February 10th, 2010
Google Buzz: Here's why will lead to a more closed and proprietary Internet
Google Buzz is impressive in that it attempts to link together so many Internet services, and there will be more added in the near future.
Friendfeed (now owned by Facebook) attempted to do the same but Friendfeed suffered from a perception that it was mainly for the geek elite.
Google Buzz and Friendfeed can be viewed as attempts to create a ‘one ring to link them all’ model that many other businesses are also shooting for. If you can own that ring, you rule them all.
You can see that strategy at Facebook, Twitter… and at other companies in their fields, such as Salesforce.com in enterprise apps.
Owning instead of linking…
Google has an advantage in that it owns many web services such as email, photo sharing, document sharing, voice calls, text messaging, maps, news readers, etc.
Facebook is also trying to become the ‘one ring to link them all.’ And like Google, it has its own services; it is about to launch a new souped up email system; it integrates Twitter updates; it has become one of the largest photo and video sharing sites; it has event services, and more services are on their way.
Microsoft Live has a similar strategy and similar services. And other companies are moving in the same direction, for example Nokia, with its OVI push around mobile maps, and other online services.
It will be important to own your own Internet services because third party services will undoubtably start to limit how much of their user data they are willing to share with other businesses. Read the rest of this entry »
February 9th, 2010
ACLU: Google collab with US spy agency is dangerous
I think the ACLU is right.
Google has way too much info about US citizens…and the NSA has a history of spying on US citizens. That can’t be a good combination.
The NSA–a component of the Department of Defense–is an intelligence collection agency with few effective checks against abuse and no public oversight of its activities. In the last decade, the NSA’s vast dragnet of suspicionless surveillance has targeted everyday Americans, in violation of the law and the Constitution.
…The specific terms of the proposed deal are very unsettling. Google announced that they’re asking the NSA to find “vulnerabilities.”
What assurances do we have that a spy organization like the NSA would fix the holes they find and won’t instead use them to tap into our personal data? Cybersecurity for the American people should not be handed over to a military spy agency that has a history of secretly exploiting vulnerabilities, not fixing them.
The ACLU asks that people send a message to Google that strongly opposes a deal with the NSA.
What is interesting about this proposed alliance is that the two sides are still negotiating the terms. This must indicate that Google has not been happy about terms that the NSA has specified.
Good point here from ACLU:
If companies like Google think they need the government’s help to secure their networks, then a civilian agency needs to step up to the task. Cybersecurity for the American people should not be handed over to a military spy agency, one that is insulated from public oversight and has a history of secretly exploiting vulnerabilities, rather than fixing them.
And…
The NSA sucks up the equivalent of the contents of the Library of Congress every six to eight hours, every single day. In the last decade, the NSA’s dragnet, suspicionless surveillance has targeted everyday Americans, in violation of the law and the Constitution.
Google + NSA doesn’t look good…
Send a message to Google that strongly opposes a deal with the NSA.
Please see:
» Tell Google Not to Enter Into an Agreement With the NSA
» Cybersecurity is Not Your Gig, NSA!
February 9th, 2010
IBM software chief doesn't see any fall out from SAP CEO change
It’s been about 6 years since I spoke with Steve Mills, head of IBM’s Software Group - the most profitable business at IBM.
Mr Mills was in town Monday evening to meet with a handful of media and chat about IBM’s green initiatives around municipal infrastructure projects.
I had a chance to go off topic and ask him about SAP and the changes at the world’s largest business software company.
Mr Mills said that he welcomed the changes and that it would not impact IBM’s SAP related business. “SAP is a valued partner and we don’t expect any affect on our SAP related business.”
SAP business is a big business at IBM. The company makes money on consulting services and hardware related to SAP implementations. For every dollar that SAP receives in license revenues, IBM and other systems integrators, make about $9 in services and other revenues.
February 8th, 2010
The British invented much of the Internet
It wasn’t Al Gore after all. The British invented the Internet, or rather key technologies which make up the Internet.
Take a look at this article on BBC News about early British computer pioneers.
Read the rest of this entry »
February 8th, 2010
When suppliers go direct - turning Amazon into an affiliate
Today’s New York Times has a report by Brad Stone on an aspect of online retailing — manufacturers seeking to control what price retailers can advertise on their products.
The Fight over Prices on the Internet - NYTimes.com
Read the rest of this entry »
February 4th, 2010
Classified ads plunge to $6bn from $19.6bn in 2000
Classified ads used to be an important revenue source for newspapers. Craigslist, and other online services, have had a huge impact on this industry.
Rick Edmonds, over on Poynter Online, notes that the classified ads sector dropped to $6 billion in 2009. This compares with $10 billion in 2008, and $19.6 billion in 2000.
Read the rest of this entry »
February 3rd, 2010
Edelman Survey: Trust in tech industry increases over all others
The 2010 Edelman Trust Barometer found that the technology industry has the highest level of trust. And it has widened its lead over all other industries.
- U.S. trust in technology is 78 percent, China at 83 percent and India at 88 percent.
- Tied for the second most trusted industry is Biotech and Automotive at 63 percent, followed by Energy, Retail and Food at 61 percent.
- Only 38 percent trust media (as an institution) to do what is right, down from 46 percent in 2008. Media companies (as an industry) have declined in credibility by 16 points (from 48 to 32 percent).
- In the U.S., media companies are tied with the insurance industry for last place. Banks are second from the bottom.
Although media as a whole lost trust. Does this mean that tech industry media has a higher level of trust because it’s about the tech industry?
February 3rd, 2010
Edelman survey: Trust in all media plunges!
The annual Edelman Trust Barometer always has interesting results. The tenth survey consisted of 4,875 interviews (25 years to 64 years):
The finding that jumped out at me was this:
- Trust in information from friends and peers, “people like me,” dropped by 20 points, from 47 to 27 percent.
- Trust in information from digital media–blogs, social networks, and free content sources like Wikipedia or Google news, remains low: only between 11 percent and 22 percent of respondents express trust in information about companies from these sources.
This is bad news for PR agencies because social media has been the ‘point of the spear’ for so many firms. This is what brings in new business.
This is bad news for all the ’social media experts’ out there trying to convince companies to buy their services because of the potential brand damage from not responding to ‘conversations’ in social media.
What’s the point in jumping to engage if people don’t trust their peers anyway?
This is bad news for many startups that offer real-time monitoring of the ’social’ web. There is less need for their services.
But it’s not just social media…
Other types of media have also fallen in the Edelman Trust Barometer, but not to the same degree as trust in peers.
- Trust in credibility of TV news declined by 20 points, from 44 to 24 percent.
- Trust in news coverage on the radio dropped by 17 points, from 48 to 31 percent.
- Trust in newspapers fell by 14 points, from 46 to 32 percent.
- Only 38 percent trust media (as an institution) to do what is right, down from 46 percent in 2008.
- Media companies (as an industry) have declined in credibility by 16 points (from 48 to 32 percent).
- In the U.S., media companies are tied with the insurance industry for last place. Banks are second from the bottom.
- Top trusted industry is technology and it has widened its lead over other industries.
- Tied for the second most trusted industry is Biotech and Automotive at 63 percent, followed by Energy, Retail and Food at 61 percent.
But why is ALL media less trustworthy?
- Is it because we now have more media now than ever before, both social and traditional sources of media?
- Is it because more of any thing, devalues that thing? We have more media in more forms, at more times, than at anytime in our history. Is trust in media being lost because trust has become more diluted?
- Traditional media still leads as a source for social media. But traditional media is under pressure, with fewer resources. That means more mistakes, less time to check sources, resulting in a lower quality product. That can’t be good for building trust in media.
- Is social media losing trust because of all the social media marketeers that seem to be the loudest voices in many streams?
That would make it seem as if social media can be manipulated, or used to an advantage by businesses. Which is exactly what the social media mavens are saying. A key finding of the Edelman Trust Barometer is that trust in businesses is fragile.
Therefore, is it business involvement in social media that is affecting people’s trust in social and traditional media?
The Edelman survey has raised some interesting questions…
February 2nd, 2010
Chinese spies use cyber hacking and sexual blackmail...
The New York Times recently published a story that Britain’s spy agency, MI5, warned British business people doing business in China about spying attempts that made used of cyber hacking and attempted to ensnare people through blackmail “over sexual relationships and other improprieties.”
Read the rest of this entry »
February 1st, 2010
Silicon Valley spends millions to influence Washington
The Center for Responsive Politics (Opensecrets.org) has collected information on how much corporate America spends to influence the US government. In 2009, more than 15,600 companies spent at least $3.2 billion.
The computer/Internet industries were the third largest industry lobbying Washington, well above the oil and gas industry.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tom Foremski reports on the business and culture of Silicon Valley at the intersection of technology and media. He also writes at Silicon Valley Watcher. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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