Age of Bacteria?

As Stephen Jay Gould put it, this is the Age of Bacteria. The Age of Bacteria is, has been, and always will be according to Stephen's points. Gould brings to attention the fact that some bacteria can survive extreme environments (primarily by endospores) and have the ability to harvest energy from the deadliest poisons! Indeed, bacteria were the first of our evolutionary ancestors and googeplex inhabits the Earth. Moreover, they aid in digestion (such as cellulose in cows) and restore energy to the environment by decomposing dead organisms in a never-ending ecological beneficial cycle. Could this really be an "Age of Bacteria" as opposed to an "Age of Humans?" Or is Gould merely defending the most diverse form of life to which little attention is given.