The Essentially Human Nature of Search Perhaps we had outgrown search. But no, that wasnt it. Search had outgrown us, or, at least, the box we kept trying to stuff it in. It went to something that I had touched on a few times over the past 3 days. Search isnt a channel. Search is glue, search is ether, search is a synapse, a connection, a completion. Search is a fundamental human activity. Search isnt a marketing tactic. Its how we express ourselves.

Perhaps its the human need to categorize things. We tend to pigeonhole search and put labels on it. Its direct response, its transactional, it's pull rather than push. But search isnt a noun, search is a verb. And it was only on the plane ride back that I started to realize how important that is.

Battelles Big Idea

John Battelle did a great job of poking at the import of this in his book, The Search. But Im not sure people realized how mind boggling Battelles database of intentions is. Its a vast concept, and that scares the the devils playground out of most people. Similarly, Googles goal to organize the worlds information can be as deep as you want to make it.

Lets dissect this a bit so we can start to put appropriate scope to it, and youll realize that Google's goal is maybe the biggest, hairiest, most audacious corporate goal in history.

There are few things humans need on a daily basis. We are biomechanical machines, so we need oxygen, water, food and sleep. We are social creatures, so we need to communicate. And we are rational beings (or at least, we come equipped with the necessary equipment for rational thought) so we need information. Given that, organizing the worlds information sounds like a good thing, right? It makes our life easier. But whoever organizes the worlds information also controls access to it. We pass at their pleasure.

A Toll on Information Recently I had the opportunity to cycle up the Rhine Valley in Germany. Dotted along the valley are dozens of castles overlooking the river. The castles exist because the Rhine was the primary navigation route of central Europe, and robber barons realized that if they could control even a small part of the river, they could exact tolls and become fabulously wealthy. But even as bold as the baron's were, their plans pale in comparison to Googles goal. Imagine the ability to impose a toll on every single bit of information that we, as humans, need on a daily basis.

In a remarkably short time, Google has created a connection to the biggest repository of information ever collected, and each day, they add to it. Each day, our ability to access the information we need to function relies more and more on search, which means it relies on Google. For almost any decision we make, we need information. Sometimes, the information is at hand, but when its not, we have to search for it. And, we will take the easiest possible route to do so. Thats why for more and more of our actions and decisions, there are corresponding searches. Search is not a channel, its how we act on our intentions and aspirations.

Search Centered by Default Gerry Bavaro, another Search Insider, said it best. If you truly put your prospect at the center of your marketing strategy, it cant help but have search at the core. Its a given. When your prospect reaches out for the information required to make a buying decision, its highly likely theyll reach out through search.

So, as we tried to put the wraps on three days of high level thinking about search, we realized we had actually unwrapped something bigger than any of us realized. Im not sure what you call it, but one things for sure. It wont fit in any pigeonhole.

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