A few of my comments at the advertising conference

Brands are the solution, not the problem.  Brands are how you sort out the cesspool.

The Association of National Advertisers has claimed that Google's joining forces with Yahoo would increase advertiser prices, and decrease competition.   I reseponded with, if you're going to criticize us, criticize us correctly...We're guilty of many things, but that's not one of them.

"We don't actually want you to be successful," he said. The company's algorithms are trying to find the most relevant search results, after all, not the sites that best game the system. "The fundamental way to increase your rank is to increase your relevance," he added. 

As for print, I suggested that The evidence is not good; as the print business will eventually comprise a smaller piece of publishers' much larger online businesses.  On the other hand, working with news sources is a natural partnership.

The future of quality editorial is, moreover, hardly certain. It's a huge question in the world, particularly in the United States.

How can this be overcome?  Branding, may be an essential element that helps people navigate the world. Brand affinity is clearly hard wired.  It is so fundamental to human existence that it's not going away. It must have a genetic component.

You can also read the full article by AdAge.

Its about time!

As many of you know, I have not had a blog previously because it interferred with traditional corporate culture; however, after a few board meetings, we have determined that it will actually be better to write about myself, than let others do it for me.  It will also facilitiate several of Google's top 10 philosophies such as:

"1. Focus on the user and all else will follow."

 - Your opinions are important to me.  I may not always respond, and I may not always approve your comment, but I will publish those which make a meaningful difference.

"4. Democracy on the web works."

 -  I welcome your input and feedback.

"5. You don't need to be at your desk to need an answer."

- I publish this blog from all over the world

"7. There's always more information out there."

- And I intent to publish a tiny piece of it

"8. The need for information crosses all borders."

- Not only do people at Google want to know what I am saying, but so does the rest of world.

"9. You can be serious without a suit."

- This may be the most important element.  You will find that I don't wear a suit on this blog, and in fact, I may even be writing it in my pajamas--you never know!

"10. Great just isn't good enough."

- I want to do more, and make the world better.  Let us think aloud collectively, and we can create great together.