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A review by jhodsden
What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis
3.0
Where many others have failed, Google has survived in the age of the internet. More importantly it has led by taking full advantage of the new medium. Not only has the company created an effective business model, but it has changed the way we think of information. Jeff Jarvis, who writes on media and news at Buzzmachine.com, explores the company's leadership in shaping the assumptions in the new culture in his book, “What Would Google Do?”. However, Jarvis does not rely on corporate documents such as “Ten Things Google Has Found to be True.” Instead, Jarvis generalizes his own rules and principles based on his own observations of the company. Then, in the most interesting section of the book, Jarvis asks, “What would Google do?” if we applied those principles to existing businesses, industries, and organizations.
Jarvis suggests that organizations who follow Google's lead will empower their clients, partnering with them. They will not seek to be everything to everyone, but they will become the platform for conversation and community. Rather than seek the highest price that the market will bear, they will seek the lowest. They will even be willing to give their services away. Organizations will focus on their purpose rather than a product, a technique, or a cash cow. The book pushes the reader to application through numerous helpful examples. I was constantly thinking about how the Google model would apply to a friend's business, a service club of which I am a member, or even the church that I serve.
Granted, my perspective will have minimal appeal, but my only real disappointment with the book is Jarvis' religious outlook. In the book, Jarvis acknowledges with a smug satisfaction that the book title plays off the “What would Jesus do?” theology of a few years ago. Unfortunately, he never delves into why his joke is so funny. Likewise, he spends only a paragraph applying Google's principles to the practice of religion. God seems to be merely a foil to Steve Jobs and Apple. Where God can learn from Google, Apple transcends the Google paradigm.
From Jarvis' blog, I have learned that he considers himself a liberal Presbyterian. Even his sister is a minister. As a result, I thought he might take more seriously how faith communities might learn from Google. Despite this criticism, I enjoyed the book and its analysis of our current culture.
Jarvis suggests that organizations who follow Google's lead will empower their clients, partnering with them. They will not seek to be everything to everyone, but they will become the platform for conversation and community. Rather than seek the highest price that the market will bear, they will seek the lowest. They will even be willing to give their services away. Organizations will focus on their purpose rather than a product, a technique, or a cash cow. The book pushes the reader to application through numerous helpful examples. I was constantly thinking about how the Google model would apply to a friend's business, a service club of which I am a member, or even the church that I serve.
Granted, my perspective will have minimal appeal, but my only real disappointment with the book is Jarvis' religious outlook. In the book, Jarvis acknowledges with a smug satisfaction that the book title plays off the “What would Jesus do?” theology of a few years ago. Unfortunately, he never delves into why his joke is so funny. Likewise, he spends only a paragraph applying Google's principles to the practice of religion. God seems to be merely a foil to Steve Jobs and Apple. Where God can learn from Google, Apple transcends the Google paradigm.
From Jarvis' blog, I have learned that he considers himself a liberal Presbyterian. Even his sister is a minister. As a result, I thought he might take more seriously how faith communities might learn from Google. Despite this criticism, I enjoyed the book and its analysis of our current culture.