Don Dodge on The Next Big Thing

AOL aquires Techcrunch, Arrington and team to stay

AOL CEO Tim Armstrong announced this morning that AOL has acquired Techcrunch. Terms were not disclosed. Mike Arrington and all the TC team will stay. Techcrunch will maintain complete editorial freedom. The deal was signed on stage at the Techcrunch Disrupt conference. Techmeme has numerous stories on the deal.

Mike Arrington built Techcrunch into the leading Tech news site in the world in just 5 years. Mike works harder than anyone I know. The man doesn't sleep. People either love or hate Mike Arrington. I love him. He has always been very helpful to me, and he is largely responsible for me going to work at Google after Microsoft. He will always be a friend.

Tim Armstrong first talked to Mike Arrington about acquiring Techcrunch at the TC Disrupt conference in New York in May of this year. Rumors are that the deal fell apart over price, some say around $30M. Presumably, the deal price now exceeds $30M. Techcrunch is a pretty profitable business. Reliable sources say revenues were $6M last year netting around $1.5M. Estimates for 2010 are around $10M in revenue and around $4 in profit.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but will probably dribble out over time. You can be sure Mike Arrington never has to work again...but he will continue working 18 hours a day anyway. That is just the way he is. Mike will stay on with AOL at least 3 years based on stock options and incentives in the deal.

Congratulations to Mike and the Techcrunch team.

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Ron Conway, Dave McClure and the Angel Investor story

Mike Arrington wrote about a secret Super Angel meeting and suggested collusion and price fixing. Then Ron Conway dropped a nuclear bomb on the subject saying he disagreed with the tone and direction of the "Super Angel" meeting group. Dave McClure threw some gas on the fire with a few choice words of his own. This will all come to a head at the Techcrunch Disrupt conference on Monday on a panel "Super Angels vs Super VCs". All this hoopla will certainly make the conference more interesting.

Everyone should calm down. These are all good people who work tirelessly to promote startups and take huge risks investing where VCs will not. Most Angel Investors are former entrepreneurs themselves. They are very independent and don't follow anyone by nature. They DO talk to each other and share ideas. But to suggest collusion is to not understand how Angel Investors really work. They are too independent to agree on anything. It is mildly surprising that they could agree on a date and time to meet. :-)

Ron Conway is a Silicon Valley legend and has earned his reputation through hard work. He still comes to every event and talks to everyone even though he could easily just sit in his office and let everyone come to him. He still works hard for entrepreneurs and gives back more than anyone. Dave McClure and the other Super Angels are also great people, former startup guys, who care deeply about startup entrepreneurs. These guys are all friends and it hurts to see them taking swipes at each other.

The meeting was reportedly a discussion about high valuations, the relative merits of convertible notes, and how to keep VCs out of deals. Interesting topics. These are issues that Angel Investors deal with every day. There are so many Angels and VCs competing for deals that there couldn't possibly be any price fixing.

The reality is that determining valuations for startups with no revenues and no customers is just a big guess. In most cases the average valuation for a "fundable" idea is between $1M and $3M. It is rare to see any seed investment deal outside that range. Is that price fixing? No, it is just reality. The price varies between $1M and $3M based upon the strength of the founding team, the viability of the idea, the stage the product is at, and the value of competitors in that space.

The other reality is that most startups fail. We constantly celebrate the winners, and they make lots of money. Hopefully, enough money to pay for all the losses on the other investments Angels make.

What do Angels talk about?

Standard deal documents - Angel Investors often talk about how to get a standard set of deal documents in order to make the process move faster and avoid huge legal bills. Most investment deals have approximately the same deal terms. Yet, lawyers charge thousands of dollars to generate the documents. In most cases the entrepreneur pays the lawyer to produce the documents. The investors pay another set of lawyers to review the documents. It is a giant waste of time and money to review what are essentially standard documents. Paul Graham at Ycombinator has put together some standard documents to help everyone out. Of course lawyers jumped all over them saying they shouldn't do that.

Convertible Notes - Many seed stage investments are made via Convertible Notes because they are easy to put together, don't cost too much in legal bills, and avoid the problem of setting a valuation. Personally, I don't like convertible notes for reasons I explained in a previous post. It was reported that convertible notes were a discussion item at the secret Super Angel meeting. Seems like a reasonable topic, and doesn't suggest collusion, just comparing notes on how to make the process easier and faster for entrepreneurs and investors.

Valuations - Most seed stage valuations are between $1M and $3M, and have been that way for the past 10 years or so. We might be in a seed stage bubble now where valuations are rising. But, seed stage valuations don't really impact the success metrics very much. The winners will have higher valuations when they exit, and the losers will still be losers. The net profit will be about the same. This is why Ron Conway says stop the whining and get back to investing and building successful companies.

This Silicon Valley argument will be center stage at Techcrunch Disrupt next week. Then it will quickly fade away because it isn't really a big deal, and there is nothing a group of Super Angels can do about it anyway. I agree with Ron Conway. Lose the drama, and lets get back to building successful startups.

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How to pitch your company at Techcrunch or get investors to write checks

I saw over 100 company pitches last week at DEMO and at Google. There will be 100 more at Techcrunch Disrupt next week. The good ones stand out immediately. How can you get noticed? Don't expect to tell the whole story, just enough to get them curious and wanting to know more. You need several different pitches. The demo pit / exhibit area pitch is 1 minute. The on stage pitch to the audience is 6 minutes. The investor meeting pitch is about 30 minutes.

Do VCs really make investment decisions on a new startup in 5 minutes? Yes. They can decide to say NO in 5 minutes, but saying YES takes longer. The key to an “elevator pitch” is to get them interested, answer the basic questions, and get a promise to have a next meeting. Next week at TechCrunch Disrupt, startups will have 6 minutes to do an “elevator pitch” to a panel of experts and 1,500 investors, tech execs, and press. It is called the “elevator pitch” because you should be able to explain your new company idea to a prospective investor in the time it takes to ride an elevator up to their floor. 

Don't waste time with people who aren't interested - At a conference like Techcrunch Disrupt or DEMO you will see hundreds and hundreds of people. The goal should be to connect with five people who can help you. Be clear about what you need; customers, investors, partners, introductions, or maybe new employees. Focus most of your time on the people who can hep you the most. Don't spend time on people who aren't interested, or can't help you get what you need. 

How do investors decide who they want to engage with at a conference? They look for ideas that align with their investment thesis. The secret to success in the VC business is to spend a little time with a lot of companies, and a LOT of time with a few companies. They want a quick overview of everything to make sure they don't miss anything and to see macro trends. But, they only want to spend a lot of time with a few companies that align with their investment thesis. So, if you are in a demo area with hundreds of people walking by, don't waste time with someone who isn't really interested. The one person you really need to see might walk by because you are too busy with someone else who isn't interested. Be available when the right person comes along.

How do I know if they are interested? They self select. They nod their head as you are talking. They ask a question. If you don't see any of this, or just a blank stare...move on. If the name of your company doesn't describe what you do, then make sure you have a great tag-line or "bumper sticker quote" that does. As people stroll down the aisles of an exhibit area they are looking for key words that capture their attention. I try to talk to every single company, but sometimes I don't have enough time. So, I try to find companies that are in the areas I am focused on. For me it is things like; search, cloud computing, mobile infrastructure apps, location based services, or social applications that combine many of these things together. Help people decide if your company aligns with their interests.

Who is your Customer? - The first question I ask a startup is "who is your customer?" or "who pays you money?". This helps me understand where the company is positioned in the ecosystem or "value chain". You would think this would be intuitively obvious...but it isn't. Many companies use the same buzz words and technologies so they all start to sound the same. They aren't. Knowing who your potential customer is helps me understand if I am a potential customer, or if my customers might need your product to build a complete solution.

What Problem do you solve? – Start with the problem you are solving or the need you are filling. A real life story about a person who needs or wants your product helps the investor understand the problem or need in personal terms, and agree that it is an interesting problem that needs fixing. Too many entrepreneurs start by talking about their solution and whiz bang technology. How they do it, versus what problem they solve. If the investor is not interested in the problem…there is no way they will be interested in your solution. Once they are nodding their head in agreement about the problem, then move on to the solution. If they don't nod in agreement cut it off right there. Don't waste your time, or theirs.

What is your Solution? – Explain why your solution solves the problem, and why it is better than other solutions. We do X for Y, or we are the X (well known product) for the Y market. For example, "we are Twitter for the enterprise market". Or, we do "enterprise level security for mobile handsets". Once they understand what problem you solve, they might listen to why your solution is better. It might be cheaper, faster, smaller, easier, more enjoyable, or whatever. Don’t waste time explaining the technology, or flowcharting the process or value chain. Just explain why your solution solves the problem better than anything else.

Who is the Competition? – If there is no competition there probably isn’t a market. Naming competitors help the investor understand the problem, existing solutions, and potential size of the market. Even if you think you are inventing a new market, the problem has been there a long time. People have figured out some way to solve it. That is your competition. Acknowledge that there are existing ways to partially solve the problem, and companies that have part of the solution. Then explain why yours is better. Investors will be very nervous if there is no competition.

What is your Business Model? - Who will pay? Is your solution a vitamin or a painkiller? Vitamins are nice to have, painkillers are a must have. There are some problems that no one will pay to solve. There are other problems where the one getting the benefit is not the party that pays the money. Sometimes there are multiple players in a value chain. Be very clear about where you are in the value chain, who will pay for your solution, and how much they will pay.

The Team – What experience do you and your team have starting companies or specific experience in this market segment? Are there any well known advisors or financial backers helping you? Do you have connections to people who can help you get your first customers? This is important because in the end it is all about the team. The best ideas will fail if there isn't a team with domain experience that can execute. For example, I could have a great idea about making the best Whoopie Pie you ever tasted. But, I don't have any experience in running a bakery, or getting wholesale distribution, or Consumer Packaged Goods, so I would most likely fail to execute on the idea.

The Close – We are solving a big problem, in a growing market, with a model that works, and a team that can execute. We need X dollars to reach Y milestone. We need investor partners to help us achieve this success. Show passion and confidence. Ask them to join the crusade. This is going to be The Next Big Thing.

Spend one minute on the problem, three minutes on the solution and demo, and 30 seconds each on the competition, model, team, and close. That is 6 minutes. Practice it 20 or 30 times. Every founder and early employee should be able to do the elevator pitch. Practice in front of friends, then practice in front of strangers that know nothing about your idea. Quiz them after to see if you message got through. 

The pitch is critically important to the success of your company. Every potential new hire needs to buy into the story just like investors do. Customers need to buy into the story too, before they purchase your product or service. This is important. Get it right and life will be much easier. Get it wrong…and you will get a NO in 5 minutes or less.

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How to get accepted at Stanford or Harvard, or how to get a job at Google or Facebook

Start with the premise that there are way more qualified candidates than slots available. How do they decide who to accept or hire? Assume that most applicants have great grades or impressive work experience. How do they stand out? Elite schools and hot companies try to attract the best candidates that will be successful in their environment. It isn't a perfect science. Stanford and Harvard accept between 7% and 9% of all applicants, and readily admit there are many more qualified candidates. Google and Facebook hire a significantly smaller percentage from all resumes submitted.

Yesterday I wrote "How to get a job at Google". That post generated lots of discussion on HackerNews and other discussion forums. There are lots of very talented people who would love to work at Google, Facebook, Apple or some other hot company. There is some frustration about the lack of transparency, feedback, and general understanding of the process. It occurred to me that getting a job offer at hot company is analogous to getting accepted at Stanford, Harvard, MIT, or any other leading school.

What is unique about the candidate? The elite schools in technology, business, law, theater, culinary arts, or any domain, get more applicants than they have available slots. I have heard of many situations where applicants have perfect SAT scores, top of their high school class, lots of extracurricular activities, and even community service...and still don't get accepted at the elite school of their choice. Why? There are over 36,000 high schools in the USA. Every one of them has a valedictorian, star athletes, top 10 students, and students with near perfect SAT scores. With over 360,000 top 10 students, and only 2,600 four year colleges, there are going to be a lot of highly qualified, but disappointed students. In many cases schools look at things that make the applicant unique, things they have done that show creativity, drive, and passion.

Do something special - The things you can do to increase your chances of acceptance at an elite school are very similar to the things you can do to get hired at Google, Facebook, or Apple. Do something special.

Be a significant contributor to an open source project. Write a blog or be a thought leader on a specific topic. Create a mashup or hack or something cool and useful that uses current technologies. Be a leader, create something, convert your passion into something tangible. Technical people could build something. Designers could mock up something. Business people could start something. Creative people could write something, create a video, or show their passion in some way.

The Internet gives us a great platform to expose our thoughts and creative ideas. YouTube provides a visual channel for creative expression. Blogs provide an avenue for writing on any topic and building an audience. Facebook and other social networks allow you to build a very powerful network that can extend your influence and open doors.

There are many paths to success - I didn't apply to Stanford, Harvard, MIT, or other elite schools. There was no way I was going to be accepted. I went to a small state university. But, years later I had four Harvard MBAs working for me, and several Stanford graduates too. Coming out of college I wouldn't have been hired by Microsoft or Google either. I got my experience at tech startups, and eventually did work for both Microsoft and Google. AltaVista, Napster, and Groove Networks gave me great opportunities and experience that no university could replicate. Startups are more likely to take a chance on a young inexperienced candidate that shows some drive and passion.

Never stop learning - The key to success is to never stop learning. Never stop pushing the boundaries. Never get too comfortable in your current position. If you aren't learning something new or creating something new...it is time to move on. I will never forget my college professor saying "Make sure you have 5 years of progressive experience, not 1 year of experience 5 times. The first year counts, the last 4 are just repetition."

When a door closes a window opens - Try not to get locked in to a specific path. Be open to lots of different opportunities that will challenge you. There are very few direct paths to success. Most are circuitous and unpredictable. This is certainly true of startups too. Be prepared for lots of course corrections or pivots. Never give up and enjoy the ride!

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How to get a job at Google, interview questions, hiring process

The Google hiring process is designed to hire the most talented, creative, and articulate people in the world who will be the best fit for Google. The Google culture is different. You notice it the moment you walk on campus. It isn’t for everyone, but it works amazingly well for Google. That is why cultural fit is so important. There is a lot of mystery and misinformation about the Google hiring process so I would like to give you my perspective on how it works, and more importantly, why it works.

Google receives over one million resumes per year, and hires about 1,000 to 4,000 people each year, depending on economic conditions. So, in any given year, less than one half of one percent of all applicants actually get hired. That means a lot of people who are very successful in their current jobs, and others who are very talented, will not be be hired at Google this year. That is just the reality of the numbers. As Google continues to grow there will be more opportunities. As of this writing there are about 1,000 job openings.

The Process - In some ways the hiring process is pretty standard, it is the evaluation that is different. This video explains the steps and what to expect. All open jobs are listed on Google.com.  Browse for a job that fits you and submit your resume online. Every resume submitted online gets reviewed.

Recruiter screen - In the first step of the process the recruiter screens every resume for technical requirements, education, and experience to make sure there is a potential fit. If there is no fit you will get a polite “no fit at this time” response, but your resume will be kept on file. The recruiter really does look at existing resumes on file when a new job req opens up. If there is a fit, a recruiter will contact you to set up a phone screen interview.

Phone screen - A recruiter will contact you, explain the process, and let you know what to expect. The recruiter may ask for your SAT scores and college GPA, if this is a technical engineering role. Yes, even though I have over 20 years of experience...they still asked for my numbers. The phone screen is usually done by an employee in a similar role, and usually takes 30 minutes. There could be two or more phone screens, and you may even be asked to write code in a shared Google Doc during the phone screen if this is a technical role. The goal is to further assess your technical skills, past experience, and motivation for this new role.

On Site Interview - The first on site interview will be with four or five people for 45 minutes each. The interviewers may include the manager and other employees with similar roles. This interview will go deeper into your technical skills or domain specific knowledge. If this is a technical role you will be asked to solve technical problems in real time, which may include coding a solution or white-boarding a design. This can get pretty intense for the unprepared candidate, or incredibly fun and stimulating if you are into it.

Non-engineering roles will have different evaluations. Marketing and PR people might be asked for writing samples, or asked how they would handle a delicate PR issue. Business people might be asked how to position one product versus another, or how to evaluate competing offers. Others might be asked how they would handle a hypothetical problem and how they would measure success.

You may also be asked some questions like “How many golf balls can fit in a school bus?” or “There are 8 balls. Seven of them weigh the same, but one is heavier. Using a balance scale, how do you find the heavier ball with just two weighings?” I was asked both of these questions in my interviews. There are lots of puzzling questions like this. Sometimes the precise answer doesn’t matter. The purpose is to 1)observe your thought process, 2)test your quick thinking ability under pressure in real time, and 3)see how you articulate your thoughts and ideas.

Interview feedback - Every interviewer submits their feedback in a standard format about the candidate and assigns a numerical ranking to the candidate. The feedback is reviewed by the recruiter and compared to feedback on other candidates for this job and similar roles. There is also a process to collect feedback from former colleagues. All existing employees resumes are in a database. A search is done to match the candidates resume to employees resumes to find matches for schools or companies for the years specified. An email is sent to the Google employee asking their opinion on the candidate. If the consensus is that there is a good fit, and they want to make an offer, it goes to the hiring committee.

Hiring Committee - There are hiring committees for each major job classification. The committee consists of senior managers and directors, and experienced employees from this domain. They see all the potential candidates for all open jobs in this area so they have a very good feeling for the required capabilities and availability of highly qualified people. The committee reviews every piece of feedback as well as the resume and work experience. If there is consensus agreement from the committee to recommend an offer it then goes to the next level of review.

Executive Review - Senior level management reviews every offer. Hiring is taken very seriously at Google. Hiring great people is the most important thing we do. It has lasting impact on the future of the company. If the Executive Review comes out favorable it goes to the compensation committee for that part of the offer.

Compensation Committee - As you might expect the compensation committee determines the appropriate total compensation for the offer. They have the advantage of reviewing all the offers in a specific domain so they have a very good handle on what is fair and appropriate, and the competitive salaries from other companies.

Final Executive Review - Yes, it is true, one of the top execs looks at all employment offers before they are extended to the candidate. This sends a clear message to everyone how serious we are about hiring great people.

The Offer - The recruiter will notify you of an offer, and will explain all the details of the offer. Google offers are very competitive, some might say generous, and very thorough. Google wants you to be happy, motivated, and totally focused.

Why it works - How it works is interesting, but why it works is more important. Communication, no compromises, and consensus are the key ingredients. Communication means the candidate is acknowledged soon after submitting a resume, and is updated when status changes during the process. Given the huge number of resumes, the process sometimes takes longer than we would like, or the communication is less informative than desired, but we strive to keep candidates informed. Maintaining the highest standards with no compromises is essential. Gaining consensus through committees ensures the standards remain high, avoids “blind spots”, and many mistakes.

Hiring is everyone’s job - Nearly every employee at Google has recruiting, interviewing, and hiring as part of their job responsibilities.  It is part of the job, and it is measured. Employees get bonuses for referrals that get hired. Most employees do several interviews each month, and all are required to submit written feedback based on standard categories and criteria. The hiring committee looks at every piece of feedback during the decision process.

Feedback on your feedback - Interviewing and feedback is taken very seriously at Google. Employees are coached on how to do better interviews, and how to write more insightful interview feedback. The system keeps track of how many interviews we do, what ratings we gave, if the person was hired, and how our interview feedback was rated by the hiring committee. That’s right, our feedback is rated for quality by the hiring committee. Over time it becomes clear who the best interviewers are, and their best practices are shared with the rest of the team. That is one indication of how serious Google is about getting the hiring experience right.

No Single Hiring Manager - Hiring decisions are made by hiring committees. This means that no single hiring manager can make a potentially bad decision by themselves. This doesn't guarantee 100% success, but it does reduce bad decisions. There must be consensus that the candidate is a great hire. Doesn’t this slow down the process? Not really, in fact the process insures that candidate status is reviewed by the committee every week. There is no opportunity for the hiring decision to get delayed by personal deadlines for other work. The consensus approach avoids "blind spots" or biases by an individual hiring manager, and results in better hiring decisions. Candidates are compared across several groups to make sure the acceptance criteria remain high.

Compensation fairness - It is important to note that compensation is decided by a separate committee, not the hiring manager or hiring committee. This ensures that compensation is fair across groups and within similar job roles. Again, the consensus approach avoids potential blind spots or biases of an individual manager.

Only hire the best fit - There are lots of job openings at Google. Some have been open for a long time. Google would rather leave a job unfilled than hire a sub-optimal candidate. The hiring committee will not allow a less than great hire just because the hiring manager is anxious to fill a slot.

Google also has a very different approach to setting goals and rewarding achievement. We set goals and measure progress every quarter, not once a year. We set impossible goals and achieve many of them. Even when we fall short the results are impressive. Achieving 60% of the impossible is better than 100% of the ordinary. Read “How Google Sets Goals And Measures Success” for more details.

Google has a very different culture than most companies. You notice it as soon as you walk on campus. You see it in the employees you talk to. You feel it when you attend internal meetings or TGIF company meetings. It starts with Larry, Sergey, Eric, and the senior management team. The culture remains strong and true because the hiring process requires hiring only the best fit, the people who have that unique “Googley” character. The secret to Google’s success is its people. That is why hiring is everyone’s job at Google. See if Google is right for you. Check out open jobs here. Send me an email if you need help.

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Where were you on 9/11?

There are many unforgettable moments in life. Graduation day, wedding day, your child's birthday. But there are a few iconic moments in time that we all share, all over the world. September 11, 2001 was one of those days. Pearl Harbor, the end of World War II, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the first landing on the moon, and the day the Red Sox won the World Series, are others. OK, maybe not the Red Sox, but if you lived in New England, it was right up there with the rest of them.

You remember where you were - I was working at Groove Networks on 9/11. We were at an executive off-site meeting at a hotel. The meeting came to a halt when we heard the news. We went to the lounge and watched TV news reports. The mood was somber and disbelieving. This can't be true. We must be dreaming.

The world changed forever that day. I travel a lot for work. I have fond memories of traveling pre-9/11. You could just walk right up to the gate with no security checks. Your family could come meet you at the gate as you got off the plane. The flight attendants were friendly.

Heroes were made - Today we remember the people who died, and those that helped save lives. There were many heroes that day, and many more since. Watch this 9/11 video from YouTube. If you don't shed a tear...you aren't human.

The hope still lives and the dream shall never die - Today I also remember Ted Kennedy. He made the greatest speech of his life in defeat at the 1980 Democratic Convention. Many of those sentiments are what we feel as a nation today.

And finally, a quote from JFK. "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty." -- John F. Kennedy

Where were you on 9/11? How has your life changed?

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If the information is important it will find me

Robert Scoble says "If the information is important it will find me". Friends on Twitter, Facebook, and Buzz, will expose the important information to us in real time. Techmeme, Digg, HackerNews, and Google News aggregate the news and curate it so that the most important news bubbles to the top. PaidContent says it is The Death of the RSS Reader. Bloglines, one of the first RSS readers is being shut down, and Techcrunch says other RSS readers are in decline.

My reading habits have changed too. I don't use RSS readers much anymore. Techmeme, Digg, HackerNews, and Google News aggregate everything I have time to read. My friends on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Buzz deliver a constant flow of news, quotes, and wisdom in real time. If it didn't make it onto one of these channels it probably isn't important to me.

Techmeme, Twitter, Facebook, and the others are great for inbound consumption. My blog is still the best vehicle for my outbound thought and discussion. Blogs reach thousands, even millions, of people in a personal friendly way. Comments make it into a discussion. I will never give up blogging. Twitter and Facebook are both inbound filters and outbound communication channels. URL shorteners make it possible to provide a link to my blog in a short update on Twitter or Facebook.

Email is best for business - Email is still the best vehicle for collaboration and getting things done. Gmail and Priority Inbox have helped me manage hundreds of emails per day. Email is the life blood of business. It has replaced the business phone. In fact, I don't even have a business phone...I am rarely there to answer it anyway. My cell phone number is on my business card.

Filters manage information overload - The explosion of information and content on the Internet has driven the development of filters to manage it. Your social graph of friends (Facebook, Twitter, Email contact list, cell phone contacts) are the perfect filter for things that are important to you. There is a lot more innovation coming in these areas to make sure you get all the information you need. Will this save you time? Maybe. More likely, you will just consume more information...and not save any time. But, you will be infinitely smarter and more connected.

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Google Instant technology advances, not just UI changes

Google Instant was announced yesterday but the underlying technology has been under development for years. Google Instant vastly improves the search experience for users, but it is much more than just cool User Interface changes in how search results are displayed. Competitors in the search business will have a very difficult time replicating this technology and providing a similar search experience to their users. Matt Cutts from Google and Matt McGee from SearchEngineLand have excellent reviews of Google Instant.

The first thing you notice about Google Instant is the predictive search query help. With each letter you type Google displays relevant search queries. They change and update in real time with each letter you type. Here are a couple screen shots that show how the query and resultant search results change on the fly as you type.

Google Instant knows what topics are hot and current. Type the single letter A and see what searches pop up. Things like Amazon, Apple, AOL, Android. These are the most popular searches that begin with the letter A. Try typing the letter "i" and see Ikea, IMDB, and Inception, then new movie. To do this well takes years of search query analysis, and a super fresh index that captures the newest information.

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This looks simple but there is a lot of technology and computing infrastructure required to make this work.

In the past search engines had "related searches" that suggested other relevant search queries,  but those only appeared after hitting return and seeing the first page of search results. Google Instant suggests other relevant search queries instantly as you type each letter. So, there are constant requests going back to the Google servers in the background without you hitting the return key.

Sure, AJAX technology has done similar real time calls to a server in the background for years. But, delivering relevant, real time search suggestions and search results has never been done before. This is truly an amazing technological feat.

It took years of technical improvements in browser technology, search algorithms, server enhancements, spelling correction, auto-complete, real time search, faster search index updates, and analysis of trending search queries to make this work.

The beauty of Google Instant is that it all works instantly in the background with no change in user behavior. It just works.

There have been lots of changes over the years in how search results are displayed, or how other relevant information is added to the search results. These were relatively simple User Interface (UI) changes that could be easily replicated by competitors. Google Instant is totally different. I don't think you will see anything like this from other search engines for a long time. This is extremely hard to do, and very expensive to implement.

If you look closely at these screen shots you can also see improvements like Maps, Places, Directions, Telephone Numbers, Photos, etc. All of these have been quietly added to the search experience without any change in user behavior. Search has been constantly improving with little changes that we all have come to expect. Google Instant is a BIG change that has been developing over several years.

When Can I get Google Instant? The service is available now in the USA and will be launching in the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Russia within a week or so.

What do I need? You must be signed into your Google account for Google Instant to work. You need to have a current browser version like Chrome v5 or v6, Firefox v3, Safari v5 for Mac or Internet Explorer v8. Google Instant takes advantage of the latest browser technology so you might want to update your browser. Now might be a good time to check out Google's browser called Chrome. I use Chrome all the time. It is fast and powerful, and it supports the latest HTML5 technology. Google Instant will work with browser based search plug-ins and on mobile devices later this year.

The most effective technology improvements are the ones that happen automatically in the background with no change in user behavior. Google Instant significantly raises the bar in search technology...automatically, in real time.

There are other amazing technology advances underway at Google in other business segments that we can't talk about yet. There will be some game changing announcements coming. It is an exciting time to be working at Google.

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