Technology
Things You Couldn't Find On The Internet in October 1995
I was sharing on Twitter today about a Newsletter I used to write & produce back in 1995 and Rob Cairn’s said he would like to see it. I thought I would reproduce the content and post it here for you to chuckle over.
Back in 1995 I produced a Newsletter called, ” MARKETING TODAY “, it was an informational piece that was distributed electronically, and the local book store was gracious enough to put it on the magazine rack back in the day. So for a walk down memory lane here is a list of things you couldn’t find on the Internet in October 1995. I even had advertisers in this little beauty!
1.) Material on any subject more than a few years old.
2.) Information about small privately held companies.
3.) Information about most companies not USA Headquartered.
4.) Information about Subsidiaries of major companies.
5.) Specialized Dictionaries or handbooks on business subjects.
6.) Directories of companies by industry and location.
7.) Information on business and trade associations.
8.) Information from small commercial databases.
9.) Franchising companies information
10.) Court reports from state and local jurisdictions.
11.) Telephone, fax and TELEX Directories.
12. Business information in languages other than English.
My closing comments on that article were:
I started this section by saying that the information which isn’t on the net now, soon will be. The Internet allows all of the originators of the information to present themselves, the traditional “middle man” data gathering groups are no longer needed.
Just for fun, I also recommended Seth Godin’s book called, ” E-Marketing”.
Also, the topic of the day was whether or not you should upgrade to Windows 95, OS2 was still very popular back then too.
Of course much of the above if not all is now available and has been for many years, I hope you enjoyed the walk down memory lane.
Scoble's Web 2010 – Owen's Web 2012
I truly enjoy Robert’s perspective on Technology and Social Media, not too mention he is fun to follow on FriendFeed & Twitter too. Robert is very helpful if you approach him the right way, I find him to be respectful, approachable, a solid resource and entertaining. 🙂 In May of this year (2009) Robert Scoble posted an article on his Blog called Exploring The 2010 Web, he covers a number of points on what the 2010 Web is and or is going to be.
Here are the Attributes he listed for us,
Web 2010
1.) It’s Real-Time
2.) It’s Mobile
3.) It’s decentralized
4.) Pages now built out of pre-made blocks.
5.) It’s Social
6.) It’s Smart
7.) Hybrid Infrastructure
I linked to his article above so you can read his definitions in more detail.
Now I agree with Robert’s list for the most part with some additions, I know he knows what I’m adding is coming and he probably will be one of the first (early adopter’s) to play with the new toys. This is not an exhaustive list but you’ll get the picture of our where we are headed.
Here are my additions and I like to call,
Web 2012
1.) In 2012 you will be able to buy off the shelf a computer (device) that can compute faster than the human brain.
2.) Virtual Reality is where we will spend our leisure time
3.) We will not use keyboards, voice recognition will be our method of instructing our device’s what to do
4.) Tower’s will cease production
5.) Laptop production will be vastly reduced
6.) Wireless devices will be integrated into eye care (Glasses and Contact Lenses)
7.) iPHONE’S & BlackBerry type devices will also be greatly reduced in size
When it’s all said and done, you merge these two lists and you have considerable change ahead of us. We are entering an era where Nanotechnology and Virtual Reality will make exponential strides in development and growth, unlike anything we have ever seen. How we communicate will continue to change, communities will continue to grow as we the people take back big business.
I wonder what else might take place in the next 2 – 5 years?
Social Media won't be called Social in the near Future
I was unable to attend BlogWorld EXPO 2009 in Las Vegas this week but it was streamed on a site called Mycontent.com, the service worked very well yesterday but day two was not smooth at all, but the audio was rock solid. So I watched from a far, the real stuff happens after and in between the sessions and of course all the after parties. The meetings after the meeting so to speak. I would love to have been a fly on the wall at many but technology hasn’t made it possible to be in two or three places at once just yet.
This event was chalked full of amazing people sharing and encouraging all of us, but also to help one another, to work together, and build each other up rather than put down and tear down. Chris Brogan as usual brings it with such authority and conviction, he works hard to relate all that he has learned, not from books, from his experiences. Chris doesn’t just preach, he has done or has walked through the experience of what he shares, either himself or a client he was helping. One of my favorite quotes from Chris’s Keynote was, ” Equip the people you want to do business with and they will want to do business with you “. Most people are always thinking about what they can get out of a given relationship or interaction, what I take from Chris is the opposite, help without getting first, then in time you will be rewarded at some level. This does not mean you will get money every time you get something back, it may be in the form of recognition, praise and or being referred to as a trust agent.
I struggle with these major events because there are so many of them and I can’t afford to attend all of them, not always because of cost but because of location and time. I also recognize that you don’t get as much out of the speakers and sessions unless you are actually attending, watching on the Internet doesn’t do any of these events justice in my humble opinion.
An announcement made today on the first panel of day two; State of the Blogosphere Address: Richard Jalichandra & Opening Keynote Address: The Death and Rebirth of Journalism, The announcement was this, Everytime you tweet #beatcancer in the next 24 hours a donation is made by BWE09 (Blogworld EXPO 2009), Tweet’s like this one are choking the Twitter fire-hose:
@scottmonty The organizers of #bwe09 are trying for a world record. RT #beatcancer to raise $ to beat cancer.
There is another shift taking place and it’s the new name of Social Media, it won’t be called Social in the near future or from this event forward, the new name will be….The New Media! This name will represent all types of media, not just the online world but traditional media as well. We’ll see how it takes. Until next time.
Bell & TELUS Canada to Sell iPHONES this November
iPhone
Bell & TELUS Canada announce they will be offering the next generation wireless network for the iPHONE by November 2009, making the device more readily available means prices may drop in the long run but not anytime soon. This move will put pressure on Rogers but it also puts pressure on BELL & TELUS to deliver 100% up time with their Wireless Networks across Canada.
BELL & TELUS said their partnership would allow them to split the approximate $1-billion construction cost and to get to market sooner rather than later.
I’m certain BELL & TELUS have watched closely how Rogers not only rolled out the product but how supported and delivered wireless service throughout Canada. Rogers has enjoyed a Canadian monopoly and one of the hottest products of the mobile age.
Get ready for more competition and hopefully lower prices for the iPHONE in Canada sometime in 2010, OK I’m hoping but still happy to see an option other than Rogers. Here are links to the announcement via BNN & Globe & Mail
I.T. Strategic Plan's Can't Solve One Problem…Office Politics!
Every organization has politics that shapes the culture of an office, this culture also determines whether you’re satisfied with the role you fill and or find the work you do is meaningful. Now I’m generalizing of course, there are many organizations that have healthy environments, they allow those they hire to do what they do best. They foster creativity and the opportunity to improve and actually keep the organization inline with business objectives. There’s also many that don’t, and there are many good and very smart people trying to shine there too.
One thing an I.T. Strategic Plan can’t solve is the politics of an organization. Great strategies never see the light of day due to the political climate of an organization, right or wrong it happens everyday. Some of the brightest minds in an organization won’t be fully utilized, or worse yet, a business could go out of business if the political culture doesn’t change. I don’t have the answer for this and there is no silver bullet, but each office has it’s dynamics to deal with.
Don’t give up, there is hope. As head of I.T. you have a way to ensure your strategy get’s a fighting chance, start with developing a departmental Vision / Mission statement that aligns with the organizations business plan. Pull your team together, brainstorm and start building your purpose statement that makes the political field in your firm take notice. A solid I.T. Strategic Plan germinates from a great Vision / Mission statement, you and your team is the one that has to get it done. Deliver a message that shows everyone how you are committed to the organizations overall vision and then tell them how you are going to help them achieve the goals laid before each department. Every person on the team has to be committed, has to read it, memorize it, learn it and above all believe it or you won’t be able to sell it.
Once you have a strong Vision and Mission you must deliver the message by doing exactly what you said you would do in your strategy. It’s the first step in your I.T. Strategy, taking inventory and paying attention to what the organization is trying to accomplish at a high level. Fly at 50,000 Feet and look for the patterns no one else sees. Look for ways to tie technology to business objectives and you will be golden when you deliver.
Once you have a purpose, you can then focus on the services your team will deliver, these services will be tied to the objectives and Key Result Areas (KRA’s) in your plan. Those are the next two steps and I’ll touch on those another time, for now, sit down and get familiar with your organizations business plan, fly at 50,000 ft. and look for the patterns, then pull the team together to build a MANTRA, a war cry and then get to work. This is just one way to manage the politics in your office, but it’s just one way to proceed. There are many ways to skin a cat my Father used to say but at least do something positive to help the organization win, you and your team will be viewed as a solution provider.