Round up of Second Life Seminar
Posted on November 30, 2006
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The lesson for me from IT@Cork was that business is being moved by the actions of your average programmer and user - guys out of work at the dot.com’s end setting up blogs, guys using them. I put this to IBmers. I asked how important is blogging to your customers? The answer was it is absolutely critical. So to mynext question. How many of them now blog - all of them. So basically what has moved IBMs client base more than any innovation in communications software over the past twenty years (barring e-mail) is software dreamed up by some guys with an idea and no corporate backing.
Another lesson I learned from IT@Cork is that it’s becoming redundant in some sectors to think of selling to the IT department. Get people using your application and they can pay on the credit card and reclaim in expenses. Don’t bother the IT decision making process. Employees decide so get them interested.
There may have been other lessons. Like Amazon is becoming a key enabler for micro businesses.
What I wanted to know from IBM was where is their strategy towards the micro business phenomenon? Of course they are a fortune whatever supplier. But second life is about the micro-business, so if they are in there rooting around in Second Life they have to think - well the major transformations in our customer base come from users and geeks out there not from us and this Second Life thing may have some of those characteristics.
They weren’t able to elaborate a strategy, or a customer requirement example that might suggest an evolving strategy, and I think were stuck with - well we’ll supply the infrastructure, because that’s what we do. We don’t need to worryabout the deteail and the smaller players. Interesting because on blogging they were keen to point out they now have a business advising clients on how to blog! Something in there doesn’t add up.
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The idea of IBM advising clients on blogging is about the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. I’ve worked beside IBM’rs on several projects and just couldn’t envisage them pulling this off with any conviction. Maybe I’m being cynical - this might create a bunch of job opportunities for people who are genuine about the value of blogging?
This reminds me of the Microsoft presenter at it@cork - “We don’t know what this stuff is really all about but we absolutely want to own all of it.” I don’t believe the motive behind the monoliths dabbling here has anything to do with promoting innovation or understanding new technologies. Its about imposing themselves on another emerging market, bringing it to heel - and of, course selling more infrastructure and services. That said, their reach and business savvy shouldn’t be underestimated and I think you’ll see companies like IBM getting involved in emerging cyberspace markets at an early stage. Hopefully they won’t be allowed to stifle creativity and kill off those interesting micro-business opportunities. But, be careful out there.
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