Google Trend Part Deux - Still got that trademark google speed-to-usefulness going good.

Funny the two new little blue words "google trends" is the first thing that catches planners attention when they go online!
What I love about this, though I guess it's not that different to the other free web tracking services available, is again the sheer google simplicity and what I'd call "Speed to Usefulness".

First thing I clicked on was "flu" because of the ongoing internal debates over friend/client advice about how prepared their families & work places are for a flu/other pandemic of some kind.

Straight away googletrends tells me something interesting/useful and potentially insightful (at least to hypothesize from). It tells me the geographic location of the online news chatter on flu:

1) Jakarta - where Avian Flu is a clear and present danger (sorry, couldn't resist!)
2)Washington - draw from that your own spin smokescreen / real danger conclusions


Love it! - speed-to-usefulness or perhaps for us it's speed-to-insight. Even better, it's not just fast it's free...

Lets start benchmarking all our research tools, and those our clients use on a cost and speed to insight measure. I know already that on many accounts I'd happily dump 90% of the research and put more effort (& simply more sample size) into the truly fruitful remaining 10%.

Less, better done. Not more done poorly.

Which brings me to all the building work I see going on around the city at the moment, and why it's the same sorry story as how most American restaurants operate... but that's another post.