It’s tradition to hate the big guy. When IBM fell from grace to become just another consulting company, no one shed a tear. When Ryanair’s profits exceeded those of British Airways, many of us of Irish extraction felt a smug kind of satisfaction.

For years now, Microsoft has been the big bad - loathed by developers for all sorts of non-reasons, and vilified in the press for the shocking business tactic of trying to crush the competition. These silicon rail barons are often portrayed as demonic megalomaniacs bent on taking over the world.

We’ve yet to hear of human sacrifices, or pacts with the devil where Bill and Melinda offer up their first born in return for world domination, but they do make an appearance in the Top 10 Wackiest Conspiracy Theories.

It’s a David and Goliath thing - everyone cheers for the little guy in the loincloth. We want to see the giant take a tumble.

Not long ago, David was Google. He was young, fresh, and eager to please; he could do no wrong and the people loved him. Over the years, David followed the script and turned into Goliath. But this time there was a difference - he kept the pretty face and loincloth; he didn’t look like Goliath and we didn’t want to hate him.

Google’s homepage has been pretty much unchanged for years. At first glance you would be forgiven for thinking they were still the same old company we know and love. But take a closer look just above the search box, turn your eyes to the right, and click on more>>.

This is Goliath.

Over the past few years Google have bought up chunks of internet real estate, and their team of hot shot developers have been encroaching on territory as diverse as imaging software and mapping solutions. Google Adwords could very well be the beginning of the end for mainstream advertising, while Adsense is turning us all into mini-entrepreneurs.

With Google taking over the world, has the time come to turn on them and cheer their every failure or setback? Are we supposed to hate them with a vengeance?

Maybe so, but do we want to? Every new feature or service released by Google is free. No matter how much we want to hate the big guy, no matter how much we want to see him fall, are any of us prepared to spend money to see it happen?

I’ve just signed myself up to try out Google Analytics, a free web site analysis tool - this in the same week I was considering spending $75 on a piece of desktop software to do the same thing. I’d rather keep my $75.

Google may be Goliath, but he’s still a pretty boy with a cheeky grin - more Robin Hood than King John.