Written by: Denise Anne Castro, 2013-14434
We
live in a digital age. Almost everything finds its way back to technology. We spend so much time online that many think we are starting
to liken our lives to the mechanism of robots: lifeless, devoid of feeling, and
hooked on technology. There always seems to be something lacking. How can we
grow and keep up with the fast-paced world of the Internet without losing sight
of values in real life connections? The answer to this question was tackled by
Gail Tan in her keynote speech for GDaysX held in Xavier School last November
23, 2013. According to her, the business strategy of Google all boils down to
what the user wants. They go beyond the usual profit-driven trail. Instead,
they answer the question “Why answer for whom?”
Gail Tan
Google tools engage and educate the users. For example, Google Politics and Elections
helped Filipino voters to find precincts and avoid areas of violence. During
the recent Typhoon Yolanda, Google created a crisis map to locate shelters and
flood-prone areas. They also launched the open source Person Finder to find
people missing from the typhoon. Over the years, Google Maps has evolved and
roads have become more and more specific.
At
present, the developments of IT have made businesses all over the world more
productive and dynamic. According to Herald Uy, it all starts with
collaboration. He presented demos of the Google innovations that make
collaboration a lot easier. One of the tools discussed was Google Calendar. It
allows teams to coordinate plans and block dates in order to avoid conflicts.
There is also Google Docs which is similar to Microsoft Word except files are
more accessible. A team can work on a document together, comment on each
other’s output and edit mistakes. Another amazing creation is Google Hangouts
which allows a group of people to have video chats together. Lastly, there is
Google Drive. It is a cloud storage device that offers up to 15GB of storage
for free.
Herald Uy
YouTube is also another Google-run website. On the surface, YouTube is
merely a video-sharing website. However, it goes beyond that. According to
Trixie Canivel, YouTube is also a great platform for business. The
advertisments flashed before watching a video are great ways of enhancing
product recall. YouTube can also help a person build a brand by extending
his/her online reach. Loaded marketing is done under three minutes or less but
the best part of it all? It’s done under the guise of entertainment.
The
magnitude of time we spend online is definitely no secret. There is no use
denying that technology will continue to evolve over the next years. What’s
important is how we can drive the digital trail using crowd accelerated
innovation. We need to be able to bring together different forms of knowledge
but at the same time, build communities and tap desires. Keeping the human
element alive in a technological collaboration is a big challenge but with
Google, this daunting task is possible.
