The Power of Google

Silicon Valley Search Stalwart Google is stoking talk of a possible second Internet bubble with the news that it will soon go public, thus reminding some of how Netscape's IPO way back in 1995 (which seems nearly a century ago to some of us) kicked off the first round of frenzy. But of course the harder truth is this: by the very act of cashing out and turning the company over to more traditional businesspeople who will feel pressure as a public company to make more money and invest somewhat less in the pure, playful research that has always kept it ahead of the web's voracious innovation curve, Google will almost certainly be planting the seeds for its own, if not demise, at least less-crucial future. I hope I'm wrong about that, but I think not. But the Googlers have certainly turned the web in helpful directions, making search the hottest of all applications. And as our colleague Anita Campbell noted recently on her impressive Small Business blog, local search is where the heat is heading. Of course, Mark Geyman and his Ohiobiz (formerly Sitesonline), always knew that. He's a great example of someone who's been ahead of the innovation curve for basically a decade. If only Marko could have his own richly deserved IPO...

Google Vanity. Last week in the Times' Circuits section, came word of a new coinage: Google Vanity. It referred not to, as you might think, the number of times you're mentioned on a web search, but the fact that some people are purchasing their own names as Google keywords, in order to make it easier to find them rather than others with the same name. Of course, with my name, that's rarely a problem. While there have been times in my life that I'd have liked to be named Smith, my reasonably unusual family name (which, minus one r turns out to be a common first name in Italy) has helped in its distinctiveness when it comes to the web (as long as you remember to enter that second r). But remember: eventually, EVERYONE googles themself, and most people do it regularly. How do I know that, aside from anecdotal evidence? Easy: eventually everyone I write about on this blog will drop me a note, thanking me (thus far no angry flames, but give it time) for the mention. If I were more devious, or premeditated, (or, ahem, unmarried) I might even use that tool to plant a mention of each year's Playboy swimsuit issue models. Those I've written about enthusiastically (without first knowing personally) have included the likes of Chicago 20-something online scribe Claire Zulkey, with whom I now enjoy a nice occasional email correspondence (and do consider purchasing her new book, Girls! Girls! Girls!), as well as the marketing director for Joseph-Beth bookstores, who dropped a note after I raved about their Shaker Square store. I got a note of thanks from the webmaster for the United Way/Cleveland Public Library's senior outreach site, Seniorsconnect, and one from web-writing guru Nick Usborne whom I thought lived in the midwest, but who actually writes from Vancouver, British Colombia. The moral of the story: with the increasing power of web search and its chief agent, Google, there's really no such thing as dark, unread corner of the web, unless, of course, you're putting something up there that's not interesting to anyone. Eventually, those who need to find it, will.

More Notes Over the Transom. And speaking of notes from readers, I've been receiving some increasingly gratifying responses over the transom in the wake of a piece in the Free Times a couple of weeks ago about the Northeast Ohio region and its challenges and opportunities. But none had one percent of the emotional bang for the buck as something my good friend Anton Zuiker recently wrote on his blog. AZ, a new father for the second time, has been thinking about where he and his wife Erin might relocate after he completes his master's degree in medical journalism in May (Erin already earned her master's in public health down in NC's Tobacco Road, where they're currently stationed). And he writes that my hopefulness has made him at least rethink their move, ruling Cleveland back into the mix of possibilities. My only reaction: Gulp... Actually, though, if this region can attract such a bright, overqualified couple as Erin and Anton, then most of our problems will be solved. So please consider doing your part: if you get a moment, perhaps you might follow the links to Anton's personal page, where you can view his impressive resume. Why not print it out and put it aside while you think about some contacts you might have in your Rolodex that could help in his job search here in this region. That's a small but potentially powerful way to do your part for regional economic development, because if we've learned anything, it's that we can't leave all of that up to the experts...

Initial Dad's Column Now Online. I've mentioned before that one of my favorite projects of late is a new monthly dad's column I began doing in January for Cleveland/Akron Family. It provides a way to use some of the mountains of notes (mental and otherwise) I've gathered in 15 years of parenthood about my kids and about family life. More importantly, it allows me to begin making better sense of all the conflicting information and emotions on the topic, since as my guru of gurus Bill Zinsser brilliantly notes in his "Writing to Learn," the way we make a subject our own is by the very act of writing about it. And while the magazine's site is still a work in progress, and you can't find the column through the front door, I've noticed that you can go directly to the page to read the January column. The second will be in print (and then online) in a few days...