A “Google” state of mind
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
By Michel Hogan
I love Google as much as the next person. As revolutions go it has many upsides, but I am seeing a darker undercurrent emerging.
I find myself slipping into a “Google mindset” – looking for immediate information, sacrificing rigourous analysis and exploration for easy answers. Are you likewise under the spell?
A friend has used this term to describe a way of thinking, and it resonated with me immediately. What are the signs?
Well, you might be stuck in a “Google mindset” if the first response to a question you have is to do a quick Google search; if you never go beyond the first page of results; if you feel frustrated when your search doesn’t give you the answer you were looking for the first time... the list could go on.
I have recently begun to question what all this means. Does the instant gratification of information so easily obtained make it less legitimate? I think the answer is yes, especially when I find myself accepting the information displayed to me without digging further, or exploring more deeply.
And how might this impact more broadly – such a profound and wide reaching cultural shift in how we get information must have other consequences.
I see those impacts in the organisations I work with – the lack of curiosity, the demand for fast answers, the lack of patience for a reasoned and careful exploration of an issue or idea.
Where do you see the “Google mindset” at play?
See you next week!
Alignment is Michel's passion. Through her work with Brandology here in Australia, and Brand Alignment Group in the United States, she helps organisations align who they are, with what they do and say to build more authentic and sustainable brands.
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