Categories: Articles

The Future Of Google

Do you think that Google is a one trick pony? That it’s all about search? They’ve got nothing beyond search?

I don’t (and I blogged about it back in 2009: Google’s Next Step Is Not Search). I’m a massive fan and brand evangelist of Google. No company is perfect (so I won’t profess that they are not without sin and challenges), but I’m fascinated by those who think that Google is a one trick pony and that this pony is called, "search." Good on the folks at HTP Company for producing this short (five minute) documentary on the future of search and what it implies when it comes to digital marketing and how consumers will behave.

Take a quick look…

What does the future hold?

When search crosses over into biology mixed with context, the world becomes less about search and more about creepy. That’s the immediate reaction you will probably have when you watch this video. Some of the concepts seem a little "out there" and more science fiction than reality. That being said, nothing surprises me anymore. We walk down the street surrounded by people who are talking and texting people all over the world and don’t bat an eye at it. It wasn’t that long ago that if you drove up in a car next to someone and they were in the car alone talking, you thought that they were clinically insane. Now, we can’t understand when those same people are in a car alone and not doing anything but staring out the window (it must be such a lonely existence).

The future of search.

While some see less value in traditional search engine optimization and even search engine marketing, they’re missing the bigger picture: people are always looking for answers and solutions. That’s the problem that search solves… and that problem is not a one trick pony. It’s much more complex than that. The company that gets it right (Google, Bing, Yahoo or whoever) is going to have analytics, data and customer attention that will be unparalleled.

Search is just getting started (and, it’s still early days for Google).

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.