Google (GOOG) is pondering a floating data center that could be powered and cooled by the ocean. These offshore data centers could sit three to seven miles offshore and reside in about 50 to 70 meters of water.

The search giant filed for a patent in February that was approved Aug. 28. The patent outlines a concept that would not only be savvy engineering, but deliver great returns. Rich Miller at Data Center Knowledge called Google’s patent a “startling new take on data center engineering.” I’d call it brilliant engineering, but the financial engineering could be even more impressive.

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Web-site outages have never been more public. When a site or service goes down, companies are using blogs to rapidly update their users about what happened and why. The inevitable finger-pointing takes place in real time, and within a matter of minutes, a server failure can generate a headline on TechCrunch or Valleywag. This creates a challenge for Web hosts and data-center providers whose business is built upon a reputation for reliability. In this fast-moving environment, how do you balance the need to be accountable to customers and also work to mitigate headline risk?

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