What is the best advice you ever received? If you ask me, here is what I say: If I cannot explain something to my father it probably is not worth knowing.
That is the last thing I said on this podcast. You can read the same remark on this write-up of the podcast.
These focus on a rather esoteric topic — public policy for the Internet. The remark about my father explains the tone and focus of the interview.
That is probably not self-evident, so let me explain.
The Internet has been called a “network of networks.” Although the phrase once had meaning, it is misleading today. It does not reflect how commercial behavior has shaped the Internet’s evolution.
Leading firms and their business partners view the commercial Internet through the same lens they view the rest of computing. To them, the Internet is a market in which to apply their platform strategies.
That is my point. The commercial Internet should be called a “network of platforms.”
This might sound like a philosophical rather than a pragmatic observation, but hear me out. Most firms and users are better off with platforms than without. Yet, if the behavior of prior successful platforms predicts the future, problematic issues will inevitably arise.
This will take some explaining.
This fellow, Frank, has a certain quotability about him.
His video proposes a short — and not especially deep — metaphor about waves on an ocean, waves in technology markets, and the proper attitude to take towards them. To quote:
“A Wave has a certain inevitability to it…. Waves don’t give a crap about castles….when they leave… it leaves something…. it looks like something, but we do not really have a word for it yet.”
But the depth of the message matters less than the delivery — a bit of verbal poetry in the cadence. Frank’s three minute message captures attention. His video features many cropped head shots and exaggerated enunciation. Take a look for yourself and listen. It takes a moment to get started, but be patient.
It starts as a commentary about his trip to San Francisco. Then he gets some momentum going. It yields an engaging little video.
Frank is part of a new movement called video blogging. Perhaps someday this movement will catch on, if only most amateur videos were as engaging as Frank’s verbal poetry about waves.
* Thanks to Eric Nordby for this one.*
How has MS Windows changed over time? Here is a visual display of that, put together by some clever folks at the BBC.
Well, so what? Why would you care? To be sure, looking at old software generates a certain sentimental reaction among those with technical backgrounds and a sense of history. But surely that is not most of us.
The evolution of Windows actually illustrates something deeper about design of software. I will save that until the end.
Let me plug a recent paper I wrote, and, at the same time, publicize the larger and very significant project in which it is embedded.
On October 23, 2009 I participated in a conference with the title, Accelerating Energy Innovation: Lessons from Multiple Sectors. It was held at the National Press Club in Washington DC. It was sponsored by the NBER. Here is a link. Check out the videos, as well as the links to slides and book chapters.
The conference presented the findings of a forthcoming book edited by Professor Rebecca Henderson, Harvard University and NBER and Richard G. Newell, Duke University (on leave). (more…)
National Public Radio has started a series on the history of the Internet. The reporter tried to go back and find the first Internet message ever sent.
He concluded it was sent on October 29th, 1969, between UCLA and SRI (Stanford Research Institute). Here is a link to the story.
In the process the reporter uncovered one trivial but amusing factoid, but also over-interpreted the events. In this post I want to explain why the factoid is amusing and why the report misinterpreted it.
How would most parents react to the following product? If they buy a DVD and show it to their babies, the babies will get smarter, raising their chances of getting into Medical School.
If that seems too good to be true, then perhaps you never have heard of the Baby Einstein Company. I am exaggerating their claims, but their products have attracted attention from consumer protection groups.
Believe it or not, the observation has something to do with high tech.
Baby Einstein’s tale illustrates how markets quickly develop new opportunities opened by scientific research, even when the research has a flimsy foundation. Market behavior cannot be described as “Steady, aim, fire.” It is more like “Fire, aim, steady.”
More to the point, this episode illustrates a tendency of markets to introduce new innovative products that take advantage of ambiguous scientific discovery. The phenomenon is pervasive in pharmaceuticals, biotech, and genetically modified organisms, not to mention many other medical device markets. Baby Einstein just happens to be easier to understand, so it makes for a great illustration of the process. (more…)
On Wednesday Twitter announced something seemingly minor. They made a deal with Microsoft. They also stated that a few more deals are on the way with Google and others. In case you missed it, here is one announcement. Here is another. Here is another.
A reasonable reaction could be “Ho Hum. Good for Twitter. They finally figured out how to make a little money.” Ah, but there is more to this one than meets the eye. They are showing the way out of a trap.
I bet most of the smart VCs recognized what Twitter had done, and this morning started placing calls to the CEOs of their start-ups. That leads me to forecast that we will see more deals like Twitter’s in the future.
This will take a short explanation. (more…)
The celebration was spontaneous. I walked upstairs to tell my wife I was leaving for work. She was listening to a news radio station, as she does every morning. She told me the Nobel Prize in Economics had been announced. Oliver Williamson had won. Both my hands went in the air and I jumped. It is corny to admit, but I shouted “Yeh!”
There is an old cliché’ about someone being a scholar and a gentleman. While plenty has been said about Oliver Williamson as a scholar, I wish to focus on his character. Sure, his ideas have influenced an entire generation of professional conversations – that is why he won the prize. But that is not why I jumped for joy. I jumped because Williamson has something else – an inspiring touch and an influential approach to intellectual life. I have been fortunate enough – privileged enough – to observe this touch first hand. That has been significant in my professional life.
I do not know how else to make these points other than to share a few personal observations about Williamson. So that is what I will do in this post. Perhaps it will provide a deeper insight into the man. (more…)
Please forgive the irony in the title. But I just felt like expressing sarcasm because – Ha! — many professional economists have begun to notice something is wrong with Wall Street.
Better late than never, I guess. (more…)
