Bullpen Bulletins

Executive perspectives on business interaction

This is a round table discussion that I moderated for the Economist Intelligence Unit. We explored how executives are handling effective communications in a globalized marketplace. I chatted with Joan Parsons, head of US Banking at Silicon Valley Bank and Morten Hansen, author and professor at UC Berkeley. Cisco was the sponsor.

User interface and the network

This is the third of a three-part series that I hosted for the Economist Intelligence Unit in collaboration with Juniper Networks' NExTWORK program.

The third one entitled: INNOVATION IN USER INTERFACE is a conversation between myself, Bo Begole, Aza Raskin, and Tim Twerdahl.

How will we interface with the network as our physical and digital worlds converge?

Entertainment and the network

This is the second of a three-part series that I hosted for the Economist Intelligence Unit in collaboration with Juniper Networks' NExTWORK program.

The second one entitled: INNOVATION IN ENTERTAINMENT is a conversation between myself, Mark Cuban, Dermot McCormack, and Ben Huh.

How did the entertainment industry shape the Internet? … and vise versa?

 

Does Steve Jobs Hate Enterprise IT?

Good question.

Video discussion here at Internet Evolution

During his interview at the D8 Conference, Jobs pointed out that in the enterprise, the people that end up using the products don't decide for themselves what technology is the best. And the people that make those decisions sometimes are confused.

Fair enough, but Apple is permeating in so many areas of the enterprise these days that he would be remiss to ignore that part of the business much more, especially with so many iPhones used in corporate culture and the iPad coming online.

I'm Video Blogging on Internet Evolution

For the last week, I've been taping video segments as part of Internet Evolution's video blog series.

Expect to see more of these in the future:

From Internet Evolution 10/01/2009

EBay hired data mining expert Eric Brill as its vice president of research and applied science. What does this mean for business analytics?

Watch the video here...

Startup Showcase Exposes CEOs

From Internet Evolution, 8/15/2009

A seasonal technology showcase for Web-based startups -- TechCrunch 50 -- rolled into San Francisco this week, highlighting both the problems and opportunities for CEOs of new companies.

Now in its third year -- perhaps its last? -- the show has become a blessing and a curse for those seeking fame and fortune in the investment community. Fifty new companies polish up their elevator pitches and PowerPoint presentations to impress the audience as well as a panel of judges ranging from investment gurus like Vossi Vardi, Ron Conway, and George Zachary, to luminaries like Digg's Kevin Rose, Google VP Marissa Mayer, and super-entrepreneur Marc Andreessen.

Read the full story.

Non-Profit Lessons For The Enterprise

The non-profit sector has much to teach and learn from enterprise Web 2.0.

This is my video conversation with "Mobilizing Generation 2.0" author Ben Rigby who is also co-executive director with Mobile Voter and Jacob Colker, a Grassroots field consultant.

We also talk about their project: The Extraordinaries

Interview done at the Craigslist Foundation Non-Profit Boot Camp in San Mateo on Oct. 18, 2008.

Swine Flu Lessons for CIOs

from Internet Evolution 9/8/2009  

Worried about viruses? Concerned about unscheduled downtime or preparing for a lack of workers on your network?

 This may sound like a pitch for a security software company, but in essence it's what the Center for Disease Control and Prevention is telling companies about the second wave of the H1N1 flu virus, or Swine Flu.

Since April, the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have been working together to educate people about the ongoing 2009 influenza A (H1N1) outbreak. In addition to the regular channels, the CDC is offering computer widgets, mobile apps, YouTube videos, and other social-networking tools to reach new audiences.

Now, CDC CIO James Seligman has handed over a five-point checklist to help employers keep workers on the job and out of hospital emergency rooms. It's a straightforward list, but it occurred to me that the same five points can be used by CIOs in any sector to help protect their networks.

Read the five points here...

Spam Your Way to $100K

From Internet Evolution August, 31

Times are tough all over, and good job leads can be hard to come by, which makes emails like the one I recently got all the more dispiriting, when it comes to how we get hired on the Internet.

I was laid off earlier this year, so I know from recent experience that the job market in IT can be dryer than a bone in the desert. Especially hard hit are senior managers and executives who are having a hard time returning to the glory days of the late 1990s when growth seemed endless. And it doesn't help that current bailout poster boys like AIG CEO Robert Benmosche are giving executive perks a bad name. So much for that golden parachute on my next job.

Despite statistics that say guys like me get better job leads, staging a comeback during this recession has been a challenge.

But what struck me in the aforementioned email was the spammy nature of the job recruitment site:

For more, read on...

That's Your Boss, Not Your Facebook BFF

From Internet Evolution 8/25/2009

If you are a social climber and are aiming for that corner office, you might be inclined to send your supervisor a request on Facebook or LinkedIn, or even follow him or her on Twitter.

Fair enough. But for the busy executive, is having access to your employees' drunken college photos on a list of best corporate practices that I'm not aware of? Probably not.

Take for example the case of "Lindsay," a disgruntled employee whose name was withheld in the press to protect her lack of common sense. Still, her rant has made the rounds on Digg and other sites.

The young English lady updated her Facebook status one day after work...

More here...