Monday, November 24, 2008

Google loves me, yes I know

Thoughts on turning your life over to Google.

9 comments:

Fugu said...

This reminds me of a comment Pony made a few days ago, that advertising doesn't work on me. I think he believes this is because I can't seem to be bothered with who does what commercial and why I should care with what their selling, but really it's because I'm just too damn poor to buy anything. But the guy's comment of "The most powerful form of advertising is to be exceptional"--I think that's more the point. Google just makes a damn superior product. So does Toyota (the prius), so does Apple. Two out of the three don't even bother to advertise what they have in any traditional sense and people still love them in kind of an inappropriate way (hopefully not just me), and honestly I think the Mac adds are only mildly entertaining. It's the product itself that sells.

And once everyone in the world has an iPhone I think advertising your product will have to change. What's the point of trying to have the snappier commercial if everyone can just check consumerreports.com right there in the store, and see which toaster is truly superior? Or, as you walk by a rack of cloths, you point your Apple-replaced iFinger at each pair of leather pants to see which has five stars?

“...We want a little bit of Google in many parts of your life... That's our business model.” Feh. I for one still welcome our Google overlords.

Litcube said...

I agree with most of what you said in regards to agreeing with Google’s advertising philosophy. I also agree with the Prius bit. There are other products out there that don’t really need to advertise simply because the world generally agrees that the product is superior.

I would so not put Apple into that category. Despite the ongoing PC versus Mac debate (i.e. the world does not agree on product superiority), Apple are the masters of marketing. They are fucking geniuses at targeting their demographic, that being the common folk who don’t have a clue what they’re doing. Making the troublesome tasks look pretty. “Boy, those folk at Apple sure make them buttons look nice!” “Those PC guys are geeks!”

Remember that advertisement about the lady running into that Orwellian theatre with those zombies watching the big screen? She twirls around and throws a hammer to the screen, etc.? That advertisement is widely credited as launching Apple’s market share to a level of serious competitor to Microsoft.

Fugu said...

Ya, this is true, with the revolutionary 1894 ad. And those iPod ads were brilliant--people that do stupid dance moves but are silhouetted so they don't look stupid, and you get to put yourself in their place... WIthout those they'd be just another mp3 player. And then there's those Jeff Goldblum ads (JEFF GOLDBLUM). Yeah, I must have been smoking a little too much batu last night.

Galspanic said...

Umm. 1984 ads, Fuge.

Galspanic said...

The 1894 ad is the one where the dude drives his mini-coal fired dirigible into the gigantic steam powered cathode tube, thus breaking the thrall over all the poor immigrant workers slaving under the fatcat Royalist tycoon.

Fugu said...

FU!

Litcube said...

haha

odori said...

I completely agree about Google being so good they're hard to resist. And them being so good there's no reason for them to advertise.

But right now I'm limiting myself to search and e-mail. I will give Google nothing more of myself!!! Oh, and I guess Blogger. And the occassional map search..... But that's it. Really.

Fugu said...

Google Docs, Ordori. Google Docs.