What would Google do? March 6, 2009
Posted by rda1 in : 6_DesignAsUrbanIntervention, Outside inspiration , trackbackI’m quoting Cynthia here – thanks for directing us to this (and for the compliment!). Check this out everyone:
On the Media, 2/27/09, http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2009/02/27/06
Jeff Jarvis interview re: his book “What Would Google Do?” Jarvis
works at City University of NY, School of Journalism. Sounds like the
book reflects your SDPS White Board Diagrams from last week !!!!. All
about service; service design. Lot’s of interesting case studies
shared.
Comments»
To me, Google is very fascinating in that they emerged from a time when a group of search engines were competing to do the same job/ same service.
But Google became the most sucessful because, Google simply did one key service, searching/trawling the internet’s webpages and visitors, and they did it best by combining it with the wikipedian* belief that website visitors anonymously create the most legitimate vote. They performed that one service (with the help of that crazy alogorithm or something or the other that the cofounders worked on while at Stanford) , and did it with excellence. Everything else is built on top of that.
I think also Google ‘s success, much like things like craigslist, are invested in the belief of doing good by being good. Perhaps this explains why Google has chosen such a slogan like : “don’t be evil ” , which actually betrays a slightly more ironic stance than craigslist. “don;t be evil” or “don’t be the weakest link” (pun intended).
Thirdly, I am interested in the ‘brandless’ approach that Google had chosen to take at the get go. Intuitively astute decision (and maybe for tech geeks with no time for design frills, just a natural corollary) that makes ones presence even more ubiquitous in a world teeming with brands and logos.
* Wikipedian – the beliefe that the behavior of a critical mass of visitors allows the best and most accurate information possible.