Netizen

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Constantly Voting People

English: Ballot Box showing preferential voting (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Recently Twitter bought a company in India whose key insight is the missed call phenomenon. I guess in India you buy a phone. And there is no monthly fee. And if you only receive phone calls, you don't owe the phone company anything. I still think the phone companies make a ton of money in the process because Indians are a talkative bunch. Indian take the whole democracy thing a little too seriously.

So this company mastered the art of customer service through missed calls. And it had an impressive exit.

This reminds me of the power of SMS. We are squarely in the era of smartphones at least in the rich countries and very fast catching up in the poor countries. But SMS is still the killer application. The most popular apps on the smartphone revolve around SMS. And I believe there is a message there.

Seeking out numerous voting opportunities for people would be an idea. Let people be constantly voting. SMS based daily voting, voting multiple times a day. On all sorts of issues.

SuperEntrepreneur Options

Boldness 2009 logo. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I think the SuperEntrepreneur concept has to start with the boldness of vision, it is about realizing the next big things are (1) Software (still) (2) Biotechnology (3) Nanotechnology and (4) Clean Energy. I am tempted to put Microfinance on par with the Big Four, and I admit to my Third World (Global South) bias.

You start with that boldness of vision. And you cultivate an eye for spotting for the companies of tomorrow. And you build and scale business processes, and fundraising, and you build your network, and you weave together Founder CEOs doing exciting things in their domains, the earlier you grab them the better.

If you are too much in tune with what is most talked about today (mobile?), you might be missing out on the biggest trends of tomorrow. Although I do think mobile has at least until the end of this decade to run strong.

The Founder CEO concept is key. The Founder CEO is the central hub in the SuperEntrepreneur concept. If you don't have the Founder CEO personality, you are too "clingy."

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Hello

Blizzard Conditions

Friday, January 23, 2015

Data As Exhaust Fume

English: Dhoopkutty used to fume sandal powder (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There is so much data that is being generated and collected and not used for anything at all, data right now can safely be called exhaust fume. Some is being used, but most is not.

Just being able to map all that is being collected, let alone making sense of it, is an industry in itself.

Being able to map and then make intelligent use of -- now that is a big one. And hence the term Big Data.

Big Data use that does not compromise privacy will go a long way. Think of it as excellent customer service. Half the time they don't even ask what you want, they already know.

Monday, January 19, 2015

WiGig

English: WiGig Alliance Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I say, bring it on.

A Speedy Wireless Protocol Is Coming to Many Gadgets

The maximum speed of a wireless channel using the current 60 gigahertz protocol is seven gigabits per second (in perfect conditions). That compares to the 433 megabits per second possible via a single channel made using the most advanced Wi-Fi protocol in use today, which transmits at five megahertz. Most Wi-Fi networks use less advanced technology that operates even slower. ...... Whereas Wi-Fi devices blast their signal in all directions, WiGig ones use an array of tens of tiny antennas to point a beam toward the device they are connecting to. ..... WiGig technology will make it possible to transfer a full-length HD movie in just three minutes. ...... The 60-gigahertz signals also have some disadvantages compared to Wi-Fi. They are blocked by walls, ceilings, and floors (although they can be picked up after bouncing off obstructions). This means they can generally only be used between devices in the same room. ..... the frequency can provide high-speed links at distances of 100 meters or more outdoors ...... worked with Google to test it as a way to replace some cables inside large data centers. They also found that a 60-gigahertz device can use its beam like a radar signal to detect the position and size of nearby object .....“Tens of gigabits per second will definitely happen within the next couple of years”

Google Wave, Google Glass, Bitcoin, And Dot Com, Not Kim DotCom

This is an icon for social networking website. This is part of Open Icon Library's webpage icon package. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I remember being very excited about Google Wave, and it petered out. Google Glass I was not excited about. I mean, I wanted it, but on other people's noses. I just want a smartphone with three times more battery juice. Make that five. Bitcoin seems to be having a hard time. But I will not compare it to Google Wave, certainly not to Google Glass.

It is like the Internet went out of fashion in the late 1990s. But it came roaring back a few years later. I think the current slump in the Bitcoin concept is like that. And I hope the slump is not that deep, and it does not last as long. I hope people steer out of the slump fast. Because the basic concept is nothing short of revolutionary. It is sound.

Price Slump Tests Bitcoin’s Self-Correcting Economics

A Bitcoin is currently worth just over $200, down about one-third from where it began January. It peaked at more than $1,000 late in 2013. ..... Andresen says he wouldn’t be concerned even if half of miners suddenly gave up. “The result would just be one month where the average transaction took 20 minutes to confirm instead of 10 minutes,” he says. “For Bitcoin users that would be a minor nuisance not a major disaster.” ...... “The system is self-tuning and self-optimizing