Thinking Differently - Google

by Don Harkey

I really love when companies do great things (see my last blog to find out why). Google has been a great example of a company doing some really innovative things. So if this seems like an ad for Google... well I guess it kinda is!

Have you ever played with some of the products that Google has been putting out? Google started out with a search engine, then expanded into email, calendars, maps, shopping, blogging, shopping, finance, etc... the list is long and growing. What is the cost to the user for all of these products? Nothing.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Google is how user friendly and powerful these applications are. They often work together seamlessly and are truly useful. For example, my wife has a calendar on Google and I have a calendar. We share the calendars and can see what each other is doing. When I have an appointment, the application sends my cellphone a text message 30 minutes before the appointment as a reminder when I am on the road. I can even make "quick add" appointments through my cellphone by typing "Update Blog 7AM Mon", and it will put an appointment at 7AM the next Monday called "Update Blog". Pretty slick!

Another great application is Google Earth. This free download allows the user to float above the planet and view satelite images of the whole planet and zoom down toward the level individual houses. They even have some buildings in 3D imaging allowing the user to tilt their view sideways and walk through Disney World complete with shops and even street lamps. Users can visit some museums and look at paintings in brush stroke detail.

What impresses me most though, isn't just the applications, its how Google set up their process for making these applications. In email (called "Gmail"), users can submit new ideas to the application team for making the product better. Google utilizes a "Google Lab" which roles out and tests these new ideas in action. For example, one simple improvement came from a user tired of forgetting to attach a document in an email that says "see the attached document". Google has a lab that looks for the word "attached" or "attachment" in your email. If you don't attach something, a box appears when you click "send" asking if you meant to attach something. Simple and very useful!

The picture with the article above is a picture created on another Google application called Google Sketchup. This application allows the user to draw remarkable 3D pictures with an ease that will change the computer aided design world. Users can use the program to draw landmarks or even their own homes, and submit them to Google Earth. Google Earth is creating a 3D model of the planet, and most of the work is being done by its users!

I use this example because it shows what an organization can do when it has a clear vision of who it is. Google's philosophy is open and free applications that are easy and powerful to use. They partner with the user early in development and never consider themselves "done" with a version of software. Too many companies look for the idea without finding the vision behind it. Use some of Google's stuff and you will see the unlimited value of Vision!