I am quite optimistic about the long term potential of augmented reality. But I question whether now is the right time for a top down adoption strategy with a polished consumer product. It seems to me that we are at the hacker and early adopter stage instead. By going with an immediate mass market strategy and embracing celebrities I think Google is taking a very big gamble. Let’s keep in mind that the iPhone was far from the first smart phone. A lot of software and application tinkering had ...

I am quite optimistic about the long term potential of augmented reality. But I question whether now is the right time for a top down adoption strategy with a polished consumer product. It seems to me that we are at the hacker and early adopter stage instead. By going with an immediate mass market strategy and embracing celebrities I think Google is taking a very big gamble. Let’s keep in mind that the iPhone was far from the first smart phone. A lot of software and application tinkering had ...

If ever we needed a reminder that technology can both make our lives better and more terrifying this week provided plenty of them. Pressure cookers for cooking and bomb making. Fertilizer for agriculture and explosions (sadly also used in the Oklahoma City bombing). Social media for collaborative (re)search and public witch hunts. This is why we need values. Without being guided by strong values we will not enjoy the benefits of technology but will be leaving in fear of it instead.

If ever we needed a reminder that technology can both make our lives better and more terrifying this week provided plenty of them. Pressure cookers for cooking and bomb making. Fertilizer for agriculture and explosions (sadly also used in the Oklahoma City bombing). Social media for collaborative (re)search and public witch hunts. This is why we need values. Without being guided by strong values we will not enjoy the benefits of technology but will be leaving in fear of it instead.

I was planning to write more on cyber security but then yesterday I read this harrowing letter from a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay (Gitmo). I don’t take his claims about his lack of involvement at face value. It is irrelevant. He has been held for a shocking 11 years and 3 months without a trial. That goes against everything we as a country should stand for. I wrote in 2010 that “I wish we had the courage to go ahead with a shutdown of Guantanamo, even if that results in releasing people who wi...

I was planning to write more on cyber security but then yesterday I read this harrowing letter from a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay (Gitmo). I don’t take his claims about his lack of involvement at face value. It is irrelevant. He has been held for a shocking 11 years and 3 months without a trial. That goes against everything we as a country should stand for. I wrote in 2010 that “I wish we had the courage to go ahead with a shutdown of Guantanamo, even if that results in releasing people who wi...

Lots of good news about Foursquare. You can read about it from Dennis, Bijan, Fred and myself. I love using the new version of the app – go check it out. All feedback on it is welcome!

Lots of good news about Foursquare. You can read about it from Dennis, Bijan, Fred and myself. I love using the new version of the app – go check it out. All feedback on it is welcome!

Yesterday Facebook announced “Home,” a homescreen takeover application for Android that makes Facebook your phones primary interaction surface. Here are my initial reactions. First, this is a smart move by Facebook as an attempt to counter the threat of unbundling that is posed by apps. Competing apps unbundle different pieces of functionality (Twitter for status, Instagram for photos, Foursquare for location, Kik for messaging, etc). Facebook has rightly recognized that whenever you have unb...

Yesterday Facebook announced “Home,” a homescreen takeover application for Android that makes Facebook your phones primary interaction surface. Here are my initial reactions. First, this is a smart move by Facebook as an attempt to counter the threat of unbundling that is posed by apps. Competing apps unbundle different pieces of functionality (Twitter for status, Instagram for photos, Foursquare for location, Kik for messaging, etc). Facebook has rightly recognized that whenever you have unb...

I have written about CISPA a lot but today is the first important vote on this legislation. If you haven’t done so already, please contact your representatives to let them know you are against this bill. As a reminder it provides for overly broad data sharing between private enterprises and government without any safeguards around how government can use this data. Now it is easier to be against something when you can also be for a credible alternative. What should that be? There are many priv...

I have written about CISPA a lot but today is the first important vote on this legislation. If you haven’t done so already, please contact your representatives to let them know you are against this bill. As a reminder it provides for overly broad data sharing between private enterprises and government without any safeguards around how government can use this data. Now it is easier to be against something when you can also be for a credible alternative. What should that be? There are many priv...

Susan and Oliver’s startup Ziggeo is now out of beta. Today they launched three simple pricing plans which include a free tier. To let everyone try out Ziggeo, I have set up a “screening room” where you can ask me a question or suggest a blog post for Continuations.

Susan and Oliver’s startup Ziggeo is now out of beta. Today they launched three simple pricing plans which include a free tier. To let everyone try out Ziggeo, I have set up a “screening room” where you can ask me a question or suggest a blog post for Continuations.

Last Tech Tuesday, I wrote about growing your engineering organization and the week before that about evolving your technology. Today here are three more best practices for successful engineering growth: APIs - I will have a lot more to say about how APIs relate to strategy in a separate post, but they are also a key internal tool as you grow even if not exposed to third parties. Having clearly defined APIs is what lets different parts of the engineering organization work with different techn...

Last Tech Tuesday, I wrote about growing your engineering organization and the week before that about evolving your technology. Today here are three more best practices for successful engineering growth: APIs - I will have a lot more to say about how APIs relate to strategy in a separate post, but they are also a key internal tool as you grow even if not exposed to third parties. Having clearly defined APIs is what lets different parts of the engineering organization work with different techn...

No Tech Tuesday today, I will resume next week. I have many friends in Boston and knew several people who were in the Marathon. Whatever the police may call the investigation, as far as I am concerned this bombing was an act of terrorism. It was designed to kill randomly and instill fear and anger in the population. Our first thoughts and attention should be on victims and their families as well as the traumatized bystanders and first responders. The Boston tech community is fundraising and y...

No Tech Tuesday today, I will resume next week. I have many friends in Boston and knew several people who were in the Marathon. Whatever the police may call the investigation, as far as I am concerned this bombing was an act of terrorism. It was designed to kill randomly and instill fear and anger in the population. Our first thoughts and attention should be on victims and their families as well as the traumatized bystanders and first responders. The Boston tech community is fundraising and y...

I have written previously about cyber security and cyber defense topics that have become more acute in the wake of several large scale attacks on banks and other companies. Unfortunately, law makers in DC are reacting the only way they seem to know how: by further broadening laws that are already overreaching and yet ineffective at the same time. In particular the House Judiciary committee is proposing changes to make the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) even more draconian. As a quick rem...

I have written previously about cyber security and cyber defense topics that have become more acute in the wake of several large scale attacks on banks and other companies. Unfortunately, law makers in DC are reacting the only way they seem to know how: by further broadening laws that are already overreaching and yet ineffective at the same time. In particular the House Judiciary committee is proposing changes to make the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) even more draconian. As a quick rem...