In this first in a series of articles on how Google is reshaping business, Reprise Media partners highlight the effect on publishers.

When Google opened its doors in 1998 with three employees and a parking garage serving as corporate headquarters, few realized the impact this small start-up would have on the way people navigate the web.

Every month more than two billion people rely on Google for fast, reliable answers to their search queries. Google's innovative revenue model, which uses keywords to match relevant advertising to search results, has helped it become one of the most profitable businesses in history.

Turning big business on its ear

Even more intriguing than this Copperfield-esque tale of corporate success is Google's effect on the very nature of business itself. Rules governing everything from marketing and merchandising to branding, inventory and fulfillment have all changed as a result of this search juggernaut, which barely registered a blip on most CEO's radars several years ago.

Although industries of all types have felt Google's influence, not all have experienced it the same way. This article is the first of a three-part series that will examine Google's impact on business from the perspective of a particular field. First up: Publishing.

The written word, B.G. (aka 'Before Google')

Since the invention of the printing press, there has been a perceived crisis in traditional publishing. Large corporations with deep capital reserves control a large proportion of publishing houses and media outlets, giving them what some view as an unfair edge on the competition.

Although the advent of the internet provided a low-cost way for individuals and corporations to disseminate their works, many still lacked the marketing budgets and well-known brands necessary to secure viable revenue streams.

The debut of Google's AdSense program changed all that. Here's how.

Every page a moneymaker

With its low start-up costs and easy-to-use interface, Google AdSense all but eliminated the complexities of dealing with advertisers. By simply adding a few lines of code to their site pages, publishers received highly relevant ad placements tailored to their audience types.

Publishers both big and small now had an alternative to the banner ads and commission programs that typically required significant time and effort. This enabled them to get back to their primary focus -- creating good content.

The AdSense system was of particular benefit to small publishers looking to "go big," the most enterprising of which now had a means of amassing high value advertising inventory across networks of sites that may not have been able to compete individually.

Subscription sea change

This new system affected not only the way ads appeared in publications, but also the revenue models of the publishers themselves. Although barely perceptible at first, a shift away from solely subscription-based models was taking place.

Big publishers could no longer count on their brand cache or current customer base to carry their business along. Print subscribers began migrating online, where increasingly fickle audiences were faced with more choices, many of which were free. Conventional tactics used to drive readership, such as direct mail and demographics, were no longer adequate to sustain revenue.

Although a significant number of publishers chose to abandon their offline editions and exist exclusively in the digital realm, many more opted for a blended approach -- merging their online and offline publications and offering a limited selection of content on a free basis.

Sound business decisions, but still not enough. In order to compete in this new AdSense environment, traditional publishers would have to change the way they thought about content.

The consequences of old school scheduling

With journalistic clichés like "This just in" and "Stop the presses!" penetrating our everyday lexicon, the pace of publishing has been characterized as anything but slow. Even still, up until recently readers have come to expect their news and information at a relatively leisurely pace -- the morning news comes in the morning, the evening news in... well, the evening.

This was because choices were limited and readers had few alternatives. Publishers had little reason to alter their turnaround times, even if it meant content was delivered well after the fact.

The need for speed... realized

The veritable boom in online publishers the AdSense model brought about created an entirely new standard for content delivery. Before it didn't matter if a small news outlet was first with the scoop, if it wasn't on a big site like CNN.com then no one would know about it.

The increased exposure that AdSense brought about means that small publishers can now compete on an even field with more established outlets. Traditional publications have been forced to adapt to this more 'fast and loose' style or risk losing audience share. Thus, we see news now rolling out within moments of the event's occurrence, even as it happens, as we saw with the mobile bloggers' images of the London subway attacks.

A walled garden, now free

As smaller and independent publishers thrive as a result of this market shift, larger more established players no longer dominate. Barriers to entry are diminished and credibility is available to anyone who has something to say and is able to convince others of its importance.

Publishing has transformed from a "walled garden" where only the most elite may benefit into a much more democratic model. This is due in large part to the revenue and reach opportunities the Google AdSense system provides.

Up ahead

Some say that the future of publishing can be reduced to a matter of physics. Instead of the traditional "push" media, in which publishers throw their content out to the masses and hope that they respond, a type of "pull" media in which readers proactively seek out content will predominate.

One of the tools that may speed along this phenomenon is RSS, or Real Simple Syndication. RSS works by pulling information from websites, blogs and newsletters into specialized readers where users can view new content as soon as it's posted.

The future: Content with a custom fit

From a consumption standpoint, RSS allows consumers suffering from information overload to view the content of their choice in a more intuitive, efficient fashion. Publishers also stand to benefit. They now have more control over their marketing efforts, creating precision-targeting through usage data and reader history.

So thus we see that in less than a decade, publishing has evolved along with Google (and the rest of the world wide web) into an industry where both the publisher and the individual benefit equally from the power of choice.

Joshua Stylman and Peter Hershberg are managing partners of Reprise Media. Stylman oversees all aspects of the organization, from technology and product marketing to media management and sales. He calls on more than a decade of experience in building and diversifying revenue streams for new media companies.

Hershberg is responsible for overseeing the technology, sales, client services, media, and product marketing of the entire organization. Prior to co-founding Reprise Media with Stylman in 2003, Hershberg spent more than 10 years in the interactive space in a series of consulting and management roles, specializing in technology and media.