The Wrap Up: November 27

Time for another wrap up. I could go on writing these for ever and ever, since more and more stories just seems to pop up on the radar screen screaming to be commented and shared.

This time it’s about developing services that consumers want (we could all learn from that), how to engage in real conversation with real customers and the current state of Google.

Developing Services Consumers Want

With the financial crisis making life difficult for entrepreneurs and start-ups, perhaps this is the time to reasses whether you’re actually spending your time, money and ressources on worthwhile stuff. It’s no secret that I have long held the belief that the world is overpopulated by tech crap nobody really wants, so maybe studying the list of what make consumers tick from Harvard Business Online is not such a bad idea.

How to Talk with Customers Differently

Valeria Maltoni of Conversation Agent always has a clever point. This time it’s about how you learn to engage in real conversation with your customers. Personally, I don’t think its rocket science, but I also know from experience that the simplest things can be the hardest to do. All in all I think the biggest barriers towards engaging in conversation is to let go of the corporate machine and allow ourselves to be human once again. Is that really so difficult?

Google Layoffs in the Thousands with More to Come This Week

Huh? Could it be that Google is in trouble? Not that I think they will be capsizing any time soon, but it’s still interesting. Especially considering what I keep hearing from their long tail of advertisers, when I’m out at conferences and events: That Google is simply not worth the money. Google has been extremely talented at positioning their search engine and the AdWords programme as the defacto standard for online advertising. This has driven up demand, and when a room gets crowded, it’s easier for the individual to suddenly disappear and feel unfulfilled. Maybe that’s what’s really happening and which is now - allegedly - hitting performance?

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