Thingd (Thing Daemon) is building a structured database of every object in the world and then mapping those objects (and associated metadata) to people and to other objects. The concept is still in its early stages of being realized, but it is a big ambitious idea and one worth thinking more about. The easy (and [...]
Category Archives: Technology
Coke’s API and the Outsourcing of Innovation
While he may not have realized it at the time, Asa Griggs Candler helped pioneer the “platform” business model used by thousands of web companies today. But Chandler wasn’t a tech startup guy, he was the founder of The Coca-Cola Company. Coke became a platform company almost by accident. Beginning in 1886, Coke was principally [...]
Also posted in Economics, Startups, Strategy 2 Comments
The Data Storage Conundrum & Oscar Wilde
The Economist is a great “newspaper”, my favorite. A couple weeks ago they did a special report on “The Data Deluge” which explored the recent and rapid expansion of data, and how to handle it. There were two parts of the report that caught my eye because they seemed contradictory. The first was an 1894 [...]
Will Apple Bet the Farm on Quattro Wireless?
Apple‘s recent purchase of mobile ad network Quattro Wireless may signify a much more significant shift in Apple’s business model than it would otherwise seem. So, why did Apple buy Quattro (Apple earlier sought to buy market-leader AdMob, but ceded the purchase to Google once the price became too rich)? Apple has always focused on [...]
Also posted in Strategy Tagged admob, advertising, Apple, Google, iphone, Mobile, quattro wireless 3 Comments
How Square is Building a Two-Market Platform One Market at a Time
The innovation in mobile is really getting exciting, especially as it relates to advertising and payments. My last post touched on this but I wanted to dig a little deeper. The experience of paying for things now, particularly face-to-face transactions, leaves a lot to be desired. When I frequent a local business, I’d like them [...]
Also posted in Strategy 4 Comments
How Blippy Can Help Foursquare Monetize Check-Ins
Foursquare‘s great for a number of reasons. Like a lot of people, I use it to keep track of my friends when I’m going out, but it’s also a fun way to discover new restaurants and other spots based on friends’ check-ins. Since I go to great lengths to find awesome Chinese, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, [...]
Also posted in Strategy Tagged Application programming interface, Facebook, Foursquare, Mobile, Social network, Yelp 0 Comments
