Week 2 Post

Part 1 - Navigation

One of the biggest challenges for businesses and customers alike is navigating the Internet. This week please answer the following questions on your blog -

1) Listen to the podcast on Navigation which can be found on the Digital Enterprise Page (Google - the digital enterprise).

a) What are the four (4) main points Michael Rappa makes about search? Please write them on your blog page

Database

Collection mechanism for adding data into database

Search protocol to enable users to query the database

A ranking algorithm that determines the resuts are presented to the user

b) Watch or read the Marissa Mayer interview. Write a paragraph or two, on four points made by Marissa Mayer, that you think were the most interesting or significant for business. There are no right or wrong answers here, I just want your opinion.

Marissa Mayer, the vice president of search products and user experience at Google made a few interesting points concerning business. The points I found most interesting were:

· By using her experience at Google Mayer talked about how they created the prototype. She discussed how they used the feedback and information gathered from users of the prototype to see if it satisfied their needs. They also used this information to see where they need to improve. Businesses have to do this to see where they need to improve their product and even to see if the product is successful. If companies do not use the feedback that they obtain then the company might hit some obstacles and not know how to deal with issues surrounding a particular product or service. Companies need to satisfy consumer’s needs and wants or consumers would not buy or use the product/service.

· Mayer also talked about advertisements on the internet. Businesses can pay such internet sites/businesses like Google to advertise their business since people browse search engines. People browse search engines and may pay attention to ads being advertised. Mayer states “the amount of attention that a user pays on each page...is fundamentally different” . This means that when ads appear on search engines when people are searching information the ads might only attract or catch the focus of a few people but not everyone. Companies can use this information to their advantage by having advertisements on the internet that attract the user’s attention.