Fresh Perspectives about People and the Web from Think Quarterly

September 28, 2011

Posted by Allison Mooney, Christina Park, and Caroline McCarthy, The Think Quarterly Team



There’s a lot of research, analysis and insights—from inside and outside Google—that we use in building our products and making decisions. To share what we’ve learned with our partners, we created Think Quarterly. It’s intended to be a snapshot of what Google and other industry leaders are talking about and inspired by right now.

Today we’re launching our second edition, the “People” issue, exploring the latest technologies connecting us and the big ideas driving society forward. It also includes some of the research and analysis that helps us shape our strategies.

For those who love data as much as we do, here are a few articles worth reading:

  • “Following Generation Z,” in which Google research scientist Ed Chi details what he’s learned from monitoring the course of digital innovation and mapping patterns of digital technology use in the future
  • “Predicting the Present,” by chief economist Hal Varian, about how publicly available search tools can help anyone gain valuable insights into the behavior of web users and predict what they might do next
  • “Power to the People,” by Meg Pickard, anthropologist turned head of digital engagement at Guardian News and Media, about tracking the influence and power of online communities
  • “From Cash to Contentment,” about the use of happiness as a measurable metric of success, with insights coming from Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz

Click here to read all the articles, and if you have a suggestion for our next issue please tell us here. We hope you enjoy (and +1) it!