SEO Infographic by SEO Book

Yes!

Actually, no not completely. But there is a new player in town and Google+ just gave you a pretty strong reason to move over. Most people will see a lot of traction in the voice of the content they consume because the publishing world is now squarely focused on moving everyone out of Facebook.

Mainly because Google+ is a straight line into Google search results, and getting into the search results provides the livelihood for a lot people who write. This is going to cause a lot of clutter, but also a lot of interest from people like myself.

How to quit Facebook

There are several ways to start the migration of quitting Facebook. The easiest is to set up a Yahoo mail account and then sync that with your Facebook account, then the extra step of moving that to Google +. Not ideal, but it works and it helps organize your contacts. By sifting through them, you have the chance to categorize people in a more sophisticated way that is more conducive to your privacy.

Why should I quit Facebook?

Facebook is great and offers a remarkable service for free. And because they are so hyper focused on what they do, it is hard to say goodbye.

Here’s a couple of reasons why I prefer Google + over Facebook, although I do use both.

1. Google’s index is the open Internet. If we go to a closed system such as Facebook, it is going to make it significantly more difficult to innovate. Steven Johnson talks about the benefits of a liquid network in his book Where Good Ideas Come From. I highly recommend the book. It highlights how we are innovating faster because of the connections people can make on the Internet. I personally believe in access to a free and open Internet.  Although Google+ is still a fairly closed system, Google has a bigger investment and better track record of exposing customers to brands an information outside of its own walled garden.  But, don’t kid yourself, Google isn’t the best at letting other’s play either.

2. Facebook sucks at privacy. The company has behaved in many ways that make it difficult to trust. Although I’m not enamored with Google’s brand either, the Google corporate culture has done the right thing more than it has failed.  There are so many difficult decisions ahead that affect the sheer institution of the Internet as we know it, reputation must count for something. I simply don’t want a company selling all of my information. Facebook hasn’t shown great discipline in respecting my privacy.

Regardless of which service you choose, it is clear Facebook as a real competitor again and that alone should move the social media giant to try some new things.  Competition is healthy and a key component for a capitalistic system to work well.

Marketing Infographic by SEO Book

SEO is best served explicitly.  Stating to the search engine clearly with text what you mean and don’t mean will solve a lot of search issues.  Learning to be explicit with your brand can be a challenge, but will pay dividends in your online presence.

Explicit SEO Example

For example, a page that should rank for the term “plumber’ should have written on the page ‘plumber’.  Explicitly stating the intent of the page is necessary.  Showing a picture of a plumber is not explicit SEO.  Using text that states “We are the best plumbing service in Texas’ is not explicit.  It’s implicit that the page is about plumbers.  Convincing the search engine the intent of your page is best achieved when you talk to it like a child.

Implicit Design

Designers often work in the realm of implicit meaning.  Using symbology, copywriting, color choices and many more layers to affect the emotive side of the user.  I am in awe of designer talent and their ability to see things obviously lacking from my skill set.  But, if the trade off is a utilitarian design that reeks of usefulness or a beautiful design that only the owner of the website sees, I’m going with Craigslist.  Just saying.

It has become increasingly clear that Google is in trouble with it’s own core search product. The fight against spammers and spreaders of irrelevant information has been fought diligently. Google’s growing search for profits is narrowing the window for spammers. As a result of losing the markets to Google itself, the profitable niches on the Internet seem a bit more crowded these days.

Watching Google organize the mess up close is like watching the magician at the pizza shop toward the end of his career. It’s just not the same as it was 10 years ago, and yet, just more of the same.

Specifically, Google doesn’t seem to be introducing any new technology that makes search better. Just rearranging the chairs on the Titantic. Don’t get me wrong, the company introduces new features almost daily. And occasionally, the algorithm will shake out some trash and some valuable sites will fall too, but it fundamentally works the same way across the board. In effect, Google is only as good as the Internet.  Maybe we’re the problem.

Enter Wolfram-Alpha.

The direction that Wolphram-Alpha has taken is fundamentally correct, we just may not be smart enough yet. It will take a massive shift in perspective for the average bear to achieve everyday use of the computational engine. The human mind doesn’t always deal with facts all that well and computing facts is really what the Wolf does best. Thinking of it as a big calculator is a start to unlocking its power. To put that power on display, do a search for “airplanes flying over Austin, TX right now”. It will tell you the airline, the tail number, and other such data. Why does that matter? Well, it’s a fact and facts have a funny way of leading us down useful paths.

Google can best be described as the collective conscious. What does the world think something is? Ask Google. What is it in the world? Ask the Wolf.

What the Wolf has never had, or really didn’t care about, is context. Even the most basic user understands technology when it’s put into the right place and the right time.  My mom could easily ask her phone how many calories are in a bagel.  She doesn’t need to understand how the information got there, but the context for delivery is correct.  When the average user needs to know something the simpler the communication the better.  When do I need to know a fact? At the point of decision making is typically best.

Enter Siri.

Apple gives technology context exceptionally well. The world is ripe with examples of how Apple took an old technology and made it new again by putting it in the right place surrounded by the right things. The iPod comes to mind, as well as the Mac, as well as…. One could argue that Apple didn’t invent anything. The truth is, they didn’t have to. Everyone else just sucks at giving technology context.

Siri is interesting because it changes the perspective of what search is. Something Google did many moons ago, I think Apple and Siri are about to do again. It might be a bold prediction, but I think Siri is going to cause Google way more problems than the company is ready to admit.  There is nothing like a good, cold hard fact to make an opinion seem asinine.

Here is the original paper that started Google. The read is brief, but intensely facintating. Considering so much of our time is spent with a product that started as an idea to fix a big problem, I highly recommend spending some time with a dictionary and an expert nearby!

Google Research Paper, Sergey Brin and Lawrence Page

Enjoy!

Check back soon!