The Wisdom Blog http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/ en Copyright 2009 2009-06-12T15:42:11-06:00 Dell Makes $3 Million With Twitter http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/wisdomgroup/zKgj/~3/_ZBWv6MK5Yo/ http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/dell_makes_3_million_with_twitter/ Today's Wired magazine reports that Dell is making money on Twitter. Over $3 million so far. Is it Twitter, or are other forces at work? imageToday’s Wired magazine reports that Dell is making money on Twitter. Over $3 million so far. Is it Twitter, or are other forces at work?

What can other companies do to replicate Dell’s success?

Dell Led on the Web
Dell was also the first company to make money on the web. Dell’s web success was built on the highly disciplined order fulfillment system that they created in their years as a phone order company. I would bet that Dell’s success with Twitter is built on the same foundation.

Repeat Customers
Customers want great service. A great web site might attract customers initially. But great service will get them to come back again and again. Great service will get customers to tell their friends about your product.

Another Twitter Success?
Amazon is in a similar position – they’ve also built a powerful order fulfillment system. It would be interesting to see Amazon’s results with Twitter.

]]> 2009-06-12T15:42:11-06:00 http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/dell_makes_3_million_with_twitter/ Bill Cosby Celebrates Nerds http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/wisdomgroup/zKgj/~3/F8-Xd4HoEAU/ http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/bill_cosby_celebrates_nerds/ Comedian Bill Cosby is a strong proponent of education. His advice to high achieving nerds at Carnegie Mellon University: Don't talk yourself into not being you. Comedian Bill Cosby is a strong proponent of education. His advice to high achieving nerds at Carnegie Mellon University: Don’t talk yourself into not being you.

Tell the Truth, Make Them Laugh
Cosby speaks out in the spirit of Oscar Wilde who once said: “If you are going to tell people the truth, you’d better make them laugh. Otherwise, they will kill you.” Keep making us laugh, Mr. Cosby. Keep telling the truth.

]]> 2009-06-08T11:00:31-06:00 http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/bill_cosby_celebrates_nerds/ Ignite Chicago and a Bucket of Water http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/wisdomgroup/zKgj/~3/eNown-hBvuU/ http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/ignite_chicago_and_a_bucket_of_water/ Ignite Chicago offers an ongoing series of short presentations on a variety of topics. This presenter chose to discuss the connection between software, satellites, and a bucket of water. Ignite Chicago offers an ongoing series of short presentations on a variety of topics. This presenter chose to discuss the connection between software, satellites, and a bucket of water.

The first Ignite Chicago was held on Thursday, May 28, 2009 at Northwestern University. The idea for Ignite started in Seattle, Washington and it has spread all over the planet.

Do you have something to present? If so, drop by the Ignite Chicago site and submit a proposal. You could be on stage next!

]]> 2009-06-02T15:00:38-06:00 http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/ignite_chicago_and_a_bucket_of_water/ The First Publicity Spike: “I Love Lucy” http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/wisdomgroup/zKgj/~3/6ANot50p8JY/ http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/the_first_publicity_spike_i_love_lucy/ In 1954, municipal engineers noticed a disturbing pattern. Water pressure would drop dramatically every Monday night at 9:30pm. The cause: "I Love Lucy" was the most popular show in America, and viewers would wait until the end of the show to visit the restroom. In 1954, municipal engineers noticed a disturbing pattern. Water pressure would drop dramatically every Monday night at 9:30pm. The cause: “I Love Lucy” was the most popular show in America, and viewers would wait until the end of the show to visit the restroom.

Publicity Spike Defined
A publicity spike is a sudden increase in traffic due to a public event. For example, when the Chicago Bulls win a game, fans visit ChicagoBulls.com en masse to learn more about the team. WisdomGroup experienced a similar publicity spike this week with one of our sites, ChrisGardnerMedia.com.

German Television Viewers
On Sunday, May 10, 2009, The Pursuit of Happyness was shown on ProSieben, a German television station that is also distributed in Austria. The movie concluded at approximately 3:30pm Chicago time. Immediately the German and Austrian viewers went to their computers to learn more about Chris Gardner. Google led them to ChrisGardnerMedia.com. It felt like the entire German & Austrian populations were hitting the site simultaneously. Roughly 45% were from Germany, and 15% from Austria.

This level of visitors is never a problem for our network. The challenge: Simultaneous visitors, all downloading large image files and flash animations at once. Imagine a thousand people running for a single door at the same time.

Our Solution: Amazon Web Services
Amazon.com began selling excess data center capacity about three years ago. The company had built multiple data centers to handle the Christmas rush, and the equipment was mostly dormant the rest of the year. AWS was originally created to sell this spare capacity. The AWS business quickly developed life of its own. Amazon is a cloud computing pioneer.

Moving Large Files Into the Cloud
WisdomGroup’s analysis of web traffic led us to move certain files related to ChrisGardnerMedia.com into the Amazon cloud. Image files, especially flash animations, are much larger than other files. The flash and images are now being served by thousands of servers in the Amazon cloud. High-traffic web sites are better served by thousands of cloud servers than one big server. When one cloud server gets overloaded, the others take up the slack. Bring on the spikes!

Continued Monitoring
WisdomGroup monitors network activity 24 × 7 with automated tools. We congratulate Mr. Gardner on his popularity and we will proactively deal with any spikes that occur.

Chris Gardner is more popular than “I Love Lucy”!

]]> 2009-05-13T11:43:36-06:00 http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/the_first_publicity_spike_i_love_lucy/ More Worlds to Conquer http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/wisdomgroup/zKgj/~3/XR_0E_ZZyYQ/ http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/more_worlds_to_conquer/ The large hadron collider (LHC) is the biggest science experiment in human history. The LHC failed last year. Yet is important for us to keep moving forward with the experiment. The large hadron collider is the biggest science experiment in human history. The LHC failed last year. Yet is important for us to keep moving forward with the experiment.

Why? Why engage in basic science? The answer could be summed up in a quote from a British scientist, Sir Humphry Davy

Nothing is so dangerous to the progress of the human mind than to assume that our views of science are ultimate. That there are no mysteries in nature, that our triumphs are complete, and that there are no new worlds to conquer.

]]> 2009-05-04T11:00:37-06:00 http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/more_worlds_to_conquer/ Disney Acquires 27% Stake in Hulu http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/wisdomgroup/zKgj/~3/uDs2uAYyH1A/ http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/disney_acquires_27_stake_in_hulu/ Disney has acquired 27% of Hulu according to Bloomberg. What a remarkable blend of content and distribution. What's next for non-internet players like CBS and internet-only players like YouTube? Disney has acquired 27% of Hulu according to Bloomberg. What a remarkable blend of content and distribution. What’s next for non-internet players like CBS and internet-only players like YouTube?

This adds credibility to Hulu’s (tongue-in-cheek) evil plot to destroy the world:

Next Step
Hulu’s next step: An application that allows viewers to download & view content on Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch. Media continues to change.

The Apple Connection
As a result of Disney’s acquisition of Pixar, Disney’s largest single shareholder is Steve Jobs. Yet another example of synergy between media titans.

]]> 2009-05-01T14:44:54-06:00 http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/disney_acquires_27_stake_in_hulu/ A Billionaire and His Dad http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/wisdomgroup/zKgj/~3/bzgR_E-roak/ http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/a_billionaire_and_his_dad/ Bill Gates and his father, William Henry Gates Sr., were interviewed by Charlie Rose a few nights ago. The younger Gates aspires to live up to what his dad has done. Bill Gates and his father, William Henry Gates Sr., were interviewed by Charlie Rose a few nights ago. The younger Gates aspires to live up to what his dad has done.

Positive Reinforcement
Bill’s parents and grandparents have provided positive reinforcement for the children throughout their lives. An 8-minute excerpt appears below, and the full 60-minute interview is available at CharlieRose.com.

Insatiable Curiosity
Bill’s father says that his son’s defining quality is his insatiable & demanding curiosity. Right behind that: Bill remembers everything he learns.

So… let’s encourage our kids to be curious!

]]> 2009-04-30T11:00:06-06:00 http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/a_billionaire_and_his_dad/ Migrating a Windows PC to a Mac http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/wisdomgroup/zKgj/~3/rfX9WKHWIkU/ http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/migrating_a_windows_pc_to_a_mac/ VMWare makes it very easy for Windows PC users to scoop up an entire machine and drop it in a virtual machine on a Mac. Step-by-step instructions are given in this seven-minute screencast. VMWare makes it very easy for Windows PC users to scoop up an entire machine and drop it in a virtual machine on a Mac. Step-by-step instructions are given in this seven-minute screencast.


Migrate Your Windows PC to your Mac with VMware Fusion from VMware Fusion on Vimeo.

Why Would You Want to Do This?
Good question. It really boils down to total cost of ownership (TCO). If you have critical business software that only runs in a PC environment, but you enjoy the stability of the Mac operating system, this solution gives you the best of both worlds.

Personal Experience
Virtualization was a huge selling point for me when I moved to the Mac platform. My single MacBook Pro replaced four of my lab PCs when I added virtualization to the mix. VMWare is not the only player in the virtual machine game. Parallels and Virtual Box (by Sun) also have offerings.

Before you embark on this path, you may want to investigate Virtualization ROI.

]]> 2009-04-30T02:08:12-06:00 http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/migrating_a_windows_pc_to_a_mac/ Internet in Iraq http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/wisdomgroup/zKgj/~3/MuHelu5M4P8/ http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/internet_in_iraq/ We know from news reports that Iraq is a nation torn by war. The people are resilient and currently rebuilding. Representatives from several US-based Internet companies traveled to Iraq to learn & share ideas. We know from news reports that Iraq is a nation torn by war. The people are resilient and currently rebuilding. Representatives from several US-based Internet companies traveled to Iraq to learn & share ideas.

Scott Heiferman, co-founder of Meetup.com, describes his Iraq experience in this 2-minute clip.

Travelers
The list of companies that visited Iraq includes:

Expanding Connections
In 2003 there were few cell phones in Iraq. Today in 2009, 80% of the citizens have cell phones. Some visionaries believe that smart cell phones will be our primary means of connecting to the Internet in coming years.

]]> 2009-04-28T16:57:58-06:00 http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/internet_in_iraq/ What is Cloud Computing? http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/wisdomgroup/zKgj/~3/xDzx3t0MZSw/ http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/what_is_cloud_computing/ Jeff Bezos has a great metaphor for cloud computing. Imagine yourself in the late 1800s. If you wanted electricity to power your factory, you had to build & run your own power plant. Today that sounds silly because electricity is provided by utility companies. Cloud computing turns IT resources into the next utility. Jeff Bezos has a great metaphor for cloud computing. Imagine yourself in the late 1800s. If you wanted electricity to power your factory, you had to build & run your own power plant. Today that sounds silly because electricity is provided by utility companies. Cloud computing turns IT resources into the next utility.

One Cloud Computing Example: GMail
Small business owners can get started with cloud computing today. Migrating from Exchange to GMail has saved several WisdomGroup clients thousands of dollars per year. The GMail system offers superior features and you get to keep your company domain name (yourcompany.com). Email addresses don’t change. Customers and other people who email you won’t notice a difference, but you will notice reduced costs and greater functionality.

Cloud Computing ROI
Cloud computing enables small, aggressive companies to use big-company resources without the big-company staff. ROI comes in the form of time saved & money earned.

]]> 2009-04-27T16:24:19-06:00 http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/what_is_cloud_computing/