For eBay's CEO John Donahoe: “I believe that you’re going to see more change in how consumers shop and pay … in the next three years, than we’ve seen in the last 20 years... and 2012 will be an “inflection point in retail, shopping, and paying.”
Why is that? Consumers, he said, are blurring the line between offline and online shopping at a “stunningly fast” rate. For half the retail transactions last year, the consumer accessed the web at some point during the shopping experience, he explained. As a result, Donahoe said, some of the world’s largest retailers have asked eBay for help in competing in this “multichannel world,” as he calls it.
Through the acquisitions of GSI, RedLaser, and Milo, along with payments solution PayPal, eBay has transformed itself from an auction site to an open commerce platform (X.commerce). The auction side of eBay’s business, he added, now represents just 10 percent of the overall business.
“We’re enablers,” Donahoe said. “The real winners are going to be retailers … the retailers that adapt a multichannel shopping experience.”... Consumers, not retailers, are driving innovation in retail. The shift in the amount of money spent in the fourth quarter at physical stores to that spent via mobile devices was stunning"...“We’re providing mobile capabilities that consumers are grabbing … but the consumer is in charge here.”
eBay made $11 billion in revenue in 2011 and closed out the year with an especially strong fourth quarter thanks in no small part to its mobile applications. eBay’s mobile applications, Donahoe said, have been downloaded more than 65 million times and accounted for $5 billion in sales volume.
Source:
http://venturebeat.com/2012/01/24/john-donahoe-dld/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Venturebeat+%28VentureBeat%29
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @infocomAnalysis
A blog on the convergence of info-communications industries: communications, computing, electronics, entertainment, publications and education. Strategic, technological and financial analysis. English and French blog. Cette chronique traite de l’évolution des industries de l’information et des communications et couvre des aspects stratégiques, technologiques et financiers, comme l’économie du savoir et de l’innovation. L’auteur est Associé principal de Infocom Intelligence.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
3 emerging social learning trends
According to a recent survey by TrainingMag.com, US total expenditures in training appear to be increasing. The amount spent on training jumped about 13% from 2010, including increases in overall training budgets and payroll, and spending on outside products and services.
3 social learning trends are emerging:
1. Social Learning
For Tony Bingham, CEO of the American Society for Training and Development: “Social learning is learning with and from others, often — but not always — with social media tools,” Bingham explains. “Social learning is a powerful approach to sharing and discovering a whole array of options, leading to more informed decision-making and a more intimate, expansive and dynamic understanding of the culture and context in which we work.”
There are many benefits to incorporating social learning into an organization: “Incorporating social learning creates networks of knowledgeable people to work across time and space to make informed decisions and solve complex problems,” Bingham says. “Learning happens more quickly and broadly. Innovation happens faster. And tacit knowledge can be retained and reused.”
2. Social Networking Techniques
Many trainers are using social networking platforms to create activities and exercises for their programs. Jane Bozarth,author of Social Media for Trainers explains how using social networks can enhance training: “Social media tools help to amplify the social and informal learning already going on in organizations all the time, every day, and make the learning available on a much larger scale. They provide ways to connect talent pools and expertise in an organization or within a practice area, and can offer just-in-time solutions to problems and performance issues.”
“Participants are happy to engage with one another using social media tools for training purposes. They find it convenient, useful for learning at the moment of need, and [that it helps them] develop a greater sense of control over their learning.”
“Social media tools are just tools and can be effectively employed to support the gamut of training activities, from introductions to role plays to discussions of video clips, and anything in between.” But she does offer one recommendation: “I hope we see learning and development practitioners moving toward partnering with learners and away from feeling their role is to direct them.”
3. Gamification
A frequent training request is make subjects fun — and what better way to learn a new topic than by playing a game? Karl M. Kapp, professor of instructional technology at Bloomsburg University and author of The Gamification of Training: Game-based Methods and Strategies for Learning and Instruction, shares the concept of using games for learning. “Studies indicate that games, when designed properly, motivate learners, improve learner retention and encourage students who aren’t typically ‘academic’ to partake in the learning process,” he says. “There is no reason learning has to always be hard or difficult.”
“When done correctly, gamification provides an experience that is inherently engaging and, most importantly, promotes learning. The elements of games that make for effective gamification are those of storytelling, which provides a context, challenge, immediate feedback, sense of curiosity, problem-solving, a sense of accomplishment, autonomy and mastery.”
Adding social networks and games to training programs has the potential to shake up the learning experience. It can create constant learning opportunities, real-time knowledge sharing and improved participant engagement.
Source : Mashable
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
3 social learning trends are emerging:
1. Social Learning
For Tony Bingham, CEO of the American Society for Training and Development: “Social learning is learning with and from others, often — but not always — with social media tools,” Bingham explains. “Social learning is a powerful approach to sharing and discovering a whole array of options, leading to more informed decision-making and a more intimate, expansive and dynamic understanding of the culture and context in which we work.”
There are many benefits to incorporating social learning into an organization: “Incorporating social learning creates networks of knowledgeable people to work across time and space to make informed decisions and solve complex problems,” Bingham says. “Learning happens more quickly and broadly. Innovation happens faster. And tacit knowledge can be retained and reused.”
2. Social Networking Techniques
Many trainers are using social networking platforms to create activities and exercises for their programs. Jane Bozarth,author of Social Media for Trainers explains how using social networks can enhance training: “Social media tools help to amplify the social and informal learning already going on in organizations all the time, every day, and make the learning available on a much larger scale. They provide ways to connect talent pools and expertise in an organization or within a practice area, and can offer just-in-time solutions to problems and performance issues.”
“Participants are happy to engage with one another using social media tools for training purposes. They find it convenient, useful for learning at the moment of need, and [that it helps them] develop a greater sense of control over their learning.”
“Social media tools are just tools and can be effectively employed to support the gamut of training activities, from introductions to role plays to discussions of video clips, and anything in between.” But she does offer one recommendation: “I hope we see learning and development practitioners moving toward partnering with learners and away from feeling their role is to direct them.”
3. Gamification
A frequent training request is make subjects fun — and what better way to learn a new topic than by playing a game? Karl M. Kapp, professor of instructional technology at Bloomsburg University and author of The Gamification of Training: Game-based Methods and Strategies for Learning and Instruction, shares the concept of using games for learning. “Studies indicate that games, when designed properly, motivate learners, improve learner retention and encourage students who aren’t typically ‘academic’ to partake in the learning process,” he says. “There is no reason learning has to always be hard or difficult.”
“When done correctly, gamification provides an experience that is inherently engaging and, most importantly, promotes learning. The elements of games that make for effective gamification are those of storytelling, which provides a context, challenge, immediate feedback, sense of curiosity, problem-solving, a sense of accomplishment, autonomy and mastery.”
Adding social networks and games to training programs has the potential to shake up the learning experience. It can create constant learning opportunities, real-time knowledge sharing and improved participant engagement.
Source : Mashable
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
The business model of Twitter according to CEO Jack Dorsey
According to Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter, the company did not have a real business model until recently since they are now targeting advertising revenue. They concentrated on getting a critical mass of subscribers first which then gave rise to an exponential traffic growth. They now have more than 190 million users, which are tweeting 65 million times a day . Twitter’s market value has reached $7 billion in January 2012, according to SharesPost. Twitter’s new business model relies on charging for access to its full data stream. According to GigaOm , it will feature promoted tweets in search results and promoted trends in its trending topics . It will publicize sales and other deals. Twitter is even considering inviting users to pay to promote their Twitter accounts. Promoted tweets would represent a Twitter-specific version of Google AdWords. Thus, Twitter is still experimenting with new sources of revenues. As for Facebook, Telcos will have to determine if they want to have Twitter as a partner and at what conditions.
Jack Dorsey, the CEO and co-founder of Twitter recently gave an interview to TechCrunch:
"What is Twitter compared to Facebook, Google+ and other social networking services?
Twitter is different because we’ve always been about hosting public conversations, that are real-time to boot. There’s always been this perception that you need to tweet to use Twitter, but we see a huge number of people using it for the discovery of news, events, content and so on. Our focus on simplicity is another differentiating factor....
Twitter was obviously born from a blogging-centric mindset, but where we shine is real-time discovery, being able to open up Twitter and instantly see what’s going on in the world, or with your friends and family. When we recently redesigned the website, we focused a lot on the discovery part of the equation, making it very simple for people to get value out of Twitter without necessarily participating...
Twitter has just acquired Summify, in order to deliver relevant content to people, instantly.
In the long run, is Twitter going to become a destination for information, or a distribution channel that brings traffic to other websites?
The beautiful thing about the service is that it is both. The most amazing thing about Twitter is that it reaches every single device on the planet, from the cheapest phone to the most advanced smartphone. We’re not just about distribution, but also about people sharing content on Twitter.
Do you want to be a distribution channel or a destination site?
Well, it’s a blurry line, but in essence we think of every tweet as a destination on itself, while Twitter is also a mechanism for distribution of content.
It look a long time for Twitter to develop a business model, and it’s based on advertising. We can agree that Twitter is big in perception but comes up short when it comes to engagement and stickiness. Do you need the same level of engagement other social networks enjoy to make your business model work?
Twitter’s business model has been in development for quite some time, and it works. Advertisers use it and we see them coming back for more. The market has vetted, and confirmed that they want to keep using it. Twitter’s ‘Promoted’ products — including promoted tweets, accounts and trends — are currently seeing 3 to 5 percent engagement. We’re always looking to increase engagement, but I also think about other things, like that fact that our technology can have a positive impact on the world and how businesses interact with their customers.
So what you’re saying is that even with the extremely minimal exposure of ads that you deliver, engagement can still prove sufficient enough to make for lots of revenues down the line?
Absolutely, it’s huge. Every signal that we’re getting from both users and advertising proves to us that people want more of it.
What’s more important to you as a business right now: make money or get more users? And you can’t answer both.
Both. It’s not really a fair question. We think of revenue as not a destination but as oxygen that feeds the model and vice versa. You can’t build a product without revenue, but you can’t focus on revenue without having a product either. Twitter is an organic system and product. Time and time again, you see companies whose revenue model makes their products better, just look at how Google AdSense improved search.
Source of the interview: TechCrunch.
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
Jack Dorsey, the CEO and co-founder of Twitter recently gave an interview to TechCrunch:
"What is Twitter compared to Facebook, Google+ and other social networking services?
Twitter is different because we’ve always been about hosting public conversations, that are real-time to boot. There’s always been this perception that you need to tweet to use Twitter, but we see a huge number of people using it for the discovery of news, events, content and so on. Our focus on simplicity is another differentiating factor....
Twitter was obviously born from a blogging-centric mindset, but where we shine is real-time discovery, being able to open up Twitter and instantly see what’s going on in the world, or with your friends and family. When we recently redesigned the website, we focused a lot on the discovery part of the equation, making it very simple for people to get value out of Twitter without necessarily participating...
Twitter has just acquired Summify, in order to deliver relevant content to people, instantly.
In the long run, is Twitter going to become a destination for information, or a distribution channel that brings traffic to other websites?
The beautiful thing about the service is that it is both. The most amazing thing about Twitter is that it reaches every single device on the planet, from the cheapest phone to the most advanced smartphone. We’re not just about distribution, but also about people sharing content on Twitter.
Do you want to be a distribution channel or a destination site?
Well, it’s a blurry line, but in essence we think of every tweet as a destination on itself, while Twitter is also a mechanism for distribution of content.
It look a long time for Twitter to develop a business model, and it’s based on advertising. We can agree that Twitter is big in perception but comes up short when it comes to engagement and stickiness. Do you need the same level of engagement other social networks enjoy to make your business model work?
Twitter’s business model has been in development for quite some time, and it works. Advertisers use it and we see them coming back for more. The market has vetted, and confirmed that they want to keep using it. Twitter’s ‘Promoted’ products — including promoted tweets, accounts and trends — are currently seeing 3 to 5 percent engagement. We’re always looking to increase engagement, but I also think about other things, like that fact that our technology can have a positive impact on the world and how businesses interact with their customers.
So what you’re saying is that even with the extremely minimal exposure of ads that you deliver, engagement can still prove sufficient enough to make for lots of revenues down the line?
Absolutely, it’s huge. Every signal that we’re getting from both users and advertising proves to us that people want more of it.
What’s more important to you as a business right now: make money or get more users? And you can’t answer both.
Both. It’s not really a fair question. We think of revenue as not a destination but as oxygen that feeds the model and vice versa. You can’t build a product without revenue, but you can’t focus on revenue without having a product either. Twitter is an organic system and product. Time and time again, you see companies whose revenue model makes their products better, just look at how Google AdSense improved search.
Source of the interview: TechCrunch.
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
Monday, January 23, 2012
New article on Seeking Alpha about Research in Motion
Our new article about Research in Motion is available on Seeking Alpha:
RIM'S New CEO Is Buying Time To Postpone Sale.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/321346-rim-s-new-ceo-is-buying-time-to-postpone-sale
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
RIM'S New CEO Is Buying Time To Postpone Sale.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/321346-rim-s-new-ceo-is-buying-time-to-postpone-sale
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
10 facts that help in the success of start-ups
Here are 10 facts that help in the success of start-ups, according to a Harvard study:
1-Serial entrepreneurs are more likely to build successful startups than first time entrepreneurs.
2-Who is more likely to get a VC's check; a founder who failed at their last venture or a founder who succeeded? If it's the same VC firm, the failed entrepreneur.
3-Is running a successful venture skill, luck or timing? Successful entrepreneurs are skilled at timing the market.
4-Success breed success.
5-Are companies that are funded by top-tier VC firms more likely to succeed? yes in general.
6- If a startup's founder has been successful before, how important is the VC? If a startup is founded by previously successful entrepreneurs, then the VC firm doesn't really matter.
7-Where do most entrepreneurs get their ideas from? From former employers.
8-Will VCs give the same entrepreneur funding on their next venture? Not usually. The same venture capital firm that funded you before probably won't give you money again.
9-Who closes VC funding faster, a serial entrepreneurs or a new founder? Serial entrepreneurs receive venture capital faster than first-time entrepreneurs.
10-Who receives a higher initial valuation, seasoned entrepreneurs or new ones? New entrepreneurs.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/why-some-startups-succeed-and-others-fail-10-fascinating-harvard-findings-2012-1?nr_email_referer=1&utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=SAI%20Select&utm_campaign=SAI%20Select%20Mondays%202012-01-23#do-serial-entrepreneurs-have-a-leg-up-on-first-time-entrepreneurs-1#ixzz1kIrfLUym
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
1-Serial entrepreneurs are more likely to build successful startups than first time entrepreneurs.
2-Who is more likely to get a VC's check; a founder who failed at their last venture or a founder who succeeded? If it's the same VC firm, the failed entrepreneur.
3-Is running a successful venture skill, luck or timing? Successful entrepreneurs are skilled at timing the market.
4-Success breed success.
5-Are companies that are funded by top-tier VC firms more likely to succeed? yes in general.
6- If a startup's founder has been successful before, how important is the VC? If a startup is founded by previously successful entrepreneurs, then the VC firm doesn't really matter.
7-Where do most entrepreneurs get their ideas from? From former employers.
8-Will VCs give the same entrepreneur funding on their next venture? Not usually. The same venture capital firm that funded you before probably won't give you money again.
9-Who closes VC funding faster, a serial entrepreneurs or a new founder? Serial entrepreneurs receive venture capital faster than first-time entrepreneurs.
10-Who receives a higher initial valuation, seasoned entrepreneurs or new ones? New entrepreneurs.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/why-some-startups-succeed-and-others-fail-10-fascinating-harvard-findings-2012-1?nr_email_referer=1&utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=SAI%20Select&utm_campaign=SAI%20Select%20Mondays%202012-01-23#do-serial-entrepreneurs-have-a-leg-up-on-first-time-entrepreneurs-1#ixzz1kIrfLUym
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
Thursday, January 19, 2012
The art of tech start-up pivoting
There is a interesting article in the NY Times on the art of tech start-up pivoting.
“In the legal and entertainment industry, you can only fail so many times,” Professor Hosanagar said. “But the culture of Silicon Valley is one where failure is embraced.”
A VC adds it is easier when you are a small start-up to pivot and change the business model, since few will notice. For Ben Horowitz, one of the founders of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. “The art of the pivot is to do it fast and early. The older and bigger the business, the harder it is to change directions.”
Sometimes a pivot is necessary when the pace of Internet evolution has made a start-up’s original plan obsolete. “The Web we were building for a few years ago is almost no longer relevant,” said Michael LaValle, the co-founder of Gojee, a recipe recommendations app. “The Internet changes so fast.”
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalyis
“In the legal and entertainment industry, you can only fail so many times,” Professor Hosanagar said. “But the culture of Silicon Valley is one where failure is embraced.”
A VC adds it is easier when you are a small start-up to pivot and change the business model, since few will notice. For Ben Horowitz, one of the founders of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. “The art of the pivot is to do it fast and early. The older and bigger the business, the harder it is to change directions.”
Sometimes a pivot is necessary when the pace of Internet evolution has made a start-up’s original plan obsolete. “The Web we were building for a few years ago is almost no longer relevant,” said Michael LaValle, the co-founder of Gojee, a recipe recommendations app. “The Internet changes so fast.”
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalyis
Huffington Post will launch 24-Hour Online News Network in February
Recently, Reuters announced its web TV programming iniative with YouTube. Now, AOL’s Huffington Post Media Group is developing an even more robust online video offering for its own website: the Huffington Post Streaming Network, or HPSN. Presently, competitors are the Wall Street Journal and Fox News offer live online programming in the style of cable news, but only during the workday. Bloomberg also makes its live broadcast available for free on the iPad 24 hours per day, but most cable news operations only share short clips of their TV programming on the web.
Huffington Post Streaming Network can be view as a cable channel minus the subscription. Thus, the Huffington Post‘s existing editorial staff of 300+ will offer live commentary throughout the day, and the footage will later be cut into clips to be embedded throughout the site. Presumably we can expect to access the stream through the Huffington Post‘s apps as well.
Further information would be announced at a press event in New York City on Feb. 2.
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
Huffington Post Streaming Network can be view as a cable channel minus the subscription. Thus, the Huffington Post‘s existing editorial staff of 300+ will offer live commentary throughout the day, and the footage will later be cut into clips to be embedded throughout the site. Presumably we can expect to access the stream through the Huffington Post‘s apps as well.
Further information would be announced at a press event in New York City on Feb. 2.
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
16 great quotes by tech entrepreneurs
Here are 16 great quotes by tech entrepreneurs:
Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple: "I'm convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance."
Max Levchin, former CTO of PayPal: "The very first company I started failed with a great bang. The second one failed a little bit less, but still failed. The third one, you know, proper failed, but it was kind of okay. I recovered quickly. Number four almost didn’t fail. It still didn’t really feel great, but it did okay. Number five was PayPal."
Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn: "You jump off a cliff and you assemble an airplane on the way down."
Caterina Fake, co-founder of Flickr: "So often people are working hard at the wrong thing. Working on the right thing is probably more important than working hard."
Pete Cashmore, founder of Mashable: "We are really competing against ourselves. We have no control over how other people perform."
Jason Calacanis, founder CEO of Mahalo.com: "There is no luck, you work hard and study things intently. If you do that for long and hard enough you're successful."
Evan Williams, co-founder of Twitter : "Be a user of your own product. Make it better based on your own desires. But don't trick yourself into thinking you are the user."
Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and Square, gave a speech to Bishop DuBourg grads: "Expect the unexpected, and whenever possible, be the unexpected." Those words are from Lynda Barry's novel 'Cruddy.' I've carried them with me for some time. There's a lot in my life I wasn't expecting. One is the realization that I stood at this pulpit and delivered a reading for my own graduation...15 years ago. Unexpectedly, I'm old."
Mark Pincus, founder of Zynga: "Not having a clear goal leads to death by a thousand compromises."
Mike Maples, managing partner at Floodgate: "It's not the entrepreneur that failed. It's the business that failed. In life, you win some and lose some. The trick is to fail aggressively. And to not have everyone take it personally. Not leave regrets in the playing field. Not everything is going to work in life."
Google's Matt Cutts on TED: "A few years ago, I felt like I was stuck in a rut, so I decided to follow in the footsteps of the great American philosopher, Morgan Spurlock, and try something new for 30 days. The idea is actually pretty simple. Think about something you've always wanted to add to your life and try it for the next 30 days. It turns out, 30 days is just about the time to add a new habit or subtract a habit - like watching the news -- from your life."
Dennis Crowley, co-founder of Foursquare: "It there's something you want to build, but the tech isn't there yet, just find the closest possible way to make it happen."
Fred Wilson, co-founder of Union Square Venture: "Markets come and go. Good businesses don't."
Paul Graham, co-founder of Y Combinator: "Running a startup is like being punched in the face repeatedly, but working for a large company is like being waterboarded."
Marc Benioff, co-founder of Salesforce: "The secret to successful hiring is this: look for the people who want to change the world."
Steve Jobs: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple: "I'm convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance."
Max Levchin, former CTO of PayPal: "The very first company I started failed with a great bang. The second one failed a little bit less, but still failed. The third one, you know, proper failed, but it was kind of okay. I recovered quickly. Number four almost didn’t fail. It still didn’t really feel great, but it did okay. Number five was PayPal."
Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn: "You jump off a cliff and you assemble an airplane on the way down."
Caterina Fake, co-founder of Flickr: "So often people are working hard at the wrong thing. Working on the right thing is probably more important than working hard."
Pete Cashmore, founder of Mashable: "We are really competing against ourselves. We have no control over how other people perform."
Jason Calacanis, founder CEO of Mahalo.com: "There is no luck, you work hard and study things intently. If you do that for long and hard enough you're successful."
Evan Williams, co-founder of Twitter : "Be a user of your own product. Make it better based on your own desires. But don't trick yourself into thinking you are the user."
Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and Square, gave a speech to Bishop DuBourg grads: "Expect the unexpected, and whenever possible, be the unexpected." Those words are from Lynda Barry's novel 'Cruddy.' I've carried them with me for some time. There's a lot in my life I wasn't expecting. One is the realization that I stood at this pulpit and delivered a reading for my own graduation...15 years ago. Unexpectedly, I'm old."
Mark Pincus, founder of Zynga: "Not having a clear goal leads to death by a thousand compromises."
Mike Maples, managing partner at Floodgate: "It's not the entrepreneur that failed. It's the business that failed. In life, you win some and lose some. The trick is to fail aggressively. And to not have everyone take it personally. Not leave regrets in the playing field. Not everything is going to work in life."
Google's Matt Cutts on TED: "A few years ago, I felt like I was stuck in a rut, so I decided to follow in the footsteps of the great American philosopher, Morgan Spurlock, and try something new for 30 days. The idea is actually pretty simple. Think about something you've always wanted to add to your life and try it for the next 30 days. It turns out, 30 days is just about the time to add a new habit or subtract a habit - like watching the news -- from your life."
Dennis Crowley, co-founder of Foursquare: "It there's something you want to build, but the tech isn't there yet, just find the closest possible way to make it happen."
Fred Wilson, co-founder of Union Square Venture: "Markets come and go. Good businesses don't."
Paul Graham, co-founder of Y Combinator: "Running a startup is like being punched in the face repeatedly, but working for a large company is like being waterboarded."
Marc Benioff, co-founder of Salesforce: "The secret to successful hiring is this: look for the people who want to change the world."
Steve Jobs: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
The top 7 social networks
Here ia a list of the top 7 social networks.
New comers: Pinterest
The one surprising: Myspace still has a big number of users.
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com<
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
New comers: Pinterest
The one surprising: Myspace still has a big number of users.
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com<
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
New reports from Infocom Intelligence are now available online
New reports from Infocom Intelligence are now available online. The table of content of the reports are available on the following web link.
http://www.infocomintelligence.com/newreports.htm
1- The technologies and strategies behind new mobile services : Profile of the Canadian industry
[Nature of mobile technologies, evolution of the industry.]
2- Formation sur l’investissement en capital privé pour les anges financiers potentiels ou actuels
The author of the reports is Louis Rhéaume, which has the scolarity of a doctorate in business administration, concentration in strategic management, innovation management and corporate finance. He holds a Master’s degree in finance and he has completed the first level of CFA. He has numerous years of experience in consulting, strategy, and financial analysis, mainly in the telecommunications and computing industries. He has also been a researcher in the group MINE (Management of Innovation in the New Economy), where he was in charge of the area of telecommunication services. Mr. Rhéaume has consulted in telecommunications, performance indicators of ITC, computing, IT security issues, video games, insurance and airlines. He is a contributor to the financial web site Seeking Alpha (http://seekingalpha.com/author/louis-rheaume). He has also published scientific articles on mergers and acquisitions, strategic management and corporate universities. His new chapter of a book on technology business models will be published soon by Nova Science. It is written with expert Dr. Yves Rabeau of UQÀM. https://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=25245
He is also a teacher at the Télé-Université (TELUQ-UQÀM), where he teaches 10 finance courses such as: financing, corporate finance, financial risk management, performance indicators, value creation and financial strategy, financial projects analysis. These courses belong to the University’s second cycle for the candidates to the CGA aaccounting accreditation. His thesis project was related to strategic management of innovation project portfolios and the dilemma Buy or Build innovation.
For more information you can contact us.
Louis Rhéaumne
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
514-528-6422
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
http://www.infocomintelligence.com/newreports.htm
1- The technologies and strategies behind new mobile services : Profile of the Canadian industry
[Nature of mobile technologies, evolution of the industry.]
2- Formation sur l’investissement en capital privé pour les anges financiers potentiels ou actuels
The author of the reports is Louis Rhéaume, which has the scolarity of a doctorate in business administration, concentration in strategic management, innovation management and corporate finance. He holds a Master’s degree in finance and he has completed the first level of CFA. He has numerous years of experience in consulting, strategy, and financial analysis, mainly in the telecommunications and computing industries. He has also been a researcher in the group MINE (Management of Innovation in the New Economy), where he was in charge of the area of telecommunication services. Mr. Rhéaume has consulted in telecommunications, performance indicators of ITC, computing, IT security issues, video games, insurance and airlines. He is a contributor to the financial web site Seeking Alpha (http://seekingalpha.com/author/louis-rheaume). He has also published scientific articles on mergers and acquisitions, strategic management and corporate universities. His new chapter of a book on technology business models will be published soon by Nova Science. It is written with expert Dr. Yves Rabeau of UQÀM. https://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=25245
He is also a teacher at the Télé-Université (TELUQ-UQÀM), where he teaches 10 finance courses such as: financing, corporate finance, financial risk management, performance indicators, value creation and financial strategy, financial projects analysis. These courses belong to the University’s second cycle for the candidates to the CGA aaccounting accreditation. His thesis project was related to strategic management of innovation project portfolios and the dilemma Buy or Build innovation.
For more information you can contact us.
Louis Rhéaumne
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
514-528-6422
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
Nouveaux rapports de Infocom Intelligence disponible en ligne
De nouveaux rapports de Infocom Intelligence sont maintenant disponible en ligne. Les tables des matières sont sur le site web de Infocom Intelligence. (Voir lien plus bas).
http://www.infocomintelligence.com/nouveauxrapports.htm
1-The technologies and strategies behind new mobile services : Profile of the Canadian industry
[Nature of mobile technologies, evolution of the industry.]
2-Formation sur l’investissement en capital privé pour les anges financiers potentiels ou actuels
L'auteur des 2 rapports est Louis Rhéaume qui a la scolarité d'un doctorat en administration des affaires, concentration en stratégie de gestion, gestion de l'innovation et finance corporative, à l'UQÀM. Il a également une maîtrise en finance et fait le premier niveau du CFA. Il a plusieurs années d'expérience en consultation stratégique, et en analyse financière, principalement dans les industries des télécommunications et de l'informatique. Il a été aussi chercheur pour le groupe de recherche MINE (Management de l'Innovation dans la Nouvelle Économie) où il s'occupait des services de télécommunications.
M. Rhéaume a eu des mandats de consultation en télécommunications, informatique, indicateurs de performance en TIC, sécurité en TI, jeux vidéos, assurance et lignes aériennes. Il a fait quelques publications scientifiques en fusions et acquisitions, stratégie de gestion et sur les universités corporatives. Il est collaborateur au site financier Seeking Alpha (http://seekingalpha.com/author/louis-rheaume). Il est aussi chargé de cours à la Télé-Université pour 10 cours de finance au premier et deuxième cycle universitaire. Son projet de thèse de doctorat portait sur la gestion stratégique de portefeuille de projets d'innovation et le dilemme Acheter ou Concevoir l’innovation.
Pour plus de renseignements vous pouvez nous contacter.
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
514-528-6422
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
http://www.infocomintelligence.com/nouveauxrapports.htm
1-The technologies and strategies behind new mobile services : Profile of the Canadian industry
[Nature of mobile technologies, evolution of the industry.]
2-Formation sur l’investissement en capital privé pour les anges financiers potentiels ou actuels
L'auteur des 2 rapports est Louis Rhéaume qui a la scolarité d'un doctorat en administration des affaires, concentration en stratégie de gestion, gestion de l'innovation et finance corporative, à l'UQÀM. Il a également une maîtrise en finance et fait le premier niveau du CFA. Il a plusieurs années d'expérience en consultation stratégique, et en analyse financière, principalement dans les industries des télécommunications et de l'informatique. Il a été aussi chercheur pour le groupe de recherche MINE (Management de l'Innovation dans la Nouvelle Économie) où il s'occupait des services de télécommunications.
M. Rhéaume a eu des mandats de consultation en télécommunications, informatique, indicateurs de performance en TIC, sécurité en TI, jeux vidéos, assurance et lignes aériennes. Il a fait quelques publications scientifiques en fusions et acquisitions, stratégie de gestion et sur les universités corporatives. Il est collaborateur au site financier Seeking Alpha (http://seekingalpha.com/author/louis-rheaume). Il est aussi chargé de cours à la Télé-Université pour 10 cours de finance au premier et deuxième cycle universitaire. Son projet de thèse de doctorat portait sur la gestion stratégique de portefeuille de projets d'innovation et le dilemme Acheter ou Concevoir l’innovation.
Pour plus de renseignements vous pouvez nous contacter.
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
514-528-6422
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
10 strategic actions Yahoo's CEO should do now.
Here are 10 strategic actions that the management of Yahoo should do.
1. Bring Yahoo email up to par
Yahoo email is actually more popular competitor Gmail — with 302 million users globally, according to Yahoo’s statistics. But Gmail is growing quickly and will eventually win this battle. Both of them are far behind Microsoft’s Hotmail client, which reported 360 million unique users in July.
Yahoo mail still doesn’t allow people to use their accounts as an all-purpose e-mail utility for work, enterprise and recreational unless they pay for a premium subscription — meaning if you want to hide ads, gain offline access via POP, use more than 100 filters/labels or forward your mail to other accounts — you have to pay $19.99 annually.
2. Restore Flickr to greatness
Flickr rose in popularity because it amplified the ability of photographers to store, catalog and share their hobby. Eventually, Yahoo saw its potential and purchased the company. And many critics have argued that’s pretty much where the service went wrong.
Fast forward to 2012, and we see that the iPhone is now the most used camera for uploading pictures to Flickr. We also see that Instagr.am, a startup that gives users filters for pictures they take with mobile phones, has pulled in 13 million users and been named Apple’s number one iOS app of 2011. The problem is that Flickr isn’t mobile enough. The company needs a happy medium between Flickr and Instagr.am — and it needs it fast.
3. Consolidate & trim the fat
Yahoo desperately needs another consolidation plan — something that combines all of its social products into one nice, neat package the way Google is attempting to do with Google+. It’s not enough for Yahoo to provide integration of these services. The company needs to take (another) hard look at what products and areas it’s successful in, and concentrate on them entirely.
This also means the company will inevitably have to trim the fat. Services like Yahoo’s IntoNow, a social check-in service for people watching TV frequently, is hot. Several analysts see the product going anywhere in the future. Yahoo has a history of building great services and not knowing quite what to do with them, leading the company to do nothing more often than not. It should consolidate IntoNow into Yahoo’s other social services and kill things like Yahoo Deals and 4cast.
4. Better organize
The company has several very popular media channels for sports and lifestyle/culture that aren’t being used to their fullest potential. Partnerships between Yahoo and other services (Monster.com, Match.com, etc.) are mixed in with all the other Yahoo channels, which probably earns the company lots of money for placement, but isn’t very desirable for the overall user experience. Yahoo should reorganize these channels, affiliate services and products into something more manageable.
5. Clean up the homepage
Yahoo’s homepage is extremely busy. It has a somewhat complete list of apps/services in a left sidebar, tabs along the top, trending topics on the right along with must-see trending videos, a collection of recent and interesting news down the middle. The company can certainly do a better job of streamlining its services into something more appealing than the current offering.
6-Get Back Into Search
Yahoo partnered with Microsoft to have Bing power its search engine a couple of years ago, part of a deal that let Yahoo run advertising for both. While the arrangement may make sense from a financial standpoint, it robs Yahoo of direct control over one of its primary products, and strengthen's Bing's brand more than Yahoo's. The move basically told them to never come back.
7-Platform First, Services Second
Yahoo has a problem with its products: It's always chasing its competition. Typically, an innovator or competitor will launch a service, then Yahoo will follow much later with a similar product that's inferior. And its core services (search, email) were quickly outclassed by more nimble and focused players. Think Flipboard vs. Livestand, Gmail vs. Yahoo Mail and Digg vs. Yahoo Buzz. Over the past six or seven years, Yahoo has been the ultimate me-too digital brand.
Even though some of those services have improved (notably Mail), a bunch of disparate services does not make a platform. This is something Facebook, Amazon and Google understand, but Yahoo doesn't. Yahoo has a bunch of people using its services, but they're not connected in any meaningful way. Yahoo needs to find its focus going forward -- maybe it's the multitude of niche and hyper-local Groups that are still very popular -- and start uniting its suite of products around that.
8- Make a similar HuffPo Move
When AOL bought The Huffington Post, it was a questionable decision, but it was a strong move forward in the company's plan to morph itself as a media company. It also got people talking about the brand again. Yahoo needs an equivalent action to really assert itself either as an innovator or serious player in the media business. Acquiring the right startup or small-but-growing company (I'm looking at you, Tumblr) could give Yahoo direction, attention and something it's in short supply of -- cool.
9-Get Allies
Yahoo can't compete in every digital sectors. Yahoo's aging brand needs more focus. Yahoo killed its me-too deals service after a few short months last year, so now might be a good time a partnership with Groupon, which could use the help after that firm's shaky IPO. Yahoo made a strategic deal with Facebook in 2010, and it might be worth expanding that. LinkedIn is another company, at least demographic-wise, that might be a good match. Mobile is clearly an area that Yahoo wants to grow in, and there are some key players (Microsoft, RIM, Nokia, Sony) that would also love to take a bite out of Apple and Google.
10-Exit Asia
Yahoo's stake in Asia has been financially lucrative, but it's still a distraction. Its holdings in both Yahoo Japan (35%) and Alibaba Group (42%) don't give Yahoo enough control to make any difference to its core brand. It's already looking at making a deal to sell off these assets,. That'll give the company more focus and a big pile of cash to help it innovate in the coming (hopefully) years and maybe make interesting acquisitions such as vertical WebMD.
Conclusion
The company is in needs of a coherent innovation strategy that relies on a good mix between internal and external innovation building capabilities; acquisitions of innovation from start-ups and hot niche players; and alliances.
Source: Venture Beat and Mashable
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
1. Bring Yahoo email up to par
Yahoo email is actually more popular competitor Gmail — with 302 million users globally, according to Yahoo’s statistics. But Gmail is growing quickly and will eventually win this battle. Both of them are far behind Microsoft’s Hotmail client, which reported 360 million unique users in July.
Yahoo mail still doesn’t allow people to use their accounts as an all-purpose e-mail utility for work, enterprise and recreational unless they pay for a premium subscription — meaning if you want to hide ads, gain offline access via POP, use more than 100 filters/labels or forward your mail to other accounts — you have to pay $19.99 annually.
2. Restore Flickr to greatness
Flickr rose in popularity because it amplified the ability of photographers to store, catalog and share their hobby. Eventually, Yahoo saw its potential and purchased the company. And many critics have argued that’s pretty much where the service went wrong.
Fast forward to 2012, and we see that the iPhone is now the most used camera for uploading pictures to Flickr. We also see that Instagr.am, a startup that gives users filters for pictures they take with mobile phones, has pulled in 13 million users and been named Apple’s number one iOS app of 2011. The problem is that Flickr isn’t mobile enough. The company needs a happy medium between Flickr and Instagr.am — and it needs it fast.
3. Consolidate & trim the fat
Yahoo desperately needs another consolidation plan — something that combines all of its social products into one nice, neat package the way Google is attempting to do with Google+. It’s not enough for Yahoo to provide integration of these services. The company needs to take (another) hard look at what products and areas it’s successful in, and concentrate on them entirely.
This also means the company will inevitably have to trim the fat. Services like Yahoo’s IntoNow, a social check-in service for people watching TV frequently, is hot. Several analysts see the product going anywhere in the future. Yahoo has a history of building great services and not knowing quite what to do with them, leading the company to do nothing more often than not. It should consolidate IntoNow into Yahoo’s other social services and kill things like Yahoo Deals and 4cast.
4. Better organize
The company has several very popular media channels for sports and lifestyle/culture that aren’t being used to their fullest potential. Partnerships between Yahoo and other services (Monster.com, Match.com, etc.) are mixed in with all the other Yahoo channels, which probably earns the company lots of money for placement, but isn’t very desirable for the overall user experience. Yahoo should reorganize these channels, affiliate services and products into something more manageable.
5. Clean up the homepage
Yahoo’s homepage is extremely busy. It has a somewhat complete list of apps/services in a left sidebar, tabs along the top, trending topics on the right along with must-see trending videos, a collection of recent and interesting news down the middle. The company can certainly do a better job of streamlining its services into something more appealing than the current offering.
6-Get Back Into Search
Yahoo partnered with Microsoft to have Bing power its search engine a couple of years ago, part of a deal that let Yahoo run advertising for both. While the arrangement may make sense from a financial standpoint, it robs Yahoo of direct control over one of its primary products, and strengthen's Bing's brand more than Yahoo's. The move basically told them to never come back.
7-Platform First, Services Second
Yahoo has a problem with its products: It's always chasing its competition. Typically, an innovator or competitor will launch a service, then Yahoo will follow much later with a similar product that's inferior. And its core services (search, email) were quickly outclassed by more nimble and focused players. Think Flipboard vs. Livestand, Gmail vs. Yahoo Mail and Digg vs. Yahoo Buzz. Over the past six or seven years, Yahoo has been the ultimate me-too digital brand.
Even though some of those services have improved (notably Mail), a bunch of disparate services does not make a platform. This is something Facebook, Amazon and Google understand, but Yahoo doesn't. Yahoo has a bunch of people using its services, but they're not connected in any meaningful way. Yahoo needs to find its focus going forward -- maybe it's the multitude of niche and hyper-local Groups that are still very popular -- and start uniting its suite of products around that.
8- Make a similar HuffPo Move
When AOL bought The Huffington Post, it was a questionable decision, but it was a strong move forward in the company's plan to morph itself as a media company. It also got people talking about the brand again. Yahoo needs an equivalent action to really assert itself either as an innovator or serious player in the media business. Acquiring the right startup or small-but-growing company (I'm looking at you, Tumblr) could give Yahoo direction, attention and something it's in short supply of -- cool.
9-Get Allies
Yahoo can't compete in every digital sectors. Yahoo's aging brand needs more focus. Yahoo killed its me-too deals service after a few short months last year, so now might be a good time a partnership with Groupon, which could use the help after that firm's shaky IPO. Yahoo made a strategic deal with Facebook in 2010, and it might be worth expanding that. LinkedIn is another company, at least demographic-wise, that might be a good match. Mobile is clearly an area that Yahoo wants to grow in, and there are some key players (Microsoft, RIM, Nokia, Sony) that would also love to take a bite out of Apple and Google.
10-Exit Asia
Yahoo's stake in Asia has been financially lucrative, but it's still a distraction. Its holdings in both Yahoo Japan (35%) and Alibaba Group (42%) don't give Yahoo enough control to make any difference to its core brand. It's already looking at making a deal to sell off these assets,. That'll give the company more focus and a big pile of cash to help it innovate in the coming (hopefully) years and maybe make interesting acquisitions such as vertical WebMD.
Conclusion
The company is in needs of a coherent innovation strategy that relies on a good mix between internal and external innovation building capabilities; acquisitions of innovation from start-ups and hot niche players; and alliances.
Source: Venture Beat and Mashable
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
Monday, January 09, 2012
What is the performance of the average US successful start-up?
TechCrunch's CrunchBase, did a new analysis of all the start-ups exits. It listed that the average successful company has raised $25.3 million, and sold for $196.8 million, for investor profits of 676% (if you assume the investors own 100% of the company, which they normally don’t).
Ont he other hand, IPO-bound companies generated lower percentage returns, but made a lot more money per exit. The average one raised $580.3 million while private, then went public with a market cap of $2.3 billion on its first day of public trading for 303% profit on investment (while investors probably aren’t selling all their stock on the first day, it is just one way to measure IPO exits).
Source: http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/03/crunchbaseexits/
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
Ont he other hand, IPO-bound companies generated lower percentage returns, but made a lot more money per exit. The average one raised $580.3 million while private, then went public with a market cap of $2.3 billion on its first day of public trading for 303% profit on investment (while investors probably aren’t selling all their stock on the first day, it is just one way to measure IPO exits).
Source: http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/03/crunchbaseexits/
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
Saturday, January 07, 2012
10 quotes from Andy Grove, former CEO of Intel
In 1997, CEO magazine chose Andy Grove as its "CEO of the Year," and Time magazine made him "Man of the Year." He built Intel into the 7th largest corporation in the world. He is now an adviser to Intel and a strategy lecturer at Stanford University. He was also one of the mentors of Steve Jobs.
Here are 10 quotes from Andy Grove:
"When TV first came, people tried to look at it as a radio with pictures. We're at the stage now where the Internet is TV with poor connections."
"A fundamental rule in technology says that whatever can be done will be done."
"Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive."
"Just as you would not permit a fellow employee to steal a piece of office equipment, you shouldn't let anyone walk away with the time of his fellow managers."
"Stressing output is the key to improving productivity, while looking to increase activity can result in just the opposite."
"You have to pretend you're 100 percent sure. You have to take action; you can't hesitate or hedge your bets. Anything less will condemn your efforts to failure."
"Technology happens, it's not good, it's not bad. Is steel good or bad?"
"People can't memorize computer industry acronyms"
"Your career is your business, and you are its CEO"
In 2000, Grove encouraged America to be "vigilant as a nation to have tolerance for difference, a tolerance for new people." He pointed out that immigration and immigrants are what made America what it is.
Source: Wikipedia
I read his 1996 book "Only the paranoid survive". For me, it is one of the best strategy book in information and communications industries.
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
Here are 10 quotes from Andy Grove:
"When TV first came, people tried to look at it as a radio with pictures. We're at the stage now where the Internet is TV with poor connections."
"A fundamental rule in technology says that whatever can be done will be done."
"Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive."
"Just as you would not permit a fellow employee to steal a piece of office equipment, you shouldn't let anyone walk away with the time of his fellow managers."
"Stressing output is the key to improving productivity, while looking to increase activity can result in just the opposite."
"You have to pretend you're 100 percent sure. You have to take action; you can't hesitate or hedge your bets. Anything less will condemn your efforts to failure."
"Technology happens, it's not good, it's not bad. Is steel good or bad?"
"People can't memorize computer industry acronyms"
"Your career is your business, and you are its CEO"
In 2000, Grove encouraged America to be "vigilant as a nation to have tolerance for difference, a tolerance for new people." He pointed out that immigration and immigrants are what made America what it is.
Source: Wikipedia
I read his 1996 book "Only the paranoid survive". For me, it is one of the best strategy book in information and communications industries.
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
Friday, January 06, 2012
For IBM's former Innovation VP: "The future of innovation is collaboration!.
According to Nicholas M. Donofrio,former VP of Innovation at IBM, collaboration is becoming very important in innovation management. He is Senior Fellow, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and Retired Executive Vice President of Innovation and Technology, IBM.
"Technology, by itself, is no longer the necessary and sufficient condition for success. Some companies had to learn this the hard way. IBM, where I worked for forty-four years, had to undergo a near-death experience to understand that times—and needs and wants—had changed.
Finding What Matters
Today, the innovation that matters is not the latest result of Moore’s Law, or doubling RAM, or tripling pixels. Those things still matter, but they matter much, much less. And, as innovations, they are old hat—merely the continued refinement and improvement of yesterday’s breakthroughs. The innovation that matters now—the innovation that we’re all waiting for,
even if we don’t know it—is the one that unlocks the hidden value that exists at the intersection of deep knowledge of a problem and intimate knowledge of a market, combined with your knowledge, your technology, and your capability … whoever you are, whatever you can do, whatever you bring to the table. This may seem mysterious. Let me explain it this way. The microchip was an innovation—a fundamental, technological innovation. Chips keep getting better
by the year. Is every new one an innovation? Perhaps, of a limited sort, but not in a fundamental way like the first one.
The personal computer was an innovation, not in some technical league; rather, it was the transformational application of existing technology to a new market for new uses. Operating
systems like the one that ran the early Macintoshes, and later Microsoft Windows, were innovations—ones that fundamentally changed not just existing technology but existing products and markets, by revolutionizing the user experience. There already have been several decades of this type of innovation—and some very successful recent examples. Think of the iPhone. Steve Jobs didn’t invent the phone or the cell phone or the handheld computer. But he put them all together into one attractive, easy-to-use, engaging package. Whether a die-hard techie
admits it or not, that’s innovation!
Yet, too many people still think of innovation solely in terms of a wholly new product or technological breakthrough. This is limiting, and it is false. Innovations can arise from fresh thinking in any number of areas: from product to service to process to business model. Michael Dell built a Fortune 500 company by changing the way computers are built and sold—but not changing anything about the device itself.
All of these things unlocked hidden value. It turned out that a more user-friendly interface than typing in the clumsy, unattractive DOS prompt drew people into computing and changed the way business is done and lives are lived. Thank Bill Gates. It turned out that people really wanted a multi-functional mobile phone with great design and were willing to pay for it. The design genius is what Steve Jobs brought to the table. It turned out that people wanted to buy computers directly, choosing for themselves the features they did, and did not, want.
Michael Dell proved that. These innovations not only created billions in wealth and probably millions of jobs—they increased our productivity, saved us time, connected us to new people
and products, and enriched our lives. Before they existed, we didn’t know we needed them and we certainly didn’t want them. Now we can’t live without them.
Limitless Opportunities for Innovation
The good news for innovators and potential innovators is that, given the incredible complexity and diversity of the world today, opportunities for innovation abound. As confused as you think the world is, it’s great for innovators. There are so many problems—some known and some yet to come to light—that opportunities for innovation will never run out. But we have to take a new approach: Start from the problem, not the solution. That is, we no longer can say to ourselves, “The end product is 5 GHz” (or whatever). Rather, we must ask ourselves, “What needs to change?” and then—and only then—start thinking about how to change it. The question of what specific invention or product or innovation to pursue comes after that.
The kind of people who best will be able to seize these opportunities are those I call “T-shaped” as opposed to “I-shaped.” I-shaped people have great credentials, great educations, and deep knowledge—deep but narrow. The geniuses who win Nobel prizes are “I-shaped,” as are most of the best engineers and scientists. But the revolutionaries who have driven most recent innovation and who will drive nearly all of it in the future are “T-shaped.” That is, they have their specialties— areas of deep expertise—but on top of that they boast a solid breadth, an
umbrella if you will, of wide-ranging knowledge and interests. It is the ability to work in an interdisciplinary fashion and to see how different ideas, sectors, people, and markets connect. But even the most brilliant “T” will find it difficult, and perhaps impossible, to innovate entirely on his or her own.
Inevitable Trends
I believe that two inexorable trends follow from this fact. First, nearly all future innovation will be collaborative. Whether it emerges from huge corporations or the smallest businesses, from century-old institutions or the latest startups, innovation will be the product of collaborative, global, and multi-disciplined processes.
My second point, one that will be especially hard for IT people to accept, given their reverence for the sanctity of intellectual property. We inevitably are going to move toward more open standards. There is no other way. Tight-knit circles, secrecy, and firewalls keep out the knowledge that will be needed to devise solutions and make them work.,, The old model of IP protection doesn’t fit the future. And that in itself is a problem to be solved requiring—innovation.
To thrive in this new world, the “I’s” are going to have to transform themselves
into “T’s.” And we’re all going to have to work together more so than we ever
have done before."
Source: Kauffman.org
Conclusion
Innovation managers must be good generalists. Business model innovation can create huge value, not just product or service innovation. Adapters of innovation can create a lot of value when they rely on a good mix of buying and buidling innovation internally and externally, and through collaboration. Microsoft did not invent the operating system, it bought a start-up. Google did not invent the Android, it bought a start-up. Apple did not invent the smartphone or tablet, but the firm created internally a whole wireless ecosystem where customers and partners can extract a lot of value. Similarly to IBM in the beginning of the 1990's, Apple was few months away from bankruptcy in 1997. Both firms are now among the highest capitalizations in the world.
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
"Technology, by itself, is no longer the necessary and sufficient condition for success. Some companies had to learn this the hard way. IBM, where I worked for forty-four years, had to undergo a near-death experience to understand that times—and needs and wants—had changed.
Finding What Matters
Today, the innovation that matters is not the latest result of Moore’s Law, or doubling RAM, or tripling pixels. Those things still matter, but they matter much, much less. And, as innovations, they are old hat—merely the continued refinement and improvement of yesterday’s breakthroughs. The innovation that matters now—the innovation that we’re all waiting for,
even if we don’t know it—is the one that unlocks the hidden value that exists at the intersection of deep knowledge of a problem and intimate knowledge of a market, combined with your knowledge, your technology, and your capability … whoever you are, whatever you can do, whatever you bring to the table. This may seem mysterious. Let me explain it this way. The microchip was an innovation—a fundamental, technological innovation. Chips keep getting better
by the year. Is every new one an innovation? Perhaps, of a limited sort, but not in a fundamental way like the first one.
The personal computer was an innovation, not in some technical league; rather, it was the transformational application of existing technology to a new market for new uses. Operating
systems like the one that ran the early Macintoshes, and later Microsoft Windows, were innovations—ones that fundamentally changed not just existing technology but existing products and markets, by revolutionizing the user experience. There already have been several decades of this type of innovation—and some very successful recent examples. Think of the iPhone. Steve Jobs didn’t invent the phone or the cell phone or the handheld computer. But he put them all together into one attractive, easy-to-use, engaging package. Whether a die-hard techie
admits it or not, that’s innovation!
Yet, too many people still think of innovation solely in terms of a wholly new product or technological breakthrough. This is limiting, and it is false. Innovations can arise from fresh thinking in any number of areas: from product to service to process to business model. Michael Dell built a Fortune 500 company by changing the way computers are built and sold—but not changing anything about the device itself.
All of these things unlocked hidden value. It turned out that a more user-friendly interface than typing in the clumsy, unattractive DOS prompt drew people into computing and changed the way business is done and lives are lived. Thank Bill Gates. It turned out that people really wanted a multi-functional mobile phone with great design and were willing to pay for it. The design genius is what Steve Jobs brought to the table. It turned out that people wanted to buy computers directly, choosing for themselves the features they did, and did not, want.
Michael Dell proved that. These innovations not only created billions in wealth and probably millions of jobs—they increased our productivity, saved us time, connected us to new people
and products, and enriched our lives. Before they existed, we didn’t know we needed them and we certainly didn’t want them. Now we can’t live without them.
Limitless Opportunities for Innovation
The good news for innovators and potential innovators is that, given the incredible complexity and diversity of the world today, opportunities for innovation abound. As confused as you think the world is, it’s great for innovators. There are so many problems—some known and some yet to come to light—that opportunities for innovation will never run out. But we have to take a new approach: Start from the problem, not the solution. That is, we no longer can say to ourselves, “The end product is 5 GHz” (or whatever). Rather, we must ask ourselves, “What needs to change?” and then—and only then—start thinking about how to change it. The question of what specific invention or product or innovation to pursue comes after that.
The kind of people who best will be able to seize these opportunities are those I call “T-shaped” as opposed to “I-shaped.” I-shaped people have great credentials, great educations, and deep knowledge—deep but narrow. The geniuses who win Nobel prizes are “I-shaped,” as are most of the best engineers and scientists. But the revolutionaries who have driven most recent innovation and who will drive nearly all of it in the future are “T-shaped.” That is, they have their specialties— areas of deep expertise—but on top of that they boast a solid breadth, an
umbrella if you will, of wide-ranging knowledge and interests. It is the ability to work in an interdisciplinary fashion and to see how different ideas, sectors, people, and markets connect. But even the most brilliant “T” will find it difficult, and perhaps impossible, to innovate entirely on his or her own.
Inevitable Trends
I believe that two inexorable trends follow from this fact. First, nearly all future innovation will be collaborative. Whether it emerges from huge corporations or the smallest businesses, from century-old institutions or the latest startups, innovation will be the product of collaborative, global, and multi-disciplined processes.
My second point, one that will be especially hard for IT people to accept, given their reverence for the sanctity of intellectual property. We inevitably are going to move toward more open standards. There is no other way. Tight-knit circles, secrecy, and firewalls keep out the knowledge that will be needed to devise solutions and make them work.,, The old model of IP protection doesn’t fit the future. And that in itself is a problem to be solved requiring—innovation.
To thrive in this new world, the “I’s” are going to have to transform themselves
into “T’s.” And we’re all going to have to work together more so than we ever
have done before."
Source: Kauffman.org
Conclusion
Innovation managers must be good generalists. Business model innovation can create huge value, not just product or service innovation. Adapters of innovation can create a lot of value when they rely on a good mix of buying and buidling innovation internally and externally, and through collaboration. Microsoft did not invent the operating system, it bought a start-up. Google did not invent the Android, it bought a start-up. Apple did not invent the smartphone or tablet, but the firm created internally a whole wireless ecosystem where customers and partners can extract a lot of value. Similarly to IBM in the beginning of the 1990's, Apple was few months away from bankruptcy in 1997. Both firms are now among the highest capitalizations in the world.
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Hootsuite's CEO gives his opinion on tech start-ups
There is an interesting Financial Post article about the opinion of Hootsuite's CEO on tech start-ups. Hootsuite is a promising new Canadian tech start-up, that raised recently $3M.
The firm allows businesses to manage and publish to a range of social media accounts including Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus and LinkedIn, without having to log on to separate accounts. Business users can also monitor the success of their social media campaigns using Hootsuite’s analytics service.
For Ryan Holmes: "One thing that has helped is the concept of the lean startup, where you take smaller teams, and work on products that need less dollar capital. Some of the challenges to startups historically were access to capital and intellectual property. However, there has been an evolution thanks to open source technology. Open source has driven down the cost of doing a startup. You can get access to the same open source technology that Facebook and Google use, and you’re able to play with that. Another trend is that the cost of hardware has gone down Consequently, the cost of creating a startup is perhaps a 10th of what it used to be."
Source: http://innovators.financialpost.com/2011/11/28/ryan-holmes-on-why-social-media-is-essential/
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
The firm allows businesses to manage and publish to a range of social media accounts including Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus and LinkedIn, without having to log on to separate accounts. Business users can also monitor the success of their social media campaigns using Hootsuite’s analytics service.
For Ryan Holmes: "One thing that has helped is the concept of the lean startup, where you take smaller teams, and work on products that need less dollar capital. Some of the challenges to startups historically were access to capital and intellectual property. However, there has been an evolution thanks to open source technology. Open source has driven down the cost of doing a startup. You can get access to the same open source technology that Facebook and Google use, and you’re able to play with that. Another trend is that the cost of hardware has gone down Consequently, the cost of creating a startup is perhaps a 10th of what it used to be."
Source: http://innovators.financialpost.com/2011/11/28/ryan-holmes-on-why-social-media-is-essential/
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @InfocomAnalysis
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
SoundCloud the new promising start-up in the hot sector of online sound
Few months ago Mary Meeker, associate for Kleiner Perkins, suggested that the sector of online sound will see a huge growth similar to online video. Kleiner Perkins is now among the new investors in the promising tech start-up SoundCloud. The firm is focusing on audio-sharing in social media and has announced a new round of $50M funding.
Kleiner Perkins partner Mary Meeker will join the SoundCloud board. GGV Capital also participated in the round, which the startup hopes to use to aid in more rapid expansion. SoundCloud’s service was first focused toward professional musicians who needed better options for sharing music online. Currently, SoundCloud is used to distribute podcasts, audiobooks and more. SoundCloud is free for most users and offers paid plans for more hardcore customers.
“SoundCloud has seen exponential growth this year in terms of users and greatly evolved our product offerings,” said SoundCloud founder and CEO Alexander Ljung in a blog post today.
SoundCloud was founded in late 2008 and has taken two previous rounds of funding totaling roughy $16 million. Previous funding came from Union Square Ventures, Index Ventures and Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures. Over the summer of 2011, SoundCloud reported it had reached the significant milestone of five million users, four million of whom joined the service within the past 12 months. The launch of mobile apps had added about a million new people to SoundCloud platform. SoundCloud is headquartered in Berlin.
TechCrunch suggests that SoundCloud has a valuation around $200M now.
Source: http://venturebeat.com/2012/01/02/soundcloud-funding/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Venturebeat+%28VentureBeat%29&utm_content=Google+Reader and
http://gigaom.com/2012/01/02/soundcloud-gets-50-million-in-new-funding/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OmMalik+%28GigaOM%3A+Tech%29&utm_content=Google+Reader and
http://eu.techcrunch.com/2012/01/02/soundcloud-raises-50-million-round-led-by-kleiner-perkins/
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @infocomAnalysis
Kleiner Perkins partner Mary Meeker will join the SoundCloud board. GGV Capital also participated in the round, which the startup hopes to use to aid in more rapid expansion. SoundCloud’s service was first focused toward professional musicians who needed better options for sharing music online. Currently, SoundCloud is used to distribute podcasts, audiobooks and more. SoundCloud is free for most users and offers paid plans for more hardcore customers.
“SoundCloud has seen exponential growth this year in terms of users and greatly evolved our product offerings,” said SoundCloud founder and CEO Alexander Ljung in a blog post today.
SoundCloud was founded in late 2008 and has taken two previous rounds of funding totaling roughy $16 million. Previous funding came from Union Square Ventures, Index Ventures and Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures. Over the summer of 2011, SoundCloud reported it had reached the significant milestone of five million users, four million of whom joined the service within the past 12 months. The launch of mobile apps had added about a million new people to SoundCloud platform. SoundCloud is headquartered in Berlin.
TechCrunch suggests that SoundCloud has a valuation around $200M now.
Source: http://venturebeat.com/2012/01/02/soundcloud-funding/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Venturebeat+%28VentureBeat%29&utm_content=Google+Reader and
http://gigaom.com/2012/01/02/soundcloud-gets-50-million-in-new-funding/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OmMalik+%28GigaOM%3A+Tech%29&utm_content=Google+Reader and
http://eu.techcrunch.com/2012/01/02/soundcloud-raises-50-million-round-led-by-kleiner-perkins/
Louis Rhéaume
Infocom Intelligence
louis@infocomintelligence.com
Twitter: @infocomAnalysis
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