I am a big believer that innovation can’t be bought.  It’s the manifestation of imagination and imagination is the seed of creativity.  It is something that is brought forth from people when they are following their passion.  The Google guys had a passion for the storage and organisation of information. They weren’t trying to get rich, catch up to a competitor or please the guys upstairs. They were simply following their passion to enable us access to all the internets information as quickly as possible. That’s why they were innovators. They were using their imagination to create an information retrieval tool that would change the world. As we know they did a brilliant job of it.

I think Microsoft and their struggles with there Live Search system is a good example that innovation can’t be bought.  Microsoft have all the money in the world and have tried for years to close the gap (more like a canyon really) between themselves and Google in terms of search.  The problem is Microsoft just seem to lack the imagination of those that went before them.

That’s why I have always believed that if anyone ever came to challenge Google’s search supremcy it would not be from either Microsoft or Yahoo.  It would be from someone with the innovation to change the way search works.  Google did it with their famous algorithm and Adwords down the right hand side.  Maybe (and this is still a big maybe) ASK 3D might be the innovation the search industry (outside of Google) has lacked.  What Firefox did with the browser ASK 3D is beginning to do with search. 

While the simplicity of their search page is a little Googlesque, its the results page where the advancements can be seen.  This is where the 3D part of the search results comes in.  The search results page is split into 3 columns.  If you do a search for say Michael Jordan (click the link left and see for yourself) not only do you receive the search results to this query but to the left and the right of the search results ASK has added a column that features additional enhancements.  These additonal features are Narrow Search, Expand Search, Related Names to search, Image results, Wikipedia results, Video results and even the latest news results (similar to what Google offers at the top of there search results page).

You can all make up your own mind and time will tell how well these additional features fare but for my thinking ASK have defintely made a big step in the right direction.  There innovative search defintely has created a bit of a stir with rumours that Google themselves are testing a similar system.

While unlike Microsoft with IE6 Google has always been working on there search system sometimes what is needed for real prgression is fresh eyes and a little imagination.  As stated Firefox gave life to the web browser and hopefully ASK 3D will do it for search.  My only hope is that if Google do release a similar system that ASK still get the recognition and users it deserves.  This though is another matter entirely.

Thanks
Adam.

We’ve all probably wondered it a million times (that is if we even care).  Why is Paris Hilton famous?  Most of us don’t give it more than a moments thought because the question doesn’t really warrant any more.  After all we are busy in our daily lives and if we stopped to give time to (apparently) meaningless questions we would never get anything done.

If this is you, don’t worry, you’re not alone.  To tell you the truth I couldn’t give 2 hoots about Paris Hilton.  With all the drama swirling around currently you can’t turn left or right without hearing or seeing something about her.  This makes me even less likely to give any time to stories about her.

That is until…
That is until while reading an interesting article about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) the author brought up the point ‘Why Paris Hilton Is Famous’.  If it had come from anywhere else I would have discarded it but because it came from an author I respect I thought it worth a read.  The aritcle referenced the blog from Chartreuse on the same subject (which I also recommend you read by clicking here) which talks about Paris and her habit of casually and freely plugging the goods and services of other businesses.  Even when she was arrested for DUI she still had the presence of mind to mention why she was speeding (she was hungry)  and where she was heading (In-N-Out Burger).  To my knowledge she did not have a pre-standing relationship with this company she just choose to release to the media where she was heading and why.

This in a nutshell is why Paris Hilton is Famous.  It’s not why she became famous (as most of us know her initial fame was the result of a sexually explicit video being released) but it is why she remains famous years after the fact.  Paris Hilton is famous because she has learnt that by mentioning others even during bad media coverage that companies love her.  These companies get free media coverage and as a result Paris gets the fame and fortune she craves.

So how does this relate to me?
So you are probably wondering how this relates to you?  Well it relates to us all because by the act of linking herself or her actions to others Paris creates a hightened profile (and thereby positive relationship) with big and profitable companies.  It’s the old ‘What you give out comes back to you’ idealogy.  In our daily lives whether it be striving for a job, selling a product to prospects, or even running a business if you give something first without the thought of return we always fare better than just pushing our own ageda.  I know from a web point of view that the easiset way to get websites to link to us is to link to them first and not ask anything in return.  Then sure as I am here within a few days or a week I notice links coming back to us.

 If I were going for a job the first thing I would do is find a way to casually (and sincerely, it cannot be fake) complement my prospective employer.

We’ve all had sales calls where someone (usually telemarketers) has a script they are selling from and tries to talk there way into a sale.  Then compare that with a call from someone we know and trust recommending a service we may benefit.  We can’t stand the sales call but are usually genuinely thankful (even if we don’t need the service recommended) for the friendly call.  Why?  Simply because the friend is offering us something with no thought of return to themselves.  Our protective walls are down and we are open to the suggestion.

If all of us can remember to live our lives with the thought of giving credit, or thanks, or promotion, or anything for that matter with this same ideal I am positive we will see our returns increase as well.  This might sound a little idealistic in such a gimme gimme world but i believe it to be true.

Thanks
Adam.