What Would Google Do? (Book Review)

February 11, 2009

9780061709715“It’s about seeing the world as Google sees it, finding your own new worldview, and seeing differently.  In that sense, this isn’t a book about Google.  It’s a book about you.”

The first thing that you notice when you start to read the new book from Jeff Jarvis, What Would Google Do, is that this book is going to open your eyes to many “hidden truths”.  By breaking down Google’s philosophy, beliefs, and culture, Jeff shows us everything that has changed in the world since the explosion of the online world.

In exposing everything that Google has done, we can finally start to look at the world through their eyes.  Whereas many media, marketing, internet companies are clinging to ideals and beliefs of the old economy, Google and a few others have redefined what companies can do, how they can behave, and how they can develop.

Page by page, Jeff breaks down the rules that Google has followed to continue to grow and be successful.  And in doing so, he relates how other companies can use the same ideals to take advantage of a new generation of consumers that talk and discuss products and services in an open forum.  And through personal stories, detailed explanations of online activity, and an overview of how the major internet services work, we can see just how important it is for companies to join in the conversation, find niches, create communities, and act to serve the customer.

This is a must read for anyone who wants to further understand the power of the network. As the world continues to change through an ever expansive and open online society, it is vital that you know the rules of the game.  Jeff Jarvis will show you what is changing, where we’re headed, and how you can adjust and prepare yourself.  It is a creative way of looking at the world and will inspire you to embrace it.

You’re turn, what are some other books that do a great job of looking at the world in an interesting way and explaining new ideas?  What inspires you?  Let us know in the comments area below.

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Posted by Zach Heller

Ad Market Down, Innovate to Increase Value

January 23, 2009

logoseamlesswebboxIn a down economy, many things take a hit.  One market that is hurting right now is the advertising market.  Advertisers are spending less money, pulling ads that they don’t necessarily feel good about, and eliminating all ads that do not convert.  This means that websites that rely on advertising revenue to survive must respond in any way possible.

The two most important things that you have to consider when selling ads are website traffic and advertiser relevance.  Since advertisers are going to need to see real results to continue to advertise in this economy, websites need to be able to produce those results right away.

  1. Increase the value of the site. Increasing the value of a website will help drive more traffic.  The more traffic you get, the more ads you can serve.  This will help you reach more advertisers, and charge more for each ad.
  2. Increase the quality of your ads. Increasing the value of your ads means analyzing what it is that your users are looking for while they are on your site.  If it is a free service, most likely there is information that your users are looking for.  Nailing down the right ads to fit with the user experience can increase your click through and conversion rate a great deal.

For a quick example, take a look at two very similar websites, Seamless Web and Menu Pages.  Both sites are designed as online directories of restaurants in New York City.  Both serve the same purpose: I want to order food but I don’t know where or what.  On both, I can narrow down my search by location, value, type of food, etc.

The major difference is quite simple, Seamless Web allows you to order directly off of the website, while Menu Pages does not.  What does this mean?  Seamless Web has created an enormous amount of value to their site by making it more useful to its users.  And while Menu Pages is a great service, and possibly more popular, they fail to meet all the needs of their users.  For that reason, Seamless Web is set up to get more traffic, and more traffic can lead to greater ad sales.

One final example is Plenty-of-Fish, a free online dating site.  Plenty-of-Fish creator Markus Frind created the site with a simple concept, find an industry in which all competitors are charging, offer the same thing for free, and sell ads.  The idea has flourished.  By adding value to the site (making it free), he has made it one of the most popular online dating services in the world.  With all the traffic he gets from members and potential members, he can serve more ads than similar websites.  And if the average click through rate of an ad is constant, more ads means more $$$.

These are a couple of things to consider as you begin to create or redesign a service.  Websites that show real value to advertisers are going to get the advertising money.  And in this type of economy, it’s something that you need to do to survive.

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Posted by Zach Heller

WebMD and the Future of Self-Help Healthcare

January 7, 2009

logo_webmd2

When you’re sick, you notice a few things.  You notice that sitting on the couch all day is boring.  You notice that reading emails, reading Tweets, and doing anything else that involves comprehending what’s on your computer screen is difficult.  But you also realize that there have been great advances in healthcare recently, and there are certainly many more on the way.

WebMD did something that should have been very obvious, and assembled all the information available about healthcare onto one website.  Allowing any Joe Schmo with a computer and internet access to “self-diagnose”, the website makes it easy to find out what’s wrong, and what you need to do to feel better.  This is all quite simple once you have the necessary amount of information.  But it helps people feel a little more comfortable, even if it is just knowing that the information is available when you need it.

But what’s next?  There are so many ways that we can help people look after themselves in times of need.  We can empower the sick to be stronger and more independent using advances in science and technology that were unimaginable only a short time ago.

As Google and other companies work within the healthcare industry to establish an online database of health records, healthcare should become a lot easier.  With an increased access to medical history, people are better prepared to deal with minor health problems and treatments on their own.  We can now begin to personalize the healthcare process outside of hospitals and doctors’ offices.

This has led or will lead to such things as advanced illness detection devices as part of your home computer, automated treatment delivery systems, advanced robotic treatments, electronic alert and notification systems for the chronically ill, and many more.  We can treat ourselves more effectively, and give doctors a way to stay on top of their patients more efficiently.  This can go a long way to helping people live a healthier, and more importantly, a happier life.

If you or someone you know is taking advantage of a great advancement in modern healthcare, let me know about it here by posting a comment or emailing me at ztheller@gmail.com.  Let’s spread the word and see what kind of progress can be made in the years to come.  Thanks.

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Posted by Zach Heller

Mobile Battles, Monetization of the Social Web, and Risk Taking

November 14, 2008

Economists and writers are still stuck in the bad news area. And why shouldn’t they be? Look at the stats that keep rolling in. They are not good.

But here’s something to think about. As more and more of the traditional companies that dominated the old economy (pre-internet) struggle and go under, the new economy companies are finding new ways to develop. In fact, this whole meltdown could in fact be the final transition between the old and new economy, where new technologies win out over dried up 20th century business.

Michael Baxter points out that risk taking has been the thing that has led to many of the great innovations of91052290-ce47-36c5-6628f34fc51e972c_1 the past. Companies, scientists, economists, advertisers all took risks, made mistakes, and stumbled upon the next great idea or invention. And those “inventions” carried us to the next level. New companies form, old companies die, but the economy as a while continues to move forward.

But in this economy, it seems that all of those companies are scared for their lives. And because they are so scared, they seem to be pulling out the risk taking business. In an effort to save cash, they cut marketing, they cut R&D, and they cut people. I have said it before, but it bears repeating, the companies that will succeed are those that find the opportunities in this mess and exploit them.

blackberry_2_430So who is taking advantage? Look at the Technology sector, look at the web. Social Media seems to be moving forward at the speed of light, and looking for the right way to make money and develop into valuable commodities. Youtube and other online video platforms continue to experiment with advertisements and partnerships to find revenue. The more people that watch videos online, the more traditional marketers try to enter the market, the more important a revenue stream will become.

Social Networks are starting to see the dollar signs. A week after MySpace announced $1 Billion in ad revenue, Open Social discussed how they will monetize their applications. The valuations of companies that connect people online used to be based on the idea of monetization, and now we are seeing the first real signs of those possibilities in action.

And let’s not forget about the Mobile Web. With the popularity of the iPhone as high as ever, here comes Google’s G1, and the new Blackberry Storm. The battle is on to connect more people to the web from a touch-screen phone. This means new opportunities for mobile service providers, platform developers, and third party applications. This is a battle that is sure to be waged for years.iphone_3g

Am I saying that traditional companies are dead in the water, of course not. But I am saying that it is time to wake up and see that online strategies are paying off. Technology is moving forward far faster than any other sector of the economy. They are the ones taking all the risks, and it appears that all the rewards are falling in their direction. So are we on the verge of a major transformation? That is for you to decide.

To here more on this topic and others in business and innovation, you can now sign up for email updates. Happy reading.

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5 Comments | change, Tech, web 2.0 | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Zach Heller

FluTrends from Google: Information Innovation

November 12, 2008

Making big news yesterday was the announcing of Google FluTrends.  The idea is simple: use search trends and data to track the spread of the flu virus throughout the country.

Google has long been able to track everything that people are searching for, and they have used that data to find trends, recommend certain search phrases, and track where their users go for answers.  Most people that use Google may not realize this, but they know a whole lot about you by “watching you search”.  This has brought up privacy concerns for a long time, but the company built on the motto “Don’t be evil” seems to be using this data to help people.

annual_cdc_comparison1

Google FluTrends is one example of an innovative way to use this information for good.  Google can see where their users are searching for things like “flu symptons”, “flu shots”, or anything else flu related.  Now obviously there will be people with the flu that don’t search, and people who search it just for information and not because they have it, but overall this system works well.

Now, even the government is taking interest.  Whereas normal health reporting agencies will notify when and where the flu is most active within 10 days, Google FluTrends can do it almost instantly.  In many ways, it can predict the outbreak, and help health officials prepare.  The goal is to get the vaccination in the hands of those that need it most before things get too bad.

In my opinion, when a company like Google has this type of information, they have a moral responsibility to use it to help people.  And if this new “product” proves useful this flu season, it is an ingenious way to use their power for good.

For more information on projects they are working on at Google, visit www.google.org.

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Posted by Zach Heller

The Truth about the Facebook/Google War

October 29, 2008

Google embodies everything that we dream the internet can be.  Their search engine transformed the way we found information.  And through the years, it seems like they lead the way for other internet companies to build their own space.  They represent freedom.

Facebook represents the newer, more united internet.  A network of people that grew out of control because it filled a void that we never even knew existed.  They lead the way in an area that has taken off in the last 3 years.  They are the epitome of social networking, and continue to grow their aspirations almost as fast as they grow their reach.

For these two companies, to say that they don’t directly compete would be very shortsighted.  Almost every online company must be aware of others, and these are the two giants of our time.  They are far and away two of the most innovative companies on the net, and they have enough money and power to dream and accomplish many things that we have yet to even contemplate.

As they grow, they also grow fearfulof what other internet powers meet do.  Though they will not openly say it, they must be afraid of losing out on the next big thing, or being beaten to the punch of some new project they are working on.

The poll from my last post shows that the majority of respondents felt that it was a good thing that these companies have been fighting back against each other.  And of course, in the traditional business sense, competitionis a good thing.  The internet, which represents freedom of ideas and information, must be a competitive marketplace, with no one company having too much control.  In this way, the pressure these companies put on each other will lead to each of them working harder.

But competition, perhaps especially on the internet, can make companies fearful and greedy.  This is an area that we have only started to understand.  Internet startups and entrepreneurs have proven that there is a limitless value to the online world.  We have only scratched the surface of its use.  And it seems that if these two giants worked together they could unlock more of the hidden magic in this marketplace than working against each other.

In my eyes, competition is good for the consumer when a market has limits.  When companies battle over set market share, they add value to their products and get better.  But in a field that has no limits, does a head to head battle make sense?

The internet is still a fresh, relatively undiscovered field.  In the coming years, we will no doubt develop new uses that are yet to be conceived.  And it is going to take companies acting on their own terms to continue to innovate and develop these new areas.  A Facebook vs. Google internetmay not be the best scenario for anyone involved.  The two companies share many of the purest and most innovative qualities that have made both of them successful in the online world.  They should continue to develop these commonalities and find a way to coexist without competing in order to get the most out of the internet in coming years.

4 Comments | Tech, web 2.0 | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Zach Heller

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