Micro-Multinationals

Found this great post by the folks at Cause Global about the rapid growth of Micro-multinationals. I find this very interesting as it correlates to the topic of crowdsourcing (previously shared my thoughts on this here).

Thanks to the internet, we have unprecedented access and tools to connecting people and ideas from all around the globe. Now, social media has bridged the geographical gaps that used to define us and people from all over the world get to collaborate on a real-time basis. Essentially, making it possible for "small" businesses to hold their own against corporate giants. Now, if we could work on just one time zone...

The Founders 2010

In keeping in touch with my good friend Adam Shepler, I've been learning a lot about his endeavors out in Boulder, CO with TechStars, a mentorship-driven seed stage investment program for startups.

Some pretty cool stuff is taking place in Boulder, making it a up-and-coming VC destination worthy of Silicon Valley-esque exposure (and capital). I urge everyone to check out this great environment where innovation is the main item at breakfast, lunch, happy hour, and dinner.

"The Innovation Lab" The Founders | TechStars Boulder | Episode 2 from TechStars on Vimeo.

Thanks, Adam, and best of luck!!

Flash Mob - Puerto Rico

As follow-up to a previous post, flash mobs have reached my beautiful home island of Puerto Rico. This one takes place at Plaza Las Americas Shopping Mall. This flash mob was sponsored by KFC as part of their campaign efforts ("Descubre el lado asado de Kentucky") to promote their new grilled chicken.

¡Que lo disfruten!

Speech, Privacy, and the Internet...

This post is based on Prof. Lawrence Lessig's keynote speech on November 21, 2008 at the University of Chicago Law School.



Some random facts you (and I) didn't know about him until right now:

• He was a character (played by Christopher Lloyd) in the popular TV show The West Wing.
• Artist group Monochrom performed a "Love Song for Lessig" on Boing Boing TV.

Prof. Lessig speaks about 3 elements that currently drive change today and hit close to home with new generations:

Extraordinary explosion of data.

Accessibility of information is at unprecedented heights. We can basically find anything we want on the Internet when we want it. More stuff accessible than ever before. G-O-O-G-L-E.

Data (and its architecture) are inspiring us to much worse behavior.
Behavioral expectations have changed because everything we do online is captured and monitored. Thanks to this our actions and that of others have become more rebellious in nature.

Data survives forever.
This endless data makes it harder for us to erase than it is to keep. WORLD-WIDE-WEB. People, much to my surprise, still fail to understand the meaning of those words individually and collectively in terms of speech and privacy. Once you put something out there, there's no turning back and people often forget that.

Further, Lessig states that democratization of speech on the Internet has diminished our ability (instead, I'd argue perhaps our motivation) to keep things in the right context. This makes sense to me in a way that more (and faster) does not mean better. We feel entitled nowadays to have access to everything online. We've lost sight of the responsibility to contextualize news and articles and differentiate them from opinion pieces and garbage information. We (those of us a part of the Google, Facebook, and Twitter generation) read/skim snippets of text and automatically jump to judgments and conclusions without going further to see what is beyond plain sight.

Living in a virtual world...

Can't buy your own island in Dubai? Don't sweat it, you can buy one on the cheap at Second life.


Thanks to Grace Patuwo, I learned that "Second Life “residents” interact with each other through highly customized avatars ranging from Victorian debutantes to flying dolphins. Residents can create, buy and trade virtual property and services in Second Life by using Linden dollars, L$, which are bought with real money. As of Feb. 10, the exchange rate was L$260 for every U.S. dollar."

I mean, really? Linden dollars? Kudos to Philip Rosedale and Linden Lab. On a more practical note, Second Life has given those in the education industry a new cost-effective teaching tool. The point being that educators can easily enhance (or even replace) classroom experiences with virtual capabilities just as well as Second Life can help students as an effective self-learning tool. Think Blackboard meets Facebook on steroids.

On the consumer side, lets just say I can be as fit and good looking as (insert your all-time celebrity crush list here.) Second Life lets me create my own avatar, a virtual, "physical" representation of my awesome persona. Now that I'm born into this world, I'm ready to go shopping (to the virtual mall, of course). On her USA Today article, Jayne O'Donnell mentions that "sales of virtual goods will reach about $1 billion this year and could grow to $1.6 billion next year, according to a report by market researcher Inside Network."

Is Second Life (and its residents) immune to the historical economic pressures facing the real world today? Maybe I should think of moving there post-MBA and start looking for jobs. (Insert company name here) Virtual Senior Associate, what do you think?

Image from Gizmodo.

Networking: what goes around...comes around.

What goes around...comes around. Life in the professional realm is not that different from that in the "real world." People will lie, cheat, and steal to get ahead.

The professional arena has been made more accessible to the masses thanks to the internet and social networking. Monster and CareerBuilder were the pioneers of this online job-hunting world. Made simple, just upload your resume and apply to jobs via the web.

But now everything is more personal. It's all about branding for employers and future employees alike.

Thanks to LinkedIn, your resume (or profile) can be viewed by millions of people. Your dream job (and the accompanying interview) may only be a few a clicks away through LinkedIn. But be careful on embellishing that profile: what goes around...comes around. The web is great, but YOU still have to interview.

For those out there searching for jobs the old-fashioned way via career fairs and the like, this may sound familiar:

Me: Hi, my name is...(Insert Elevator Speech)
Recruiter: Nice to meet you. Now go online, fill out a profile, upload your resume, we'll get back in touch with you (perhaps in 2013).

While it may be discouraging, you are still presenting your brand. Be cordial and professional and understand how the game is played. Go to the company website, create your profile, upload your resume, and apply to that job you want. Now use LinkedIn and do your six degrees of separation. Leverage your network, and if you did it the right way, you will find that your connections will gladly lend a helping a hand in getting your resume out of the gutter and into the right set of eyes. What goes around...comes around.

It turns out, there is no all-in-one tool for this job hunting and networking process, it's a do-it-yourself mentality that will get you ahead. It's levering your relationships in ways that are meaningful to them, not to you. What better way to enhance your reputation than by having your story told for you, not by you. I like to think of it as branding.

Lastly, I will leave you with this commercial from The Ladders. (When you let everyone play, nobody wins). I just find it hilarious.

Image from How I Made My First Dollar.

Where's Rob?

Next time your out at a sporting event, see if you can get Rob's attention ... with the help of an entire section (or two, or three).

Thanks to groups like Improv Everywhere, you will soon be caught in so-called flash mobs. If you live in NYC, you're probably more familiar with them. No Pants Subway Ride. Frozen Grand Central. It didn't take long for companies to capitalize on this movement, check out this T-Mobile dance in Liverpool, England.

My initial thought when watching these videos was "I wish I would've been there." Certainly these events are meant to create unique experiences and lasting impressions, ask anyone involved (participant or bystander) in any of the above videos.

However, what I did not realize what the power of mobile devices in making this happen. These gatherings are organized via mobile devices, social media, or viral emails. Makes you wish you had more friends on Facebook in order to increase your chances of joining in the next flash mob. Think worldwide pillow fight - it's already happened.

The power of mobile 2.0 is scary. The negatives are obvious with security concerns about GPS enabled smart phones and Big Brother watching over you, hackers, stalkers, etc. But then you think of how thousands of people can gather in an organized fashion in a matter of minutes or hours to carry out an unusual (and most times, pointless) act for a short amount time and the real power to social media comes to life.

Most recently, a snowball fight erupted in DuPont Circle last weekend after the Snowmageddon made its way through DC. As everyone in DC knows, this is a town that is well-practiced in using social media to rally supporters at political events...but in this case, why not use Facebook and Twitter to host a few harmless snowball fights?

Dumb & Dumber...or Lazy & Lazier?

This image is based on one of the funniest movies of all time (in my opinion). Lets be honest now, I ain't no Albert Einstein but I'm sure that even he would agree that "dumb" happens. To all of us, at some point of the day, week, month, etc.

Harry: Hi, Lloyd.
Lloyd: Hi, Harry.
Harry: How was your day?
Lloyd: Not bad. Fell off the jet way again.

I could put quotes from the whole movie and still be laughing by the time we get to class on Thursday.

We all have our "dumb" moments and to say that it's the Internet's fault is absurd. I'd argue the advent of the internet has opened the gateway to information sharing that could never be opened otherwise through books, newspapers, magazines, etc.

They say information is power, right? Then the Internet is the tool of choice. We now have the ability to communicate and collaborate with people half way around the world thanks to the internet.

Now, has it made us a bit lazy? Yes, I for one will admit that. But lazy is not the same as being dumber or a lack of due diligence. So instead of looking for information in the library for days or weeks before an assignment is due, I know can do it the night before if I wish. That makes me lazy, not dumber.

The Internet has given us information at our fingertips, at times too much information. But that's not Google's or Microsoft's fault. One can argue that's their job. It's my job to ensure I read, use, and cite work properly. It's called Copyright law.

Technology, for the most part, brings efficiencies of scale. Makes what seemed fantasy before now reality. It's supposed to make our lives easier per se, which in turn makes us lazier not dumber.

Articles:

Riley, Duncan. Nobel Laureate Says The Internet Makes Us Dumb, We Say: Meh. December 9, 2007.

The Bryant Park Project. Is the Internet Making Us Stupid? June 16, 2008.

Image from: IMP Awards

Corporate Blogging: listen, learn, engage...

BREAKING NEWS: Corporate America agrees that social media is essential to successfully communicating (and engaging consumers with) your brand in today's ever-changing global marketplace.

As consumers become more diverse, demanding, and connected than ever before, it's important for firms to understand the global trends and local conditions that define their environment (and the consumer's too!).

The new marketplace is now being defined in consumer terms. As such, blogs are an important tool in this new two-way communications world. With traditional media such as newspapers appearing to be that of Neanderthals (my apologies to the Geico cavemen), brands now use blogs to tell their story. And more importantly, they CONTROL the content.

However, just as important, firms cannot miss out on the CONVERSATION part. Blogging, or social media in general, is another promotional platform but it is as much about listening as it is about publishing content. Firms must understand that in order to catch the attention of their target audience, they need to be informative (or even entertaining), engaging, and true to the brands they represent.

Blogs. Facebook. Twitter. Flickr. Digg. YouTube. They're all great communications and marketing tools but they must be used efficiently. Firms should not SPAM social media, it will backfire. Instead, prioritize your efforts on sites where your audience may be looking for you and integrate/connect these back to your blog. This way, the brand message will be more authentic and meaningful to the consumer.


Articles:

Beckford, Avil. On Corporate Blogging: Interview with Don Martelli of MS&L. November 9, 2009.

Brogan, Chris. Shut Up - You're Helping the Customer! November 4, 2008.

Image from Savage Brands.

Crowdsourcing: a misconception...

According to Jeff Howe, crowdsourcing is "the act of taking a job traditionally performed by a designated agent (usually an employee) and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people in the form of an open call.“

Its simplicity lies in the fact that you ask those in your network to help you out and therefore you tap into their collective (network's) intelligence resulting in the by-passing of expensive third party vendors/consultants. With more and more people logging onto the internet and using social media everyday, this was bound to happen.

However, quantity may not always relate to quality. Putting yourself out there to the wrong audience won't lead you to gather great insights. Instead, crowdsourcing may be just the tip of the iceberg, perhaps a testing ground or starting point to narrowing your target audience.

"We need to nurture and fund inventors and give them time to explore, play and fail. A false idea of the crowd reduces the motivation for this investment, with the supposition that companies can tap the minds of inventors on the cheap." (Woods, Dan. The Myth of Crowdsourcing)

For in-depth analysis and valuable insights, companies need to develop relationships and engage with the RIGHT audience that will lead to their PARTICIPATION in the process. That'll be the differentiating factor between firms that are merely data collectors and those that see the inventors in the outside world as a their partners.


Articles:

Howe, Jeff. Crowdsourcing. Youtube.

Woods, Dan. The Myth of Crowdsourcing. Forbes.com

Image from: Social Signal

Real? Virtual? ... Both?

Mark Zuckerberg, in a post on his Facebook blog, states that "when we started Facebook in 2004, it was just a basic directory with some names, interests, contact information and a profile picture." Fast forward to 2009, we now have "the wall" and "live feeds" that put all of our "friends" right in our face.

On the other hand, Clive Thompson, recounts the differences between real-world social networks and virtual ones through the study of reality mining. Apparently, scientists are tracking people using location-aware devices like mobile phones or electronic badges to figure out how social networks function in the real wold. Really?? Am I in a lab and don't know it?? Not surprisingly, results show that the real world often works very differently than the virtual world thanks to that old tradition of face-to-face interaction.

Here's my problem: FB isn't just a basic directory anymore. I don't want the power to share EVERYTHING and I don't want to connect with EVERYONE. (baby announcements, the exact street address of where you will be at from 5-7 pm tonight, how you feel about Obama being left-handed, etc.)

Improving my ability to share and connect online also means improving security and privacy measures that allow us to do so in our own terms. Whether it's live feeds on FB or reality mining in the real world, why do I want others gathering so much data about me and vice versa? What's left to talk about if we know everything about everyone? (clients, bosses, love interests, etc.) We might as well just become robots. Wait for it...

I love spontaneity and so should you, it's what keeps us on our toes and makes life interesting. While FB (and YouTube, etc.) has proven to be many great things, like mapping our social network, it has also negatively altered our real world expectations. In the real world, you don't just earn someone's trust and friendship because your FB status is the same or you follow the same people. A firm handshake, eye contact, and credibility will always triumph in the world I live, which makes me wonder: am I the only one still living here? I guess the term "double life" changed from personal/professional to real/virtual.

First blog post...ever!!

So here I am, almost 28 years into my life and thanks to the $3k I'm paying per MBA class, finally getting around to writing my first blog.

With that said, let me clarify once again that I am a student blogging for a class and, as such, am obliged to include the academic integrity pledge “On my honor, all posts on this blog are my own.”

Without further ado, let's assess the situation.