The Week in Geek – Feb. 20, 2009
While the WiG has published continuously since 1997, issues will continue to be less frequent as I work toward completing my book. Thanks for your understanding. I continue to enjoy hearing from you!
Save the Date:
Bob Metcalfe, Inventor of Ethernet & General Partner at Polaris Venture Partners (and the Metcalfe behind “Metcalfe’s Law”) will speak in Fulton 511 on Friday, April 3, 9AM. Topic: “Enernet [as in Energy Net]: Internet History Lessons for Solving Energy”. Part of a full day of talks under the heading “Tech for Good”.
Six Ways to Make Web 2.0 Work
Half of the firms involved in Web 2.0 are dissatisfied with their efforts. McKinsey does an autopsy on failed efforts and contrasts with successes. Among the findings: although these are bottom-up tools, adoption needs help from the top (e.g. an executive champion); what’s in the workflow won’t get used – efforts will fail unless they dovetail with existing processes (no one does extra work unless there’s value). Includes some neat examples from Pixar (who used a video wiki that fit with animation-centric tasks), Lockheed Martin, and Google.
Commentary: we’ve seen some wonderful examples of firms that have created their own firm-centric Web 2.0 efforts (MyStarbucksIdea.com is among the best), but I’m interested in hearing your thoughts and examples on how organizations should react to and engage communities that form outside their control (whether on Facebook, in the blogosphere, Twitter, or other community-creating spaces). Please send your comments to [email protected]. Sorry there’s still no comment field in the blog. A new WiG will be coming with better two-way features later this year.
Printing The NYT Costs Twice As Much As Sending Every Subscriber A Free Kindle
Talk about Atoms to Bits – if the New York Times replaced its print version with a digital copy on the Kindle – and GAVE AWAY the Kindle, it’d actually SAVE MONEY! BusinessInsider ran the math: assuming the Times’ delivery costs are $644 million per year (sources suggest it’s actually MUCH higher), it’d cost about $297 million to give a $359 Kindle to the 830,000 readers who have subscribed to the New York Times for two years or more. Of course, the Kindle experience isn’t anything like the visceral delight one gets from dismantling a fat Sunday paper, and the crossword puzzle can’t be done on the Bezos eBook (yet). But there are two curves out there – one that states that after the recession commodity prices like ink & paper will go nowhere but up. And another that says technology costs will drop as sophistication improves. My first Audible (now a part of Amazon) subscription circa 2000 came with a free MP3 player. It’s only a matter of time before Kindles are free. Maybe not this year, maybe not next, but it’s coming. And you’ve probably seen the Kindle 2.0 is out, although the Writer’s Guild is freaked out about the text-to-speech feature and claims it’s illegal.
Can Free Content Boost Your Sales? Yes, It Can!
Speaking of free, a couple of issues back we reported that Monty Python now gives away free content via the troupe’s free YouTube channel. Well now we have results – sales of Python videos are up 23,000%! Maybe there’s something in this for a guy who gives away his textbook online! The kind folks at Educause profiled my work on the forthcoming book of text and cases “Information Systems: A Manager’s Guide to Harnessing Technology” from FlatWorldKnoweldge. Look for new chapters online at https://gallaugher.com/chapters, soon (including Software in Flux covering open source, SaaS, and Cloud Computing).
Twitter Fast Growing Beyond Its Messaging Roots
Alpha geeks are creating Twitter hacks that do amazing things. One guy rigged his washing machine to give him a tweet when his spin cycle is through. Another has a home security system that tweets when it senses movement inside the house. “Others have incorporated Twitter into their DIY home automation systems. Forgot to turn off the lights? Send a tweet to flip the switch by remote control”. A firm named Botanicalls, sells a Twitter-enabled hardware kit that lets thirsty house plants alert you when they need water. Twitter even helped Lance Armstrong recover his $10,000 bike after it was stolen! Still no business model as the firm rides up the hockey stick of subscribers, but it just nabbed $35 million from Boston-based Spark Capital. Pew says 11% of adults have used Twitter or other ‘microblogging service’. For the record, very few of my students Twitter – Facebook is all they need. Pogue at the NY Times offers a guide for Twitter n00bs (and a little video, too, that shows a real-time feedback example – a nice example for faculty using my Web 2.0 Chapter). And if you feel left out, Geekmania is the service that will Twitter for you (fun read). I’ve got a modest Twitter account, but you’re welcome to connect if you’d like.
Congressman Twitters Secret Mission to Iraq
Things not to do on Twitter: reveal your undisclosed location. Apparently Rep. Peter Hoekstra of Michigan didn’t get the memo. The dude sent Tweets from the green zone, and pithy jubilance about getting BlackBerry service in Baghdad. The problem? The congressional mission was secret! Gadzooks, man, a little discretion in the war zone.
Goodbye, PC (and Mac). Hello, services
I guess that chapter on SaaS and ‘the cloud’ comes at a good time. It’s clear this is the future of computing. Look at the numbers: despite the economy, IBM’s earnings rose 12% – Big Blue’s hardware business was down 20%, but the growth is from the services biz. IBM’s outsourcing biz alone grew 45% last quarter. Intel’s earnings are down 90%, Microsoft’s down 11%, but Mark Benioff’s renting a white truck plastered with a billboard to tool around Silicon Valley declaring that Salesforce.com is hiring. Here’s a great quote on trends from Benioff “customers are not going to bring out their checkbooks for the cost and risk and complexity of big database purchases, or application server purchases, or data center purchases. They’re buying more services, and fewer servers.” As Fortune states, “hardware isn’t dead, but our relationship with it may be changing”.
Tech Execs – Now Boardroom Stars
OK, so I had to modify the title so a particular word wouldn’t flag the WiG e-mail as spam (Fortune, take note). But it’s clear that CIO = “Career Is Over” was your Mom & Dad’s era. Now if you’re not a biz-geek, you’re nobody. I’m hesitant to whistle past the graveyard in this economy, but overall demand for tech workers continues to exceed supply. And it looks like firms continue to pay a premium for workers with Tech skills. And two of the top 10 Best Jobs on Jobs Rated are in Tech.
Confessions of a TED Addict
The 25th TED series (Technology, Education, Design) is held this month. Those in the know have enjoyed the TED podcast archive, riveting talks on everything from Gore’s climate talk to Clinton on poverty to the OLPC. It’s worth a visit. Everyone I know who’s a fan of TED uniformly raves about Jill Bolte Taylor’s “My Stroke of Insight”, where Taylor, a brain scientist, relays what her body went through during and after she suffered a stroke. Of course, it may be better to watch the podcasts than be in the crowd. At least when Bill Gates unleashed a swarm of mosquitoes during his malaria talk(here’s the video).
From Olive to Grape
A non-tech update, but one that’s been part of our Grad TechTrek for two years. BC MBA Alum Miles MacDonnell continues to win awards for his family’s Round Pond Vineyards (where Miles is COO). Round Pond’s estate Cabs have scored spots in The S.F. Chronicle’s Top 100 Wines in 2007 and 2008, and Rachel Ray stopped by on her show’s tour through Napa. And the whole Gallaugher family loves Round Pond’s syrups (blood orange & meyer lemon)! On January 2nd, when the Grad TechTrekkers were about to head to Napa, Miles’ business occupied the entire front page and more of the Wine section of the SF Chronicle (yes, the Chronicle has a Wine section). The vineyard has a new visitor hall and tasting area and is a simply magnificent place to visit while in wine country. Congrats, Miles!
Reaching Through the Locked Door
A little over two years ago, a promising Smith student named Maggie Worthen was incapacitated by a stroke just months before her graduation. But now Maggie has been able to definitively communicate for the first time since she was stricken, thanks to EagleEyes, and the work of BC Profs. Gips and Olivieri (IS) and Tecce (Psychology). It’s difficult to read a story about EagleEyes or see a demo without getting a lump in your throat. The story from the Chronicle offers one of so many that demonstrate how proud we are to have this work at Boston College. And the work continues. Peter Olivieri is now adapting technology from EGI, the gear featured in the 60 Minutes ‘Brain Power’ segment that includes a cap that allows a wearer to think letters and have them appear on screen – no movement needed. Whoa! Our bit of Star Trek happening on the Heights.