The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart Has The Scoop On Google’s Mystery Barge: It’s A Trap!

What’s in that giant mystery barge that’s owned by Google in San Francisco Bay. There’s speculation it might be a floating data center or a shop for Google Glass. But the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart finds it’s an opportunity to poke fun at Google+, as well as Google’s ambitious plans to bring wifi to the […]

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What’s in that giant mystery barge that’s owned by Google in San Francisco Bay. There’s speculation it might be a floating data center or a shop for Google Glass. But the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart finds it’s an opportunity to poke fun at Google+, as well as Google’s ambitious plans to bring wifi to the world and cure death. More ominously, floating barges mean Google has us surrounded by land, sea and air.

Here’s the full video, if you want to watch it first without the spoilers below:

Stewart starts off with a recap that no one knows what this Google project is about, sort of like Google’s social network, Google+

Jon Stewart & Google+

“It’s a Google project that no one in the outside world knows what it is. I guess what they’re saying is, it’s Google+”

He goes on to recap Google’s Project Loon, which uses high-flying balloons to bring wifi to places that lack internet access. Or is that really the purpose, he wonders:

Jon Stewart Looks At Floaters   The Daily Show With Jon Stewart   10 30 13   Video Clip   Comedy Central 4

“Right. ‘Wifi’.”

He jokes that it’s just not normal for a search engine to launch an ocean-going vessel, which is why you don’t see Microsoft doing this, with a nod to its Bing search engine:

"That's why there's no Bing dingy."

“That’s why there’s no Bing dingy.”

To further the mystery, he brings up Google’s plan to solve death:

"What are you up to, Google?

“What are you up to, Google?

He jokes that rather than solve death, Google might start by getting “all your applications to run well on the iPhone.” Continuing on, Stewart jokes that Google has us surrounded on land, sea and air:

Jon Stewart Looks At Floaters   The Daily Show With Jon Stewart   10 30 13   Video Clip   Comedy Central 9

“Just to recap. Google is surrounding us on the water, watching us from the sky … and constantly recording every single street in the country. And now, they won’t even let us die.”

“Am I the only one feeling threatened here,” he concludes, joking that Google’s famous “I’m feeling lucky” button might be more threatening that it seems:

Jon Stewart Looks At Floaters   The Daily Show With Jon Stewart   10 30 13   Video Clip   Comedy Central 10

“I’m beginning to feel the ‘I’m feeling lucky button’ on Google should really be a ‘Do you feel lucky? Well, do you, Punk?'”

Once again, the full video:

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Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.


About the author

Danny Sullivan
Contributor
Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land, MarTech, and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

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