Whence Our Soul

In a day of melodramatic news and oversimplified analysis of today's situation, it was delightful to discover this wickedly insightful article by Sean Gallagher about the future of Hewlett-Packard with the reins in the hand of new CEO Meg Whitman.


The major players in Silicon Valley have changed since I first arrived in 1987, but a few of the old pillar players remain and their fate impacts the jobs of many and the fortunes of the region as a whole.

Which Seat Shall I Take?

The world of social networks has exploded and although most of the talk has centered around the most prominent three or four, there are new tools being announced every day that provide or pretend to provide support for the individual or small business to be connected more powerfully to the marketplace.

Aside from the top three (I still consider LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to be the platforms with the most entrenched effective status although that's likely to change soon), there are new choices emerging that you may find interesting, and some that you may safely ignore.

So Were You Going to Keep THIS a Secret Too

Get ready for the next wave of privacy alarm over the launch of a Facebook/Ticketmaster alliance that will allow Ticketmaster customers to see who among their friends is already going to a concert or event.

The technology alliance will appear on the Ticketmaster website and allow customers to look at a map of the venue, complete with pips that show which of your Facebook friends have already purchased tickets (provided they opted to share the information).

The article in Fast Company describes the technology in greater detail. But rest assured that there will now be much hue and cry about the possible violation of privacy that this advance presents.

Your Silly Little Idea

Having lived in Silicon Valley for over a dozen years now, I've been the guest at an absurd little ego-drama on countless occasions.

The way it goes is that a friend has you over for dinner and can't wait to tell you about their new venture (partnership/tech startup/innovation) so they ask you if you'll sign a non-disclosure agreement to protect their new company. (The company by the way, usually has no DBA, no EID, no employees or money -- in fact it exists mostly as a chain of emails between friends and a few scribbled notes from a meeting at Barefoot Coffee Roasters. Oh yeah! And of course there IS that folder filled with DBAs signed by friends and family.)

Once the prophylactic paperwork is in order, you are served single malt scotch and appetizers as you are regaled with the details of the new venture. It turns out -- are you kidding me...

I'm not moving, I'm expanding my home...

...you're going to see the messages come more rapidly. People will say, I'm moving to Google+, goodbye Facebook. Or, I'm giving up Twitter and moving to use only Facebook.

It's like you have to renounce your citizenship in a country to speak the language in another!

Look, here's the thing...

There Can Be Only One! No, Really?

You know, I loved the original Highlander movie. Without having an expectation for it, the story and performances surprised and entertained me.  But it has left our culture with a sensibility that is silly and often destructive. It really stems from that stupid mantra, "There Can Be Only One."

It's endemic here in Silicon Valley, and underscores most of the conversations we hold about technology. We see the evidence in the debate over Google+ and how it will or won't kill [Twitter/Facebook/Free Will] -- pick one or more.

I mean, c'mon...

Plus It's Just Fun

By now, everyone is either talking about Google Plus, or they're talking about why they're not going to use it. When you see articles in the daily paper about a social networking technology, it's reached adoption to the extent that you may want to pay attention.

Readers here will recall that I've been a proponent of most responsible social networking platforms as they've begun to get traction. (Responsible in this case means they prevent abusive behavior by polluters to the extent that they are able to predict it, and they offer privacy options to participants that empower selective sharing.)

So it should be no surprise...