Kiss Your Desktop Goodbye Asserts Googler
March 5, 2010
Now I know that Google hires only the world’s smartest individuals. Well, I know of one exception. There’s a fellow in sales at Google who does not read Google technical papers or patents, but everyone else is just so smart it makes my pinfeathers quiver with the excitement of it all.
The story in Silicon Republic has a peculiar title which is the main point of the article; specifically, “In Three Years Desktops Will Be Irrelevant – Google Sales Chief.” The “sales chief” is obviously a sales person, and his name is John Herlihy. The point, in my view, is that most folks will be doing Webby things via a mobile device, probably an Android-based gizmo.
For me, the key segment in the write up was:
The digital world is fundamentally different to the traditional business world. Things happen much faster, websites spring up from nowhere, a video could be a YouTube hit in hours. It’s not good enough to apply normal management disciplines – we think that scarcity breeds clarity. If, for example, we have enough resources invested in something, we halve it and eliminate overheads. The other thing we do is celebrate failure. Here’s an analogy – the Roman legions used to send out scouts in different directions. If a scout didn’t return, the army didn’t head in that direction. We seek feedback at every opportunity on something – we either kill it, adjust it or redeploy resources. When we build something we strive for ubiquity in usage and adoption. That helps us understand how customers react and then we build a revenue model.
Okay, let’s think about this. First, I understand the “failure” idea. Buzz is a pretty good example as is the legal decision in Italy, the European anti trust thing, the hassle with China, and legal dust up brewing over the Apple HTC patent squabble. So, I think the “failure” idea is solid.
Where does fact leave off and marketing begin? Source: http://elephanthunters.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/used-car-salesman-cropped.jpg
What’s not so solid is the notion of seeking feedback. The Google system monitors. When a person has a problem with Nexus One, Google had automated software in place but it wasn’t enough. There was no seeking. Users pushed themselves into Google’s semi automated spaces and Google scrambled to react. I still hear from potential customers that it is tough to get someone from Google to call them back, answer email, and keep appointments. When a gaffe occurs, Google turns to a “partner” in some cases. Maybe Mr. Herlihy is fixing up this confusion about seek and feedback, but I think the track record in the last 90 days is pretty easy to read.
Finally, the point about a revenue model is an interesting one. Let’s take an example. Google’s revenue comes from advertising. I think the dependence on advertising is significant. Now look at YouTube.com. Google has been inventing its way to rich media for more than eight years. What is in place? Lots of traffic, lots of costs, lots of copyright PR problems, lots of channels, and lots of competitors. Oh, I almost forget. Not so much revenue. Google is a patient creature, but I think that the activity in the rich media sector is an area where Google appears to be a leader in traffic but lags behind more interesting video services from companies able to move more quickly and deftly in the rich media arena.
But the silliest comment in the write up, if its presentation of the Googler’s words is spot on, concerns desktop computers. I think I know that the chief sales Googler is really talking about gizmos that run Android and connect to Googzilla’s platform. But the reality is that Googlers do love their boat anchors, their Mac hardware, and their big server farms where the whole 15,000 assemblage is little more than a big desktop computer.
When I look ahead 36 months, do I see a Googler troubleshooting a Sawzall code glitch on a mobile device? The answer is, “Maybe.” More realistically I see a covey of Googlers crowded around a couple of laptops emulating the modulations of a test pilot whose airplane is tumbling out of control. I also see the folks making videos for online services requiring desktop computers. Have you looked at an Adobe interface recently. The giant display panel is an absolute must. I also think the Google sales chief should wander through MI6 or the MoD and check out the hardware. Government agencies, particularly certain government agencies, will be hooking lads and lasses to their boat anchors for years to come.
Anyway, Mr. Herlihy is a Googler and his pronouncements are given wide circulation. Too bad most of what he says is sales double talk and wordsmithing. I know another Googler with whom he would like to meet and spend time exchanging comments about Google’s deepest technical capabilities. Heck, these two fellows may be cousins. Here in Kentucky we call this relationship “kissin’ cousins.” Just my anthropological opinion, gentle reader.
Stephen E Arnold, March 5, 2010
No one paid me to point out that Google has its share of sales professionals who are skilled at making bold statements which, upon closer examination, are mostly marketing jam spread around by “real” journalists. I think I have to report anything to do with food and non payment to the Department of Agriculture. Done.
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