SMX West, and the Keynote Interview with John Battelle...

Last week, I was fortunate to be a panelist at SMX West in Santa Clara on Danny Sullivan’s panel called 'Ask the Search Engines' (thanks, Danny). During the conference, I took the opportunity to sit in on several panels, where I learned a lot about what is going on in other parts of our industry. I was especially blown away by Danny's keynote interview with John Battelle, where they discussed the intersection of technology and media with a specific focus on the future of the search industry.

 

John started the discussion by laying a foundation with the travails of the music industry. He explained that, in all industries, successful companies have access to the tools of production, and access to or control over distribution of their product. Distribution in the music industry used to be targeted to a network of retail stores, and music was produced in very expensive studios. The content was then stamped onto physical media by massive machines. When low cost studio replacement software became available on personal computers, and with the Internet providing virtually free distribution, the music industry was forced to change the entire business model, which it did reluctantly.

 

Battelle also discussed the similar situation that print newspaper industry is in today due to the proliferation of advertising on the Internet. He explained that a local newspaper employs between 100 and 400 journalists, and that the cost of labor, raw materials, and production makes it difficult for a newspaper to make a profit, specifically given that the advertising base is defecting to the Internet. John sees that "newspapers" are necessary for maintaining public trust in government and industry, but with the business model unsustainable, he sees them transitioning to ownership by public trusts.

 

With the backdrop of monumental changes in the music and newspaper media industries, does John expect similar changes in the search industry? John says that search will transition from 'static search' to 'real time search'. He stressed how products like Twitter are changing the way that people are finding product recommendations, as well as finding answers to their support questions. He used Comcast as an example of a company that has improved its image with technology influencers by putting access to Comcast Care technicians on Twitter. John also sees the format of the search user input changing, from keywords to voice, from discrete query to conversation.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

- Keith Hogan, VP, Technology