Google is the King of the World, but will it trample Main Street in the Process?
January 13, 2010, 3:26 pm
Filed under:
Uncategorized | Tags:
advertiser,
adwords,
google,
Google maps,
interactive,
local business,
location-based technology,
maps,
marketing,
Media,
Pittsburgh,
real estate,
small business,
street view,
virtual,
Wal-mart,
world domination
It used to be an old joke between my friend Heather and I that Wal-mart was going to take over the world. She worked for a contracted service within their stores and thus did nearly all her shopping there. Conversely, I refused to shop there for reasons too numerous to mention. But now, Heather and I may need to revise the old joke to read that Google will be the new world leader. I don’t know if you have heard, but Google makes news on a daily basis, especially here in Pittsburgh where they are expanding their Burgh-based tech center out of CMU’s campus and into a big new space in the East End, adding a slew of new jobs to our market.
And today, there’s news about Google in China, several allegedly-hacked GMAIL accounts of human rights activists and organizations, and a possible revision of the agreement the Chinese government and Google have about censoring certain search results.
And don’t forget about the Google Nexus One phone and the possible Google tablet design partnership with HTC. All of the above makes news in tech circles, which unfortunately, I don’t know much about. But in the world of marketing, there is big news on the Google front…Google has been granted a patent to “identify posters, billboards and buildings within the Street View online maps” so they can sell the ad space to advertisers!
The patent is listed as “Claiming Real Estate in Panoramic or 3D Mapping Environments for Advertising” and will allow the search giant to replace the ads featured in Street View from when the original photography took place for that area, and create a new ad to fill the existing space. This is exciting news for marketers. Just imagine…you’re a local business owner, maybe a retail store, and you’re located at the corner of Elm and Main. This application would allow you to place a current relevant ad in the Street View map near your actual location, perhaps for an upcoming sale or for a new line or merchandise. This ad would also show up in the Google search results for your business name, bringing in even more traffic as your outlet would be even easier to find!
For example, take a look at the photo below; a street view search I performed for an area of the Pittsburgh with several ever-changing billboards:
In this example, an advertiser would be able to place their ad in place of the existing ad for State Farm and Ball Funeral Chapel. This could be an ad for the car dealership which is just out of sight to the right of this intersection, or an ad for the McDonald’s on the opposite corner.
But the scariest part of this concept is that local businesses, who would most likely benefit greatly from such an ad vehicle so close to home, may be squeezed out by national corporations who simply want to buy up as much ad space in the new medium as possible. The patent states “The link can alternatively be associated with an advertiser who placed the highest bid on the image recognized within the region of interest (e.g., poster, billboard, banner, etc.).”
This is because the ad spaces in Street View may be subject to the same rules as Google’s Adwords tool which means they would go to the highest bidder.
To explain my point, consider the available ad spaces in the above photo could be snatched up by Best Buy or TGIFriday’s, whose locations are more than 20 minutes away from the intersection in question, but whose ad budgets are a great deal larger than the car lot at the physical corner. The amazing ability to advertise in this virtual real-estate medium could cause an even greater crunch to the small businesses which are already struggling to compete in a recessed economy. This medium would also be a great way for local politicians to campaign in a virtual sense, right in the ‘location’ where their constituents live, but how can the local county-controller-hopeful compete with yet another ad for Starbucks or American Idol?
And just like retail-giant Wal-mart’s ability to force American owned firms into closure with their practice of buying tons of cheaper made foreign goods, the Google model might allow mega-corporations to out-advertise the little guys in their own virtual back-yard! Don’t get me wrong, I love Google and use it daily, but the worse-case scenario is that Google may become just like Sam Walton’s dream-gone-awry…crushing American small businesses with one hand while handing its people their only affordable daily living options with the other hand. Personally, I feel that the specifics of the patent and ensuing procedure for ad purchase should allow local business owners a first-dibs ability to buy an ad within a certain proximity to their physical location so the backbone of our country, our small businesses, aren’t swallowed up by yet another marketing trick. Google should show some respect for small business owners, especially as we now face the reality of new location-based marketing technology, and even more opportunities for Main Street America’s economic recovery and growth.
What do you think?
Little news bits for Tuesday
June 23, 2009, 4:58 pm
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Uncategorized | Tags:
apple,
black eyed peas,
bozeman,
google,
iPhone,
perez hilton,
social network,
steve jobs,
street viewGreetings from my vacation! I’m still hard at work, finding some interesting little tidbits that you may take something away from.
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Google is making lots of news today TWO expansions on their current offerings; one to their “Street View” application available on GoogleMaps, and also with additional languages which will now be available on the Google Translate service.
GoogleMaps is sending its Pedicab tricycle to college campuses, starting with University of Pennsylvania, to take 360-degree pictures of foot trails and local parks. The benefit of this feature will be to “allow prospective students to get a good fell for the campus…let incoming students map out routes to classes and let alumni fondly remember their school days,” (Virginian-Pilot, 2009).
Google is also adding the Persian language, also known as Farsi, to their translation service due to increased interest in the recent events in Iran, (Virginian-Pilot, 2009).
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It’s pretty tough to find a job, but this will make it even harder!
The city of Bozeman, Montana has been requiring applicants to city jobs to supply their social media USER NAMES and PASSWORDS along with their resume’s! This policy was in effect until Friday when the city ‘rescinded the policy after local news reports highlighted it,” (Virginia-Pilot, 2009). The local TV station also ran a poll in which 98% of respondents called the policy an “invasion of privacy,” (Virginia-Pilot, 2009).
I am sure that I am not the only one of us who feels that this is not only an invasion of privacy, but is also a cause a great many lawsuits. My first question is HOW ON EARTH DID THIS IDEA BECOME POLICY? Wouldn’t this type of procedure be the result of a vote, by some committee? And if the hiring practices were set by an executive branch, then wouldn’t it seem as though SOMEONE on the staff would realize this was not only a ludicrous idea, but also could create backlash?
Christopher Dawson, tech director for the Athol-Royalston School District in Massachusetts and blogger for ZDNet, found evidence that this has been a ‘long-standing practice’ in Bozeman, where he was once a resident. “However, the fact that this policy is “long-standing” certainly suggests that people have been complying with the policy for a while. How desperate are people for jobs that they are willing to turn over this very private information?” (Dawson, 2009).
Dawson asks the same questions that have been rolling around in my head. How long has this been going on? Why are people complying with such a ridiculous practice? How many other cities, or firms, have been trying to get away with the same thing? Why aren’t people smart enough to not post the types of things on their social sites that an employer would NOT want to see? This is part of the reason I have stayed out of the social media scene for so long…I did not want to be Google-able. Looks like this may have been a smart practice.
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Just because you have a blog, doesn’t mean you have a brain!
I’m sure many of you have heard that celeb-gossip monger Perez Hilton was assaulted Black Eyed Peas tour manager, Polo Molina. It seems that Hilton, who is openly gay, called singer and front-man will.i.am a “gay epithet” in a night club after the singer told the blogger not to write about his band on the site. An argument ensued and Hilton got popped. Not that I can say I blame the manager…I think it’s fair for a celeb to ask for privacy, or even to demand it, but does that really require a blogger/reporter to call you names and act like a little spoiled baby?
Did he deserve to be assaulted for this childish behavior? Well, Hilton knows he’s an instigator, his site even states “Welcome to PerezHilton.com – Hollywood’s Most-Hated Web Site,” (PerezHilton.com, 2009). I guess if you continue to mess with the bull, you get the horns. Not that I assume he will learn his lesson from this little scandal. I am sure that many more people will check out this site and ads will increase with each new publicity stunt…may be why he is such an antagonist to the celebs?
What’s funnier about this story is that after the assault, Hilton used twitter as his first communication tool. “I am bleeding. Please, I need to file a police report. No joke,” (Associated Press, 2009), was sent at 4:00 am. I mean, really, if you’re that stupid that you try to tweet to get help instead of calling 911, do you really deserve medical attention and help from the cops? Isn’t this a sign that you are TOO involved with your social media?
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On a final note, the iPhone 3G S was released Friday in the US and seven other countries and sold 1 million units in 3 days! I guess the Apple phenom is still going strong. I like all the apps that are available, but I’ve got to say…I like Palm’s touch screen better. I just don’t like that swoopy movement you have to use on the iPhone, (Associated Press2, 2009).
And did everyone else (but me) know that Steve Jobs had a liver transplant two months ago and has been out from work since January? This has been his first statement since he took medical leave.
References:
Associated Press. (2009). “Perez Hilton, Blogger, Punched After Argument.” Virginia-Pilot. June 23, 2009. A, 2.
Associated Press2. (2009). Business Day: Nation: “More than 1M New iPhones are Sold.” Virginia-Pilot. June 23, 2009. A, 9.
Dawson, C. (2009, June 20). “Would Your Students Hand Over Their Passwords to Bozeman?” ZDNet. Retrieved June 23, 2009 from http://education.zdnet.com/?p=2723
PerezHilton.com. (2009). “Home Page.” Retrieved June 23, 2009 from http://perezhilton.com/
Virginian-Pilot. (2009, June 23). “Surf Side: Tech World News.” Virginian-Pilot. June 23, 2009. C, 1.
