Enemies of Innovation

Empires are often built upon scarcity and control of distribution. Things like digital rights management (DRM) and proprietary ownership of standards are tools for protecting business empires. However, scarcity is the enemy of innovation. And the Internet is turning fortresses into sand castles.

The ultimate problem faced by companies fighting to maintain a death grip on their content (whether it's music, software code or news) is that the artificial scarcity of their content is disappearing. So are their distribution monopolies.

You do not need to watch CNN to see one of their news stories. You can find it online, and not only on the CNN website. It is likely posted on hundreds of blogs and other websites. It can be emailed to you, downloaded using BitTorrent, podcast or viewed on YouTube. The economics and business models of content are changing.

These new dynamics are explained with wonderful clarity by TechDirt in a series of articles about the economics of scarcity.

YouTube, open source, blogs, BitTorrent, Skype, Craig's List. They are all exploding old business models based on artificial scarcity, and shifting the competitive landscape for what value means in a wired world (and marketplace).

But this is not the end of the world. Scarcity is the enemy of innovation. Today, content scarcity is disappearing, but that only means that innovation can accelerate.

Categories: innovation, economics, DRM

ODF Isn't Just California Dreamin'

It looks like the OpenDocument Format (ODF) is coming to California. A State Assemblyman from San Francisco has tabled a bill that would require all state agencies to create, exchange and preserve public documents using open, XML-based file formats beginning January 1, 2008.


The bill is designed to make sure that open is as open does. It requires open file formats to be:

* interoperable among multiple platforms
* implemented by multiple vendors
* fully published and royalty free
* controlled by an open industry organization

From Massachusetts to Minnesota to California. It looks like ODF is making its own cross-country migration. Go West, young format!

Categories: ODF, standards, California

An Inconvenient Oscar

Last night a spotlight shined on the cause of global warming and Al Gore's interrupted political career when his PowerPoint-turned-film, An Inconvenient Truth, won the Academy Award for
best documentary.

Forget 2000. The Supreme Court can't strip him of the Oscar. And Al Gore's post-Washington career has been impressive. Professor, investment adviser, environmental advocate and Nobel Peace Prize nominee. Even more impressive, Gore has been right about the most important issues of the day -- the power of the Internet, Iraq and global warming.

As the Vice President noted, the fight against global warming only depends on the will to act, a renewable resource. So, is Al Gore's political career another renewable resource?


Categories: GlobalWarming, AlGore

South Africa Recommits to Open Source

Today the South African Cabinet issued a new policy for technology in government, deepening its commitment to open source and open standards.

In its statement, the Cabinet said: "All new software developed for or by the government will be based on open standards, and government will itself migrate current software to FOSS."

Smartly, the South African government avoided setting any timetables or quotas. Instead, it focused on the benefits that open technologies afford the government and the country: lowering costs (for agencies, schools, communities and homes), enhancing IT skills and streamlining local software development.

It will also establish a project management office dedicated to implementing its new policy and expanding adoption of open source across government.

The government-wide move on open ICT follows quickly on the heels of a a decision by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research to adopt the open document format (ODF) as its default document format.


Categories: OpenSource, SouthAfrica, government

Google, Microsoft and Disruptive Business Models

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer admits that he's worried -- less about competitors and more about being blindsided by a new business model. He should be worried about the combination -- an innovative, resource-rich competitor building a new, disruptive business model (and the infrastructure to deliver it).

In a recent interview, Ballmer noted that Microsoft is playing catch up in search. That isn't news. Google has effectively won that battle. Ballmer also mentioned open source as a worrisome threat. That isn't news either, though it is not only the pricing pressure created by open source that should worry him. Open source has other powerful drivers behind its adoption globally.

However, Microsoft should be most worried about plans accidentally revealed during a Google presentation. Google is building the capacity for "infinite storage" -- meaning the ability to mirror someone's hard drive online and store all of their files, every e-mail, photo, mp3, web history, bookmark, and make them accessible on demand, anytime, anywhere, from any device.

Now that would be a disruptive business model.


Categories: Microsoft, Google, business

Are Newspapers Dying?

The Internet is killing newspapers. It is not a sudden demise, but more a death of a thousand cuts -- loss of readers (eyeballs, in online lexicon), classified ads and subscriptions. Is there any way for newspapers to compete against Craig's List and the headlines-on-homepage habits of consumers?

One newspaper publisher in Norway found an answer, and makes piles of money online. It did have the advantage of moving fast online in a small market, quickly becoming a big fish in a small pond. But it also did other things right -- including, most importantly, re-inventing its business model and hiring managers from outside the newspaper business. It built or bought links with other publications. It started giving content away for free and moved its classified ads online.

There are lessons here for other newspapers, other businesses and even governments in how to adjust to life (and business) in an online world ...

1. New leadership and management is often needed -- people not tied to the organization's old business models. The Consumer is king, not your old business model.

2. Recognize that you are selling services more than content.

3. Trust remains a key asset. Consumers prefer to source information and services from people (and brands) they trust. This is especially true online given the amount of garbage and scammers on the Internet.

4. Use trust to get online visitors coming to you directly, and not just through a search engine. Partnerships linking you with other visited sites can help get visitors through your front door, as opposed to the back door via a search engine.

5. Keep costs down. Providing services online can be very profitable, provided you take advantage of the cost savings that business online allows.


Categories: consumers, media, Internet

Global Warming's Next Victim: Peru

Global warming sure does produce pretty photos from distant places, pretty photos with ugly implications. The next page in the global warming scrapbook comes from Peru. While India is losing islands and Canada its ice shelfs, Peru is losing its glaciers.

A story from The Times (UK) reports the impending loss (that is, melting) of Quelccaya, the main glacier of the world’s largest tropical icecap, located in South America's Andies mountains. It is melting faster than scientists previously measured. Current prediction: Quelccaya will lose half its current mass by next year and disappear entirely by 2012, only 5 years from now.





Here is how the glacier's retreat has progressed in the past 25 years ...




But why worry about a pile of ice far off in the Andies Mountains?

Peru's glaciers feed the rivers that supply water to rural communities and cities where most of the population lives. Glaciers are vital for water supplies, essential for drinking, electricity and agriculture. No glaciers means less water, and less water means less food and more human hardship. It's a simple equation with devastating consequences.


Categories: GlobalWarming, Peru

Outing Groklaw & Open Source Bloggers

Anonymous blogging is becoming a risky proposition. And if you blog about legal issues related to open source, be prepared for real trouble. As part of its court case attacking Linux vendors and users, SCO has subpeonaed Groklaw blogger Pamela Jones, a frequent commentator on the SCO lawsuit. SCO intends to force Jones to sit for a deposition. Why? They claim Jones is somehow associated with IBM, or might even be one of its lawyers.

Even if true, what will SCO gain, other than the embarrassment of outing an online commentator or exposing how advocates use the Internet to project their views to the world? Groklaw posts about the SCO case are mainly commentary based upon court documents and filings. So SCO is basically harassing a blogger for her widely-read opinions (protected by the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution). Sounds like a cheap shot, and a move almost guaranteed to create a storm of bad press for SCO. And they would deserve it.

It is unclear what relevant evidence Jones (whoever she is) would have for the lawsuit and SCO. If she was a lawyer for IBM, any information beyond the blog posts would be protected by attorney-client privilege. If she is a paid mouthpiece for IBM or associated with it in some other way, nothing indicates that she has any information beyond what is publicly available in court documents. In the end, this looks like SCO attacking a person for her support for open source.

Allowing this subpeona of a blogger would set a dangerous precedent and send a chilling signal to anyone who posts online. Intimidation and reprisals should not be part of the blogging experience.


Categories: opensource, SCO, IBM, blogging

The Network Effect of Open Source

Open source is breaking out of software and starting to drive innovation in sectors beyond ICT. As pressures increase on companies (and labs and universities) to develop and discover faster, they are finding open source to be a model for networked collaboration and a catalyst for innovation.

The Human Genome Project is a famous example of open source collaboration in science. Now comes news that a giant drug company, Novartis, will build upon this open source approach for its diabetes research. Instead of hoarding its genetic data, Novartis is sharing it to create a library of diabetes data freely available online, expecting to both accelerate its own innovation and spur new partnerships.

Open source is making similar inroads in education, consumer products, even medical devices for amputees.

This connection between open source and innovation beyond software will be a focal point for the next phase of the Open ePolicy Group.

Categories: opensource, innovation, OeG

10 Things You Should Not Buy New

Interesting article on MSN Money by Liz Pulliam Weston listing 10 things you should generally never buy new (and it's more bad news for content creators) ...


1. Books
2. DVDs / CDs
3. Children's toys
4. Jewelry
5. Sports equipment
6. Timeshares (in real estate)
7. Cars
8. Software (and video games)
9. Office furniture
10. Hand Tools

Other things to add to the list ... clothes for kids under 2 years old? Skiis? Pets?

Anything you would add?

BBC Handcuffs Viewers to Microsoft

I love the BBC -- its news coverage, its TV shows, its website, its independence even in the face of pressure by its public paymasters. When it comes to technology, however, the BBC seems willing to trade that famous independence for a set of handcuffs.

Access to BBC on-demand TV services will be unavailable to consumers who do not have an up-to-date version of Microsoft Windows. It matters not what you think of Microsoft; forcing consumers to choose any single vendor, system or computer is unnecessary, wasteful and unfair.

Just ask the victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 who were unable to register online for disaster relief on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) website. Online registration for disaster help required Internet Explorer initially.

The truth is: lock-in is a bad idea.

You can tell the BBC what you think about its plans on its website here.


Categories: consumers, lock-in, BBC, Microsoft

Global Warming? How about Global Coloring?

While politicans and scientists dither over the recent report on global warming issued yesterday by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, there was more colorful climate news from Siberia.

Oily, smelly, orange and yellow snow fell on several villages in western Siberia this week.

While they flew in a team of chemical experts to investigate, Russian officials also pronounced no serious health threats from the malodorous, tinted snow.

Despite their assurances, it might be best for Siberians to heed the famous words of advice given to kids in America ... "Don't eat the yellow snow."

Categories: GlobalWarming, Siberia

Leveraging Open Source (or Open Anything)

Declaring a commitment to open source and other open technologies is the easy part. Finding ways to actually leverage open ICT is hard, as governments are discovering.

This lesson is learned and re-learned every day, as two articles I saw today illustrated. First, a new survey in India indicated that one major challenge to growth of open source was customers convinced of its value remain unsure how to leverage open source in their organizations. This problem is directly linked to low skill levels and experience in open ICT, few incentives to explore open source options, how staff performance is measured, and a failure of leadership by senior managers.

The second story came from the Land of Kiwis where the New Zealand Open Source Society complained about the non-tender of a government software procurement. The NZ story highlights 2 major obstacle to successfully leveraging open source: (1) There is often no vendor representing an open source option, while proprietary vendors deploy armies of sales and marketing personnel; and (2) Too often tender documents (RFPs and RFIs) specify a specific vendor or product, thus totally eliminating the possiblity of any open source options.

In New Zealand, a government agency issued a tender (designed by an outside consultant) for a service provider to implement a Microsoft-based online registration system. Not an online registration system. A Microsoft-based system. Nothing against Microsoft, but governments should focus on the services they want to deliver, not forever locking themselves into one company or technology.

Wait-and-see approaches to procurement will not maximize choices, competition or value for money. Nor will they produce in open source options.

Unfortunately, old habits die hard. Service-oriented, technology-neutral procurement goes against everything that procurement officers and CIOs know or have learned. Only clear direction (and rewards) from an organization's leadership can change this.

Categories: opensource, procurement, government

Global Warming: Greenland Gains Island, India Loses One

At least in the short run, global warming is creating winners and losers. As average temperatures and sea levels climb, some places go green while others go under (water).

Greenland just got greener, adding an island off its coast that was once buried under glacial ice, now melted.

Neither climate computer models nor Google Earth can keep pace with global warming. In this photo, it still shows the island connected to Greenland's mainland by a glacial bridge. (It's the grey-white ice just above the words at bottom of photo)

Contrast Greenland's gain with India's loss. Just before the New Year, the island of Lohachara, once home to 10,000 souls, was submerged by the sea, as blogged about here. It was the first documented case of inhabited land lost to global warming.

The problem is... Greenland's newest island -- named Uunartoq Qeqertoq ("the warming island") in the Inuit language -- is uninhabited. Lohachara had a population of 10,000, and there is no re-location program available to its former residents.

Greenland's melting ice is the #1 contributor to rising oceans globally. It is losing 80 cubic miles of ice per year. That translates into a lot of water. More than Lohachara could withstand. More than a lot of other places will survive.

So global warming has its first namesake: Uunartoq Qeqertoq.

What will we call the next Lohachara?

Categories: GlobalWarming, Greenland, India

Governments: Follow Consumers in ICT

Governments can learn a thing or two from consumers when it comes technology. And they should, especially when it comes to using and buying technology. After all, consumers -- the public -- are government's primary customers.

What ICT lessons should governments learn from consumers?

1. Services trump hardware. In the end, people care less about the hardware and more about the content and services that hardware delivers. Hardware becomes obsolete. Services and users endure. This is the main reason for governments and enterprises to focus on becoming service- and user-oriented, and leaving behind their (procurement) attention on hardware.

2. The physical is moving to digital. People like -- they want! -- new ways of getting information and services. They don't want to stand in lines. They don't want to wait on hold on the telephone. Enter "disruptive distribution channels." Internet, instant messages, email, Blackberries, podcasts, blogs, P2P, Bluetooth. They all represent new ways to access information and services -- from governments, companies AND, importantly, from each other.

3. New technologies become mainstream faster today. Consumers are adopting new technologies faster than ever now. And old technologies become obsolete faster than ever. Governments must be aware of this, or risk falling far behind their customers in the ICT they use and the delivery channels they want. Governments cannot afford to only think about upgrades; they need to think about the next generation of ICT (and distribution) to deliver public services and information.

To avoid becoming obsolete, governments need to take their technology cues from consumers.

Categories: consumers, ICT, government

Cities Will Be Innovation Leaders in 2007

Open source, open standards and open technologies will continue to make big news and big gains among governments and enterprises in 2007. However, I expect the real action -- the real leadership -- in open ICT will be by municipal governments. Cities are today's leading open innovators.

As 2006 ended, cities were driving technology innovation (and open ICT) in the public sector. Notable examples include:

* Netherlands: Amsterdam (and 8 other cities) issued a "Manifesto for Open Source in Government," committing themselves to bringing open ICT to city government. Amsterdam will commence an open source demonstration project in early 2007.

* France: the greater Paris region will become a center of excellence for open source software development. The effort will be a major public-private partnership aiming to provide a new foundation for innovation and growth.

* South Korea: A major city, Gwangju Metropolitan City, has been designated an Open Source City in order to promote regional software development and drive economic competitiveness. The city completed an Information Strategy Plan, identifying areas ripe for open source in their infrastructure. Execution begin in the education sector.

* Germany: A healthy competition exists among cities vying to be Germany's open source trendsetter. Current contenders include Munich, Nuremburg, Mannheim, and even tiny Schwäbisch Hall (population 36,000), the first to entirely replace Windows.

* Numerous cities big and small -- including Vienna, Bergen, Bristol, Birmingham, Barcelona, and even Kenosha, Wisconsin -- are adopting open technologies. The race is on, and there are new entrants every day.

The trend is clear: For leadership in open source and open ICT, look to your cities.


Categories: OpenSource, innovation, government

Ayles Ice, Lohachara & Our Bi-Polar Disorder

Although they are thousands of miles apart, the Ayles Ice Shelf and Lohachara Island have a lot in common. They are the newest victims of global warming.


Canada now has a new floating island of ice, shown here breaking off from Ellesmere Island on August 13, 2005 ...


... while in India's Bay of Bengal an island has disappeared under the waves (It's now a smudge just below the island in photo), as blogged here recently.

Scientists reported today that the Ayles Ice Shelf, one of only six major ice shelves left in the Canadian Arctic, collapsed from the coast of Ellesmere Island into the sea. And it wasn't the first.


In 2002, the Arctic's largest ice shelf -- the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf -- broke up.


Is this news? It shouldn't be. In 2002, a paper published by the U.S. Geological Survey concluded by saying:

"The ice shelves [along the north coast of Ellesmere Island] were once much more extensive than they are today ... and it is reasonable to suppose that the disintegration of the Ellesmere Ice Shelf was a response to the pronounced warming during the last century ... It is difficult to ignore the connection between the state of the Ellesmere Island ice shelves, the state of the climate, and changes taking place elsewhere in the Arctic Basin. The ice shelves are bellwethers of climate change."

As a New Years resolution for 2007, we should wish all these ostrich-like politicians and skeptics to pull their heads out from the ice and see the bi-polar changes that global warming has already brought. Not to mention what's coming.

Categories: GlobalWarming, Canada, India

The Needle and the Damage Done (to Baseball)

Yet again, a federal authority is taking steps to restore integrity to America's national pastime forfeited by a shameful conspiracy between Major League Baseball and the Players Union.

Minutes ago, a federal court ordered that the urine samples of baseball players who tested positive for steroids in 2003 (the height of "juiced" baseball) can be used by federal investigators. This will undo a shameless, shady deal cut by MLB and the Players' Union to hide the evidence, protect the cheaters, and sell out the efforts of clean players.

That grey pall on Barry Bonds' name is one step closer to becoming a black mark, if his name is among those 100 samples that tested positive in 2003. Not that anybody seriously doubts his steroid use.

His personal trainer was guilty of steroid distribution, and sits in jail for refusing to answer questions about what Bonds knew. Hmm. Now why would he refuse to answer that question? Bonds' position is equally telling. He says that he never knowingly used steroids, though he admits using the infamous "cream" and "clear" distributed by Balco. What were the "cream" and "clear"? Steroids, as established in the Balco court case.

Anything to add Mr. Bonds?


Categories: baseball, steroids

No New Year for Lohachara

While most of us will celebrate the coming New Year with hopes for a joyful 2007, the people who lived on the tiny island of Lohachara in India will not. Their island, located where the great Ganges River meets the Bay of Bengal, is gone. It is the first inhabited island to fall victim to global warming. But surely not the last.

Lohachara had an address: Latitude 21.9 / Longitude 88.1058333.

It had a population: 10,000 inhabitants.

It had neighbors: Suparibhanga Island (uninhabited and also now submerged forever).


And now Lohachara has disappeared, swallowed by a rising sea. (It's the grey smudge just below the island in the center of the photo above).

I want to wish all those skeptical, "do nothing" politicians and "scientists" a special New Years wish ...

I wish for you to move to Lohachara's neighboring Ghoramara Island, or Sagar Island, or the Carteret Islands off Papua New Guinea, or Vanuatu ... stay awhile ... and then tell the world that global warming is not happening. I suggest, however, you bring some scuba gear and a boat.

Categories: GlobalWarming, India

ODF v. OOXML -- Size Matters

Rob Weir has an excellent post comparing OpenDocument Format to ooXML, championed by Microsoft. The conclusion: Size matters.

The bottom line is that ooXML has a weight problem. Not only is it a bloated specification, but on average it also produces files that are bigger and slower than does its ODF rival when each is used by the same application.

This echoes the point made in my recent blog post about the practical differences between ODF and ooXML. In this Standards Smackdown!, differences in performance and complexity will likely impact decisions by developers about which standard to use.


Categories: OpenDocument, ODF, standards, ooXML