AUGUST 27, 2009

As a voracious consumer of internet media, I’m going to try to post, on a regular basis, the most interesting things I’ve read over the course of the week. Here goes!

• Is anyone surprised that as our lifestyles become more varied, increasingly-weirder insurance products are coming to market? Two from this week: Rapture insurance for the pets of believers, and fantasy football insurance, which covers league fees and other expenses in the event that a highly-rated player goes down to injury. I really could have used this after I drafted Tom Brady last year. (h/t to Tyler Cowen for both links)
• In times where everything looks like it’s going to hell in a handbasket, it’s tough to keep perspective on just how much things have changed in the last 100 years. This chart, from Berkeley professor Brad DeLong, illustrates how radically different our day-to-day lives are from those of our great-great-grandparents. My favorite stat: 25% (!) of households had boarders or lodgers living under the same roof in 1900.
• Pitchfork’s Eric Harvey has a long thought piece on the social history of the MP3 - an investigation into how, exactly, the MP3 has changed the way we interact with music. It’s pretty dense, but worth a read. A lot of Harvey’s piece re-hashes the intellectual property debates that have been raging since the mid-90’s, but one particularly interesting bit is about the social cohesion and shared experience that music once offered. Chances are, if I whistle the chorus of “Can’t Buy Me Love”, someone in the room will be able to sing the words. But what about a song from my current favorite band? Maybe not.
• Time has a piece in this week’s edition entitled “The Real Cost of Cheap Food“. To those familiar with the sustainable food movement, there’s not too much new here, but it’s fascinating to watch new ideas bubble up from a few fringe activists, to academics, to publications geared towards intellectuals like The New York Times magazine, and finally to general-interest, establishment periodicals like Time.

[No Comments »] [TrackBack »]

AUGUST 5, 2009

A few weeks ago, Gloria and I had the opportunity to attend the first ever NASA tweetup. The mid-afternoon event at NASA headquarters in D.C. was quite an incredible experience. Along with a very diverse group of twittering NASA enthusiasts, we were joined by the STS-125 crew who recently returned from a mission to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope.

I would tell you that from my experience, nothing you could read, watch, or listen to about the space program can compare to hearing about it from the astronauts who’ve been there. The movie-like quality of watching a spacewalk was brought, for lack of a better phrase, down to earth as we sat in the same room with the crew describing their experiences.

I was amazed by NASA’s openness because I have always perceived it to be a secretive and illusive organization. But while there are still elements that demonstrated the importance of their work (i.e. pre-registration and an I.D. check), I think everyone involved with the tweetup did a great job of making us feel welcome, appreciated, and included.

The questions asked by the 200+ attendees, some of whom had traveled internationally to be in attendance, were thoughtful and educated. Check out a few of the great wrap-ups from our fellow attendees here, here, and here. 

Beyond the tweetup, NASA has found many other ways to stay connected through social media. Municipalist has a great interview with Bob Jacobs, NASA’s deputy assistant administrator of Public Affairs, about the agency’s ventures into the social media space. And, an article from Computerworld last week described NASA as looking to social networking as a tool for both internal and external use. While we may see the profiles created on Facebook and LinkedIn, NASA is also using this technology within its own walls to share ideas, build relationships, and uncover expertise.

NASA’s internal social network started out with users talking about the network itself, but the chatter soon turned to questions scientists and others were seeking to answer. (…) [T]he result was that 93% of the answers came from people who were in a different NASA center then the questioners, which was proof that the network was breaking down geographic barriers and unlocking potential.

It’s great to see an organization that has long been a symbol of American innovation finding ways to use social media both to advance its mission and to allow us to come along for the ride. I’m thrilled to have experienced NASA so personally and I look forward to watching what’s next.

[Comment(1) »] [TrackBack »]

JUNE 23, 2009

Knowing how companies are urged to be transparent in today’s environment, I was surprised to read about Apple’s success despite its culture of secrecy in this New York Times article, “Apple’s Obsession with Secrecy Grows Stronger.” As journalists Brad Stone and Ashlee Vance wrote:

Few companies… are more secretive than Apple, or as punitive to those who dare violate the company’s rules on keeping tight control over information. Employees have been fired for leaking news tidbits to outsiders, and the company has been known to spread disinformation about product plans to its own workers. [S]ecrecy at Apple is not just the prevailing communications strategy; it is baked into the corporate culture.

They continue, ”[Apple’s] handling of news about the health of [CEO Steve Jobs], who has battled pancreatic cancer and recently had a liver transplant while on a leave of absence, is unparalleled.” This issue is a big deal in the corporate governance world because “the biggest question is whether Mr. Jobs’s approach has led to violating laws that cover what companies must disclose to the public about the well-being of their chief executive.” Some say that because responsibilities for day-to-day operations were passed onto the COO, no further information about Mr. Jobs’s health needed to be shared. On the other hand, some argue that Apple violated the law by not fully disclosing material information, e.g., the CEO’s health. Reportedly, the Security and Exchange Commission is “already looking into [Apple’s] handling of Jobs’s health disclosures.”

Not only is Apple dancing in a fuzzy, gray area of material information, but it is also snubbing its nose at transparency. Some find it “a little odd” that they are a technology company that views themselves as innovative. But at the end of the day, has Apple’s lack transparency hurt the company? It certainly hasn’t impacted the bottom line. While Apple’s stock dropped $2.11 to $137.37 on Monday, it “sold a million units of its new iPhone 3G S over the weekend, well above analysts’ forecasts.”

[No Comments »] [TrackBack »]

MAY 29, 2009

This week’s 5 Forces Summary touches on topics ranging from one of the deadliest diseases in the world - diabetes, a new office for the White House, unemployment issues in Spain, a new study that links liver disease to pollution, and a new technology that improves electronic publishing by adding computer-readable labels to content.

Enjoy your weekends!

• Globalization
  Diabetes and Asia via FitSugar
  A study in the Journal of American Medicine Association highlights how in Asia the age range of people affected by diabetes is significantly younger than the West. In western countries the disease affects people between the ages of 60 to 79 years, but in Asia the age range is 20 to 59 years.
• Innovation
  White House Creates Office Of Innovation via NPR
  The Obama administration has created the new post of White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation.
• Im(migration)
  Immigration Policy a Casualty of Unemployment in Spain via World Politics Review
  The majority of those affected by layoffs in Spain are temporary and self-employed workers, 800,000 of whom lost their jobs in the first quarter of 2009. Many of these jobs losses involve immigrants and the construction sector. A contributing factor is Spain’s famously lenient immigration policy.
• Saturation
  Pollution may contribute to rise in liver disease via Reuters
  Pollutants may be contributing to a sharp increase in the number of cases of liver disease. As many as a third of U.S. adults showed signs of having liver disease not caused by normal triggers such as alcohol abuse and viral hepatitis.
• Personalization
  Semantic technology gains publishing foothold via CNET
  OpenCalais, a Thomson Reuters project to improve electronic publishing by adding computer-readable labels to content, has attracted the attention of several media publishing organizations, including CNET.

[No Comments »] [TrackBack »]

MAY 18, 2009

I finally had some time today to begin catching up on the many, many posts I’ve been neglecting in my Google Reader over the past few weeks. While I hate feeling so far behind, I love that when I finally spend a few hours going through it, I usually emerge with a broader sense of what’s going on than if I read each post individually. Today’s take-away, based on my quick sampling of posts: innovation is key. The bloggers in my reader cited tons of companies, individuals, and even government organizations who are coming up with new, unique ways to solve problems or adapt to the changing market. Of the group, my favorite comes from Danger Mouse (via PSFK).

I first started keeping tabs on Danger Mouse, a music producer whose real name is Brian Burton, in 2004 when he released The Grey Album, an amazing mash-up of Jay Z’s The Black Album and what is often referred to as the Beatles’ White Album. If that doesn’t ring a bell, he was also half of the musical duo Gnarls Barkley, who gave us the song that was stuck in my head for most of 2006 - “Crazy“.

Danger Mouse is making headlines today because of the less-than-traditional format of his new project “Dark Night of the Soul.”  The project includes an album-length piece of music featuring guest vocalists such as Iggy Pop, The Flaming Lips, and Julian Casablancas, along with a 100+ page book of original David Lynch photography inspired by the music. But that’s not what fans who pre-order through the project website will receive with their $50 purchase. According to the website, all copies will also be clearly labeled with the following statement: “For legal reasons, the enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will.”

That’s right, due to a legal dispute with EMI, Danger Mouse says he can’t release the music, but encourages fans to “hear the music, by whatever means” necessary. (If you’re interested in checking out Danger Mouse’s entire album, NPR is streaming it here.) As his past efforts show, Danger Mouse has never been one to shy away from controversy and selling a blank CD and boldly encouraging fans to pirate his work is bound to generate more.

We’ve written about a few of the music industry’s innovative services and even about some of its legal issues here on Undercurrents, but I’m always surprised by the ways artists and companies are redefining the traditional music model. Music is ground ripe for innovation. Artists like Radiohead and Wilco have taken stands for revamping the “old model” and much like in the news industry, the large, powerful companies who once maintained control of the music space are slowly losing power. In addition to battling artists, independent labels, and music start-ups, music’s power players also now have to fight forces from outside their industry. I’m sure that even 10 years ago the major labels would have never guessed that Apple would play such a pivotal role.

Innovation comes in all shapes and sizes, but one thing is certain: in a world as uncertain as the one we currently live in, we need a spirit of innovation. I applaud people like Danger Mouse who take on challenges in a bold, brazen way.

[No Comments »] [TrackBack »]

MAY 15, 2009

Hope you enjoy this week’s edition of the 5 Forces Summary. Have a great weekend!

• Globalization
  Swine flu: the affected nations via The Guardian
  The Guardian maps the outbreak country by country
• Innovation
  Post Original Shredded Wheat Cereal Puts the ‘No’ in Innovation via Reuters
  In a time when many food products are being enhanced with “super ingredients” and altered to match the latest diet trends, one food brand is bucking marketing trends and embracing its “lack of innovation.”
• Im(migration)
  Hard times forcing many young adults back to the roost via Dallas News
  The recession has caused more children to “migrate” back home. According to 2008 census figures, 20 million people ages 18 to 34 live at home with their parents – 30 percent of that age group. Researchers for the Network on Transitions to Adulthood found that since the 1970s, the number of 20-somethings living with their parents has increased by 50 percent. Of those who moved out of the house by age 22, 16 percent returned home before they hit 35, the researchers found.
• Saturation
  Report: Electronic Gadgets Killing the Planet via Fox News
  Paris-based International Energy Agency estimates new electronic gadgets will triple their energy consumption by 2030 to 1,700 terawatt hours, the equivalent of today’s home electricity consumption of the United States and Japan combined.
• Personalization
  TV Revisited: Hulu Soars In Streams, YouTube Commands Marketplace via MediaPost
  Hulu has grown nearly 500% this April versus a year ago to some 373 million streams per month, according to Nielsen Online. Still, Hulu has a long way to go, only pulling in 4% share of the online video marketplace — a distant second place. The biggest site continues to be YouTube with 5.5 billion streams, owning 58.1% of the marketplace. YouTube itself continues to grow — up 36% versus a year ago.

  Posted by Kristen Variola on May 15, 2009 at 6:12 PM
  in 5 Forces Summary, Globalization, Im(migration), Innovation, Personalization, Saturation

  [Comment(1) »] [TrackBack »]

MAY 13, 2009

I admit it - I was a Twitter skeptic.

I originally thought the service was nothing more than a paean to digital narcissism. People could use it to broadcast their every thought, no matter how pointless, to the entire twittersphere, and by extension, the Internet.

But then I started paying more attention to it. The first time I realized it might have a purpose was just over a year ago, when American journalism student James Karl Buck used the service from his phone to let his followers know that he had been arrested in Egypt for filming a protest, leading to an organized response to secure his release.

As time went on, I began to see what it could really be used for. Rather than e-mailing links to friends, a Twitter user could post a quick summary and shortened URL to their entire network - and even use the Twitter app to update their Facebook status, reaching a potentially different audience in one fell swoop.

Suddenly, I began to believe that Twitter was a power platform for information sharing. It could eliminate lots of useless blogging and commentary. Let’s face it - any blogger knows that there are plenty of stories they see that they have no inclination to turn into a post. And too much link-dumping on a blog is boring to readers, who visit because they’re looking for unique content, not a list of outgoing one-offs.

Once I figured out the possibilities, Twitter changed my entire pattern of consuming (and sharing) information.  I now get 90% of my news through Twitter updates. I keep tabs on friend, and what they’re reading/watching/paying attention to, giving me instant access to - if I choose who I follow carefully - trustworthy gatekeepers.  With the Twitter app for my PDA, I now have access to news and information from anywhere that before would have required my visiting any number of sites not optimized for mobile web, meaning I’d often give up before I got anywhere. (As my wife will no doubt tell you, I now rely on this access entirely too much. )

In a twist I found pretty cool, NASA astronaut Mike Massimino, a mission specialist for the current Atlantis mission to repair the Hubble Telescope, decided to become the first man to Tweet from space. So far, he hasn’t been prolific, but the idea of shortening the distance between the final frontier and my phone through a common social media platform is one of those landmark moments in communication that’s almost easy to take for granted. 

Maybe it’s because I always wanted to be an astronaut as a kid, but I just can’t help geeking out a little bit when I imagine Massimo floating around the space shuttle, typing in the words, “From orbit: Getting more accustomed to living in space today and getting ready for our big rendezvous with hubble,” and having that information delivered to me immediately.

Considering the real-time component, in a way, it’s the next best thing to being there.

[Comment(1) »] [TrackBack »]

APRIL 21, 2009

I’m a Millennial (or if you prefer, one of the 95 million people born between the years 1980 and 2000), and it always fascinates me to see what non-millennials have to say about my generation. That’s why I was drawn to an article in The Financial Times earlier this month entitled, “Internet-savvy leaders waiting in the wings.”  It was written by the dean of the School of Business and Technology at Webster University, Benjamin Akande, and he spends the article analyzing Harvard Business School Professor James Heskett’s new book: How Will Millennials Manage?. Heskett’s book addresses our future leaders (that would be the Millennials, or the “iPoders,” as Akande calls us) and our need to embrace change.

According to Akande, embracing change won’t be a problem for us, especially given that we’re the first generation to grow up with digital media, where change happens at break-neck speeds.  He says:

So what will the future look like with iPoders at the helm? It will be a future of innovative doers, who value independent thought. To stay relevant, organisations must successfully recruit and retain them. Andrea Hershatter, associate dean at Goizueta Business School, Emory University, says of iPoders: ‘They don’t feel entitled because they are special. They just want to have those who are closest to them support their quest to achieve and accomplish meaningful goals.’

Why is this quote my favorite part of the whole piece? Because I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to hear older generations voice their support for and confidence in my generation. It’s nice to know that some actually have faith in our ability to achieve great things — unlike others who simply view us as “trophy kids.”

Like Akande and Hershatter, businesses should take note and begin to recruit and embrace the innovative minds of the iPoders.  Those who don’t will miss out our “innovative minds,” and inevitably, fall behind the curve.

[No Comments »] [TrackBack »]

APRIL 10, 2009

Hope everyone is having a great Friday! Here are some recent articles that represent the 5 Forces – Globalization, Innovation, Im(migration), Saturation, and Personalization. See you back at Undercurrents on Monday!

• Globalization

Obama glides into old Europe with new U.S. image from The Christian Science Monitor

Globalization is often described in amoral terms, as if an interconnected world of trade and media is value-neutral. But Obama has been seeking to give moral content to the idea of globalization, saying that what is good for people in one nation is good for everyone.

• Innovation

Skype iPhone App Downloaded One Million Times In First Two Days from Boston.com

Since March 31, the Skype iPhone application reached a record of one million downloads and counting! (That translates to approximately 6 downloads per second, in case you were wondering.) The software allows consumers to hook up to alternative phone services, bypassing their cell carriers.

• Im(migration)

Ineligible Bachelors: Indian Men Living in U.S. Strike Out from The Wall Street Journal

Indian parents used to think it a plus to marry off their daughters to Indian men living in wealthier countries, including the U.S. and Britain. But as India has grown more affluent in recent years, the demand for overseas Indian grooms has been fading. While India’s economy is also slowing down, it is still growing, and layoffs aren’t as widespread as in the West.

• Saturation

Are You a Twit if You Don’t Want to Twitter? from MSNBC

Sociability fatigue is not just being felt by older folks who have lived most of their lives without the Web. As social networking grows, from stream-of-consciousness Twitter to buttoned-up LinkedIn, even some of the younger generation who’ve helped drive the growth of these sites could use a break.

• Personalization

Boomers Make Social Networks a Place of Their Own from USA Today

Social networking is fast becoming a staple for a growing number of adults as Web use surges. One-third of adult internet users have a profile on a social networking site, up from 8% in 2005, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

[Comment(1) »] [TrackBack »]

MARCH 27, 2009

This installment of the 5 Forces Summary covers recent news from discussions on a new global reserve currency to a non-traditional way adoption seekers are finding potential birth moms. Let us know your thoughts on these articles in the comment section and as always check out past summaries here.

• Globalization
  UN Panel Welcomes Debate Over New Global Reserve Currency from The Wall Street Journal
  The head of a United Nations expert panel discussing solutions to the financial crisis on Thursday welcomed the debate over a new global reserve currency and said it would be best managed by a brand new institution.
• Innovation
  Adoption seekers using YouTube, Facebook to find birth moms from CNN
  In the past, adoption advertising, which is allowed in at least 34 states, traditionally relied on costly newspaper and radio advertising as well as brochures, fliers and business cards. In the digital era, these media no longer have the reach they once did.
• Im(migration)
  Hispanics one-fifth of K-12 students from USA Today
  States such as Arizona, California and Nevada are seeing an influx of Hispanics due to immigration and higher birth rates. In 2007, more than 40% of all students in K-12 were minorities — Hispanics, blacks, Asian-Americans and others. That’s double the percentage three decades ago.
• Saturation
  At SXSW, attendees confront Twitter saturation from CNET
  Many people experienced an over-saturation of tweets during South by Southwest, a conference and festival event for entertainment and media industry professionals. The massive number of tweets tagged #sxsw eroded the value that Twitter offered at SXSW 2007 and SXSW 2008 for finding friends and great parties.
• Personalization
  The Daily Me from The New York Times
  Trends show newspapers folding and people getting their news online. Nicholas D. Kristof worries that people are only getting the news they want, not the news they need. He hypothesises that we don’t truly want good information — but rather information that confirms our prejudices.

[No Comments »] [TrackBack »]