We've Moved!

The wise words of Master Yoda, “The Clone Wars have just begun” [Star Wars - Episode II], resonate closely with today’s World Wide Web. The Search Wars have just begun.

The web is our world’s newest battleground for corporate supremecy and social influence. What role can we play amidst this landgrab hysteria? We’re in the “Wild Web” and everybody wants a piece. THE VOICE OF REASON - can it be heard amidst the endless sea of information? The devil’s disguises are ever-evolving, knowing just how to prey upon our weaknesses - GREED, VANITY, INSECURITY, LUST, IMPATIENCE and IGNORANCE. For every internal personal problem and frustration, a promise exists; some clever enterprise has manufactured a “miracle cure” or “quick fix” that speaks to the DESIRE within us that will quench our ego’s thirst for stimulation, illusion and satisfaction. It IS truly a WEB of information, opportunity, connectivity and interaction; but along with that, a web of false promises, lies and deceit. There are surely many positive benefits and signs of evolution in the unfolding of the Internet, which is well-documented through the media and user-driven social networks. Like all other domains of life, this new virtual universe brings both sides of the spectrum - good and evil - and all grades in between, to the table.

As it applies to the gatekeepers of the Internet - Search Engines - and freedom of choice, this promising domain, one of our best opportunities for free will, is under threat. Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) are the holy grail, which has spawned our very own SEO industry, which brings with it all kinds of ethical dilemmas. If you show up on the first page of Google, you win - your message will be heard, regardless of whether it is what people are truly looking for. That doesn’t matter much to advertisers, now does it. SEM (Search Engine Marketing) firms, like Blueliner Marketing, are paid to deliver ROI. The corporate machine, backed by big dollars and some of the world’s smartest people, has already caught on, so as with every other domain of advertising and marketing, a variation of the same rules apply here: spending = mind share = market share. With regulation in the hands of a few Search Engine super powers - Google, Yahoo, MSN - and every country, company and individual figuring out where they fit in, the Search Wars have just begun. Once Google started displaying ads, search engines started on the road to becoming a new advertising channel above all other purposes. Now only top spending advertisers and their respective agencies get face time with Google engineers, learning first-hand how to avoid pitfalls and dominate Search Engine Results Pages. Click fraud is another ugly illustration of how the Search Wars are being played out, with Search Engines, many companies and cyber-criminals getting fat, while the general public and small businesses ultimately pay the price.

Similar to the introduction of the Television [by inventor Phil Farnsworth] in the 1940s, advertising has found a new way to permeate our homes, lives and minds, down to every last desire. Do we truly understand what this means and how much it influences how we think, what we buy and what we do? As a professional marketer and student of the human mind, I KNOW for a fact that we do not. Don’t be a pawn in the Search Wars. Open your mind, WAKE UP!