O3b Networks, O3b stands for Other 3 billion, aims to provide cheap internet access to the remote areas of the globe by 2010. Backed by Google, Liberty and HSBC, O3b is setting up a satellite network to connect the three billion people who currently don't have internet access. In most of the Western world, internet access came as the natural next step in communication technology, we already were enjoying the benefits of TV, telephone, newspapers and what not. These countries, however, will be catapulted into a global information society most of its inhabitants never knew existed.

I can only begin to imagine the impact this will have on these societies. Lack of connectivity and information access are a huge issue in these parts of the world - just think disaster relief, health care and all its related issues like birth control and aids prevention, access to education, access to (alternative) news sources, and most importantly, having the tools to communicate and to organize. Literally, I can see a world of opportunities opening up.

However, these tools don't leverage the richness of the online environment very deeply. In trying to replicate the functionality of their shrink-wrap ancestors, they have ignored many of the realities, let alone the possibilities, of working online. Google spreadsheets and gmail get it half right with the chat box in the window, but integration between google apps and gmail and calendar is shallow. The different parts of the "ecosystem" are strictly task centered, with little acknowledgement of the users' life outside of google land. Photoshop Express lets you upload to a few different photo sharing sites while the smart folks at picnik.com found a home in a real community of photographers. 

Compiler asks, "Are you more loyal to a photo editing site, or a photo sharing site?" but I don't think it is a matter of loyalty.  People stay with the things that match their values and needs. In the case of  Photoshop Express vs Flickr w/picnik, I doubt that anyone will feel the need to add that step to their workflow on a regular basis.

photo by: Maggie's World

Another brick crumbles for the walled garden.

zzzPhone, a US-based startup, is selling phones where you select the features and then get them within 15 days. Is it perfect? Hell no, but it is opening up the business model for device manufacturers and will impact carriers. There's no way the carriers can continue in their current model and there will be a tipping point soon where, if they don't adapt to these changing conditions, they will ultimately lose in the market.

Keep in mind the 700 MHz auction, $G,000,000,000,000gle, and what these two things working together can do.

Here's a quick article on a California court case regarding age discrimination at Google. Does Google really put more emphasis on things like an employee's age to build a high performance culture that fires on all cylinders? It's interesting to debate how much age plays a factor in an organization's ability to adapt, refresh, or shed its skin. After all, instrumenting change is all about people. And Google is no exception. Read more...