Here’s Why a Google Phone Won’t Work and Other Thoughts on Advertising in the 21st Century

[Editor: I think that's my longest post title ever. Just don't hold me to it.]

I don’t often editorialize here on the blog. You know it’s mostly, Guitar Hero this, Guitar Hero that, (And no I didn’t toss that in to up my GH keywords), posts about my favorite sporting events with an occasional cool link thrown in for good measure.

But for some reason, I feel pretty confident on this topic. Apparently, the big cell companies are worried that Google’s idea of an ad-driven smart phone will turn their businesses upside down. Here’s why it won’t.

One of the things I learned in college was that the amount of recorded information, and in turn messages, in our world is increasing at an alarming rate. It’s exponential growth. While our human minds are far superior to any computer ever made, they still have their limits in processing data.

We’ve arrived at the point where the number of messages that are being directed at the each of us on a daily basis is more than we can properly process. So what does our mind do without us even knowing it? Simple really. It filters everything out while allowing only specific topic-related messages through. It’s like a massive filter for your email where everything is on the black list and only our personal, approved contacts are allowed to pass.

What does this have to do with Google’s proposed smart phone? With Palm’s new $99 dollar Centro aimed at the broadest of all audiences arriving today, we’re heading towards a day where everyone has a phone that does more than just take calls. But with our lives being ever busier and busier, do we honestly want more distractions not less?

Will anyone say, “Sure, I’m being bombarded by non-stop IM annoyances, loads of email spam and my browsing is being interrupted with interstitials on a regular basis but I’m saving $25 dollars a month.”? I don’t think so.

In fact, I’d be willing to bet my Guitar Hero controller on it.