John Battelle's Searchblog

I'm a student of history. OK, maybe more like, I am a getting-older journalist following a youngish history, of companies like Apple, a company I covered in the 80s, Microsoft, (late 80s to present), AOL, Yahoo (mid 90s to present), Google (late 90s to present), Facebook (early 2000s to present), and on and on (yes, Twitter is my most recent obsession as a story).

So when I saw this tweet today, well, heck, it brought me back. To this. I first saw the Google Master Plan whiteboard when I went to Google in early 2002 to meet with Eric Schmidt. Love the idea that Twitter now has a whiteboard with its revenue plans, and prominently declared is that wonderful mandate we've all written in the corner; DO NOT ERASE!

Yes, that's a good idea. Don't erase (see my previous post on why).

PS - Google's Master plan also had a "Do Not Erase" in the top left hand corner. So did the "Don't be evil" whiteboard moniker put up across campus in the early days.

This is priceless: (via Boing Boing)

At San Francisco's Pizzeria Delfina, they know how to own their pain. Rather than wringing their hands over Internet sourpusses who give them one-star Yelp ratings, they've printed up tees with excerpts from the most scathing reviews ("This place sucks") and given them to the staff to wear.

I call this practice "conversational jujitsu" - take the negative force of complaints, embrace them, and use them to your advantage. Just wait until really large companies start to do this. Then we'll see remarkable change in this economy.

More as ... I write the book.

As I think through the major themes of the book I hope to write over the next year, the word "horizontal" keeps coming up, over and over and over.

It comes up in nearly every conversation I have with marketers. More often than not, when you get to the heart of an innovative marketing program, you find a block that can be summed up thusly: "That's not what we do."

In other words, "We're the marketing group. That's a great idea, John, but it requires we work with the (customer service, IT, business development, human relations, public affairs, product development, legal) department. And while we'd love to do that, well, we've (have never done that, have tried it before and it didn't work, don't like those guys, been told not to do it, don't have budgets that cross departments, etc. etc. etc.)."

But marketing is, in its essence, a horizontal practice. (I wrote more about this on the American Express Open Forum site.) Every customer interaction is marketing. Every partnership is marketing. Every employee is a marketer.

And all your data, well, that's marketing too.

Case in point: Mashery. I had a good conversation today with Mashery's CEO Oren Michels. Mashery has a smart (and very Web 2) model: It provides API infrastructure for enterprises looking to turn their businesses into platforms. In other words, business who are smart enough to realize they need to join the conversation economy.

But joining the conversation economy means more than skinning your corporate website with Twitter search results (though I commend Skittles for doing it). It means taking your core assets - the data that drives value and knowledge inside your enterprise - and offering it as fuel for the collective intelligence of all your partners - your channel, your vendors, and, ultimately, your customers.

What does that look like? Well, Mashery has plenty of examples, including the New York Times and Best Buy. It's late and I wish I could write a lot more, but let me sum it up this way: Companies that create platforms which enable customers to leverage internal data with collective intelligence will win. Those that don't, will lose.

Oren had a very telling insight, one that plays to the issue of "horizontal versus vertical." Most enterprises see his services as "IT", and push him to "talk to the CTO." But most CTOs don't care about creating new channels of distribution, new business rules, and opening new markets. They see their job as servicing that which already exists. That's a recipe for epic fail.

Mashery is not an IT play, it's a business development play. Smart companies understand that.

More on this soon.

Well, I'm stuck in Atlanta, waiting for a delayed flight. My wife and I hit the bookstore and what does she find but the paperback edition of The Search, the one with the new chapter. I'm mildly surprised, as it's not supposed to be out till Monday, but there it was. I've been meaning to post some teasers from the new chapter. Thanks to Delta's utter hopelessness, here is the first of a number of installations I'll post over the next few weeks.

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Barely a year has passed since I finished final edits on The Search, which was originally published in September of 2005. I sent the final manuscript to my editor in April of 2005 (yep, it takes nearly six months to get a book out once the manuscript is finished; books, like democracies, are deliberate and plodding beasts). Since then, an awful lot has stayed constant. Google remains the undisputed king of search, Wall Street, and the Internet, and a host of Google’s competitors continue to wring their hands over what do to about it.

But an awful lot has changed, and the pace is quickening. Put mildly, it’s been a busy year in the world that search impacts. Which is to say, pretty much the entire world, from the executive suites at Amazon and Microsoft to the governments of France, Germany, China and the United States.

Google Dances With Dragons
So let’s start in China, with a nod toward the US Department of Justice. If you’ve read this far, that means you read Chapter 8, a chapter starring, among others, Sergey Brin and his company’s tortured decision process as it relates to entering the Chinese market. Well, regardless of the sleepless nights, in the past year Google has entered China with gusto. It not only opened offices and poached staff from Microsoft (prompting an unsuccessful lawsuit from Redmond), it also launched a Chinese native site (Google.cn) and agreed to the rules of the Chinese government (in short, the site is censored).

Now, as I pointed out earlier, this is not a new development for US Internet companies – Yahoo, Microsoft, and many other information services had already submitted their products to Chinese censorship. But when Google made the move, well, that got some attention.

On January 23 Google announced the launch of Google.cn. In a prepared statement defending the move, Andrew McLaughlin, senior policy counsel for Google, wrote: "Google.cn will comply with local Chinese laws and regulations…In deciding how best to approach the Chinese--or any--market, we must balance our commitments to satisfy the interest of users, expand access to information, and respond to local conditions."

In other words, Sergey Brin and Larry Page had argued themselves into entering the world’s largest developing market, just as it seemed they would when I spoke to Brin a year before in Davos. And while Yahoo and Microsoft can go into China without arousing the passions of the US government, Google apparently can not.

Two days after Google announced its service, US Congressmen Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey who chairs a House subcommittee on human rights, called immediately for a hearing. His goal: To explore the “operating procedures” of Internet companies who operate in China. Clearly Smith smelled blood: because of its towering profits and seemingly contradictory “Do No Evil” motto, Google was an easy target.

Smith was also spurred into action by disclosures in the press that on multiple occasions Yahoo had cooperated with Chinese government requests for information on suspected dissidents. As a result, at least two Chinese citizens, including a researcher for the New York Times, ended up incarcerated. And Microsoft piled further fuel on the fire when – at the request of the Chinese government - it summarily deleted the online journal a prominent Chinese dissident had kept on Microsoft’s blogging service.

On February 16, 2006, representatives from Yahoo, Cisco, Google, and Microsoft found themselves on the hot seat, but the warmest bum belonged to Eliot Schrage, newly installed VP of Corporate Affairs for Google. Congressman Smith called Schrage and Google out on the company’s informal “Don’t Be Evil” motto, at one point stating that Google had “become evil’s accomplice.” Representative Jim Leach of Iowa went so far as to call Google “a functionary of the Chinese Government.”

Coverage of the hearing dominated the news, and stories around the world showed pictures of Tibetan monks and angry Chinese students protesting Google and imploring the company to “not be evil.” The decision to go into China was clearly damaging Google’s once pristine consumer brand.

Schrage and others admitted that China represented a conundrum, and during the hearings and afterwards there was vague talk of a “coalition” effort – an industry pact of sorts that might actually voice an opinion about China’s attempts to censor its businesses. But such ideas seemed doomed to remain just that – ideas. Were Google, Yahoo, or others to actually voice a strong opinion about Chinese policies, well, Beijing would not look kindly on such moves. Not to mention Wall Street, of course – there’s profit to be made in China, if everyone just keeps their heads down.

While no one has declared the idea of a pact dead, in practical terms it's really not sensible to expect that such an effort will ever take root. After all, this is a group of companies who can't even agree to interconnect their instant messenger networks. To think they might change US policy without the support of, well, the US government, is pretty silly. It seems to me that when it comes to China, only one force can provide leadership: The US government itself.

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A note: It's odd how much a story can change in a few months. I finished this chapter in May, and just four months later there is serious talk about how Google has lost its mojo in China - not one year after it entered the market.

The next installation will focus on the DOJ and Google's software distribution plans.

A colleague from NY who prefers to be anonymous sends me this email:

Sitting stuck in traffic on way to Mumbai airport. Various peddlers offering flowers, newspapers, etc knock on the car window. And here's one with pirated books. My, the world certainly is flat I think looking at friedman's samizdat cover. And then I look down the pile -- and there is your book. It won't put food on your table, but you should be happy to know that the guys who rely on one or two sales a day and can only carry a few books have put you on their bestseller list.

First, amazing that he can send me that note while in traffic in one of the most perilous places on earth (at least, last week it was). Second, how cool is it that The Search is a street bestseller in Mumbai?! Do I care about the piracy? No. No, no no. I care that someone in Mumbai cared enough to rip it off, and that someone there might be reading my stuff. That is just cool. Commercial markets always follow the free, or, well, the pirates in this case. Always.

I knew The Search had been translated into Hungarian because a family friend who speaks it told me so, but still, it's cool to see it - "Keress!"

I like the sound of that.

(thanks Adam and Eni)

I'm honored to hear that The Search is up for a Loeb, which is the most prestigious award in business journalism. But the field is quite competitive, and I'm just thrilled to be among the other fine books noted. (Somehow, I sense The World Is Flat will sweep...!)

UPDATE: Well, this is embarrassing, but my publisher told me I was a finalist, along with about ten other books, but now the release is out, and only three are on it, and The Search ain't one of them. I guess I was given bad info. Sigh.

You never thought you'd hear it, eh? But this is a special one. Nine months after my first book tour appearance, (at the Bunch of Grapes on Martha's Vineyard, where I have family), I'm doing my last signing, at Vroman's bookstore in Pasadena (where I grew up).

Vroman's holds a very special place in my heart - it's my childhood bookstore. It's still my ideal model for "a place you can buy books." It's the largest independent bookstore in Southern California, and a wonderful place to just hang out. The store's Chairman, Andy Vollero, is a family friend (and was my little league coach, but now you know more than you wanted to...).

Tonight at 7 pm, I'll be talking about The Search, seeing old friends, and generally enjoying myself. I hope anyone down in the Pasadena area can join in!

How cool is it that some smart geeks hacked up an application inspired by the Database of Intentions framework of The Search? Check out The Intention Cloud. From the About section:

The Cloud is the result of a mashup between the concept of 'Database Of Intention' and 'Tag Clouds' visualization. The current live engine of the Intention Cloud is collecting data from the Google Suggest service, but will be extended in the future to integrate other databases of intention.

Here's the cloud for "we want"....

Chris' cover is done. Congrats (and it's quite something how those NY publishers will push Google onto the cover, eh buddy?! Awfully nice quote from Eric!)

Last night I finally got a chance to sit down with Elliot Schrage, who was recently (well, six months ago) named VP of Global Communications and Public Affairs for Google. I'd been looking forward to meeting him - I've worked closely with his brother, author Michael Schrage, in the past, and more to the point, I was intrigued to find out more about the fellow who would be responsible for shepherding Google's brand from Cute One Note Service to Massive Global Player. Elliot knows global issues - he was previously SVP for Global Affairs at Gap and a Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He got his trial by fire just recently when he had to testify before a group of ornery Congressfolk on the issue of China.

The dinner was off the record, so I can't really report the details of what we discussed, but I can say that I found Elliot frank, engaging, and self deprecating - but not overly so. He understands the essence of Google's major challenge - becoming the company the world already expects it to be. As I've written elsewhere, I believe the Google brand is in need of message clarification - most folks still see it as that "Aha!" service that changed how they search the Web, but increasingly, it's also the brand that does deals with Sony Pictures to promote personalized homepages. Clearly, brand strategy is on Schrage's mind.

David Krane, director of corporate communications at Google and a major champion of my book inside the company, also joined us. Having been at the company for a long time, David is something of a bridge between the past and the future of the Google brand. Both seemed deeply engaged in what struck me as the right questions for the company. I'm glad I had a chance to sit down with them before finishing that last chapter of my paperback. Oh, shit, that was due last month....I better get back to writing...

No link is up yet, but The Search is going Brazilian (as well as Portugal, of course)...

I am thrilled by all this - the book has been translated in nearly 20 languages now.

Update: I'm a moron. Of course this is just Portugal, thanks Markus. Brazil's been out for a while!

The Search In Hebrew!

Well, chalk one up for wishful thinking. Back in December I did my annual predictions post, and in it I wrote:

I will not write another book, but my publisher will ask me to update the one I did write. I'll point him to this site and leave it at that....

Well, I'm still not writing another book (though I will admit, I miss the process of writing terribly); but a portion of this prediction is coming true: My publisher has asked me to update the book, for the paperback, due out this Fall. However, my flip response of pointing him to the site and leaving it at that was not well received. In other words, I have an Afterward to write, and damn pronto. In true authorial fashion, I'm already very late on it, so I'll be outlining it early this week, and hope to have a draft quickly.

Thank God for this site. While I can't point paperback readers to it, I can look back at the past year's worth of posts and quickly see what's happened that might be worth noting. (Why a year? I pretty much cut off updates to the book by May of 2005...)

Here's my first cut take on things which mattered in search, media, and technology over the past year. What have I missed?!

- The Google backlash story, which is ongoing.

- The China story: Google going into China, Yahoo also having its issues there, (and the subsequent Congressional ire). I wrote about this looming crisis at some length, but had no idea it would come so quickly.

- The NSA spying and the DOJ subpoenas. Same here, the Database of Intentions is clearly too compelling for the Govt. to ignore. This is a major milestone in the cultural/societal thread of the story. Other examples abounded as well...along with my own little made up scenario....

- Google's clear entry into the media and portal businesses (via Finance, selling video and eBooks, Base, and others), and its entry into the *software* publishing business via Pack and various Toolbar deals (Dell comes to mind) and other distribution deals (Sun). Also, the clear intention to mess with MSFT via buying Writely, et al. From single service, to full blown application suite...

- And, come to think of it, it's entry into the Amazon and eBay biz's as well.

- The AAP Lawsuit....and more lawsuits....and resolutions of some lawsuits...and defense on principles....

- Ongoing Google Grid, Wifi, and related conspiracies....

- Comcast and Newscorp respond to the Google/Yahoo threat...there's more than Print at stake here.

- The net neutrality issue really really really heats up....

- Yahoo's strength in all things Web 2, but its less than clear sense of direction with regard to its entertainment and media business, and despite its vision, its lack of traction (yet) with social search and networking (though Local is still the bomb.)

- Microsoft did not move the needle much, save v 1.0 of Live and some promises about Web 2 apps and new paid models, despite a major focus on search. The ongoing war with Google over all things was certainly entertaining, however, but perhaps a new strategy is needed...

- Amazon kept the pressure on, introducing a new search platform, a storage platform, and a different approach from Google on print. But it lost Udi to Google.

- Google's less than stellar job at handling new product intros like Video, Accelerator, IM, and Fusion, and it's search to find its voice as a leader in the space it dominates. Also, the general sense that the company might be going in too many directions so early in its young life. The company, however, is a fast study, as I noted in my post on merchandising.

- Ask's integration into IAC and DIller's emergence as a macher in the search platform wars.

- Folks start to talk about search literacy. I think this is important.

- GOOG's killing its numbers for most of the year, hitting nearly 500, from less than $300, then missing expectations, and settling back to near 400. Also, its two secondaries and $8 billion in cash, waiting for .... what?

- Well, AOL, for one...

- Small steps have been taken towards my Tivo and Wine fantasies ....

- The overall ongoing march of online models, especially advertising, predicted to hit $55 billion.... The ongoing and much debated issue of clickfraud remains unsolved.

- The ongoing trend of tagging. Which for now I see to 2005 as links were to 1995 - hard to do, done mainly by geeks, but very important as a signal for future revs of search...

- Enterprise search starts to get interesting. Why? Innovation in UI and approach to structured data...

- Same for domain specific search, the pace of launches here is torrid. But....will data be open?

- And a ton of search improvements from the leader (who keeps building share), as well as progress on competitive ad networks and search features, from Ask, Yahoo, MSN, and others. Clearly, the PPC gap will close soon. And a major "Mine is bigger than yours" competition to boot.

So, that's what I have after reviewing a year's worth of posts. What did I miss?!

I just bought The Search in audio format, and I wanted to encourage all of you to do the same. Why? Well, because it's my voice reading the book. It took me a long time, and it's very, very hard to do - the engineers are sticklers for pacing, inflection, pronunciation, and the like. I thought it would be easy - after all, I did play Nathan Detroit in my high school's production of Guys and Dolls - but I was in that damn studio for the better part of two weeks. It was hard work, yet I really wanted to do it - the idea of having a record of my work, in my own voice, where my inflections and nuances were preserved, well, that struck me as a neat idea.

This audio book has been available for some time - in fact, I'm told it's already a best seller for Audible (it don't take much, folks) - but I have not pushed it here because I was waiting for Audible to make a special landing page for Searchblog readers (yes, I get a small cut, like with Amazon). They've finally done it, and you can buy it here. If you become an Audible member ($9.95 a year), you get the book free. That's pretty cool. (You can also get the book on iTunes, if that's your method of choice.)

Many will ask why I went with Audible instead of streaming a home brewed podcast. In a word, professionalism. I don't have the time, money, or inclination to figure out how to execute the quality of work the engineers and producers did on this product. By the next product, I hope that will no longer be the case.

If you get the book and listen to it, please by all means tell me what you think. I'm working on a new chapter for the paperback now, stay tuned for more on that.

He finished his manuscript - The Long Tail. Man, I know how good that feels. Way to go! Can't wait to read it...

What happens when I try to give 300 or so folks at Google NY a straight answer about the future of Google? This. (Video of my talk at Google NY, which the Google video blog posted today).

Several readers have sent me mail telling me how they've purchased The Search as a Holiday gift for office mates or family and friends. A couple have even sent boxes of them to me so I can personalize them for the office. That makes me a happy happy author.

It struck me that I should perhaps promote the book as a good Holiday gift right here on my site. After all, if anyone might appreciate such a plea, it'd be you guys. So here's my offer. If you want, buy the book and then let me know you did. In the body of the email, write a short inscription you'd like printed on a book plate (a sticker/label) and I'll print it on the label, sign it, and mail it to you (include your mailing address as well). That solves the problem of sending the book back and forth, now I just have to mail a label to you. Then you can stick the label on the inside cover or first blank page of the book. Voila, a personalized holiday gift!

If you think this sounds cool, why then first buy the book on Amazon or wherever, then email me with your address, message, and perhaps a snippet of the purchase confirmation email (so that I can see that you actually bought the book). I promise to do as many as I can before Christmas....

PS - The Search is being published in 13 countries so far, including Brazil, Latvia, Hungary, France, Germany, Spain, China, Korea, Japan, and the UK. Wow!

Update: The Economist has named The Search as one of the best books of the year. w00000t!!!!

Yesterday I got a chance to talk with a room full of eBay folks, and it was a bit different than my time at Yahoo, Google, Amazon, or Microsoft. I've always viewed eBay as a more buttoned up and, well, corporate company, perhaps because Meg Whitman is such a Wall St. icon.

After I ran through some passages of the book and told a few stories, we got to a pretty robust Q&A (one attendee, Alan Lewis, wrote it up here). A lot of questions about Google, not surprisingly, given the Base announcement.

One interesting question was "What should we (eBay) be doing that we're not doing right now?" I thought for a while and it struck me that the answer was "experimenting." Google has a whole culture based on that idea, and Yahoo has been doing a lot of it lately. And Amazon, well, Alexa's news was very keenly watched in the halls of eBay yesterday.

Where the real experimentation is happening on eBay is with its developers, who are building all sorts of interesting companies on top of eBay's web services APIs and platform. But the company itself is not well known for creating interesting new web widgets. With the purchase of Skype, however, and the need to grow beyond its core offerings, I sensed from my conversation there that this may change, and soon.