Because the people who work all the knobs and handles behind the Great Internet Curtain tend to put it all out there all the time, we're happy when we come across a bit of mystery, a bit of strangeness, something that doesn't reveal all all at once.
Such was the case with the famous Google logos over the last few weeks. First, one of the letters was getting beamed up on September 5th; a few days later, crop circles formed the letters. We were intrigued. What gives?
Tweeters started sleuthing and came across the fact that coordinates posted by Google matched a town significant to author H.G. Wells. And those same cyber-sleuths pondered about the interesting fact that "The War of the Worlds" author was born on September 21st, which was just around the corner.
Smarties. On September 20th, Google posted another extraterrestrial-lovely logo, with a definite Wellsian bent. And, on the Google blog, all has been explained. The search nexus is honoring the 143rd anniversary of the science-fiction master's birth.
Couldn't more internet powerhouses do multi-day mysteries, just to keep people returning for more, more, more? We want a few veils. A few suggestions. A hint here and there. It certainly makes a company stand-out in the 24-hour, update-update-update, everything-now-ness of our world.
