The article is a response to Seth Godin’s post on Magic + Generosity = the brand crush
No Mr. Godin, there’s nothing magical or generous about Google. Sure, they deliver some pretty useful services and incredibly fast results. I wouldn’t go too much into details whether they’re accurate (search algorithms) or very relevant, but there’s nothing magical about them.
Microsoft forced us to use IE, but have you used Google’s Android recently? It forces upon you a whole plethora of background location tracking and communication services some of which you cannot turn off. I salute their innovation when it comes to suit users’ needs, even creating needs when there are none (hence so many abandoned Google products), but you couldn’t possibly fall in love with that?
Microsoft was capitalism, Google has just added liberal to the whole idea. It’s not a move forward, it’s a move toward more cunning way of money and information extortion.
I know you didn’t mean that someone could really have a crush, but why do we even speak of brands in such a way? Can’t we see past that marshmallowy façade and recognize companies for what they are – empires?
You don’t know the gal, don’t even know one significant detail about her private life, likes or dislikes, but you like how she acts, and you think that’s enough to have feelings for her. No, that’s as pitiful and shallow as one can get and when I say shallow I mean “soon to be dead Orca on the beach” shallow.
Google makes people feel great? Hell, it makes me feel great sometimes, I admit it. When my coleague and I talk using Google Hangouts (deutsche: Hangaus), or when I “undo” sending my emails in Gmail (a nifty little feature that saved me a couple of times). But, lets distinguish between “feeling great” and “having a crush”.
The only time you can feel magical is if you have one on one interaction, with that disposable freelancer you’ve mentioned, for example. Being always on top of things, doing things you never asked or expected her/him to do, going above and beyond, because she or he senses you’re a good person, too.
Nobody can be generous to you except your friends, family or an occasional by-passer, but someone close to you.
Googliness is nothing more than a funky version of Capitalism. And while I can’t have anything against that, I certainly have a lot against not calling things their proper name.
Please, don’t approve of falling in love with Apple, Google or any other company, don’t try to stick that British flag in every piece of free land, in every free heart. Those are empires, rootless ones… no place for romanticism here.
Dragan Nikolic
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