Competition is everywhere…

Yet, there are some places less competitive than others. Of course I mean this from a web development, search engine optimization perspective.

I’m not going to get into the details, but after meeting with an old friend who was visiting from Germany , an idea crept into my head. Maybe my hobby website, Acai Resource, would be of interest in Germany. I’m not too sure how information travels from country to country, but what I do know is there is 1/10th the competition for the German equivalent of the acai berry. I’m having difficulty getting the site to rank well for “acai” and “acai berry” – when I started the site there was very little competition, but then the acai berry got some good press and overnight the competition in Google doubled. Although there are some longer phrases that perform well for the website, I’m not content with sitting on the 10th page for “acai”. So I’m trying a new angle – lets see if climbing to the top of google.de is a worthwhile endeavor.

Working with Generation X

I sit at the tail end of Generation Y at 23 years old, 1986 is the Generation Y cut off. After reading “Those Crazy Kids”, an article from the July edition of Marketing Magazine, I’m see that I am in the same situation many others are. I find the opening line from the article sums things up nicely…

Predictable, boring and set in their ways is the common lament members of Generation Y use to describe their managers. And over-confident, under-skilled and entitled are the words they hear about themselves in return.

How true. I was retyping my notes in grade 7 while chatting on IRC and ICQ with “friends” I had never met, and never did meet. Approaching 60 WPM in grade 8, I’m now getting help with my French homework from chatline friends that live in Quebec. I started my first website which ended up earning 10x more than the monotonous paper route I had for 1 year. I graduate, move to Toronto and then back to my hometown Kelowna, hit the workforce and what do I learn? I learn that all the “business communication” tactics you’re taught in school were not taught to those at the helm of your average company. I learn that if there’s an appropriate subject line in an Email from senior management, that’s because it was typed by a mid-twenty year old assistant who was dictated the message. As life progresses, I learn more and more about this disconnect between Generation X and Generation Y. I learn that Generation X is satisfied with six or twelve month review periods when I want to meet monthly, if not weekly to see how things are going. I learn that adaptation and change is yearned for by Generation X, yet often cautioned against and avoided. I learn that Generation X thinks the “web guy” is best used for making text updates to websites. I learn that Internet Marketing is completely misunderstood, and website analytics are pretty charts with no actionable information. Essentially, I learn that I must educate Generation X on almost everything “new” I believe could be beneficial for a company before I can execute.

The danger here is that creativity can very easily dissipate through the extra effort involved in getting everyone on board with a new idea. I learn that it’s easier to stare at your feet while walking down the path of business than to keep your head up and be on the leading edge of new tactics and technologies. But how long will it take until you walk head-long into a brick wall?