What Would Google Do? - WWGD

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This week it has once again become quite clear to me, that things can turn out quite strangely. Merely nine months ago I enthusiastically started the adventure of “De Digitale Academie” (the digital academy). In those nine months a whole lot of things have happened concerning this adventure. Great things, but most certainly a few nasty things as well – about which I cannot say a word because of possible legal implications. Yet again, to me it's very obvious that I've gotten out stronger than before and stronger than I would have ever thought.

After a period of non-stop working, working and more working I am now spending a week in Malta. What a beautiful island! Here I find my rest and I actually get around to reading a book. And what kind of book!? WWGD or What Would Google Do? A book written by Internet-journalist and professor Jeff Jarvis.

I actually bought the book in a rush at Schiphol Airport (Amsterdam) just before getting on the plane to Malta. In the airplane I started reading because I had nothing else to do. Later on this reading was occasionally interrupted by a very friendly Maltese lady who was able to tell me and my wife everything there is to know about Malta and its rich history.

However, outside of our conversation I kept reading this exceptionally interesting book by Jarvis. Every page made me more curious as to what he was going to write next. While reading I started to realise, that many of the thing I read could quite directly be applied to my own company (Zoccolo / De Digitale Academie) and services, but in quite a few cases also to my clients and relations. Let me give you an example; the book is quite clear about how newspapers in their current form are marked for death. And coincidentally a close relative of mine has recently graduated in the field of traditional journalism. This relative asked me for advice just a week or two ago, because he has been running into these dead trees (newspapers) lately. We decided to dive into this matter after our holidays, but I am most definitely going to let him read this book WWGD?

Publishers and libraries are also getting a beating in this book and let me tell you that these branches too belong to my group of clients. Off course I took quite a few notes on my iPhone to send to my clients after my holiday. I've even come to the point where I think that every company that's having difficulties (economically) at the moment (or is going to have difficulties in the upcoming years) should keep this book on his or her night-stand and consume it.

For me the book is a continuous stimulant to think like google (googlethink) and create googlejuice. But most of all it's a great book that puts all these theories on paper in a very readable manner. And even better, it gives me lots of inspirations and ideas. The hardest part is to choose a starting point. But hey, that we'll see after my holiday. Anyway, it just comes to show what an impulse-acquisition can be good for!