Just a few days ago, Google changed the logo on their search page to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the discovery of the buckyball or carbon dome. The second ‘o’ in the logo was replaced by a spinning buckyball which you could manipulate with your mouse. While many marveled at the animated doodle, others complained that it slowed their computers and, in some cases, crashed their browsers entirely.
This morning, Google is at it again with another doodle involving balls. Upon visiting the search page, you may see the standard logo has been built entirely of multi-colored spheres. It seems this version was first launched in the UK, but is now also available in the US. I didn’t see it at first, but noticed a small cluster of 4 balls next to the standard logo. When I clicked it, I saw what all the fuss was about.
While Google has done doodles since the late 90’s, this marks the 3rd interactive one. The first was the fully functional Pacman game to commemorate the game’s birthday. The big question this time is, what’s up with the balls? Google’s doodles are usually used to celebrate some event, but there is no hint as to what is being recognized this time. No link to related search terms. No official word from a Google representative.
The primary theory going around is that this is simply to demonstrate the power of HTML5. This is the technology that we have previously discussed in relation to Flash. Besides playing video, it allows for some very advanced things to be done in the browser. HTML5 also made a splash in the mobile arena when YouTube updated it’s interface on Android and iPhone, providing a more advanced interface in the browser and not relying on a native mobile app. This is further supported by the fact that the doodle behaves differently in Google’s Chrome browser than in others.
Of course, this is just speculation. One Google spokesperson did say that “Today’s doodle is fast, fun and interactive, just the way we think search should be. So, watch this space.” Google is scheduled to hold a press conference in San Francisco tomorrow.