Innovation Agents: Jeff Dachis, Founder, Dachis Group

In the 1990s, Jeff Dachis started the interactive marketing and design agency Razorfish on the simple premise that,“everything that can be digital, will be.” Then around 2007, with Web 2.0 on the rise, a new idea began bubbling up: everything that can be social, will be. And just like that, Dachis was on to his next big thing.

In 2008, Dachis scored $50 million from Texas-based Austin Ventures to foundDachis Group. Late last year Dachis sewed up the market by acquiring Powered, Archrival and Stuzo. And last week, the company snagged another $30 million in funding. It’s currently the world’s largest social business consultancy with clients such as American Express, Coca Cola, P&G and Samsung. It's been quite a third act for Dachis.

Razorfish, which grew from a two-person Web shop to a bustling 2,200-employee enterprise with $250 million in revenues, was once worth more than $5 billion. After losing a bundle in the dot-com bust, Dachis tried his hand at several other start-ups including Studio Holdings, an investment portfolio management firm; and the digital media design firm Bond Art& Science. 

He was also known for his arrogant swagger, which was on display for anyone whowatched 60 Minutes. But Dachis has mellowed since then. Indeed, he sounds positively down-to-earth, peppering his observations with healthy dose of self-deprecation. Living in Austin will do that to you.

At 44, Dachis notes that when he was coming of age there was no such thing as multimedia."The entertainment and communications business was so fragmented. I didn’t know what to do, but I knew I wanted to do in that space,"he says. So he tried it all: acting, singing, deejaying, dancing (yes, he studied ballet, and yes, he even holds a bachelor’s degree in dance) with varying degrees of success."I pretty much sucked at all of them,"he laughs,"but it exposed me to every facet." 

When digital media emerged in the early '90s, Dachis honed in right away, starting and growing the Razorfish agency out of his one-bedroom apartment in New York City alongsideMIT Media Lab alum Craig Kanarick. In just two years, the company rose to giddy billion dollar heights then, sank to seven figures.

As he witnessed the evolution social media, or what Dachis refers to as“the democratization of the tools of self expression,” he began to see a new way forward. Never again would a business have to spend millions on one-way advertising, rely solely on SEO to drive e-commerce, or worse, not be able to scale via word-of-mouth. Web 2.0 ushered in the age of connecting, communicating, participating and engaging. 

"For the first time in history, businesses have the ability to do this in meaningful, authentic, and transparent way. It’s more powerful than the first digital revolution,"Dachis emphasizes.“We call it social business now. Soon it will be just business.”

Amid this rise of social-business-as-usual, VCs and angels are funding social start-ups at rates reminiscent of the first bubble. Even the investor feeding-frenzy surrounding Facebook’s potential IPO has Dachis non-plussed. Instead he says,"We believe this opportunity is real, regardless of the frenzy. Businesses will need this service and we are building a solid platform."

If anything, surviving and thriving after the first burst has given Dachis cautious optimism tempered with experience."I think the future’s bright. We are not immune to severe economic downturn, but businesses can be more effective and efficient with {social} communication."

So what’s next? Dachis confesses it’s always challenging to stay true to himself."The things that keep me up at night are when I sense that it’s possible that I may be drifting."Other than that, he says he doesn’t know yet."A lot of people ask, 'Jeff, what’s your exit strategy?' And I say I’m not trying to exit. I want to win this one."

This interview is part of a series about the paths that innovators took to get where they are today.See moreInnovation Agents.

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Google CEO Shakeup: Larry Page to Replace Eric Schmidt on April 4

No, it's not an early April Fools' day prank. Come April 4, Google CEO Eric Schmidt will be replaced by co-founder Larry Page. The announcement arrived only minutes before the search giant's first earnings call of 2011--and certainly, the executive shakeup had nothing to do with earnings.

"We've had a very strong quarter,"began Schmidt, highlighting the company's revenues of $8.44 billion, up 26% year-over-year.

Schmidt has been Google's CEO for a decade, and will now take over as executive chairman.

Page joined Schmidt on the earnings call to clarify their new roles. Schmidt explained that he'll now be dealing with more strategic and external issues, and focusing less on internal operations: customers, partners, government communication, etc. Page will now be in charge of day-to-day operations at Google, and told investors that he's studied closely under Schmidt for the last ten years.

"I believe Larry is ready,"Schmidt seconded."It's time for him to have a shot at running {Google}."

Schmidt added that the new roles will help streamline how decisions are made at Google.

"Larry, Sergey, and I spent a lot of time talking about how to run everything. After a long series of conversations, we decided to make some changes in the way we are structured and the way we operate things,"he said."Historically, we've always been running the decisions together, and ultimately, it adds delay."

The two were careful to frame the shakeup as a positive transition. Page congratulated Schmidt on his new role, and it was said Schmidt will be"elevated"to his new position."How can we run the company even better?"Schmidt said."We think this will produce even better results."

We'll have more for you soon, but in the meantime, here's Schmidt in hisown words.

When I joined Google in 2001 I never imagined—even in my wildest dreams—that we would get as far, as fast as we have today. Search has quite literally changed people’s lives—increasing the collective sum of the world’s knowledge and revolutionizing advertising in the process. And our emerging businesses—display, Android, YouTube and Chrome—are on fire. Of course, like any successful organization we’ve had our fair share of good luck, but the entire team—now over 24,000 Googlers globally—deserves most of the credit.

And as our results today show, theoutlook is bright. But as Google has grown, managing the business has become more complicated. So Larry, Sergey and I have been talking for a long time about how best to simplify our management structure and speed up decision making—and over the holidays we decided now was the right moment to make some changes to the way we are structured.

For the last 10 years, we have all been equally involved in making decisions. This triumvirate approach has real benefits in terms of shared wisdom, and we will continue to discuss the big decisions among the three of us. But we have also agreed to clarify our individual roles so there’s clear responsibility and accountability at the top of the company.

Larry will now lead product development and technology strategy, his greatest strengths, and starting from April 4 he will take charge of our day-to-day operations as Google’s Chief Executive Officer. In this new role I know he will merge Google’s technology and business vision brilliantly. I am enormously proud of my last decade as CEO, and I am certain that the next 10 years under Larry will be even better! Larry, in my clear opinion, is ready to lead.

Sergey has decided to devote his time and energy to strategic projects, in particular working on new products. His title will be Co-Founder. He’s an innovator and entrepreneur to the core, and this role suits him perfectly.

As Executive Chairman, I will focus wherever I can add the greatest value: externally, on the deals, partnerships, customers and broader business relationships, government outreach and technology thought leadership that are increasingly important given Google’s global reach; and internally as an advisor to Larry and Sergey.

We are confident that this focus will serve Google and our users well in the future. Larry, Sergey and I have worked exceptionally closely together for over a decade—and we anticipate working together for a long time to come. As friends, co-workers and computer scientists we have a lot in common, most important of all a profound belief in the potential for technology to make the world a better place. We love Google—our people, our products and most of all the opportunity we have to improve the lives of millions of people around the world.

Follow Austin Carr onTwitter.

{Image byWorld Economic Forum}

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Innovation Uncensored 2011: The CEOs of Hulu and OWN Are Coming, Will You Be There?

At last year'sInnovation Uncensoredevent, former Facebook president Sean Parker explainedwhy MySpace should have beaten Facebook, ad man Alex Bogusky explained why you shouldstop learning from failures, Expert Labs' Anil Dash showed howdigital tools are transforming government, and Nike CEO Mark Parker told a story aboutthe advice he got from Apple's Steve Jobs. We've justannounced the lineupfor Innovation Uncensored 2011, and it's guaranteed to yield the same kind of unexpected insight. It includes Hulu CEO Jason Kilar, Oprah Winfrey Network CEO Christina Norman, Pepsi CMO Jill Beraud, and Students First founder and CEO Michelle Rhee.

The event takes places April 28 in New York City. You know how this part works: Register before March 4th fora discounted price. As in the past, the size of the event is limited because we want all the innovators in the room to have direct access to one another and foster inspiration.

You can find out more about the event at theInnovation Uncensored 2011 website. See you there.

 

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Netflix Now Boasts More Subscribers Than Showtime, Starz, HBO Next?

One of Netflix CEO Reed Hastings' favorite films isGloomy Sunday, a dark and melancholic movie about the fragility of life and love, set in 1930s Budapest. But at Netflix headquarters in sunny Los Gatos, California, on Wednesday, the atmosphere and mood was anything but gloomy and depressed.

The streaming company trumped Wall Street fears, with quarterly profit rising 52% to $47.1 million, and revenue increasing by 34% to $595.9 million. Most impressively, Netflix added 3.1 million subscriptions during the quarter, and boasts more than 20 million subscribers--more than the total subscribers of premium channels Starz and Showtime, whichhave17.3 million and 18.2 million subscribers, respectively.

Is HBO next on Netflix's radar?

The streaming and DVD-by-mail service estimates it will expand to as many as 22.8 million subscribers in the coming quarter, a possible uptick of 14%. Meanwhile, the subscriber base for HBO, which ended its last quarter with 28.55 million subscribers,fell to its lowest levelsin four years, and dropped 1.9% from the last quarter.

To catch up with HBO, Netflix will need to re-double its efforts toward expanding content. The company has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on content deals withEpix,Relativity Media,ABC, Disney, and isreportedly droppingas much as $100,000 per episode of primetime TV.

With licensed content cutting so much into its bottom line, is it time Netflix begins producing its own content?

That was the question posed to Hastings in an earnings call Wednesday, when an investor wondered whether Netflix had any interest in acquiring an equity interest in a studio or possibly starting its own.

It's not uncommon for premium services to produce their own content--at least on traditional television. Big hits on HBO and Showtime such asTrue BloodandCalifornicationhave help drive up subscriptions.

In the digital world, such expensive original content is far from common--though Hulu has beguntesting these waters--and Hastings was clear that Netflix had no interest in making the transition.

"Generally, I'm a believer in circle of competence,"he told investors."When we start taking creative risks--that is, reading a script and guessing who might be good to cast in it--it's not something that, fundamentally as a tech company or a company run by a tech CEO like myself, we're likely to build a distinctive organizational competence in."

So even though Hastings might have an eye for critically acclaimed films likeGloomy Sunday, it's safe to say Netflix won't soon be producing even gloomier shows likeSix Feet UnderorDexter.

"We think that we're better off letting other people take creative risks, and get the rewards,"he said.

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iFive: Google Versus Groupon, iPad 2 in April, Digital Music Sales Slow, 3-D TV and Health, TV Sharing's Anti-Social Angle

1. Is Google shoe-horning its way into another market? The Internets arealive with newsthat it's about to launch a rival to Groupon, dubbed"Offers."It's testing a"pre-paid offers/vouchers program"and is busy enrolling small businesses already. Since Groupon famously turned down an acquisition offer from Google last year, is this a case of"If you can't join 'em, beat 'em"?

2. The scuttlebutt about Apple's upcoming iPad revision suggested it would arrive earlier than we'd thought, butnew sourcesinside the supply chain suggest mass-shipments will happen in April. This places its arrival at around the same time as the original device in 2010. Speculation will now center on the international roll-out, which was delayed and stuttering due to supply versus demand problems.

3. Digitalmusic sales grew just 6% in 2010, versus 9% in 2009 and 30% in 2008, according to new data from IFPI. This news has commenters in a tizzy as they worry that piracy is squashing legitimate MP3 sales, which could easily give RIAA a boost in its lobbying campaign to tighten piracy laws. But does the statistic merely reflect the rapid maturing of an industry that's seen unrealistic growth over recent years?

4. Are3-D films bad for your health? The latest new technology/heath worry is that watching 3-D movies in the theater or on your brand new 3-D HDTV can cause a variety of conditions from headaches all the way through to nausea, cramps and convulsions. Medical experts working for TV companies and independent observers disagree.

5. One trend being pushed by TV networks is social media sharing via interactive services on, most prominently, web-connected TVs. Butnew datafrom one firm inside this market suggests that only 25% of consumers are interested in sharing their TV viewing habits with others--not a statistic that'll please PR and marketing experts inside the networks.

To read more news on this, and similar stuff, keep up with my updates by following me,Kit Eaton, on Twitter.

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China and India Lack"Software" and the Decline of American Competitiveness Is Overstated

Everyone these days seems to be talking about therise of Asia over the Westand thedecline of America's competitiveness. Few people would probably use the words"hardware"and"software"in those conversations. Adam Segal of the Council of Foreign Relations, however, has a new framework for thinking about theEast-West innovation competition--which he details in his recently-released book,Advantage: How American Innovation Can Overcome the Asian Challenge--and it indeed involves a discussion of software and hardware.

While other scholars and practitioners focus on"hardware"achievements, such as number of patents and scientific publications, Segal says that the"software"of the rising countries of China and India is actually under-developed and is where the United States has a competitive role to play. Software, in Segal's book, is a metaphor that refers to social capital, connectedness and collaborations between governments, institutions and universities. It touches cross-cultural alumni networks and the high numbers of Indian and Chinese students who were educated in the United States.

"The Chinese and Indians are actually envious of the connections we have in place in the United States,"Segal tellsFast Company. In his research, Segal spent extensive time on the ground interviewing people in China and India about their feelings toward the global innovation race.

"When you talk to people in China they talk about the true barriers for innovation,"says Segal."Some patents have nothing to do with breakthroughs. China's published papers are on the rise, but they're not cited globally. And there's lots of reports coming out about China's plagiarism."

Segal says the important aspects of"software"to focus on are"social capital, tolerance for risk, willingness to leave jobs, ability to criticize superiors, the regulatory environments."

People often ask about the numbers of engineers in a country. But,"I don't think that's the right debate to have,"says Segal."The question is more--what skills do those engineers have? Do they have interdisciplinary training?"

Segal cites the examples of Austin, Texas, and Silicon Valley as having interdisciplinary networks of collaboration and the strength of those networks is what makes the United States more competitive than some may realize. And it's that strength that is making our competitors envious.

"This is a re-framing. It's often framed that the rise of China and India is a threat to the United States, but the U.S. is well positioned to take advantage of this. It's not a game or a battle. This is going to create lots of opportunities."

Follow me, Jenara Nerenberg, onTwitter.

{Image credit: Matt Richman}

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8 Potential Replacements for Steve Jobs at Apple

The tech world's getting used to the idea Steve Jobs isabsentfrom Apple again, for medical reasons. We think he'll be back soon. But one day hewon't come back, and who might fill the big chair then?

For the time being Tim Cook is in control at Apple, as he has been every time Steve Jobs has had to take time to tackle his health issues. Cook's time in the role has, self-evidently, been highly successful, and many commenters are tipping him to be Steve's eventual successor--with these stand-in periods acting as a carefully managed succession plan. But is Tim really the guy for the job, given that Steve is still active as CEO in the background, and all big decisions are still cycling through him? Could someone else from inside Apple be a better fit, or is there someone working elsewhere we can imagine as the next Apple CEO?

Tim Cook

CurrentlyApple COO, repeat stand-in for Steve Jobs. Demanding, keen-minded, unemotional. A science and business scholar, previously at Compaq and 12 years at IBM where he managed product and manufacturing inventories and chains. He's credited with making Apple's products stream reliably from their eastern manufacturing homes to their end users, and hot-tipped to replace Jobs by many. Recently introduced the high-profile Verizon iPhone.Once said:"Replace Steve? No, he's irreplaceable. That's something people have to get over."

Odds for replacing Steve: Long, long, long. A good temporary replacement, but lacks dynamism and creative vision.

Jonathan Ive

CurrentlySenior VP of Industrial Designat Apple. Highly regarded, award-winning brains behind nearly all of Apple's iconic computing and mobile products since 1996--starting withthe industry-startling original candy-color iMac, and recently refining the aluminum unibody designs that are now a design reference point. A highly accomplished presenter and speaker, he's known as aperfectionistandthinksfocus groups are a symptom of corporate"creative bankruptcy."

Odds for replacing Steve: Medium-long, as though he's a super-hot property in the design field, and some of his philosophy aligns with Jobs', he lacks the industrial and technical training to replace his boss. He could be a powerful co-chair, though.

Phil Schiller

CurrentlySenior VP of Worldwide Product Marketingat Apple. A 20-year Apple veteran, in different marketing management roles, he's credited with some of the smart moves that placed iMac, iPods, and iPhones as the chic devices to own in the public's eye. He often speaks at Jobs-led keynote speeches, and has led a keynote or two of his own to introduce new products.Not regardedas a business tiger, he doesTwitter, and hasspokenclearly about what makes Apple products unique:"We want things to be beautiful, surprising to see, but they also have to be functional. One without the other doesn't make any sense."

Odds for replacing Steve: Medium. He has definite genius in marketing, and shares much of Jobs' product vision. But he doesn't have a dynamic public presence, and some see him as a bad CEO--probably better suited at staying where he is, to support any future new CEO and ensure consistency.

Scott Forstall

CurrentlySenior VP iPhone Softwareat Apple. Forstall is responsible for some of the key decisions behind Apple's OS X and its Aqua interface, and led the release of OS X Snow Leopard. A computer scientist by training, and formerly an employee of Jobs' NeXT computer firm, Forstall reports directly to Jobs and is credited with the successful industry-defining iOS interface of the iPhone and iPad. He's a smooth public speaker and has notableattention to detail:"I actually have a photographer's loupe that I use to make sure every pixel is right"

Odds for replacing Steve: Good.Forbescalled him a name you"need to know in 2011,"and he's young, possesses the right kind of technical knowledge and dynamism, and has become an increasingly important figure in key Apple product decisions.

Eric Schmidt

CurrentlyExecutive Chairman of Google, formerly CEO. Educated in electrical engineering, he has a PhD and taught at Stanford Business School as a part-time professor. Joined Google in 2001, swiftly adopted the CEO role as a business-savvy figurehead in place to manage the tech-minded, but less business-savvy Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Hestepped asidefrom this role in 2011, and will now advise CEO Page from a board level. Schmidt served on Apple's board from 2006 to 2009, but left due to conflict of interests with Google. A slick public speaker, Schmidt is however famous for making oral slip-ups that damaged Google's reputation,including"We know where you’ve been. We can more or less know what you’re thinking about.

Odds for replacing Steve:Medium. He has stepped back from the hot seat at Google, and could easily depart its board which could resolve some conflicts of interest with Apple. He is highly business-minded, technically educated, but lacks Jobs' slickness and (possibly) creative vision. Would he do it, though?

Image viaFlickr.

Tony Fadell

Currently retired, retained as a"special advisor"to Steve Jobs at Apple. Fadell is a computer science engineer, formerly CEO of Constructive Instruments and employee at Apple spin-off General Magic and Philips. Joined Apple in 2001 as a contractor advising on iPod design, then was quickly hired to its iPod and Special Projects group, a group he ran as SVP from 2006 after Jon Rubenstein's departure.Retired in 2008, at the same time as his wife Danielle Lambert (VP of HR at Apple) to concentrate on his family. On retiring he noted"I’m determined to tell my kids and grandkids amazing stories beyond my iPod and iPhone ones."

Odds for replacing Steve: Unknown. He made a bold decision to spend time with his family, but retained a key role advising his former boss Jobs. He has the right technical skills and creative imagination and is certainly trusted by Jobs, but could he be tempted back for a couple of years for the right eight-figure salary?

Mark Papermaster

CurrentlyVP in Engineeringat Cisco Systems. He is educated in electronics and worked at IBM for 26 years, including senior roles in the PowerPC chip project--the chips that, at the time, powered Apple's computer lineup. Highly regarded in the industry, Apple tried to recruit him in 2007, but didn't find him a fit for the role in question. After Fadell left, Papermaster was recruited in late 2008 to help integrate Apple's recent chip design acquisitions. A controversial battle with IBM occurred, concerning Papermaster's intense inside knowledge of IBM's tech, and though this was resolved he left Apple in late 2010 due to the iPhone 4antenna woesand broader"cultural"differences.

Odds for replacing Steve: It's very unlikely to happen. Unless Apple's Board decides Papermaster's technical expertise and dynamism are crucial to develop the internally produced chips that Apple is increasingly relying on for its signature products. A possible co-CEO?

Peter Skillman

CurrentlyVP of Meego Ux and Services Designat Nokia. Skillman has an MSME in Product Design from Stanford, but is most famously known as the man behind Palm's revolutionary Pre phone--the last-ditch effort by Palm to remain relevant in a post-iPhone world. He left his VP of User Experience role Palm after its acquisition by HP and joined Nokia in late 2010.Speaking abouthis area of expertise since joining Nokia, Skillman noted"Design is just 5% of a world class product and experience. Marketing, sales, distribution, {and} procurement is what makes up the other 95%."

Odds for replacing Steve: Long in the short term, good in the future. Skillman certainly has the right criteria for the Apple CEO role, understanding technical matters, design principles, marketing roles and management issues. He's unlikely to leave Nokia soon, and who knows if he'd be tempted to join Apple, but he's the right stuff.

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Emerging Markets Have Emerged: Next Stop for Some Companies the Global Fortune 500?

The world's emerging economies are no longer simply"emerging"--they are rapidly growing. In some case, in fact, they have arrived.

South Africa is to launch its owninternational aid agency, the economy of the continent of Africa is expected togrow at a rate of 5% this year, and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) hasnamed companies in over 16 countries, including Egypt, Thailand, Chile, and Malaysia, that are now deemed"Global Challengers"because of their innovations that are re-shaping global industries.

While Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) get most of the attention as far as emerging economies, some of the world's less heralded countries are beginning to make their mark.

South Africa was just tapped to join BRIC (hence, BRICS) and is now launching itsown aid agencyin the early half of this year to help support the growth and stability of other African nations.

"South Africa is in a unique position,"Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba, Director-General of the South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation, told IRIN."We're recipients of development assistance, and we're anxious that that status be preserved. At the same time ... we're in the African continent and in that context we occupy a relatively privileged position. Aid is not just about reducing poverty, it's a very strategic investment."

Africa's economy, as mentioned, is projected to grow 5% this year, compared to 4.7% last year, and 2.9% in 2009. Africa's economy appears to be inextricably linked to Asia's--the UN, asReutersnoted recently, has said that:"The recovery of global trade and the strong economic rebound in East Asia is supported by a strong rebound in Africa's commodity exports."

That piece added:"Increased government spending on infrastructure, strong performance of the agricultural sector and new inflows of foreign investments in extractive industries underpinned strong growth in domestic demand." UgandaandZambia, in particular, are helping drive that growth.

And BCG has also taken note of these trends--according to theirlatest report, companies in countries such as Indonesia, Argentina, India and China"have been the hidden engines of the global economy."

"Within the next five years, about 50 of the global challengers could qualify for inclusion in the Fortune Global 500,"the report notes.

The reach of China's construction enterprises, for example, is no surprise, but the report highlights that the China State Construction Engineering Corporation already has a significant presence in the U.S., the UAE, India and North Africa--a fact that further reinforces the growing global role of entities from the world's emerging economies and their border-hopping activity, such asSouth Africa's collaboration with India on innovative vaccine research.

As for Egypt, the El Sewedy Electric company is pioneering wind and renewable energy in the Middle East and North Africa. In India, where thepharmaceutical industry is a primary supplier of life-saving drugs to other developing countries, the country's Lupin Pharmaceuticals reported $1 billion in revenues in 2010.

Taken together, this recent news makes it clear that the world's political, power and innovation dynamics are shifting--who knows, perhaps the United States' debt to China will one day be converted to "international aid."

Follow me, Jenara Nerenberg, onTwitter.

{Image: flickr usercrcollins}

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The Australian Open

How much are those grand-slam groupies worth? Depends on location. The U.S. Open, in New York, serves up about $420 million in economic impact, counting 720,000 spectators. But last year, Melbourne hosted 600,000 and generated just $110 million. The city is shoring up its game with a new $363 million redevelopment of Melbourne Park to create friendlier common spaces, enhance transit access, and increase seat capacity. In exchange, Melbourne is the guaranteed host through 2036, by which point the tournament is expected to draw a million free-spending spectators each year.-- Clay Dillow

Mon, January 17
Tally
The Australian Open

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Is Apple to Blame for Delay of Murdoch's iPad"Daily" Launch?

The release of Rupert Murdoch's iPad newspaper,"The Daily,"has been pushed back a few weeks,accordingto All Things Digital's Peter Kafka. The publication had been set to debut at an event at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art next Wednesday. (Steve Jobs was going to be there!) Though the delay is being called a"joint decision"by Apple and News Corp., it would appear that the hold-up is really on Apple's end, as it develops a new iTunes subscriptions feature that would"push"the app's new edition to subscribers each day.

Publishers have been clamoring for a subscriptions feature in iTunes for months. Back in July, for instance, there was a bit of aspatbetween Time Inc. and Apple, with the former lobbying the latter for control over the sale and management of subscriptions for its iPad apps. Subscriptions are appealing to publishers for a number of reasons: A subscription assures a regular revenue stream, but it also cuts out the middleman (Apple) to a certain extent, giving the publisher access to subscriber data--which is essential when trying to sell ads.

Questions fromTime'sFAQonline about its app read like a series of disappointments. (Aphenomenonwith which we are familiar.)

Does the app update with a new issue each week?

The app does not update with a new issue each week. You must purchase a new issue within the app for each new issue.

Can I buy a subscription to TIME magazine on the iPad?

Currently we are offering the iPad edition of TIME magazine for sale on an issue-by-issue basis. We plan to add the option to subscribe in the coming months.

Will the magazine content update with the new issue on the app every week?

No. For now, users can purchase and download new issues within the app each week.

News Corp., however, has always had something of a slightly special relationship with Apple--theWall Street Journalapp was one of just a few that, in the past, were allowed to bill customers directly--so it's unsurprising that Murdoch'sDailywould be one of the first to offer a breakthrough subscription edition.

The real question here, though, is what happens when there is yet another gate for editorial content to cross before reaching readers? Steve Jobs is known to rule his app store with something of an iron fist, and iPad magazine issues, if they contain any new technological bells and whistles, reportedly can be subjected to weeks of languishing in an approval process. BecauseThe Dailyis, um, a daily, it presumably won't have to jump through such hurdles. But what if the Jobs-Murdoch collaboration sours at any point? Does it make sense for a tech CEO to be the final gatekeeper for a news publication?

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10th Anniversary of Wikipedia

The edits made to the Wikipedia entry for the Iraq War can fill 7,000 pages -- and they do, in this fall'sThe Iraq War: A Historiography of Wikipedia Changelogs.(We appreciate the simplicity of the edit"Saddam Hussein was a dickhead.") But as the encyclopedia rounds its first decade, it's beefing up its veracity with the Public Policy Initiative, in which college students write fully vetted entries."Our courses are rigorous,"says Rochelle Davis, whose Georgetown public-policy students will produce entries."They do all the research, and then the work is for Wikipedia."Smart, indeed.-- Margaret Rhodes

Sat, January 15
Fact-Check
10th Anniversary of Wikipedia

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iFive: Intel's Record Income, IBM's Jeopardy Game, Wikipedia Too Tricky, Stephen Fry's First Startup, Virgin Kills Unlimited Net

1.Intel'srevealed its earnings, and the results are so good they've even beaten analyst expectations. In a record quarter, and year, for the big chip maker, the big news was a 24% year-on-year rise in revenue to $43.6 billion, and a net income of $11.7 billion--up 167% on the same figure for 2009. It's a sign of strong growth in the computing sector, which still relies on Intel silicon for the greater part, and offsets some of the worries that the largely ARM-driven smartphone and tablet markets are hurting Intel.

2. In a practice round of man-machine Jeopardy, IBM's smart supercomputer Watsonhas trouncedits two human competitors--both ace Jeopardy players. The actual competition show is being taped today, but it's not looking good for the flesh and blood players, as at the end of the practice round IBM's machine was 30% ahead in prize money.

3. Speaking on the tenth anniversary of Wikipedia, the amazing online encyclopedia he co-created, CEO Jimmy Waleshas identifiedwhat he thinks is the site's biggest flaw, and it's a surprising one: Though it's championed as the people's encyclopedia, open for editing by anyone, Wales thinks it's far too hard for people to actually do this.

4. One of Twitter's biggest celebrity users, Stephen Fry, hasjust backedhis first ever tech startup company, Pushnote. It's a novel venture to make online commenting on a diversity of sites much easier, through an interactive browser bar that, to some extent, supersedes a particular site's commenting systems. Unusually there's no monetization plan, with the intention being to deliver a valuable service and making communities.

5. In another sign that the mobile Net market is developing faster than its facilitators (network carriers) would like, Virgin Mobile isslashingits unlimited tariff and replacing it with a 5GB ceiling for fast traffic, and a heavily throttled speed limit after this limit. This makes rumors that Verizon is bringing an unlimited tariff to its upcoming iPhone all the more unusual.

To read more news on this, and similar stuff, keep up with my updates by following me,Kit Eaton, on Twitter.

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Government Takes on Google, Plans to Challenge $700 Million Acquisition of ITA

Google's planned $700 million acquisition of travel technology firm ITA Software may have just hit a roadblock. According to reports, officials at the US Justice Deparment are preparing to challenge the deal, which has caused a endless protests from a number of Google competitors.

Sources toldBloombergThursday that US regulators are prepping for a possible anti-trust lawsuit against Google. Why won't the government let the search giant purchase ITA?

Consumer watchdogs and Google competitors have had a fit over the rumored acquisition. ITA provides software to allow consumers to search for airfares and flight times. Many sites, from Microsoft Bing to Kayak, use ITA's technology. If Google were allowed to buy ITA, it could give the company an unfair advantage in the travel search business.

"In our view, Google's proposed acquisition of ITA presents a serious threat of harm to competition and consumers,"Tom Barnett, counsel to Expedia, tellsFast Company."Combining Google's online search dominance with ITA's flight search dominance would position Google to undermine competition across the online travel search industry."

Interestingly, Barnett is a former assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's antitrust division. Along with Kayak and Bing, Barnett and Expedia are members of fairsearch.org, a consumer advocy group that has pushed hard against the acquisition.

Google has defended the acquisition in thesame manner it has before, and has said it will not take advantage of its power in the market.

“While we continue to cooperate with the Justice Department’s review, we are ultimately confident that this acquisition will increase competition,” a spokesperson told Bloomberg in an email.

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Buffett-Backed BYD Is Finally Bringing Electric Vehicles to the U.S.

We've hadour doubtsabout BYD Auto. The Warren Buffett-backed Chinese electric vehicle maker has thus far failed to bring any EVs to the U.S. market, despite constant promises to the contrary--and three prior appearances at the Detroit Auto Show that have failed to produce anything commercially available in North America. Now it finally looks like BYD is serious about bringing EVs to the U.S.

BYD's five-seat e6 crossover, unveiled at this week's Detroit Auto Show, comes with a 160-kilowatt motor, a range of 200 miles, and a 60-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. The vehicle is expected to retail for $42,000 when it is released. That's significantly more expensive than Nissan's electric Leaf, which retails for $32,780.

That's not all BYD is promising. The automaker also debuted the S6DM, a gasoline electric hybrid that BYD says is the"first independent 4WD dual-mode electric SUV". The S6DM purportedly squeezes out 38 miles  on electric power and over 310 miles combined with the gas-powered engine.

BYD also showed off the F3DM, a previously unveiled plug-in hybrid sedan, at the auto show. The vehicle is modeled on the gas-powered BYD F3 sedan, which is very popular in China.

And here's the kicker: BYD claims that all three vehicles will be released in 2012, though the company doesn't yet know what order the vehicles will debut.

If BYD fails to deliver on its promises, it may lose what little faith it has from auto industry insiders. We noticed that the BYD stand was one of the least popular during busy times at the Detroit Auto Show on Monday/ That doesn't bode well for the company, which is only the first Chinese automaker to attempt to sell vehicles in the ultra-competitive U.S. market.

Read more coverage of the 2011 Detroit Auto Show.

Ariel Schwartz can be reached onTwitteror byemail.

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Why Ford Chose the C-Max As its First Plug-In Hybrid

Ford announced at this week's Detroit Auto Show that the 2012 C-Max, a five-passenger minivan, will be the company's first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, as well as the first plug-in minivan from a major automaker. At first glance, it's a strange choice for the company's first plug-in. The seven-passenger C-Max has been available in Europe since 2003, but the name is virtually unknown in the United States--Ford didn't think the U.S. was ready for a compact minivan until recently. Now the vehicle is coming to the U.S. in 2012 in three flavors--a combustion engine-powered version, a hybrid, and a plug-in hybrid.

Ford chose the C-Max as its first plug-in hybrid because it wants to make a statement about how the company moves forward with its electrification offerings, explains John Davis, chief engineer for the C-Max."There's a blend between functional capabilities and fuel-efficiency,"he says."The C-Max brings forth multi-activity vehicle capability without going as large as other vehicles, so there is a still great base efficiency."

And as for the jump to the U.S.? Ford finally thinks that Americans want fuel efficiency in their larger vehicles. Much like the recently announcedPrius V,"The C-Max is the sweet spot of a small car that's not too small, and that provides great flexibility,"Davis says.

Toyota hasn't announced any plans for a plug-in version of the Prius V, but chances are high that it will come soon--the company already has plans to debut a plug-in third generation Prius in the near future. Once that happens, the five-seater vehicle will likely provide strong competition for the C-Max.

The C-Max hybrid and C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid both feature impressive fuel economy. The hybrid can travel up to 47 mph in all-electric mode, and the Energi plug-in offers more than 500 miles of overall driving range with the battery and engine. That's more than any other plug-in or extended-range EV.

And while Ford has only formally announced the release of one all-electric vehicle--the Focus--an electric C-MAX isn't out of the question."Clearly we want to see what the broader reaction is to the Focus Electric,"Davis explains."But you can expect a greater percentage of our entire vehicle fleet migrating to being able to offer both electric and plug-in as well as hybrids."

 

Read more coverage of the 2011 Detroit Auto Show.

Ariel Schwartz can be reached onTwitteror byemail.

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The Long, Painful History of Verizon iPhone Rumors

The Verizon iPhone is the Holy Grail of Apple rumors (until Apple comes up with Holy Grail 2). For years, consumers have had their hopes dashed and dreams shattered over ever-reported leaks, reports, analyst predictions, and insider confirmations. It's been a long and painful road for Verizon customers--having to live in envy of AT&T users, with their smirks and superiority and Luke Wilson endorsements--but there could be light at the end of the tunnel. That is, if the rumors are true.

In the past few months, we've seen constant confirmations that the Verizon iPhone is coming in early 2011. There's beensupplier contactsandsources familiar with the matterwho have guaranteed a first quarter release date. There's beenmanufacturer leaksandmedia confirmations. And now we even have official release dates, from Verizon'sspecial announcementon January 11--where theWall Street Journalsaidthe announcment will come--to a possible Apple unveiling on February 3--this last rumor based entirely on when Apple has blacked outemployee vacation requests.

Breathe, guys, just breathe.

There's an extensive and embarrassing history of Verizon iPhone"confirmations."Let's fly back to 2007. It's only months after the device officially went to market, and already ZDNetheralds,"Verizon iPhone WILL be here within a year,"citing a report on Verizon's new technical standards. Rumors continue throughout 2008, but really start blowing up in 2009."Chances high"that Verizon will get iPhone next year,promised one analyst."Verizon iPhone in Q3 2010,"said aresearch firmin November. Verizon iPhone to sell iPhone in 2010, foundUSA Today.

But my personal favorite comes courtesy ofFortune. From the same author, under basically the same headline with basically the same graphic, comes yet even more rumors of the Verizon iPhone coming out in2009--er, scratch that--2010. (Funny enough, the reporter, veteran tech writer Philip Elmer-DeWitt, chose simply to update his 2008 article with 2009's rumors.)

To be clear, this article is absolutely not intended as a knock at any media outlet, whetherFortuneor ZDNet.Fast Companyis just as guilty of perpetuating any of the aforementioned Verizon iPhone rumors--many of the links above are to our own pieces (including--gasp--one of mine!).

The point here is only to recommend that you take these rumors with a grain of salt. If you trusted every analyst prediction and release confirmation, then you'd likely end up with more years of angst and longing than the Tron Guy.

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Konbit's Skill-Indexing Platform for Earthquake Recovery Workers Launches in Haiti

We firstgot windofKonbit, an interactive skill-indexing communications platform for Haitians looking for work, last March when it was announced by MIT students Greg Elliott and Aaron Zinman. The platform allows locals to call an automated service, record their skills, and get jobs from NGOs that want to use local labor to assist in earthquake recovery efforts. Konbit went live in December and over 600 Haitians have since called the service to offer themselves for work.

It's been a long road to launch for Elliott and Zinman. The Konbit prototype was introduced last March in Miami at Konbit for Haiti, an unrelated community center for Haitians, whose members were interested in volunteering for earthquake relief. The 30-person trial proved that the automated service worked, but the MIT students had another problem: getting nonprofits to sign on.

"We spent quite a few months trying to approach NGOs and get them to put a stamp on the project. We kept hearing 'It sounds great, let us know when it's available,'"Zinman says.

So Zinman and Elliott put the finishing touches on Konbit and mounted a PR campaign in Haiti that included voiceover work from a well-known Haitian radio personality. Now that Konbit has messages from hundreds of Haitians, the organization is working with1000 Jobs Haitito translate recordings from Creole into English. This will give Konbit a searchable database of workers for NGOs to peruse.

"The aim is to get as many callers as possible translated in the next couple weeks,"says Elliott."Once that's done, it will be the best time to start approaching NGOs."The service is a finished product--it just needs organizations to step up and take advantage of the local talent it has to offer.

Ariel Schwartz can be reached onTwitteror byemail.

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Tweets Lit Up the New Year's Night

You know that famousNASA photo of the earth lit up at night--the one where you can see that the eastern seaboard is gobbling up electricity like there's no tomorrow while most of sub-Saharan Africa is stuck in darkness?

Twitter created a similar kind of visualization using data about where people were tweeting on New Year's Eve. It's amazing how pouring a bunch of data into a map like this produces a certain sense of kinship with our global brethren, as we watch various parts of the world light up 'round midnight.

According to Twitter, it was at four seconds past the new year in Japan when tweeters set a new record for overall number of tweets-per-second: 6,939. That more than doubled the previous TPS* record--3,283--when Japan beat Denmark in last year's World Cup. Tweeters on the east coast were working their keyboards at such a furious pace on New Year's that their peak rate alone--of 3,000 tweets per second--almost topped the previous all-time high set at the World Cup.

*Perhaps we now know whatthose infamous reportsinOffice Spacewere about.

{Image: Fireworks: Flickr userAmani Hasan}

E.B. Boyd's coordinates:Twitter,email.

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Boehner to Use Facebook to Make Republican Takeover of Congress“Must-See TV”

Congressional swearing-in’s don’t usually garner much attention. A brief mention on the evening news is the most any publicity-hungry pol can hope for (other than endless haggling on audience-light cable news shows). But incoming House Speaker John Boehner (right) is about to change that. Thanks to Facebook, Livestream,and the House of Representatives’ closed circuit television feed, anyone logged in to Facebook at midday today will get to watch the Republicans take over the Congress.

“It’s important to make it easy for people who’ve gotten our huge freshman class here to watch this,” Boehner’s digital media director Nick Schaper tellsFast Company.“A lot of them are activists in social media and online. These are folks who are consuming their news on Facebook--it only makes sense to make it available to them.”

This will be the first time a House swearing in has been broadcast over Facebook. Schaper said the feed wasn’t difficult to arrange. The House of Representatives already has a closed circuit television feed. Schaper’s team will just route that to Livestream and then on to Facebook. And as with any Livestream broadcast, viewers will be able to enter in comments right next to the feed.

The feed will appear on the House Republican Conference’s“Pledge to America” page. (The Pledge to America is the conservative agenda House Republicans launched during last fall's midterm election.) The broadcast will start at noon Eastern Time and will include the vote electing Boehner to Speaker of the House (and all but done deal), the swearing in of representatives, remarks by Boehner, and the introduction of one of the first bills to come out of the Pledge to America agenda. 

Schaper said it made sense to reach out to Republican supporters on Facebook.“Over the last two years, House Republicans have been looking for new ways to reach out and connect with the American people. We want to go where people are at, and they’re on Facebook right now,” he said.

Boehner has previously displayed a certain tech savviness when it comes to grabbing the political spotlight via social media. Not only is the Ohio Republican an avid tweeter. In November, he digi-crashed a White House press conferenceby tweeting a questionabout earmarks to press secretary Robert Gibbs.

{Images: Capitol: Flickr user:cloudsoup. Boehner: Flickr userHouse GOP Leader}

E.B. Boyd's coordinates:Twitter,email.

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After the Skype Ban: China's Changing Online Landscape

China hasbanned Skype, but the country still loves the Internet--the latest numbers reveal that450 millionChinese are online, or a whopping 33.39 percent of the population. InBeijing alone, 11.6 million people use the Internet, which is 66.1 percent of the population.

Business opportunities for domestic and foreign companies are also expanding. PayPalannouncedit's setting up an e-commerce hub in Chongqing. Even local farmers are using the Internet tosell their goodsdomestically.

Microblogging is alsoon the rise--a reported 125.2 million people are now using microblogging services in China.

The Chinese government is joining the bandwagon too. The government has announced that it's putting the entire country's worth of marriage registrations onto anonline databasein an effort to prevent polygamy. Though it's illegal, some Chinese citizens are trying to get away with more than one husband or wife. The online database is meant to keep track of partners, to ensure at least virtual monogamy.

Internet pornography is still wildly popular, as evidenced by the Chinese government'spersistent crackdowns. Last week the government announced that it has shut down over 60,000 porn sites this year, investigated 2,197 criminal cases, punished 4,965, and sentenced 58 offenders to jail.

Despite persistent concerns about hacking, companies like PayPal are charging ahead. Using its new international e-commerce hub, customers will be able to initiate cross-border transactions. An additional four PayPal e-commerce centers are to be set up around China. And Analysys Internationalreportsthat online sales may hit $151 billion for the year.

It would seem that the way forward for foreign companies is through partnerships with local entities, as both PayPal and Skype did. In Skype's case, of course, that was not enough. Skype's carrier, Tom.com, is also a private carrier, and is thus now banned in China after the governmentabruptly announcedthat only the state-run China Unicom and China Telecom are allowed to operate and all other carriers are now illegal.

So as the Internet climate continues to evolve in China, one thing is clear--online business there is still risky. Local partners or not--andhacking protection or not--regulations are unpredictable. Sure, the number of people who use the internet in China is soaring, increasing at a rate of 20% per year, and ultimately that will be an important customer segment to tap into. But proceed with caution.

Related Story:Skype Banned in China in State-Run Carrier Crackdown

Follow me, Jenara Nerenberg, onTwitter.

{Image: Flickr userRobert Scoble}

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No Interruptions Day

The bad news: The average office worker is interrupted -- by coworkers, emails, or phone calls -- every 11 minutes. Even worse is that it takes basically that much time to refocus on the task at hand. On this last business day for 2010, turn off your phone and tell that chatty coworker to buzz off. If he doesn't listen? Sneak around, says Gina Trapani, aFastCompany.comWork Smart blogger and project director at Expert Labs."At a software job years ago, people constantly stopped by to ask questions, and it was impossible to work,"she says."I started booking a conference room for an hour or two. I worked in total peace while the rest of my office mates thought I was in another meeting."Deceptive, yet effective.-- Stephanie Schomer

Fri, December 31
Focus
No Interruptions Day

Have an event to share? Email calendar{at}fastcompany{dot}com
Visit the FC Now Blog or Calendar App for more events.

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How Amazon Mechanical Turk Fails Low-Income Workers, and How It Can Succeed

Amazon Mechanical Turk(MTurk for short), an online marketplace for digital piece-work, is not somewhere you're going to get rich any time soon. Most of its tasks are miniscule, and so are the wages--usually measured in cents. But one of its most intriguing possibilities that it could provide employment for some of the world's poorest people.

However, a study by Microsoft researchers shows that MTurk's user interface is too complicated for those with limited computer literacy to navigate. The researchers also suggest a new, more navigable interface that could fulfill MTurk's promise as a means to elevate the situation of global low-income workers.

Amazon Mechanical Turk is named after an 18th chess-playing machine that actually had a chess player hidden inside (here's thelong story). The idea behind it is that some simple, repetitive tasks--identifying objects in a photo, transcribing audio--are still better executed by a human being. A company that needs large amounts of these tasks done might have to hire legions of local temps, which can quickly become very expensive. MTurk allows companies to outsource these jobs to people willing to perform them at low wages.

Amazon calls these micro-jobs"HITs"(human intelligence tasks), and bills the site as offering"artificial artificial intelligence"--jobs that seem like the automated stuff a computer would normally do, but that are best done by humans. The jobs are, by many standards, fairly mind-numbing--earn $0.02 for copying text from a business card, or earn a penny by taking a brief poll.

But by executing the same task many times, you can rack up a few bucks in a couple of hours. That's hardly chump change if you're living in poverty in an Indian slum. The microtasks posted on MTurk dole out about $2,000 per day, and the idea has been successful enough that at least 50 other companies are said to be developing similar online task marketplaces.

But what the Microsoft researchersfound(PDF) is that MTurk might not be helping the workers who could most use it. The researchers first observed seven low-income workers attempting to use MTurk. They were not uneducated. They had had an average of 11 years of education, and some knowledge of English, though most had been schooled in an Indian language. They had basic IT skills.

But none of them could quite figure out MTurk. The researchers had them try image labeling tasks (putting a bounding box around a human, for example), verifying addresses, and decoding CAPTCHAs (those anti-spammer boxes featuring distorted letters). They struggled with the first, failed at the second, and didn't do so well at the third.

The researchers observed the workers as they plodded along, and decided to design a solution.

The Microsoft interface was much simpler. It used clear, illustrated instructions for each task, which was divided into numbered steps. It cleared out a lot of the visual junk that had distracted the workers, eliminating a complex banner of unrelated links. And it fixed a glitch where hitting the backspace key while outside of a text box reset the entire task.

Finally, the Microsoft team tried out the new design on a fresh 49 participants in two locations in Bangalore. They assigned an image annotation task, hundreds of which are on MTurk at any moment. None of the workers were able to execute a single task correctly with the Amazon interface, but they managed to get it right 66% of the time, on average, with the simplified interface.

The study concludes:"There exist tasks on MTurk for which the primary barrier to low-income workers is not the cognitive load of the work itself; rather, workers are unable to understand and navigate the tasks due to shortcomings in the user interface."

The paper is at once a criticism and praise of MTurk. Given that its interface is so problematic, MTurk's success to date is all the more remarkable. And as soon as MTurk and competing sites take the lessons of the Microsoft team to heart, making their interfaces more intuitive, microtasks could begin to reach a much broader base of low-income workers, elevating conditions abroad and serving more companies in need of"artificial artificial intelligence."

Here's hoping this doesn't just turn MTurk into a more productive spam engine. But that'sanother story.

{Image viaWikipedia}

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