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Google says govts blocking info flow are blocking free trade and economic growth.

Published on November 15, 2010 in Australia, Google, business, politics and technology. View Comments

With the release of a new white paper via its Public Policy Blog, Google is urging governments everywhere to take specific steps to “break down barriers to free trade and Internet commerce”.

Google maintains that according to one study, more than forty governments are now involved in the restriction of online information by such practices as blocking online services, imposing non-transparent regulation, and seeking to incorporate surveillance tools into their internet infrastructure.

With a focus firmly on commerce here, Google is asserting that these practices are the trade barriers of the 21st century, and steps should be taken to remove them. Google is calling for new international rules to provide increased protection against these 21st century trade barriers.

Do you think the economic benefits of the Internet are under threat from governments imposing limits on information flow? Are certain countries shooting themselves in the feet, economically speaking, by restricting, regulating and censoring information flowing in and out of their borders?

The web and the emerging paradigm shift toward sustainability.

Published on September 27, 2010 in business, clean tech, environment, social media and technology. View Comments

I want to pick up on an idea in a recent post I read over at GreenBiz.com. It’s a very brief interview with Tim O’Reilly on How the Web is a Sustainability Platform. The post is a precursor to their Innovation Forum being held in October.

Partly, I want to pick up on this concept because it’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while now too, and let’s face it, we do tend to gravitate to ideas that we agree with.

I think the idea of the web as an emerging sustainability platform also relates to my recent post The great human hive and the road not taken, which discusses increased connectivity in relation to an emerging global civilisation.

Seeing the whole Earth from space in images for the first time– the seeds of a paradigm shift? Earthrise image courtesy of NASA.gov.

In the interview Tim O’Reilly states,

One (parallel with the open source and Web 2.0 paradigm shifts) is that the Web represented a complete sea change in the media world. People were in denial for a long time and most companies completely missed the opportunity because they tried to marginalize it. In a way sustainability is an even greater change in the world of consumer products. People are still in denial. I think one of the big lessons from the Web is that things that seem to start small can actually be utterly transforming.

Well said. Furthermore, I have come to believe that sustainability is going to be THE key driver of business innovation this century. With every day that goes by, this seems clearer and clearer to me. This will involve a huge transformation – in the way we move around, the way we work, the products and services we buy, how products are produced, how we create and deliver energy. With all the advances in technology we have made so far, it will not mean taking a step back to pre-industrial times as some people fear. Far from it.

I think it’s way bigger than the transformation brought on by the Internet and the digital revolution in general, but it will most certainly involve these too. How could it not? There was a time when I thought the internet would be the biggest innovation and transformation I’d see within my possible lifetime. I was wrong.

By the way, if you are interested, here’s a recent article from Harvard Business Review, The Sustainability Imperative, May 2010 (most of which is behind a paywall sorry). This article articulates this emerging paradigm shift in some detail.

In short, the two external references I’ve pointed to here (as well as many other voices around the world) are saying, get on board now or face being left behind as this paradigm shift gathers pace.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree or do you see it going another way altogether?

Is Facebook aiming to trump Google by making money from ads PLUS virtual currency?

Published on September 22, 2010 in Facebook, Google, business and social media. View Comments

Further to my recent posts, 21 points tracking the rise and rise of the Facebook business empire and Facebook Credits coming to a bricks and mortar store near you, it seems that Facebook is aiming to eventually make around 30% of its revenue from Facebook Credits.

Facebook Credits are Facebook’s on–site currency. Credits can be used to purchase virtual goods in third-party Facebook games and apps. Facebook takes a 30% cut of Credits spent, leaving the app developers the rest.

If industry estimates are correct, Facebook is on track to make over $1 billion in revenue this year alone, so if Facebook Credits do eventually make up 30% of their growing revenue, that’s going to add up to hundreds of millions of dollars.

It has often been pointed out that despite its increasingly diverse operations, Google is still finding it difficult to add a significant source of revenue outside of its (huge) advertising business. This begs the question: if Facebook manages to succeed in making a lot of money from its advertising business AND from it’s virtual currency, will it end up having a more solid business model than even Google?

Wow, that would be something, and would certainly bode well for an eventual IPO. Of course…on the other hand, people could also stop using Facebook in such large numbers and the whole business could go into terminal decline. It’s fun to speculate. What do you think will happen?

Facebook Credits coming to a bricks and mortar store near you.

Published on September 14, 2010 in Facebook, business and social media. View Comments

Further to my recent post on the rise and rise of the Facebook business empire, did you happen to catch the news that Facebook is going to be selling these Facebook Credits gift cards through Target stores? A few other US retailers will follow in the coming months.

Facebook seems to be taking the lead from Apple iTunes gift cards here, and hoping that people will want to buy the cards in bricks and mortar stores to gift to friends and loved ones. At present, Facebook Credits are able to be spent on social games, applications and virtual goods inside Facebook. These may not appeal to quite as many people as downloadable music, but still, according to Facebook, about 200 million people play free social games!

Would you consider buying one as a gift for someone you know who spends quite a bit of time on Facebook? The cards will be available in values of $15, $25 and $50.

via USA Today

The Coke Machine Fairy: Coca-Cola joins growing list of companies in Australia using Foursquare.

Published on September 1, 2010 in Australia, Foursquare, Twitter, business, mobile and social media. View Comments

Further to my recent posts, Local businesses: to use Foursquare (yet) or not, that is the question’ and 10 examples of businesses in Australia already using Foursquare for marketing, it seems that Coca–Cola has now jumped in with its own contribution to Foursquare markeing. Enter, The Coke Machine Fairy.

I just noticed this a few minutes ago when I visited my local shopping centre, Broadway Shopping Mall. There was a “Nearby Special” banner on display as I checked-in.

It appears that Coke will be leaving “goodies” in Coke machines around Sydney on a daily basis. Instructions on how to play the game can be found here.