Friday, December 25, 2015

Facebook, Soaring



Facebook, soaring. But how far, and for how long?
 

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Bill Gates' Multimillion Dollar Investments



Informative rundown of Bill Gates' multimillion dollar investments in food | energy | communications | health.
 

Monday, December 21, 2015

Horror Films Big Deal for Hollywood



Horror films are a big deal for Hollywood, as they drive an efficient business model. So happy (profitable) Halloween!
 

Friday, December 11, 2015

Herbert Hainer on company culture



Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer wants to surround himself with people like him - fast, direct, innovative - and that's how he sets the culture for the company.
 

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy on women on the Board



Joyus CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy: Having more women on the Board is "not really a pipeline problem as much as it is an access-to-networks problem."
 

Monday, December 7, 2015

Michael Dell on $67 billion EMC deal



Michael Dell: "I'm confident that we're building an incredible company," which is the Dell $67 billion acquisition of EMC.
 

Friday, July 24, 2015

Chicago Blackhawks Pushing $1 Billion



The growing business value of the winningest hockey team - Chicago Blackhawks - in the tough salary cap era.

 

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

$800,000 after a slew of pie-cutting ain't bad



The owner of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah nails down $800,000 from the Belmont Stakes, amid a slew of pie-cutting.

Monday, July 20, 2015

Mixed Numbers for Fitbit



Fitbit revenue increased a whopping 880% in two years, yet just 61% of its buyers are active users (hmm).
 

Friday, July 10, 2015

Reflections on Access Online




If indeed censorship is ultimately impossible, and I would like to believe it is, then oppression, restriction or prohibition is also doomed to fail.  Human will and ingenuity perhaps trump any efforts to tamp these down.  It's a very curious point, isn't it.
 

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Access (5) The Internet as a Human Right




Does every person across the world have the right to healthcare and education, shelter and fresh water, a decent living and personal dignity and freedom?  The answer, of course, is yes.  But is internet access on par with these key life provisions?
 

Monday, July 6, 2015

Access (4) Prisoners' Access to the Web




To me, the immediate answer is It depends.  It depends on the nature of their crime and of course the subsequent punishment.  It also depends, I imagine, on time served and behavioral progress.  Prisoners in general are carefully guarded on what they communicate and what information they access, especially with the world outside prison.  Perhaps the law or regulation governing prisoners needs to be reviewed vis-a-vis the radical developments in media and technology, information and communications over the last decade or two.
 

Friday, June 26, 2015

Access (3) Government Censorship




There are such ideological, such cultural, such human differences between some countries, that it is easy I suppose for a Westerner like me to frown upon, and scowl at, an Eastern policy and practice.  The answer is no, of course, from me.  But then it becomes a matter of understanding the reasons behind the decision to censor, that is, without judging it or expecting otherwise.  It is also a matter of the Chinese, for example, to weigh in with their support for or rejection of such censorship and to decide what to do and how to do it.
 

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Access (2) The Web in Times of Crisis




I suppose this question is at the heart of Social Contract à la Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Locke and Thomas Hobbes.  The people agree to surrender some their freedom and rights to the ruler, in exchange for a host of protections of their broader freedom and rights from said ruler and the governing body.  I'd say it's a complex balance, and how this balance is reached and maintained very much depends on the relationship between the government and the people: Is it trusting and respectful, or otherwise?
 

Monday, June 22, 2015

Access (1) Slow Internet Speeds




What should be the case - equal access, equal opportunity - runs head to head with how it is.  Just as there are sociopolitical and socioeconomic matters in many countries, so there are sociotechnology quandaries as well.  It makes sense to rally and advocate for such equality, but I believe entrepreneurs and philanthropists have a better chance of solving the issue than corporate titans or government officials. 
 

Friday, June 12, 2015

Reflections on Privacy Online



These men and women speak to a host of complicated, weighty matters concerning privacy.  There is, for instance, that give and take of social media: free use for data use.  Where do you weigh in on these matters, and how do you navigate them in your personal and work lives?
 

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Privacy (5) Mobile Phone Tracking




This is a fundamental dilemma in media and technology:  Obviously the ability to track mobile phones can keep citizens safe, including young people, but in the wrong hands the very same technology can endanger or take advantage of citizens.  Unfortunately we cannot always trust that companies or individuals with know-how and access to tracking will use technology for the good.
 

Monday, June 8, 2015

Privacy (4) Your Data for Sale





Answer: Not without customer consent.  But the question is, How clear or user friendly are privacy policies?  The ones I've seen are couched in such legalese as to be too obtuse to read meaningfully.
 

Friday, May 29, 2015

Privacy (3) Online Surveillance





Isn't it the case in the US that unless the police have probable cause, they cannot simply scope out information from just any particular or anonymous citizen?  Of course it is their charge to pinpoint wrongdoers in their jurisdiction, but I believe they must do so without improper breach of citizens' privacy.