You can catch a clip with me on the CBC National Business show talking about Voice-over-IP and what it means. Interestingly enough, this call was done through an Internet phone, using the Vonage service. here, in RealAudio format. [ link ]
VoIP is the Napster of the telecom industry
I had a busy week last week — a full day workshop on e-government, and a board of directors strategy session for a New York state credit union. So this weekend, I decided to stay up at our ski cottage a few extra days to catch up on some work, and to get a few runs in.
I brought along my Voice-over-Internet box from Vonage, plugged it into my high speed Internet connection at our ski cottage — and I’ve got phone service via the Internet … despite the fact I’m sort of in the middle of no-where.
VoIP is the Napster of the telecom industry — it is going to tear apart business models, cause job and career upheaval, increase competition — and generally change everything. Here I am on the shores of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, working away, and I’ve got a New York City telephone number via the Internet. Fascinating.
What took Intel so long?
New York Times: “Intel to Invest $200 Million in Home Media Networking SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 6 – The Intel Corporation said on Tuesday that it planned to invest $200 million in start-up companies that are creating digital home entertainment technology that could eventually reach nearly every American household.”
We’ve been there in this home for almost half a decade or more, with thousands of (bought, converted from CD) MP3’s on a file server in the home, 13,000 digital photos, and a new project digitizing all of our home video. My sons, now 8 and 10, have never really known CD’s — they simply pull music off of a computer in one of many rooms. I’ve often joked that indeed, they think CD’s are from the “olden days.” I’ve been writing articles and articles about this for years.
Why does it take so long for Intel and others to clue in that people want home connectivity? This is *the* big consumer market for the next decade, so it is nice to see them finally *getting it*
My 15th year of working at home
At the end of the work day today — at 4pm — I met my youngest son at school. We then proceeded to go and start flooding our neighborhood rink — and then proceeded to start to build a “bob-sled run” in the backyard. We’ve got a major freeze coming in to eastern North America in the next week, and it’s a great time to make some ice!
While doing this, I realized that 2004 marks the start of the 15th year in which I’ve been working in a home office. That’s a long time. I still get in my 8 or 9 hours a day — and sometimes more. I’ve learned lots of rules about how to successfully do it.
The real benefit is life-balance, particularly in the relationship with my family. After all, it’s a very unique experience — when my first son went to school some years back, we had to explain to him that most mommies and daddies went out to work every day! He thought that was weird — because in his mind, every mommy and daddy worked at home! He’d never known anything different… (my wife has been working with me at home for 9 of these years)
15 years. That’s a long time. But it has been worth every single minute.
Here’s to the next 15!!!
Other issues and predictions for 2004 and beyond
An association newsletter has just published, for their executives, my article outlining some of the issues and trends that will affect them in 2004 and beyond. While the article is written from an association perspective, the trends are general enough that they should cause food for thought for everyone.
Examples of some of the issues the articles covers include these observations:
“The most pressing issue for your members through the next decade will result from the increasing pace of retirement within their organizations. As this happens, important knowledge will simply walk out the door, and your members must start preparing for this eventuality.”
“Many organizations are now witnessing slower rates of membership growth among younger people, as well as less member involvement by those under the age of 30. Issues of member attraction and relevance are increasingly becoming front and centre as a new generation takes on a greater role in the workforce.”
Read it here
Predictions for 2004 and beyond
I’ve put together two documents that outline my thoughts as to the things we should be thinking about for the coming year; the first is a general list of trends and issues; the second is from an article I wrote for senior executives of associations, on the issues that they must manage on behalf of their members.
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