30 Reasons I’m Thankful for Search Engines

I know it may sound a little odd, it’s true.  I’m thankful for search engines.  I really am.

Why am I so thankful for search engines?

Here are 30 reasons I’m thankful for search engines, one for each day of November:

1. They save me time.  Do you remember what it was like before search engines.  Seriously, if you wanted to find something out, you were hunting through encyclopedias, libraries, calling people, etc.  Now, it takes 15 seconds.
2. Who is that actor? A few weeks ago I was up in the mountains for a weekend and there was no internet access. My child was watching a cartoon and I thought I recognized a voice, but wasn’t sure. I then realized how much I appreciated be able to just go to IMDB, search for the cartoon, and look up the cast. Alas, I had to wait for the credits.
3. I save space. I don’t have to hang up measurement conversions in my kitchen or keep books of recipes or that whole shelf of the Encyclopedia Britanica.
4. They save me money. I can quickly check prices on nearly any product/service I want to buy and, thus, make sure I’m getting the best price…which also drives down prices in general.
5. New restaurants. Every now and then I just like to look up restaurants in my own town and find one I’ve never heard of before to try out. There are some real hidden gems…and some that…well…aren’t.
6. Reviews.  Speaking of restaurants that aren’t any good, I can search for reviews to try to avoid those, or low quality products, or bad movies, etc.
7. Fun new activities. Try searching for activities in your hometown or fun things to do around the house. There are all kinds of great ideas you can find.
8. Pictures. I now know what Pink Fairy Armadillos and “Yeti Crabs” looks like.
9. Keeps me faithful. Where I travel, I know I can find a church in the area to visit.
10. They save me time. I’ve found faster routes to nearly every place I drive.
11. What was that verse? Have you ever known there was the perfect verse for a situation you were in or something you wanted to convey to a struggling friend, but you couldn’t remember exactly where it was in the Bible? Now you can find it.
12. Makes me an awesome chef. Ah yes, recipes and videos galore to take me from making Mac and Cheese to enchiladas or corn bread or bourbon chicken…Mmmm…I think it’s time for snack, I’ll be back in 5.
13. No more folding maps. None of us could do it right anyway. Now I can just search for directions and be done.
14. Spellcheck.  You know you do it, too. You’re not sure how to spell “hors d’oeuvres” so you take your best guess in a search and let Google correct you.
15. They send me traffic. About 80% of the visitors to this blog come from the search engines. I appreciate that.
16. I can find things on websites. Search doesn’t just happen in Google, most websites have a search feature as well making it easy to find things on a specific website.
17. What are the lyrics? No more “girls with colitis goes by” (Most common Misunderstood lyrics).
18. No more tunes in my head I can’t identify. Ahh, those tortuous days when a tune got stuck in your head for days and you just couldn’t figure where it was from. Now, you can if you’re a decent hummer with Midomi’s audio search. This one site may have prevented me from ending up in an asylum on more than one occasion.
19. Keeps me up to date. Whether it’s the latest news out of Washington or the latest developments in cancer treatments, search engines help me stay informed.
20. I can find the perfect gift. There are all kinds of sites that help you search for gift ideas based on a person’s age, gender, interests, etc.
21. They save me time. I didn’t used to know how to automatically remove duplicate entries in Excel, but I found out how with a quick search.
22. History isn’t so distant. Information about pretty much every event in history is at my finger tips.
23. Traveling is so much easier. Search for airline tickets…check. Search for hotel…check. Search for local restaurants…check. Search for things to do in the area…check.
24. Videos: Whether it’s needing an illustration for a Bible study or trying to find the song from my daughter’s favorite episode of My Little Pony, video search is awesome!
25. “Google” and “Bing”. Seriously, no sane human over the age of 5 ever said these words in the history of humanity and now they are everyday words.
26. Settle’s debates. No more arguing over whether so and so was in a certain movie or whether a parsec is a unit of time or distance or if the Bible really said x or y. Now we can find out in 30 seconds…though I do kinda miss those arguments J
27. They grow my church. Most people begin any search in the search engines, including finding a church. Search engines provide new visitors to my church all the time.
28. They bring me entertainment. Want to watch a funny video of wedding fails or Tim Hawkins stand up. Just a search away.
29. They help me fix my car. From diagnosing the problem to finding a video of someone doing the repairs. It’s all out there just waiting to be found.
30. They help people find the Gospel. Whether someone searches for what the Gospel is or how they can be saved, they can easily find the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, they can also find misinformation as well. So, we need to do everything we can to take over those search results.

Are you thankful for search engines?

If so tell us why you are thankful for them in the comments below.