Tac Anderson's Public Library

Among the many consequences of the internet bubble of the late 1990s is an obsession with the very notion of bubbles themselves. In the most simplistic terms, a lot of smart people – especially in the media – are still kicking themselves for not recognising the dot-com bubble for what it was, and they're determined not to make the same mistake again.

Thus there's been something of a death-watch around the property business, which has for the past several years looked very bubble-like, especially in California, Florida, and the Washington-New York-Boston corridor. There has also been an enormous amount of hand-wringing as to whether the internet media boom known as Web 2.0 is setting us up for a replay of the dot-com era.

IBM's early stage research combines the DNA double helix and, unsurprisingly, nanotechnology to build frameworks for theoretically smaller and less expensive microchips.

"This is the first demonstration of using biological molecules to help with processing in the semiconductor industry," said IBM research manager Spike Narayan. "Basically, this is telling us that biological structures like DNA actually offer some very reproducible, repetitive kinds of patterns that we can actually leverage in semiconductor processes," he said.

Force multiplication, in military usage, refers to a combination of attributes or advantages which make a given force more effective than another force of comparable size. A force multiplier refers to a factor that dramatically increases (hence "multiplies") the effectiveness of an item or group.




Some common force multipliers are:










• Morale
• Technology
• Geographical features
• Weather
• Recruitment through diplomacy
• Training and experience
• Fearsome reputation
• Deception

• Observe: make use of the best sensors and other intelligence available
• Orient: put the new observations into a context with the old
• Decide: select the next action based on the combined observation and local knowledge
• Act: carry out the selected action, ideally while the opponent is still observing your last action.










Boyd's concept is also known as the OODA Loop, and is a description of the decision-making process that Boyd contended applies to business, sports, law enforcement and military operations. Boyd's doctrine is widely taught in the American military, and one of the aims of network centric warfare is to get inside his OODA loop--that is, to go from observation to action before the enemy can get past orientation, preventing him from ever being able to make an effective decision or put it into action. Small unit leadership is critical to this, and NCW's ability to disseminate information to small unit leaders enables such tactics.

When the crisis subsided, executives at ISC hired David E. Henderson and the team at The News Group Net LLC, to create a brand-new, content-rich ISC Newsroom.

David is an Emmy Award winning former CBS News correspondent and veteran communications strategist. I'm a fan of his blog and book, so I contacted him to learn more about the Imperial Sugar Company Newsroom.

I'm particularly excited about how ISC hired journalists to create their newsroom, something I’ve advocated for years. This is something I've called brand journalism and is an increasingly effective marketing tool. In fact, ISC has hired the skills of a print journalist, a television journalist, and a photojournalist.