In 1982, the song “Jack and Diane” was released by John Cougar (later known as John Mellencamp) and went on to spend four weeks at number one on the Billboard Charts. These days, the song is regularly played on classic rock stations around the world and is in millions of fans’ collections and playlists. Part of what made the song successful with broad appeal was its use of familiar themes of high school love and nostalgia. The story was relatable to a lot of people.
I believe that telling the story of how search works and how people interact with it can be similar. The song is structured in a way that lets us introduce the main characters and scenarios succinctly, before moving on to the central dilemma, and finally passing with some sort of resolution. As with any art, the interpretation can be in the eye of the beholder, but, with apologies to Mr. Mellencamp, here’s my take on this story, with the emphasis on search:
Little ditty about Jack and Diane
Just a couple of people, workin’ in the heartland
Jacky’s the search admin, deep in IT
Diane’s looking for documents, she’s on Level C
The story opens simply, and the characters are identified. Each plays a part in how search is not only managed and defined, but also how it is experienced. This is a critical way to frame the totality of search – understanding that there are many players that define what it is in the first place.
Searchin’ for info, from her desktop and while on the go,
Diane’s looking hard, but finding no answers, looking high and low.
Jacky says. “Hey Diane, can I help with your woes?
I’d be glad to help, and can help you better with the more that I know.”
And they sing…
At this point, we can clearly see that Diane is frustrated by the search experience and can’t find what she needs. Jackie, being the rock star search admin in IT, is eager to help. Because he is such a rock star, he starts talking with Diane in non-technical terms and tries to elicit exactly what she expects to find. He is focusing on how Jackie works, what she is trying to accomplish, and how she expects to accomplish it. He could have probably guessed at some of that alone on his end. He maybe could have looked at search logs to find patterns to exploit, or found keyword synonyms to define. But he realized that he would not have all these answers. Diane played a big part in the work to be done.
“Oh yeah, the search goes on,
Long after the thrill of looking is gone”.
Say ah, “Oh yeah, the search goes on,
Long after the thrill of looking is gone”. And they search on…
In this section of the story, the original song talks about how “life goes on” and is a little more sentimental than you’d normally find in a search experience. The original song implies that the most thrilling times for the high school characters may be happening in their present, and that the future, with all of that boring work and career stuff ahead of them, will not provide the excitement in their lives. I’m a bit of a contrarian on this section when the story is co-opted for search. I think that the way I have framed it implies that, to most, search can seem a bit overwhelming or even hopeless. People search for stuff, and either can’t find what they need or are presented with so many results that it is difficult to find relevant results. They sometimes know that searching will be fruitless, but they continue to try. After all, Google or Amazon can find what they need when they search for personal items from home. Why can’t the search at work be that good?
Jacky sits back, listens to the needs of Diane,
Scratches his head and does his best Mancini,
Jackie says, “Well Diane, I think I can help you.”
Comes back later with a lamp and magic genie.
And they sing…
After listening more to Diane, Jacky goes to work thinking. If he gets stuck and needs help, he looks for other experts and thought-leaders who have run into similar issues. He has many references at hand and, combined with his existing experiences, starts to formulate a plan. He re-engages Diane in conversation and again, while avoiding overly technical terms, delivers a solution that seems magic. The search results that Diane was looking for in this scenario are being delivered to her as she expects and she is happy. But the story doesn’t end there….
“Oh yeah, the search goes on,
Long after the thrill of looking is gone”.
Say a, “Oh yeah, the search goes on,
Long after the thrill of looking is gone”. They search on…
In the original song, the repeat of this chorus underscores the main point about life going on. In my story, the repeat of this section emphasizes that while a particular solution for a particular scenario was delivered, there are likely more scenarios to be tackled and the technology that helps us address search needs is continuing to evolve. Again, as the contrarian, I believe that the best times are yet to come. So, we press on.
The next section of the original song is the bridge – a slightly different musical part that connects sections of a song. In my story, I’m treating this bridge as a snapshot into how we continue the evolution of search:
Gonna start with the box
Get results, then scroll.
Let the information come down
And achieve the goal.
“Hold on, there’s more than a million sixteen,” they both say “Oh man!!”
Diane says, “fix the chaos!”
Jackie says “I’ll embrace it if I can”
Here, an even more particular scenario is played out – the one where there are too many search results to deal with. Diane is completely overwhelmed as an end-user. The experience is definitely not a good one for her. She demands action. Jackie, understanding the broader picture of what needs to happen, sees this as an opportunity. He feels he can address the underlying problems technically and feels that he has a good working relationship with Diane. He starts to formulate a longer-term strategy to build on the support of the Diane and others in C Level to empower (and fund) his efforts to improve search from both a technical point of view and from the end-user experience.
As we wrap up this story, the chorus is repeated, and life indeed does go on. The importance of and reliance on search will continue and grow. There will be many challenges, of course, and they may all not be solved by songs and stories, but they will be overcome by diligence, dialogue, and enduring partnerships between technology and end-user experience.
“Oh yeah, the search goes on,
Long after the thrill of looking is gone”.
Say a, “Oh yeah, the search goes on,
Long after the thrill of looking is gone”. They search on…
Little ditty about Jack and Diane
Just a couple of people, workin’ in the heartland