LivingSocial.com--one of the OPIM Major's Major Success Stories!

The OPIM Major was started in 2002 at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business. In 2004, we graduated our first class. In this small class of pioneering OPIM majors were two individuals who now work for LivingSocial.com, an extremely successful Washington-based company. Tim O'Shaughnessy is serving as the CEO, and Ian Costello as Vice President of Product Development. Amazon.com just invested $175 million in the company. To read more about LivingSocial, read this article from the Washingtonian magazine (which mentions the OPIM major). In six years, Tim and Ian have been part of an amazing success story.

Google and the Future

This article about the creation of an Entrepreneur-in-Residence position for Craig Walker, the creator of Google Voice, helps to show why Google continues to amaze. One wonders if the laurels ever get rested on at all, before they put their energy and focus into the next endeavor. Click here to view this NYTimes article.

Google and the Future

This article about the creation of an Entrepreneur-in-Residence position for Craig Walker, the creator of Google Voice, helps to show why Google continues to amaze. One wonders if the laurels ever get rested on at all, before they put their energy and focus into the next endeavor.

Keep an eye on Flipboard

Recent stats show that in July 2010 1,181,194,905 hours were spent on Facebook and 65 million tweets were sent per day. Backed by famed VC John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins and recently checked out by Apple's Steve Jobs, this is an interesting company to keep an eye on.  The reason is that it brings together all the different tasks we now undertake on the Internet--social media, dealing with pictures, video, etc.  And it does so using a clean, intuitive interface.  Described as "Your social magazine" it shows you what others want you to see in a manner that is perfect for the iPad multi-touch technology. And, by the way, 3.2 million iPads were sold during this last month.

How to Become and Entrepreneur More Quickly and More Cheaply

In the September 6, 2010 edition of Fortune, Jessi Hempel and Betsy Feldman have a great article on "Building a Faster, Cheaper Startup." Read it and see how easy it is to start a new business.  I will post a link as soon as I can find one.  Since it just came out, it may be a couple of weeks.

The way browsing will change by 2015

PCWorld has an article comparing the three major browsers this month, but what I found more interesting was the article "Your Browser in Five Years" by Jeff Bertolucci.  As the Web becomes the computing platform of choice, we will increasingly use more voice recognition and text-to-speech in our interactions with the Web.  And we'll be using the Web everywhere, including the most dangerous places of all, our cars. I love the idea of the touchless gesture for interacting with the Web (being developed by EyeSight Mobile Technologies).  But I hope it is used more for activities like turning on light and sounds systems and turning off security systems, when you arrive home with arms full of purchases, and not for interpreting our gestures, whatever they may be, in the car.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/199071/your_browser_in_five_years.html

I can sing like I always wanted to sing, thanks to a new iPad app

This one's amazing.  A concert pianist, and his company, MuseAmi, have developed a iPad app that shows you the score as it plays, and adds automated harmony and background sound.  And the best part, it assures that your voice comes out in perfect tune.  http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/08/20/arts/1247468534351/improvox-unzipping-the-dna-of-music.html?th&emc=th

Is it worth being tracked around the mall to get a $5 gift certificate?

Read this interesting NYTimes article:  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/17/technology/17app.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

Is it worth giving up privacy for points that will eventually accumulate to a small amount of credit or cash at a major mall store? Or is it worth it for points on a Facebook game such as Farmville . . . or for a free music download?   Maybe and maybe not.  What makes Shopkick different is that your actions, including entering a store and even such actions as picking up an object to peruse it will now be tracked and add points to your total.  All this will be done with your iPhone (and soon the Android will also have this capability.)  By the way, Shopkick will also add points when you enter the dressing room.

How to Get Rid of Marketplace

I find that the Marketplace application for Facebook is really intrusive.  If you want to get rid of it and stop the emails coming that tell you what all your FB friends have bought, here is how to do it:  http://apps.facebook.com/marketplace/info/faq/Find%20out%20more%20about%20Oodle%20Pro.#122

Business Week Article--Betsy Sigman

Here is the "Pro" side, which I gave when asked if landlines would soon be extinct.  http://www.businessweek.com/debateroom/archives/2010/07/residential_landlines_face_extinction.html

Tumblr and Posterous--Two ways to consider posting

Click here to read about Tumblr and Posterous.  http://blog.posterous.com/hey-tumblr-users-got-comments-want-video-grad

A solution to speeding up your computer?

Here is one way to figure out and fix some problems with your computer.  I'm not recommending it, but just saying it might be worth investigating.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/business/20novel.html?th&emc=th

Google Goggles

Click here to see what Google Goggles can do.  Pretty amazing!

Geofences and Location Apps

Read this for a glimpse of what the future may be like as more and more of  us use location apps:  Click here to learn about how Foursquare, Yelp, and other apps will become integrated.

Living Social and its Success

Check out the latest article on the company, Living Social, started by Georgetown student (MSB '04, from first class of OPIM majors) Tim O'Shaughnessy.  The company has been steadily growing, from its start as "Hungry Machine", which did Facebook applications such as Visual Bookshelf, to "PickYour Five," which asked people to name their five favorite books, movies, etc.  The success of these two apps led them to change the name of their company to "Living Social" and to focus on how they could use what they knew about online marketing to drive potential customer to local businesses, among other goals.  Read more in Tom Heath's article in the Washington Post.

An eery kind of computer virus

How is a computer virus similar to a biological virus?  As biological viruses threaten biological body parts, computer viruses can pose threats to mechanical implanted body parts.  A British scientist has "infected" himself  with a computer virus as he studies how computer viruses might effect artificial parts, such as pacemakers, cochlear implants, and automated limbs.  He noted that once the RFID chip that was implanted in his body was infected, the computer virus spread to the system that the chip communicated with.  For a more complete story, see this Financial Times article.

Squareup.com

Take a look at this new technology for the iPhone, iPad and Android.  Squareup.com.  It looks to me like a nifty solution to enable users to easily accept payments on the road.  It can accept cash or cards as long as you have an audio input jack.  And they'll even send you a card reader and a sticker (for verification purposes) when you sign up.  Receipts can now be sent directly to your email or phone.  When you buy, it sends a photograph so the salesperson can check that you are who you say you are.  Your buyers are even encouraged to tip easily (with the help of a calculator that allows them to tip by percentage, even though they can still choose to tip by dollar amount.)  The keyed in rate is 3.5% +.15 and the swiped rate is 2.75% + .15.  Since, unlike similar companies,  setup and cardreader are free, there seems to be little to lose.

The problems at AT&T

The iPhone has overwhelmed AT&T's data network as customers want apps that require significant bandwidth.  This article in Business Week points out the problems.
Click here to read the article.

Story of a Hacker

This is an interesting story of how a teenage hacker took on Microsoft and ended up improving their security.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20002317-245.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

Franklin Page sets world texting record using new technology

Okay, I have to admit that this is my nephew, of whom I'm very proud.  Anyway, he's working for Swype, a company responsible for creating software that helps users "swipe" the keys as they text (without lifting their fingers as much), thus doing it faster. Anyway, he was able to beat another intern out in the race to use the technology to beat the World Record, and is now going on a publicity tour for Swype.  Here's the article from March 22's Seattle Times:  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2011399114_brier22.html 

Google fiber flavored ice cream?

Had to laugh when I read this in the NYTimes today.  Cities are competing to get Google to install an ultra high-speed broadband for up to 500,000 residents.  Madison, Wisconsin even went so far as to create a Google fiber icecream, with granola and M and Ms in Google colors.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/22/technology/22stunts.html?th&emc=th

Who will win location, location, location?

This is the best discussion of the huge location issue I've seen.  http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/19/check-in-fatigue-location-war/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Techcrunch+(TechCrunch)&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher
It's obvious that location check-in will be very important when a company finally gets it right and gets enough customers.  It will be interesting to see who that will be.  Stay tuned.

A data lover's dream

If you love data, check out http://www.factual.com/.  This site promotes open data and is a wonderful resource for researchers.  It invites people to upload data tables of all types (see the video on the site for instructions).   And it gives access to data of all types.  Truly a wonderful addition.

Privacy, who me? Take Two

This article makes me want to take down my facebook account.  Generally, I'm not too concerned about there being a lot of data out there about people, because most of it will just be used for data mining or crunching massive amounts of data.  However, the study at Carnegie Mellon, where they were able to predict 8.5 million social security numbers, makes me want circle the wagons on my data posse.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/17/technology/17broadband.html?th&emc=th

Privacy, who me?

Is the quest for privacy hopeless in today's digital world?  There are certainly some who think so.  This is a very interesting article from cnet.com.  http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-20000336-38.html?tag=rtcol;pop

Geolocation in Austin

In Austin, Texas, things are happening at the SXSWi (South by Southwest interactive Festival), as they have in the past (this is where twitter made its first big splash).  Geolocation is one of the hottest topics--how do you "check-in" with your friends virtually at different spots and announce your own location?  Two key players in this area are Foursquare and Gowalla.  For more info, see http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10466901-36.html?tag=mncol;txt

iPad vs Slate

Which of these two devices will have the edge?  See this video of the capabilities of HP's Slate to help you decide.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p-RZAwQq0E&feature=player_embedded

Display Advertising Gaining on Search Advertising

Search Advertising, Google's cash cow for years, has a growth rate that has slowed some recently and is only expected to grow in the single digits this year.  In response, Google has launched a strong effort in display advertising, mainly on YouTube.  It should bring in billions.  Also very interesting is the news that Google is creating ways to automatically change colors, language, and other features so that they stand the greatest impact of being noticed by the individual views (because they are tailored to him/her.)http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_08/b4167022997907.htm

Pandora in the news

I have been investigating Pandora a bit lately and am very impressed with their recent advances.  Here is an article from today's NYTon Pandora that I found interesting.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/08/technology/08pandora.html?th&emc=th

More multi-touch

Check out these multi-touch techniques--there are amazing advances going on in this area.
http://www.motherboard.tv/2010/2/17/video-getting-hard-to-wave-away-all-these-minority-report-gesture-computers

Good News for OPIM Undergraduates!

I just saw this on Potomac Tech Wire (potomactechwire.com).  OPIM majors, take note!

o New Alliance to Invest $3.5B in U.S. Tech Firms, Create Jobs for Grads




Washington, DC -- Speaking at The Bookings Institution in DC, the head of computer chip giant Intel on Tuesday unveiled a multi-faceted program aimed at boosting the U.S. tech industry while also increasing jobs available to recent college graduates. The centerpiece of the Invest in America Alliance features investments totaling $3.5 billion in U.S. tech companies over the next two years, from Intel and 24 venture capital firms, including Chevy Chase-based NEA and Reston-based Updata Partners. The firms plan to invest in area such as clean tech, IT and biotechnology, with Intel Capital announcing a new $200 million fund as part of the effort. A second component of the plan includes commitments from 17 companies to increase their hiring of recent college graduates, some by as much as two-fold. Tech companies making that pledge include Adobe Systems, Dell, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft and Yahoo, among others. "It would be a long-term mistake to let our future scientists and engineers sit idle after graduation," said Intel CEO Paul Otellini. "Today's announcements are both an investment in the country's innovators and a signal to the global marketplace about America’s commitment to innovation and future competitiveness."

http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/2010/20100223corp.htm

http://www.intel.com/pressroom/kits/InvestinAmerica/

The Buzz about Buzz

See this article from techcrunch.com for an overview of what's good and bad about Google Buzz.
http://techcrunch.com/2010/02/22/google-buzz-review/

Article in Converge

This is a story in Converge that I was just interviewed for, in which I talk about a couple of ways Georgetown is using technology.
http://www.convergemag.com/edtech/6-emerging-technologies-that-will-impact-college-campuses.html

Hackers in China

A very interesting story in the NYTimes today on hackers in China.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/business/global/02hacker.html?th&emc=th

Augmented Reality in a Contact Lens?

Read this to see how researchers at the University of Washington have created contact lenses equipped with one LED that can produce semi-transparent words, charts, etc. that allow you to augment your visual world without anyone else knowing!
Augmented reality at the University of Washington, using a contact lense

A recent interview on "Bottom Line"

Please click here to view my recent interview on "green computing" on "Bottom Line."
http://blogs.baselinemag.com/bottom_line/content/infrastructure/practicing_what_they_teach.html

Bing

Bing has been a huge success and continues to grow in market share. Here are some details:

http://www.techcrunch.com/2010/01/15/bing-search-market-share-december-2009/

Facebook Security

Check out this interview and see what is going on with facebook security.

http://therumpus.net/2010/01/conversations-about-the-internet-5-anonymous-facebook-employee/?full=yes