Fake Steve on Google OS

Let's all take a deep breath and get some perspective...

G8 set new global warming targets to postpone decisions, actions

"Leaders of the G8 leading industrial countries have agreed to try to limit global warming to just 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial levels by 2050." From BBC. What irks the cynic in me is that no roadmap on how to get there has been agreed. Today’s leaders know well that they will not be in power then, nor their protégés thus could sit on it and leave the task on how to make it happen to future generations. In the meantime, it’s business as usual.

Google to launch an operating system! I might switch back to PC then.

"We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds"... I am really excited about that. Google shook the search market when everyone thought the game was over (remember it was all about portals and entertainment...), then shook the advertising world when ad agencies dismissed the mom & pop shops using adwords (it turned out that there were a lot of them and it amounted to a lot of cash - now the big corporation have search marketing experts and big budgets that end up with Google no matter what). Talking about OS, I switched to Mac in 2007 to keep up with the Californian boys of my previous venture. Never looked back. After comparing boot up time and normal usage (how often the system crashes, usability, intuitiveness, speed...) I convinced my wife to relinquish her Sony Vaio for a MacBook. Now I love Apple but the kit is pricey and there is no Netbook in sight as of yet. A Google OS might just convince me to switch back.

Pre-Facebook, Pre-Internet: Lemmings

Before Facebook sucked out all remaining productivity of the average cubicle worker, we had Lemmings... I found a DHTML version of what must be one of the most addictive game ever created. How many could you rescue?

iPhone apps are the new Facebook apps

Reminiscent to last year's articles on how everyone can strike gold by developing Facebook apps (which followed from becoming a property millionaire on Second Life and a publishing mogul through blogs), the Telegraph has an article on how "anyone with a laptop and a good idea can stake their claim in the app rush". So what are you waiting for? Stop reading and start coding.

Bloggers have no right to privacy

Landmark UK ruling where the High Court ruled against the protection of anonymity of a police officer who wrote a blog. The blogger sought an injunction to prevent a newspaper from naming him for fear of disciplinary hearings. As a result of being identified, the blogger is now being investigated and had been issued a written warning. The blog has been removed. Now I wonder why this could not be extended to online forums and review websites. Think twice before you post. Full story on the BBC.

Grab your Facebook username before it's too late

Facebook just released the option to have usernames and redirect to your page at www.facebook.com/username. I have few homonyms in the World and already got mine. However, if you are blessed with the patronym John Smith, you better grab it fast before you become known as JOhH_SmITh187.

The millionth word in the English language is...

web 2.0.

No kidding.

National Geographic Traveler features the Cacao Pearl

June edition, page 40 under "Destinations Watch". Is it time to write a series of posts on moving from online PR to launching the World's first non-profit luxury eco-resort? Not just yet. But we are getting closer...

Only 10 per cent of Twitter users account for 90 per cent of all tweets

Says Harvard Business School in a Telegraph article. This is consistent with many articles, stuies, reports, anecdotes I came across: Despite all the talks about "user generated content", we prefer to consume content that produce it.

Facebook brings in payment system

Micro-payments have been heralded as the holy grail of e-commerce since 1999. Europeans and Asians sometimes use their cellphones to pay for online services (or virtual goods) but no one managed to deliver a popular, universally accepted web only solution. I believe Facebook could be the one to deliver it. Gartner reckon that direct payment could amount to a third of Facebook's revenues. Article on the FT.

Life beyond PR: It is sunny on the Cacao Pearl.

I thought I would post some pretty pictures of my new project, the Cacao Pearl. It is the World's first non-profit luxury eco-resort, nestled in the Calamian archipelago in Palawan, Philippines. As you would expect, PR is core to our marketing strategy and we are having good media and bloggers' coverage so far ranging from mentions in the NY Times, SF Chronicle, Frommer's, Treehugger, Hollywood Reporter, A Place in the Sun, National Geographic, Hotels Magazine and many more. Completion is scheduled for early 2012. Too early to compile a mailing list but you are welcome to find out more at www.cacaoresorts.com. If you want to write about it and need more information, just ping me.

The trillion dollars question: China or America.

China. If you don't believe, go there and see for yourself.

BT limits download speed on cheapest broadband packages

"A customer who has signed up for an up to 8 megabit per second package can have their speed cut to below 1Mbps". Time to read the small print and complain all the way to the top. BBC.

OneTel Talk Talk but doesn't listen

In 10 years in the UK, I had my share of bad service but never had to resort to the Office of Fair Trading for a resolution, until I canceled my contract with OneTel. Despite written letters a month in advance that were acknowledged and three follow-up phone calls, they still send me bills for a phone line in a flat I left 2 months and a half ago. Obviously they are taking the piss. I am sending my recorded letter tomorrow for their breach of contract under the supply of goods and services act 1982. They have 10 days to sent me a written confirmation that my contract is canceled and refund me. I will update on this blog. Needless to say that I am not recommending them to anyone.

Wolfram

Touted as the new Google, Wolfram is actually not a search engine but a "computational knowledge engine". It is a bit like an expert system plugged-in an encyclopedia. Look at the online demo This is a very impressive start.

The end of free online news?

Rupert Murdoch is looking to start charging readers to access his online papers. While many will dismiss it as rearguard fighting, I will not be surprised if other publishers jump in at the chance. As their readership moves online, newspaper publishers just can't make enough money on the Internet through advertising alone to run their business. The billion dollars question is whether there would be sufficient willing payers to compensate the drop in online readership (i.e. online advertising revenues) when they start charging. It looks like we will soon find out.

CNN article (still free).

Is a Recession the Perfect Time to Start a Business?

In theory, resources would cost less but Jeff Nolan shows that it is not to be taken for granted. In a comment Edwk makes valid points: People joining you know that it will be tough so are more motivated and you have less competitors throwing money at the problem you are trying to solve.

The Best job in the World, Queensland Tourism campaign explained

"... for US$1m, it generated US$70m of global publicity." and was probably one of the best campaigns of its kind I have seen for a long time. BBC.

50 Best IPhone Apps for MBA students

On Management Courses. I thought students were broke by definition?

Gaping Void's Macleod writing book

"ignore everybody" launches June 11th, 2009. I have always been a great fan of the cartoons and iconoclastic marketing thoughts so will await anxiously.

Pirate Bay guilty verdict: Now what?

"...the site will almost certainly continue to operate and the legal battle will carry on for many months - or even years - to come...". The Register. A victory for litigation over innovation.

Cambridge researchers slam Facebook democracy

"...the revised document is effectively identical to the original version, with merely superficial changes...". Ouch! Computer Weekly.

The 10 greatest computer flops

From the Telegraph. Surprising how many Apply products are there.

Goldman Sachs hires law firm to shut down blogger's site

I'll take it that Goldman have been spared by the crisis and have plenty of time in their hands. Article on the Telegraph. The blog in question is Goldmansachs666.com

Google Street View does not breach privacy laws

"If consent were required by the law then the producers of, say, Match of the Day, would have to gain the consent of all people attending televised football matches who might be caught on camera". Enough said. Guardian.

Google About To Buy Twitter?

Apparently, valuation is north of US$250K. From ITPro Portal.

Mashing-up Youtube

Israeli artist Kutiman creates a fantastic album by cutting/mixing Youtube clips. Love it. First read on CNN.

Biting the hand that feed: Can we monetize social media?

David Rowan, editor of the new UK Wired edition takes a shot at Second Life (the national sport at the moment) and hits all other social networks/services in the same time. The best business minds have spent over a decade figuring out a profitable business model for online media or social networks and the best option so far is still selling to an even bigger online media or social network. With the crisis shrinking everyone to size and funding drying up, this brings us in a world where we accept that online networks can only be a "cost of doing business", where we continue chasing an elusive magical business model that will turn millions of users into millions of customers or where we start charging people for services they clearly value. My hunch is on the 3rd option.

Twitter switch for Guardian, after 188 years of ink

Great April's fools fun from the Guardian.

Second Life's span is virtually over as firms decide to get real

Damning article on the Telegraph. Are journos seeking closure? In two years, will we see similar articles about Twitter?

Google Street View now in the UK...

... And the results are just amazing. Conveniently, a picture was taken just in front of my former flat and as a result, I am missing London.

Explore at http://earth.google.com/ and tick Street View under "Layers".

The crisis of credit, visualised

One of the best explanations of the credit crunch I have seen. First seen on Mr Brown, blogger extraordinaire of Singapore.

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Microsoft Office labs vision 2019

In 2019, there will be tactile screens everywhere. The only gardens will be on rooftops and we will all live in Hong Kong. Don't believe me? See for yourself:



Thank you to El Blogador for sending me this story. Read post from Long Zheng.

IAB develops new guidelines for behavioural advertising

Self-regulatory and signed by AOL, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!... The guidelines can be summarized as:

• Notice

Each Member shall provide clear and unambiguous notice to users that it collects data for the purposes of OBA. This notice shall include information about what types of data are collected, how these data are being used and how users can decline OBA with respect to that Member.

• User choice
  

Each Member shall provide an approved means for consumers to decline OBA from that Member and information on how to do it.

• User Education

Each Member shall make information available to educate users about OBA and ensure that this information is easily accessible.

And of course, "No Member shall create OBA segments intended for the sole purpose of targeting children under the age of 13 years".

Full guidelines on IAB site.
First read on the BBC.