By at least one metric of the health and growth of the NY startup community things could hardly be going better: the quality and quantity of events. This week alone there seems to be at least one event every day that I would love to go and that was before I started looking at Charlie O'Donnell’s wonderful and entertainingly written “This week in the NYC Innovation Community” (if you are in New York and not already a subscriber, head over to http://www.thisisgoingtobebig.com/nycevents imm...

By at least one metric of the health and growth of the NY startup community things could hardly be going better: the quality and quantity of events. This week alone there seems to be at least one event every day that I would love to go and that was before I started looking at Charlie O'Donnell’s wonderful and entertainingly written “This week in the NYC Innovation Community” (if you are in New York and not already a subscriber, head over to http://www.thisisgoingtobebig.com/nycevents imm...

The whole fight about net neutrality is about to take a turn from the abstract to the concrete but in a somewhat unexpected way. It is not ISPs or telcos that are turning out to be the immediate culprits, but rather content owners, specifically TV networks. They are blocking Google TV from accessing their web sites with a regular browser and no changes to the experience. So while you can connect your Google TV to the internet, these sites have chosen to block your access purely on the basis o...

The whole fight about net neutrality is about to take a turn from the abstract to the concrete but in a somewhat unexpected way. It is not ISPs or telcos that are turning out to be the immediate culprits, but rather content owners, specifically TV networks. They are blocking Google TV from accessing their web sites with a regular browser and no changes to the experience. So while you can connect your Google TV to the internet, these sites have chosen to block your access purely on the basis o...

This post is part of my Age of Abundance series. As I remarked in the outline for the series, changes in the income distribution are likely to be an important aspect of the transition. The following lays out my hypothesis is and I am hoping to work with someone to find the numbers to either support this hypothesis or revise it. Part 1 should be fairly uncontroversial (and there should be a lot of data available): past transitions were also associated with big shifts in the wealth distribution...

This post is part of my Age of Abundance series. As I remarked in the outline for the series, changes in the income distribution are likely to be an important aspect of the transition. The following lays out my hypothesis is and I am hoping to work with someone to find the numbers to either support this hypothesis or revise it. Part 1 should be fairly uncontroversial (and there should be a lot of data available): past transitions were also associated with big shifts in the wealth distribution...

So I haven’t seen “The Social Network” yet and there is a good chance I won’t get around to it at all, as I am crazy busy at the moment (and fighting off a cold). But I have read enough reviews that I have a good sense of the positions people are taking. I am a fan of much of John Hagel’s writing and thinking and so was not surprised to see him come up with an excellent review. The gist of Jon’s piece is that “old media” feels compelled to construct a negative narrative around what is happeni...

So I haven’t seen “The Social Network” yet and there is a good chance I won’t get around to it at all, as I am crazy busy at the moment (and fighting off a cold). But I have read enough reviews that I have a good sense of the positions people are taking. I am a fan of much of John Hagel’s writing and thinking and so was not surprised to see him come up with an excellent review. The gist of Jon’s piece is that “old media” feels compelled to construct a negative narrative around what is happeni...

I continue to be amazed how big web pages have grown these days. They are routinely 500+ KB for some trivial amount of actual content. That’s obviously not an issue when I am browsing on a true broadband connection. But at actual 3G speeds on most mobile devices (I realize 4G is sort of here but will be a while before it has any meaningful availability). Maybe another way to express my surprise is to say how few sites seems to be doing much in the ways of mobile browser detection. Would be fu...

I continue to be amazed how big web pages have grown these days. They are routinely 500+ KB for some trivial amount of actual content. That’s obviously not an issue when I am browsing on a true broadband connection. But at actual 3G speeds on most mobile devices (I realize 4G is sort of here but will be a while before it has any meaningful availability). Maybe another way to express my surprise is to say how few sites seems to be doing much in the ways of mobile browser detection. Would be fu...

While I was traveling last week, I had an epiphany: there is a common theme to pretty much everything I have been writing about here on Continuations! The theme is the transition from the Industrial Age towards what I will call the Age of Abundance. I believe we are in a period of massive transformation that is on par with the move from agricultural to industrial society (or before that from hunter gatherers to farmers). So rather than just continue with my regular somewhat haphazard blogging...

While I was traveling last week, I had an epiphany: there is a common theme to pretty much everything I have been writing about here on Continuations! The theme is the transition from the Industrial Age towards what I will call the Age of Abundance. I believe we are in a period of massive transformation that is on par with the move from agricultural to industrial society (or before that from hunter gatherers to farmers). So rather than just continue with my regular somewhat haphazard blogging...

Occasionally I take time out from talking to startups to meet with folks from big brands. What keeps surprising me is that many of these brands don’t seem to understand the power of direct. By direct I mean any communication that is direct between the brand and existing or potential customers without requiring the use of a “medium” to carry the message. Instead, many brands treat the Internet as if it were just another medium that is similar to previous ones. The logic seems to be mostly arou...

Occasionally I take time out from talking to startups to meet with folks from big brands. What keeps surprising me is that many of these brands don’t seem to understand the power of direct. By direct I mean any communication that is direct between the brand and existing or potential customers without requiring the use of a “medium” to carry the message. Instead, many brands treat the Internet as if it were just another medium that is similar to previous ones. The logic seems to be mostly arou...

It is very easy to settle into a set of development tools and routines and get so comfortable in them that one is loathe to try out something new. One proceeds to justify this behavior (to oneself and others) by saying things like “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” or “I want to spend my time on implementing features not learning new tools” - and there is definitely some truth to these arguments, but then again if taken to the extreme we would not have such things as power drills and nail guns ...

It is very easy to settle into a set of development tools and routines and get so comfortable in them that one is loathe to try out something new. One proceeds to justify this behavior (to oneself and others) by saying things like “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” or “I want to spend my time on implementing features not learning new tools” - and there is definitely some truth to these arguments, but then again if taken to the extreme we would not have such things as power drills and nail guns ...

I got a lot of useful questions and feedback on my Age of Abundance (AoA) post yesterday - thanks! Two important points to address right away are what I mean by Abundance (and why I chose that term) and what drivers are pushing us in that direction. My basic premise is that we already have the capabilities necessary to provide everyone in the world with quality food, shelter, clothing, mobility, and access to the Internet. This requires several further steps of explanation. First, by capabili...

I got a lot of useful questions and feedback on my Age of Abundance (AoA) post yesterday - thanks! Two important points to address right away are what I mean by Abundance (and why I chose that term) and what drivers are pushing us in that direction. My basic premise is that we already have the capabilities necessary to provide everyone in the world with quality food, shelter, clothing, mobility, and access to the Internet. This requires several further steps of explanation. First, by capabili...

So I have still not switched permanently to an Android phone. The main remaining reason has been that I simply have no cell coverage in my house. With my T-Mobile Blackberry I have been able to roam seamlessly onto my Wifi network at home for several years now, using UMA. Well, T-Mobile has finally announced that they are introducing UMA for several Android models, starting with the new MyTouch and the Motorola Defy. Not sure I like either of these very much, but T-Mobile is planning to add m...

So I have still not switched permanently to an Android phone. The main remaining reason has been that I simply have no cell coverage in my house. With my T-Mobile Blackberry I have been able to roam seamlessly onto my Wifi network at home for several years now, using UMA. Well, T-Mobile has finally announced that they are introducing UMA for several Android models, starting with the new MyTouch and the Motorola Defy. Not sure I like either of these very much, but T-Mobile is planning to add m...