Don't Miss the Train

A train is passing through the station right now. That train is the Era of Entrepreneurship. Some may see it coming and jump on, but others will never see the opportunity which technology is presenting to them. For the first time ever, the trend developing in modern business is for the most successful corporations to be built off the the enthusiasm, energy, and dedication of young ambitious minds. Technology start-ups are taking off, but you have to have the courage to jump aboard. The train extends far beyond the Mark Zuckerberg story; LivingSocial, Groupon, Stumbleupon, and soon, many more Silicon Valley startups are going to make some very young people extremely successful business figures. Open your eyes, step-up to the platform, don't miss the train. Something big is happening right now...don't just watch from the sidelines.

The Social Media Parabola at Zero Derivative?

A few months ago, we commented on the extraordinary growth of Facebook, it's remarkable story, and how it helped define a new era of technology, business, and social media. Now, it's time to make a status update. Facebook remains the dominant social networking site, no questions asked. It has continued to grow recently, nearing an estimated 750 million users, many of which return daily. Facebook has, in fact, now become an integral part of peoples' lives, and defines many relationships between people worldwide. A quick moment to recognize Mark Zuckerberg, and the senior management who have made Facebook's vision come close to a reality. Facebook is on top, hands down. But, Facebook may not only be at the top of the social media world, but also at the peak of its era of domination over the social networking world. Analysts have said this before, and it turns out that perhaps Facebook had only been at an inflection point marking a slowing pattern in it's life as the number one social media site. However, a recent development has indicated perhaps the very first crack in Facebook's otherwise indestructible shield around the social networking industry. Recently, Facebook closed a deal with Skype, as most of you probably know, which will allow Facebook to soon offer video chat features to its users. A logical move, no doubt. After all, this decision aligns with the goal Zuckerberg identified in his 2008 Web 2.0 address of offering users the greatest number of ways to communicate with each other. But this move was not a natural, pre-planned Zuckerberg strategy move. The red flag for Facebook's future, becomes evident upon analyzing the cause for Facebook's newest big deal. Analysis of the cause for this move has been overlooked by many who are caught up in the frenzy funnel building around the new Facebook offering, so I would like to point it out here.

During an interview about a year ago, at which a book titled The Facebook Effect was being discussed with Zuckerberg, the young CEO responded to a question regarding his concerns over the shadow and potential threat that search giant Google posed to a younger, growing Facebook. Zuckerberg responded by saying that he saw Google as a company in an entirely different circle of competition that Facebook. Yes, it could be used to search for personal information, but as Zuckerberg explained, "Google offers email [Facebook] doesn't" and Facebook is used mainly for status updates and open communication methods, which with the exception of Google Docs, is absent from Google's realm of business. Zuckerberg identified Google as a very small threat to his company's growth due to its inherent differences in intent, technological infrastructure, and offerings. But slowly, quietly, something has been lurking beneath the surface that will create a bridge between the two different pools of Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Page. It's something big, something dangerous, and it has Google's name all over it.

Here's why Facebook closed a deal with Skype. For over a month, a potential social networking threat called Google Plus has been growing steadily across the internet user-base. Google Plus is similar to Facebook, but it offers the convenience of being socially connected, while having email, a giant search engine, and many other applications available right on the same page, signed into a single internet account. It offers a social network organized into different "circles" of people with whom you interact. And to top it off, it goes where Facebook had never been, web-chat options. Facebook closed the Skype deal only after Google released its social network, which means that perhaps for the first time, Facebook took a defensive action in response to a development in the social media world. Facebook indicated with this action, that it now has something to worry about, something against which it must defend itself. Facebook, for so long, has been on the offensive, surging further and further into social media as a pioneer, and lone explorer of untapped opportunity in the fields of programming and web platform development. But now, it has responded to Google, recognized another potentially threatening power, and announced to the world that it's not necessarily untouchable.

What does the future hold for Facebook? What does collective social networking have in store for internet users? What is lurking beneath the surface? Who is in the business of success?

Success's Secret- The Value of Time and Focus

Many times the difference between success and failure depends on a factor as simple as focus. Everybody has goals, missions, and achievements that they envision for themselves in the future. Everyone can decide they will succeed in their endeavors, excel in their careers, and rise to the top. However, the difference between those that see only visions and those that see actual rewards can be found in how each individual spends his time. The computer programmer trying to develop a profitable web application will be more successful if he spends Friday nights writing code rather than going to a concert. The soccer player that spends his summer mornings running in the mountains will be more successful than the one who spends his days sleeping and watching television. The entrepreneur trying to start his own business will be more successful than others if he chooses to spend his weekends researching start-up ventures rather than wasting time with useless activities. The college student who stays in and studies on Friday nights will be better prepared than those who go to parties. The concept is simple. Focus and productive use of time will make or break a person in business. Focus, dedication, and effort separate the mediocre majority from the exceptional successes, and evidence of such a notion can be found everywhere, whether it be the corporate world, a university setting, or elsewhere. The value of time and focus plays a major role in defining the business of success.

The New Era Defined

The "New Era" of the 21st century was defined in 2004. This era has given birth to a new form of communication, a new form of opportunity, a new form of business, and a new form of hope. The world changed in 2004. Or, at least, would change in the years to come after a defining moment in world history. This moment was as monumental as the World Wars; it stemmed from the actions of a young man as influential as the most powerful political leaders on the planet; the moment was the launching of Facebook. I have been waiting a long time to write on the famous topic of the Facebook Era, and now I will describe what Mark Zuckerberg's creation means to the world.

We can consider the direct effects that accompany the development of a social network with half a billion active users. But that discussion would just scratch the surface of the impact that the 2004 college student's invention would have on society today. Obviously our form of communication has changed. Instead of calling or texting, we write on a "friend's" "wall" and then "like" their "comment" when we see their reply in our "notifications". Instead of sending post cards, we "tag" our family in pictures and post them into our "newsfeed". Life is different. And it is all because of Facebook. But this blog is not about the physical components of Facebook, or any of the entrepreneurial ventures we analyze. Rather, let us focus on the even greater success of Facebook...that is, showing the young ambitious minds of today, how to create brightness for the world's tomorrow. Transcending its actual elements and capabilities, Facebook has revealed to society the prominence of the new era in which we live. It has defined the internet age, the virtual life, and the fiber-optic world. And what is so amazing, and what earned Zuckerberg and his Facebook invention recognition on this discussion board, is the fact that he accomplished such a monumental feat at the age of 20. Just out of his teenage years and into college life, Zuckerberg, better than anyone, understood the business of success.

The innovative genius saw that to be successful, you do not necessarily need to focus on making money. You need to focus on the merit of your ideas. And so, Zuckerberg, who rents his modest home in southern California and walks to work each day, refuses to emphasize his monetary success in discussing the value of Facebook to him as a CEO. Rather, he focuses on the aspect of achievement, moving the world forward, and realizing the full potentials of an idea he had as an undergraduate at Harvard.

Zuckerberg proved that young people can make a difference, young people can be successful, and young people can achieve. He took an idea, connected it with action, and proved that taking the extra step, applying effort, and believing in your vision can pay off. And it has paid off. Without the belief, without the desire, and without the motivation of the young computer programmer, the world wouldn't be the same. Consider your actions, your ideas and your potentials. Recognize your talents, your skills and your dreams. But don't just consider, don't just recognize...because ideation without action is futile. And if you know this, and believe this, you too have the chance to alter the world's methods of communication, monopolize the space of computer screens worldwide, and change the dynamics of social relationships forever, just as Facebook has done.

I looked around my lecture hall the other day, and I found that 7 out of the 8 laptops around me were open not to the class lecture slides for organizational behavior, but rather to Facebook. They were all on the same site. Doing the same thing. I thought: "how could one person impact the lives of so many people? Has Mark Zuckerberg taken over the world?" The truth is...maybe he has. He was able to change many processes in the lives of millions. An idea that is scary, but fascinating. His work, in reality has come to define the new age in which we live. Everything can be done on the internet. We talk to each other on the internet. We look at each other on the internet. We argue, fight, discuss, analyze, express ourselves, plan activities, book events, make purchases, socialize, innovate, create, and ideate on the internet. "The world is flat" as Thomas Friedman points out in his fascinating book. Facebook has contributed to the leveling of the world. How? Why? Well, Facebook is everywhere. It's impacts are everywhere. When you look around a classroom, look on random websites, or watch commercials, you see links to Facebook. Facebook is huge. But what is Facebook? What do people see in their virtual friendships that is so appealing? What are people doing on Facebook? It's simple, they're connecting with the rest of the world through the creation of a young man who believed in himself, believed in his vision, and believed in the business of success.

2 Students, 1 Vision, A Global Phenomenon

This discussion is one I recently posted on my other blog site called The Hamper. (www.thehamper.wordpress.com) It discusses a mindset that any business minded entrepreneur should have when considering their ventures. Enjoy! And visit The Hamper to learn more about my other blog!

 In 1996 two PhD students at Stanford University had an idea, possibly very similar to an idea you may have developed recently. Their idea was larger than themselves, a vision of an internet tool that could revolutionize the “search” process. The two students knew that their idea to create a search engine which ranked search result relevance by number and importance of pages was very interesting and had much potential. But Larry Page and Sergey Brin did something that innovators too often fail to do: they took their theoretical idea and turned it into a reality. When Google was first launched, headquarters were in not in a corporate office building among other successful companies, but rather, in a garage that happened to be available in the boys’ California neighborhood. But that was 1998. Since then, the tech savvy duo transformed their garage-based search engine startup into a multinational corporation that serves as the world’s most popular, most famous search tool worth an enterprise value over $160 billion. But what are the chances of your company turning into such a valuable, large-scale, successful corporation? Maybe they’re not great…but I counter by suggesting that maybe they are. When operating out of a garage fifteen years ago, the university students who co-founded Google didn’t pull the plug on their project while staring in awe at the 20th century’s most successful startups. And neither should you. If you throw your idea in the hamper, your chances of success drop to 0%; the chance of failure just became your reality and you’ll find that you missed out on the experience of taking the shot at greatness.