Finding Opportunities in what you do well

I was planning on posting today about Seach Engine Optimization. Which would be more up my alley as a search guy. However, I was reading CNet today and I came across this. In it they talk about Amazon Web Services.

Its Amazon Web Services business essentially opens up the online store's computing guts to outsiders, giving software developers access to its retail services, such as fulfillment and commerce, as well as to computer processing and data storage.

When most companies go outside their core business to find other opportunties they usually make a mistake by not looking into opportunities within their strengths. Too many people get caught in joining the latest fad, see consumer generated content, without a grasp on how to actually make it work.

When everyone was wondering when Amazon would turn a profit it is things like this they should of been noticing. It doesn't hurt that they are also the new Wal-Mart...

The iPhone...Cell Phones are cool once again!!

Today Apple introduced the much awaited iPhone. Usually, I don't get excited about the newest technology gadgets. I can be rather pesmistic about the newest thing, I guess it is all these years living with Microsoft releases. Is anyone here optimistic about Vista? I didn't think so.

In fact, this morning I was telling Nick how tired I am Apple, iTunes, and iPods. I feel iTunes has monopolized my cubicle life. I listen to music on my iPod and I download songs and tv shows on iTunes with little thought how I can only play them on my computer and iPod. In fact there is a class action lawsuit against Apple over this. Time online had this to say about the iPhone:

Apple's new iPhone could do to the cell phone market what the iPod did to the portable music player market: crush it pitilessly beneath the weight of its own superiority. This is unfortunate for anybody else who makes cell phones, but it's good news for those of us who use them.

I readily admit I was skeptical until Nick sent me the Engadget running log on Steve Jobs' presentation at Macworld. As soon as I saw the pictures I was hooked! This is simply amazing. Finally, I feel America isn't 10 years behind Asia and Europe in the mobile market. Finally, a smartphone I would like to own. Finally, a good reason to be a Cingular customer!

I can't remember the last time I was impressed with a gadget let alone a cell phone, but today changed all of that. I'm marking my calendar for June so I can get one.

Just imagine the impact this could have on the local search market. If as Time says revolutionizes the mobile phone industry, with Google and Yahoo already loaded on it, how many millions will they make in mobile internet advertising? I can't wait to see how this plays out, but most importantly to Apple...I can't wait to own one!

Second Life is now open source...what does this mean for the future of the internet?

Even though Nick and I don't venture into Second Life much, we have many friends who do, Ecocandle Riel, being one of them. So for Ecocandle's sake we will post most stories we come across concerning second life.

Today in Techcrunch they touch on how SL has become open source. I found the following interesting from the article...

At current growth trends, though, SL could be a real economic force in a few years. When things really start to hop, SL will look more like it’s own private Internet...What might make more sense in the long run is more of a Wikipedia-like approach to Second Life. A non profit organization running open source software where people can add their own island just by plugging in a server in their living room or the hosting provider of their choice. Whoever builds that and provides a serious alternative to the SL experience could help the world at least as much as Wikipedia has.

What I find interesting is the thought of SL as the future of the internet. Ecocandle, or Meeks as I call him, has preached this to me since I first learned of SL about 6 months ago. From the hundreds of articles I have read on SL I haven't really seen anyone else say it until now. I think for this to truely happen people would have to be able to make their own islands without it being controlled by Linden Labs and then these islands would become their own independent webpages, if you will.