In a past issue of German magazine “WirtschaftsWoche” (comp. Business Week) was an article about a “battle of disciplines” in which students of different subjects (economics vs. physicists) had to try to improve Google.
One of the groups “identified the decisive weakness immediately: The elusive internet surfer. The surfer needs to spend more time on the site.”
I disagree. Google’s business model is not built upon selling ads to eyeballs, it delivers ads to people searching for related issues. Not only does this uncorrected or unchallenged statement portray the Google business model too simple (and wrong IMO). What’s worse is that managers reading the publication will get the feeling that internet business models are still about stickyness and eyeballs and that if even Google needs help with this then they will focus even more thought on stickyness.
Cluetrain back to the bottom of the pile…
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