Search engines play an important role in connecting consumers with information. If it's your first time on the Internet how do you find a search engine? It's a great question because I believe the answer to this question goes a long way to explaining how we select information and then make decisions.
From my experience we don't have much choice. The PC or device that has been purchased will have made the initial choices for you. Choices made by a series of business to business deals that were necessary for the delivery of the PC to the consumer, the business with the biggest influence having the final say. Inherently this is not bad, the world is a better place with PC's? So, we inherit the choices of others and to some degree we will have trusted some business that enabled us to purchase the PC visa vie the other choices in the market at that time.
The browser provided is opened and a search engine will either be presented or a link. Or the consumer will have the information from an offline source that will have educated them the need to use a search engine, assuming they don't just want to live in a one URL online or that they already know all the URL's they will ever need to use! (maybe someday)
Next, how do consumers choose a search engine given a free choice?
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Practical Consumer Information
Ok, we have had a bit of theory but what are the information demands of consumers?
If we can believe Internet statistics then surfing for health information tops the polls followed by shopping and product searching. I'll come back to health in a later posting but for now lets focus on shopping info.
Shopping covers many industries/products Amazon.com, travel Expedia.com, music itunes.com, groceries Tesco.com, etc, these example focused at the retail level. The (brand)manufacturers make the products or services e.g. food Mars, Hotels Hilton, music U2, etc. With the Internet evening up the access so that small, local or niche producers can be found, Food FoveranStore, local joiner WBLittlejohn.com (disclaimer, my parents business), niche music The Sundowns, etc.
With the whole supply chain of businesses on the web too. At the other end of the demand chain of information are what I class as information advisors, these cover an equally wide range of sources, e.g. news newspapers, consumer review Which?, Experts environment, fashion Glossy Mags , consumer themselves, blogs etc. All these competing sources online, also have competitors off line, family members, friends or professional advisors you trust.
Each online source aims to make life easy for consumers but consuming lots of 'easy to use' websites becomes complex. And how do we select or find the sources we trust or are willing to trust. The Search Engines come center stage, for the whole web Google, Yahoo!, product Froogle, products with research Become.com, Images Flickr.com, Blogs, music, video etc. I'll examine the role search engines play in the next posting.
To conclude, the consumers world of information is a complex universe which needs to be made simple and easy to consume. Future posting will highlight my views on who's doing what to deliver this goal to consumers.
If we can believe Internet statistics then surfing for health information tops the polls followed by shopping and product searching. I'll come back to health in a later posting but for now lets focus on shopping info.
Shopping covers many industries/products Amazon.com, travel Expedia.com, music itunes.com, groceries Tesco.com, etc, these example focused at the retail level. The (brand)manufacturers make the products or services e.g. food Mars, Hotels Hilton, music U2, etc. With the Internet evening up the access so that small, local or niche producers can be found, Food FoveranStore, local joiner WBLittlejohn.com (disclaimer, my parents business), niche music The Sundowns, etc.
With the whole supply chain of businesses on the web too. At the other end of the demand chain of information are what I class as information advisors, these cover an equally wide range of sources, e.g. news newspapers, consumer review Which?, Experts environment, fashion Glossy Mags , consumer themselves, blogs etc. All these competing sources online, also have competitors off line, family members, friends or professional advisors you trust.
Each online source aims to make life easy for consumers but consuming lots of 'easy to use' websites becomes complex. And how do we select or find the sources we trust or are willing to trust. The Search Engines come center stage, for the whole web Google, Yahoo!, product Froogle, products with research Become.com, Images Flickr.com, Blogs, music, video etc. I'll examine the role search engines play in the next posting.
To conclude, the consumers world of information is a complex universe which needs to be made simple and easy to consume. Future posting will highlight my views on who's doing what to deliver this goal to consumers.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
The History of Information
Here's my take on how we've got to where we are today. . ..
To simplify greatly, well I suppose us humans used facial, hand and body movements to kick it all off. Geoffrey Nunberg has an informative time line on his site. It is interesting to read, time and time again how each wave of information evolution is pulsed along by a never ending tug and pull created from the human need to communicate with each other and technological innovations that gives information wider room to expand into.
Thus giving the opportunity for information to become more freely and openly available. In terms of information volume I like to use the following metaphor to visualize how near the start we are: imagine the size of the universe a micro * ten to the power of -10000 of a second after big bang and compare it to the size of the Universe today, in other words, hold a pea in your hand and compare it to the size of the Universe. So, we are at the earliest of days in my view.
To simplify greatly, well I suppose us humans used facial, hand and body movements to kick it all off. Geoffrey Nunberg has an informative time line on his site. It is interesting to read, time and time again how each wave of information evolution is pulsed along by a never ending tug and pull created from the human need to communicate with each other and technological innovations that gives information wider room to expand into.
Thus giving the opportunity for information to become more freely and openly available. In terms of information volume I like to use the following metaphor to visualize how near the start we are: imagine the size of the universe a micro * ten to the power of -10000 of a second after big bang and compare it to the size of the Universe today, in other words, hold a pea in your hand and compare it to the size of the Universe. So, we are at the earliest of days in my view.
Monday, September 26, 2005
What is Perfect Information?
A good definition is supplied by Wikipedia here. I want to highlight this sentence, 'perfect information would practically mean that all consumers know all things about all products, and therefore always make the best decision regarding purchase.' This is what I believe.
I also feel these traditional or historical definitions need evolving, consumer purchases are becoming less a series of one-off events but turning into a flow of services over time, derived sometimes by the supply of a product. I always stand in the consumers shoes, as that is what I am, to consider what a world of perfect information looks and feels like?
Lets examine the key ingredients of perfect information: It has to be visualized and by that I mean in its broadest sense, viewed by eye, listened to by hear, felt by touch etc. The point I need to state early on is that the consumer should have control over these 'visualization' options.
I also feel these traditional or historical definitions need evolving, consumer purchases are becoming less a series of one-off events but turning into a flow of services over time, derived sometimes by the supply of a product. I always stand in the consumers shoes, as that is what I am, to consider what a world of perfect information looks and feels like?
Lets examine the key ingredients of perfect information: It has to be visualized and by that I mean in its broadest sense, viewed by eye, listened to by hear, felt by touch etc. The point I need to state early on is that the consumer should have control over these 'visualization' options.
Trust. We need to trust the source of the information, who is supplying it? Therefore, visualization needs to extended over the source to give the consumer a way of identifying the author. On this a consumer can make a personal value decision. The consumers inherent people/social skills combined with their education or prevailing wisdom are important here.
Timing. Perfect information demands all information is up dated instantly another piece of information is authored or consumed. Increasingly consumers are also building in future expectations into their decision making thus the world of information is more than just historical or real time focused.
Visualization, Trust and Timing. The pillars of consumer confidence in perfect information. I am going to regularly come back to test these and I welcome comments and feedback to help in that process.
Friday, September 23, 2005
Consumer Information
My fascination with information really got started when studying Economics at The University of Aberdeen. I quickly realized the answer to the question that all economics starts with: How to allocate scarce resources? answer was to provide perfect information to the end point of consumption, I.e. to the consumer.
Before my University days I had started to think about how our small family business fitted into the wider economy and what impact it was having on the planet? I would spend holidays carrying hardwood mahogany into customers homes and then go home at night and listen to the news that another area of Amazon rainforest the size of Wales had been lost. Two separate world's, surely? However, with education and better information I quickly realized the connection. The rest of my University days and now entrepreneurial career are driven by realizing this goal of delivering perfect information to consumers.
We all have to consume? Food and water are the daily basics but beyond these rudimentaries of life our economy has expanded vastly to produce an enormous selection of goods and services. Before the act of consuming a product we all consume information but what information?
This blog is dedicated to exploring, questioning and providing practical help that will enable consumers to make real time decisions based upon perfect information.
Before my University days I had started to think about how our small family business fitted into the wider economy and what impact it was having on the planet? I would spend holidays carrying hardwood mahogany into customers homes and then go home at night and listen to the news that another area of Amazon rainforest the size of Wales had been lost. Two separate world's, surely? However, with education and better information I quickly realized the connection. The rest of my University days and now entrepreneurial career are driven by realizing this goal of delivering perfect information to consumers.
We all have to consume? Food and water are the daily basics but beyond these rudimentaries of life our economy has expanded vastly to produce an enormous selection of goods and services. Before the act of consuming a product we all consume information but what information?
This blog is dedicated to exploring, questioning and providing practical help that will enable consumers to make real time decisions based upon perfect information.
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