Sledgehammer for privacy? Change Your Name to Escape Google Permanent Record

Google CEO Eric Schmidt has a great way of making public statements that are at once frank, unorthodox, thought provoking - and a little frightening. This weekend The Wall St. Journal ran an interview with Schmidt that offered tidbits like that on a wide range of topics. One statement in particular, that Schmidt thinks teenagers should be entitled to change their names upon reaching adulthood in order to separate themselves from the Google record of their youthful indiscretions, is something worth stopping to take note of.

via readwriteweb.com

It's revealing that the privacy solution from Google is to 'change your name'. The obvious question one might ask, is exactly how long this might work for if taken up by a significant proportion of people?

I would expect substantial competitive pressure for search engines to find the match. And indeed to force it to the front of the queue, much like the extremely frustrating google auto-correct option on possible mis-spelling. "Did you mean:"

In any case, read the original article for more info: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_ceo_suggests_you_change_your_name...

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C.K. Prahalad - constant focus on weak signals - great quote - great article

Every one of my research projects started the same way: recognizing that the established theory did not explain a certain phenomenon. We had to stay constantly focused on weak signals. Each weak signal was a contradictory phenomenon that was not happening across the board. You could very easily say, “Dismiss it, this is an outlier, so we don’t have to worry about it.” But the outliers and weak signals were the places to find a different way to think about the problem.

via strategy-business.com

A wonderful quote from Prahalad, he of the bottom of the pyramid, and core competencies. I recommend checking out the whole interview at http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00043?pg=all.

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Crowd Sourcing not a perpetual motion machine - duh!

Take This Blog and Shove It!

When utopian ideals crash into human nature—sloth triumphs.

Illustration by David Plunkert

In the history of the web, last spring may figure as a tipping point. That’s when Wikipedia, “the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit”—a site that grew from 100,000 articles in 2003 to more than 15 million today—began to falter as a social movement. Thousands of volunteer editors, the loyal Wikipedians who actually write, fact-check, and update all those articles, logged off—many for good. For the first time, more contributors appeared to be dropping out than joining up. Activity on the site has remained stagnant, according to a spokesperson for the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit behind the site, and it’s become “a really serious issue.” So serious, in fact, that this fall Wikipedia will turn to something it has never needed before: recruiters.

via newsweek.com

Important reality check. Crowd sourcing is fascinating, and cool, but driven by exogenous factors -- much, one might think, like open source.

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All the fun of the PC - First Trojan for Android Phones Goes Wild

Google Android phones must be popular - they've just been targeted with their first Trojan. An SMS Trojan called Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.FakePlayer.a has already infected a number of mobile devices, according to security firm Kaspersky Lab. Purporting to be a harmless media player application, the Trojan, once installed, actually sends out SMS text messages without the users' knowledge or consent.

via readwriteweb.com

There will be a lot of mobile device management companies thrilled to see this news.

The big questions:
1. How susceptable are SmartPhone (hand held computer) operating systems to this type of attack, or indeed to all the varients that occur on the desktop?
2. How will organizations cope with managing and securing, not just Windows devices, but the menagerie of emerging SmartPhones and tablets.

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Technoist Parade - fun visualization

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Impressive technology from MSFT Research - Street view will never be the same

via neowin.net

Worth a look - a true navigational aid, in a way that today's street view technologies don't achieve. Impressive shift in the state of the art.

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India's $35 touch-screen computer - could change BRIC internet from mobile focus?

India unveils prototype for $35 touch-screen computer

The Indian government has unveiled the prototype of an iPad-like touch-screen laptop, with a price tag of $35 (£23), which it hopes to roll out next year.

via bbc.co.uk

I want one.

If this price point can be reached in practice, could it change the trajectory toward small screen internet in developing areas? I think it could have a massive impact, and will be tracking this area closely.

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