Showing posts with label Facebook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Facebook. Show all posts

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Could AI and RIM Cure Blindness?

Wonder by Robert J. Sawyer
Imagine.
What if there was an artificial intelligence that helped us distill the collective knowledge of the Internet into a Blackberry device that enabled a blind girl to see?

Let's say that this AI could see through any firewall and had unlimited access to everything on the Internet. It claimed that its primary intention was to improve the net happiness of the world. Then it demonstrated its goodwill by comparing the results of every study and presented a cure for cancer?

Big Brother?
That AI would be immensely powerful. More powerful than any government. Would the benefits outweigh the risks? I wonder.

Wonder is the title of a novel I just read by Robert J. Sawyer. It's the third book in Sawyer's WWW series. It's a sci-fi page-turner with philosophy, politics and Canadianna. Much of the action revolves around the Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics in Waterloo.

The heroine is a blind teenage girl who regains her sight with the help of an AI named Webmind, a Japanese doctor, the Perimeter Institute and a Blackberry (nice plug for RIM). Caitlin goes through some of the typical teenage things like high school dances. But her connection with Webmind puts her in front of the United Nations and at the center of a major world transition. Need I say more? You gotta read it :)

Who Really Controls the Internet?
This book makes you question the limits of technology, smartphones and who really controls the Web. I kept asking myself, should somebody or some organization control the Internet?

The Internet as a Political Force
This novel reminds me of how often social media has headlined in the news lately. Facebook recently signed a deal with the largest social networking site in China. How about President Obama's appearance at Facebook HQ for a Town Hall meeting. Many countries are attempting to limit or control information flow but people still find ways to coordinate protests online.

WWW Equals Hope
What I liked most about Wonder is how it explores the potential of the collective of the World Wide Web to make the world a better place through crowdsourcing. What would happen if the Internet woke up and became a conscious of itself? Let's hope that AI would be a synthesis of the best that Web has to offer.

Related Links

Written by:
Tim Collins, President and Owner, Stafflink Solutions
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Monday, January 31, 2011

Fastest Growing Web Company in History

They have about 1000 employees in Chicago and they’re adding sales offices around the world. Their CEO was a music major who migrated to programming. They hired 50 writers from the Chicago improv scene to write catchy sales phrases. The CEO has an ice cream freezer in his office and all are welcome to it. They recently turned down an offer from Google to purchase their company for a reported 6B.

You guessed it. According to Forbes and Wall Street Journal, Groupon is the fastest growing company in Web history. After two years they have 500M in revenue and are expected to grow exponentially. Groupon was valued at 1.35B. The only other company that achieved a Billion dollar valuation as quickly was YouTube, who is still waiting to make a profit.

Groupon is doing everything that a dot com company is supposed to do -- huge sales, big profits and a solid connection between “bricks and mortar” retailers and online consumers. Getting people into stores from online coupons is the “the holy grail” that many others have tried to do and not succeeded. One of their most popular items so far: a $25 ticket for a Chicago architectural boat tour sold for $12. In May Groupon moved 19,822 tickets in eight hours and split the $238,000 with the tour operator. These guys make money.

Vendors generally share half the revenues with Groupon. Why are vendors willing to give such a huge cut to Groupon? For one thing, Groupon makes it so fast and easy for vendors to start using their service. But probably the biggest attraction is the chance for repeat customers. If you get people through your door and they like your product, then they will probably come back. My guess is that the Chicago boat tour did not expect to sell 20,000 tickets in eight hours (those are rock star numbers). This will keep them busy for quite a while.

Groupon is now in 88 US cities and 22 countries. As more and more mobile phones are purchased and upgraded they will continue to grow. Many competitors, like Living Social, have sprung up. Google’s bid to purchase Groupon was unsuccessful. I wonder if Groupon is available at any price. Chances are that they just are not for sale. According to Wired Magazine, Google has built their own Groupon clone called Google Offers.  Facebook Places could definitely give Groupon a run for their money too.

Many are speculating that Groupon will go public in 2011. They are reportedly talking to banks. What would you be willing to pay for a piece of Groupon? Do you think they will hold their value in the face of the competition? My opinion is that they will go public in 2011. They will have a valuation of over 10B and they will be oversubscribed.
Tim Collins
President and Owner, Stafflink Solutions
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Friday, December 17, 2010

Steve, Mark and Jim: Who Made 2010’s Nice List

The holiday season is upon us and 2010 is wrapping up. As we look back on the year, it is evident that 2010 was a big year for technology. So who were the top contenders this year? Who managed to make techies “Nice List?”
  • Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, took the tablet market by storm, introducing the ever so powerful iPad in January 2010 and landing it on everyone’s 2010 wish list. In just four months, the iPad achieved $ 1 billion in sales. Couple that with the iPhone 4 release, generating $ 3.25 billion in sales between April and June and I think it’s safe to say Jobs belongs on the list.
  • Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, reached 500 million active users on Facebook at the same time “The Social Network”, a story based on Zuckerberg’s success, took the box office by storm. In one month, users collectively spend over 700 billion minutes on Facebook, making the 2010 social networking market at the tips of Zuckerberg’s fingers.
  • Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of RIM, introduced the ever so powerful Playbook in the later half 2010, setting its release for early 2011. Consumers are oozing with anticipation for an iPad rival and developers are working hard to create competing applications, kicking 2011 off with Playbook fever.
  • Andrew Mason, CEO of Groupon, an increasingly popular coupon/discount site, has generated immense success in a very limited amount of time. Groupon has added approximately 30 cities a month in 35 countries, accumulating over 40 million subscribers. In addition, Mason just turned down a $6 billion dollar offer from Google making him one of the most courageous business men of 2010.
  • Kunal Gupta, CEO of Polar Mobile, has become one of Toronto’s newest hometown heroes. His company has created a partnership with Microsoft to launch 500 applications for the Windows Phone 7 operating system through to 2011. Over 7 million people in more than 100 countries are using applications powered by Polar Mobile’s SMART platform, making Polar a leader in the industry.
  • Dennis Crowley, co-founder of Foursquare, a mobile service that encourages people to explore the cities in which they live, is somebody to watch out for in 2011. In 2005, Crowley had his first mobile social service acquired by Google. His new venture, Foursquare, has a team of 16 employees but has over 760,000 users checking in – making them a small but mighty force.
How can 2011 compete with a year where the iPad and Playbook became common words in our everyday conversations and Mark Zuckerberg became a global icon? Where do we go from here? Who else do you think belongs on 2010’s “Nice List?”? Better yet, who will make 2011’s “Nice List”? Let us know your thoughts! We here at Stafflink, hope you made the “nice list” this year and wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season.

Related Articles:
Welcome to Toronto, Silicon Valley North
Top 10 IT Skills in Demand in 2010
The Job Market Longtail

Written by: Michelle De Rubeis, Technical Recruiter, StaffLink Solutions Ltd.
Website: http://www.stafflink.ca/
Email: michelle@stafflink.ca
Twitter: Twitter.com/stafflink1
LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/mmderubeis
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Thursday, October 21, 2010

Welcome to Toronto, Silicon Valley North

A tech revolution is taking off right here right now in Toronto. What does that mean for you and me? It means exciting work opportunities and fierce competition for creative technical talent.

Why are companies such as EA, Apple, Microsoft, RIM, Disney, Facebook, Twitter and Google partnering with and buying Toronto tech companies?
  1. Excellent People – Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook says it best, "We have not once bought a company for the company. We buy companies to get excellent people."
  2. Great Schools – Toronto has access to a wealth of talent being produced in schools like Waterloo (Masters Program in Technology Entrepreneurship), University of Toronto, Sheridan College, Queens University, and many others which have world renowned Technology and Engineering programs.
  3. Community – Toronto has a community of young tech entrepreneurs who are building word class companies and networking at camps, informal meetings and through social media sites like Sprouter.
  4. Government Tax Credits – SR & ED (Scientific Research and Experimental Development). “SHRED” gives millions in stimulus dollars to small and medium sized businesses. CEO of Polar Mobile, Kunal Gupta, says he “briefly looked at outsourcing to India or China but between the talent and the tax credits, we realized it was cheaper to do it in Toronto.”
  5. Extreme Labs creates an environment for developers to build companies and follow their dreams. They run a very cool training program for young entrepreneurs who are given $5000 and during a 12 week session create products that are presented to a group of VC’s and investors (Dragon’s Den Style). The three companies that were successful last year raised 1.5M.
  6. Funding – Money is becoming more available to entrepreneurs. Companies such as Tech Capital, RBC Ventures, Blackberry Partners Fund, Extreme Venture Partners and Growthworks are investing millions in technology startups.
  7. New Devices – This tech trend has staying power. Smart phones are selling more rapidly than PC’s. Tablets will gain market share as the price point comes down over the next 6 months. Apps are driving sales of these devices.
Let’s look at some of the recent amazing success stories of Toronto companies:
  • Polar Mobile – 6 million downloads of their apps – Sports Illustrated, Time, Food Networks, CNN, CBS, NCAA Sports, and 500 new apps to come for Microsoft
  • Five Mobile – custom apps for Rogers, Disney and Sony Pictures – one of their apps for the The Score has over 6 million downloads
  • Rypple – just raised 7M – their software integrates smartphones and office email
  • Extreme Ventures – invested in 14 tech start ups – 250 staff – one of their companies BumpTop recently sold for a rumoured 35M to Google
  • Sysomos – allows corporate clients to analyze Twitter and Facebook conversations – sold last summer for 35M
  • Endloop – fantastic app called iMockups that gives developers a template for developing apps on an iPad – all object oriented
Toronto is an exciting place to be right now if you have an entrepreneurial spirit and you’re interested in app development. We are fortunate to have a number of these companies as our clients.

Action Points

  • Talk to us about the possibility of working for one of these companies. Email us at cooljobs@stafflink.ca.
  • Join the conversation and network with entrepreneurs. Join Sprouter, a Twitter-like community for startups and entrepreneurs, and answer the question “What are you working on?”
  • Read more about the tech revolution in this November 2010 Toronto Life Feature Article "Download My App" posted by Kunal Gupta of Polar Mobile:
Tech Kings - Toronto Life Article

Written by Tim Collins Stafflink.ca
timc@stafflink.ca
www.twitter.com/stafflinks
www.linkedin.com/in/timrcollins
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