Have you ever really read the U.S. Constitution? How about a constitution from another country? No? Well, now you can, thanks to Google! Google has just launched a site called the 'Comparative Constitutions Project.'
As you might have guessed from the name of this site, it exists to provide people with a quick and efficient way of searching through constitutions from a number of different countries.
Why Bother?
There are lots of developing countries that are currently in the process of drafting constitutions. These country officials often look for help when constructing such documents, and Google wants to be that help. Plus, searching through constitutions is a great way to gather research for any kind of report, or just for the sake of curiosity.
Google's site is easy to navigate too.
Using the Google Constitution Site
Instead of filling the site with straight text, Google has created some really great graphs, charts, and plenty of comparative information. One link will even bring you to a page that lists all kinds of books and other documents centered around constitutions from all parts of the globe.
If you head to the 'Repository,' you can search through documents using the Google search bar. You can also find out which countries drafted constitutions first, and all kinds of other information. Even if you don't have any direct purpose for researching constitutions, you can find out a lot of really interesting things about how other countries were formed by searching through this site.
Why A Website?
Google has told press that the website was an idea that arrived from necessity. Most of the world's constitutions are locked up and are hard to view. Google actually took all of those locked documents, uploaded them to the new Google site, and has made all of that paperwork available for anyone to see.
This is an idea that's novel, for sure, but many wonder how useful it will really be. Google believes that leaders from many countries will enjoy looking at these documents, and that comparing documents will make creating new country constitutions easier. It's a really clever idea, and one that some people will get a lot of use out of.
An Older Idea
The concept for this site was actually born back in 2008. Google claims that leaders of developing countries were having a tough time back then trying to create constitutions and documents. So, the company has decided to make all of this paperwork easier to look at and use.
Any thoughts on Google's newest project? For some, this is a great way to spend funds. For others, Google seems to be focusing on areas that aren't necessarily pressing. Other still feel that Google's ties to the U.S. government are uncomfortably close. What do you think? Is this project mind-blowing, or is it simply a waste of time?
Will you look for constitution information using Google's newest website? Do you think that leaders of other countries will find it useful? Let me know what your thoughts are below.