Ethan Bauley › Comments

"Much thanks! I'll be sure to pass this info on, as well as a link to your tutorial.From what I've seen, the tokens are taking closer to a few weeks (as opposed to a few hours, like the website says), but Microsoft is probably getting overwhelmed with requests and needs to throttle the usage considering they are still in CTP." - Ethan Bauley

"Very nice tutorial, Colin! You mentioned a few ways for getting tokens. I would expect that there will be some people who don't have easy access to the resources you listed for getting tokens. Are tokens still available through the main Windows Azure website (http://www.azure.com) as well?(I am contracting for M80, working with Microsoft to promote Windows Azure)" - Ethan Bauley

"What I find most interesting is the differences between this list and what a similar one would have been for 2008. Web platforms were already growing, but they really took off in 2009. The cloud computing platforms you mention, Google App Engine and Windows Azure, are still very early in their maturity, but we will see these platforms grow significantly in 2010. (I am contracting for M80, working with Microsoft to promote Windows Azure)" - Ethan Bauley

"I can't say that i quite agree with the first statement. Paid search firms need to show results for their clients, not that they can bid on keywords in top position for their own agency on Google. And the best SEO firm is not the one with the first page Google ranking for the term "SEO". Why should social media firms be different? Just because a social agency has an 'industry pundit' on their roster who has 10,000 twitter followers does not give any indication that they can tweet on behalf of their clients (folding into your second question which i agree with 100%) I have to say that i do get a little tired of the social media egoists who spend their days cramming the hash tags of all their friends blogs and speaking engagements into a tweet so that they will get cross promoted during their turn on the soapbox. This to me speaks more to narcissistic self promotion than social media competence of an agency. But that is just my take..." - Ethan Bauley

"no doubt i can't wait to find out what other industry gets me all jazzed about this although communications is still pretty fun" - Ethan Bauley

"Hi Andrew I have a public amazon wish list that has most of the books on there. It's mostly the classic strategy books, etc I haven't read all the ones on that list but it's a good starting place There is an hbr article from John hagel called "unbundling the corporation" that was formative, you may have to buy it to read I also read a lot of "vintage" techdirt. "free culture" was also formative. Hagels book "the only sustainable edge" is awesome And "the wealth of networks" is prolly the most important, for me Hth" - Ethan Bauley

"holy hell, somebody's been reading some socio anthropological theory shit or something! this is really awesome and makes even more sense after reading the last line about fandom for my purposes, what i'm dealing with [to keep the analogy], is: systematically migrating a fan base of deadheads to becoming a fan base of kneebody. possible, but not without heavy attrition ;-) [[[also, for the record, this is not about me trying to "change the culture' or some bs like that, i just enjoy thinking at a way macro level. near as i can figure, the only way to accomplish anything like this is to create some examples of what's possible in a perfect world]]" - Ethan Bauley

"Alex, I'd like to add to your comment: "[Microsoft's] importance should not be underestimated. They are the entrenched giant with enough innovation to merit a spot on the list." Gil makes a good point, but if we are to look at the products that had the greatest influence in 2009, I agree with the inclusion of Windows Azure and Sharepoint 2010. The features offered by Windows Azure (and SQL Azure), for instance, are very likely key motivations in Amazon.com's decision to add a relational database and a .NET SDK offering to their cloud computing service, EC2. Even pre-release, Windows Azure is enjoying a high degree of influence. Sharepoint 2010 is undoubtedly also shaping the future of the market for collaborative content, with products like Jive's SBS 4.0 watching it and responding to upcoming features. (I am contracted by M80, working with Microsoft to promote Windows Azure)" - Ethan Bauley

"I thought that the warehouse was the market Someone has to be the market maker right? And isn't aggregation just market power manifested? Except for infinitely flexi intangible products, or a revolution on physical mnfctring, I don't see how anyone escapes this" - Ethan Bauley

"Interesting and thoughtful predictions. You mentioned cloud computing as part of Amazon.com's success, which I would agree with. However, I think the impact of Google and Microsoft in this market is going to be significantly greater than suggested. In the consumer space, Google Apps, Microsoft's Office Web Apps, Chrome OS, Android, Windows Mobile 7, and the Microsoft Courier (Microsoft's Booklet PC) will be huge market players that might actually eclipse the consumer products that Amazon.com will offer. Even if not, they will at least rival Amazon's services. In the enterprise space, Amazon's web service will face fierce competition from the Google App Engine and Microsoft's Windows Azure Platform (http://bit.ly/2b2sRd). Basing the future on current trends in this area is problematic since Windows Azure is still in CTP preview and will not be fully released until early 2010. Of course the only way to know for sure is to wait another 12 months and see. (I am contracted by M80, working..." - Ethan Bauley

"Awesome, thanks for the comment Mark Google "memetic branding", that guy has some interesting stuff to say" - Ethan Bauley

"Just saw this Alan is dead on in my opinion, but Doc's stuff has been very dogmatic against aggregation...which leaves me wondering in a lot of ways. That post from Alan is the true "VRM manifesto"" - Ethan Bauley

"Also (and this relates to your point about how Cluetrain is way more relevant now than when it was published)... I just want to be on the record as saying, yes, people, I realize that a lot of the stuff we're talking about was generally on smart folks' minds back in 199X. It's the same, but different, now. ;-)" - Ethan Bauley

"I've got a couple more posts in the hopper on this and I'm definitely planning on writing more about it...gotta walk the walk, right? :-) Joking aside, it is a good strategic sanity check to write this stuff down and get it out there. Not least because, as you note, there really are few ppl out there who are trying to do this and who are discussing publicly. I will say that there is some tension between the grander mission of evolving the org through "decentralized actionable info" (as you so eloquently put it) and just moving my specialization ("silo") forward. But it's all highly connected. In due time, reckon..." - Ethan Bauley

"Yes! The culture issue is paramount. I suppose that is 90 pct of the "desire" element. You make many great points about Toyota and Zappos. Regarding the former, is it fully established that the decentralization you noted caused better performance for the company overall? Or is it just one of many factors? Would be curious to know. I'm not familiar with the case. Your insight about "info actionable in a decentralized way" is incredibly practical and dead on. I'm going to use that. (I think it's easy when you're at a big company to think that you need to build the space shuttle, when practicality is actually the most important factor.) Would love to see what your "funnel research" looks like" - Ethan Bauley

"Read your post, good stuff. Two things, the second of which came up in the Umair conversation: 1. I find that "markets are conversations" makes more sense if you say [to the non geek] "conversations are markets." Anytime anyone is discussing anything even tangential to what your business is doing, they're inevitably hanging around some part of The Funnel. Nah mean? 2. Re: companies need to learn to listen. This is extremely extremely difficult at scale. Actually, at any scale, but esp at large scale. There's two elements to this: a) the desire to listen b), given [a], the ability to take in information from the market, make sense of it, and distribute it to those who can act on it. I am not sure that traditional corporate orgs can do this, but I am definitely going to find out ;-)" - Ethan Bauley

"Read your post, good stuff. Two things, the second of which came up in the Umair conversation: 1. I find that "markets are conversations" makes more sense if you say [to the non geek] "conversations are markets." Anytime anyone is discussing anything even tangential to what your business is doing, they're inevitably hanging around some part of The Funnel. Nah mean? 2. Re: companies need to learn to listen. This is extremely extremely difficult at scale. Actually, at any scale, but esp at large scale. There's two elements to this: a) the desire to listen b), given [a], the ability to take in information from the market, make sense of it, and distribute it to those who can act on it. I am not sure that traditional corporate orgs can do this, but I am definitely going to find out ;-)" - Ethan Bauley

"Great to hear. We're very open to suggestions or feedback on what else would be useful so don't hesitate to drop a line here or via email: ethan.bauley/at/hp dot com" - Ethan Bauley

"Thanks for the shout, Howard. It's amazing to see the effects of Twitter/Stocktwits/blogging/etc on the investing business. Hopefully we'll see more big companies join us on this path soon. Also worth noting that we broke the 3com story on Twitter the same time the news was available on the wires: http://twitter.com/hpnews... Regards, Ethan HP Corporate Communications @hpnews" - Ethan Bauley

"The counter arguments presented in these comments are missing the point, which is: this is a "competitive" move that makes media/MSFT better off at the expense of end users. This is not MicroFox competing to deliver a better product. Mark Sigal's comment explains this in excruciating detail. It's pretty much that simple. Lame play from a lame playbook." - Ethan Bauley

"Thanks, Joe. It has been an incredible honor to work for Weber Shandwick and HP." - Ethan Bauley

"Would be funny/interesting to create a questionnaire and put it out there...facebook quiz for social media echochamber types" - Ethan Bauley

"This is one of those topics that is so interesting and critical, and gets no play in the echochamber. Reinforcing my belief that all those consultant/analyst screamers have no practical experience and are worthless." - Ethan Bauley

"Thanks a lot for chiming in and clarifying this. Azure not being MSFT-stack specific is an interesting move. It certainly will open the platform up to many more applications than otherwise. As for getting tokens, I found that it actually takes a lot longer than “a very, very short time.” For me, it was about just over a week and some other people have mentioned waiting much longer. Is there a way to speed up the process or at least get a realistic time estimate for a particular case? Thanks! (I am contracted by M80, working with them and Microsoft to promote Windows Azure)" - Ethan Bauley

"patio11 wrote: > In the future, I expect it sounds like “Hey, you’ve already got a > computer. Cool. Click once and pay our vendor $50, and BAM > we’ll give you a website with X business software installed on it. > You don’t have to learn anything about programming or system > administration.” This is such a great summary of cloud computing and its benefit for businesses. The subscription-based model as opposed to the one-time purchase of software also makes sense for the end user in many cases. While there are times that it does not make sense, it can often be easier for the customer to make a small payment every month than one large one up-front. Also, new features and bug-fixes can be made available instantly, without the user having to do anything to get them. (I am contracted by M80, working with Microsoft to promote Windows Azure)" - Ethan Bauley

"All good questions, I have no idea. Would be sweet if the fellas involved randomly showed up here to discuss ;-)" - Ethan Bauley

"Nice clarification. Some of the commenters have suggested that instance style equates to IaaS, while fabric style equates to PaaS. From your writeup, I think I would generally agree. However, Amazon’s recent feature-adds, the RDBMS and .NET SDK, are more characteristic of PaaS. Perhaps it is possible to be instance style but maintain characteristics of both. Is Amazon moving in the direction of PaaS or are these features simply a preemptive response to the upcoming release of Microsoft’s Windows Azure Platform (a PaaS and fabric style service)? It will be interesting to see what happens in the industry over the next few years. (I am contracting for M80, working with Microsoft to promote Windows Azure)" - Ethan Bauley

"Ricky, thanks a lot for taking the time to put this together! This is a really great technical writeup on Amazon's cloud computing service. Competition from other companies, such as Google (Google App Engine) and Microsoft (Windows Azure), is only going to further drive cloud computing technology. (Jason - contracted by M80, working with Microsoft to promote the Windows Azure Platform)" - Ethan Bauley

"Interesting that competition is this close, given Amazon's name-recognition. Of course the market will only get tougher as the Google App Engine gains traction and Microsoft releases the Windows Azure Platform (which the author mentions in this article) later this month. It's too bad Napier doesn't mention what Rackspace's market share actually is, other than to say it has "closed the gap" with Amazon. In any case, Amazon's recent moves of offering a RDBMS and .NET SDK in EC2 will likely give it another boost to which Rackspace must respond to." - Ethan Bauley

"Fair enough. I agree that MS will have to offer it for free in order to compete with Google. Even charging $1/year would be a major market disadvantage - at least if the home user is a major part of the target market. However, it doesn't have to hurt the Office group or lead to organizational tension. For a variety of reasons (including a richer feature set, not requiring network access, and the wish to store data only locally), Office will still sell. Even then, if sales of Office decline, there is still profit potential in free software-as-as-service offerings through advertisements (the main revenue stream for most of Google's and Microsoft's online services)." - Ethan Bauley