PG Holmlov's Library tagged Innovation →  View Popular

People may still watch things they call "TV shows," but they'll watch them mostly on computers.

What decided the contest for computers? Four forces, three of which one could have predicted, and one that would have been harder to.

One predictable cause of victory is that the Internet is an open platform. ... So innovation happens at hacker speeds instead of big company speeds.

The second is Moore's Law, which has worked its usual magic on Internet bandwidth.

The third reason computers won is piracy. Users prefer it not just because it's free, but because it's more convenient. Bittorrent and YouTube have already trained a new generation of viewers that the place to watch shows is on a computer screen.

The somewhat more surprising force was one specific type of innovation: social applications. The average teenage kid has a pretty much infinite capacity for talking to their friends. But they can't physically be with them all the time. When I was in high school the solution was the telephone. Now it's social networks, multiplayer games, and various messaging applications.

The Corporation is developing its social media strategy with a set of online propositions, particularly around the areas of personalisation and socialisation.

Key to this is its approach to social discovery of content across BBC channels. This includes the creation of an activity page for every site user which would incorporate links to other social media sites, such as Facebook and MySpace.

Other plans include identity services, letting users personalise their experience across the entire BBC site, message boards, blogs and social networking features.

Brainwriting aims to avoid some of these issues and is designed to encourage all group members to engage with each others' ideas. Briefly, it involves four group members writing ideas on slips of paper in silence. Group members pass the slips of paper between each other, reading others' ideas and inserting their own. Ink colour indicates who owns which ideas and when a paper slip has four ideas on it, it is placed in the centre of the table for all to see. This is repeated up to 25 times. The second stage involves group members withdrawing to the corners of the room and recalling as many of the ideas generated so far as possible - the rationale being that this encourages attention to the ideas generated. The final stage involves group members working alone for 15 minutes in an attempt to generate yet more ideas.

A study published in 2000 with student participants found that they invented more novel uses for a paper clip using the brainwriting technique than did an equivalent number of students working alone.

Brainwriting aims to avoid some of these issues and is designed to encourage all group members to engage with each others' ideas. Briefly, it involves four group members writing ideas on slips of paper in silence. Group members pass the slips of paper between each other, reading others' ideas and inserting their own. Ink colour indicates who owns which ideas and when a paper slip has four ideas on it, it is placed in the centre of the table for all to see. This is repeated up to 25 times. The second stage involves group members withdrawing to the corners of the room and recalling as many of the ideas generated so far as possible - the rationale being that this encourages attention to the ideas generated. The final stage involves group members working alone for 15 minutes in an attempt to generate yet more ideas.

A study published in 2000 with student participants found that they invented more novel uses for a paper clip using the brainwriting technique than did an equivalent number of students working alone.

Följ våra daredevils live

Nu ska uppdragen utföras runt om i Europa. Resorna dokumenteras med Nokia N96 mobiler. Kommer de att klara de tuffa utmaningarna? Häng med, nu kör vi!

Följ våra daredevils live

Nu ska uppdragen utföras runt om i Europa. Resorna dokumenteras med Nokia N96 mobiler. Kommer de att klara de tuffa utmaningarna? Häng med, nu kör vi!

Compiled by mobile firm Mformation, the survey found 85% of users reporting they were frustrated by the difficulty of getting a new phone up and working.

Of the 4,000 people questioned, 95% said they would try more new services if phones were easier to set up.

Compiled by mobile firm Mformation, the survey found 85% of users reporting they were frustrated by the difficulty of getting a new phone up and working.

Of the 4,000 people questioned, 95% said they would try more new services if phones were easier to set up.

... the G1 scores with its operating system. It runs Android, the free mobile operating system from Google. It's the first mobile OS to make its debut in years and the G1 is just the first of what will be many phones that use it. With its open source base, growing developer community and dozens of cellphone manufacturers pledging to make Android phones, Android has the potential to reshape the wireless industry in significant ways. ...

... Apple's App Store changed all that. It made creating and distributing mobile applications for cellphone users easy — jumpstarting the mobile-app development market and creating clones such as the Android Market. It even forced Research in Motion to offer a BlackBerry Application Storefront. For thousands of programmers, the cellphone is the new PC.

Outlook: App stores have changed forever the way we use our phones, turning them into personalized devices filled with utilities, handy tools and copies of Tap Tap Revenge.

... the G1 scores with its operating system. It runs Android, the free mobile operating system from Google. It's the first mobile OS to make its debut in years and the G1 is just the first of what will be many phones that use it. With its open source base, growing developer community and dozens of cellphone manufacturers pledging to make Android phones, Android has the potential to reshape the wireless industry in significant ways. ...

... Apple's App Store changed all that. It made creating and distributing mobile applications for cellphone users easy — jumpstarting the mobile-app development market and creating clones such as the Android Market. It even forced Research in Motion to offer a BlackBerry Application Storefront. For thousands of programmers, the cellphone is the new PC.

Outlook: App stores have changed forever the way we use our phones, turning them into personalized devices filled with utilities, handy tools and copies of Tap Tap Revenge.

Mr. Bhidé derides the conventional view in science and technology circles as “techno-nationalism,” needlessly alarmist and based on a widely held misunderstanding of how technological innovation yields economic growth. In his view, many analysts put too much emphasis on the production of new technological ideas. Instead, he observes, the real economic payoff lies in innovations in how technologies are used.

America’s competitive advantage, Mr. Bhidé explains, resides mainly in its creative use of information technology, especially in the large and growing services sector, led by companies like Wal-Mart.

“Wal-Mart and its followers are as much a part of the technological success of America as Silicon Valley,” he said. ...

The flaw in Mr. Bhidé’s thesis is that it amounts to a “false choice,” said Robert D. Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a nonpartisan research group. Most of the economic gains from technology, Mr. Atkinson agrees, do come from its innovative use. “But that doesn’t mean that the basic research is not critical,” he said.

In fast-moving fields, Mr. Atkinson said, there are immense benefits from the knowledge produced in research projects quickly spilling over into ventures that become powerhouses in new industries. Google, which grew out of a digital library project funded by the National Science Foundation, is among a host of such examples. Where the invention is done, Mr. Atkinson notes, is often vital.

Yet, Mr. Bhidé argues, policy choices and tradeoffs have to be made, and they should be guided by a deeper understanding of how innovation, in all its forms, contributes to economic growth.

Mr. Bhidé derides the conventional view in science and technology circles as “techno-nationalism,” needlessly alarmist and based on a widely held misunderstanding of how technological innovation yields economic growth. In his view, many analysts put too much emphasis on the production of new technological ideas. Instead, he observes, the real economic payoff lies in innovations in how technologies are used.

America’s competitive advantage, Mr. Bhidé explains, resides mainly in its creative use of information technology, especially in the large and growing services sector, led by companies like Wal-Mart.

“Wal-Mart and its followers are as much a part of the technological success of America as Silicon Valley,” he said. ...

The flaw in Mr. Bhidé’s thesis is that it amounts to a “false choice,” said Robert D. Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a nonpartisan research group. Most of the economic gains from technology, Mr. Atkinson agrees, do come from its innovative use. “But that doesn’t mean that the basic research is not critical,” he said.

In fast-moving fields, Mr. Atkinson said, there are immense benefits from the knowledge produced in research projects quickly spilling over into ventures that become powerhouses in new industries. Google, which grew out of a digital library project funded by the National Science Foundation, is among a host of such examples. Where the invention is done, Mr. Atkinson notes, is often vital.

Yet, Mr. Bhidé argues, policy choices and tradeoffs have to be made, and they should be guided by a deeper understanding of how innovation, in all its forms, contributes to economic growth.

... more people subscribed to broadband in a shorter time than bought mobile phones, computers, TV, the Walkman or “any of the other revolutionary advances and devices since fire first debuted”. ...

“With its burgeoning economy and huge population India will zoom up the rankings of the largest broadband countries in the world,” said Tim Johnson. “Currently at number 18 in the charts it will hit number six by the end of 2013.”

Summarising its findings and taking into account 40 of the biggest countries in the world, Point Topic estimated that the total number of broadband lines (serving both homes and businesses) will grown from 382 million at mid-2008 to a forecast of 410 million at the end of the year, to 680 million by the end of 2013.

... more people subscribed to broadband in a shorter time than bought mobile phones, computers, TV, the Walkman or “any of the other revolutionary advances and devices since fire first debuted”. ...

“With its burgeoning economy and huge population India will zoom up the rankings of the largest broadband countries in the world,” said Tim Johnson. “Currently at number 18 in the charts it will hit number six by the end of 2013.”

Summarising its findings and taking into account 40 of the biggest countries in the world, Point Topic estimated that the total number of broadband lines (serving both homes and businesses) will grown from 382 million at mid-2008 to a forecast of 410 million at the end of the year, to 680 million by the end of 2013.

When Whirlpool launched its KitchenAid Series II line of appliances in 2007, the company was taking a bigger-than-usual gamble. Whirlpool's designers didn't just imbue the Series II—a refrigerator, microwave, range, oven and dishwasher—with the kind of sleek, industrial look popularized by TV foodie shows; the appliances shared distinctive design touches like responsive black touch display panels and bow-shaped chrome handles—clear indications that each appliance was meant to be part of a set. ...

But around 2000, according to Brown, all that started to change. As marketers began to realize that competition had resulted in comparatively high quality in most every brand in a given category, it no longer made sense for one nameplate to run ads comparing itself to the "other leading brand." The new marketplace reality left only three options: compete on price, innovate faster than the competition or create experiences consumes could have with brands.

Trying to avoid price competition, companies shifted their focus to the other two. The strategic shift let designers argue that companies could benefit not only from more emphasis on product design, but from using the methodology of the designers themselves. In his HBR piece, Brown described that methodology as one that "imbues the full spectrum of innovation activities within a human-centered design ethos" and argued DT was powered by "direct observation, of what people want and need in their lives and what they like or dislike about the way particular products are made, packaged, marketed, sold and supported." ...

Focus groups have their place, but in design thinking, observation means ethnography: Noting how consumers behave in their natural retail habitats the way Margaret Mead once analyzed the tribes of Samoa. The use of ethnography as a primary tool in product development has gained widespread favor during the past decade. Ask Becky Walter, who serves as Kimberly-Clark's director of innovation, design and t

When Whirlpool launched its KitchenAid Series II line of appliances in 2007, the company was taking a bigger-than-usual gamble. Whirlpool's designers didn't just imbue the Series II—a refrigerator, microwave, range, oven and dishwasher—with the kind of sleek, industrial look popularized by TV foodie shows; the appliances shared distinctive design touches like responsive black touch display panels and bow-shaped chrome handles—clear indications that each appliance was meant to be part of a set. ...

But around 2000, according to Brown, all that started to change. As marketers began to realize that competition had resulted in comparatively high quality in most every brand in a given category, it no longer made sense for one nameplate to run ads comparing itself to the "other leading brand." The new marketplace reality left only three options: compete on price, innovate faster than the competition or create experiences consumes could have with brands.

Trying to avoid price competition, companies shifted their focus to the other two. The strategic shift let designers argue that companies could benefit not only from more emphasis on product design, but from using the methodology of the designers themselves. In his HBR piece, Brown described that methodology as one that "imbues the full spectrum of innovation activities within a human-centered design ethos" and argued DT was powered by "direct observation, of what people want and need in their lives and what they like or dislike about the way particular products are made, packaged, marketed, sold and supported." ...

Focus groups have their place, but in design thinking, observation means ethnography: Noting how consumers behave in their natural retail habitats the way Margaret Mead once analyzed the tribes of Samoa. The use of ethnography as a primary tool in product development has gained widespread favor during the past decade. Ask Becky Walter, who serves as Kimberly-Clark's director of innovation, design

Tinkerers improvise, iterate, and improve constantly.
Tinkerers use materials at hand, combining heterogeneous parts and components (e.g., raw and finished materials, handmade and industrial objects, customized and personalized consumer products) in ways that push beyond the boundaries of their original contexts. As a result, tinkered objects tend to be collages, appropriations, and montages. Tinkering is bricolage.
Tinkerers are also social animals. Their success depends in part on being able to tap into porous and ad-hoc communities. For most of what they do the manual is useless; other tinkerers are the only ones who are likely to have the information you need.
Tinkering isn't so much a specific set of technical skills: there tends to be a pretty instrumental view of knowledge. You pick up just enough knowledge about electronics, textiles, metals, programming, or paper-folding to figure out how to do what you want.

Tinkerers improvise, iterate, and improve constantly.
Tinkerers use materials at hand, combining heterogeneous parts and components (e.g., raw and finished materials, handmade and industrial objects, customized and personalized consumer products) in ways that push beyond the boundaries of their original contexts. As a result, tinkered objects tend to be collages, appropriations, and montages. Tinkering is bricolage.
Tinkerers are also social animals. Their success depends in part on being able to tap into porous and ad-hoc communities. For most of what they do the manual is useless; other tinkerers are the only ones who are likely to have the information you need.
Tinkering isn't so much a specific set of technical skills: there tends to be a pretty instrumental view of knowledge. You pick up just enough knowledge about electronics, textiles, metals, programming, or paper-folding to figure out how to do what you want.

If your business wants to have a quick success with a fun new technology — an iPhone for instance — release it first in the U.S. If the technology is more utilitarian — say a microwave oven — release it in Norway.

That’s one of the takeaways from a new study, to be published in an upcoming issue of Marketing Science, by researchers at Lehigh University and USC that tries to measure how innovative a country is by looking at how quickly its residents adopt new technologies. By this measure, Japan is the most innovative country, followed by Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the U.S. Other notables include the U.K. at 15, Mexico at 20, and India at 27. China was 31, last among the countries included in the survey. (The results are pretty similar to a study by the World Economic Forum that ranked countries by criteria such as Internet penetration and government investment in R&D.) ...

The study found that items classified as “fun,” such as DVD players and cell phone, gained acceptance much quicker than “work” items like washing machines. And these fun items are adopted faster just about everywhere. So while it might make sense for a business introducing something utilitarian to target specific countries, it’s possible to launch the next whiz-bang gadget globally.

If your business wants to have a quick success with a fun new technology — an iPhone for instance — release it first in the U.S. If the technology is more utilitarian — say a microwave oven — release it in Norway.

That’s one of the takeaways from a new study, to be published in an upcoming issue of Marketing Science, by researchers at Lehigh University and USC that tries to measure how innovative a country is by looking at how quickly its residents adopt new technologies. By this measure, Japan is the most innovative country, followed by Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the U.S. Other notables include the U.K. at 15, Mexico at 20, and India at 27. China was 31, last among the countries included in the survey. (The results are pretty similar to a study by the World Economic Forum that ranked countries by criteria such as Internet penetration and government investment in R&D.) ...

The study found that items classified as “fun,” such as DVD players and cell phone, gained acceptance much quicker than “work” items like washing machines. And these fun items are adopted faster just about everywhere. So while it might make sense for a business introducing something utilitarian to target specific countries, it’s possible to launch the next whiz-bang gadget globally.

“Sleep makes a unique contribution,” explains Mark Jung-Beeman, a psychologist at Northwestern University who studies the neural bases of insight and creative cognition.

Some sort of incubation period, in which a person leaves an idea for a while, is crucial to creativity. During the incubation period, sleep may help the brain process a problem.

“When you think you’re not thinking about something, you probably are,” says Dr. Jung-Beeman, who has a doctorate in experimental psychology.

Another theory is that typical approaches to problem-solving may decay or weaken during sleep, enabling the brain to switch to more innovative alternatives. A classic switching story, recounted in “A Popular History of American Invention” in 1924, involves Elias Howe’s invention of the automated sewing machine: after much frustration with his original model, which used a needle with an eye in the middle, Howe dreamed that he was being attacked by painted warriors brandishing spears with holes in the sharp end. He patented a new design based on the dream spears; by the time the patent expired in 1867, he had earned more than $2 million in royalties.

“Sleep makes a unique contribution,” explains Mark Jung-Beeman, a psychologist at Northwestern University who studies the neural bases of insight and creative cognition.

Some sort of incubation period, in which a person leaves an idea for a while, is crucial to creativity. During the incubation period, sleep may help the brain process a problem.

“When you think you’re not thinking about something, you probably are,” says Dr. Jung-Beeman, who has a doctorate in experimental psychology.

Another theory is that typical approaches to problem-solving may decay or weaken during sleep, enabling the brain to switch to more innovative alternatives. A classic switching story, recounted in “A Popular History of American Invention” in 1924, involves Elias Howe’s invention of the automated sewing machine: after much frustration with his original model, which used a needle with an eye in the middle, Howe dreamed that he was being attacked by painted warriors brandishing spears with holes in the sharp end. He patented a new design based on the dream spears; by the time the patent expired in 1867, he had earned more than $2 million in royalties.

And so (Google) are doing something about it in three important places.

1) They are building a modern browser, Chrome, that resembles an operating system as much as a browser. If you haven't read the Chrome Comic Book, you should do that. It's not that Google wants to build a better version of Internet Explorer or Firefox. They want to build a better environment for running web apps.

2) They are building a mobile operating system, Android, that is also designed for running web apps in a mobile environment. I think in time, Google's Android will be to the iPhone what Windows was to the Mac. The iPhone laid out many of the killer mobile device innovations, but its a closed device, a closed carrier relationship, and even a closed application store. Android will take all of those good ideas and put them on every device, with every carrier, and in partnership with every app developer. You'd have thought that Apple would have learned the lesson that you can't control the entire ecosystem with the Mac, but they did not.

3) Google is all about the cloud. They have developed all of their apps in what goes for the cloud these days. They've build a great cloud computing platform in App Engine. And they will certainly support other cloud computing environments that emerge. ...

And so (Google) are doing something about it in three important places.

1) They are building a modern browser, Chrome, that resembles an operating system as much as a browser. If you haven't read the Chrome Comic Book, you should do that. It's not that Google wants to build a better version of Internet Explorer or Firefox. They want to build a better environment for running web apps.

2) They are building a mobile operating system, Android, that is also designed for running web apps in a mobile environment. I think in time, Google's Android will be to the iPhone what Windows was to the Mac. The iPhone laid out many of the killer mobile device innovations, but its a closed device, a closed carrier relationship, and even a closed application store. Android will take all of those good ideas and put them on every device, with every carrier, and in partnership with every app developer. You'd have thought that Apple would have learned the lesson that you can't control the entire ecosystem with the Mac, but they did not.

3) Google is all about the cloud. They have developed all of their apps in what goes for the cloud these days. They've build a great cloud computing platform in App Engine. And they will certainly support other cloud computing environments that emerge. ...

Though the initial beta release of Chrome runs only on Microsoft's Windows operating system, Chrome is being seen as yet another sharp Google stick aimed at the Beast of Redmond's cyclopean eye - an attempt not only to displace Internet Explorer but to disintermediate Windows itself as the platform of choice for running PC software. There is, no doubt, truth to that view, but in this case I think Google is motivated by something much larger than its congenital hatred of Microsoft. It knows that its future, both as a business and as an idea (and Google's always been both), hinges on the continued rapid expansion of the usefulness of the Internet, which in turn hinges on the continued rapid expansion of the capabilities of web apps, which in turn hinges on rapid improvements in the workings of web browsers.

To Google, the browser has become a weak link in the cloud system - the needle's eye through which the outputs of the company's massive data centers usually have to pass to reach the user - and as a result the browser has to be rethought, revamped, retooled, modernized. Google can't wait for Microsoft or Apple or the Mozilla Foundation to make the changes (the first has mixed feelings about promoting cloud apps, the second is more interested in hardware than in clouds, and the third, despite regular infusions of Google bucks, lacks resources), so Google is jump-starting the process with Chrome.

Although I'm sure Google would be thrilled if Chrome grabbed a sizable chunk of market share, winning a "browser war" is not its real goal. Its real goal, embedded in Chrome's open-source code, is to upgrade the capabilities of all browsers so that they can better support (and eventually disappear behind) the applications. The browser may be the medium, but the applications are the message.

Though the initial beta release of Chrome runs only on Microsoft's Windows operating system, Chrome is being seen as yet another sharp Google stick aimed at the Beast of Redmond's cyclopean eye - an attempt not only to displace Internet Explorer but to disintermediate Windows itself as the platform of choice for running PC software. There is, no doubt, truth to that view, but in this case I think Google is motivated by something much larger than its congenital hatred of Microsoft. It knows that its future, both as a business and as an idea (and Google's always been both), hinges on the continued rapid expansion of the usefulness of the Internet, which in turn hinges on the continued rapid expansion of the capabilities of web apps, which in turn hinges on rapid improvements in the workings of web browsers.

To Google, the browser has become a weak link in the cloud system - the needle's eye through which the outputs of the company's massive data centers usually have to pass to reach the user - and as a result the browser has to be rethought, revamped, retooled, modernized. Google can't wait for Microsoft or Apple or the Mozilla Foundation to make the changes (the first has mixed feelings about promoting cloud apps, the second is more interested in hardware than in clouds, and the third, despite regular infusions of Google bucks, lacks resources), so Google is jump-starting the process with Chrome.

Although I'm sure Google would be thrilled if Chrome grabbed a sizable chunk of market share, winning a "browser war" is not its real goal. Its real goal, embedded in Chrome's open-source code, is to upgrade the capabilities of all browsers so that they can better support (and eventually disappear behind) the applications. The browser may be the medium, but the applications are the message.

Imagine what would happen if Wal-Mart invested in town squares and parks -- instead of just in featureless warehouses draining what little vitality remains in already bleak exurbs. ...

Consider Google's recent release of Chrome, its own open-source browser - and how Chrome is going to help Google discover how to redefine advantage.

There's much debate about Chrome. Is it a platform, an OS of the future? Yes - but not one that yields orthodox advantage - because anyone can copy it. Is it just raw technology, that will make the web faster, safer, richer? Certainly - but technology itself is quickly commoditized. ...

Chrome is a shared resource that ensures the sustainable growth of a larger ecosystem. There are two key words in that sentence. The first is shared. Google is investing in a shared resource because it has the potential to expand the pie dramatically for all, and so Google stands to benefit more than by hoarding it. The second is sustainable growth: through Chrome, Google ensures the ecosystem stays a level playing field, amplifying incentives for innovation, quality, and productivity.

Chrome lets Google play a market creation game. The game Chrome lets Google play isn't about winning market share. It's not about dominance "over" Microsoft. Rather, Google is using Chrome to alter the basis of competition entirely.

Imagine what would happen if Wal-Mart invested in town squares and parks -- instead of just in featureless warehouses draining what little vitality remains in already bleak exurbs. ...

Consider Google's recent release of Chrome, its own open-source browser - and how Chrome is going to help Google discover how to redefine advantage.

There's much debate about Chrome. Is it a platform, an OS of the future? Yes - but not one that yields orthodox advantage - because anyone can copy it. Is it just raw technology, that will make the web faster, safer, richer? Certainly - but technology itself is quickly commoditized. ...

Chrome is a shared resource that ensures the sustainable growth of a larger ecosystem. There are two key words in that sentence. The first is shared. Google is investing in a shared resource because it has the potential to expand the pie dramatically for all, and so Google stands to benefit more than by hoarding it. The second is sustainable growth: through Chrome, Google ensures the ecosystem stays a level playing field, amplifying incentives for innovation, quality, and productivity.

Chrome lets Google play a market creation game. The game Chrome lets Google play isn't about winning market share. It's not about dominance "over" Microsoft. Rather, Google is using Chrome to alter the basis of competition entirely.

På torsdagsmorgonen, samtidigt som den nya Ikea-katalogen blev offentlig, sjösatte Ikea en helt ny inredningssajt – en "community" för inredningsinresserade kunder som vill dela med sig av sina tips. ...

Ikeas webb-tv-lansering stämmer väl med temat i den nya katalogen – ”Inred som du vill leva!”.

- Människor vill gärna ta del av andras smarta heminredningsidéer och visa upp sina egna lösningar, säger Ylva Magnusson.

Det finns redan en livaktig heminredningsvärld på internet, inte minst på sajten Youtube där folk skickar in de mest fantasifulla heminredningslösningarna.

- Vi har tagit hjälp av de mest aktiva communitydeltagarna när det gäller heminredning när vi skapat vår sajt. De har utgjort en panel som hjälp oss skapa den nya Ikea-sajten, säger Ylva Magnusson.

På torsdagsmorgonen, samtidigt som den nya Ikea-katalogen blev offentlig, sjösatte Ikea en helt ny inredningssajt – en "community" för inredningsinresserade kunder som vill dela med sig av sina tips. ...

Ikeas webb-tv-lansering stämmer väl med temat i den nya katalogen – ”Inred som du vill leva!”.

- Människor vill gärna ta del av andras smarta heminredningsidéer och visa upp sina egna lösningar, säger Ylva Magnusson.

Det finns redan en livaktig heminredningsvärld på internet, inte minst på sajten Youtube där folk skickar in de mest fantasifulla heminredningslösningarna.

- Vi har tagit hjälp av de mest aktiva communitydeltagarna när det gäller heminredning när vi skapat vår sajt. De har utgjort en panel som hjälp oss skapa den nya Ikea-sajten, säger Ylva Magnusson.

(Facebook) has vaulted over rival MySpace in worldwide audience growth, thanks to tools that translate content into many languages...

Facebook isn't the only social network focusing on international expansion. As American sites such as Facebook and MySpace, News Corp.'s (NWS) leading U.S. social network, saturate their home markets, they're looking abroad to fuel the audience growth that has made them so attractive to advertisers, audiences, acquirers, and would-be investors. MySpace, for example, has expanded to more than 29 countries, including India and Korea, in the past few years,.

MySpace is particularly frequented by users in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Australia, Britain, and Malaysia, according to a study showing where social networks are most popular that was released on Aug. 12 by Pingdom, a Swedish site that monitors Web site availability. Pingdom based its findings on the regions where a particular social network is searched for most often via Google, the most popular search engine. For instance, the countries with the greatest interest in LinkedIn, a network aimed at professionals, are India, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, and the U.S., says Pingdom.

But Facebook has been particularly successful in terms of sheer user adoption. Its number of new members was up 153% in June from the same month a year earlier, driven largely by astronomical growth in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. Among specific countries, Turkey, Canada, Britain, South Africa, and Colombia have the greatest interest, according to Pingdom. In comparison, Facebook's North American audience grew just 38% in June vs. the year-earlier month and MySpace was up only 3%, according to comScore.

(Facebook) has vaulted over rival MySpace in worldwide audience growth, thanks to tools that translate content into many languages...

Facebook isn't the only social network focusing on international expansion. As American sites such as Facebook and MySpace, News Corp.'s (NWS) leading U.S. social network, saturate their home markets, they're looking abroad to fuel the audience growth that has made them so attractive to advertisers, audiences, acquirers, and would-be investors. MySpace, for example, has expanded to more than 29 countries, including India and Korea, in the past few years,.

MySpace is particularly frequented by users in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Australia, Britain, and Malaysia, according to a study showing where social networks are most popular that was released on Aug. 12 by Pingdom, a Swedish site that monitors Web site availability. Pingdom based its findings on the regions where a particular social network is searched for most often via Google, the most popular search engine. For instance, the countries with the greatest interest in LinkedIn, a network aimed at professionals, are India, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, and the U.S., says Pingdom.

But Facebook has been particularly successful in terms of sheer user adoption. Its number of new members was up 153% in June from the same month a year earlier, driven largely by astronomical growth in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. Among specific countries, Turkey, Canada, Britain, South Africa, and Colombia have the greatest interest, according to Pingdom. In comparison, Facebook's North American audience grew just 38% in June vs. the year-earlier month and MySpace was up only 3%, according to comScore.

During the past year, the total North American audience of social networkers has grown 9 percent compared to a much larger 25 percent growth for the world at large. The Middle East-Africa region (up 66 percent), Europe (up 35 percent), and Latin America (up 33 percent) have each grown at well-above average rates. ...

Facebook and Hi5 Lead Global Growth among Top Social Networking Sites

During the past year, many of the top social networking sites have demonstrated rapid growth in their global user bases. Facebook.com, which took over the global lead among social networking sites in April 2008, has made a concerted effort to become more culturally relevant in markets outside the U.S. Its introduction of natural language interfaces in several markets has helped propel the site to 153-percent growth during the past year. Meanwhile, the emphasis Hi5.com has put on its full-scale localization strategy has helped the site double its visitor base to more than 56 million. Other social networking sites, including Friendster.com (up 50 percent), Orkut (up 41 percent), and Bebo.com (up 32 percent) have demonstrated particularly strong growth on a global basis.

During the past year, the total North American audience of social networkers has grown 9 percent compared to a much larger 25 percent growth for the world at large. The Middle East-Africa region (up 66 percent), Europe (up 35 percent), and Latin America (up 33 percent) have each grown at well-above average rates. ...

Facebook and Hi5 Lead Global Growth among Top Social Networking Sites

During the past year, many of the top social networking sites have demonstrated rapid growth in their global user bases. Facebook.com, which took over the global lead among social networking sites in April 2008, has made a concerted effort to become more culturally relevant in markets outside the U.S. Its introduction of natural language interfaces in several markets has helped propel the site to 153-percent growth during the past year. Meanwhile, the emphasis Hi5.com has put on its full-scale localization strategy has helped the site double its visitor base to more than 56 million. Other social networking sites, including Friendster.com (up 50 percent), Orkut (up 41 percent), and Bebo.com (up 32 percent) have demonstrated particularly strong growth on a global basis.

In a few years mid-level knowledge workers will be dominated by Generation Y. As has been well-chronicled, this demographic has a very different view of digital tools. They grew up with the web. Facebook was part of their college and now their professional lives. They live online and use these technologies to nurture and grow both their business and personal networks.

That's where the drama begins. The pace of innovation in the consumer Internet sector will always outpace what the enterprise can do. It's a tortoise and hare scenario that's really not corporate IT's fault. As a result a lot of work - especially anything that involves collaboration - is leaking outside the workplace and CIOs are left to deal with the risks.

Employees, frustrated with the tools they are given, are simply taking matters into their own hands. Data is leaking away form corporations into social networks, which are becoming the new intranets and extranets of tomorrow.

In a few years mid-level knowledge workers will be dominated by Generation Y. As has been well-chronicled, this demographic has a very different view of digital tools. They grew up with the web. Facebook was part of their college and now their professional lives. They live online and use these technologies to nurture and grow both their business and personal networks.

That's where the drama begins. The pace of innovation in the consumer Internet sector will always outpace what the enterprise can do. It's a tortoise and hare scenario that's really not corporate IT's fault. As a result a lot of work - especially anything that involves collaboration - is leaking outside the workplace and CIOs are left to deal with the risks.

Employees, frustrated with the tools they are given, are simply taking matters into their own hands. Data is leaking away form corporations into social networks, which are becoming the new intranets and extranets of tomorrow.

Teleplans rapport er fokusert på hvordan subsideringen påvirker konkurransesituasjonen i sluttbrukermarkedet, mens Copenhagen Economics har sett på hvordan subsideringen kan gi innovasjonseffekter hos mobiloperatørene. Ett eksempel som trekkes frem, er at nye teknologier som 3G kan få en raskere utbredelse som en følge av subsidering.

Med utgangspunkt i de to rapportene, bruker Teletilsynet den nye iPhone som et eksempel. Den er ikke omtalt i rapportene, men den er relevant fordi det er en telefon som subsideres i bytte mot abonnementsbinding og det er en mobil som forventes å løfte bruken av blant annet mobil datasurfing.

Tall som Netcom har fått fra Apple om iPhone-bruk i USA, viser at iPhone-brukere laster opp og ned 10 ganger så mye data over mobilen som en gjennomsnittlig bruker.

Teleplans rapport er fokusert på hvordan subsideringen påvirker konkurransesituasjonen i sluttbrukermarkedet, mens Copenhagen Economics har sett på hvordan subsideringen kan gi innovasjonseffekter hos mobiloperatørene. Ett eksempel som trekkes frem, er at nye teknologier som 3G kan få en raskere utbredelse som en følge av subsidering.

Med utgangspunkt i de to rapportene, bruker Teletilsynet den nye iPhone som et eksempel. Den er ikke omtalt i rapportene, men den er relevant fordi det er en telefon som subsideres i bytte mot abonnementsbinding og det er en mobil som forventes å løfte bruken av blant annet mobil datasurfing.

Tall som Netcom har fått fra Apple om iPhone-bruk i USA, viser at iPhone-brukere laster opp og ned 10 ganger så mye data over mobilen som en gjennomsnittlig bruker.