bskool bloggin

Can't Escape

So I realize that everyone probably missed me in class yesterday (or more likely not, but I missed being there). However, I was not able to escape BIT, even with my absence, as I ran smack into at the magazine stand at the airport and read about it from DTW all the way to Chicago. This month's Business 2.0 (a magazine I had never read, which is apparently for the 'new generation of business leaders') featured articles that seemed right out of the BIT 320 syllabus. One, entitled "Firefox: IE's worst nightmare" described 19 year-old Stanford student Blake Ross's work on Firefox and how it is the first real threat to IE since Netscape (where he incidentally interned at age 14, gotta hate on geeks that are SO much smarter that you). The article went on to describe many of the free addons in Firefox (including Sage and a new music player that works in the browser called Foxytunes). I'll try to scan in the article and post the pdf if I get time (you have to subscribe to read it online).

The other article was about a blogger named Jon Gales that is pulling in more than $55,000 a year (at $300 an hour based on how much time he spends) reviewing cell phones and getting click throughs on Google. Pretty interesting and lucrative it seems. He is also only 19.

Hoping that the XML class and the talk were exciting. People can feel free to blog so that I get a sense of what happend (please!).

About the Articles

This week's articles seem to show that business is no longer looking for the newest, fastest, most powerful database software in the world, but the most value-added for their businesses. This is likely a turn of events from the days that companies were spending huge sums just to 'keep up with the Jones' (if their competitors were named Jones that is). This may be further evidence that this is the time where software developers need to change their business model from selling software, to giving it away and charging for maintenance.

In looking at the mysql website, you can see that the AP is not alone in using the open source relational database management software. NASA, Yahoo!, and Cox Communications rank among other users. Thus, more companies will probably find their needs met by less expensive alternatives, changing the market for such important and complex technology.

The dark side of the Internet

As we explore the great benefits of new ways to get information, some are not so sure that there is some dark side to the total access the internet provides. You have probably already figured out that I'm talking about our nation's schools, where Internet, while attractive for learning, runs into the issue of controlling browing. An article in today's New York Times shows that companies are furthering their access to youth by making video games rich with advertising. They can fly into the school's 'under the radar' because students seem to be harmlessly using the internet. This is a great business model for advertisers, but will certainly controversial, as the ups and downs of information business get sorted out for years to come. It seems relevant to the class because we will likely use technology in this way in the future--to find creative ways to pass along the message of someone we work for. The question is whether the means we choose will be accepted or not.

BIT 320 Subject

When it comes to Information Business, BIT 320 at the University of Michigan Business school is a key to success. Knowing your way around the blogosphere can be a confusing trip, but this course appears to be providing a road map.

Test Post

This is a test of my new web log 'bskool bloggin.'