how things have changed.  to mark their 10th birthday Google has opened up its oldest-available search index, and its fascinating stuff.  as the Google website observes: "The world wide web and the
world have both changed a lot since 2001. Searching Google's 2001 index
illustrates both points in what we think is a pretty entertaining way.

"If
you searched on 'Michael Phelps' in 2001 for instance, you were
probably looking for the scientist, not the swimmer. 'Ipod' didn't
refer to a music player, and 'YouTube' didn't refer to much of
anything."

it's a timely reminder that the pace of change is showing no sign of stopping soon…  the media landscape is barely recognisable from the one I first saw when I started working in this industry in 2001, the same year from which the above index comes.

media, in many ways, is an arms race…  in which the winner is determined as much by those who have the best ideas as those who want to have the best ideas.  if there is any lesson from Google it is this; success comes not just aiming, but from wanting, to win.