Google removes decade-old 'I'm Feeling Lucky' icon

The 'I'm Feeling Lucky' button that graced Google's home page for more than ten years could vanish forever, with the search giant testing out a new user interface design, according to reports.

Beyond the practical use of guiding a user to the first search result rather than the search list, the button has represented other values. The 'I'm Feeling Lucky' button has been a symbol of the Internet giant's ultimate confidence, its corporate personality and the character of its top brains.

Though Google hasn’t officially confirmed the news, it looks like the 'I'm Feeling Lucky' button will be removed from the home page. One reason why this could happen is that since the launch of Google Instant last year, this function has become somewhat redundant.

Steven Levy, one of America' preeminent technology journalists, said in his book In The Plex, that the button reflected Google's supreme confidence that its search results would be superior to any other.

Google's Marissa Mayer once said the 'I'm feeling lucky' button was meant to remind people that Google is not just another corporate establishment. The button would communicate to the world that the people at Google have personality and that they have interests and that there is real people.

Now, if the button is going to disappear, would this mean Google's core philosophy and the personality of its people have changed?

However, it appears that the removal of the button could be more of a function of revenue. A recent study has pointed out that the 'I'm Feeling Lucky' button costs Google around $110 million a year. This happens because the button takes the user directly to the first search result, rather than to the search result list. This way the user bypasses all the advertising on the list page.

Now, wouldn’t it be nice to be rich than just plain lucky?