A friend of mine is in the process of interviewing at Google and asked me for assistance in prepping for the six or seven interviews that Google is known for. As a Microsoft partner, BA-Insight is often called by Microsoft into competitive situations with Google so as part of my job, I'm more knowledgeable about Google than most. Our conversations led us in different areas, but kept coming back to the power of Google's brand. Clearly the Google brand is what is keeping users loyal and coming back. Google continues to focus on simplicity, usability, and relevance.
Apparently staying focused is not as simple as it seems or sounds. Take Microsoft Live for example. I was taking a quick look at how BA-Insight was being ranked by Google, Yahoo, and Live this morning. When I went to the Live Search page (http://www.live.com) , I was presented with a beautiful picture of what turned out to be Kagoshima Japan. The image was vivid and took up the entire screen. After a few seconds, three boxes appeared and then disappeared. On a mouse over each box, a text box would pop up giving more detail about the picture.
I sat there for a few minutes thinking about what just transpired and regardless of how I framed it, I concluded that this was a usability nightmare. When people search, they are trying to solve a problem. Anything that gets in the way of that can only be negatively perceived. After hitting the page, I sat there for 20 seconds looking at the image before I remembered why I had come to the site in the first place.
So what does Microsoft want the Live brand to represent? I thought about this over breakfast, but I'm afraid I still haven't a clue. I did decide, however, that I would like to visit Japan one day.