Google: A Curve of Mourning and Solidarity

At 14:28 on May 19, 2008, the entire nation observed three minutes of silence in mourning for the compatriots who lost their lives in the Wenchuan earthquake.

Chinese netizens —— many of whom were so accustomed to using Google to search for all kinds of information needed in daily life, work, and study. And at this moment, they —— Chinese netizens scattered across the nine million six hundred thousand square kilometers of China's landmass, speaking standard Mandarin Chinese netizens and those with Sichuan, Shaanxi, Henan, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Anhui, Guizhou, Fujian accents —— at this moment, they all put down their keyboards and mice, stood up, bowed their heads in respect for their homeland, for their compatriots. That moment was solemn and dignified.

Everyone did it; there was no supervision, nor was any needed. This curve of Google search traffic tells it all.

At that moment, all employees of Google also stopped their work, gathered in the meeting room, mourned for the compatriots who suffered misfortune in the earthquake, and prayed for our disaster-stricken nation. But our data instruments did not stop working; they silently recorded this straight downward curve of traffic.

The tribulations of 2008 brought us together so genuinely, the tribulations of 2008 made us so closely tied to the state.

If machines could think, if our data instruments could understand the meaning behind this curve, would they shed tears?

Or, should they be more moved? Because they see ——

A great nation, lowering her head in immense sorrow. And when she wipes away her tears, her head is held even higher.