Recently a debate has been sparked about the impact of personalized filtering algorithms on the search results different individuals will get from seemingly universal search engines such as Google, Bing etc. The argument made is that these personalized algorithms learn from our online search behaviour and will increasingly modify results to better cater to our preferences, significantly changing overall search results per individual. If all search engines do this, the argument goes, then in the end, all of us are each trapped in a particular information bubble determined by what the filter algorithms perceive as our preferences. What if we add the effects of social and local to those of personalized algorithms to search? Read more…
I recently visited the IDC Cloud Conference in Amsterdam to get an overview of some of the major trends in cloud computing and it’s impact on enterprise IT. What is cloudcomputing? What impact does it have on my organization, processes and products? What do Amazon S3, Google Apps, Salesforce.com, Box.net, Microsoft 365, Sharepoint, Shopify and LinkedIn have in common? What are Saas, Paas? Iaas? Multi Tennant server environments? Virtualization? Why should I care? What risks and opportunities are involved? In the article below you will find some answers.
New economic opportunities are often associated with technological innovation and market deregulation, at least in the last few decades. But how does one compete in these markets without large funds or unique technological capabilities, as most small business owners must? Understanding the fundamental risks and opportunities beneath market deregulatory models and accessing lowcost technological means such as open source software and social media, could be the start of your own unique answer to those questions. Learn more…
Are social media revolutionary engines? Are the Egyptian protests a Facebook Revolution? Is this why the internet was shut down in Egypt? I decided to investigate this claim by the mass media and gather some statistics on social media usage by Egyptians on the topic of the protests from within Egypt in the last week.
One way of approaching product- and business development is watching technological trends such as: Social Media, Green Technology, Tablet PC’s, Mobile Apps and “The Internet of Things” that offer the promise of new markets opening up. How do you integrate these technology trends…
The new technologies emerging everyday from the world of web 2.0 markets are placing new demands on governments, businesses and individuals. Great opportunities and potential threats require new skills to deal with the constantly increasing “Openness”. Freedoms and responsibilities closely associated with an ever increasing transparency force people from all walks of life including business to come to grips with a new ethos as the accomplishments of the winner and runner up of Time Magazine’s Person Of The Year in 2010 illustrate.Are you ready for the new “Openness”?
Developing a website or service that enables web 2.0 social interactions and caters to mobile devices and other preferences of your audience can be either difficult or easy. Before you start off on a development rampage it is probably smart to make a few strategic choices that can save you time and money in the long run. These are some of them.
Is Mark Zuckerberg an evil genius? Is Facebook the defining entity of our times? There has been much talk about “The Facebook Generation” and the evil mastermind behind it. If the movie “The Social Network” is a true story then we can all rest easy: Facebook was just a mediocre idea executed to perfection and backed by the right people at the right time and initiated by a driven perfectionist.
You probably have a Skype subscription or use some other VoiP (Voice Over IP) service. Now you have another alternative:Google Voice For GMail and Google Chat!It may very well be that this step by Google is a sign that the VoiP market for consumers is now maturing and will replace the landline and mobile infrastructures in the next few years. More cheap VoiP devices will be developed and cost of usage may be lowered even more dramatically. This will give home users and small businesses similar opportunities as have been around in the corporate market for years.Is it time to ditch your landline? Maybe (not). Learn more…
Every sales person could tell you that a client gives of signals and that those who know how to play into them could sell a refrigerator to an eskimo. But: do you really want to sell fridges to eskimos? Wouldn’t you rather control which precise audiences you target? A well defined target audience could be the solid basis of your organization’s success. But it doesn’t stop there…What about Social Media?
Customer Focus: solution or problem in times of crisis. As organizations brace themselves in economically hard times it seems a good moment to evaluate the benefits and risks of the Customer Centric machinery they have put- or have neglected to put into place: What is the potential of a Customer Focus approach in times of crisis: what risks are involved. Which measures and values should we adopt to make such a strategy pan out under the current conditions? Versatilty, flexibility and originality appear to be at the basis of some striking and inspiring successes even in an economic crisis.
What are decisive factors in the success or failure of an unknown brand? All of us have had to make the decision wether or not to buy a service by an unknown brand: what are our motives in doing so or not? What causes the sudden rise of an unknown brand such as easyjet? If you’re wondering how to successfully launch an unknown brand yourself or want to look more explicitly at your own buying behaviour as a consumer of services: read the Unknown Brand Poll. Our small panel of highly trained professionals might give you some insight in your own (sub)conscious decisionmaking and in the ever changing commercial landscape around us.
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