Google Shopping Changes to Paid Listings

Google Shopping is changing up its page model this Fall by only featuring paid listings rather than organic search results.

At first, Google only included organic results on its shopping page, and it currently features a mix of both paid listings and organic results. But as more and more companies pay to advertise with Google, the company decided that showing only paid listings will benefit both the merchant and the consumer.

In a post on the Google Commerce blog, the company stated that it hopes companies that pay to have their listings featured on the Google Shopping page will be more likely to keep information like prices, availability, and product specifications up to date. And with those improvements, the company hopes that consumers will be more satisfied with the Google Shopping experience, thus benefitting the merchants that advertise with Google.

The new layout will not only impact the page at Google.com/shopping, but it will also impact what shows up on the basic Google search page when users search for a product name or type.

For example, if someone searches “telescope,” a row of product listings appear below some of the other search results, and there may also be some sponsored listings on the right sidebar in space that was previously reserved for AdWords.

Other Google search results will not be impacted by this change. The page will also include a few other minor changes such as larger product images.

Page ranking for search results will be based on relevancy and bid price, so it will essentially work the same way as the organic search results work now, just with paid ads. Google also said that merchants will be given the opportunity to offer specials like discounts via the shopping page in the future.

Overall, this change could be seen as a mixed bag for businesses. Of course, there will be no more free traffic from Google Shopping results for companies that choose not to advertise, but those who do may gain more control over their listing information and relevancy.

If Google really can make Google Shopping into a better experience for the consumer, then advertisers who purchase product listings may potentially benefit from the change.

Management: Develop Your Emotional Quotient

Management has changed over the last couple of decades. The old 80's style of management and motivating people by fear has evolved and today's management is a much more supportive, encouraging, inclusive and altogether more effective form of directing and developing people.

That said, although this is a softer approach, it is no less rigorous as it encourages people to take responsibility for themselves and become accountable for their actions. In a way, managers have a tougher job now than they did in the past. A more subtle approach requires a more refined skills set and many “old style” managers are finding it difficult to adapt.

To stay ahead of the game, managers need to possess a high degree of emotional intelligence (EI). In the past, IQ was enough to get you to the top but in our current business environment, your emotional quotient (EQ) is just as vital and, in some cases, more so.

In an environment where IQ levels are likely to be comparable (such as an accountancy firm) your EQ could be the differentiating factor that sets you apart.

Many organizations are now measuring EQ at the recruitment stage and when developing management capability. A good emotional intelligence course is the ideal way to learn how to increase your EQ and become a better manager.

There are 4 areas of EI, all equally important for a manager. These were developed by the originators of the Emotional Intelligence theory â€" Professor Jack Mayer and Professor Peter Salovey:

1)     Recognizing Emotion

Good managers are able to recognize emotions in themselves and others. This requires an openness to emotion to be able to answer the question, “how am I feeling today” with a one word answer. Recognizing emotion also involves the ability to recognize emotion in others through their facial expressions.  Are they happy, sad, angry scared or surprised?

Our facial expression often reveals what our words do not and is vital for telling us how people really feel about our plans, proposals or opinions.

2)     Using

This is about the link between emotions and cognitive thinking. Successful managers know it is not possible to make a decision “with our heads or our hearts.”  Emotions are involved in every decision that we make and we need to pay attention to them.

If you know which emotions are useful for which tasks and can switch moods, create a mood task match.  Then you will be more effective and efficient in your day to day jobs.

3)     Understanding

Understanding the combination of emotions we feel at a deeper level is a vital element of EI. Understanding also involves identifying the causes of emotion as well as tracking how our emotions change over time.

Emotions follow logical patterns.  Knowing these patterns will greatly enhance your emotional “what if” planning.

4)     Managing

Finally, our skills at managing our own and others' moods will determine how well we deal with difficult situations. Rather than ruminating or suppressing emotion, to be effective we need to go to the emotion (recognize it), get insight (through using and understanding) and then go through the emotion.

We can do this by implementing short or long term strategies to achieve the optimal emotional outcome for ourselves and others.

Fascial Expressions Photo via Shutterstock

Scheduling Phone Calls And Appointments With Tungle

Scheduling appointments can be easy, if you have a personal assistant, secretary, or you know how to leverage technology. Voicemail tag is pretty common when you don't have an assistant, and you are trying to schedule an appointment with someone. Messages back and forth, as you try to figure out the best time to meet. Tungle.me is an online scheduling tool that makes it easy to share your available time slots with others.

It is a simple tool that integrates with most Web-based and desktop email clients (where calendars usually reside) including Microsoft Outlook, Gmail/Google Calendar, iCal/Entourage, and even Facebook's calendar.

As you can see in the screenshot above for my account, it looks and works similarly to sending an appointment request in other applications. One particular item I want to mention here - where it says Message (optional) - you should add a short sentence or two that explains the recipient does not have to sign up for Tungle.me in order to set an appointment with you.

Otherwise, it is not entirely clear and some people will simply get irritated with the method. The other party only has to provide their email so the service can keep you both updated on appointment changes, if any.

What I Really Like:

• You can propose multiple meeting times and the other person can choose the one that works best for them.
• Or, you can let them choose from your entire calendar whenever you have times “available.”
• I like that it works across platforms and it doesn't matter if I'm on a Mac and you're on a Blackberry or PC, it just works and lets us book the appointment and puts it on the calendar.

What I'd Like to See:

• A mobile app for other smartphone platforms like iOS or Android powered phones on the mobile page. Right now, you see only a Blackberry option. Of course, it could be that RIM owns Tungle.me and they don't plan on adding other apps since you can load it via any browser.
• Some blog posts that tell me the service isn't going to go away. It's pretty sparse over there. But since its free, you don't have anything to lose with giving it a go. It looks like it will continue as a service.

Tungle.me is a lightweight, simple Web app that can help you stay out of voicemail jail and fire off one message to get something scheduled. They make it fairly easy to sign up for an account, of course, with Twitter, Google, and Facebook login options as well as just regular email.

It's worth a try if you find yourself constantly challenged by setting appointments.

Be So Good That They Can\'t Ignore You

When was the last time you stayed up all night to read a book?  OK, you may not have been able to put down Fifty Shades of Gray and miss just one moment of her biting her lip or his cocking his head.  But what about a business book?

It's six am on a Saturday morning, I've got my trusted cup of coffee here and I'm going to tell you why I stayed up until something like 3AM reading my review copy of So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love by Cal Newport.

FINALLY!  The Search For Your Passion Can Stop!

In which I deliver the news that searching for your passion is a complete waste of time.

Don't get me wrong â€" I LOVE what I do!  And, I keep wondering if I've found my passion.  I mean that's what all the experts say.  You're supposed to find your passion and the money will come. I've got a small fortune tied up in “find your passion” books and still have that unknowing feeling inside.  At least that goofy feeling hasn't stopped me from moving on with life and creating a profession I love, learning new skills and contributing to the world in some way.

If that sounds a little like you â€" well, you can relax, because Cal Newport, the author of So Good They Can't Ignore You has some interesting news.  Focusing on passion is a waste of time and it doesn't work.  You'll have to read the book for more details.

I'm landing firmly on the side of Cal's argument â€" instead of trying to find your passion and then searching for work that delivers â€" become good at something valuable.  Get passionate ABOUT being good at something valuable, and focus on giving something of value to the world.

In other words â€" (and Newport shows data to prove this) â€" we've had it backwards all along.  Passion isn't behind loving our work â€" being good at something that gives value is what has us loving our work.

Who Is This Guy?!

In which I tell you about the author, his style and how it will tickle and twist your brain inside out.

Newport doesn't mince words.  In fact, this is what makes this book so downright hard to put down.  He just tells you what he's thinking, why he's thinking it and then goes about the business of sharing research, quoting other well-researched fun-to-read authors like Gladwell and telling stories of his interviews with folks who looked for their passions and other folks who worked at getting good at a skill.

I mean Newport just goes for the jugular in this book.  It's like he had this epiphany and is running around trying to be “all cool and calm” while telling you that if you don't stop wasting time focusing on passion, you're going to waste your life wishing for something that isn't there.

One of my FAVORITE examples comes early in the book where he basically deconstructs Steve Jobs' life and career.  He doesn't tell you anything you didn't know, he simply shows you that if Steve had “followed his passion” he'd been in a commune or an ashram instead of a visionary for a computer giant.

I'm also starting to wonder exactly how big a fan of Ira Glass Newport is.  Glass is one of Newport's case studies, but I'm curious if he isn't more of a fan than the rest of us.  Each chapter of the book starts with a title and then there's this sort of explanation of what's inside.  I'm actually doing a tribute to the style in this article.  If you're a fan of Ira Glass and This American Life it will remind you of how Ira introduces each story in the show.

Oh yes â€" the author.  So get this.  I broke my rule of reading the front and back jacket of the book first.  I was so engaged in the title and the subject, I just tore right into it.  At first I thought the author was an older, very experienced academic.  But then as I read on, there was something about the writing and the tone that made me look at the picture on the jacket, and there I saw the picture of Cal Newport â€" who looks like he's still in college (except that he's not at all) it's just that he's not nearly as close to retiring as I had originally thought.

In the book, Cal Newport talks a lot about his time as a grad student at MIT.  These days he's an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University.  He earned his Ph.D form MIT and his bachelors from Dartmouth.  He's written three other books of unconventional advice for students How to be a High School Superstar, How to Become a Straight-A Student and How to Win at College.  (Excuse me while I skip over to Amazon right now to pick up a few of these for my son).

Finally

Where I tell you who should read this book and why.

Well, so I've gone for that second cup of coffee and I'm thinking about who I think will love this book.

First, I'm going to go with parents with kids who are in college.  Oh yes.  You will want to read this book and have your college kids read this book.  If you don't, you risk having them living with you for years and still borrowing the car!

The next ideal audience for this book are young professionals.  This book is written by a young professional who has gone out and done some turbo research on life and how it works.  Yeah, you need to read this so that you can get through the next 30 or 40 years of your professional life without being depressed and angry at the world.

And that's all I have for you today, folks.  What can I tell you that doesn't sound over the top about my experience with So Good They Can't Ignore You?  I'm a little tired, but I really feel like I've changed my perspective about the way I'm going to approach everything I do.

I'm no longer going to look at my writing or projects or learning new things as an obstacle to get to the other side.  Rather, I will see them as opportunities to get so good that I won't be ignored.  Thanks Cal.