Jan 312012
 
Google Wants a Deeper Relationship With You

As you may have heard last week, Google has proposed major changes to its privacy policies. The company is billing it as a consolidation and simplification of over 60 separate service policies — Gmail, YouTube, AdWords, Google Search — into one policy. Consumer groups are concerned, and some lawmakers have questions. Here’s coverage from Cecilia […]

Jan 102012
 
The Race to be the OS of Life

There is a battle going on now among technology companies. They all want to be the online entry point for consumers, the operating system for everything we do digitally. I’ve written previously on this topic, calling it an updated version of the old portal strategy from early Web days. I think that comparison is accurate […]

Jun 072011
 

Ev Ehrlich over at High Tech Forum wrote an excellent piece yesterday about some recent comments by Google’s Eric Schmidt. According to Schmidt there are four megafirms right now executing well on what he calls “platform strategies” – Google (search), Apple (gadgets/ecosystem), Amazon (online retailing) and Facebook (social connectivity). It’s a good piece, and even […]

May 132011
 
Burson and Facebook Embarrass Themselves

Previously on this blog I’ve stated that I love the B2B/B2G focus on my agency. We don’t try to sway the masses, manipulate legislation or try to rehabilitate the reputations of foreign dictators. We help our clients achieve their business objectives — sell more of their stuff/services to be blunt — using social media channels. […]

Feb 022011
 
Will Content Farms Kill the Golden Google Goose?

Demand Media’s successful IPO last week has certainly spurred a lot of media coverage around “content farms.” This Sunday the Washington Post had two separate stories in the Business section, one by Michael Rosenwald and the other by Rob Pegararo. Everyone is always looking for a shortcut, and in this case the victim is the […]

Jan 202010
 

The debate around Network Neutrality is sometimes simplified as carriers against content providers, the owners of networks against the businesses that have grown due to Internet connectivity. So it was interesting to read that Google and Verizon filed a joint submission to the FCC last week, laying out in detail how the two companies agreed […]

Jun 032008
 

Fierce competition is back on the web browser front. After Microsoft crushed the Netscape challenge in the mid to late 90’s, Microsoft Explorer cruised for years as the overwhelming leader in the web browser market. It still is, with approximately 75% market share. But out of the Netscape defeat rose the Mozilla Foundation, a non-profit […]

Apr 272008
 
RIM Battles Apple for the $79 PC Market

(graphic credit New York Times) Interesting article in the Times today about the battle between Research In Motion (RIM) and Apple for dominance of the smartphone market. Smartphones are becoming so capable these days I call them $79 personal computers. As the article notes, until the introduction of the iPhone the market was focused on […]

Mar 292008
 

Google didn’t have a particularly good week, despite Neilsen Online reporting on Wednesday that Google continues to widen its lead in US search share over Yahoo and Microsoft. Google now handles almost 59% of all searches here, and almost 63% globally, although that number is down slightly: http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNews/idUSN1931199720080319 More important from a revenue standpoint, the growth […]

Feb 072008
 

This morning I attended an interesting panel discussion on the mobile marketplace. It was sponsored by Potomac Tech Wire and the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority. I was particularly interested in this event because I knew two of the panelists. I worked for Tom Wheeler at CTIA when he led that organization, and I worked with Paul […]

Jan 312008
 

Brian Dolan over at FierceWireless wrote a very interesting editorial today. Now I can get as tired as the next guy with the media’s preoccupation with the big G. But I think Brian is on to something. He posits that rather than actually wanting to win any of the spectrum in the FCC auction, Google is […]