Entries categorized as ‘Uncategorized’
Today I sat in a meeting and listened to a fellow named Craig Mathias delve into what the wireless and mobile enterprise landscape looks like today. Craig is a wireless analyst that writes for NetworkWorld and is a principal at Farpoint Group, a wireless advisory firm.
He had some very interesting things to say, but one fact really stuck out and caused me to remember a story I had once read.
About a year ago my book club read Thunderstruck by Erik Larson. It’s a non-fictional tale of two unrelated men brought together by the unlikely pairing of innovation and murder. Typically I avoid non-fiction books when reading for pleasure, but I was surprised at how good this story was.
Guglielmo Marconi was the grandfather and inventor of wireless communication. Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen was a cold hearted murderer who killed his wife and neatly disposed of her bones. The hunt across the sea for Crippen and justice ran from Europe to Canada, and received incredible media attention, due mostly in part to the Marconi wireless transmissions sent back and forth between the law enforcing vessels and the mainland. As the chase for the criminal ensued, the entire world was kept abreast of the story’s development. It was one of the first exercises in truly ‘breaking news’ and the globe was collectively gripped with enthusiasm and suspense.
Capturing lightening and sending electrical currents across the Atlantic through expanses of cable was a tangible reality; scientists could both physically and psychologically grasp a wire and its conductive properties. Wirelessly transmitting messages, on the other hand, was another matter entirely. The idea of harnessing a lightening bolt must have sounded utterly ridiculous. But after years of constructing ludicrously tall towers, spending tons of money, failed patent applications, experimenting with boats on the water, sheer luck and trial and error, Marconi the perseverant Italian finally achieved the impossible in September 1895.
Throughout Craig’s brief tutorial, he mentioned that we are all use the same big wireless in the sky. It dawned on me that this was the very same wireless that Marconi toyed with over 100 years ago and caused the world to unite and watch a murder chase develop in real time.
We’ve come a long way since then. To think that Marconi’s faint morse code messages traveled across a very narrow-band signal, which today has been broadened and can transmit speech and even music at an incredibly quick pace.
So much has changed in 100 years - yet despite technological advances -it is still the same big wireless up there. Which I find oddly comforting.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: Marconi, wireless, Thunderstruck, broadband, murder
I have been thinking lately about what I’d like my dream browser to do for me. On a personal computer, I’d want one for work and one for play, and be able to choose between the two depending on what I was trolling the web for. That doesn’t mean I want to use two different types of browsers - but rather the ability to create multiple profiles on my browser that I can log in and out of.
This profile would retain all of my passwords, bookmarks, plug-ins and favorites. I’d want to be able to access all of these settings unique to my browser profile from any computer. And when I was finished using it, I could simply close out of that profile, and the next person using the computer would log into their own. If a guest using my computer to have a fresh, customizable browser for their own use, devoid of my preferences.
So if someone could cook that up, that would be greeeeaaaaaat.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: browser, dream, play, profile, work
Sorry. But it was bound to happen. It’s my blog and I make the rules.
I am really excited to begin contributing to the Enterprise 2.0 Conference blog. The blog’s goal is to drill down into how social tools and technologies make companies more creative, agile and productive. It’s chock full of case studies, opinions and hot conversation topics in the space. I’ll be joining the likes of Irwin Lazar, Melanie Turek and the E2 Conference GM, Steve Wylie.
The 2008 event just wrapped up last month, and Enterprise 2.0 2009 show is set to take place June 22 - 25 in Boston, MA. You can learn more about the conference here and subscribe to the mailing list for updates here.
I just posted an informative interview with Venkat Rao from Xerox. Be sure to check back to the E2 blog for more musings into how 2.0 technologies are shaping the enterprise, and what we’ll be exploring at the event.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: Enterprise 2.0 blog, Xerox
I’ll be attending the BlogHer Conference at the Westin in San Francisco from July 18 - 20 with a few of my colleagues. I was perusing the site this morning and stumbled upon a rather ironic ad being served on their site for WeightWatchers.
Seems odd to me that an event who’s vision includes ‘creat[ing] opportunities for women who blog to pursue exposure, education, community, and economic empowerment’ shouldn’t succumb to serving ads focused on weight loss and doubting one’s self image.
I’m no feminist - seeing this banner ad elicits more of a giggle than blind rage - but I still found it rather sad that the event producers, proponents of female communities, are serving up targeted ads like these.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: BlogHer, feminist, WeighWatchers
As of late, this is a question that has been popping up quite frequently. And with good reason.
How software vendors tackle their position with regard to the cloud is tricky. How many vendors can stand up and say that the future of the enterprise lies completely in the cloud? No doubt, it’s a big statement. Amazon Web Services are there. Google is also there. But the bulk of software vendors are not touting the same message.
Hardware and chip makers don’t advocate all-cloud computing, as their bread and butter has a lot to lose if companies switch over to subscription, web-based apps. Their strategy relating to the cloud has a different spin and message - depending on the vendor:
If you’re Sun Microsystems, your message is ‘use our stuff to access the cloud.’
If you’re IBM, your message is ‘be sure to secure your data center in the cloud with our stuff.’
If you’re Dell, your message is ‘use our stuff if you’re a service provider looking to buy thousands of systems.’
One thing is certain; technology providers know they need to get with this program pretty quick. Jonathan Schwartz, the CEO of Sun has made it very clear that Sun is very focused on powering the data centers that power the cloud.
Time will tell how similar vendors will position themselves, but ensuring that they meet the cloud front head on is a must.
PS: ’stuff’ is my blanket term for technical intricacies I don’t understand.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: Amazon, cloud computing, Dell, Google, IBM, stuff, Sun
Motives are silly things. Do they always have to matter? I suppose it depends on what the product or goal of your motivation results in. If it’s for the greater good, I doubt it matters how you arrived there - just that you’re there.
Here is my point: lately it seems that being eco-conscious is cool. If you can put a green spin on an idea, it becomes much more attractive. Are you going to buy some groceries? BYO Tote! Are you commuting to work? Ride your bike!
For the record, I do care about the environment. But I also am a touch cynical when I see these trends emerging. On the flip-side, if folks need to think being green is en vogue in order to start making changes, I’m all for it. Look what Lance Armstrong and his yellow bracelets did - he made charity fashionable. Genius! I’m willing to swallow my sarcastic remarks and feel happy that this green epidemic is taking over.
Cashing in on trends is just smart marketing. The green wave is not the only movement sweeping the globe. Don’t things seem so much cooler when you can ‘2.0-ify’ them? Oh man.
And what if you could classify something as both 2.0 and green? My God that is brilliant. Someone should really think about how to position themselves as ‘Green 2.0′. Actually - it appears that Software-as-a Service ( SaaS) has done just that.
Traditional software relies on energy inefficient, draining and cumbersome hardware. And as technology progresses (which it will do - forever), out-dated pieces of hardware are difficult to recycle. By comparison, SaaS reduces those pesky carbon dioxide emissions, and there’s no new gadget to purchase. The web delivers the software to you without effort.
Centralized SaaS data centers also minimize waste. Instead of individuals operating individual data centers, a large communal SaaS data center is more efficient, leaner and greener.
SaaS is so cool.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: cool, data center, green, Lance Armstrong, SaaS
Man, that is one audacious blog title. But I’m going to roll with it. What is the future of software in business?
I won’t pretend to try and definite it here, but one thing is for sure. Classic software vendors are having to redefine their business model due to cloud computing.
Google Docs are free. There is no enterprise suite subscription or upgrade option. For a company that relies on advertising, they are able to provide solutions free to both consumers and businesses. Service-oriented architecture is now easy to come by and even easier to use. With an intuitive user-interface, SOA is not only user friendly but also cost effective. It is the unequivocal future of software.
Web 2.0 pure play companies have come to grips with the value of cloud computing and offer the enterprise light weight, web-based solutions. But what will really be interesting to watch is how classic software vendors adopt these tools into their existing platform, as well as the strategy implemented as they go to market.
You can’t change horses in the middle of the race, but the change is inevitable.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: cloud computing, future of software, SOA
I spoke today with the Director of Marketing of a web content management organization. We had a really good chat about the two distinctly different ways companies can approach this web 2.0 thing, and wanted to share them with you.
1. 1. Operationally: how does this change my IT department’s functionality? Our network? Our licensing?
2. 2. The CMO’s Perspective: ultimately how do I promote my brand value? There’s a couple of things to consider under this angle:
A) Brand experience / emotional connection
B) Unique differentiator within the market
C) How do I ensure I am what my buyers want? How do I remain niche?
D) Supply chain
E) Here’s the doozy: Digital Interaction
The digital interaction portion of the perspective is the tricky part, especially as the market becomes more web 2.0 savvy.
He shared a story with me about one of his colleagues who was driving with his 12 year old daughter on the way to soccer practice. He asked her what she thought he should get her Mother for her birthday. The daughter replied that Dad should buy Mom an iPod, as Mom was forever borrowing hers.
Dad asked her if she thought it might be better to get a Microsoft Zune, which he’d seen heavily advertised. His daughter rolled her eyes and told her Father that he obviously didn’t know anything about marketing. Dad laughed and asked her what she meant. His daughter replied that if you have to advertise a product, it’s obviously not very good.
From a 12 year old’s perspective, conventional marketing methods are trite and forced - they no longer engage but rather make pathetic attempts to grab attention. Media has changed so much, and it seems the youth almost have a better grasp on what works and what doesn’t.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: marketing, media, web 2.0, Zune
Lots of people have said it – but is the web truly democratic? Really and truly? Is the web genuinely equally accessible?
And for that matter, is anything actually equally accessible? Apologies for sounding pessimistic, but the only thing I could come up with was oxygen. I asked a few of my friends to name some items that they considered democratic. The only good one they could think of was mortality. Wee! This post is on its downward spiral.
In fairness, I should make the distinction between democracy and democratic principles. Here the definition becomes less stringent. Self-regulation is an integral part of the democratic ideal. Web 2.0 technologies allow the people - the constituents - to produce, monitor and therefore control data. For the most part, there is no federal intervention. You can flag me for removal or report me to the webmaster, but there is (almost) absolute freedom of expression.
As 2008 is an election year, I voted in the California primaries a couple of weeks ago. I walked a few blocks to my local polling station, drew the arrow connecting my selection and then happily slapped my shiny red ‘I Voted!’ sticker on. Although the process wasn’t particularly painful, I couldn’t help but feel the experience was kind of a pain in the arse – at least for me. I would have rather cast my vote online. But would that process make voting more accessible, or less? Would the majority of United States citizens prefer to vote electronically?
I did some research, and it seems someone has had a similar thought. E-democracy is in its infancy, but it appears to have caught the attention of civic-focused groups who want to keep the governed closer to the folks with power. Electronic voting is their wish list, as is reaching out to youth and boosting voter turnout. However, E-democracy does have its shortcomings. Those in opposition feel that utilizing technology would strengthen the digital divide shown in different age groups. It would also be costly and potentially worse than ‘hanging chads’ in terms of security and identity fraud.
So will I be casting my vote from my laptop in 2012? I wouldn’t be surprised.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: democracy, E-democracy, mortality, oxygen, voting
