Google is experiencing some downtime this afternoon. While some users report that they experienced a hiccup or two when sending an email using Gmail, others (myself included) seem to be experiencing a total Google blackout. No Gmail, no Google Reader, no Google Docs, and no Google Talk. Oh, and the search engine isn't accessible either.

I have no doubt that service will be restored momentarily. But I suddenly find myself temporarily helpless. I rely heavily on Google Reader and Gmail for my workflow as a home office worker. And I'm not alone. A quick scan of Twitter Search shows that a lot of other people are experiencing the same problems.

While there are many advantages to cloud computing (like being able to access your data from any computer, anywhere in the world), this outage shows one of the most significant downsides. If Google experiences technical difficulties, millions of people around the world who rely on Google services experience those difficulties as well. It's almost enough to make me go back to Thunderbid and FeedDemon.

Oh wait, after about 18 minutes of downtime, Google's back online. Nevermind.

Update: Word on the street is that the problem was with Verizon, not Google. Verizon high speed internet customers were also unable to access Facebook, CNN, and a number of other sites during the same period.