David Carr enumerates some, but by no means all, of Google features, services and programs he uses and concludes that for all intents and purposes he lives in Googleplex, as the media octopus’s headquarters are nicknamed. Google, he confesses, “is my ever-present wingman.”

But because everything Google designs is so good, Carr obviously doesn’t feel like a victim. More like a kept man, as it were, which is why the title of his New York Times think-piece is, Google Seduces With Utility. “If Google owns me, it’s probably because I am in favor of what works.”

Among the instruments of his willing, happy captivity, he lists Gmail, the calendar, the map, voice and video chat, and YouTube. I’m sure he could have added dozens more but he ran out of space.

The secret of Google is, simply, its excellence. “The most powerful form of advertising is to be exceptional,” Carr quotes blogger Ranjit Mathoda. “Google has created an ecosystem that perpetuates itself by being useful.”

RC