Monthly Archive for April, 2007

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People think like two-year-olds

Published on April 20, 2007 in human nature, with 0 Comments. Tags: , , , , , .

A few thoughts:

1) Property ownership is one of the central tenets of capitalism.

2) At work, I am involved in a special assignment. Throughout the initiative, I've caused a lot of friction with various groups because it was perceived that I was infringing on their "territory".

3) Myspace allows users to customise their profile however they want. And people do.

4) My two-year old niece is going though a stage where everything is "hers".

5) Capitalism works better than any other economic system; my firm is very successful as an organisation; Myspace is a run-away hit; my niece is a happy baby.

Notice a trend? The only difference between you and a toddler is that you don't say "mine" every time someone takes your toy. Want to get peoples' support or to buy your product? Then remember this: property and giving people a sense of ownership is how us humans work. We take comfort in what we can control.

It’s a new media world

Published on April 18, 2007 in Attention economy, with 0 Comments. Tags: , , , , , , , .

If you don't know what new media is - read this good summary article by a media guru.

The internet is bringing forth a new way of communicating and information delivery. It's not so much a matter of if, but when. Recently, I've started to think we are a lot closer to replacing the mass media than ever, and here are two examples.

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Patents: more harm than good

Published on April 15, 2007 in Business, with 0 Comments. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

When I was in Prague two years ago, I met a bloke from Bristol (UK) that very convincingly explained how patents as a concept, are stupid. Because alcohol was involved, I can't recall his actual argument, but it has since made me question: do you really need a patent to protect your business idea?

Narendra Rocherolle, an experienced entrepreneur, has written a good little article explaining when you should, and shouldn't, spend money to protect your IP. Racherolle offers a good analysis, but I am going to extend it by stating that a patent can be dangerous for your business, and not just because of the monetary cost. Radar Networks is my case-study - a stealth-mode "Semantic web" company, that has received a lot of press lately because apparently they are doing something big but they are not going to tell us until later this year.

Continue reading 'Patents: more harm than good'