Week Two Exercises

Part 1 - Navigation
What are the four (4) main points Michael Rappa makes about search?

I thought that the four main points that he was trying to make was in relation to the four distinct functions or descriptions of what he thought "search" was. Therefore, I would say that the fact that search engines are databases, collection mechanisms, search protocol and ranking algorithms. This is essentially the points that he was trying to make.
However, I found it quite interesting that Michael Rappa mentioned that most people are only searching a small portion of the databases that exist, due to some search engines not having access to databases and servers. Also, the fact that most people do not understand what drives their search engines, so they are essentially not asking the right questions to get the answers that they seek.
I also found it interesting the way Michael spoke about paid placement of advertising, and how the role of advertises has impacted search engine providers.


Write a paragraph or two, on four points made by Marissa Mayer, that you think were the most interesting or significant for business.

I thought that the most interesting point that was made in the interview, for business, was the fact that social networking sites, such as, Facebook and Myspace, have approximately four times the amount of page viewings as search does. The simple question for businesses, is how do you access this market efficiently? With that amount of page viewings, it seems that businesses would be crazy to miss this opportunity. The next point that I found intriguing, ties into the last one, where Marissa felt that a social networking site, coupled with a GPS style technology, could allow people to find where their friends are. For me this begs the question, if this can be done, then how could businesses utilise this information? By knowing where people physically are with their mobile devices, can companies then advertise accordingly?
I also, liked the way that Marissa mentioned that due to Google's broard advertising base. Google is able to ride out economic uncertainty, because when one market ebbs, another flows. Thus, creating an extremely stable income flow from advertising, and as she pointed out, even in economic uncertainty, companies will still continue to advertise. One of the other points that caught my attention, was that Marissa insisted that Google is not "paid-search", but "advertising-subsidized search". What is the difference? I believe that she was just trying to dodge the follow-up ethical question, that was no doubt coming next. However, to her credit, she avoided it like the professional that she is.


Part 2 - History of the Internet
What are the Six Webs?

1. Near Web: Typing style. eg. Sitting in front of a computer with a keyboard and mouse.
2. Here Web: Pocket style. eg. Device that is always with you, mobile devices, PDA's, etc.
3. Far Web: Sit-Back style. eg. Games consols, high-definition television.
4. Weird Web: Voice style. eg. Voice recognition.
5. B to B: Business to Business communication. eg. Businesses computer's communicating to one another.
6. D to D: Device to Device communication. eg. Meshed networks.


Could there be more?

In my very limited opinion, I believe that there is. I am aware of products such as ANPR, which is automated License Plate Recognition. This technology I would imagine would be taking the next step from "Weird Web", whereas the voice recognition is taken the step further. Under this same banner, would be Facial Recognition systems. Also, there are things such as Virtual Reality. Would it be fair to say that the technology used in these systems do not fit into the six webs already mentioned. However, I may be missing the point here, and these things may already fit into the categories pointed out by Bill Joy?


What does it mean for business?

Bill Joy believes that there are huge entrepreneurial opportunities existing already, to bring the "Here Web" forward in the furutre. He rightly points out that technology improvements such as, long-life batteries with low power consumption, networking improvements, mobile device improvements, are all massive markets that need to be filled in the coming years.
On a totally different tangent, for business. The wide spread use of "Here Web" technology, the employees are no longer tethered to the office. The opportunities exist for employees to be in constant contact with the office, no matter where they are or what time of the day. This also raises the sensitive issue, of when does an employees job end, and homelife start. Does this line need to be clearly defined, so as to obtain a happy balance?