Google launches online “book” – ‘Think Quarterly’
Google has launched its first full length magazine, an online quarterly which aims to carve out some “breathing space in a busy world.”
Edited and designed by creative agency The Church of London, the first edition devotes 68 pages toward analysing the world of data in a flash heavy visual presentational style.
The search giant has also been able to bring on board a range of guest contributors including Vodafone CEO Guy Lawrence, psychologist Peter Kruse and the Guardian’s Datablog editor Simon Rogers.
Google’s head of UK operations, Matt Brittin, introduced the title saying: “At Google, we often think that speed is the forgotten ‘killer application’ – the ingredient that can differentiate winners from the rest. We know that the faster we deliver results, the more useful people find our service.
“But in a world of accelerating change, we all need time to reflect. Think Quarterly is a breathing space in a busy world. It’s a place to take time out and consider what’s happening and why it matters."
Brittin continued to explain the reason the company dedicated the first issue to data was to figure out "amongst a morass of information, how can you find the magic metrics that will help transform your business? We hope that you find inspiration, insights, and more, in Think Quarterly."
Keen to deflect from the perception that Google is treading on the toes of media owners, a spokesman stressed the title was "B2B and not a consumer publication", though the title is available to everyone online.
Update: It has been stressed that Think Quarterly is a UK customer marketing initiative, in the same vein as Google's various company blogs.
A Google spokesperson clarified: "Like most companies we regularly communicate with our business customers via email newsletters, updates on our official blogs, and printed materials. This short book about data was sent to 1,500 of our UK partners and advertisers.
"There are only a limited number of copies, and they aren’t for sale or designed for anyone other than our partners - but anyone who’s interested can visit the companion website at www.thinkquarterly.co.uk."
A message at the top of the Think Quarterly website now clarifies this.