Tag Archive for Business

| September 1, 2012
Comments Off on Is Cisco buying Twitter followers for CSO?

Is Cisco buying Twitter followers for CSO?

Is Cisco buying Twitter followers for CSO?Brad Reese at BradReese.com writes that it seems ailing network giant Cisco (CSCO) has bought Twitter followers for Chief Strategy Officer Padmasree Warrior. Mr. Reese asks if Cisco purposely violate the Twitter rules that forbid the purchasing of accounts to gain followers?

Cisco logoMr. Reese points to information from TwitterAudit which exposes Twitter fraud is reporting: Approximately half-a-million (509,426) of the Twitter followers of the network gear maker’s Chief Strategy Officer, Padmasree Warrior, are fake Twitter accounts.

“Each audit takes a random sample of 5000 Twitter followers for a user and calculates a score for each follower. This score is based on number of tweets, date of the last tweet, and ratio of followers to friends. We use these scores to determine whether any given user is real or fake. Of course, this scoring method is not perfect but it is a good way to tell if someone with lots of followers is likely to have increased their follower count by inorganic, fraudulent, or dishonest means.“

Padmasree Warrior TwitterAudit

Mr. Reese writes he ran the following Status People check on the 1.4 million Twitter followers of Cisco Chief Strategy Officer, Padmasree Warrior:

Padmasree Warrior TwitterAudit

The practice of buying Twitter followers to boost your reputation in an online network seems to be mainstream business, as any Google search on the topic will show. It has also been covered by the New York Times, “Buying Their Way to Twitter Fame” Network World, “Inside the real economy behind fake Twitter accounts” and even mentioned on NPR.

 

rb-
I signed up to follow the networking business’s CSO to see what competitive insights I could gain from the CSO. The tweets coming out of the Cisco Chief Strategy Officer was were often so pointless that they seemed to be coming from a 16-year-old and not a key business person in the IT world.

The tweets were so pointless I just ignored them, now I am going to expend the effort to actually unfollow Warrior …..

Done – So now Cisco you will have to buy another Twitter follower to follow pointless tweets for your business leaders – Now get back to making great network gear.

Related articles

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , ,
| August 30, 2012
Comments Off on Patent Trolls After Foursquare and Buzzfeed

Patent Trolls After Foursquare and Buzzfeed

Patent Trolls After Foursquare and BuzzfeedNon-practicing entities continue to take it to young companies with a vengeance. Jeff John Roberts at GigaOM reports that a Nevada-based non-practicing entity (aka Patent troll) shell company that claims to own basic navigation technology wants Foursquare to pay up. The patent troll Silver State Intellectual Technologies Inc has filed a lawsuit in Las Vegas, seeking an injunction and damages related to U.S. Patent 7475057 (“System and method for user navigation”) and U.S. Patent 7343165 (“GPS Publication Application Server”), claiming the popular app is violating these two patents.

foursquareThe article says both patents describe the process of pushing information from a remote server to a user based on the location of that user and show diagrams. The Foursquare app relies on location tracking technology to offer a service that lets users and their friends “check-in” to restaurants, merchants, and other physical locations. Silver State’s short legal filing doesn’t describe how Foursquare infringed on the patent according to the blog.

Applications for the two Silver State patents were filed in 2000 and 2001 and were granted in 2008 and 2009. The article says the named inventor, Michael Obradovich, transferred the patents to a shell company shortly after he received the patents.

In another case, Mobile Transformation LLC a shell company is suing the popular viral news site BuzzFeed. The patent troll says its patent gives it the exclusive right to place certain ads in online videos. The non-practicing entity is suing BuzzFeed over the video “Romney vs Boris.” Mr. Johnson at GigaOM says the patent troll claims the video violates its technology by showing a static ad at the same time the video is streaming.

BuzzfeedThe shell company’s suit is reportedly relying on US Patent 6,351,736 which was issued in 2002 and covers a “system and method for displaying advertisements with played data.” The “method” described in the patent refers to the idea of showing a visual ad while music is playing explains GigaOM.

The BuzzFeed video, which shows London mayor Boris Johnson slamming Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, is not an audio clip. Mobile Transformation LCC claims, however, that it violates the patent because it uses an “embedded flash player to present a first data type of a video file of “Boris v Romney” along with the presentation of advertising data of a second type that includes a static image advertisement.” Records show the patent passed through a chain of shell companies before it became the basis of the current troll suit.

The author points out that the lawsuit comes at a time when so-called patent trolls like Silver State and Mobile Transformation LLC  have become aggressive about suing promising young companies. In addition to Foursquare and BuzzFeed, Etsy and Hipmunk were “mugged on payday” when they were hit with patent suits. This is the second time Foursquare has been hit by a patent suit. GigaOM speculates that BuzzFeed is unlikely to roll over for the patent troll. Last year another shell company sued The website, which makes highly sharable content like “The 25 Happiest Animals in the World,” for allegedly infringing on a method for mobile shopping. Last year, BuzzFeed countered-sued copyright troll Righthaven.

According to GigaOM, patent trolling involves shell companies that don’t make anything but instead acquire patents to demand money from companies that do make things. The article says Mobile Transformation LLC has already sued 21 companies and settled with a dozen of them.

Since they have no tangible assets, the shell companies are not vulnerable to countersuits, meaning their victims often fold their cards and pay a licensing fee for the troll to go away and not risk the cost of a prolonged lawsuit even though recent research suggests doing so may be a mistake.

The shell company structure is advantageous to the patent holders because it’s typically impossible to tell who is collecting on the patent payouts and because their lack of assets or a real business makes them impervious to countersuits.

rb-

Buzzfeed is no longer a guilty pleasure, they are heroes for standing up against the patent troll business model.

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , ,
| August 21, 2012
Comments Off on 5 Steps to Reinvent Your Personal Brand

5 Steps to Reinvent Your Personal Brand

5 Steps to Reinvent Your Personal BrandDorie Clark of Clark Strategic Communications, recently posted an excellent article, How to Reinvent Your Personal Brand on the Harvard Business Review blog, The post offers a plan to follow if you want to reinvent yourself. I am on my third career iteration from teacher to techie to manager (I didn’t say it was for the better).

embrace your new brandIt happens all the time. Your path may make perfect sense to you, but how can you convince others to embrace your new brand, and take you seriously? Ms. Clark explains five steps to reinventing yourself for the business marketplace.

1. What’s Your Destination? The author says you need to develop a detailed understanding of where you want to go, and the knowledge and skills necessary to get there. If you’ve been a techie for the past decade, you may understand every new marketing toy out there, from Facebook (FB) to Foursquare. But can you effectively convey that knowledge to a non-technical audience? Learning the skills you need will help you gain the confidence necessary to start identifying (and publicizing) yourself in your new identity.

Your Unique Selling Proposition2. Leverage Your Points of Difference. In marketing, it’s called a USP, a “Unique Selling Proposition.” What makes you different from anyone else? That’s what people will remember, and you can use it to your advantage according to the article.

3. Develop a Narrative. Ms. Clark says it’s human nature to have many interests, to seek new experiences, and to want to develop new skills over the course of your life. Unfortunately, that makes you a dilettante. It’s unfair, but to protect your brand you need to develop a coherent narrative. This narrative should explain to people, in a nice, simple way so they can’t miss it, exactly how your past fits into the present. It’s like a job interview, you’re turning what could be perceived as a weakness into a compelling strength that people can remember (he’s got a different take on the industry because he has knowledge most other people don’t).

Reintroduce Yourself4. Reintroduce Yourself. The majority of people, regrettably, aren’t paying much attention to you the author says. That means their perceptions are probably a few years out of date, and it’s not their fault. With hundreds (or thousands) of Facebook friends and vague social connections, we can’t expect everyone to remember all the details of our lives. So we have to strategically re-educate our friends and acquaintances, because, especially if we’re launching a new business venture, they’re going to be our buyers and recommenders. That means a concerted effort to phone or email everyone on your list, individually, to let them know about your new direction and, where appropriate, ask for their help, advice, or business. (Blast emails are a start, but too often go unread.)

5. Prove Your Worth. Ms. Clarks says there’s a difference between knowing that you’ve launched a new business and trusting that you’ll do a good job. She explains that she may like you a lot, but unless she sees proof of your skills, she may hesitate to put her reputation on the line by sending you referrals. That’s where blogs, podcasts, videocasts, and other forms of social media come in. It’s critical to let potential customers see what you’re about and test drive your approach before they make a large commitment.

Related articles

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , ,
| August 18, 2012
Comments Off on China’s Largest Automobile Company Comes to Motor City

China’s Largest Automobile Company Comes to Motor City

China’s Largest Automobile Company Comes to Motor CityChina’s largest automobile company has opened a new outpost in the Motor City’s suburbs. TheDetroitBureau.com reports that Shanghai Automotive Industries Corporation USA Inc. (SAIC) located to metro Detroit to build closer ties with one of its principal partners, General Motors (GM), as well as some of the other North American automakers and suppliers.

Shanghai Automotive Industries Corporation USASAIC USA Inc. expects to have 100 employees in its new 30,000-square-foot operations center in the Motor City at 322 N. Old Woodward, Birmingham, MI. What that means in the long-term, especially with the Chinese expected to eventually target the American automobile market, remains an unanswered question according to the blog.

Cooperation between U.S. and Chinese automobile companies is increasingly important in the new global automotive marketplace, SAIC Motor Chairman Maoyuan Hu said in a statement. The article reports that Maoyuan said, “…the opening of the new North American Operations Center in Birmingham marks an important step in creating a stronger ties between the US and Chinese automotive industries. With the increasing importance of cooperation between the major global automotive markets, this move by SAIC to strengthen its US presence is significant.”

“I believe SAIC USA will enhance the operation of localization in the recruitment of professional, technical and management personnel and actively expand economic and trade activities,” Maoyuan said.

ChinaThe blog says SAIC USA’s decision to expand its Operation Center in Michigan was based on a number of critical factors, including access to a highly trained workforce, proximity to key global automotive partners, especially General Motors, proximity to world-class automobile parts suppliers, and the favorable business environment in Michigan. The CEO of China’s largest automaker said, “… we expect SAIC USA will continue healthy growth in this market and this will be a new chapter of mutually beneficial cooperation for China and the US, with the support of both countries.”

The Michigan SAIC USA facility will focus on three main areas of SAIC USA’s automotive business, including purchasing, logistics and technology, and engineering.

SAIC USA parent company, Shanghai, China-based SAIC Motor, is the largest automotive manufacturer in that booming country. It is also GM’s principal partner in China, involved in a variety of joint ventures, including the original Buick assembly plant in Shanghai. Among its various operations are Shanghai GM, Shanghai VW, SAIC Motor Commercial Vehicle Company, SAIC-GM Wuling Automobile Co. In total SAIC Motor sold over 4 million vehicles in 2011 in the China market alone.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder said, “The company’s commitment to Michigan cements our standing as the automotive capital of North America.”

Most analysts eventually expect a Chinese presence in the US. Whether SAIC would come to the U.S. with products of its own remains to be seen, though that’s a possibility the maker isn’t ready to discuss right now.

rb-

GM makes about $1 billion a year in China so it is little wonder SAIC moved into the Detroit Area. The move should also help stabilize the Detroit job market which has been up and down lately.

Related articles
  • China: Shanghai GM begins construction on $1.1bn car plant (inautonews.com)

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Cars | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
| August 7, 2012
Comments Off on Anti-Patent Troll Bill Introduced

Anti-Patent Troll Bill Introduced

A newAnti-Patent Troll Bill Introduced bill introduced in the House of Representatives attempts to deter frivolous patent litigation. The bill would force unsuccessful patent plaintiffs to cover defendants’ legal costs according to Daily Wireless. Introduced by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and co-sponsored by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), the Saving High-Tech Innovators from Egregious Legal Disputes (SHIELD) Act is limited to patents related to computer hardware and software.

House of Representaive“Patent trolls don’t create new technology and they don’t create American jobs,” DeFazio said in a news release. “They pad their pockets by buying patents on products they didn’t create and then suing the innovators who did the hard work and created the product.”

The article explains that patent trolls often buy broad patents. The purchase allows them to file flimsy lawsuits against multiple companies for infringement. Despite very thin evidence to back their lawsuits, companies are often forced to settle. They settle because going to court can easily cost over $1 million in legal costs even if the company prevails, explained DeFazio in a press release.

Loser pays

Electronic Frontier FoundationThe Electronic Frontier Foundation explains the idea behind the SHIELD Act is simple. A plaintiff needs to believe that a defendant actually infringes a valid patent before it sues. If it doesn’t, then the plaintiff could be on the hook for the costs of litigation. They would also have to cover the winning party’s attorneys’ fees (which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in some cases).

Fee shifting, often called “loser pays,” is not a new idea. It’s long existed in copyright law, it allows a court to award the winning party costs and fees in certain cases. In patent litigation, the EFF says this type of provision would help tilt the playing field slightly more in favor of the good guys. Fee shifting would empower innovators to fight back while discouraging trolls from threatening lawsuits to start.

The EFF has set up a website defendinnovation.org to lead the battle against patent trolls and reform the U.S. Patent Office.

rb-

Voter apathySigh – Today is primary election day here in the U.S. and I just got back from voting and a whopping 417 people in my neighborhood had voted. There are almost 17,000 people 18 years or old.

Voter apathy has everything to do with everything about where the US is today, including patent reform. Who are the politicians going to listen to?  I have covered the patent mess for a while here, here, here, and here. I doubt the political clout me and my 416 other neighborhood voters even matter when compared to the millions of dollars that Apple, Google, ATT, and the rest spend on lobbyists in Washington and Lansing to buy the legislation they want.

Have a nice day!

Related articles

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
« Older Entries   Recent Entries »