What would Google do?

With the world data flood increasing exponentially, it makes good sense to reverse-engineer the company making the most money from this information overload. Google is riding the data wave with its automated search technology, and has spawned a host of products and services that include Google Images, Google Books, Google News, Google Videos, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Gmail, Google Groups, Google Reader, orkut, Blogger, Google Sites, and YouTube.

The Economist has put numbers to the data tsunami, reporting that mankind created 150 exabytes (billion gigabytes) of data in 2005. The financial journal says in 2010 we will create 1 200 exabytes.

“Merely keeping up with this flood, and storing the bits that might be useful, is difficult enough,” says The Economist. “Analysing it, to spot patterns and extract useful information, is harder still. Even so, the data deluge is already starting to transform business, government, science and everyday life.”

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in California, Google not only makes sense of the data deluge, but profits hugely from it. Google served 63.2% of all searches in the US during 2009, according to Nielsen. That's 5 968 840 000 searches. Looking at the numbers it's crucial to remember that Google earns from every paid link a user clicks on.

“It seems as if no company, executive or institution truly understands how to survive and prosper in the Internet age. Except Google” - Jeff Jarvis

In his book “What would Google do?”, Jeff Jarvis says Google offers valuable examples of how to survive and prosper in the Internet age. An American journalist and Internet consultant, Jarvis believes business activities can be planned more effectively by asking: “What would Google do?”

These Google rules include ceding control to customers and interacting with them.

Mandy de Waal, ITWeb contributor

By reverse-engineering Google to fit individual business needs, Jarvis maintains that firms and industries can stay viable by heeding the “Google Rules.” These rules include ceding control to customers and interacting with them, being open and collaborative so customers become invested in your products, and being “searchable” so consumers can find you.

“Companies will no longer grow to critical mass by borrowing massive capital to make massive acquisitions... Instead, they need to learn from Google and grow by building platforms to help others prosper.” - Jeff Jarvis

A searching question

Google sets the pace of business in the Internet age. The Times of London calls it “the fastest growing company in the history of the world”. When pondering how to proceed in this exciting, confusing, often counterintuitive era, pose this practical question: “What would Google do?” or “WWGD?” for short. And don't ask only about Google. Other Internet pioneers also are transforming business and society, including YouTube (which Google owns), Facebook, Craigslist, Wikipedia and Amazon. These Web trendsetters are changing all the old rules.

Now:

* People are in instant touch with one another - They can form groups immediately to support or oppose institutions.
* Selling to the masses is a moribund tactic - Today, niches rule.
* Marketing is pass'e - Don't try to sell to customers, try to converse with them.
* Your products are no longer just yours to control - To make a profit with your merchandise or service, collaborate with your customers.
* Connections matter - Open networks and the platforms they are built on - such as Google - create value by connecting people to information.
* Companies must be open and transparent to endure - “Owning pipelines, people, products or even intellectual property is no longer the key to success. Openness is.”

Google's corporate philosophy suggests ways to cope with these new realities:

* “Focus on the user and all else will follow.”
* “It's best to do one thing really, really well.”
* “Fast is better than slow.”
* “You can make money without doing evil.”

“Google is not just a company. It is an entirely new way of thinking.” - Chris Anderson, author of “The Long Tail”.

While these ideas are illuminating, watching Google in action reveals more. Whenever you ask, “what would Google do?” - which amounts to reverse-engineering Google to fit your needs - you are looking for new ways to understand a world in flux and to see it “as Google sees it”.

Google has earned its spotlight. In 2008, it was responsible for 71% of all US Web searches and 87% of all Internet searches in the UK. By then, Google already “controlled 69% of online ad serving” and “24% of online advertising”. It is the world's leading brand. Though AOL and Yahoo were dominant only a few years ago, they are now musty and fusty. They play by the old standards, tightly controlling distribution and content. They overspend on marketing to retain customers, using tactics that are quickly becoming obsolete. Yahoo is the “last old-media company”, in contrast to Google, the “first post-media company”. Google, the ultimate network and platform, eschews Yahoo's portal approach. It does not wait for customers to come to it; it goes wherever they are - all over the Web. Approximately one-third of its revenue, some $20 billion in 2008, does not come from Google.com itself, but from ancillary Google sites.

Cede control to your customers

One vital rule of the new interactive era is that if you let people take control, they will. But, if you try to control people, you will lose them. That's why smart companies empower their customers. Dell Computer learned this the hard way. Dell's quality and service began to suffer in the mid-2000s. Bloggers worldwide started posting thousands of diatribes and warnings about its machines. When a Houston Chronicle reporter asked Dell to respond, a company spokesperson said that if people want to communicate with Dell, they should do so at its Web site (and on its terms). That only made things worse.

Soon, Dell was in big trouble; its share price plummeted. Finally getting the message, the company sent technicians to fix the computers that provoked bloggers' complaints. Then, it started its own blog, Direct2Dell, and created IdeaStorm, a Web site where people could suggest ways it could improve its products and service. Dell spent $150 million in 2007 to improve its customer-support call centres. It began collaborating with customers instead of trying to control them. By doing so, it vastly improved its operations and turned negative posts into positive ones.

Today, smart companies know that faultfinding customers are their best friends. Find out what your customers are saying about your business. Go to Google.com and search your company's name, the names of your products and even the names of your senior executives. Do a similar search on blog search engines, such as Icerocket and Technorati. Check out the microblogging platform Twitter. Visit Facebook to see if any groups exist that support or oppose your firm. Use e-mail to contact individuals you find online who are critical of your company. Thank them for their criticism. Explain that such negative reporting alerts you to problems and helps you improve. Develop a company blog where you and your customers can discuss and, perhaps, resolve problems. Get the CEO to participate. To transform angry customers into partners who can help you change for the good, establish respectful relationships with them. Involve them in all aspects of your operations, including product planning.

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