Search Insider: “Seeing What’s Next”

Seeing What’s Next is one of the smartest books I’ve read. In this week’s Search Insider, I dumb it down considerably and probably get half of it wrong. That didn’t stop me from publishing it.

Just who is all the search innovation really serving, anyway?

This is a question I’ve been asking myself while reading Seeing What’s Next: Using the Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change by Clayton M. Christensen, author of The Innovator’s Dilemma and The Innovator’s Solution. The book’s tone ranges from brain-achingly esoteric to enlighteningly accessible, and while I might not do Christensen justice, a kernel of his thesis is worth distilling here in reference to search engines and their developments for both consumers and marketers.

The goal of the book is to present a theory that objectively evaluates innovation, and the theory addresses a number of angles: whether the innovation is sustaining or disruptive, whether incumbent companies or startups will fare best in capitalizing on the changes, and what types of consumers are targeted by the innovation.

I’m almost done with the book and will post more soon on that. In the meantime, read the butchered version in MediaPost.