Biggest Surprises in 2014: Apple After Steve Jobs

What was the biggest surprise of the year? The continued success of Apple. It’s been a quiet period after Jobs’s disappearance and it is very difficult to step into those shoes, I had not counted on the success. The iPhone 6 is a marvel even if it’s not a groundbreaking innovation. But the Apple Watch … Continue reading “Biggest Surprises in 2014: Apple After Steve Jobs”

Mayer’s Challenge: Merging the Cultures of Yahoo and Tumblr

Yahoo + Tumblr is a good match because Tumblr has the huge and vibrant social network, but no revenues, while Yahoo lacks social, but knows how to earn money on ads. Yahoo + Tumblr are a bad match, because Yahoo is a company with 14,000 employees in a corporate organizational culture needing change, while Tumblr … Continue reading “Mayer’s Challenge: Merging the Cultures of Yahoo and Tumblr”

Meet VeeMe: The Virtual Agent Programmed to Think Like Me

Meet VeeMe, my “virtual me” that acts like me and reacts like me. I’ve written about him/me before (here and here). If you think VeeMe sounds creepy, I agree! But I think it will happen. I both fear it and hope for it. So far, the information revolution has consistently performed beyond our imaginations. Twenty … Continue reading “Meet VeeMe: The Virtual Agent Programmed to Think Like Me”

Innovation AND Jobs—They’re Not Mutually Exclusive

This article was written by David Nordfors, president of IIIJ Innovation and Communication; Sven Otto Littorin, former Minister for Employment of Sweden; and Anders Flodström, vice chair of the executive committee of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology. Nordfors, Littorin, and Flodström are co-organizing the IIIJ International Summit on Innovation and Jobs, March 18-19, … Continue reading “Innovation AND Jobs—They’re Not Mutually Exclusive”

Crossing Sand Hill Road: SLAC, X-Ray Lasers, and the Venture Industry

Sand Hill Road is a chasm. On one side: the lion’s share of prime Silicon Valley venture capital firms. On the other side, less than half a mile away: the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. If the chasm is crossed, it could bring new wealth to the venture industry, well-being to patients, new manufacturing industries, and … Continue reading “Crossing Sand Hill Road: SLAC, X-Ray Lasers, and the Venture Industry”