Grounded In Reality

Google’s recent spectacle of lights in NYC was impressive. If you missed it, earlier this month the company turned the meatpacking district into a canvas of psychedelic video projections to celebrate the introduction of 70+ iGoogle artist themes.

Stunning projection technology aside (Obscura Digital did the work), I love that Google used an offline event to spark interest online. They could have stuck with the standard homepage promotion and logo re-design (aka Google Doodle) to announce the new iGoogle themes. Instead, they brought the designs to life and created a memorable experience.

Search superiority and intuitive services aside, Google is loved because it has mastered the ability to humanize a 100% online brand. Everything they do is centered around the user. Check out this post by David Armano about Google’s razor sharp focus on user experience.

For me, user experience means every touchpoint with a brand, whether it be online, offline, functional or observational. Google understands the importance of a 360 experience, both from the design side and the human interaction side. Other excellent examples are Google 4 Doodle and this video contest.

The takeaway: User experience is about delivering exceptional brand navigation and story flow online. It’s also about extending that story beyond the screen and into the physical world to strengthen brand affinity.

Google has quietly rolled out a GPS-enabled, mobile version of Google Maps.  As an existing user of Google Maps on a mobile device (and a perpetually lost traveler), I can attest to the ease and intuitiveness of the mobile version.  Enabling GPS functionality provides a “You Are Here” functionality and, most importantly for marketers, a new channel for presence advertising.

Imagine receiving opt-in offers for a latte on your BlackBerry® when you walk by a participating Starbucks (a GCI client).  Show the barista the digital coupon and enjoy a cool drink to ease your travels.

Granted that this is an early adopter technology as majority of mobile devices are not GPS-enabled, but the BlackBerry® 8800™ is a good example of the new wave of mobile devices with in-built GPS.

The raise of digital media has presented more opportunities for the digital media team to consult on both Web site content and technical (SEO) optimization. To that end, I believe that the new version of Google Analytics will further break down the IT and marketing silos; and both Webmaster and PR professional will be held to higher standards of what works and what doesn’t for online content.

I recommend your spending 5 minutes to watch this features overview video to appreciate how easy it is now for the executive to measure ROI.

Thereafter, send your client an e-mail to discuss embedding the Google Analytics script on their site.  Fair warning: Don’t get too obsessed checking those Web metrics.

On the front page of today’s Wall Street Journal, I’m told that, ” You’re a Nobody Unless Your Name Googles Well.” (Techmeme link.)  Highlights from the article:

• About 7% of all searches are for a person’s name, estimates search engine Ask.com.
• More than 80% of executive recruiters said they routinely use search engines to learn more about candidates, according to a recent survey by executive networking firm ExecuNet.
• Nearly 40% of individuals have used search engines to look up friends or acquaintances with whom they’d lost touch, according to a Harris Interactive survey commissioned by Microsoft Corp.’s MSN unit.

In terms of people search tools, Spock (glowing review by O’Reilly) and ZoomInfo will eat Google’s lunch if it doesn’t care to focus on vertical, people search results.

For working professionals, it is worth asking if your clients (current and potential)  expect to see their name and/or business appear in Google.  If not, why not?  If so, here six easy, inexpensive (many free) ways to quickly establish an online presence: Start a blog, create a Squidoo lens, upload Flickr photos, create a professional LinkedIn profile (yes, it shows up in Google), register a unique domain, and optimize your Web site. (In case you’re wondering, I’ve walked the talk for a nonprofit that I’m volunteering with.)

For my PR brethren, which keywords do/should your clients (high profile individuals and brand) own, and how much time and resource is spent working towards that goal?

In terms of naming a child, I find it rather short sighted for parents to overly concern themselves with the Google results  of their child’s name.  Must be the fear of Google in the air.

Addendum: Fortunately for me, if you are a headhunting “Wilson Tan” on Google, I’m #11 and #13 associated with Paul’s post and my post on this GCI Digital Media blog.  Not too shabby though certainly room for improvement to find myself online.

If you know me, I have probably told you that I think everyone should have one…and I do.  But this morning, as I go to read my morning paper (AKA my Google Homepage) it has this funny letter in front of it?  An i.  But why?

I did the ususal to find out what the creative decoration of ‘Google’ meant by scrolling across it — nothing.  So, I close out of my personalized page and go to the main page to scroll across it — nothing.  What next? Google’s blog, where of course, I find the answer:

For a while now, we Googlers have used a bit of shorthand to refer to the Personalized Homepage — a name that connotes interactivity, the Internet, and personalization all at once. Please meet iGoogle, the new name for the Google Personalized Homepage.

Not a fan.  The lowercase “i” is WAY overused.  More than ‘that’s hot’…more than ‘duh’, ’sych’ and ‘dude’ all combined.  IMHO, Unless you are in a deal with Apple and required to start your products with an “i”, then DON’T DO IT. (anyone else feel this strongly?)

– I digress –

There is some interesting news following the name change (if you can get past it).  You get more capabilities and they come in the form of a photo gadget, a “GoogleGram” greeting card-style gadget, a YouTube video channel gadget, and a free-form gadget.  Create your own.

The photo one should be popular, based on the popularity of photo slideshows on MySpace. This will definitely consume some of my time today, but it will have to wait until this afternoon.  In the mean time, someone else should send me a GoogleGram!

The revenue model for traditional media needs fresh thinking.  Mentioned in today’s Journal (subscription required), “Papers’ Web Hopes Dim a Bit: Ad Growth Online Slows as Sources for News Burgeon.”  Highlights below:

• Online ad spending for newspapers will likely fall to a percentage in the low 20s this year from 28 percent last year, Borrell Associates estimates.
• Primarily, it seems that marketers need more convincing when it comes to moving their ad dollars online.  A survey of 273 U.S. advertisers last year found that 67 percent of the companies with annual revenue of $500 million or more will dedicate less than $1 million to online ads, according to Jupiter Research.
• Media buyers also indicate marketers are beginning to look beyond traditional journalism sites, realizing many news junkies go elsewhere, too.

More at paidContent.

I think this is amazing.  The capabilities of Google Earth continue to stack up, creating what I believe will change the way that history is kept moving forward.  This is Part 1 of 6 videos of a speech given to introduce Google Earth’s work with the United States Holocaust Museum to do similar mash-ups of Germany and Dafur representing history and loss of life in each region (Germany- past, Darfur- current).  I can only assume that Iraq will be an in-depth project like these pretty soon.

Video series and more information available through the United States Holocaust Museum Web site  http://www.ushmm.org/

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Update: Michael Arrington reports that Technorati has launched a CEO search.  Dave Sifry notes that he will remain with the company in a product role.

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Though many of my clients are surprised to learn that blog search engines exist, they warm up quickly to the concept, particularly when I encourage them to think of it as Google for blogs instead of the Web in general.

My colleagues tend to cut to the chase and inquire about which one to use–the context being “just tell me which one is the best available.” My response: A combination of Technorati and Google Blog Search ought to suffice for most clients.

As a heavy user of both engines, I have qualitative experience to account for Google Blog Search’s increased accuracy and timeliness of results. Plus, the fact that most of my clients are more comfortable and familiar with the Google user interface means that I need to pre-empt and manage their expectations of results from a Google Blog Search.

However, Google’s advancements beg the question of why and how Technorati, the ‘granddaddy of blog search,’ would give up its mantle to Google. Because corporations are hungry for data about the online chatter pertinent to their brands, one would think that it is in Technorati’s advantage to monetize their data. Two speculations for Technorati taking their eyes off the ball:

1. Online ad sales, Google’s forte, is a natural extension to monetizing this live data stream but it is not in Technorati’s DNA to execute.
2. Though still championing cool new technologies such as microformats, the reality of running a sustainable business is hitting home, thus inevitably causing a pause in the business and a slow down in commitment and dedication to improving the tool.

David Sifry’s State of the Live Web, April 2007, report was well received but came with speculations about a pending sale, fueled by this statement:

“Sifry says Technorati is now very much a media company, and that the growth in social media and use of the blog search engine’s tagged media pages has contributed to this growth.”

That said, I have nothing but respect and admiration for Tantek, CTO, Technorati, and his team for the free tool and for the good work of enabling my clients to search and make sense of the “live web.”