I saw this today and thought is was another fun example of Analog meet Digital. Published in Yanko Design about Google Envelopes, students from Syracuse University came up with this concept of automating your email to work with the main mail system in Envelopes that are actually maps that have the route of how the actual Envelop will travel.  We forget about 20 years ago we were sending letters to our friends instead of the real-time messaging of them. Just in one generation we have shifted from an analog experience to a digital one.  Going back to the analog one could be quite nostalgic for more meaningful delivery of messages in all the clutter of a crowded digital mailbox.

It was very funny, now that CES is winding down, I felt that the “tsunami” of news about Nexus One would stop hitting me in the face. Yes- there is the constant faucet of Twitter about the new Android device, but there is an equal number of discussions about other devices as well. I like hearing the balance of debate about iPhone, Blackberry, Palm and others.  It even seems quite natural that  the other device manufactures  have formed strategic alliances with Google for search, but maintain their own platforms to bring a different flavor to the mobile world.

Given that Google has greater then 70% of the search traffic share in the US and over 50% globally….they do have the ability to market themselves all the time, and make it clear there value proposition of their products front and center.  It has become routine in our lives to use Google as a search engine…..  it is even a “VERB”.

Getting back to my story…. This evening,  I went to Google to check out something on Google Maps, and searched “Google Maps”.  Yes- it has been my mapping search of default these days.  Even though  I used to be a big fan of MapQuest, Yellowpages and others,  it has just become routine for me just to use  Google out of pure convenience.  This  again is a key factor and asset they have going for them all the time.  It validates why search is so powerful as the first point of the User-Interface we all use, and Google is clearly leveraging their search asset to drive business leads to their other services and products.  I guess why would they not do this?  It is only smart business practices.

Well what I found was shocking.  The first results for Google Maps  search was the Nexus One from the Google News…. [See picture below]  It was not the Google Maps product or something pertaining to this, but it was traffic to drive me to that feature on the Nexus One.

The only results on the page were about “Google” ( www.google.com) .  None  of their Strategic Partners?  No iPhone with Google Maps? etc… As this was one of the key features for many of their Partners, developer communities, it is very clear that Google has an incredible position to trump the very partners now with Google maps when it comes to marketing the feature with their new device.  So as a company that partners with Google to embed maps into product as part of your core business, you must have a very careful strategy on how you market Maps and Location based services as part of your product. It is clear that some of that marketing  spend could even drive traffic to Google’s mobile initiatives.

I tried to find “iPhone and Google maps” as one of the results as this should be very relevant today.  Well, I looked on page 2 of the search results and then finally found a reference for iPhone at the bottom of the second page. Not many of us users go to the second page.

I then wanted to see what Google Maps search result would be on the site GoogleminusGoogle ( www.startupbin.com).  I found these results.

This time we do see iPhone.  It is #6 in the search results behind Wikipedia, etc…. Not many bloggers sites or third party developer sites talking about Google Maps, and no other handset manufactures on the first page.

So from now on, regardless of the mobile device we own….. any time we look up any of those Google Services, we will get information about Android and Nexus…. It is just the way it is going to be I guess.   There is clearly a price for using Free services as part of your product strategy.  In the case of Google, their ROI for the Free offer is clearly leveraging your marketing spend and distribution to continually drive more traffic back to Google.