What is "Google"?

I suppose I should call them "Alphabet" now but I think that name is stupid and, from what I've heard so far, most people have no clue they changed their name. Google is a company that is impossible to avoid (at least if you are in the USA) and that goes double if you work in tech. I was trying to avoid talking about them on my blog but they come up too often to avoid. Like all big tech companies, they have their fans but I am very much not one of them - expect most of what I write about them to be critical.