As I learn ...

February 1, 2011

Amazon and its quest into the online video market

Earlier this month Amazon, the world largest online retailer, acquired Lovefilm which specialises in online DVD rental, either via post or through streaming films online. Even though Amazon already owned a minority stake, this still is the kind of acquisition that grasps my imagination. It makes me wonder about things like ‘strategic motive’ and next steps.…
January 24, 2011

Spotify and Shazam hook up: logical like ABC

What do you get when you combine a highly successful mobile music discovery service (Shazam) with an equally acclaimed music stream service (Spotify)? A “Play in Spotify” feature in Shazam that links directly to Spotify. How does it work? Use Shazam to discover music – With a Shazam app on your Android, Blackberry or iPhone…
January 10, 2011

Quora: making Q&A incredibly popular

Today I learned about Quora. Quora is an online Q&A service which launched publicly in June 2010, and provides a continually improving collection of questions and answers created, edited and organised by its (expert) users. I had heard lots of people raving about it, so I just wanted to see for myself whether it was…
January 5, 2011

Open data: it’s beautiful!

One of the things I love about the web is the ease and the speed with which it creates transparency and the way it forces institutions to open up and share. A great example is WikiLeaks where the recent release of secret cables from US diplomats caused a massive media and diplomatic storm. It draws…
December 29, 2010

HoverMe adds social context to the people you follow

I’m pretty sure there must be quite a few people out there who find it a pain to have to look at other people’s profiles in a separate places like Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. Wouldn’t it be neat if there was a functionality to connect the various social profiles of each individual user? HoverMe is…

Amazon and its quest into the online video market

Spotify and Shazam hook up: logical like ABC

Quora: making Q&A incredibly popular

Open data: it’s beautiful!

HoverMe adds social context to the people you follow