Open Source Technologies

Today I attended a conference on the state of Open Source technology--the Global Open Source Colloquium, sponsored by SD Forum, a Silicon Valley-based organization for technology entrepreneurs, and Microsoft, among other sponsors. From all reports by participants, ranging from industry analysts to venture capitalists to CEOs of open source companies to developers, Open Source is alive and well, especially in this downtrodden economy where price for value is more important than ever. I was excited to hear the CEO, Michael Doyle, of Medsphere talk about using the VA Hospitals' Vista Open Source electronic medical record software to adapt to the greater world of hospitals out there. Combined with the fairly dramatic incentives in the Obama budget for hospitals to get going on the EMR, we may actually be able to see progress soon. I certainly hope so.

The other big success story mentioned numerous times was Sugar CRM, clearly a value-oriented alternative to SalesForce.com and growing at a whopping 20%+ annually, which is basically unheard of in this economy. But folks still need to sell. Something.

The issue has always been: how to make money with Open Source so that reinvestment and growth can occur and so investors will want to put their dollars into the stew. The answer seems to be in hybrid, partial, and mixed Open Source models. Build something proprietary on top, in the middle, or on the side and charge for that. Training, service, and hardware are not the way to go--thin margins and great uncertainty prevail. Outside of the US, revenues are driven by governments' need to cut costs. Standards on everything from contracts to who does what when are still a bit squishy but everyone agreed, creating community is the most important thing about Open Source. Loyal believers can make an app grow and grow fast. The key is looking at that what to do and how to charge as free downloads begin to move up the charts fast. After all, all this work does take $$$s to develop and maintain.

My take away: Many VCs will shut their doors this year. The ones who are left are likely to look at companies differently than they have in the past and hopefully, will abandon the herd mentality and choose ideas on their merits. Open Source technologies, especially creative plays on them, will have a shot at getting funding and growing into what will later be their natural place in the ecosystem.

Happy Neuron Exercises Your Brain

Our team at QUIXIT, Inc. has been busy with the first phase of our plan--adapting Happy Neuron to the US market. Please check out what we have accomplished so far and look for continued changes and additions in the coming weeks and months. Happy Neuron offers workouts for your brain based on scientific research on how to increase your probabilities of being sharp and fit for life. Top European neuroscientists developed these workouts, which cross train an array of key thinking skills, such as memory, concentration, visual and spatial skills, language, and reasoning. There are currently almost 40 tiered exercises.

We at Quixit are determined to get the word out to everyone, and especially to Boomers, that there are very concrete ways to keep our brains healthy and our minds lively. Many of us have watched our parents "retire" both physically and mentally. And we just don't want to go there--and we don't have to. We now accept that physical exercise is crucial for overall fitness; it's time to embrace regular, consistent workouts for our brains, too. Do I sound passionate about what I'm doing? I really am.

We welcome your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions as we move forward on this journey.

technorati: Boomers, brain, brain exercises, Happy Neuron, business, health and wellness

An Outbreak of Blogging: Get the Doctor Fast, Print Magazines and PR Departments

I proudly announced to my dance class today that I had attended the BlogHer Conference over the week-end--800 women bloggers, a beautiful thing to see, etc., etc., still full of enthusiasm for what I had just experienced.

There was a group wrinkled brow and comments:

"I don't know. I don't get the blogging thing."

" I feel like I'm wasting my time when I sit at the computer and read all that stuff."

"A real time-sink."

These are women mostly in their 40s and 50s, who consider themselves with-it. Otherwise, they wouldn't be learning this new dance/exercise technique called NIA. In fact, someone, ironically, actually brought up this "willingness to take risks" and referenced an article they'd read in a magazine about risk-taking (it was in Men's Health!) and proceeded to say how we're all women ready to take risks (a good thing, judging from the directional shaking of heads around the room). They were talking about NIA, not blogging.

"How many of you have read a blog?" I asked. Everyone shoook their heads in the other direction, as in 'No."

"Wow!" was all I could say. Do they think they're just personal journals and boring diaries? I offered to make a list of some good ones so they could taste a pu-pu platter of blogs. We'll see what happens.

CEOs are apparently unaware of blogging, too. As the NY Times pointed out in "All the Internet's a Stage. Why Don't CEOs Use It?" this past week-end. They mentioned Jonathan Schwartz at Sun Microsystems as one of the only CEOs who blogs and who apparently values open communication. Although not mentioned in this article, GM's CEO is another. That's two. TWO??? I note that most CEOs are also in their 40s and 50s. Is this an age thing? Uh-oh. And the train is definitely leaving the station.

This reminds me of CEOs and other executives in the 80s who thought that the computer was only for secretaries and wouldn't be caught dead with one in their offices. We all know what happened to those guys (and they were all guys then).

Don't they realize that the pace of blogging is moving far faster than other technologies and comunication techniques before it? At least geometrically. Incredible that so many leaders are so far behind. I'm wondering: what's happening in business schools re: blogging? I think Debbie Weil will be teaching somewhere big soon.

technorati: blog
technorati: blogging
technorati: business
technorati: friends