How Companies Should Build Brand Image by App

In the past, companies sought to please old customers and entice new ones by offering small holiday gifts. They gave away refrigerator magnets, calendars, and Christmas ornaments emblazoned with the company logo.

But in today’s geo-encoded, app-enabled world, sophisticated companies are trying something new to build trust and relationships with customers. We call them ‘benevolent apps.’ Unlike some apps that are designed to generate sales and promote special deals, benevolent apps are created to offer useful information or otherwise help with decision-making. The idea is not simply to sell products or services, but instead to build trust and relationships that eventually will lead to economic success.

One good example comes from Sea Tow Service International, a company located in Southold, New York. Sea Tow offers emergency towing and rescue services for boaters in the United States, the Caribbean and Europe. The free Sea Tow app supports boaters’ navigation needs by offering information about local tide tables, detailed marine weather forecasts, GPS coordinates and bearing and speed.

A traditional marketer might argue that to the extent that Sea Tow furnishes information that can reduce accidents (thereby reducing Sea Tow calls), it is undercutting its own business. A boater, however, might be favorably disposed toward calling Sea Tow instead of its competitor, Tow Boat US, if faced with an emergency.

To further study this concept, we worked with two companies—Liberty Mutual and Suruga Bank—to create two benevolent apps and then test the results.

The Liberty Mutual app was aimed at people who were in the process of moving. The app included a digital “safe,” wher they could record with text and photos their valuable-items and an inventory tool wher they could record the contents of their boxes.

Although Liberty Mutual offers auto, homeowners and personal property insurance, it does not offer moving insurance. So why did the company find the idea of creating an app to help people move appealing? Their goal was to build trust through benevolence and to improve brand image, consideration and purchase intent. On the final screen of the app, users could contact Liberty Mutual for more information on the products they offer including home, life and accident insurance. So although the app was benevolent, it had a mechanism for capturing goodwill by linking users to the company’s agents.

The app was tested in 2010 in a comprehensive market research study of 750 consumers. Overall, respondents viewed the Liberty Mutual moving app as meaningful, believable and relevant. The favorable user experience led to positive attitude changes toward Liberty Mutual, which considers responsibility and trust to be among its key brand attributes. The company saw a significant increase in its trust rating, believability and confidence attributes.

The second app we created was for Suruga Bank, a bank based in Shizuoka, Japan. Called, Dream Mover, it helped Japanese consumers choose new homes to purchase or rent and assisted them in understanding the financial implications of different decisions. based on the user’s location and budget criteria, the app presented a set of home choices with details such as size, layout and proximity to public transportation. In addition to helping users screen potential places to live, the app acted as a budget-planning advisor, providing information on personal loans and mortgages as well as providing targeted advice.

To assess the impact of Dream Mover, we surveyed 1,500 randomly seleced respondents and found that among those who used the app, there was a measured increase in awareness, trust and positive consideration of Suruga Bank. Specifically, the bank’s ratings were significantly improved for characteristics such as being “open, honest and transparent” and offering “believable advice or information and a brand you can trust.”

Our two studies show that benevolent mobile apps can positively impact a company’s brand perception, consideration and preference and therefore improve the bottom line. People using the Liberty Mutual app became significantly more inclined to prefer Liberty Mutual and switch to it for insurance versus competitors. Additionally, the brand attributes related to trust increased. In the Suruga Bank study, consideration of Suruga also rose significantly. As with the Liberty Mutual study, brand attributes related to trust rose significantly.

These are powerful forces that can lead to increased revenue from consumers who perceive that the brand has their interests in mind. (www.chinainout.com)

 

Have Holidays on Top Ten Winter Wonderlands of Ice and Snow

6. 挪威雷讷

　　雷讷是一个位于北极莫斯克内斯岛的古典渔村。这个港口村落的总人口仅有329人，是个静谧优美的地方，还被票选为“挪威最美丽的村落”。

7. 瑞士采尔马特

　　采尔马特位于画一般的马特谷地中。上山，是阿尔卑斯的绝美风光；下山，则是小镇的迷人光景。在这里，你大概能体会到“人间天堂”般的惬意生活。

8. 美国科罗拉多州布雷肯里奇

　　布雷肯里奇是一个在洛矶山脉下的沉寂小镇。这个滑雪小镇有着五颜六色的小房屋，甚是可爱。冬天的时候登上高峰，便能看到下方整个小镇的全景。

9. 格陵兰岛Ittoqqortoormiit

　　要抵达这个坐落在世界上最长冰河系统旁的小镇，你必须要从冰岛的首都搭乘一周一班的航班到格陵兰岛，然后再转乘直升机，才能够到达这个小巧、又色彩丰富的小镇。一旦你到了这儿，你会发现所有的旅途奔波都是值得的！

10. 瑞士朗维斯

　　这个只有几百位居民的小镇位于庞大朗维斯山谷的边缘。旅客可以搭乘火车通过这个山谷，并在白雪覆盖的树木之中穿梭。（中国进出口网）

6. Reine Norway
Reine is located in a classic fishing village of the Arctic Moskenesøya. The port village has a population of just 329 people, this quiet and beautiful place is also voted the "most beautiful village in Norway."
7. Zermatt Switzerland
Zermatt sits in the picturesque Matt valley. Up the Mountains, it’s stunning Alpine scenery; down the Mountains, it’s a charming town scene. Here, you would be able to enjoy the comfortable life.
8. Breckenridge Colorado US
Breckenridge is a quiet small town in the Rocky Mountains. This ski town has colorful little houses, very cute. 
9. Ittoqqortoormiit Greenland
To arrive at this town situated next to the world's longest glacier system, you have to take a flight class (only once a week) from the capital of Iceland to Greenland, then transfer to a helicopter, finally reach this small but colorful town. once you arrive here, you will find all deserve!
10.Langwies Switzerland
The town, with only a few hundred residents, is located on the edge of the huge Langwies valley. Passengers can take the train through the valley and shuttle through the snow-covered trees. (www.chinainout.com)

 

Have Holidays on Top Ten Winter Wonderlands of Ice and Snow

似乎没有人能对大片大片轻柔的白雪说“不”，你也许会举起相机记录美景，也许会选择滑雪，也许只是和朋友在雪中嬉笑打闹。在全球，有一些小镇会因为冬天的到来而格外地大放异彩，你可以考虑在新年时去那里滑雪度假，置身于如画般的仙境！
虽然我们惧怕冬日里的寒冷，但是冬天还是有它无法让人抗拒的一面——冰雪美景。你可以考虑在全球这些冬天美景如画的小镇度假过新年！

1.德国罗滕堡

罗滕堡是一个保留着中世纪特色的古老小镇，每到冬天这里就如同拉开了童话世界的大幕。
2.日本白川乡

白川乡是一个小巧又传统的村落，最著名的是村落中的房屋都拥有无比陡峭的屋顶，不过这些屋顶虽然陡峭，却能够承受很重的积雪。
3.斯洛维尼亚布莱德

依山傍水的布莱德城于西元1004年建造，它被当时的神圣罗马帝国皇帝认定是一个绝顶美丽的城镇，并将其赠送给布列瑟农主教。布莱德城堡就坐落在布莱德湖的正中央，这个美丽的湖就是城堡专属的边界。这个海拔高度约500公尺的小镇还因一些健康的SPA而闻名。
4.奥地利瑟佛斯

有许多证据显示，这个美丽的小镇在铜器时代就有人居住了，并且还把这个地方当成牧地使用。现在这个地方则被当成是休闲胜地，也是旅客在前往滑雪区域的中途休息站。
5.意大利富内斯

富内斯周边环绕著阿尔卑斯山，每年一到冬天就会覆盖著一层晶透的白雪。（未完待续，中国进出口网）
No one seems to be able to say no to that large tracts of soft snow, you might lift a camera to record the beauty, choose to ski, or just play with friends in the snow. Globally, there are some small town exceptionally shining because of the arrival of winter, you can consider going skiing there in the New Year holiday, being in picturesque wonderland!
Although we fear the coldness of the winter, but it still has another side we cannot resist - scenery with ice and snow. You can consider having new year holidays at these picturesque resort towns!

1. Rothenburg Germany
Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a town featured with medieval old style, it’s like a fairy tale world in winter.
2. Shirakawa Japan
Shirakawa is a small and traditional village, what’s most notable in the village is houses with very steep roofs, but they are able to withstand heavy snow.
3. Bled Slovenia
Brad was built in AD 1004, and regarded as an extremely beautiful town by the Holy Roman Emperor, and finally presented to the Bishop of Bressanone. Bled Castle is located in the middle of Lake Bled, which is the castle exclusive boundaries. The altitude of the town is approximately 500 meters and it’s famous for some healthy SPA.
4. Serfaus Austria
There are a lot of evidence suggesting that people has been inhabited in this beautiful town since the Bronze Age, and then they took this place as a pasture. Now this place is treated as a resort, but also a rest stop for visitors to ski.
5. Funes Italy
Funes is surrounded by the Alps, it will be covered with a translucent layer of snow once in winter. (www.chinainout.com)

Commodity Prices Stuck in a Rut

Over the past few months, the price of crude oil, natural gas, gold, corn and other key commodities fell again and again, the largest decline following the 2008 commodity crash. However, frustratingly, it’s also difficult to improve in 2015.

Crude oil remains in the doldrums
Insiders agreed that the 2015 oil market would be stuck in a rut. Zhu Chunkai, a crude oil industry analyst, told a reporter from International Business Daily, until the first quarter of next year oil market would be still stuck in a rut.
Zhu Chunkai said that supply surplus would still be the biggest negative factor in the crude oil market. In the next three months, the oil price would be $60-80 without unexpected interference geopolitical crisis." Not only OPEC insisted to supply oil steadily, the US shale resources were also hitting the market.
Despite the massive US shale gas development, it was still difficult to replac oil in the short term. With the recovery and development of the global economy, demand would also increase. After all, as a non-renewable resource, and the source of a wide range of plastics and energy, oil is very important and its price would turn up sooner or later. "


Overall not optimistic
In fact, not only crude oil prices would continue to slump in 2015, but the overall commodity price trend was not to be optimistic.
The World Bank released the latest issue of "commodity market outlook," which pointed out that as copper and iron ore price fell sharply, metal price was expected to decrease by 5.5 percent in 2014, similar to 2013. In addition, because the United States expanded production capacity, fertilizer price was expected to fall by nearly 12 percent in 2014.
It pointed out that international food prices continued to decline and were expected to continue until 2015 since they reached its highest point in 2012. Among them Maize prices were expected to decline by 27% from 2013 $260 / ton to 2014 $190 / ton, while the price of rice and wheat also fell by 16% and 9%, respectively.
But it also pointed out, the price trend of rice, coffee and cocoa may be in opposite to most commodity price trend. Since some Asian suppliers harvest was deteriorated, rice prices were expected to rise; earlier this year, coffee prices soared, leading beverage index rising by 23% over last year, in the future, this situation was likely to continue; in addition, due to the supply of Côte d'Ivoire supply issues and cocoa-producing west Africa countries possibly affected by Ebola epidemic, cocoa prices were also expected to rise sharply. (www.chinainout.com)

Coca-Cola to Lay off up to Two Thousand in Coming Weeks

Foreign media reported, Coca-Cola planned to lay off 1000-2000 people worldwide in the coming weeks.

Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, said the company would also introduce more stringent budget, such as requiring the company executives to take taxi instead of special car, and canceling the Christmas party entertaining Wall Street analysts.

In response to the profit decline, Coca-Cola in October announced the planning to save $3 billion per year until 2019. (www.chinainout.com)

Google Releases First Full-featured Driverless Car: Max Speed up to 40km / h

Foreign media reported On December 23, Google on Monday released the first self-driving car prototype, which has been completed and would be road tested during the Christmas holidays.

Although it’s not the first prototype of Google cars, but it’s closest to a perfect prototype since Google started developing the self-driving car in 2000.

There are two seats in the Google car prototype, which looks like the car model of Pixar animation. The self-driving car has no steering wheel, accelerator or brake pedal, and its fastest speed is no more than 25 mph (about 40 kilometers per hour).

Compared with the self-driving car Google first released in May, this released car prototype has more comprehensive features, and some key features like car headlights are applied.

The latest Google driverless car incorporates many previous prototype parts. since May this year, Google had tested different accessories relatively on 100 car prototypes.

Currently, Google did not disclose the details of the latest driverless car and did not indicate whether it will enter the market in large quantities. Google said the driverless car takes control through sensors and monitoring software and the driver just needs to "press" the start button. (www.chinainout.com)

Russia to Lurch towards a Financial Crisis

Russia lurched towards a financial crisis evoking parallels with its 1998 crash, as the rouble plunged more than 11 per cent despite a dramatic midnight interest rate rise by its central bank.

The rouble turmoil showed signs of spreading to global markets, as investors piled into haven assets and German bond yields dropped to a record low.

In a sign of the pressure policy makers are under, Sergey Shvetsov, deputy governor of the central bank, said the situation was “critical”. “I couldn’t imagine even a year ago that such a thing would happen — even in my worst nightmares,” he told an event in Moscow.

Russian shoppers rushed to buy goods before the currency lost more value, while some banks ran short of cash as customers stocked up on dollars and euros.

“Russia is in full-blown currency crisis,” said Alexander Moseley, fund manager at Schroders. “It is difficult to see the underlying source of stress ending.”

At one point yesterday the rouble tumbled to 80 against the US dollar before recovering to Rbs70. It has fallen more than 50 per cent since the start of the year, reviving memories of the 1998 crash when Russia defaulted on its domestic debt — though its public finances and reserves are in a much healthier state now.

The rouble’s slide comes in the run-up to Fed chairwoman Janet Yellen’s last monetary policy meeting of 2014. If she sends a strong signal on rate rises next year it could extend the rout in emerging markets by sucking capital back into the US.

The rouble’s dro has been driven by declining confidence in the central bank, western sanctions against Russia over its involvement in Ukraine and a falling oil price which dipped below $60 yesterday for the first time since July 2009. It presents a huge problem for President Vladimir Putin.

As the rouble continued to slide, Dmitry Medvedev, prime minister, summoned top central bank and government officials for urgent talks on the financial and economic situation.

Investors and Russian citizens are now looking to an annual press conference by Mr Putin tomorrow for signals on how he plans to deal with the crisis — and in particular for any signs that he may soften his stance on Ukraine in an attempt to ease sanctions.

The failure of Russia’s central bank on Monday night to stem the currency’s sharp declines with an emergency interest rate rise of 6.5 points to 17 per cent raised speculation that Moscow would introduce capital controls.

The rouble’s fall ricocheted through global financial markets, encouraging a flight to quality among investors. Yields on 10-year debt issued by Germany dropped to 0.56 per cent for the first time, while equivalent Japanese bond yields hit a record low of 0.36 per cent.

Moscow’s Micex stock index fell more than 8 per cent during the day before recovering, with shares in Russia’s biggest bank, Sberbank, down 17 per cent and Gazprom down 10 per cent.

Additional reporting by Jack Farchy, Elaine Moore, Alice Ross and Michael Hunter (www.chinainout.com)

Why India's SEZs Fails

Of the 564 SEZs formally approved, only 192 were operational as of June this year

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are likely to be central to realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious Make in India agenda. But the withdrawal of tax incentives has made SEZs an unattractive proposition, say industry experts.

Under the original scheme, businesses in SEZs were exempted from the minimum alternate tax (MAT) on book profits and developers were exempted from payment of the dividend distribution tax (DDT). But with indications that companies were misusing the policy for real estate arbitrage and that information technology companies were using the policy to recoup tax benefits that they lost when the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) scheme ended, these exemptions were withdrawn.

From 2011-12, MAT exemptions for SEZ units and developers were withdrawn and DDT exemptions for developers were terminated. MAT was levied on book profits at the rate of 20 per cent, while DDT was levied at 20 per cent on dividends distributed to shareholders.

According to Neeru Ahuja, partner at Deloitte Haskins & Sells, a key attraction for corporate houses was the income- tax holiday. "With taxes being levied, the savings for companies on account of tax concessions was reduced, impacting interest in SEZs," Ahuja said.

Vivek Mehra, partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, argues DDT and MAT should be scrapped, while Kavita Rao, professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), a Delhi-based think tank, disagrees. She argues "as companies have been given incentives, toning those down through MAT is not a bad idea, per say. What can be debated is the level at which the tax is levied".

Arpita Mukherjee, a professor at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (Icrier), another Delhi-based think tank heading a study on analysing the cost benefit analysis of the SEZ policy, says the imposition of MAT has made SEZs unattractive and adversely impacted investor sentiment. This is because MAT exemptions are punishable under WTO (World Trade Organization) rules; there is a need to provide better business facilitation packages and incentives that comply with WTO rules.

Though the issue of taxation is contentious, it is the unpredictability of the tax regime that has had an impact on investments. In their study on trade and investment barriers, Anwarul Hooda and Durgesh Rai, economists at Icrier, argue "predictability in taxation policies is a sine qua non for making the environment conducive for investment, whether foreign or domestic, so the withdrawal of direct tax benefits has been a setback for the SEZ programme and has affected its future prospects".

Of the 564 SEZs that have been formally approved so far, only 192 were operational in June this year. Total employment in these enclaves was 1,277,645 in 2014, as against an expectation of 1,743,530 by 2009. While the share of SEZs in total exports rose from six per cent in 2006-07 to 28 per cent in 2010-11, it is believed to have declined in subsequent years. The total area under SEZs currently stands at 61,624 hectares, while Shenzhen in China alone covers 49,300 hectares.

However, Mehra says "the SEZ policy continues to be relevant from a Make in India perspective but several policy initiatives are necessary to get those going". Mehra argues that for improving their viability "manufacturers should be allowed to sell goods in the domestic market but duty should be imposed on individual parts imported and not on the entire product, which would make it unviable. No Customs duty should be imposed on domestic value added".

India has signed a number of free trade agreements (FTAs), with countries such as Sri Lanka, Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), under which import duties have been slashed to zero for several product lines. This impacts local sales of SEZ units, which are taxed at higher rates. Mehra proposes that "manufacturers in India should have the 'most favoured nation status that implies lowest tariff under the FTAs". Rao concurs, saying "such reductions should be extended to all manufacturers, not simply the ones in SEZs".

But experts contend that taxation issues are not the only ones impeding SEZs. According to Mukherjee, "Despite offering over 300 incentives and schemes for promotion of manufacturing at the Centre and state levels, manufacturing growth has not risen substantially. Therefore, incentives need to be carefully evaluated and studied. Incentives should not be the only reason for units to be located in SEZs. Success depends on the business facilitation measures adopted. Location, infrastructure, logistics and professional zone management are four key factors determining success of SEZs."

A major reason for the success of SEZs in China was the creation of complementary infrastructure, power, roads and ports; these are lacking in India. According to Rao, "To get SEZs and manufacturing going in India, the focus should be on creating the necessary infrastructure which will require a more holistic approach."

"Anwarul Hooda and Durgesh Rai, in their study, also point out: "Another major reason for the SEZs languishing is the absence of external infrastructure support. The SEZs have to be connected with ports and airports with world-class roads and rail; ports and airports, too, have to be world-class, with Customs authorities adopting international best practices in trade facilitation. This is not the case at present. Deficiencies in the availability and quality of power are an equally important constraint." (www.chinainout.com)

70% of Chinese Mainland Women Love Online Shopping Because of Low Price

41% of Asian women when online shopping would buy something for their family out of "guilt", which was released on “the Asian women online shopping power on the rise” by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) yesterday. The report also said that compared with the offline store, 70% of Chinese mainland women favor online shopping.

The report showed that 49 percent of interviewee women agreed or strongly agreed that they prefer online shopping experience, compared with offline shopping, while 69 percent of the Chinese mainland women prefer online shopping.

The report pointed out that inexpensive goods was one of the main driving force of online shopping. 62% of Asian respondents thought that online shopping price was most preferential, about 70% of Chinese and South Korea agreed.

In Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, the proportion of women loving online shopping was much lower. For instance, in Japan, only 18% of women said they preferred online shopping to offline shopping. This was partly because the offline stores were distributed intensively in these markets.

Different from European and American women, Asian women treated online shopping as social activities and recreation: 63% of women chose "surfing even if not buying anything"; 59% said, "surfing even though no money".

In addition, when they shopped online much times, 41% of Asian women would buy something for their families in order to have "clear conscience." In mainland China, the proportion rose to 67%.

Reportedly, the report collected the online shopping big data of 5,500 women from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, India, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.

The EIU forecast that 2015 Asian retail market is expected to grow about as fast as 4.6%, reaching $7.6 trillion, far more than the European and North American markets, ranking the world's largest consumer market. Women will play a vital role in the whole Asian consumer market. (www.chinainout.com)

China’s Tariff Adjustment Next Year: Many Import Products’ Tariffs Reduced

To support the industrial transformation and upgrading, promote the transformation of foreign trade development mode and promote economic continuously healthy development, China's import and export tariffs will be adjusted partly since January 1 2015, after the tariff commission’s consideration and state council approval.

In order to optimize the structure of imports and meet the needs of domestic production and people’s life better, China will apply provisional duty rate (less than MFN rate) to part of import commodities in 2015. Among them, the products of the first provisional import tax rate and further reduction of tax rate include optical communication laser, automatic wire welding machines and other advanced manufacturing equipment and spare parts; electric car brakes with electronic control and other products for energy saving, emission reduction and environmental protection; ethylene, nickel-iron and other energy resources products required by domestic production; lipid-lowering AIPs, macadamia nuts, camera lens and other drugs and consumer products. At the same time, considering industry, technology development and market conditions, China won’t apply provisional import tax rate to refrigeration compressors, car radio, inkjet printers and other commodities no longer, China will appropriately increase the tentative tax rate of natural rubber and other commodities.

To meet the needs of scientific and technological progress, industrial restructuring, trade structure optimization and import and export management enhancement, China will partly adjust import and export tariff regulations in 2015. After the adjustment, the 2015 total number of tariff items will increase to 8285 from 9277. (www.chinainout.com)

Interview with Google CEO Larry Page, Why Overlord Ttechnology Companies Decline

Google is at the top of its game, and its chief executive, Larry Page, is pursuing a growingnumber of ambitious “moon shots” that could transform transportation, medicine, theInternet itself, and more. Page’s intensity of purpose and his company’s GOOG 1.13% stellarfinancial results earned him recognition as Businessperson of the Year in Fortune. (See thecover story of our Dec. 1, 2014 issue, “Larry Page–The most ambitious CEO in theuniverse.”)

In a wide-ranging interview ahead of the article’s publication, Page discussed with Fortune whydominant technology companies fade and how Google hopes to evade that fate, among otherthings. Here are a few excerpts of his words from that interview, edited for clarity.

On why dominant tech companies fail:

I’m always asking the question, as the company has grown from a hundred people, “Would Iwant to work for Google?” I think in general the answer is “yes.” Part of my focus has also beenmaking sure that we’re creating an environment for people who want to ask those questionsand want to be curious and want to be entrepreneurial and want to do things that are reallyimpactful for the world.

If I look at most of the tech companies that I felt have kind of reached a plateau or havegenerally atrophied or something like that, I would say “no,” they weren’t a good home forpeople who wanted to do those things. In general they kind of kept doing the same thing, kindof eking out a little bit more scale but not really being a place wher people want to continue toreally do impactful things.

On how Google’s fabled moonshots—self driving cars, nano-particles for cancerdetection—fit into the arc of the company:

It doesn’t feel all that different than it’s felt before to me in the past. I remember when westarted Gmail. Everyone was upset with us, including people in the company, like, “Why are weworking on email? We’re a search company.” [We were] less than two hundred and fifty people Ithink when we started Gmail, and we were talking about that even before that. I think that waspretty ambitious, given the scale of the company.

So given that we have forty thousand people now [Google employs about 55,000 people,actually. —Ed.], the fact that we’re working on the [self-driving] car doesn’t feel that ambitiousto me.

On seizing the opportunity in mobile:

I think my job as CEO, it’s always to be pushing people ahead. If I were to look at thepercentage of people [working] on mobile, it’s not 100% in the company. And nor should it be100%. But it should probably be larger than it is.

I think externally if you asked people on the Street, they’re going to worry mostly aboutmonetization [on mobile]. And I think we’re doing pretty well there. There’s always more workto be done. I think that search is working well on mobile, the ads on search are working well onmobile.

But the work at this stage is probably more disruptive in nature too. We really need to say, “Well, if you’re on mobile, maybe it’s easier to call someplace, or it’s easier to visit the place, orit’s easier to have help with those things.” So maybe the ads should look a little different orwork differently.

On the recent reorganization that put the fast-rising Sundar Pichai in charge of mostGoogle products:

I only have 24 hours in a day, and any time I can delegate some things, I should. I’ve beenworking with Sundar for a long time. And I just started to realize that a lot of the stuff thatcame to me because of our organizational structure around some of the product decision-making that happens day-to-day, he could do a tremendous job of, and that would free me upthen to do more things.

On former Ford and Boeing CEO Alan Mulally, Google’s newest board member, whohas become Page’s latest go-to advisor on management issues:

I’m excited about trying to spend more time with him and really learn the lessons he’s learnedabout how to run organizations well and efficiently. And I think I do a pretty good job of that,but I mean, he’s like an A+ on that scale, and I think there are things I can learn from him.

On why Inbox—the company’s new, mobile-first email application—has features likereminders that make certain message pop up at different times:

You know one of the things they’re trying to do is really make it easier to keep track of tasks.We have Post-It notes. Why do we have those? I mean it’s kind of ridiculous. We have thembecause the software is not that good yet. A lot of times people actually will send an email tothemselves, which is kind of insane when you think about it. It’s not really designed for that,and it gets lost after a while. So I think that’s one of the examples, when you’re really thinkingabout mobile, the kind of problems you need to solve are different.

On Google’s original mission to “organize the world’s information and make ituniversally accessible and useful”:

I think the mission statement is probably a little bit too narrow and we’re thinking about howto do that a little more broadly. But I do think we’ve been talking about it for a while and I thinkit’s pretty obvious what we’re doing.

We’re also trying to do something that not many other people seem to be trying to do, which isto make some big bets on some important areas. To make those things really real and to makesure they’re great products for people and they have real positive impact on people and theworld.

I feel a little bit we’re in uncharted territory. Because I think that what we’re trying to do, youknow I can’t just look to another company and say, “Oh, we should do roughly what anothercompany is doing.”

To me it feels like the world as a whole is very subscale. When I see important things like theself-driving cars or even search itself, and I say is there really enough resource going into that.And I don’t think that there is. It could use a lot more resource to make those things better. (www.chinainout.com)