Whats your Google Number ??

Valdis Krebs article on how Google’s greatest application as an ‘HR tool’ is not in the corporation – it is out among the free agents, consultants and entrepreneurs who live and work by reputation and experience. It is here where ‘Google numbers’ become very important.


Last week, several Knowledge Management consultants and I were sitting around after a conference. We were discussing the current economic climate, when one of the consultants started bragging about a just published book. Soon others were talking about their books. Eventually we were verbally jousting – who amongst us was the most ‘well-known’ consultant? Being the only consultant present without a book to my name, I had to quickly turn the measuring stick from ‘books published’ to something else. I remembered my friend’s amazement at my Google number. As one consultant finished listing some of his Fortune 100 clients, I said, “That’s nice, but what’s your Google number?” Puzzled looks soon overcame everyone in the room. Google number? What’s that? I quickly explained that it was a rough-order measure of your reputation and influence as a thought-leader – it is how much buzz, or word-of-mouth, you have as an expert.