In this interview we talk to Ed Cowell (Teddie) who is the CTO at Neutralize (*\*).
How long have you been involved in the search engine industry?
Since 1996.
How did the opportunity to work in “search” come about?
I happened to be working in the same building as MSN, when Microsoft launched Internet Explorer 3 (IE3) in the UK, obviously it was a bumpy launch and a buddy and me got thrown in the deep end as the IE3 support team. Being there and seeing what was happening with the MSN portal really opened my eyes to the Internet user experience paradigm. At the same time around 1996, Lucy Cokes our MD and my other half, wrote a 160 page thesis comparing the quality of results from the major search engines (AltaVista ruled).
I had an epiphany and realised then that somehow I’d end up working with search because I could see how critical it was to the entire Internet experience.
When did you join Neutralize (*\*)?
1999. I was working for the head of Global Internet Strategy at one of the big merchant banks at the time, and had been analysing Internet businesses & business models for the past three years.
After attending many of the First Tuesday events and being involved in the whole dot-com scene I really had the buzz to be doing something rather than watching from the sidelines. Lucy had already founded the company and I decided to join right at the end of the bubble.
At Neutralize (*\*) I saw our timing as an opportunity, because I had a clear idea by then of what was needed to deliver success online and search engines were at the heart of it. We knew people would need dedicated search marketing companies.
How do you keep up to date with what is going on in the search engine industry?
I read a lot of online news and a lot of research reports and attend industry events.
Recently we’ve added Yahoo!’s MyWeb 2.0 functions into our web browsers so I can quickly digest anything the team thinks is cool. It’s integrated with NeuCortex our Intranet; it manages our toolset and also aggregates loads of news and blog feeds so we don’t have to trawl around to keep up with what’s happening. I just open my browser and it’s all there.
What do you think are the biggest challenges for the industry today and in the future?
• Integrity • Transparency • Improving the user experience • Managing change
What are your main highlights from working in the search engine industry?
I like the pace and learning new stuff everyday.
What type of background and experience do you feel is necessary for a successful career in “search”?
We definitely look for experience in management roles, from a search or online marketing background. Traditional advertising and media, programming, business management are all useful backgrounds depending on the specific role. However as a recruiter watch out for people from non search/online backgrounds bringing their own baggage, they might not understand the internet as well as they need to.
Do Neutralize only hire experienced people or do you offer to train people who you feel have the right attributes to make a success in “search”?
Both. We are also fortunate enough to have a local government scheme that supports our employment of graduates, so we work with the Universities and take on quite a few of these - brainwashing them into hardened search marketers. It gives us the opportunity to grow people into the roles that suit them best.
Finally, what advice would you give to someone considering a career in the search engine industry?
It’s an incredibly diverse business, with roles stretching from pure technical to strategic. Having an analytical mind, problem solving skills and excellent IT literacy goes a long way.
I’ve worked on computerised trading floors and would say that front of house there are similarities. You manage and analyse massive amounts of data, its rapidly changing and people’s livelihoods are in your hands…it is very similar.
A reasonably high stress tolerance is useful!
Our thanks go to Teddie for his contribution to the Expert Interviews feature.
