During the last month, I have been keeping a keen eye on Google’s new approach to search. In my previous article, The Impact of Personalized Search on SEO, I mentioned that the decision to include Google+ social content in search results might not be welcomed by everyone. This especially stems from the fact that it seems as if Google places priority to Google+ information in its search results. One can argue that Google is entitled to include Google+ content, since they own the search engine. Also, Google mentioned that they would index data from Facebook and Twitter if they made their platforms open. One thing that is certainly sure however, is that Google has received significant backlash because of the decision.

Google’s social rival, the massively popular micro blogging site Twitter, are on the forefront of the accusing camp. After the new search algorithm was launched by Google, Twitter accused Google of trying to drive traffic to their social network by manipulating search results. A Twitter representative made the following statement: “For years, people have relied on Google to deliver the most relevant results any time they wanted to find something on the internet. As we’ve seen time and time again, news breaks first on Twitter, as a result, Twitter accounts and tweets are often the most relevant results. We’re concerned that as a result of Google’s changes, finding this information will be much harder for everyone. We think that’s bad for people, publishers, news organisations and Twitter users”.

Personally, I think Twitter has a point. Twitter has had a massive social impact over the last few years (the “Twitter Revolutions” for example) and breaking news can often be found first on Twitter. If results from Twitter (or any other site for that matter) is the most relevant, the information should be available first in Google search results. This also ties in with the aforementioned Search Engine Optimisation. If you have to compete with only slightly relevant data from Google itself, you’re in for a losing battle. One option is to embrace the change from a social marketing perspective. But is this really best for the user?

In conclusion, it seems that many are worried that relevant results get pushed down in favour of Google + content. Fundamentally, relevancy is what it all boils down to. Google might not be in the wrong here, they are certainly entitled to promote their social network, but they should not compromise the quality of their search results in the process.

Twitter/Facebook - image credit - www.cbsnews.com

Can you believe it’s already the end of January 2012. In this article I will quickly recap on some highlights of 2011 and what we can expect in 2012 when it comes to technology world-wide and in South Africa.

2011

One of the most exciting launches in 2011 was the launch of the iPhone 4S, officially launched in South Africa December 16th 2011. The new member of the iPhone family has a dual core processor, improved camera (8 megapixels) and improved video capturing capabilities. With this Apple set a new standard for the development of Super Phones.

After months of speculation Google launched their new attempt at Social Media. Google Plus (Google+) was launched in mid 2011. The platform seems to be a combination of features from existing social media platforms and is visually very plain and simple to understand. It remains to be seen if Google+ will play a big role in Social Media or will it come to an end like its predecessor Google Wave.

YouTube got a little renovation. In 2011 YouTube improved the user experience of their website. They changed the layout to make navigation and finding channels easier and also made it visually more appealing.
Google bought Motorola Mobility for $12.5B, a dedicated Android partner, which will enable Google to supercharge the android ecosystem.

2012

Mobile! I think a lot of tech companies will be focusing on building better and more functional mobile applications as the market for smart and super phones is exploding. Mobile penetration in Africa especially is higher than some European countries. I think we’ll see a lot of innovation in the mobile application sector especially in terms of location based services, social networking, mobile commerce and mobile banking. I think we’ll also see advances when it comes to mobile hardware especially battery life.

Social media should have a large impact on search engines delivering more personalized search results than ever before. I also think Google and other large search engines will take social media more in account when it comes to delivering organic search results using user generated information to establish whether a website is a good resource or not. See Marcel’s article: The Impact of Personalized Search on SEO

Android will probably increase their market share in mobile device operating systems with the purchase of Motorola Mobility.

Whatever is in store for us for the year 2012 – it will be an exciting year for technology. I am sure we’ll see great innovation in technology in general and especially in mobile devices.

If you consider the average corporate company, there is an undeniable and ever widening technology gap amongst employees, with the greatest divide happening between the “baby boomers” and “Generation Y”.

A recent survey by business information solution provider LexisNexis™, compared technology and software usage among working professionals including, Baby Boomers (1946 -1964) , Generation X (1964 – 1980) and Generation Y (1980 – 1989).

According to the survey:

• 60% of  Baby Boomers felt that Smartphones such as the Blackberry and iPhones contribute to a decline in proper workplace etiquette, and believe the use of a laptop during in-person meetings is “distracting,” however less than half of Gen Y workers agree.
• A Mere 17% of Boomers believe using laptops during in-person meetings is “efficient,” while more than 65% of Gen Y do.

• Only 28% percent of Boomers think blogging about work-related issues is acceptable, while forty percent of Gen Y workers do.

Laptops and phones are inefficient tools?  blogging is unacceptable? Who are these people and surely it can’t be so in our technologically inclined world?. Unfortunately, they are the ones who have a lot of power, they are the CEO’s, directors and executives, whilst Gen Y is only just starting out.

So why the great divide? Is it simply a case of baby boomers feeling secure and set in their ways, or being overwhelmed at the rapid growth of new technologies? Truth be told, it seems that Generation Y takes to technology like the proverbial duck to water, this could be a result of having been exposed to such technologies quite early in their development. Nowadays it’s not uncommon that children as young as 7 years old are proficient at using an iPad or latest mobile device, whilst most adults find the technology a bit difficult to figure out.

So how then do we hope to bridge the growing technology gap that exists between the generations?

Working professionals need to  acknowledge that in the ever evolving business world, technology plays a vital role and to simply ignore it could be catastrophic.

“Insanity : Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”
- Albert Einstein

Recently I attended the above mentioned event, hosted in the heart of Johannesburg. It left me inspired and excited about the awesome potential that our wonderful country has in this digital and technological age.

We are living in ever changing times. There are more ways than ever to interact, socialise and conduct our work. South Africa is the hub of all this digital activity in Africa and, with the speakers coming from as far afield as Stockholm and San Francisco, delegates flocked to secure their seats at the 2nd annual Tech4Africa Conference.

Tech4Africa was billed as “The premier mobile, web & emerging technology conference” and was held at the Forum in JHB. The speakers over the two days touched on the emerging tech trends, innovation and business ventures and opportunities currently found in South Africa and the rest of the world. The theme was immediately evident with giant screens showing the Tweets from the various delegates scrolling down the screen faster than any normal human can read. All around me people were starting up their laptops, iPads and a myriad of other wireless devices rushing to login to the free wireless on offer.

Being more business and marketing minded I preferred the talks on the emerging digital markets to the technical talks. The talk on HTML5 made by Robert Nyman from Mozilla was entertaining enough especially since talking “code” does not appeal to everyone. Josh Spear hails from the USA and is an independent, free-thinking marketing specialist who is regularly featured in Time magazine and the New York Times. His talk on social media was the most entertaining and eye opening for me. He put the vast scope of influence of the internet and “social” into perspective and it left me feeling left behind!

The afternoon of the final day of the conference was the most inspiring for me as it concerned the entrepreneurial stories of various business start-ups. The talk by Vinny Lingham who is the CEO of Yola.com made me realise that the road to success is sometimes a very rocky one. Vinny also helped start Clicks 2 Customers which is still one of the biggest Online advertising agencies in the world and won the Top Technology Company award in South Africa in 2006. Gareth Knight’s path to entrepreneurial success was also not smooth, but since his humble beginnings he co-founded Kindo.com which was voted in the top 3 most promising Internet companies in the UK for 2008. He is also the founder of Tech4Africa.

Overall Tech4Africa offered massive insight into the digital landscape that lies ahead of us and left me feeling inspired and refreshed. The entrepreneurial stories and successes emphasized to me just how resilient and insightful South Africans are in general. I am so glad to be living in this digital and technological age!

What is the driving force behind successful individuals and successful technology companies?  What makes certain people leave a legacy of excellence and others a legacy of followership?

At Tech4Africa this year, Ndubuisi Ekekwe explored this fascinating divide specifically in Africa, and gave highly valuable insights.

Many years ago, Ekekwe explains, ideas and intellectual property had no rights and were free to all.  No one got any recognition for their thoughts and inventions and, for a period of time, people actually stopped inventing.  The implementation of IP rights in the USA saw the expansion of global GDP and higher standards of living.  Sadly, this is not the case in Africa even as of yet, which means there is no mechanism of investment to create the inventions and build Fortune 500 companies.  Minds as creative and inventive as Thomas Edison don’t get recognized financially.  They merely receive praise.

Furthermore, he expands on the fact that anything received for free is not perceived as valuable, leaving no drive or excitement for education and thus no knowledge to drive innovation within the industry.  With our technology landscape narrowing, there is a definite need to move from marketing and distribution to innovation, invention and creativity.

He believes that a monetary system + IP rights + technology will ensure that Africa will become Creators of technology VS mere Consumers of technology.

So what is your technology legacy?  What is our technology legacy?  Are we going to educate, recognize, innovate and lead, or remain comfortable followers?  Success depends on this decision.