Splitting Up the US – How About the Rest of the World?
Humor February 8th, 2010
That’s the map of the US based on Pete Warden’s analysis of Facebook profiles. So I live in Socialistan – oh well, I grew up in a Communist country, if this is Socialism, I can handle it 
But what about the Rest of the World? I thought it was a good time to dust off the good old World Map – admittedly not based on scientcific research
P.S. to potential flame-throwers: pls. look up the meaning of irony. Or sarcasm.
Virtual Worlds and My Twisted View of USA vs. China
Business, Politics July 30th, 2009
<rant>
Virtual Worlds, such as World of Warcraft, Entropia Universe, Habbo Hotel, Club Penguin and Second Life grew 39% in the second quarter of 2009 to an estimated 579 million members, reports The Guardian.
A good chunk of these virtual worlds is owning virtual goods, that cost no-virtual, but real money: GigaOM reports that the virtual goods market is estimated to reach $1.8 billion this year.
“About one in 10 Americans reached into their wallets last year and spent an average of $30 on virtual goods, those pixelated swords, outfits and other non-real items used in online games such as Habbo and Club Penguin” – quotes the LA Times, using the same research report.
So why am I ranting about this? Let me put it very simply:
We’re wasting our brain on stupid things instead of being productive, while sending real money to Chinese entrepreneurs who laugh their *** off while running their sweatshops producing these digital goodies.
And you wonder why the US is declining while China prospers.
</rant>
There, I said it … now I feel better. Now, for a refreshing and decidedly more intelligent view on China, US..etc read this piece by former wunderkind (may still be wunder but no longer kid) Ben Casnocha: Rising Tide Lifts All (Nation-State) Boats.
(Cross-posted @ CloudAve. For the latest and greatest -well, dunno, but definitely more intelligent posts than this- on Cloud Computing, Web Apps, Business and the like grab the CloudAve feed here.)
Tags: china, CloudAve, gaming, second life, USA, virtual goods, virtual worlds, world of warcraft, wow
Is the USA Really the Broadband Leader?
Technology February 23rd, 2009
The US is not exactly the leader when it comes to Broadband or even Mobility – in fact we’re way behind several Asian and European countries.
But is that really true? Professor Leonard Waverman of the London Business School disagrees. He published a study on the World’s Connectivity Scorecard. His key thesis is that penetration and connection speed is not enough to measure true connectedness: we have to consider to what extent the Consumer, Businesss and Government sectors put broadband to productive use.
The compound index reveals a few surprises: the USA is actually #1, closely followed by Sweden and Denmark, and in fourth position (surprise!?!) is Malaysia, leaving countries like Japan, Korea, Norway in the dust.
I am not entirely convinced about the US position, especially if we take a look at the Consumer vs Business segmentation … and don’t get me started on Government.
Update: Vinnie Mirchandani points out the serious flaws in the Study Methodology.
Tags: broadband, broadband penetration, connectivity index, infrastructure, japan, Korea, Malaysia, Sweden, USA
Zoli Erdos
