IF YOU DON'T KNOW... JUST GOOGLE IT…

Even if I’m aware of the advantages we get from using them, I don’t know much about technologies, computers and Internet. It was then quite complicated for me to answer the question Enrique Dans asked us: “what are the 3 most important things of Google for you”… But after a while I came up with the followings:

-       Search Engine

Everybody I know uses Google as his or her Search Engine. If you don’t know something… “just google it”… I can think of many products that have become verbs like this… A detail that shows the importance Google has taken in our life.

This statement actually scares me big time. In all dictatorships, one of the big priorities is to take control of the media, because once you control the information, you control the country…

As Internet is now the main source of information for a big part of the population and as Google is the main Search Engine in the world… It is not completely crazy from me to get scared by this situation. We’re mainly informed by one provider. We type some key words and Google “decides” which web pages, articles, etc… it wants to send us. For different interests Google could perfectly orient us to different information in order to avoid us seeing a different part of the cake… Again, exactly like many dictators hide a part of the situation…

-       Google Earth / Google Maps

Google also provides amazing tools such as Google Earth or Google Maps… You fly for a while around the globe, see a country, zoom in on it, zoom in again, you see the capital of the country, you keep zooming, you see the different neighbourhoods of the city, more zooms and you see the small house your parents owned when you were a kid! Amazing…

For the moment there are only pictures taken at a certain time but I can easily imagine pictures taken in real time and, sorry again but, this scares me big time too. I knew it was possible to see everything from a satellite but this information was not public… In a few years  we might be able to follow somebody with GoogleEarth or Maps. Please don’t think of me as paranoid… but Internet has been synonym of lost of privacy since its beginning, and at a certain level it doesn’t bother me at all, but everything has limits…

-       Gmail

Until very recently I was a Hotmail user but because I needed a different account to start my MBA I decided to open a Gmail account. We are more than 40 millions Gmail users in the world… Thanks to my good friend Guerson Meyer I’ve learned that Gmail works with a different protocol than Hotmail (IMAP against POP) which is apparently way more innovative and allows more functions… For the moment I don’t really see many differences but I will try to find out and post what I’ve discovered in my blog very soon.

Another issue (tell me if I'm paranoiac?!)… Google controls the information we seek… but also the information we share sending emails… Way too much data for one guy! We should think about it…

WHERE IS MICROSOFT AT THE MOMENT?

I’m quite confused when I think about Microsoft. Until not so long ago the vast majority of people couldn’t have mentioned any alternative to Windows as the exploitation systems of its computer.  Almost every mass computer users (including myself) thought that it was Windows or nothing; that any computer in the world had this Windows logo every time you turned it on! Now with new competitors appearing on the scene, such as Apple, Microsoft has lost a lot of ground and notoriety and customers no longer associate Windows as been the only option. Something completely unheard only a few years ago.

Why is Microsoft not the same anymore?

I will start by talking about the reliability of its systems. I don’t remember any new Microsoft product release (Windows 2000, NT, XP and even the last Vista) that wasn’t followed by a press release announcing some defects on its applications and talking about imminent updates to correct them… This also turned out as a joke… “I’m not buying this Windows version… I’m waiting for the good one to come out”. Microsoft has suffered a lot as a result of those recurrent errors. More than any other industry I believe that, in the Computer Industry, it is vital to have the support and respect of experts. I’ve talked to many computer engineers in the different companies I’ve worked for and outside… NOT A SINGLE ONE has talked well of Windows and Microsoft… I’m aware that this “hate” of Microsoft has became a kind of fashion, but it would be quite naive to believe that there is no other reason behind it...(**)

I believe that this lack of reliability has deteriorated Microsoft’s name and image and has “helped” people to transfer to alternative competitors’ offers.

Apart from reliability Microsoft has lost a lot of ground in terms of marking tendencies, marketing and communication. Until recently Microsoft was the guide of what was going to be done in the future, of what customers were going to need tomorrow at home and in their office… This role is now taken care of by Apple, who innovates and anticipates in a better way the customers’ real needs. Strange when you think Microsoft spends around 10 billion a year on R&D compared to the relatively “tiny” 1,2 billion spent by Apple. What is Microsoft spending those 10 billion on? The same applies in marketing… Who remembers Windows Vista’s last release? Even if it was an important release in the “computer world” (we’re talking about a 60 billion annual revenue company!!!) it was not even close to be as successful as Apple’s recent Iphone release or the buzz they created more recently with the ipad. There’s no comparison… Apple definitely monopolizes the attention and creates huge expectations every time it releases a new product, and this since the Ibook.  Microsoft’s new releases are not what they were anymore.

Is Microsoft losing its identity?

What happened to this company that was always leading and guiding the market? Microsoft recently released Vista which happened to be very similar to Apple’s Mac OS interface... Have Microsoft become a follower?

To finish I would like to add that I haven’t talked about other products that Microsoft developed such as the X-Box (its game console), Zune (its MP3 player)… because I believe they are other failures of the brand in terms of communication. When everybody associates the Ipod, Iphone, Ipad, Itunes.. to Apple not many people are aware that Microsoft also develops other products than exploitation systems… Was this Microsoft’s marketing strategy with those new products? Did they want to ensure the customer didn’t associate them with Microsoft’s brand? If yes this reinforces my point that Microsoft no longer has the good image it used to have.

Will Microsoft manage to get its notoriety back? We’ll find out very soon…

(**)As an anecdote I’d like to say that I’ve also heard somebody comparing having a PC with Windows to having a nice Audi and possessing a Mac to driving a Ferrari! I loved the comparison so, after (I bought a mac) I swore to myself that I was going to use the comparison again… So there you go!

FOURSQUARE... WHAT IS THIS?

Let me start by saying that the first time somebody told me about FourSquare I couldn’t understand how it could be such a success on the Internet. A social network? Another one?! This time to “help” users share their locations and favorites places with their friends? Who the hell wants or needs that?!

Well I was quite wrong… To learn a bit more about it I logged in last week-end and also downloaded the application onto my Blackberry (yes! there are special FourSquare applications for BB, IPhone, Androide…). What really surprised me is that FourSquare is above all a game! You sign-in when you go to a bar, cinema, museum… and let your friends know where you are. The more places you visit, the more points you get. Easy! You can even win “badges” (if you go to 50 different locations for example) and also become “Mayor” of a place (if you’re the one with the most visits!)

For me this game aspect is the key success of FourSquare. First of all because it gives a reason to people to share their location. In my case (and I think I’m not the only one) I wouldn’t share where I am for free (who the f… cares where I am and what I am doing?!.. Unless someone is trying to stalk me!!). But if it is a game… that explains everything. Even more if you’re a player and you like to win… It also a key success for me ‘cause it makes it much more addictive. You want those badges!!

People can also leave comments about the places they visit (great place, what to order, don’t miss this or that…)… so at the end of the day FourSquare is also a “guía del ocio” created by and for the users where you can get good tips about places you don’t know.

Because I’m currently doing an MBA I couldn’t see an application like that without wondering about its Business Model! How the hell could a social network like FourSquare make money?!

I first looked up the internet and found out that a few weeks ago FourSquare’s valuation on the market was between 60 to 70 millions dollars. Today probably more… They now have around 800.000 users and are expecting to reach the million in the next few weeks (check links at the end of the post).

I believe that like any other social network (Facebook, Tuenti,…) FourSquare will earn money by sharing the information it gets about its users. What their preferences are, what time they connect to the Internet at, how many times, where they like to go on Saturday nights… This information is worth a lot for big companies that are interested in knowing more about their clients or getting more new customers. There are many different opinions on the net but Facebook users have a worth estimation between 3,6 to 250 usd for the company!!! Just multiply…

I believe Foursquare will (or is already?!) earning money with the establishment it promotes indirectly with its platform. It seems that people will go out more often (in order to sign-in, win more points and, why not, become the mayor of a bar) and will also follow the advise they can get from their new application… so restaurants, bars… establishments in general will be interested in being there and FourSquare will definitely charge for this. New advertising model? We could probably say that! In the US and UK some bars already give discounts to people that appear with the most visits of their establishment on FourSquare… Proof that it works, and that they are interested in promoting FourSquares to their customers cause they know it will suppose new customers and income in the future!

As I read in “Foursquare, la nueva niña bonita de los geeks” (see link below), FourSquare could also make money with companies that design applications allowing them to develop new app compatibles with its platform… For example a tool that measures the loyalty of customers in a particular establishment, the time they arrive at, how long they usually stay for and how much they usually spend… Many different possibilities…

I didn’t believe I could change this much… but after using FourSquare for a fews days and discovering the huge universe around it (and in general social network) I’m really interested in investigating more and, why not, trying to think up my own idea and set up a business with my own application!

Links of interest:

- Four VC Firms Battle For Foursquare, Valuation Goes Stratospheric (March 25th)

http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/25/four-vc-firms-battle-for-foursquare-valuation-goes-stratospheric/

- Foursquare CEO: We’ll Hit 1 Million Members In A Few Weeks (March 30th)

http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2010/03/30/foursquare-ceo-well-hit-1-million-members-in-a-few-weeks/

- Foursquare, la nueva niña bonita de los geeks

http://www.error500.net/movil/foursquare-nueva-nina-bonita-los-geeks

- Foursquare y sus oportunidades (January 27th)

http://www.online.com.es/7899/aplicaciones-web/foursquare-y-sus-oportunidades/

INTERNET CAFÉS, IE's PC LAB, GIRLFRIEND'S LAPTOP... BULLSHIT!!! MY MAC OR NOTHING!!

After more than 2 months without my laptop (it was getting repaired!!!!) I finally just got it back. You don't really realize how much you need your computer until you "lose" it for a while. It is not like I wasn't able to access different computers... my girlfriend has one at home, there are plenty at IE's computer lab, I have 2 or 3 "locutorios" (or Internet Cafés) right on my doorstep... but it is not the same... The result is that in 2 months I have sent 50% less emails to my friends/contacts, I haven't followed and checked what my friends have been up to on FaceBook, updated my Blog or signed in to Twitter or FourSquare (webs that I discovered thanks to Enrique Dans, my Info Systems teacher at IE).

Conclusion: You need your stuff to work properly. To discover new sites on the Internet going from one page to another, and then another... to check people's blogs, you need time on a computer and in a nice environment (I added nice environment cause IE's computer lab really sucks!)... you only get that with your computer at home.

So that's it! I just signed in to Twitter and FourSquare to check them out (please visit sometime!). I have no clue if I will like it. If I will play the game, update my status everyday, talk about me and my preferences... but I guess you never know until you try! The same thing happened to me with Facebook and even if I'm not a mad user of it, I check my account at least once a day.

Here I am loved Blogg... Sorry for this little absence. This is going to change from now on! Get ready!

LET'S BE HONEST... LET'S TALK!!!

Why are you doing an MBA? Where will you be in a years time?

I thought I was the only student with those questions in mind... but after only 2 weeks at I.E... I see that we're quite a few.....!!!!

I believe in brainstorming, group discussions, I believe that sharing opinions helps you to find much better answers to your own questions...

Please feel free to leave your comments on this Blog... LET'S HELP EACH OTHER TO FIND OUR WAY!