Author: JD Rucker

Can you picture Michael Dell wearing anything other than a suit and tie? He was born in a dress shirt, wasn’t he? If you can imagine him wearing a dishwasher’s apron scrubbing pans at a Chinese restaurant, now you’re starting to see the reality of the man whose name is on the side of millions of computers. Many of today’s most successful tech people worked their way up from humble beginnings. Others, like Mark Zuckerberg, seemed to do okay with their very first jobs. This graphic by our friends at Mindflash gives us a quick view of the various first professions that helped mold some of tech giants of the…

There is an opportunity to learn from our mistakes before they can do real damage. That opportunity is Groupon, and the opportunity presents itself in the form of an upcoming IPO that needs to fail for the sake of the rest of the internet. Sounds weird, I know, but hear me out. The GrouPonzi Scheme When Groupon was able to raise a billion dollars in funding, many (including me) applauded it as a sign of a company that was doing the right things with their money and demonstrating responsibility. Granted, it was based upon an assumption that the investors looked at the books and found them to be sound. Why…

Tens of millions of people use Twitter on a regular basis. While most agree that the numbers of users are inflated by spammers and inactive users, it has still established itself as a major player in the world of social networking. The site has gone through many challenges over the years. There were times when it seemed like Twitter wasn’t going to make it at all. The site was down, often for hours a day. People were coming on, checking it out, not understanding it, then leaving. There was no recognizable revenue model. A year or two ago, many thought Twitter was doomed. Most of the naysayers are silent…

In the beginning, social networking really had two uses – business and meeting “friends.” Early dating sites in the days before Facebook (yes, there were days before Facebook) set the stage for what has now become a large part of modern day social networking. This graphic below takes a look at how Facebook has an influence over relationships and the like. Click to enlarge. Collaboration between All Facebook and Online Dating University…

The numbers are completely off the charts. In case you missed insane valuations in recent months for companies such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, the infographic below should bring it into perspective. When did value start getting dictated by users rather than revenue? Something can definitely be said about potential, but are investors really doing the right thing by betting so high on some of these companies. As a general rule, a company is normally worth somewhere between 3-6 times its yearly revenue. That would put Facebook with an estimate 2010 revenue around $2 billion valued at…

Pork, salt, water, sugar, and sodium hydrate. Those are the general ingredients for Hawaii’s favorite meat substitute. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective) that’s not the spam we’re talking about here. Since the opportunities on the Internet started becoming clear a decade or two ago, the rise of spam as a substitute for real content, as a unsolicited solicitation tool, and as a general annoyance with potential threats has forced many to avoid certain aspects of the internet that would normally be higher quality. Look at email. Twitter. Search engines. All of these…

It’s hard to imagine a world without the internet for those in their 20s. It’s been with us as a common entity for 2 decades now and the evolution has been stunning. When you compare websites now to those in 1998, one thing is clear – we’ve come a long way. This infographic by our friends at KissMetrics breaks down the history, short as it may be, of the driving force behind the visual aspects of the web. From text-based sites through to current standards and emerging technologies, the science and art of web design are a case study in progress. What will the next decade bring? Will we still be “surfing the…

In the enterprise, technology often moves slowly. It’s not what most would expect – big business was once the first to adopt the latest and greatest technologies because of the cost associated with innovation. Today, technology is going bulk – apps are the perfect example. Taking advantage of and integrating apps into small, nimble business models is less challenging than it is for corporations. Still, the giants are catching up. They’re seeing that inexpensive technologies such as mobile and social media apps can have a significant effect on their bottom line. They get it, and now they’re…

It really doesn’t matter which side of the fence you’re on. Regardless of what people believe, it’s clear that there are no absolutes when it comes to this issue. The reason? Complete transparency or complete anonymity opens up different cans of worms. There’s no way around it. As a result, it comes down to this: which side are you leaning towards? This graphic by our friends at Namesake takes a look at the issue and breaks the gray concerns into as black and white of a picture as possible. Click to enlarge. …

As Apple, Google, and Facebook face more scrutiny over their mobile privacy policies from the government, the concerns continue to grow for users. Where we are, what we’re doing, and how we’re doing it are often questions that can be answered by these companies, often without our knowledge. This graphic by our friends at ZoneAlarm breaks down the threats and perceived evils being perpetrated by mobile-based companies and the larger companies who control them. Are we safe to surf on our gadgets? Click to enlarge. …