The following is a summary of Jarvis' "What would Google do?" we used as a springboard for discussion at our in-person meeting at the TLA District 4 annual meeting earlier this month. The discussion centered on issues of responsiveness to patrons and on the future of the book and what this means for libraries. I hope this summary will be of some value for those who did not have a chance to read to book or attend the discussion.
In "What would Google do?", media commentator Jeff Jarvis discusses changes in society arising from the social networking on the Internet and industries the Internet has spawned. Jarvis uses the Google—the company--as the exemplar for this new way of thinking. He argues that most companies, industries, and institutions that do not adapt to the new outlook are likely to fall out of favor with their constituencies. Jarvis also identifies companies other than Google, like Dell and Starbucks and people like author Paulo Coelho as examples of those who have managed to adapt and exploit the laws of the Google age.
Jarvis posits the following elements of the Google world view:
1. A new relationship where customers are in control or leave. Your worst customer is your best friend and your best customer is your partner.
2. A new architecture where you focus on what you do best and link to the rest.
3. A new “publicness” or openness where life is public, you become searchable, found, and known.
4. A new society no longer dependent on companies, institutions, or government to organize it but able to organize itself in attractive platforms.
5. A new economy composed of a mass of niches instead of mass market; an open source mentality where everyone influences outcomes; and “commodification” of content (About.com) unless you create your own destination (Glam.com or Apple).
6. A new business reality where your value is not in the stuff --“atoms”--you handle (Amazon), but in what you know, how you serve, or anticipate needs. In this new business reality middlemen are rendered obsolete, unless they prove to add value. Free is the business model (craigslist). You must figure out in what business you are in and where your revenue is. For example, “Google is in the organization of knowledge business” and its revenue comes through the side door of advertising.
7. A new ethic of admitting and correcting mistakes; continually improving (“life is a beta”); being honest; being transparent; collaborating with others including customers in creating products and services; and not “being evil.”
8. A new speed where answers are instantaneous (as seen in Google searching), life is live (Twitter, Flickr, etc.) and immediately shared, and mobs form in a flash.
9. New imperatives including not letting apparent success (“cash cow”) blind you to the necessity of change, tough decisions, and innovation; encouraging, enabling, and protecting innovation; simplifying because it is better to do one thing really, really well; and after building a platform that people like to use (like Craig did with craigslist) get out of the way of people using it.
In the second part of the book, Jarvis applies these principles to a variety of industries and institutions and draws several conclusions about each.
