Google Says, Tech Success Is Simple

May 29, 2018

Here at Beyond Search we understood that nothing worthwhile comes easy. We assume that’s why wizards work at Google and addled geese work in rural Kentucky.

A brief write-up at CNBC shares a brief interview with Google’s Anil Sabharwa—“There’s ‘a Very Simple Formula’ to Realizing an Idea in the Tech Space, Says Google’s Vice President of Product.” We wonder, if it is so simple, why is Google still dependent on a revenue stream based on GoTo.com, Overture.com, and Yahoo.com methods? Nevertheless, Sabharwal is enthusiastic about the approach, and points to the popularity of Google Photos as an example. Writer Eustance Huang quotes the VP:

“What we like to think about is a few simple things,” he added. “Where are there opportunities? Where are there scenarios where users could benefit from tremendous capabilities in technology that may not have been there years ago that we can now solve real human problems?” In the case of personal photography, Sabharwal said, a trend was noticed where people are taking “far more photos” than before.

I learned:

“Back in the day we used to only be able to take 24 photos on film, now you take a thousand photos of one sunset,” he added. With this realization that people were taking more photos, the team then sought to find a solution to a series of questions. “How do we give them peace of mind? How do we help them relive and reminisce? How do we help them share those photos with the meaningful people in their lives?” The end result of that process was Google Photos, a product which Sabharwal said was “a really great combination of a problem that was unmet in the market and a capability that Google had that really no one else had.”

Well, okay, but don’t believe the concept of identifying a new niche and filling it is any great secret. Still, positioned as advice for budding developers, the embedded three-minute video is a nice little piece of Googley PR.

I still think there is some truth in the “nothing worthwhile comes easy” truism.

Cynthia Murrell, May 29, 2018

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under Business strategy, Google, News

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.