GDaysX (Reaction Paper)

Written by: Denise Anne Castro, 2013-14434

GDaysX 2013

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.