Google OS- the future of the Computer?

Overnight, Google announced what to many won't be a surprise but will send shockwaves across the digital industry. Google is to take its new but already successful Web browser, Chrome, which it claims has over 30m users and establish it as an OS - a computer Operating System - taking the fight straight to Microsoft, which has enjoyed market dominance with Windows since what seems like the year dot.

Google Chrome OS will initially be targeted at mini laptops or 'netbooks' but from the end of next year, will be made available as an OpenSource browser and so you can expect it to start springing up across a nuber of computer brands. The focus will be to enable access to the Web and in true Google style give you better access to your information.

Microsoft will be worried. They still haven't got over the shockwaves that Google caused in the search market- despite the launch of Bing earlier this summer- and they will be very fearful that Google Chrome OS will be everything Windows is not. That is to say flexible, connected, integrated and of the 21st century.

Putting the competitive arguments aside, perhaps the biggest issue of this development means Google is staking a further claim to owning the computer and the Web and our information. Whilst Google is not foolish and is aware- having been burnt in the US- of just how sensitive the information issue is, you can be sure that they will be looking to exploit it in a way that is not just beneficial to the consumer but also, it goes without saying to them and their growing ambitions of being the World's largest media company.

Not so much Digital Britain as Catch-Up Britain

The Digital Britain report has finally been published and it's not really that suprising that on the whole the media industry is underwhelmed by it. It's all well and good the government saying that Digital Britain should provide the stimulus for economic recovery but where is the support - in the form of tax breaks, grants, incentives - that the industry needs to drive stimulus.
And in terms of the measures that have been announced, they're fairly run of the mill and not really too controversial. Setting 2MB as the mandatory minimum threshold for broadband was widely expected- the only problem being that a number of countries are already way ahead of us routinely connecting average speeds of over 10MB. It's encouraging that the government is committing to broadband for all and has appointed Martha Lane Fox of Lastminute.com fame as its digital inclusion champion but there is as yet no clear indication of how the lofty ambition of broadband for all will be achieved particularly in the remote areas where the lack of broadband is a regular bane of residents' lives.

Perhaps the most controversial part of Digital Britain is the new 'Broadband tax' that the government is introducing to accelerate the rollout of next generation Broadband - much needed but should the public really pay for it?
On File sharing- the government have predictably put the ball back in the ISP's court making it their responsibility- under the watchful eyes of Ofcom- to monitor illegal filesharing. Only one problem with this, it is already the ISP's responsibility and filesharing and the uploading/posting of copyrighted content is still growing.

Digital Britain certainly marks a landmark moment but aside from the 'Broadband tax' will it actually affect the industry, brands and consumers that much? The answer in the short term is no, these are all very long-term measures and whilst increased government intervention would certainly not be helpful to accelerate the growth of Digital Britain, increased support and incentives would be and on those, you can't help but feel that the government has over-hyped and under-delivered.

It's not a search engine as you know it...

Microsoft has finally confirmed the worst kept secret on the Web that it has been working on a new search engine, which will go live later this week. Bing.com claims to be a search engine with a difference by being a decision engine but as it's not yet live, it's hard to see if the hype lives up to the reality. Microsoft has long been trying to rival Google for search and has built several expensive and experienced teams to try and seize the much coveted number one market position but it has consistently failed to even worry Google. By positioning itself as a 'decision making engine', it seems that Microsoft is acknowledging that a completely fresh approach to search is needed, one that pulls in multiple information and content feeds from publishers and one which also factors in social search. That's certainly what Microsoft are telling journalists and is covered by the Guardian here. It will be interesting to see just how far Microsoft is prepared to embrace social search particularly if negative comments and feedback are appearing against certain brands who also happen to be big spending advertisers.
Microsoft should be applauded for trying to establish themselves as a credible alternative to Google but the likelihood of Bing being a Google killer is slim to say the least.

Is it time for a Web licence fee?

The Internet is free- that goes without saying but anyone either connected with or vaguely interested in the media will know that this very fact is gradually strangling the life out of the print media industry. The evidence is there for all to see, Maxim stops printing and goes online, Press Gazette shuts down and hundreds of local journalism jobs are culled not to mention the cash squeeze going on at most of our national press including the Independent and the Telegraph. So is it the dreaded recession that is causing life as we know it in print media to end or is it actually the increasing dominance that the Internet plays in our lives? The fact is that it's both- the recession is certainly not helping as advertising budgets are retrenching and spending is being cut but let's not forget the Web and it's growing dominance not just as a media but actually as a lifestyle manager. Peter Preston in today's Observer sums it up perfectly-
'But when (Rupert) Murdoch says (as he did the other day): "Nobody is making money with free content on the web except search, and people are used to reading everything on the net for free - and that's going to have to change", there's no point not facing brute fact. Free may be lovely, but it's also increasingly tatty and second-rate.'
So what's the solution? Well one thing is for sure, last week's Digital Britain summit certainly didnt find the answer! One potential idea is explored by Preston and is about splitting the BBC's licence fee- which is without doubt starting to lose relevance because for the Internet generation, they don't need a TV licence or a TV for that matter to watch TV...Iplayer anybody?
Splitting the licence fee, Preston believes could help fund both the BBC's traditional activities- radio and TV but also the dying print and news organisations who have stuggled for years to establish web-friendly business models or to be relevant to the Web generation. It's certainly controversial, no-one will want to pay for something that is essentially free but if innovation is supported and established brands become more relevant then the outcry could be short term.
It may not be the complete answer but it's clear that the debate has now started and the realisation is there that the Web is not just a media channel in isolation, it's all consuming and it's all media and it's not going to go away!

More Twitter debate

Not wanting to jump on the bandwagon but have been debating the question of just what brands can do with Twitter...

Twitter- a fad or here to stay?

You can't move for the column inches on Twitter and yet I can't help but feel why all the fuss now? Twitter has been around for a long time- in fact I set up my Twitter profile three years ago; only not to start using it until the last few months. Twitter is fun, it's good to see what your mates or people you are following are doing but what is it's value? Can it be more than just a fad? In essence, it's a one-dimensional Facebook; status updates on the move and yet we know that commercially it's still not quite sure what the end-game is/or what its nailed on revenue model is. And I can't help but feel that Twitter is about to find itself in exactly the same quandry. It definitely has value in its instantaneous and its regular updates- but consumers won't pay when they're used to getting it for free, it would get in all sorts of trouble if it tried to sell user data so that's that model out the window so perhaps it's the old chestnut of advertising and sponsorship. Perhaps brands will end up paying for their own Twitter channels, which can become personalised advertising or focus groups and perhaps media, content and rights holders will end up buying Twitter networks to broadcast updates, information and perhaps even access to subscription content. Twitter is definitely causing a stir at the moment but there's a long way for it to go before it becomes accepted as the 'next Google'. It's going to be an interesting journey to watch, the question is will consumers stay interested long enough for it to find out what its true revenue and business models are?

It's good to be back

Coming back to blogging is like returning from a long trip away, it takes a while but when you're back you get back in the routine of blogging and also keep rediscovering old blogs that you used to visit on a daily basis. This week has been just like that, old names like mashable, springwise and Open Minds have all returned to my daily reading list and what's really refreshing to see is that in spite of all the doom and gloom, the online world is still flourishing and it's not just the Googles and Twitter's of this World who are doing interesting things and making waves- it's also a number of smaller companies which have the potential to ensure the recession doesn't do permanent damage to digital.

Evolv has evolv-ed

I know that we're only 23 days into 2009 and I'm not abandoing my resolution to revive Accidental Observer by starting to blog again but I'm also now blogging here -the new home of Evolv on the Web and will use it to analyse and report on what is no doubt going to be a very challenging but hugely interesting period for online marketing as we battle against the dreaded 'R' word- which today has been officially confirmed...

Digital Music to save lives?

Remember Project (Red), the venture created by Bono to partner with brands to raise money for the global fund i.e African poverty? After collaborations with the likes of ipod and Amex, I thought it had all gone quiet on the (Red) front but this week was ambushed by posters promoting a new (Red) initiative all over central London. Redwire is a digital magazine and digital music service, which will apparently contribute to fighting HIV in Africa when people sign up to receive it/and receive music. The website doesn't give away too much but it's certainly an intriguing one as it appears to not just be an online music magazine but is also a music player, which will serve subscribrers with exclusive music as well as recommended music. It looks like (Red), which has already made digital work through a very successful MySpace campaign is pushing the digital envelope a bit farther with this one and is combining elements of social media with music; a last.fm meets NME. It costs £4 a month to subscribe so it will be interesting to see how it performs and if it captures the imagination. I'm sure it won't be too long before we see Redwire Facebook widgets as word spreads.

A New Year's Resolution

I've been in blogging wilderness for over 12 months mainly as a result of being almost permanently busy with either Setanta or with Evolv- which if you will excuse the pun has evolved somewhat in the last twelve months. But now as we prepare to welcome in '09, I've decided that it's time for a blogging reneissance and that it's time to pick up where I left off and carry on providing what I hope will be useful insight and observations into the blogosphere and the world of digital marketing. Too much has happened for me to do a quick recap of '08, but one thing is for certain, we are still a sector in growth- both in terms of spend but also in terms of media consumption. Yet, despite this, brand acceptance and use of the medium is still patchy to say the least. Some household names are way ahead of their peers whilst others are still taking baby steps with their first online advertising, which is somewhat surprising when you think that the Internet has been used as an advertising medium- in this country anyway for nearly 12 years! Still, the good news for the agency world is that those brands that are learning are learning fast and are starting to match that learning with investment. The economic world may be in melt down and Britain may officially be in recession but this is a time of opportunity for the online world; an opportunity to prove its effectiveness at helping to communicate to targeted audiences whether by advertising, content or community. So watch this space and Happy New Year!