Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Browsers and the Modern Day Pirate

Browser Wars

The epic battle between Netscape Navigator and Microsoft has shaped the way we use the web. This David vs. Goliath type of tale shows that even in the online world, money is power.
I actually remember using Netscape Navigator. You actually had to insert the installation disc into the disk drive (located above infamous A: drive, the floppy disc) and install the program onto your hard drive. The presence of Netscape was threatening to Microsoft because Netscape was becoming the portal to this new and emerging media, the World Wide Web. To Microsoft it was like manufacturing a car and having someone else build the highway on which the car would drive. A company like Microsoft wouldn’t stand for such a concept. After putting some programmers on the case, Microsoft had a perfect mock of Netscape’s browser. The advantage of a browser made by Microsoft was that they could install the program on every machine. They made using their product simpler and in the end that’s what Netscape did not have the power to do.
Presently speaking, it’s funny how the “browser war” has shifted. Internet Explorer, although still leading in market share, is the bane of existence for many web developers. Older versions prove to be incompatible with many basic functions coded into websites, which for a leader in digital innovation should be embarrassing.  Better, faster browsers have proven to be strong competitors against Internet Explorer. Google Chrome has even released a line of laptops that are completely browser based. See video below:


I think this marks the slow death of the desktop interface and the move toward cloud computing.

People Power


Shawn Fanning, the father of online piracy. The Napster revolution has shaped an entire industry. Many argue that Fanning has cost the music industry billions of dollars, but has he? 
There is no way of knowing the state of the music industry had Fanning not made it so easy to get free music. One thing we do know, however, is that he has expanded the music library of the average human being. Whether you get your tunes on the online black market for free, download iTunes every now and then, or stream music on Pandora, your exposure to music has significantly increased.


Fanning could also be dubbed the father of the people power revolution. The Web 2.0 movement has allowed everyday Internet surfers to become content contributors to their own selected areas of expertise. The almost unfortunate consequence of this is that people have become slightly obsessed with themselves. It isn’t unlikely for a 12-year-old boy to host his own video web series with hundreds of followers.

New direction for social marketing?

"The State of Social Marketing" will look at current and future trends in social, and how companies can best utilize these trends for growth.  Brad McCarty, the North American editor of  The Next Web will give a ten minute presentation on the three most essential changes in social marketing over the next year, and then a panel of marketing leaders will dissect his presentation, challenging him on any points of dissension.  Both companies and individuals who are looking to improve their social marketing strategies will benefit from this panel of award-winning marketers, while gaining insight into the following issues:  The three most important changes to social marketing, how strategies should evolve in 2012, companies that serve as examples, and any social marketing topics that experts disagree on.

Brad McCarty


As an author on The Next Web, Brad McCarty writes blog posts that focus on startups and the future of social marketing.  His blog posts provide a range of information from the latest tech news to how businesses can best utilize social media, and everything in between. Follow Brad on Twitter for up-to-date technology and social marketing news.

Jascha Kaykas-Wolff works for Involver and oversees all of the marketing efforts, including strategy, branding, product marketing, advertising, and social relations.  With his work with Involver, Kaykas-Wolff recognizes the impact of social for businesses today.  "Brands are held accountable for the content they create and the conversations that spawn from it. Social is driving changes to the entire marketing profession."  Additionally, Kaykas-Wolff believes that social marketing has evolved over the past four years.  "Social marketing has grown into a 'channel' for investments.  The focus on investment, return and optimization have supported the growth of an ecosystem of software companies like hoot suite, buddy media, radian6 and Involver making investments in social marketing accountable to businesses."

Joe Chernov is the VP of content marketing for Eloqua.   Eloqua automates the science of marketing by focusing on campaign execution, testing, measurement, prospect profiling, which allow marketers to acquire customers and devlop strong brands and creative campaigns.  In addition to being VP of content marketing, Chernov writes articles for Eloqua and blog entries on his own website.  Read this article about how Chernov and Eloqua create catchy content to drive sales. 
Jesse Thomas

Jesse Thomas is the founder of JESS3, a creative interactive agency that specializes in the art of data visualization.  He believes that "social marketing is critical for companies, because in front of our eyes people are spending more and more time online."  Additionally, he emphasizes the importance of innovation in marketing.  "Creativity and innovation are critical to marketing and advertising.  As one brand tries something, their competitors start thinking about copying them and so on.  Technology in marketing is an arms race!"  Thomas attributes social marketing to "walking down a crowded public street that seems to go on for an eternity...A marketer must figure out how to make a sale in the middle of this great thriving main street."  He speaks about some key changes in social marketing, including "group deals like groupon, group chat like beluga, geosocial marketing via Foursquare," as well as "co-branded content via media partnerships like Vice and Intel Creators Project, and the gamification of experiences like mint.com."

JESS3 created this neat video about how the Internet has grown and how much it is ingrained in all of our lives...


Ekaterina Walter is the social media strategist for Intel.  She spoke to thousands about how small-to-medium businesses can utilize social media to increase and engage customers.  Walter works closely with Intel's corporate marketing group to provide a set of best practices and strategies.  She also has her own blog, including a story about her journey here as an immigrant from Russia. 

Ekaterina explains how Intel utilizes social media...

Follow Ekaterina on Twitter to get updated information.

Join us in March at SXSW Interactive for an in-depth look at the future of social marketing from these knowlegable panelists.

Download: History of the internet

Compared to the previous "out of date" History Channel version we watched earlier in the semester, Download: History of the Internet is a great documentary that delves into the history of Web 2.0 and the growth of several key products or companies that have changed the world for the better.
Search The first part of the series called "Search" detailed how search engines started and the battle the inevitably ensued. Yahoo was the first name to jump onto the scene developing the first site that would list related sites or sources queried by a user. Yahoo was developed by 2 Stanford students that experimented with the internet while there advising professor took a year sabbatical. Their idea was novel in the web world, most people didnt look at the web as a great source of revenue. One of the venture capitalists that invested in Yahoo! described the Yahoo! "office" (a mobile trailer) as an "Abysmal pit".
Very hesitant to the idea, Yahoo! began to post banner advertisements in an effort to generate revenue from the site. The founders feared that the ads would alienate and drive users away from their site. Fortunately for Yahoo this was not the case, the site would continue to grow and be considered one of the top search engines on the web.
Not far after the formation of Yahoo was a simplistic site that rocked the search world and to this day continues to actively shake and jive the web world; of course I am talking about Google. Google initial claim to fame was developing a rating system for sites based on the number of links to that site. This meant when a specific site is linked by other sites, the site's search ranking or relevancy in the google search engine would increase. This simplistic system revolutionized search engines and launched Google to their current power house position in the World.

People Power
It is quite amazing in the last 10 years how important individualism became in the web world. Search engines and other platforms initially generated revenue through advertisements on a massive level, money from the public as a whole. Recently, advertising has made its way into the world of social networking and related material like Facebook, Digg, Myspace, youtube and more.
The internet has become the strongest tool for crowd sourcing, market research, and public opinion. Before the internet, newspapers and TV companies controlled information dissemination and most viewable materials. Back then it was nearly impossible for a single person to distribute his or her message without bending and obeying the companies controlling information outlets. This has radically changed with the development of social networking through the internet. It is as easy as writing a sentence and clicking a mouse, those 2 actions place your message on the internet for the viewing public to witness. Click of a mouse can now instantly upload a video that normally would not be seen, this act has shaken up traditional journalism allowing anyone individual to post acts of journalism.
Facebook is a prime example of explosive growth in a social networking niche' that everyone boastfully or secretly enjoys. Facebook allows a user to post information about themselves or subject of interest allowing all accepted friends to view or interact with. Founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg was astonished by how quick his site grew, "within the first 2 weeks, 2/3 of Harvard was on Facebook. Then Students from other schools starting emailing us asking to open sites for their schools. It went to all universities then highschools then businesses then open to the public".

Download: The True Story of the Internet

After watching the Search and People Power segments of Download: The True Story of the Internet, I am glad to say that I learned, as well as confirmed, a few things that have been stirring in my subconscious for who knows how long.

The Search video really opened my eyes to the magnitude of the power and importance of search engines; most importantly, Google's power. I really had to stop and think, "Where would I be, where would we be without Google?" It's become such an important part of our lives that we don't even think twice when consulting it. If I had to guess how many times a day I Googled something, it would very likely be upwards of 30 times a day, and that's probably being generous to my inner-nerd. I'm very curious to see what, if anything, will be able to stronghold Google from its place as the number one source of of all things search-related. Another thing I observed in this video was the dominance of Stanford entrepreneurs. From Yahoo to Excite to Google, Stanford students (students, people!!) had a hand in the creation of some of the most important technological advances of our time. Something tells me that's not a coincidence.

The People Power video was also incredibly informative. I had a great time learning about the creators and pioneers of the MP3, YouTube, WinAMP, Digg, and especially Napster. I've always heard of the nightmarish lawsuit stories behind Napster and never really knew how it started, or how far it truly escalated. It's pretty scary to think about being hunted down by your favorite artist for simply trying to help spread their work, albeit in an illegal fashion. As I was watching the Napster breakdown, I was able to draw a comparison to my own experiences. Just a couple of weeks ago, a video that I uploaded three years ago to YouTube was taken down for copyright infringement. When I uploaded it, I didn't think it would be an issue, because it was simply a video of an artist performing a song at a concert. I learned that the artist had just released an official video for the very song being performed in that video from so long ago; consequently, mine and countless others had to come down. I was peeved, but found the situational comical. That is, until I was forced to watch a 5-minute cartoon video on copyright infringement, and take a quiz about what I had learned, courtesy of YouTube. I was absolutely dumbfounded. I still feel as though I did nothing wrong. Unfortunately, I'll probably hold that artist and YouTube at a slightly lower level of regard for a while to come. This incident just goes to show that the consequences of Napster are still rippling across the country, years later.

Overall, the segments that I watched were pretty cool. It was great to get an inside look at the full story behind topics that I had always wondered about.

P. S. - That John Heileman. What a guy.

Search and People Power: the story behind a new revolution

These two documentaries from Download: The True Story of The Internet, provided me with new insights about the history of both the "search revolution" and the web 2.0 revolution. It was interesting to learn more about the obstacles encountered by these people and companies along the way. It was also amazing to learn more about how far the Internet has evolved in a fairly short period of time. Journalist John Heilemann did a thorough report in these two documentaries, leaving the viewers with even more of an appreciation for the people behind this revolution.

Search: It was in the Search documentary that you learn more about the power of people in Silicon Valley when it comes to launching Internet-based companies. It was also the beginning of the trend for two college students from a prestigious university to launch a revolutionary company. Stanford University students Jerry Yang (pictured above) and David Filo were just trying to find basketball informationon the Internet to win a fantasy basketball tournament when they realized the need for a search engine.

This started their endeavor with Yahoo! that has led to one of the most successful search engines, which has paved the way for Google and others. The two started a guide in 1994 called "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web", a guide to provide people with a way to organize their favorite Web sites. The guide became a hit and made them realize they could possibly be successful with launching a search engine site. It was interesting to learn about the steps they took along the way and the perseverance they had in launching the site. Yahoo! was the first site that really changed the way people seek information on the Internet.

The site was joined by Excite and Google shortly after. The Google founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin sought out to be different and encountered many doubters along the way. Even though Yahoo and others figured out a way to make a profit, Google wanted to figure out a more user-friendly method, which they did and have established themselves as the leader of search engines. I never realized how much it took for Google to get to this point. They were faced with much skepticism at first. However, as John Heilemann said in the movie, "Google mania has started to give way to Google phobia". This documentary was fascinating. I look forward to see the continuing evolution of the "search revolution".

Google co-founder Sergey Brin talks about Yahoo and Bing:

People Power:
In this documentary, Heilemann brings the audience into the world of "our media", meaning media shaped by those who use it. This includes Facebook, MySpace, Napster, Digg, and others.

Mark Zuckerburg, the founder of Facebook, has a played a huge role in the web 2.0 revolution discussed in this documentary. He played off of the new idea that people enjoy hearing their own voices, as was discussed in this movie, and that the media is controlled by no one and shaped by everyone.

YouTube,bought by Google in 2006 for $1.65 billion, has also played a huge role in the new media. Their motto is "broadcast Yourself". This documentary made me thinkback to the days when television was the only option, and when you could not watch a television show unless you were at home during the time it was shown live. It is amazing how far the world of technology has come along in just the past decade.

Another interest that has been brought into the realm of the web 2.0 revolution in a big way is music. The mp3 player and Napster paved the way for music being readily available on the Internet. This documentary showed how skeptical people in the music industry were at first about the idea.

The skepticism and journey that all of these companies made was a major theme in both documentaries. It was very inspirational to see how all of these visions have impacted society.






The True Story of the Internet


The video "Download: The True Story of the Internet" investigates the digital, social and commercial revolution that the Internet has created, as well as showing how the competition for markets and growth/improvement towards new and improved solutions continues to drive innovation and success.



Search:
This section of the video revolved around the search engine startups that have revolutionized the Internet: Yahoo, Exite, and, of course, the leader of them all, Google. It’s interesting that corporate communities were, at first, doubtful about the use of search engines for business and commerce, as they have now completely integrated commerce and search engines, generating billions of dollars in revenue each year.

Although Google is now one of the largest companies in the U.S., it did not start out that way. Before the creation of Google, Yahoo stood as the main search engine until people started to look for new ways of searching because their searches were not generating the right results. When Google came along, they brought with them a new way to search, using keywords and algorithms that provided the consumer the results they were looking for. With the goal of pushing Yahoo out of the competition, Google attempted to form an alliance with Exite, offering the company for $1 million. It’s ridiculous how many insane opportunities have been passed up because of skepticism! Exite didn’t think there was any money in search engines, and passed up the chance of a lifetime by refusing the offer of the now multi-billion dollar company! I wish I had the money to invest in something like that...because I would do it in a heartbeat!

I also thought it was interesting that Google stole Bill Gross’ idea of advertising on the Internet. Needing to create a source of revenue to please their angel investors, Google knew that they only way of doing so was through advertising. But being “Google,” they wanted to maintain the user-friendly experience, which led to them to Bill Gross, founder of Idealab, who solved the problem of Web advertising by linking together the keywords entered by the user with sponsored links from advertisers calling it “Overture.” Stealing it from under Gross, Google created a similar experience with a few tweaks, calling it “AdWords.” At least Gross was smart enough to realize what he had discovered and after filing suit was given a hefty settlement of Google’s market shares. It seems all the great ideas were somehow taken from something/someone else--I mean take Facebook for example! Zuckerberg is dealing with all kinds of lawsuits!
This realization of how to generate income from Internet advertising on search engines has become the future of market research, and will continue to stand as such in the years to come.

Power People:
This section shows how the creation of Web 2.0 and social networking sites have forever changed how we use the Internet and our reasons for using it in the first place.  Once the Internet was primarily used to  search and look up information, but now it is used to communicate with friends and family, and even acquaintances, sharing stories, photos, music and videos...and it all started with Napster.  

I remember when Napster came out...it was the hottest thing around because it was the first site to bring music to the Web through peer-to-peer sharing.  Though it was a huge controversy, the rise and fall of Napster marks an important time in history as it began a digital revolution that gave rise to a world of online sharing and communicating.  That's what I love and find the most interesting, is that no matter where you are, next door or in another country, we can now share with anyone, communication with anyone.  This digital world is constantly changing and I am so excited and eager to see what will come out next.

Oh How far we have come!

I watched the third video about the technology bubble. It fascinated me just to sit back and realize how far we have come in such a short amount of time. To many of us now e-commerce is a common occurrence, and many of us have shopped on Amazon and Ebay. The most interesting fact is that black friday was the term used to describe the crash of the nasdaq after the technology bubble burst, but now it is the term to describe one of the biggest consumer shopping days in the year. I really enjoyed noticing how the companies now truly are the embodiment of the approach taken by their founders. It is also a common theme in technology that once something great is realized, it becomes a mad rush for everyone to jump on the bandwagon and try and find the next big thing. It really goes to show that the successes are not by accident, but are truly great, innovative ideas. Just look at how in order for these businesses to work they had to create a way for personal information to be given online without it being stolen. Today that is such a common thing that we take for granted but at that time it took three men to crack the code and create a safeway for e-commerce to thrive


Ebay founder Pierre Omidyar didn't write a business plan he just sat down one weekend with an idea and designed the code himself. When I think of Ebay I feel that carefree attitude he took. The just go without thinking out the business plan feeling. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos had a more thought out, organized way of creating Amazon. He created a business plan and really thought through his idea. Which really embodies Amazon. When you think Amazon you think organization. I feel Amazon is a more organized way of shopping. It was also interesting to see the approaches to the founders. Pierre Omidyar is not very public now and you don't hear much about him in the news. Jeff Bezos on the other hand is a public figure who some feel could be the next Steve Jobs type. Here is an interesting article featuring Jeff Bezos. It talks about who will win the technology war of 2012 as they call it.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Search and People Power

Excite was a web search I used all the time in collge. In fact, I had forgot all about it until the video had mentioned its name. Today, I use Yahoo and Google for most of my searches. As soon as the website mention that the Yahoo creators were from Stanford, I automatically thought Steve Jobs. It's crazy how so many bright minds went to the same school. The guys thought of the Yahoo name, because they wanted something short and catchy. It's exactly what it is. The video increased my knowledge of what Yahoo and Google go through and how they have grown into the companies they are today. The gambled with advertisersing and came out on top. I am most shocked that all of the creators went to Stanford and that they were so young.



Personally, I use Yahoo! for email, but I use Google more to search. I think I use Yahoo! because I have had it for so long. Google brings up more searches when I use it, so it has become my first search engine source of information.


I had never heard of Digg before the video. It was interesting how the CEO thought a blog and the New York Times could be at the same level. Mark Zuckerburg the founder of Facebook said, "What your friends actually have to say is interesting to you." I think this is true. It kind of relates to the American nature to want to know everything about everything. The guy who had been using 85% of Stanford's bandwidth was funny. It's unbelievable how people are able to come up with these ideas and bring them to life. We have moved from the walkman stage, to disc players, to mp3's, to iPods. It is unbelievable and exciting. I'm always interested in seeing what the new fad is. I understand Napster's point of their company, but I also see why the record companies were upset. I would be too. Napster was amazing, but like the video said, "it's still causing troubles today." Napster=Free Music


In 2001, Napster was shut down and they turned on its fans. The result of the close of Napster, led the way for Steve Jobs and iTunes. It was something the music industry was definitely satisifed with. Youtube was acquired by Google at the end of 2006, and it had helped the company stay afloat with the various issues they run into reguarding copyrighted material.

It's not just web-surfing anymore


Conducting search on the Internet has changed greatly within the past 20 years.  For what was once nothing more than a directory-based hub of information, the Internet has morphed into a keyword search to find information instantly.  The fledgling search-engine, Yahoo!, was the first major website to also deduce a way to earn money using the power of the internet.  Google was also a key game-changer in terms of search.  Google based its search around how often people link to a particular site and/or how often people visit a particular site to gain information.  The more popular a site is to users the more likely it will appear within a search query on Google.  It is the advancements and connections made within the Internet that have made seeking information by users faster and easier.  As users needs grow and change so too will the way users search for information will change.
Internet has changed the world by connecting people with information as well as to other people.  People and the creation of sites such as YouTube have allowed a breakdown of control.  Users can create their own content for the most part, without bounds unlike traditional media outlets. 
http://www.simplyzesty.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Social-Media.png
The freedom to communicate with the world with little boundaries and the opportunity to connect with and share a little bit about you with people you may never see or meet are incredible powers of Internet advancement.  Another power is the heightened control of the masses in producing web content. Overall, the possibility of creating and sharing are the driving forces of the power of people and the growth and change in how the internet is used.

Search/People Power

When you are looking for an answer to any type of question, or when you are looking for resources for your research paper all you have to do is go on the Internet and find what you need. However, that was not the case more than 10 years ago. Now, the Internet is a central part of our lives and many people today have no idea how they could ever function without it. Download: The True Story of the Internet is about the ongoing revolution of the internet and about the men and women who made it possible. This documentary is hosted by technology journalist John Heileman.
Search:
In this portion of the documentary "Search" is about the history of search engines, mainly Yahoo, Google, and Exite. Similar to many inventors, the invention of Yahoo was unintentional. Founders Jerry Yang and David Filo were trying to find a way to win a fantasy basketball league by using the internet. The idea of a search engine, Yahoo, was created and banner ads were used as funds for the company. Yahoo's biggest rival at the time was Exite.

Google was founded by two young Stanford students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Both were able to find sites that were relevant by counting the links. The issue of funding became a problem, yet these two youngsters found a way to fund their new company. They came across an idea that Bill Goss, founder of Idealab, had and altered it. Goss's idea was to sell keywords and show paid ads that were of interest to people. Page and Brin decided to separate ads from the organic search results.

It amazes me how in class we constantly see graduate students or young people creating multi-billion dollar companies. It is truly inspiring to see 

People Power:
This portion discussed the rise and fall of Napster as well as some insight on Facebook and YouTube. Due to the creation of these social media websites, the new era "Web 2.0" was created. I remember using Napster when I was younger and remember thinking how slow it was to download one song. There were no other sites that were anything like Napster, but even then, such a innovative site made me want something that was faster. Regardless, Napster was also the beginning of music on the web. Today there are a variety of websites and music softwares such as Pandora, Spotify, iTunes, and radio stations that might have been brought about due to Napster. The fall of Napster might have been a major controversy, but because of this company, music on the web is constantly evolving.

An interesting point that was made in this video was that the internet should bring back the common person as an author. I believe that the internet is going to keep evolutionizing and new forms of communication are going to keep being created. Facebook, for example, has helped connect friends and family members all around the world. YouTube and Facebook keep updating their websites and the constant changes and improvements allow for more communication styles.


Monday, November 28, 2011

SXSW Preview #2: Managing Milennials

Licenced psychologist, camp director and teacher Jennifer Selke will speak at SXSW Interactive this year about how to manage millennials.

Running a camp for more than 20 years, she has a great deal of experience managing teenagers and young adults. Cal Youth and Outdoor Programs employs 130-150 high school and college students each summer.

"Every summer, you see a shift in what they need in a supervisor and the struggles they have making their way in the world," Selke said.

This is her third year speaking at SXSW, but this year it will be a core conversation rather than a panel. She hopes the session will be interactive and informative for all who attend.

"I look forward to bringing people together in conversation," Selke said. "So many businesses lack the understanding of how to deal with these millennials and they are losing out."

The topic of her dissertation was actually on job tenure and job satisfaction. In her many roles, Selke communicates with the young adults who work for her about what they are looking for out of a job.

"Camp is a venue that can help young people find out what they love and apply these life skills," she said.

For an example of managing millennials at camp, view this video:

Selke grew up in Chicago, but she lived overseas in England for three years, and currently lives in California. She was introduced to camps when she lived in England. Her husband was in the military and she began working in Morale, Welfare and Recreation at RAF Upper Heyford, England. Prior to that, her background was in psychology. She earned her bachelor of science degree (magna cum laude) in psychology from Loyola University Chicago and a Ph.d. in educational psychology from the University of California, Berkeley.

All of these achievements combined have helped her get to where she is today as a camp director, speaker, teacher, and psychologist. Selke looks forward to speaking with others at SXSW.

"I enjoy the eclectic group of people that come together," she said.

The main questions she will address are:
-What is different about the millennial generation from Gen-Xers and Boomers?
- How can managers provide supervision to increase retention?
- How does the interview and evaluation process differ with these workers?
- What can you do in your work place and with your policies to improve productivity?
- What impact does their comfort with technology have on the workplace?

For more information and updates, visit the SXSW Interactive web site.





The History of Search and the Power of People

It's hard to believe 10 years ago there was no Google, Twitter, Facebook or YouTube  All of these have become a norm for our generation and it's hard to imagine a world without them. But, there was once a time when you had to go to the library to do research and the only way you kept in touch with old classmates was if you really tried. Thank goodness times have changed.

From the video "Search" it's interesting to learn that Yahoo, Excite and Google all started with Stanford college students. What are the odds that all the first search engines would come from one place?

Yahoo's founders, David Filo and Jerry Yang, were looking for sports information when they game up with an idea that it would be nice to have everything categorized, instead of just wildly searching the internet for information. So, Yahoo was formed to help internet users search the internet more efficiently. They were also the first to learn how to make money on the internet by using advertising. At first, Filo and Yang were hesitant to put ads up fearing that it would turn users away, but when the ads launched users continued using the search engine, unfazed. Soon, competitors appeared and one competitor, Excite had a new way for searching for information.

Unlike Yahoo's manual listing of websites to their respective categories, Excite was pure software. Instead of having to add the websites themselves, for users to search through, all users had to do was enter in a query. The software would then search the internet for related material. Much like an early Google.

Finally, the king of all search engines was created. The founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, had come up with a way for their search engine to search for sites that would be more credible to its users. They used links, a kind of recommendation, where the number of times a page was linked to by another, raised its credibility and would make it appear higher in a Google search. Google had also found a way for companies to pay to have their names come up higher in searches, leading to a less cluttered search engine.

The video "Power People" was all about how users are the driving force behind some of today's most popular sites. YouTube is a place where everyone can have their own "station" and become popular among their followers. Facebook is where you can follow your friends lives, and let them follow yours, and Digg is news stories that the users think are important, not the media.

All of these are great file sharing sites, but they owe a lot to Napster, the first file sharing network.

Napster was created to allow users to share music between one another, for free, instead of having to go out and by album after album to get the music that you wanted. It quickly spread among college students, almost like an overnight sensation. Napster is said to be the "game changer in music sharing over the internet," and paved the way for other music sharing sites, like iTunes. Unfortunately, Napster didn't last very long but that didn't stop it from having an impact on file sharing in the future.

With Napster's failure came many more successes. iTunes was created to let users buy just the songs they wanted, instead of the whole cd. YouTube, Facebook and blogs are a way for users to get other there with the opinion and connect with others across the world. They are all apart of what is called Web 2.0, where everyday is impacted by individuals.



Sunday, November 27, 2011

The History of the Internet Continued

Watching The History of the Web in the beginning of the semester was very interesting, yet it did not cover the latest innovations and creations on the internet. A lot has happened in the last decade or two and Download: The True Story of the Internet tries to bridge the gap and fill in important background information on influential tech companies and how they came into existence. It is a four part series hosted by journalist John Heileman.

Browser Wars deals with the rise of Netscape and the subsequent battle with Microsoft to be the number one browser used by consumers. Early on, the web was full of code that was difficult to navigate and unattractive to look at. Marc Andreesen had an early vision that everyone would eventually use the web as part of everyday life. With that vision in mind, he created Mosaic in the fall of 1993, the world's first graphical web browser. It went viral, but to continue the growth it needed cash, and Jim Clark joined Andreesen and his vision. What I found particularly interesting was that at this point Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, did not really grasp the importance of browsers and the web in general and only paid attention to Netscape, the company subsequently founded by Andreesen and Clark, once he saw their success and feared competition.

Netscape Navigator was released in 1994 and after its success it was impossible for Gates to ignore the company and the importance of the web. In 1995 a meeting was held between people from Microsoft and Netscape in which Microsoft allegedly offered $1 million for the whole business. This essentially broke US Antitrust Law and it was interesting to see that apparently Gates did not shy away from any methods to keep his company in first place. Eventually Microsoft launched its own browser, Internet Explorer, and using its vast amounts of cash, offered it free to the public, something Netscape could not afford to do.

With the advantage of capital and man power Microsoft won the browser war and Netscape got acquired by AOL. A lawsuit was filed against the computer giant, but an order to split Microsoft in half was later overturned.

Search deals with the history of search engines and the rise of companies like Yahoo, Excite and Google. It was interesting that overall the idea for a search engine started when Yahoo founders Jerry Yang and David Filo were looking for a way to use the internet to win a fantasy basketball league. Eventually this idea was turned into a company, attracted money from venture capitalists and needed to figure out a way to generate revenue itself. Banner ads were the solution to the problem and were used frequently. Excite was Yahoo's biggest rival. It used more sophisticated technology and was a rudimentary version of a search today. Both companies tried to outdo each other, adding more and more features, but losing track of the actual search capabilities of their sites.

Google was founded by Stanford students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who used links to pages as an assessment of importance. The most interesting part of this section was the lack of interest and funding Google was experiencing in the beginning. Executives at Excite had the opportunity to buy Google, valued at about $100 billion today, for $1 million, but were not interested. Other search engine companies and numerous venture capitalists also turned Google down. Eventually Andy Bechtolsheim, an investor, wrote Brin and Page a check on the spot for $100,000 and the two secured more money from other angel investors.

Google still had to figure out a way to make money though and the two founders were against banner ads and wanted to use something more user friendly. They came across Bill Gross, founder of Idealab, who had figured out that he can sell keywords and show paid ads that actually might be of interest to the person searching. After a few meetings, which did not produce results, Page and Brin simply released something very similar to what Gross had done, but they separated ads from the organic search results. Gross sued Google and received a settlement.

I enjoyed getting some more information on the history of browsers as well as search engines. It is intriguing that a company like Microsoft, which toppled giants like IBM with innovation, doesn't see the importance of something like the internet until a small start-up shows success. The methods used to get rid of this new competition were unscrupulous and showed how much people in power want to stay there and will do almost anything to preserve their position.

Google did something similar although it was not as big as Microsoft yet. The founders saw something they liked, but couldn't get to an agreement with Gross, so they simply used his ideas and dealt with the lawsuit later. Even though we don't know what happened behind closed doors at meetings between Microsoft and Netscape or Google and Idealab, it is interesting to get some background information on the giants in technology and their beginnings.

The Bubble and People Power

Download: The True Story of the Internet continued with "Bubble" which told the stories of the dot-com boom and featured the success stories of eBay and Amazon. The video discussed how the spread of computers and the Internet was ripe for an e-commerce boom. The missing link was figuring out public key cryptography, which made it safe for consumers to purchase products over the Internet. Amazon found its niche of selling books by founder Jeff Bezos, tabulating in spreadsheets and gathering data about what would be the most popular products to sell over the Internet. eBay Founder, Pierre Omidyar's approach was less calculated as he simply liked the idea of setting up public auctions for consumers to sell their goods, which were largely dominated by collectibles.

The key to what made these websites successful was that they empowered their customers by giving them the tools they needed to be informed consumers, selling their own products and also leaving their own uncensored feedback for products, whether positive or negative. This strategy worked for the successful sites like eBay and Amazon because their first priority was happy customers. Even if they weren't happy with a product or service they had the ability to leave feedback, which gave them a sense of empowerment.

As new web companies were launched during what would be called the bubble, many failed even though banks recommended investment in the start-up companies in an effort to gain investors. However, the companies like eBay and Amazon that were successful set a new precedence for the future of internet start-ups.The power was now in the hands of the consumer, and the brick and mortar companies were forced to take the web seriously.

The Bubble also set the stage for a new era in telecommunications. The rapid growth of internet companies meant that fiber optics technology and telecommunications infrastructure had to grow as well, and fast. When the bubble burst and many web start-ups went under, the upside was that we were left with the infrastructure that set the foundation to make it fast and easy to communicate over the internet, which would also open the doors to the next Web 2.0 era.

The next video, People Power, discussed the implications of Web 2.0, file sharing and social media as it began with the creation of Napster. This video was interesting to watch since social media continues to develop today. Viewing it from its controversial beginnings as file sharing and illegally downloading music is interesting to see how a goal to obtain loads of free music turned into sharing common interests with friends and people over the web in a way that brings people closer together. Other social media have tried to capture this sharing between friends concept, but none has dominated like Facebook. However, when this video ended, MySpace was currently in the lead and there was no Twitter, so it's easy to see there's no telling what's on the horizon for the next big thing.

"Search" and "People Power" Provide Insight into history of Internett

Download: The History of the Internet is documentary television series, which first aired on March 3, 2008.  The four-part documentary was hosted by John Heilemann, current journalist for New York Magazine and former staff writer for Wired and The New Yorker.  Part Two of the series, entitled "Search" details how finding information on the web was revolutionalized by college students at Stanford, and the growth of a little company called Google.  The story begins with David Filo and Jerry Yang, two engineering students at Stanford.  When their professor took a sabbaticle to Italy, the pair took a break from academic work to play around on the web.  However, they grew frustrated with the lack of organization, and how they couldn't locate sites they had previously been to.  This started their idea for Yahoo, a search engine which would provide users with a sort of roadmap and access to previously visited sites.  This essentially revolutinized search.  However, Yang and Filo had to find a way to make money with Yahoo, but they were afraid that users would rebel if there were ads.  Yahoo first accepted banner ads in 1995, and therefore showed that there was a way to make money on the web.

At the time, Excite was the biggest competition for Yahoo, but both were what we would think of as a very rudimentary search engine today.  It was difficult to find what you were looking for on the Internet and many linked to sites you didn't want. 

That would all change with GoogleLarry Page and Sergey Brin met on the Stanford campus, and as computer science graduate students, they began to collaborate on a new search engine.  They were able to find the most relevant sites by counting the links.  Page and Brin did not want to be the typical search engine, so they made the gutsy decision to not allow banner ads.  Still there was a problem of how Google would make money.  Page and Brin actually took the idea from Bill Goss, who runs Idealab, and who had just launched Overture.  Goss figured out that search could be like the yellow pages.  Page and Brin tweaked his format by making sure the ads were separate from the organic search.  In 2004, Google went public, and the stock is now worth $628

It was so interesting to see how college students have impacted and changed the world forever.  Additionally, Bill Goss's influence on Google and how Page and Brin "tweaked" his idea is something I would not have know had I not watched this documentary.  It will be interesting to see how much larger and more pervasive Google becomes in our world.  It will also be interesting to watch how well Google+ competes with Facebook.

Part Four of the documentary is entitled "People Power" and details the rise and fall of Napster and the creation of Web 2.0.  Shawn Fanning, a student at Boston University, started a little music file sharing company called Napster.  In 1999, the repurcussions of his idea were felt by the music industry, as peers could share music with each other.  That same year, lawyers Howard King and Peter Paterno formed a lawsuit against Fanning and Napster, and Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich went with King and Paterno to Napster's doors.  They demanded that Napster ban 300,000 users from the site.  In 2001, Napster was forced to shut down, as the music industry had waged a war against their own customers.  However, Napster launched a new web, a web controlled by the people.  Illegal file sharing continues, and You Tube launched, sparking a lawsuit by Viacom.  However, once monster company Google bought You Tube, the chances of it disappearing are slim to none.

 Now  with Facebook, You Tube, and other sites a new era called Web 2.0 enables people to create contact.  Tim Berners Lee summed it up when he said at the end of the documentary that the Internet should bring back the "common person as the author." 

It was interesting to watch this part of the documentary, especially when it discussed Facebook.  Since the video was made in 2008, the full power of Facebook was not known, and they speak of the uncertainty.  It was fun to see how far Facebook has come in just a few short years.  I remember hearing about Napster, but I didn't realize that Shawn Fanning was the creater.  I had only ever heard the name Sean Parker (mainly from The Social Network).  I did know that Metallica had something to do with Napster being shutdown, but it was fascinating to hear the two lawyers talk about the case and the "meeting" with Napster. 

Moore's Law, Metcalfe's Law, and the Dot Com Bubble

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Don't Be Evil and New Media vs. New Media


Search Video: 

I found it interesting that Yahoo began as a way for two college students to win a fantasy basketball league and that it just took off from there. Then the battle between Excite and Yahoo began, each trying to one-up each other. Granted, more aspects to the websites were probably created this way, but to hear them admit in the video that they lost sight of what their consumer wanted was intriguing. Mainly because most people do not like to admit when they mess up. I believe that Excite is also probably are kicking themselves now after having a chance of buying Google for only $1 million back when it was first getting started. Google's motto, "Don't Be Evil" made me laugh.

People Power: 
The thing that struck me in this video was how IBM has explored new areas and figures them not worth investing in. In this case, it would be similar to what Napster was. They believed that not enough people would want to download music to heavily invest in this up and coming area. Even though Napster had several implications (copyright infringement), it did help lead the way in the area of music. Though it was possible to see how dated the video was when they were talking about Facebook versus Myspace and which company would continue to grow. New media is also having a huge impact on old media. Blogging is taking the place of journalism while Craigslist is becoming the new place for classifieds.

Overall, it was an interesting video. It made me realize that a lot of websites that we use on a daily basis were created by students who were in college, mostly around Stanford.

Friday, November 25, 2011

The State of PR 2.0 Industry in Mexico

Oscar Rojas,  a Senior Business Leader in Ogilvy PR Mexico, and Lorena Carreño, President of the Mexican Association of Public Relations Professionals (ProPR) are doing a presentation at SXSW that has never been done before called The State of PR 2.0 Industry in Mexico. 2012 will be the first year that ProPR conducts and publishes a research on the local industry in Mexico. They will provide a big picture of how digital communication and the social media industry is developing in Mexico, as well as presenting the challenges and opportunities for the future. 


Below is a video from Ogilvy PR Global CEO, Christopher Graves on Ogilvy Media Influence:




Before working for Ogilvy PR Mexico, Oscar developed strong relationships with business, technology editors and journalists, as well as some of the top bloggers in Mexico. He has worked with various of influential companies such as the Jeffery Group in Mexico, LG, FedEx, Airbus, British Airways, Dell, American Express and a variety of other companies. 


He is currently an active member of the Social Media Club in Mexico City and is responsible for the Public Relations Committee. Oscar has a bachelors degree in Communications from the Universidad Nuevo Mundo and a Master's in Enterprise Communication with an emphasis in Digital Technologies from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain. If one is interested in going in to the public relations industry, Oscar suggests keeping up to date with news and trends and constantly look at how the industry is changing. "It is important to stay current with the latest trends and to understand the new world and adapt it to our daily jobs," says Oscar. 


Below is an interview in Spanish where Oscar talks about crisis communication in Mexico:


At Oscar's and Lorena's presentation one can expect a lot of numbers, demographics and habits of the PR in Mexico, some case studies of excellent campaigns from brands and agencies. They will give a real snapshot of how they are doing business as well as the key players. When asked about Oscar's thoughts on SXSW, he states, "It is really great to be at SXSW for the second year in a row and it is very cool that there is a Latin American track. This track that SXSW has created is a great opporutinty for those who would like to network with different companies from Mexico. My expereince in the last 10 years has been working with a lot of agencies that have offered a lot of services here. This is a great opportunity to connect with people and for them to expand their messages to Mexico."

Some questions that will be answered at the presentation are listed below:
  1. Whats the current situation of digital PR industry in Mexico?
  2. How many "traditional" agencies are still not offering digital services?
  3. How many "social media agencies" exist in Mexico?
  4. Who are the top companies and brands in digital communications?
  5. Which are the main case studies of digital PR in Mexico?
To learn more about this presentation go to The State of PR 2.0 Industry in Mexico

*Note: This presentation will be in Spanish