Netizen

Thursday, April 05, 2007

A Web 3.0 Manifesto

6 April

07:35

Comcast Cable, San Mateo, California, United States

6 April

07:59

Verizon Internet Services, South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States

6 April

08:41

Verizon Internet Services, Staten Island, New York, United States

6 April

08:49

Road Runner, Brooklyn, New York, United States

6 April

08:49

Road Runner, Oviedo, Florida, United States

6 April

09:20

INTELLISPACE, Mount Vernon, New York, United States

6 April

09:28

Comcast Cable, Montclair, New Jersey, United States

6 April

09:31

Google, Mountain View, California, United States

6 April

09:35

SBC Internet Services, Houston, Texas, United States

6 April

10:01

Tech Level 5, LLC, Lexington, Kentucky, United States

6 April

10:03

PORTER NOVELLI, Atlanta, Georgia, United States

6 April

11:20

Covad Communications, San Jose, California, United States

6 April

11:25

SBC Internet Services, San Lorenzo, California, United States

6 April

11:34

Intel Corporation, San Jose, California, United States

6 April

11:47

Telecom Italia S.p.A. TIN EASY LITE, Cedas, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy

6 April

13:19

Montgomery College., Derwood, Maryland, United States

6 April

13:39

Refined Sight, Scarsdale, New York, United States

6 April

13:47

Qwest Communications, Seattle, Washington, United States

6 April

14:24

Comcast Cable, Palo Alto, California, United States

6 April

14:25

EarthLink, Forest Hills, New York, United States

Nic Butterworth's Open Coffee MeetUp

You get off the 6 train on Astor Place, and you just can't miss the Starbucks. It's right there. Thursday 9.15 AM. So that totally weeds out those who are just out for beer. Jobholders and entrepreneurs are two different species. If you should be at work at 9.15 in the morning, you probably don't belong here.

Nic Butterworth has the relaxed ways of someone who has already proven himself before. You feel easy around him. He is talking, then at the same time he is taking one step back and being his creative self. Parts of him keep churning what he is good at churning out even when he is very much with you.

I met him first on Tuesday evening at Scott's Tech MeetUp. (Scott 2.0, MeetUp.com 2.0) Nic's thing basically was that on YouTube you get lost. If you are into snowboarding, and you want many super clips of one particular move, you can't do that on YouTube. You come to Nic. This kind of vertical niche search has enormous value. He is definitely adding some serious value, and that is where the riches are.

That is the key question entrepreneurs have to ask themselves. Am I adding value?

I was the second person to sign up for it: The New York Open Coffee Meetup. So I am thinking, will it be just him and me? My train had a 20 minute delay, and so I was about five minutes late. And the place was full. It was crowded. How did he do it? How do you go from two on Tuesday midnight to 22 on Thursday morning? I am thinking, maybe the guy is famous.

Apparently most people had already introduced themselves. I got up, said my name, and talked up the IC for 20 seconds. The IC is a doughnut. It is not Nobel Prize for Physics material. It is meant to be a commodity.

The group broke into three, finance, real estate, and something else. I stuck with finance. The lead person had been in the Silicon Valley for 20 years. He made it sound like the East Coast, West Coast thing in tech and venture capital was no different than it is with rap music. New York is more conservative. Here people are not used to taking chances. You already should be churning some profit for them to pump money into you. Whereas in California, the idea sells.

I am not going anywhere. My market is right here. NYC is my number one market. Got contact info for one angel investor.

Met Christine, hardware Korean, software American. Cheerful. She was adopted by a South Dakota family when she was five months old. ("I have been to South Dakota.") She has worked at Microsoft in its XBox division. She is multicultural. She has lived in Paris a few years, for example. ("I have been to Wisconsin. It is like another planet.") She has that entrepreneur DNA, it is so obvious. Her company is called Mao Networks. And I am thinking Chairman Mao. She says it is an island off of Spain. Well then, that island must have been named after Chairman Mao.

And there was this London lady just passing through town. And three ladies around a table staying late. "Men don't change. Inside they are the same. Outside it looks different." Summary: it is a sexist world, and you feel that inside corporations, inside relationships.

There were so many good ideas floating around. It was so educational to get inside peeps into many startups at different stages of their growth. Frankly, I could not have enough of this. It could have gone on a few more hours, and I would still stick around.

Good thing this will happen every Thursday morning. Now I know what rush hour train rides are like.

It is important not to lose focus though. These meetings should not be the sharpening pencils sessions as a way to postpone actually doing the homework.

On The Web

Nicholas Butterworth
echospin | Our Team
Diversion Media Weblog
COMEBACKS: Nicholas Butterworth's New New Thing - Valleywag the former MTVi CEO and Silicon Alley Reporter coverboy, who, like many from Alley 1.0, was suddenly back at the table, buying back in ...... 'Everything is cranking up,'' said Butterworth. ''There is definitely something in the air. It's not exactly the same as it was the first time around, but it's got some of that same spirit.'' ..... Sounding very 1995 ..... his new firm, Diversion Media, launched Travelistic in late October. The site is billed as a YouTube for travel videos .... compelling, engaging user experiences in robustly profitable niches ..... moving beyond the strict user-created model and nabbing professional video personalities for the site.
Nicholas Butterworth: See what people are saying right now on ...
Nicholas Butterworth
The music man - Salon
Nicholas Butterworth
Nicholas Butterworth - Filmography - Movies - New York Times
thinkd2c

In The News

Carter Defends Pelosi's Syria Trip Playfuls.com
EU Bashes Apple Over iTunes Price in Different Euro-Regions Playfuls.com
Toshiba Enhances Thermal Power Generation Service in North America TechWhack
Cisco eyes future Linksys strategy Computerworld
Acer Up, Dell Down In Latest Notebook Numbers CRN
Review: Apple appalls where Xbox excels Canada.com
Greenpeace Ranks Apple Last for Green Chicago Tribune
HP targets PC performance-seekers on a budget ZDNet UK
Gartner: Intel Still Number 1, Despite Revenue DeclinesCIO India
Cisco set to fight aftermarket sellers Computerworld
Getting Started with Google’s My Maps PC World
Google Embraces Web 2.0 Model in 'My Maps' Feature CIO Today
Google blurs line between advertising and content, again ZDNet
Google Expands into Television Advertising, through Deal with EchoStar Teleclick.ca
Experts say Microsoft should consider change in patching process SC Magazine US
EU may force Microsoft to license server protocols for free Ars Technica
Breaking News Microsoft Sues Student Software Sellers CIO Today
Yahoo Patches Instant Messaging Flaw BetaNews
Reality Check on The Yahoo/Facebook Story Seeking Alpha Yahoo! made attempts last year to purchase leading social networking site Facebook. ...... Facebook has recently surpassed 21 million registered users and generates 1.5 billion page views a day. May's argument is that Yahoo will rue the day it didn't pay $750 million to $1.6 billion for Facebook. ..... Yahoo failed to buy Google in its early days and blew Facebook too. .... Facebook.com ranked as the 36th most-visited site on the Web in February 2007 ..... the second-most “engaging” site .... the number one site for photos, ahead of Yahoo!’s Flickr ..... the most viewed site by females in the United States (69%) ages 17-25 ..... the second most "in" thing among undergraduates, tied with beer and after only the iPod. ..... bonus if Facebook goes public: Wall Street will finally be able to short Web 2.0 directly.
Yahoo Needs a Face-to-Face With Facebook Barron's (subscription)
IBM donates translation software to US military Washington Post
IBM Targets India with Autonomic Computing Center CIO India
BMW Oracle wins warm-up cup BoatsandOutboards
Sun Microsystems And Boeing Team Up To Solve Extreme Data ... WebWire
Sun Microsystems celebrates silver anniversary AME Info
Sun Microsystems launches new updated UltraSparc IV+ processors TechWhack
Wal-Mart says sorry, this time to shareholders CNNMoney.com
Wal-Mart expands personal well-being programs Reuters.uk
Ford’s CEO Made Over $28 Million. In His First Four Months. New York Times
CEO confirms talks on sale of Chrysler unit Seattle Times
Oil Prices Rise Forbes
Solar Radio Bursts Could Cripple GPS Space.com
Lifting restrictions on digital music is just one small step Chicago Tribune
Deal brings Wimax deployment a step closer Computeractive
Solid foundation now in place for WiMax in Asia Pacific: In-Stat Indiantelevision.com Last year was a good one for the development of WiMax in the Asia/Pacific region, as a solid foundation was laid by the joint efforts of market regulators, operators and eager equipment vendors .... From a lean base of 0.27 million in 2006, total WiMax subscribers in 16 Asia/Pacific countries are expected to reach 31.43 million by 2012 ..... Carrier spending of WiMax and WiMax-backhauled WiFi network equipment will escalate from $394.9 million in 2006 to $2908.9 million in 2012.
WiMAX: Where and Where Not? CIOL
WiMax to reach 31 million in Asia VNUNet.com
Pipex in Nokia wireless broadband deal Broadband Finder
Rural Eastern Cape to get wireless broadband Dataweek (press release)
Warwick to pilot WiMAX broadband services PublicTechnology.net
Intel plans Centrino Pro for business notebooks CNetNews
iStockphoto sees new rivals everywhere
Photo wars: A $2 billion business gets rough Business 2.0
Online real estate has become a virtual land grab Business 2.0
New OpenOffice version includes security upgrade
Thailand blocks YouTube for clip mocking king
Apple PCs coming to 200 Best Buy stores

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Scott 2.0, MeetUp.com 2.0

Social Networking: Where The Internet Comes Down From The Clouds

When I moved to NYC summer of 2005, one of the people I got to know was Scott. "Man, meeting you is like meeting a movie star!" I was a Deaniac from 2004, and MeetUp.com was all the rage. We clicked just like that, became friends. He invited me over to come see him at his office. I complimented on the color red. My cultural background is primary colors and loud voices. Americans wear drab and talk soft.

I came to NYC to cultivate my business idea but got sucked into the democracy movement in Nepal, best work I ever did. I mean, when your house is on fire, you don't go cultivate a business. But as of past week, I am back. And the place I started was at MeetUp.com. The first event listed was one I had started: NYC Aspiring Entrepreneurs. Someone Jessica was running it now. She turned out to be Jessica Mah, 16. I visited her blog when I went back home. She was complaining how she thought she ought to be made Organizer of the Month but her being 16 was being used against her.

When I met Scott today, I put in word for her. He wrote her name down. And he gets to read this blog entry also. She runs a terrific large group. And she is a Scott in the making herself. I think you are going to hear more of her. She is an entrepreneur. She has it. She dreams of creating "the eBay of services." Way to go.

At Jessica's MeetUp I met Ed, a veteran who has worked for companies like IBM, real tall guy, West Indies background, that accent. He might help me find investors, he said.

And Scott's NY Tech Meetup. This thing has gone so big. Watching the presentations felt like being in a movie theater. It was like having a front seat into the future of the web. The internet started out as a poster. Then it became a little more interactive. Today's slew of presentations blew me away. The interactions are going to a whole new level. Graphic, intuitive stuff are coming along.

Video Of The MeetUp Tonight
This event was covered on CNNMoney.com
Video Of The Event

The first guy allowed you to insert comments into a video clip. One guy Mark, who sat next to me at the exclusive dinner after the event at a Tibetan place (Momo anyone? I am addicted to momo from my days in Kathmandu, I had two servings), allowed you to connect the dots and make pictures, that which you did as a kid on paper. Mind blowing. And he is just doing it on the side, no business plan yet, he talked like he just had to get it out of his system. Another was offering vertical silos of high quality videos. You just can't get that on YouTube. Say you are into snowboarding, you perhaps want many clips of a particular move, high quality ones.

There is never going to be enough of two things on the web: content and search. The possibilities are as limitless as the human mind.

I wish there were a place at the Tech MeetUp page where you could find the links to all the websites that get presented. Mark, add your link in the comments section please. I did not have a pen on me.

http://www.diversionmedia.com
http://www.associatedcontent.com
http://www.daylife.com

The most mindblowing presentation was DayLife. It was out of this world. I got a glimpse of search the way it should be. The human mind does not think in terms of lists of links. It thinks the way of the DayLife presentation.

CEO Upendra. He was at the dinner. MIT guy. Came out of school in 1994. Sold his Firefly to Microsoft. Microsoft Passport is his thing. So Bill Gates bought Hotmail from Sabeer Bhatia and Passport from Upendra, what does he offer of his own? How smart is Bill Gates really? Powerful, yes, but smart? Maybe he started out smart, and just got powerful.

His namesake - Upendra Mahato in Moscow - is the richest Nepali on earth. Mahato just invested into my startup yesterday, a symbolic gesture. I have been flying high since. I emailed a pitch also to this local, Indian Upendra after I got back home. He speaks in the measured tones of someone who grew up in America, as he did.

Vineet Gupta also at DayLife. He is a UP guy. That state in India is like a galaxy. It is such a huge population and the politics is so rumbunctious.

Tips for Scott. MeetUp.com still has this huge edge on social networking sites that exist only online. Noone emphasizes facetime like MeetUp.com. But add more features in the "add friends" section so exchanging business cards becomes a thing of the past. I guess you "steal" more and more select features from places like MySpace and Facebook. Sorry if I sounded fuzzy. In short, MeetUp.com should compete on both facetime and screentime, and not just on facetime, which it already has an edge on.

Got to meet Scott's girlfriend Emily who works at the UN. Small world, go figure. Emily and I figured we both know someone in common, Julie! Julie has made documentaries on Nepal.

And there was this 13 year old daughter of an Assistant Organizer. She is the one who I gave my $5 for the event to. She was at the gate collecting. I kept reminding her about that - the money part - at dinner. "You are the one who took away my money!"

About 500 people at the MeetUp, 10 at the dinner afterwards. Thanks Scott for inviting.

And I am slated to go to this MeetUp Thursday morning: The New York Open Coffee Meetup. Others go to work, I go to a MeetUp. I am hungry for investors right now. Nicholas was the first to sign. I was number two. He just launched this MeetUp.

Parting ways for the evening, I exclaimed to Upendra, "I don't have the slightest clue where I am at right now!" He gave me gentle directions to the Union Square station.

In The News

How to Leave Past Relationships in the Past

Associated Content
Mexico City explores wireless Internet 2:29AM EST BusinessWeek

Visitors

43.	31 March	09:08	Microsoft Corporation, United States
44.	31 March	09:09	Microsoft Corporation, United States

1 April

23:05

ISP/NSP of Nepal, Nepal

2 April

00:03

Detalee Trade, Moscow, Moscow City, Russia

7.	2 April	02:40	NAMCHE, Kathmandu, Seti, Nepal
9.	2 April	06:52	Webplus, Saint Petersburg, Saint Petersburg City, Russia

2 April

14:59

The World Bank Group, Washington, District of Columbia, United States

2 April

17:34

Comcast Cable, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

2 April

17:42

NTL Internet, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom

2 April

21:10

Google, Mountain View, California, United States

2 April

22:21

Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

3 April

00:00

Verizon Internet Services, Tampa, Florida, United States

3 April

11:30

New Wave Communications, Somerset, Kentucky, United States

3 April

19:02

University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States

4 April

00:19

Speedlinq netblocks, Den Haag, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands, The

Kanak Mani Dixit, Rhoderick Chalmers Event: Julie

Links

http://www.veotag.com
http://www.picturedots.com
Guy Kawasaki interview with Steve Wozniak
http://www.helloworld.com
http://www.collegewikis.com
http://flickrcash.com
http://www.snowvision.com
http://universe.daylife.com
www.npost.com

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Dell, HP, Apple

Dell has been a pioneer. I have appreciated its singular focus over decades to bring the price down for the consumer. Dell reminds me of Walmart.

HP places major emphasis on innovation, and hence Carly Fiorina's famous criticism of Dell being a "one trick wonder." HP reminds me of NASA.

Apple is a high class act. Steve Jobs is the guy you go to to get your BMW. Apple sells cool.

All three are PC companies ill suited for a paradigm shift. You can't eat your own belly.

PC

Dell

History of Apple Computer

Toshiba

Compaq

List of Intel microprocessors

Google

IBM

Quixtar

In The News

Rupert Murdoch Speaks His Mind BusinessWeek "I just want to live forever" .... "I enjoy myself too much." ..... The prospect of supporting New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg for President is "really tempting," said Murdoch, who noted that such a campaign would cost Bloomberg "a billion dollars, which apparently doesn't worry him." ..... When asked about his relationship with Senator Hillary Clinton (D–N.Y.), Murdoch replied that, along with the questioner, he didn't understand it. ..... Murdoch's sensibility and wit were honed at newspaper tabloids, and they surfaced in some sly onstage jabs. Recalling a fund-raiser he held for Senator Clinton, he said "she was very impressive in the way she handled issues, and sidestepped them." ...... a Fox Business Channel would launch this fall .... Pressed on the point of political bias, he casually lashed out at the Times. It's "outrageously biased," he said. "Just read Page One every day." He compared it to his less objective, more visceral New York Post, which he said designed its Page One to sell papers. ...... Murdoch, now married to the Chinese-American former News Corp. executive Wendi Deng, also made it clear his ardor had cooled for the media business in China. India "is a working democracy, with rule of law. We find it is most exciting" among developing countries for media. ..... "China is immense, [but its government] is not opening it up yet."
Google Steps Into Microsoft's Office the search leader has offered a test version of an online office productivity software suite, called Google Apps for Your Domain, that lets companies offload e-mail systems to Google while keeping their own e-mail addresses. Soon, it's expected to add word-processing and spreadsheet services to the suite, which includes an online calendar, chat service, and Web page builder. In coming weeks, Google Apps will turn into a real business as Google begins charging corporations a subscription fee amounting to a few dollars per person per month. ..... Microsoft's stated aim to extend its Office franchise to the Web—suggests that before long these two titans of tech will be battling over many of the same corporate customers. .... a dawning era in corporate computing: software delivered as a service over the Internet, so it's accessible anywhere there is a Web browser handy. This time consumers are leading the way as they flock to Web-based applications such as e-mail, chat, and phone services like eBay Inc.'s (EBAY ) Skype Technologies ..... As traditional corporate software has grown complex and expensive to maintain, Web services are getting more capable and reliable every year. "For the first time, consumer-grade applications are good enough that they can be used by enterprises" .... Arizona State University plans to switch most of its 65,000 students to Gmail, Google Calendar, and a customized "start page" this month. ..... Corporate users, accustomed to feature-rich applications from the likes of Microsoft and IBM (IBM ), are more demanding than consumers. ..... Google got a taste last October when it switched over most of its own employees, who mainly had used Microsoft Outlook e-mail and Oracle Corp.'s (ORCL ) calendar program, to Gmail and Google Calendar. Some features on the old systems that Googlers considered crucial—such as a way to schedule all those company-paid massages—weren't available on the new system. In all, employees shot back more than 1,000 requests for new features in the first two weeks after the changeover. ........ Office Live, which offers Web-based e-mail, calendar, and other services in packages ranging from free to $39.95 a month for a single business. Some 250,000 small businesses use it, compared with tens of thousands using Google Apps ...... Zimbra Inc. boasts more than 6 million e-mail boxes at 1,300 paying customers.
Rivals Say HP Is Using Hardball Tactics Cheaper store-brand inkjet printer cartridges have come on strong recently and now make up about a quarter of the market for replacement cartridges in the U.S. ..... those replacement cartridges typically sell for 10% to 15% less than HP's ...... "The speculation is that [Staples] reached a deal with HP and got increased margin and soft money for marketing"
GM: Learning the Ropes in Russia They created GM-Avtovaz, a $340 million joint venture based near the main Avtovaz factory in Togliatti. The thinking was that partnership with Avtovaz would give GM an inside track on penetrating the Russian market and help GM keep costs down by sourcing cheap components from Avtovaz. In turn, Avtovaz expected that GM would help provide management know-how, technology, and access to export markets. ...... Russian consumers proved to be just as discerning as Westerners when it comes to insisting on the latest technology. ..... tensions between the two partners erupted into open conflict in early 2006, when Rosoboronexport, Russia's state-owned arms-export agency, took over Avtovaz and brought in new managers. Avtovaz suddenly stopped supplying engines and other components to the venture, accusing GM of underpaying for parts. ...... Ford (F), now the best-selling foreign car brand in Russia .... The betting is that GM will do better on its own, rather than entangled with a Russian partner.
Davos Ponders a U.S.-Iran War a confab devoted to the peaceful advances of globalization. .... an agenda devoted to the broad topics of peaceful reform was quickly overshadowed by the idea that the Bush Administration would start a war against the mullah-dominated regime of Tehran .... a U.S.-Iran conflict would set the clock back for the whole area. "Can we afford another war?" asked Mubarak. "Of course not. All the genies would come out of the bottle." ...... the huge illiteracy rate in the region—some 70 million lack basic reading and writing skills. Such a deficit he suggested, was responsible for the radicalization of certain elements in the region, especially in Iraq—many Iraqis lacked the tools to form a rounded, accurate worldview. ..... moderates in the Arab world often were mistaken by Americans as being moderate out of sympathy with the U.S. Not true: "We're moderates for the sake of our country .... That world right now is deeply worried about another American war in its midst.
What To Expect At Davos 23 different risks, such as global warming, terrorism, oil price shocks, a hard landing for China, and so on. ..... 2,400 people—half business, half other stakeholders in the global society, including 25 heads of state ..... everywhere in society and business, the power is moving from the center to the periphery. Vertical command-and-control structures are being eroded and replaced by communities and different platforms. We are moving into the Web 2.0 world, and this has tremendous implications on the national level and on business models. .... If we don't discuss and solve the conflict between Israel and Palestine, the world will look very different in 10 years.
Selling Globalization at Davos while the thousands of luminaries gathered in this alpine bubble share a common belief in the benefits of globalization, they are also aware that it enjoys far less support among ordinary citizens. ...... rising signs of anti-globalization—ranging from the potential failure of the Doha round of trade talks to concerns that countries may erect trade barriers to protect jobs and markets. ...... How to convince a wary public that the risks of globalization are outweighed by the economic benefits .... "We have to stop using abstract concepts such as GDP growth and explain globalization instead in terms such as job creation, prices, and taxes," Davis said. Most people, he explained, don't realize that the same forces pulling jobs offshore also drive down prices for the goods they buy at the local superstore. ...... acknowledge the arguments of globalization opponents and take concrete steps to address their legitimate concerns ..... a national health-care system. .... retraining programs for displaced workers. .... globalization means customizing its products for different markets, putting staff on the ground all over the world, and investing deeply in local communities. ...... Unilever, for instance, is famous for selling products such as shampoo and laundry soap in tiny packets that cost people of limited means only pennies. "This is business, not philanthropy, and we make lots of money from it," Cescau said. At the same time, the company supports programs such as Project Shakti, which teaches poor women in rural India about nutrition and hygiene. ........ one reason globalization isn't more appealing is that it demands more work and greater risk-taking from everybody—including people in emerging economies .... local providers who previously enjoyed a cozy local market may suddenly face increased competition—or even ruin—from a deep-pocketed multinational that moves into the market. ...... globalization has victims on all sides ...... globalization also has beneficiaries on all sides ..... corporate social responsibility .... it has to be built into each corporation's fundamental strategy. "You can't have a healthy company without a healthy community." ...... Properly executed, globalization also creates huge opportunity. "Having a global market to serve is an incentive to innovate more," noted Columbia University professor and economist Joseph Stiglitz. ...... the learning that takes place when people from around the world work together. ..... India's famous "frugal engineering" culture ...... In today's car industry, knowing how to design a cheap car is an invaluable skill
The Transformation of Turkey Hrant Dink, the outspoken editor of Turkey's main Turkish and Armenian-language newspaper, was gunned down. ..... Tens of thousands of Turks have demonstrated to condemn the murder and demand justice. ...... the power of networks to promote change, open closed societies, and cross cultural barriers. ..... "Turkey has become very open, very fast." ..... From a single state-owned TV station, more than 300 stations have emerged. Eleven hundred radio channels crowd the airwaves. Every private school is now linked to the Internet, and the government is distributing 400,000 PCs to schoolchildren. ..... Turkish courts are now basing more of their own rulings on the corpus of judgments found in EU law books. ...... Under the present government, Turkey has opened its economy to a surprising degree. ...... Maybe globalization can help Turkey finish its transformation.Foreign direct investment has zoomed from $1 billion to $18 billion. GDP growth has averaged 7%—not quite in China's league, but close. .... Ford has invested hundreds of millions in auto plants in Turkey—and ended up with one of its most productive facilities anywhere. .... Toyota, Honda, Electrolux—multinationals are flocking to the country to benefit from workers that cost $500 a month, universities that churn out engineers, and managers who grasp the concept of quality.
Merkel Calls for Stronger U.S.-EU Ties After a rocky start, the German Chancellor has achieved international respect on the back of a solid domestic economic rebound. ...... problems ranging from trade barriers and economic imbalances to energy and climate change. ..... a call for Europe to strengthen its historic "transatlantic" relationship with the U.S. This is perhaps indicative of her growing concern over Russia's growing clout. Moscow has taken to using its oil and gas riches as a tool to punish wayward neighbors and exert greater influence over policymaking in Western Europe. ....... Merkel began by identifying what she said have been the three seminal global events of the last two decades: the fall of the Berlin Wall and subsequent reintegration of the Eastern bloc countries into the West; the technology boom, exemplified by the global Internet explosion; and the rise of China and India from "static, controlled economies to active participants on the global stage." She urged that their economic power be matched by participation in global policymaking. ....... Merkel's prescription for Europe includes continuing integration, such as an additional 25% reduction in the cost of internal trade within the bloc over the next decade. ...... reinvigorate the process of enacting a new European constitution. ..... the need to mitigate capital market risks with adequate protections. A particular source of concern is hedge funds, which the Chancellor called a "headache" in the struggle to balance risk and equity. ...... Western Europe's dependence on Russian energy supplies.
BT Buys Indian Internet Firm i2i
A 'Gas OPEC'? Mostly a Pipe Dream
Energy: Changing Europe's Power Structure
Surprise: Oil Woes In Iran
EU Tries to Fix Migrant Worker Rules
What Comes After Putin?
Chavez Vexes Venezuela's Investors
Urban Regeneration Plans for Lebanon
The Chinese Discover Central Europe
Vietnam's Growing Role in Outsourcing
Eastern Europe's Software Solution
Continental's Outsourcing Eye-Opener
The Future of Outsourcing
Tipsheet: Outsourcing with Confidence
Best Global Brands
The Top 100 Brands
The Web's Most Viral Ads
Online Extra: Slide Show: Top 100 Global Brands

Is Dell Too Big For Michael Dell? BusinessWeek "I think you're going to see a more streamlined organization, with a much clearer strategy." .... Dell doesn't have the innovation DNA of an Apple or even an HP ..... According to a Jan. 30 study done by Goldman Sachs (GS), Dell is losing share in business spending for PCs. (Hewlett-Packard is also losing share of spending, while Lenovo (LNVGY) and Apple are gaining.) .... "I'm not hiring a COO or a CEO," Dell says. "I'm going to be the CEO for the next several years." He adds: "We're going to fix this business."
Michael Dell In Charge, "Period" Kevin is a great friend of mine, and he did a fantastic job for the company. But that's done ..... "Having a clear, unified strategy and focus and organization is what the company needs. ..... I'm a decisive guy, and we're moving fast. .... Dell's core strengths historically will be its core strengths in the future.
BusinessWeek.com, 11/9/06, "Dell Stands By His Man"
Google's Brand New Appeal More than ever, it's got the entire advertising world in its sights. And this year, Google will come out with guns blazing. ..... now accounts for about a quarter of all online advertising ...... many advertisers are starting to use search ads for branding, like more traditional ads. .... company aims to offer a "complete sales and marketing platform for all advertisers ..... Volvo, Procter & Gamble (PG), and OfficeMax (OMX) all placed image and video ads on Google's networks.

Pages

Thursday, April 05, 2007

A Web 3.0 Manifesto

Nic Butterworth's Open Coffee MeetUp

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Scott 2.0, MeetUp.com 2.0

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Dell, HP, Apple