In this post I look at Google’s revenue model to see how alternative billion dollar revenue models can be derived on the same principles, using Facebook and Twitter as examples. I say alternative because advertising, which basically is Google’s prime product serves only one of many business needs – gaining exposure. There are several other [...]

As I read here and here about the various examples of iPhone apps in the App Store today, it first occurred to me in a true case of web 2.0 warped thinking that people might not be willing to pay for the apps. But when I noticed that the majority of the apps cost between [...]

Assuming Twitter can sort out its technology problems, I think I might have a business model for it. I feel though that it may be a bit presumptuous of me to think this given that greater minds (read the comments at the link) than mine have tried and apparently have so far failed to find [...]

It’s no secret that Microsoft is desperate to become more relevant in the Internet world. The recent failed attempt to acquire Yahoo was just the latest in a series of efforts to at least maintain some semblance of competition with Google, which quite frankly is kicking Microsoft’s butt in that space. So why then is [...]

I have written here before about evaluating business ideas. Now I don’t know about you but I find that I am continually adjusting and fine-tuning my methods and criteria for assessing mine and other people’s ideas. Recently I read about YouNoodle – a controversial startup that allegedly claims to be able to predict the success [...]

Much is often made of how Google could improve search results (or do a lot of evil) by learning from our search histories. Since there are a lot of valid privacy concerns with that approach, I think Google could still improve results considerably by learning from a user’s result-clicks within a search session. As an [...]

Lately I have been thinking of learning Ruby, Python or similar to develop working prototypes of some of my ideas. It occurs to me that it would be a good idea for someone to offer a training course in programming where the student brings an idea that they want to implement and over the duration of the [...]

Sir Tim Berners-Lee – often referred to as the founder of the World Wide Web – recently posted about what he has labelled “The Graph” – the next level of what was initially the Internet (a network of computers) and later the World Wide Web. As I understand it, Sir Tim envisions a world where, we have [...]

In this post I outline a few features that I hoped Open Social was about but quickly learnt it wasn’t. When I first read the name of Google’s recent social networking play ‘Open Social’, I immediately made a connection with Open ID, expecting to read that it was finally a way to have one base [...]

It is no secret that Facebook needs to find a way to monetise and that Yahoo needs to close the gap on Google. My proposal for a Yahoo and Facebook partnership that might address both problems is as follows: Yahoo to provide an in-Facebook web search facility with an agreed ad-revenue split between the two. [...]