Digital Thoughts - Billion Dollar Netiquette
by Sam Harrelson
Google
has done an amazing thing in creating a non-stop self
perpetuating media storm over their initial public
offering. It was not a surprise that their IPO finally
happened in the least. However, what is riveting about the
Google story connects to what so many investors and venture
capitalists were searching for during the turn of the
century; an already profitable dot com that could provide
solvency in the future and a recognizable and trusted brand
in the present.
Clearly,
Google has some hurdles to overcome (GMail), dissenters to
convince and competitors (Yahoo and the host of other search
engines). Some investors and stock experts are openly
questioning the young management of the company, intent on
doing business their own way (with an eye to Warren
Buffet). Investors and experts have also remarked on the
prospectus Google released concerning the IPO and its lack
of details in terms of long range plans, advertiser numbers,
employee costs and so on. Whether individual investors heed
cautionary tales will determine the market demand for the
stock.
However,
the verb “googling” has already made it into the everyday
vernacular of Americans online and offline, and there is
little doubt that Google will be a household name well into
the future as they raise an amazing amount with their IPO
and have investors scrambling to figure out how to join in
the fray.
The
NY Times reports that last year Google had $962 million
in sales and $106 million in profits. The report goes on to
say:
Yahoo’s
shares fell around 8% last week on announcement of Google’s
offering but is still valued at $33 billion. eBay is
another household name comparable to Google in that their
respective market appears to be dominated by their share.
eBay is actually dominating the online auction market and
stands at a current valuation of $52 billion. Depending on
investor action and demand in the marketplace, Google is
looking to be valuated between $25 to $40 billion dollars.
However,
we are still discussing Google, just as CNBC, CNNfn and CBS
Marketwatch, along with the “Business” or “Money” page of
every national paper have been over the last week and a
half. Google’s public relations efforts have been met with
astounding success (aside from a few hiccups over GMail).
What has also been met with astounding success is the Google
platform itself in online advertising/marketing and consumer
use.
Google
has been able to run with the search marketing “killer app”
idea and exceed all expectations from both the business and
consumer side on how an operation can run successfully that
performs such a supposed easy-to-corrupt task as search
marketing. By combining a favorable user experience with
automation, Google has a unique perch on the rest of the
search market that demands respect and envy.
Google’s
consumer usability didn’t come about overnight or through a
media blitz of titanic proportions. Rather, Google built
its base through years of making the consumer happy and
making advertisers happy. When Google launched, it faced an
uphill battle in beating the competition and claiming market
share. We can all remember passing around the newest and
greatest search engine application, trying to see which had
the “best results with fewest ads.” With an absence of pops
from its pages, Google has been able to signal to the
consumer an implicit communication of trust and worthiness.
The consumer visits and uses Google time and again because
it is fast, friendly and doesn’t inundate the screen with
banner farms or a pop on every page.
Equally
astonishing is the automation that Google employs in its
advertising platforms. Unlike other sites, Google allows
both large and small players to enter the market place.
Someone looking to spend just a few dollars a day on search
marketing can try their hand and test the results in almost
no time. Large players can rely on the pixeling to show
what keywords offer the most sales from their efforts.
There is no account executive to call, no personalities to
deal with, no voicemail to return. Everything is instant,
easy and without the human error element. This
democratization through automation is a great model to
follow for our industry, and more applications beyond search
are sure to follow the lead.
Beyond
the young management, light on details prospectus, GMail
dealings and competitors, Google still stands to have a
bright future, both in the immediate sense with investors,
and in the long term with advertisers and consumers. Google
follows netiquette to the max through its policies and has
proven that taken with the right dose of creativity and
ingenuity, netiquette can be the road to billions.
Sam Harrelson
is the Co-Editor of the Digital Moses Confidential. Send comments and questions
to sam@digitalmoses.com
