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Interview: John Battelle

Since publishing his landmark book "The Search," Web guru John Battelle says that the biggest change we've seen in the field is "the complete failure of any other company to gain significant share against Google." In fact, Battelle doesn't see anyone beating Google at its own game in the near future. Rather, it will take "a redefinition of search to a new, more useful result" to change the status quo, a shift as dramatic as the move from DOS to Windows.

Speaking about the display market, Battelle claims that brand managers and ad agencies aren't taking advantage of all the consumer data generated by online media campaigns. "It's coming," he says, "but it will be slow, and it will not be evenly distributed for a while. I think for now the key is to get into conversations with key potential customers and with your core supporters. Listen, learn, prepare for the data you will soon have access to."

Regarding Google/DoubleClick, Battelle says that the biggest privacy threat posed by the deal is the government or another entity gaining access to their data, rather than GoogleClick's handling of the data they produce.

Read the whole story at IMedia Connection »

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