Getting Google

My dad sent me this, from something he gets in the mail.

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I criticize alot of companies here in Mike's List. This week, however, I'd like to stop and marvel at a truly great Silicon Valley organization: Google. Everyone knows that Google is great at returning freakishly high-quality search results. But that's not the whole secret of their success. Here's what else makes them good:

1. They don't "sell out."
One of the most annoying trends on the web these days is pop-up, pop-under and pop-after ads. The conventional wisdom in Silicon Valley is that that intrusive advertising is the only way to make money on the Internet these days. But by rejecting pop ads, Google shows how long-term success comes from satisfying people -- not using and abusing them. Google was recently criticized for "selling out" (including, admittedly, in one of my own "Broken News" headlines) with their Self-Service Online Advertising Program. They were erroneously accused of doing exactly what several of their competitors do. Microsoft Network, Yahoo, America Online and Terra Lycos all use Overture Services as their search engines. Overture takes money for "sponsored" placements in web search results for the advertiser's products. In many of Overture's customer web sites, you can't tell the difference between a real result and a paid ad. Google does sell advertising, but those ads appear in shaded boxes on the right of the page -- it's impossible for users to confuse legitimate search results with ads.

2. They have a sense of humor.
For example, Google is available in dozens of foreign languages, including both Pig Latin and Klingon.

3. They don't "leverage" what's popular to shove garbage down user's throats.
Most dot-com companies that had any success quickly ruined it by taking what they did well and using it to force less popular but more lucrative services, links and products on users. Not Google. They know they're a search engine, not a portal.

4. They keep it simple.
Everybody likes Google in part because their home page isn't cluttered with junk and hype. They have tons of great features. But they keep them out of your way.

5. They haven't abandoned their geek roots.
Though Google is a high-revenue Internet giant, the home page still has it's very un-corporate "I'm feeling lucky" button. When I first started using Google, it was a Stanford research project. From a user's perspective, it hasn't changed much. And that's good. Google is quirky and has personality. People really appreciate that.

These five attributes give millions of people a warm and fuzzy feeling about Google, making them want to return several times a day, every day. (Google has even inspired fiction.)

If all Internet companies had the vision and discipline to stick to these five ideas, the Internet would be a much better place and more companies would enjoy Google-like momentum, customer satisfaction and long-term success.

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I knew about the Pig Latin engine, but not the Klingon. I really like what he said to say though, and it's true. Although I like Yahoo, especially because they rank both of sites real high on alot of searches (:D), all that other crap, they can keep. When I'm looking to search, that's all I want. And Google fits that bill really well.

The returning part is true too. I must use it at least 10 times a day, looking for different things. I've even turned alot of people onto it, that were still stuck on Yahoo, Excite and the like. Now they live by Google.

what is yahoo?

Yahoo - word you scream on orgasm, you'll have to be a real geek to qualify that

I usually do all my "yahooing" before the sacred event.

Mainly because I am overjoyed to be "getting some"