Google has announced that it is developing a tool that will
function as a virtual marketplace for businesses of all types. The plan,
unveiled so far, is that all businesses can advertise their products and services
on this platform through live video.
This seems to be some mashed up form of Google Hangouts,
YouTube, SlideShare and LinkedIn. Not sure yet about what “live” video means
either – do it mean that you can upload and telecast something live, like news
channels do? That would be an extension and an interesting expansion of the
WebCam and LiveMeeting functionalities.
Google has a penchant for identifying growth sites and then
try to get into it. Somehow Google also seems to be somewhat hung up on Amazon.
When Amazon first became massive, Google had introduced Google Books – but got
into some sort of legal hassles and discontinued the service as it was first
envisaged.
This time round, e-commerce is all the buzz. As people are
more willing to buy all sorts of stuff online, e-commerce sites have really
picked up. It is par for the course that Google would like a share of that pie
– and with Google’s virtual muscle, it may just become the largest player too.
As of right now it is being worked upon, but Google is
accepting EOIs (Expressions of Interest) at https://helpouts.google.com/welcome.
The channel seems to be promising in multiple ways. You can
- Run Ads
- Have testimonials
- Have Experts talk to customers
- Offer live support
- Offer product tutorials
- Schedule presentations (for individuals and / groups)
- Personalize customer interactions and experience
These are some possibilities. Not sure how it will pan out,
but you may want to check it out and start planning your campaigns – because
Google is sure to offer something more and the giant is likely to take off in a
big way when it launches.