google-ified’ signs, it may be a clear indication of where destiny may lead them. If their lives are Google-centric and highly creative during the early years, the future may just lead them to the doors of the Googleplex!