I had my first article published this week for The National Networker, giving a brief review the Game Developer's Conference (GDC), and the networking aspects to the event. I'll be posting a more detailed series of blogs over the next few days, but thought you might enjoy this high-level recap in the mean time.
The National Networker is a Monthly Publication that focuses on many different aspects of networking (geographic, profession, general interest, etc.) . It pretty much has something for everyone. The magazine tries to convey networking strategies beyond the usual tactics. I'm the Technology Editor for this magazine, and it gives me a chance to talk about Technology with a different crowd than my usual Geeks and Tech Heads!
(and yes, it's a little shameless self-promotion, but if you don't toot your own horn every now-and-then, others will use it as a spitoon! :) )
Let me know what you think, and what you might like to see in the column. Over the next few months I will be profiling certain technologies and uses for technology in the networking and online / Social Media / Social Computing space. Stay tuned...
Showing posts with label Networking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Networking. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Shameless Self Promotion - GDC08 - Check It Out!!!
If you have ANYTHING to do w/the gaming industry, you've got to check out and attend GDC! it is THE place to be (E3 and it's ilk are SOOO over-rated).
Plus, as an added bonus...I've finally succumbed to all of the requests & peer pressure - I'll be speaking this year on Outsourcing in the gaming industry, with several of my colleagues. It'll be awesome and great fun, to be sure.
(I think this is the first time I've given a presentation that was BEFORE lunch, and not after...my, the natives will be restless. At least I'm not the last presentation before the bar opens...)
Come learn what to avoid in your next outsourcing situation. Trust me - these lessons can be learned and applied REGARDLESS of what industry in which you happen to find yourself.
Plus, there's lots of weird people here and they're a BLAST to hang out with!
CHECK IT OUT!!!!!!!!
Plus, as an added bonus...I've finally succumbed to all of the requests & peer pressure - I'll be speaking this year on Outsourcing in the gaming industry, with several of my colleagues. It'll be awesome and great fun, to be sure.
(I think this is the first time I've given a presentation that was BEFORE lunch, and not after...my, the natives will be restless. At least I'm not the last presentation before the bar opens...)
Come learn what to avoid in your next outsourcing situation. Trust me - these lessons can be learned and applied REGARDLESS of what industry in which you happen to find yourself.
Plus, there's lots of weird people here and they're a BLAST to hang out with!
CHECK IT OUT!!!!!!!!
Monday, July 02, 2007
Are VCs LinkedIn?
Why not?
I haven't used my network for this, and others I've spoken to in this regard told me that they primarily use the tool to "just network" w/other potential interested parties (either as capital sources or as potential employees / free-lance resources). Presumably, any requests for capital still take place of line...
Let's explore this idea, for a moment...I have a number of smaller companies and some VC / private equity firms in my network...Why not host a virtual “capital review meeting / auction”, whereby capital providers and requesters could come together to review plans, make a case for capital infusions, etc. The best opportunities could (theoretically) go to the capital source that values it the most.
Someone is already doing this - at least on the consumer-side. This is a place where individuals (and even some small companies) post requests for funding, and it seems that just about anything can qualify. Most people seem to use it for personal financing of small business ventures or debt consolidation. There is obviously a need that is being filled here...what about for business?
As more technical capability continues to reach larger numbers of people, at an ever-increasing pace, we will continue to see innovative and creative combinations (who would have predicted that the Government of China (Communist) would have given the Blackstone Group (Capitalist) $3 Billion USD to invest???).
Bottom-line: this will be another barrier that will erode and break down...but not tomorrow.
I haven't used my network for this, and others I've spoken to in this regard told me that they primarily use the tool to "just network" w/other potential interested parties (either as capital sources or as potential employees / free-lance resources). Presumably, any requests for capital still take place of line...
Let's explore this idea, for a moment...I have a number of smaller companies and some VC / private equity firms in my network...Why not host a virtual “capital review meeting / auction”, whereby capital providers and requesters could come together to review plans, make a case for capital infusions, etc. The best opportunities could (theoretically) go to the capital source that values it the most.
Someone is already doing this - at least on the consumer-side. This is a place where individuals (and even some small companies) post requests for funding, and it seems that just about anything can qualify. Most people seem to use it for personal financing of small business ventures or debt consolidation. There is obviously a need that is being filled here...what about for business?
As more technical capability continues to reach larger numbers of people, at an ever-increasing pace, we will continue to see innovative and creative combinations (who would have predicted that the Government of China (Communist) would have given the Blackstone Group (Capitalist) $3 Billion USD to invest???).
Bottom-line: this will be another barrier that will erode and break down...but not tomorrow.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Technology's Unintended Consequences
I recently had a conversation with a consultant the other day, who (about 6 weeks ago) had to immediately drop everything he was working on and temporarily relocate from New York to San Diego. to take care of his sick mother. Her condition required her to have constant care and family attention. Because of how he used technology, not only was he able to do this, but he began to look at his current approach to work in a different light.
The technologies he took advantage of were:
* laptop computer
* wireless Internet connection
* cell phone
* Skype
* office productivity suite
When I spoke w/him, he was sitting on the deck of his mother's house, over looking the pacific ocean. And he sounded pretty happy.
Other than Skype, everything I listed above has been available and people have been using them for a number of years. Technology becomes interesting to me when I look at how people and process interact w/technology. You start to see new possibilities that didn't exist before. Take my friend from above, for example, and let's go back 10 - 20 years:
20 years ago:
* laptop computers were concepts and the 386 desktop was leading edge
* wireless Internet connections did not exist for the mass market; Internet connectivity was still largely limited to academics, Geeks posting on a cryptic BBS somewhere...and then there was DARPA and the Department of Defense...
* cell phone technology existed, but only for a limited market and it was very expensive to use
* IP telephony was not available for the mass market
* office productivity suites largely didn't exist. Apple had some word processing and graphics capabilities available; Lotus Notes was the standard spreadsheet program for PCs, and Word Perfect (remember that one???) was one of the larger players int eh word processing space
Bottom line: he would not have been able to support his mother and maintain / increase his business; one or both would have had to materially suffer
10 years ago:
* laptop computers were becoming more widely available, but they were pretty homogeneous offerings, with a small set of features relative to desktop PCs; most laptops did not have the same "horsepower" (in terms of graphics acceleration, chip speeds, hard drive capacity, monitor visual acuity, etc.). Laptops were for "road warriors" who couldn't afford to be away from their computers
* the Internet was starting to move into the mainstream. America Online (now known a "AOL"
* see Trout & Ries' work on Positioning for some thoughts on that name change...). Netscape was a fledgling browser and not an Alliance w/anyone. America Online was going to bring the Internet to the masses
* cell phone technology became more wide spread; car phones (phones actually built into the arm rests or dashboards of cars) were a status symbol available only in high-end vehicles,m and as an expensive option. In my view, pagers were still more ubiquitous & cheaper than cell phones. So, your boss could push a button on your "electronic leash" but you still had to find a phone to respond back
* IP telephony was experimental technology, and only among the Geek inner-sanctum. Most of the people I knew who were using it were Chinese and Indian ex-pats who wanted to call their loved ones back in their home country
* office productivity suites were really starting to come into their own, as was the notion of bundling different software packages together in general. Microsoft Office had really established itself at this point, and along with some of their other products (do you remember Microsoft Works?), started defining the space and what the market would eventually demand / accept as "the Standard".
Bottom line: he probably could have made it work, it would have been very expensive, and he would have increased mobility relative to his predecessor of 10 years earlier.
Today, all of these technologies are taken for granted. Here's an interesting thought:
One of the next 5 presidents of the United States will most likely have played a Nintendo or Atari game system.
But that's for another blog...
The technologies he took advantage of were:
* laptop computer
* wireless Internet connection
* cell phone
* Skype
* office productivity suite
When I spoke w/him, he was sitting on the deck of his mother's house, over looking the pacific ocean. And he sounded pretty happy.
Other than Skype, everything I listed above has been available and people have been using them for a number of years. Technology becomes interesting to me when I look at how people and process interact w/technology. You start to see new possibilities that didn't exist before. Take my friend from above, for example, and let's go back 10 - 20 years:
20 years ago:
* laptop computers were concepts and the 386 desktop was leading edge
* wireless Internet connections did not exist for the mass market; Internet connectivity was still largely limited to academics, Geeks posting on a cryptic BBS somewhere...and then there was DARPA and the Department of Defense...
* cell phone technology existed, but only for a limited market and it was very expensive to use
* IP telephony was not available for the mass market
* office productivity suites largely didn't exist. Apple had some word processing and graphics capabilities available; Lotus Notes was the standard spreadsheet program for PCs, and Word Perfect (remember that one???) was one of the larger players int eh word processing space
Bottom line: he would not have been able to support his mother and maintain / increase his business; one or both would have had to materially suffer
10 years ago:
* laptop computers were becoming more widely available, but they were pretty homogeneous offerings, with a small set of features relative to desktop PCs; most laptops did not have the same "horsepower" (in terms of graphics acceleration, chip speeds, hard drive capacity, monitor visual acuity, etc.). Laptops were for "road warriors" who couldn't afford to be away from their computers
* the Internet was starting to move into the mainstream. America Online (now known a "AOL"
* see Trout & Ries' work on Positioning for some thoughts on that name change...). Netscape was a fledgling browser and not an Alliance w/anyone. America Online was going to bring the Internet to the masses
* cell phone technology became more wide spread; car phones (phones actually built into the arm rests or dashboards of cars) were a status symbol available only in high-end vehicles,m and as an expensive option. In my view, pagers were still more ubiquitous & cheaper than cell phones. So, your boss could push a button on your "electronic leash" but you still had to find a phone to respond back
* IP telephony was experimental technology, and only among the Geek inner-sanctum. Most of the people I knew who were using it were Chinese and Indian ex-pats who wanted to call their loved ones back in their home country
* office productivity suites were really starting to come into their own, as was the notion of bundling different software packages together in general. Microsoft Office had really established itself at this point, and along with some of their other products (do you remember Microsoft Works?), started defining the space and what the market would eventually demand / accept as "the Standard".
Bottom line: he probably could have made it work, it would have been very expensive, and he would have increased mobility relative to his predecessor of 10 years earlier.
Today, all of these technologies are taken for granted. Here's an interesting thought:
One of the next 5 presidents of the United States will most likely have played a Nintendo or Atari game system.
But that's for another blog...
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