THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR A NEW CERTIFICATION

Hmmm, interesting thought.

By Emmett Dulaney

THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR A NEW CERTIFICATION If there's a need in the market for a new kind of certification, it would have to be for a Google certification.

Now, before you roll your eyes, let me explain my logic. The purpose of an IT certification is to authenticate the skills of an individual. The market thinking is that if the individual has these skills (and these skills have been validated by a third-party), then that individual is worth more than someone who doesn't have -- or hasn't proven they have -- those skills.

Given this line of reasoning, there are two certifications that make sense. The first is an end user certification for using Google. End user certifications exist for Microsoft Office products and a host of applications that people use frequently. What other frequently used tool has the ability to affect productivity more than Google? None.

In his book "The World Is Flat," Thomas Friedman describes an interview he did with Colin Powell while the latter was secretary of state. When Friedman asked Powell where he was when he realized the world had gone flat, Powell replied with only one word: "Google."

Not only is Google the "how" and "what," it's now also the "where" -- that's how ubiquitous it's become.

Why is a certification needed? Because there's enormous power in knowing how to use Google properly to find what you're looking for.
The goal isn't to have 81,600,000 results come back in 0.21 seconds; you'll never look past the first few pages returned. You'll just get frustrated and try the same search again. The goal is to have only a few results returned, but all of them relevant to what you're looking for.

How many users even notice the Advanced Search link and know the potential it holds? How many know that a tilde can be used to find synonyms, that a plus sign marks required entries, or that a colon limits the search to a specified domain? How much more productive could a user who knew all this be than one who didn't? If anything screams of the need for a certification, it's this.

The second certification that would make sense is an administrator-level certification for search engine optimizers. There are individuals who make their living by ensuring that your site will appear higher in Google results than sites that don't use their services. How well do these individuals know their trade? How well do they know what to avoid on pages, what to add, what to tag, etc.?
With more and more advertising revenue being diverted from traditional channels to Web sites, there's a real need for someone to prove they understand the channel.