Book review: What Would Google Do?

First off, this book is not really about what would Google do in any given situation (that much). It's a catchy title and he does speak to that point at times. But it's a secondary issue at best and not all that significant when used. But, with that said…

This is a phenomenal book.

If you are in executive management, in any industry, in any role, you should read this book. If you are in marketing, in any way, at any level, you should read this book. If you are in business development, product design … you get the idea, read it!

So what is this book about? Fundamentally, it is about the world we now live in defined by Google, Craigslist, eBay, Amazon, etc. Even if every specific item in the book is something you already know, the way Jarvis weaves it together into a whole and walks you through what it means is eye-opening. And, if much of what he presents to you is new, I think it will radically change your view of how we learn, communicate, sell, etc. in this new world.

For example, look at what is occurring in Iran today. Where do you go for information? Not CNN or The NY Times, but to Huffington Post, the Daily Dish, and Twitter. Our primary source now is not news packaged up where we get a summation from a reporter. It is videos, tweets, and web posts from people on the ground in Iran, reporting what they are seeing. This is not just a different person we get the news from, this is where we each get parts of the raw data out there and we each, on our own, weigh the credibility and importance of every piece of raw data.

We see the same changes in Amazon where the ratings on each product are put up by thousands of people, unfiltered and unmoderated. And out of that mass comes very reliable data. We see it in eBay where total strangers have a system where they can trust each other selling products. We see it in the blogosphere where we find commentary on politics, sports, entertainment, etc. that is, again, available in overwhelming quantities, leaving it for us to pick and choose on our own.

To drill down in the specific case most interesting to us at Windward, it means the old ways of marketing are dead and gone. An article or ad in a trade magazine – useless. An ad on a web site – marginal. Our web site – secondary. What matters is what others say about our product. In forums, in blogs, in emails, & person to person in meetings.

This change has one earth-shattering component. If people are talking about you, there is no way you can influence this discussion. It is too diffused, and there is too much information available, to change what people are seeing. So a company is now being measured by what people think of its product. It's not the TV ads, it's not the magazine ads, it's not the review by key magazines – it's the product itself. If it's a killer product like the iPhone, that's a wonderful change. If it's a lousy product, well you can no longer put lipstick on a pig – the world knows the product sucks and sales will plummet.

This has an interesting corollary in our case. If you're a small company you aren't talked about (much). And this concept is a very hard thing to reverse because getting the word out requires reaching many, many people all in many different places. Having 10 people shout that you are awesome in a crowd of 10 million does not have much impact (This is what we are 95% focused on for our marketing efforts – and things can be done).

But it's not just marketing, it's not just company reputation, and this change is continuing and accelerating. (In my blog I have started discussing the impact this will have on politics.) Any company that does not take this in to account will go out of business. People have changed how they live, learn, and communicate – radically changed – and this is revolutionizing our society and culture.

This book will change your view of the world. Read it.

Comments

[Jeff Jarvis]

Thanks so much.

[Ann Holman]

Your post is spot on. I keep recommending this book to clients and delegates alike. For some its a swift kick up the ass (it was for me) which is just what we need in the small business world.

I posted it was a special book and it is!

[Ben Davies]

I agree - I really enjoyed the book and it had a huge impact on my thinking. I've been talking about it to the people I know. I listened to the audio version on audible.com, read by Jeff.

[Dominic]

Absolutely true. This is the best book in a long time to create new insights and spawn new ideas. I gave it as a gift twice already.