Interesting look at online behavior
"Click" follows in the tradition of Malcolm Gladwell and the "Freakonomics" duo, by analyzing modern-day trends and extracting meaning behind society's behavior through the use of data and statistics. There a number of different topics discussed including politics, entertainment, and consumer behavior. What makes "Click" unique is that all of Tancer's findings are based upon search engine data and all his conclusions are drawn from drawn from how Americans spend their time on the internet.
My goal in reading "Click" was to learn more about online behavior and to see a different view of the internet's role in our society. In that respect, I can say that I'm satisfied with the book. I was introduced to some unique information and learned some interesting facts. The downside is that because Tancer covers a lot of ground, he also chooses to focus on very specific examples and doesn't always provide enough of the bigger picture. I also didn't feel that there was sufficient cohesion among the different chapters, which I would have liked.
What I really appreciated about the book was Tancer's "love of data" and passion for numbers. His anecdotes about the conferences he has attended and his ability to produce data charts in no time were pretty humorous. I only wish there would have been more content on his personal experiences with his research and less on publicizing the company he works for and what they do.
Overall I enjoyed "Click" and would recommend it for anyone who is curious about how online data can teach us about our society as a whole and in some cases why it fails to lead to accurate conclusions. Bill Tancer certainly convinced me that "we are what we click"!
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Generation Y Participation Redefined
The discussion of Web 2.0 and its participants is quite interesting. It seems that Web 2.0 participation can be defined by a 1/9/90 split. One percent of people put information on Web 2.0. Nine percent either edit or comment on that information (actually can be anywhere from 3 to 9 percent based on how easy it is to participate). Ninety percent are called "lurkers". They don't add anything, but only use the information.
What is really interesting is the age group of the folks interacting. We have been taught that Generation Y is the group that is doing the most for technology. However, according to his search analysis, the folks putting information on the web and editing that information are the older members of Generation X and the youngest of the Boomers. Most Generation Y members are lurkers. They use the information, but don't actually contribute much to it...except the Social Networking sites. Wish some of those advocating catering exclusively to Generation Y at the expense of the previous generation (Generation X) would read this.
Relavant and Interesting
This is a nice read, it's not super thick and I enjoyed how it caused me to think in a more anylitical manner about my own websites, as well as my own click/search behavior. It's important to understand your customers if you have an online business and any books like this one just help you gain more focus, learn more tricks and think more critically. I also enjoy the blog posts on the detail page for this book on Amazon.
There was recently an article on [...] talking about how google can track the FLU and how it spread by what people are searching for. This is another great example of the power of watching and stduying the search anylitics from your website, as well as the web in general. Great book, not super thick but sometimes it's hard to find time to finish the thicker books so it's nice to be able to read something that is to the point, and still gets you thinking.
Light reading for those unfamiliar with popularity of the WWW
This book makes for light reading and I believe probably more useful for those who are not as familiar with the widespread popularity and power of the world wide web. In some way, it is possible to be used as the basis for understanding the world wide web, but not specific enough to offer industry expertise in any one application of the web. I imagine a student writing an essay on the world wide web could find this useful, but perhaps if this book were written five years ago, it could be more interesting.
great stuff, but not for everyone
This is a great book. First, however, a few words about what it is - and what it's not. It's not a primer on how to get more customers to the website for your your small business. It's not a technical tome on search optimization. It's not the be-all and end-all on the psychology of online behavior.
What it is is something in the same vein as Blink, or Nudge, or Freakonomics. In other words, the author looks at some data and, in a lighthearted way, makes some interesting connections that tell us some very interesting things about ourselves.
In this case, the data is what criteria people enter into search engines. The idea is that this information helps reveal a true picture of ourselves. Ask yourself, what would you trust more when it comes to surveying people's attitudes on pornography - a telephone (or in-person!) survey or detailed data about what people type into a search engine late at night in the privacy of their own homes?
The fun thing about this book is how much data the author has at his fingertips and how much fun he has in seeing odd patterns develop over time or in finding odd correlations - and then trying to figure out why.
Take, for example, prom dresses ... There is an expected bump in searches right before prom time - but also one at the beginning of the year. Why? Well, it turns out that there are basically two different customer groups. One is the girl - social, fashion forward, probably a little more traditional, richer - who is really into it. She reads the fashion magazines that feature prom wear (and that come out in January) and then starts preparing. The other is the girl who knows she's expected to go, and she's got to wear something, and doesn't want (or have) a lot of money to spend on it ("cheap prom dresses" soar during the later time period). The author even gets into what he calls "search arbitrage" - i.e., predicting things (like who's going to win American Idol or predicting the next hot band) based on search results.
Now, this sort of thing is not for everyone. The author meanders around quite widely, and the average reader may be asking themselves "so what?" quite a but. But for those of who have a bent toward data, it's a very fun ride.
The only beefs I had were that the author relegated his methodology to a few short paragraphs in the introduction. It's important, interesting in its own regard, and definitely could have had some more emphasis.
Also, the author's writing style is good, but he's no Malcom Gladwell or Steven Levitt. In particular, he has an annoying habit of starting each chapter with a hard-to-follow, not totally relevant personal story before he gets to the data. I strongly disagree with the reviewers who thought the writing was really bad or too self-serving. The personal stories simply make it more readable. And he's really quite humble. If you'd like an example of what NOT to do in this regard, try Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy.
