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Adopting a Google mindset is good for business

Guest post by: Ross Fattori

Article Overview: Review of a non-fiction book entitled "What Would Google Do?" by Jeff Jarvis

Adopting a Google mindset is good for business

I'm reading a book by Jeff Jarvis, What Would Google Do? (HarperCollins, 2009). Jarvis is a writer who publishes a popular blog called Buzz Machine, about news and media trends. Readers may remember Jarvis as the blogger who made headlines a few years ago, when he publicly called out Dell Computers for its poor customer service.

In What Would Google Do? Jarvis has written about how Google (the world's most popular search engine) has transformed the advertising industry and how it has affected other industries as well. The main premise of the book is an attempt to get companies (and industries) to understand the Google mindset, and to recognize the power of the individual in this age of open sourcing, mobile computing and social networking.

In a networked world, it's all about the customer. More importantly, it's about empowering customers to talk freely about your products and services. It's about giving customers choices about where and how and what they buy. In my industry, advertising, Google has literally turned business models upside down, forcing newspapers, magazines and ad agencies to re-invent themselves.

With the advent of Google AdWords (a pay-per-click advertising model), advertisers now have the ability to target customers, based on viewing habits and website content. AdWords offers advertisers the option of paying for ads only when customers click on their links, a far more cost-effective (and profitable) advertising model than purchasing ads with traditional media.

In this new age of advertising, it's no longer about sending messages en masse, crossing your fingers and hoping for the best. Now it's all about targeting customers by age, demographics, interests, etc. "Advertisers are starting to mouth the right words - it's about relationships, not messages," writes Jarvis.

Jarvis doesn't confine his observations to the advertising industry. He includes chapters on utilities, retail, manufacturing, automotive and financial services. He discusses how the Google mindset is changing those industries, by making companies more approachable, transparent and accountable.

Whatever business or enterprise you're involved in, What Would Google Do? is an engaging read that will help you to better understand the power of the individual in today's networked world. It may even inspire you to re-think your current business practices and change the way you do business.

What Would Google Do? deserves two thumbs up.

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Article Tags: AdWords, Dell Computers, Google, Jeff Jarvis



Related Forum Posts
Re: Does birth order influence the desire to start a business? - Hi Kevin, I can't really say if birth order has anything to do with having more of a business mindset and taking risks. As for my situation, I have a sister who is three years older than me. I've always wanted to start my own business and work from home ever since I was in high school. My sister on the other hand got a four year degree and now works as a graphic design artist. I've mentioned to her on several occasions about doing freelance work and starting a side business. She just shrugs it off and says she doesn't have time to do something like that. It's a pitty because I know she would excel if she had the type of mindset that I have. She does great at her job and would do great as a freelancer.
Hiring the best people for the job - One of the hardest things I had to do as an entrepreneur was to give up control over a project to someone else. Currently, I am having a professional design my website for me. Sure I can do it myself, or hire someone to do it how I tell them, but what would I learn? Handling the technological side of the business is not my strong suit, so i had to find someone who knew more about the subject than I did and also has done what I want to do before. It has been a learning experience, and the great thing about it is it frees me up to do what I do best in my business, and letting someone else do what they do best. I have been brought up with the mindset that [i:vazquuoz]if you want it done right you [/i:vazquuoz][i:vazquuoz]have to do it yourself[/i:vazquuoz]. I am slowly but surely weening myself away from that mindset and learning how to delegate more effectively. Now I am extremely selective on who I hire, and my goal is to surround myself around people who are smarter than myself in their area of expertise.
Re: What to do at the first roadblock? - GT said, I think seeing that the glass (i.e. market or opportunity) is only half full is a good mindset to have rather than looking at the sheer number of competitors. I would have to agree. I think this is a great thing to think about in almost any situation, whether home or business. As I mentioned, attitude is 95% of the battle. Keeping it positive is the only way to get the things you really want in life. Helping others helps, too. See the quote in my signature.
How Do You Check Google Ranking? - Now that Google is so responsive to your own search history, how can you get a good idea of what your Google ranking really is for your web pages? Whenever I check my ranking for specific keywords on Google, my web pages appear on the front page, or suspiciously high. My way around this is to check Google ranking via other computer Internet links, i.e., whenever I'm working in a library I will use a library computer to check. I check Google ranking before logging into my Gmail or other Google-related accounts. Does anybody else have any other tips for discovering your Google ranking? Nowadays, I check Bing.com for my webpage ranking as it gives a much less favourable (and so, I guess, "truer") ranking for my webpages than Google does...
Web Designing - You sound like you're very intelligent, and you have a fantastic mindset, starting young will give you a huge letup in life. you obviously have a good grasp of English, have you thought about joining one of those get-paid-to-blog programs? I don't imagine it'd pay much but it'd be a good way to make a little money and would also give you a springboard for marketing whatever you eventually do. for the long term, what sort of things do you like doing? what are you good at? how much time and what other resources do you have at your disposal?


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