You should have posted this in #education - it's one of the most pressing questions of our time.
I agree with you on Google - I'm shit scared of it - the main problem being that I have absolutely no idea exactly what algorithms it uses to calculate searches and thus control access to knowledge, and of course the algorithms change -
At least with the old oil companies you could see the damage they were doing and you sort of knew what you were fighting against - now we don't even know the 'rules of the game'!
To what extent do you think Steemit's success depends on Google?
Oh it didn't cross my mind to post it under that tag.
Yes, Google is the scariest of the bunch. It is so similar to the evil corporations in all the novels about a dystopian world.
I don't think Steemit's success depends too much on Google. There are many other ways to market a product and till now, word of mouth has already been the reason for so much growth. Imagine what will happen if and when marketing kicks in.