Google has used social media to personally reply to an exceptionally polite search conducted by an 86-year-old grandmother. May Ashworth, who appreciates that manners cost nothing, believed she was communicating with a person at Google HQ when she used the search engine and has gone viral after her grandson tweeted a picture of one of her search queries.
25-year-old Ben John from Wigan had been visiting his nan May to do some washing when he stumbled upon a dreadfully polite search query on her laptop. Appreciating how delightful a sentiment it was, the Twitter user couldn’t help but to snap a quick photo and share it - which has since been retweeted over 15.5k times and received over 23k likes!
Omg opened my Nan’s laptop and when she’s googled something she’s put ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. I can’t 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/hiy2tecBjU
— Ben John (@Push10Ben) June 9, 2016
When asked why she had included ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ in her search, May explained to her Grandson that she believed it to be standard online etiquette…
“I asked my nan why she used “please” and “thank you” and it seemed she thinks that there is someone - a physical person - at Google’s headquarters who looks after searches… She thought that by being polite and using her manners, the search would be quicker.”
Google respond in kind
While the world’s biggest search engine doesn’t care if you ask for information politely (on the contrary, it’s likely to affect the effectiveness of your search) May’s words nevertheless touched the hearts of the people behind the scenes. When the tweet took off, both Google’s official UK and Global accounts decided to respond in kind, explaining that in a world of millions of searches, it was hers that had brightened up their day.
Dearest Ben’s Nan.
Hope you’re well.
In a world of billions of Searches, yours made us smile.
Oh, and it’s 1998.
Thank YOU@Push10Ben— Google UK (@GoogleUK) June 15, 2016
Dear Grandma,
No thanks necessary. 😊
Sincerely,
Googlehttps://t.co/vedrVek8nb— Google (@google) June 15, 2016
It just goes to show that in a digital world where we are becoming increasingly focused on speed and efficiency, it still pays to take time to appreciate the amount of work that goes into making the awesome platforms which have quite literally changed our lives. May Ashworth - we tip our hats to you!
