"I believe companies should be as transparent as possible with information."
Okay, that's a nice platitude...but what does it really mean? It's benign-sounding enough so that it will be difficult to disagree with the statement. It's ambiguous enough that one can't really hold the speaker accountable without more specific information. Much is left up to the speaker to define the terms for themselves, ex post facto.
We're not quite at this point yet, but soon one will begin to argue that without a strong, fully diversified online presence, companies will not be doing all they can to communicate to their various constituents.
Here are several recent examples (and there are more I can share) of what I am talking about:
1. Look at what Sun Microsystems is doing
2. Look at what Toyota and Adidas are doing; even The Economist is taking note
3. Listen to what National Public Radio (NPR) had to say about it this morning
No, this isn't a plug for Second Life or it's non-virtual company, Linden Lab.
It's about being flexible enough to adjust your approach to reach your existing markets in new ways. It's about being courageous enough to let go or test firmly held opinions about "how things should be done".
That's a challenge in any world, with or without any kind of intervention - from government, the marketplace or otherwise.
What are you doing about it for your company and it's brand? What are you doing about it for you and your own brand? And how are you involving those important to your success - your customers, peers, etc. - versus just "going it alone?"
Monday, November 06, 2006
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Been too long...
It's been a couple of weeks since my last post, and much has changed.
Based on feedback from many of you, my blog will be taking a decidedly more "business" tone. While I may interject some personal anecdotes from time to time, expect to see more of my thoughts on things related to IT, management, books, strategy, etc.
As always, keep the comments coming!
Based on feedback from many of you, my blog will be taking a decidedly more "business" tone. While I may interject some personal anecdotes from time to time, expect to see more of my thoughts on things related to IT, management, books, strategy, etc.
As always, keep the comments coming!
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
"Disintermediation" brought to you by You Tube, Google Video, etc.
Check this out...
When I was in the 6th. grade, I remember reading a story depicting a day-in-the-life of a student of similar age, only at some point "in the future".. They lived in houses where the beds were essentially built-in cushions in the floor, the showers were cubes with omni-directional jets of water and warm air (to wash and dry you off), and they wore spray-on clothing.
One of the things that I thought was really cool was the idea of going to school without leaving my house, which showed the student sitting in a room in their house with a television monitor showing their teacher and classmates.
We've had some form of interactive televised knowledge transmission for over 10 years now, with both the education and the medical fields leveraging the technology. But there's another reason why I find this new feature from Google interesting...
Disintermediation.
If ("when", actually) this gets coupled with better two-way, rather than one-way, knowledge transmission, Google has the ability to establish a great position for itself. MySpace is already filled with most of the demographic that want to get (or are already pursuing) college degrees. It's no great leap in logic for them to "naturally" look to the web for their course lectures (in fact, college students are citing Wikipedia references in scholarly papers, over the protests of their professors and the founder / editor of Wikipedia!). Professors can leave their entire lecture "on reserve" rather than just their written notes (which never convey the nuances of an idea).
This will also have an impact the pricing associated with getting a degree ("Eventually", anyway...). Will there be sufficient cachet associated with a degree earned this way? Yes, but it will take some time for the Majority to endorse the idea - at least in the U.S. Baby Boomers are going back to school in record numbers, for a variety of reasons. Other nations who don't have the infrastructure of estbalished universities, however, can now take advantage of this right now.
And so can anyone who has an internet connection.
Think about that for a moment...
True, they won't get the college credits for attending the class, nor the degree to "certify" their "knowledge acquisition". But they will gain the information that they can use.
And isn't that what learning's all about, anyway???
When I was in the 6th. grade, I remember reading a story depicting a day-in-the-life of a student of similar age, only at some point "in the future".. They lived in houses where the beds were essentially built-in cushions in the floor, the showers were cubes with omni-directional jets of water and warm air (to wash and dry you off), and they wore spray-on clothing.
One of the things that I thought was really cool was the idea of going to school without leaving my house, which showed the student sitting in a room in their house with a television monitor showing their teacher and classmates.
We've had some form of interactive televised knowledge transmission for over 10 years now, with both the education and the medical fields leveraging the technology. But there's another reason why I find this new feature from Google interesting...
Disintermediation.
If ("when", actually) this gets coupled with better two-way, rather than one-way, knowledge transmission, Google has the ability to establish a great position for itself. MySpace is already filled with most of the demographic that want to get (or are already pursuing) college degrees. It's no great leap in logic for them to "naturally" look to the web for their course lectures (in fact, college students are citing Wikipedia references in scholarly papers, over the protests of their professors and the founder / editor of Wikipedia!). Professors can leave their entire lecture "on reserve" rather than just their written notes (which never convey the nuances of an idea).
This will also have an impact the pricing associated with getting a degree ("Eventually", anyway...). Will there be sufficient cachet associated with a degree earned this way? Yes, but it will take some time for the Majority to endorse the idea - at least in the U.S. Baby Boomers are going back to school in record numbers, for a variety of reasons. Other nations who don't have the infrastructure of estbalished universities, however, can now take advantage of this right now.
And so can anyone who has an internet connection.
Think about that for a moment...
True, they won't get the college credits for attending the class, nor the degree to "certify" their "knowledge acquisition". But they will gain the information that they can use.
And isn't that what learning's all about, anyway???
Monday, October 02, 2006
Why Do We Have / Need Quad-core Processors?
"For gaming and video rendering." So says Intel (and I agree - AMD will be making their own announcements in this arena soon). For now, check this out.
And this (the audio quality's poor, but the implications are cool). And, last but not least, some additional (marketing fluff ?) from Intel.
With the dev kits in the ISVs' hands, all the industry has to do now is to deliver...
And this (the audio quality's poor, but the implications are cool). And, last but not least, some additional (marketing fluff ?) from Intel.
With the dev kits in the ISVs' hands, all the industry has to do now is to deliver...
Monday, September 18, 2006
What Happens When The Western Meets The Sci-Fi?
Firefly!
I watched Serenity the other night, and afterwards I went and bought the entire Firefly series (never done anything like that before!), site unseen. I saw the Serenity trailer and wanted to see the movie when it came out, but was too busy. I thought it was a very easily engaged (and engaging!) story.
It's pretty well-known what the impact of Westerns have been on Sci-Fi or related movies (the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises being two of the most lucrative examples). But what happens when you look at it form the other way around? Firefly's the result.
It's got a great ensemble cast (both in terms of how the characters are written, and in how the actors use their many talents to bring them to life). It's got great camera direction (some of the shots that would have to zoom in-and-out to gain the proper focus, actors not being perfectly in a shot and really opening up the world, the jerky, silent space shots that later on became popularized in the remake of the Battlestar Galactica series...but that's another blog...). And it has the right amount of “cheese factor” that I got articulate beyond the “I know it when I see it or hear it” formula. The live action and the CGI are, in two words – REALLY AWESOME!
I thought the writing was really great too. I really liked how the characters went back and forth between English and Chinese – especially when they wanted to convey something with more emotion or feeling. They did it so well, as if they had always spoken that way. The technology was a really cool juxtaposition of old and new...people dealing with the past, their presents and wondering if there's a possible future
Another thing I liked about the series was the depth of the writing. I really felt like each of the characters had really complete lives and back stories for each of the characters – I want to know more!!! Sure, there were some cheesy lines and such, but it was a really tightly written script. I just want to know more...they should never have tried pitching it to FOX – it belongs ANYWHERE else (sci-fi, internet / pod casts, etc.)...
Plus, it just looks like a really cool and fun place to work and play...
I watched Serenity the other night, and afterwards I went and bought the entire Firefly series (never done anything like that before!), site unseen. I saw the Serenity trailer and wanted to see the movie when it came out, but was too busy. I thought it was a very easily engaged (and engaging!) story.
It's pretty well-known what the impact of Westerns have been on Sci-Fi or related movies (the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises being two of the most lucrative examples). But what happens when you look at it form the other way around? Firefly's the result.
It's got a great ensemble cast (both in terms of how the characters are written, and in how the actors use their many talents to bring them to life). It's got great camera direction (some of the shots that would have to zoom in-and-out to gain the proper focus, actors not being perfectly in a shot and really opening up the world, the jerky, silent space shots that later on became popularized in the remake of the Battlestar Galactica series...but that's another blog...). And it has the right amount of “cheese factor” that I got articulate beyond the “I know it when I see it or hear it” formula. The live action and the CGI are, in two words – REALLY AWESOME!
I thought the writing was really great too. I really liked how the characters went back and forth between English and Chinese – especially when they wanted to convey something with more emotion or feeling. They did it so well, as if they had always spoken that way. The technology was a really cool juxtaposition of old and new...people dealing with the past, their presents and wondering if there's a possible future
Another thing I liked about the series was the depth of the writing. I really felt like each of the characters had really complete lives and back stories for each of the characters – I want to know more!!! Sure, there were some cheesy lines and such, but it was a really tightly written script. I just want to know more...they should never have tried pitching it to FOX – it belongs ANYWHERE else (sci-fi, internet / pod casts, etc.)...
Plus, it just looks like a really cool and fun place to work and play...
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