Google has a new, 360-degree privacy policy. Take that, Facebook. The consolidation of data that creates a unified customer profile across very nearly all of Google's products and services creates a view of the customer that's very, very Facebook in nature. Funny that with all the attention directed to the Facebook IPO lately, so few commentators have made this observation. It's a good idea that has, understandably, creeped users out. The reality and the perception of privacy are miles … [Read more...]
Occupy Wall Street: Disruption & Leaderless Leadership
Part of what's fascinating about working at the Altimeter Group are the back channel conversations we have internally about the meaning and impact of disruptive events (not just technologies). A burning topic of late has been the Occupy Wall Street movement and its many Occupy offshoots throughout the country. Last weekend, in the spirit of inquiry and research, we ventured to the demonstrations in our respective cities. We're interested in issues of leadership, and in how institutions such … [Read more...]
Future of Media: Altimeter Group Pilot Event
Advertising: is it dying? In an ecosystem where rolling your own media has never been easier or cheaper, why would advertisers buy media from publishers to spread their messages? What's the new model: advertorial; advertent (as one attendee dubbed it); content marketing? And hey, aren't ads content, too? Last week, a group of advertisers and marketers from all sides of the equation (tech, buy-side, media and agency) got together at the Hangar to discuss these and other very topical issues … [Read more...]
MLB.TV Blog – MIA
I was tipped off by IDG report Juan Carlos Perez that Major League Baseball had pulled their MLB.TV blog earlier today, after opening day problems for the paid service that broadcasts games in real time. (The service starts at $14.95/month or $79.95/year). You can read the story by Perez at Computerworld. As Perez wrote, the MLB.TV blog had been active for months, with hundreds of comments from MLB.TV subscribers. But now all that remains is a single terse entry. Gone are the posts chronicling … [Read more...]


