Like most companies, Google regularly communicates with their business customers via email newsletters, updates on their official blogs, and printed materials. For a change, they’ve decided to publish a short book about data, called Think Quarterly, to a small number of their UK partners and advertisers.
To learn more about the latest experiment by Google and how it can be of use to us – the consumers – do read on.
Availability
Think Quarterly is available to read online at the official website, thinkquarterly.co.uk (also available at m.thinkquarterly.co.uk, if you’re on the move). As the links point out, Google’s UK division is in charge of the publication. EPUB and PDF versions of the book are available for download as well. All editions of the book are free.
Google’s Take
In their words, here is how Google sees their experimentation:
“At Google, we often think that speed is the forgotten ‘killer application’ – the ingredient that can differentiate winners from the rest. We know that the faster we deliver results, the more useful people find our service.
But in a world of accelerating change, we all need time to reflect. Think Quarterly is a breathing space in a busy world. It’s a place to take time out and consider what’s happening and why it matters.”
Sounds very candid, as Google almost always does. And after reading the book, in my opinion Google has succeeded to a great extent in its goal.
The Content
The first issue is dedicated to Data. If you are really looking for them, you can find the magic metrics that will help transform your business. Think Quarterly and the articles are structured to help the reader find inspiration and insights.
Places to see Sexy Data
As for the content, Think Quarterly has got something for everyone – from nerds to casual readers of technology. I enjoyed reading the roundup of 10 online destinations to find sexy data.
Fully Viral
Case studies part of the Fully Viral feature give enough insights to video content creators to successfully run a campaign in YouTube (which could be applied to any other similar service).
Visual History of Data Capture
The Visual History of Data Capture is a fun yet educational read and is quiet comprehensive in showcasing how we have come from capturing data from sticks to the cloud.
How useful could it be?
Well, the usefulness of Think Quarterly largely depends upon your profession and passion. If you are Geek looking to know more about the inner workings of a company like Google, this would be a must read. On the other hand, if you are engaged in a profession or business in a vertical covered by Think Quarterly, you might have treasure of data to mine.
It would be great if Google ventures a bit more into the consumer side of the equation and publish books that help people learn more about technology and Internet. A digital periodical dedicated solely to Internet security would be of immense help to the masses.
Besides that, I don’t see Think Quarterly as a Trojan Horse that might disrupt the publishing industry. Are they testing the waters to see how positive the reaction from the community would be if such a magazine or periodical were to come out? Ofcourse, they do. Large Corporations always have that constant urge to track and mine data, even if they don’t have any real use for them in the near future.
Historically, Google always tries to stay away from the pureplay content business. Take for example Google News or the much touted Google Music service. Think Quarterly could be used as a benchmark for the future of digital publishing and it always helps to be the pioneer of a new format.
Share Your Thoughts!
Will you read Think Quarterly regularly? Did you find the articles and coverage simple enough to understand?