Stardust Global Ventures

I read a huge number of newsletters, blogs and other publications. In the past twenty years of my career, I’ve been heavily involved in two aspects of networking technologies – unified communications and security. My security focus isn’t something that will be central here, but it will pop in from time to time.

One of the publications I read religiously is CSO Magazine in both print and online forms. One of the things I also enjoy is getting to read what some of my most respected colleagues around the industry write. Dan Lohrmann is the Chief Information Security Officer for the state of Michigan. We only see each other in person about once a year, and we don’t talk often. But his views and insights always make me think issues through more thoroughly, in part because I find I often disagree with him, at least initially. One of the things I like about Dan is that even when I strongly disagree, I always leave the conversation with a better understanding of his view and the validity of insights that I’d often overlooked. He’s a thorough pro and someone I respect greatly.

In our efforts here at Stardust Global Ventures, Sheryl and I are very focused on social media and networks as business tools. These powerful tools lend access to resources never before available to working adults. They provide a level of connectivity and collaboration that never existed with any earlier tools we used.

This piece by Dan does a really nice job of speaking to some of the potential security risks these tools might pose to business and government users.

Social Networking Security Risks

A string of articles have just been released regarding what most CSOs and security professionals have known for over a year. Namely that visiting social networking sites increases organizational security risks, and sometimes dramatically. Another aspect of the insider threat is growing fast.

Government Technology Magazine just ran a story entitled: Visiting Web 2.0 Sites Increases Organizations’ Security Risks Here’s a description of the problem from their article:

“Social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Craigslist and Wikipedia, as well as Web services such as eBay and Gmail, enable self-publishing and high interaction between users through blogs, RSS feeds, podcasts and other technologies. These sites attract huge numbers of visitors, making them extremely attractive to hackers.

Moreover, the same technologies that invite user participation also make them easier to corrupt with malware such as worms that can shut down corporate networks, or spyware and keystroke loggers that can steal company data. Further, with the ability to post photos, video and audio recordings to sites, employees can inadvertently “leak” confidential company information.”

[Read Dan's full article]

What I want to urge is the need for balance when considering social networking tools and their use within business. Everything we do online comes with some level of risk. Protecting both our personal and business information as an asset is something we must all keep foremost in our minds. There is a level of acceptable risk that we all have to be comfortable with in using networking tools, and social media is no different.

There are benefits, and we’re really just beginning to learn how powerful the benefits of things like presence and availability status can be in business. There are also risks if we use the tools unwisely or the providers of these tools don’t stay on top of the threats to their applications that exists. Threats will continue to grow. There will always be the next new threat.

It’s vital that we keep an open mind and not use security concerns as a stick to beat down the adoption of new technologies like social networking while we stay mindful of the security threats and our need to keep information safe.

Nice piece Dan!

Technorati Tags: Dan Lohrmann, social media, social networking

Shery’ls written a couple of really thoughtful posts here lately about the collision between technology and the wine industry. For us personally, we’ve been seeing this up close in a new way. We’ve both always been very interested in wines, but recently we’ve become directly engaged in conversations with some Washington winemakers.

The collision is becoming an ever larger intersection as we recognize the vital interrelationship between wine and food. Winemakers are among the finest artisans in the world, but even their finest wares can be enhanced or made utterly unpalatable but the food they’re paired with.

Wine, food and technology provide a fascinating intersection to me. Technology in the wine industry is vital today. Computers control room temperatures, fermenting times, and so many aspects of the winemaking process. Yet they truly are a tool and nothing more. I’ve yet to meet a winemaker who will rely solely on computerized tools for the winemaking process. There’s that human element of magic that each winemaker brings to their own wines. It’s an element that computers will never really be able to replicate. And element spawned from the senses of taste and smell,  coupled with experience at how sugars might break down and grape combinations might interact. As we’ve learned, with some grapes, there are annually alternating patterns that remain inexplacable.

I think the art of food preparation remains far more human and less computer driven in any way.

The intersection is the interesting part to me. How does a restauranteer or winemaker differentiate and set themselves apart from competition? One way is to be the absolute best. Word of mouth always spreads about the very finest restaurants. But being the finest also narrows the market. There’s a set of clientele that can’t ever afford or quite fit in the finest places.

I think a broader approach is needed. A larger view. How does the restautanteer and winemaker talk with the community of interest that would be their customer. In today’s society, the web plays a vital role in communication. An advertisement in a phone book was common years ago, but in a geography like western Washington, filled with high tech companies, is the phone book and local paper enough to fill the restaurant and sell the wines?

We’re working on preparing a seminar for some of our friends in the winemaking and restaurant business with an eye to helping them understand how social media tools and networks can enhance their relationships with customers, each other, and build relationships in a new media world. It’s a a fascinating business segment and the people we’ve grown close to have become wonderful friends.

Technorati Tags: winemaking, food, restaurant, wine, social media, Stardust Globla Ventures

I was just forwarded a link to Rich Tehrani’s most recent article, “The Rise of the Splinternet“.

Rich talks about how in the ‘olden days’ people were comfortable with having a website and used it mostly as a portal for their customers. A window to their world, if you will. Today that seems to be old school, and if nothing else, certainly something to consider.

As I was reading this article it occurred to me how small we still think. An immediate example is personal to me. I have a new friend, Doug McCrea, who is a fantastic wine maker. His wines rank in the top 100 worldwide. As a matter of course, Ken and I considered a Facebook application or group in promotion of McCrea Cellars.

In contemplation of such an endeavor I took a look at what Facebook offers. There wasn’t a lot, certainly a few applications specific to wines and/or wine and food, but it did give me something to think about.

First, when considering how to promote a company, or in this case a winemaker/cellar, you need to consider what they already do. Doug participates in dinners that showcase his wines. He also participates in local wine tasting events. This gives an opportunity for feedback with a general audience. The problem is, many people can’t afford the expense of attending such a dinner, and even if they can, the space is limited so in truth only small numbers can actually gain entrance to these events anyway.

Still, many want to learn about great wines, what goes into the process etc., and many are like me. They simply want to ask a few questions. I think they may even want to feel a part of the process. It is possible to have great ideas come out of such collaboratiion. Fresh eyes, fresh tastebuds. I believe the importance of meeting at the consumer level is under rated.

How does this become something to consider using on a site such as Facebook? What good would a Facebook application be? How would a group provide value?

What I think this could do, is personalize Doug and his product while providing a way for a much larger audience to become familiar with his ideas about wine, and also creating some interactive potential.

In todays global market, what makes one product better than another may be as simple as the ability for consumers to ask questions, and further, get answers. Being a presence online has huge benefits, especially if you make yourself accessible. My guess is that McCrea Cellars will take a big step into the world of web marketing. I expect they will be as successful there as anywhere. After all, their wines truly can sell themselves.

As for a ‘Splinternet?. I’ll leave that to Rich Tehrani and the VoIP crowd. I just think the world is shrinking at such an amazing rate and I don’t think we have begun to see where technology will take us.

Technorati Tags: Rich Tehrani, McCrea Cellars, Splinternet, TMCnet, Doug McCrea, Sheryl Breuker

MC Hammer is a name many of us thought synonymous with fame and success, once upon a time. Through some bad choices, Hammer’s fortune wasn’t enough to sustain him or keep him out of bankruptcy.

Now he’s back, he thinks better than ever, and ready to make a ton of money yet again. Of course if you’re rushing to turn a radio on to hear his tunes you’ll be disappointed. MC Hammer is making some changes, and one of them is focusing on his latest passion: Technology.

How does it fit? Have a look. [DanceJam]

When I first came across this story, Rich Tehrani had written about it. His article had me at least reminiscing. Still, more than that I think there is something to be said for the entrepreneurial ability of someone we thought was only a music guru.

What I find most interesting about this is how when we think of music, we do not automatically think of technology. Once again, as I continue to find with many aspects of life, I would be wrong to assume there can be no connection.

What I am discovering on my own journey into this somewhat hard to define realm called technology, is that technology has long arms. It is truly taking over all of our lives and we don’t even realize that it’s happening. I’m ok with that. I signed up for it.

Music is not the last area we’ll discover technology. It’s just the latest connection. I’m excited and wish Stanley Burrell, aka MC Hammer, all the very best in his latest endeavor.

Technorati Tags: MC Hammer, Sheryl Breuker, dancejam, Rich Tehrani, Stanley Burrell

A few days ago Sheryl and I had a chance to sit in with our friend Alec Saunders on something I found really exciting. Alec’s the CEO at iotum, and they’ve been really actively doing some Facebook app development over there. They’ve been doing some very cool things. Free Conference Calls… now with recordings describes the latest from Alec’s view.

The headline gives away the recording ability, but I see it as something much cooler. I see not just the app that exists today, but some huge potential.

The screen above is what we saw on the call. For anyone who’s ever used any of the major conference call services, you know just what a pain they can be. Conferencing is one of the most non-intuitive features in the history of the telecommunications industry. What Alec and the iotum team have done with the iotum FREE Conference Call platform is make it simple and painless, to set up, to manage, and now to record.

Why’s that important? I’ll give you a perspective for Sheryl and I. We do a lot of telephone briefings. Interviews that need to be recorded, because we often turn them into podcasts. And I often use them as reference material for articles I’m writing. Recording a call really makes life easy for note-taking, but it’s imperative for podcast interviews.

If you’ve ever fought the technology to record calls, you know what the challenges are. I’ve used a Marantz digital recorder, but patching it in to a telephone line is often a challenge, impossible with a mobile phone. Skype and Gizmo are easy enough to record, but they’re predicated on either both parties using the same VoIP tool, or a PSTN gateway. The truth is, once we step outside the tech sector, Skype and Gizmo are nearly unknown tools. And PSTN gateway services from either Skype or Gizmo tend to border on deplorable when it comes to quality.

I’ve used GrandCentral to record and it works reasonably well most of the time. But it’s failed spectacularly on a number of occasions. And it means that the people I’m talking to all need to be together and call me.

The Facebook app from iotum allows for easy conference bridge numbers that can be called from any phone on the planet. In short, they’ve taken the platform out of play and delivered full ubiquitous service. Conferencing as a service that needs nothing but a phone…any phone…the way it should be.

With minor tweaks, I expect to be able to set up a bridge, invite people to the call, and not only participate, but record and run the call on the run from my cell phone. For me, that’s power. It’s power in the my handset that really brings the value of the service to center stage.

Technorati Tags: iotum, Alec Saunders, Facebook, FREE Conference Call

Not long ago, an old friend, Frank Paynter, caught my attention with his post Who is that woman and why is she following me on twitter?. Frank’s been around the Interwebs world for a long time, and he puts pieces together from other people in ways I’ve always found to be important…worth listening to.

In his post, he included this visual by Phillip Lenssen.

Social networking has been one of the hot, yet most misunderstood buzz phrases we’ve heard in the past year. There’s a set of people in the vortex of this activity. Many of you reading this are in that category. Sheryl and I certainly are. We’re those people who follow friends, interact via short messages on Twitter, Facebook. Jaiku or the like. Sometimes we spend our days in update snippets of information, 140 characters or less, the limitation of SMS.

I like the drawing in many ways, and find it noteworthy for far more than just passing value. Certainly there’s a huge audience of people that don’t know this social networking phenomena exists. Those of us living in the maelstrom of online activity would be well advised to appreciate that. Most of the world doesn’t use Facebook, will never send a Twitter message, and haven’t heard of half the tools that many of us take for granted. The relationships of friends and followers, like the drawing shows, can be ephemeral and hard to understand. Mostly, we follow people who catch our interest.

Yet the power of these tools is absolutely undeniable. We meet people in new ways. We meet and make friends online, bonds form, yet for many of us, the real-life interaction may never follow. We connect to new people as a friend of a friend of a friend across social networks. Six degrees of separation shrinks to no more than two or three degrees.

That doesn’t negate real-life interaction either. Sheryl and I met through our overlapping interests online. That kinship became something far more, and led to the committed relationship we share today. She recently wrote What Happens When Wine And Technology Collide?. It’s a broad topic that’s had us both digging deeply into the ramifications of technology on a broader scale. We’ve listened to so many buzzwords and phrases. I tend to think of them as sound bites. Not substance, but sound bites meant to catch our ear and stick. Marketing phrases. All about spin and catching some attention.

Social networks are making the world smaller for those of us who are really engaged. We’ve had enough of Web 2.0 talk. That was never more than a phrase that PR and marketing people grabbed ahold of as a way to sell something they didn’t have into an audience or market that didn’t want it. Web 2.0 was nothing but a grand delusion tied to marketing. Blogs and the interactive genre of shared communications isn’t Web 2.0 It’s just the net. Years ago the most forward thinking companies had a web site. Today they have a blog. Those of us who once had a personal web site, now often have a blog.

A blog is nothing more than a place to share. We’re watching more and more industries embrace how they use technology and I’m fascinated by the view they have. Most certainly people in business are looking to grow their business. But the interest in building a community of interest, in participating in dialogue, in joining the conversation is growing, particularly among smaller companies.

It’s an exciting time to be engaged in the socialization of the Internet. That’s what’s really happening today. The technology networks are becoming simply an infrastructure for delivering conversation. They’re simple enablers. And for many, the simpler the tools, the more powerful they are.

Technorati Tags: Social media, social networks

Ken and I attended a really outstanding dinner on New Years Eve at the Dockside Bistro in Olympia Washington. We went to a wine makers dinner at a local restaurant that serves a revolving list of outstanding wines. That night it was serving wine by a specific wine maker and he was in attendance explaining each wine.

Doug McCrea is a winemaker. His label? McCrea Cellars of course! They focus exclusively on Syrah and Rhone varietals. Ken and I got an opportunity to meet Doug and talk to him about his wines. Our conversation didn’t end with dinner.

Doug gave us one of his business cards, and the following day I sent him a little note thanking him for the great dinner conversation, and telling him how much Ken and I would love to tour his winery. As it’s a small, intimate affair, they don’t do public tours or tastings. Doug responded and said he would love to show us around etc. He also commented on Stardust, our social media interests, and asked for suggestions with regard to some of our technological strengths.

So why am I talking about this on Stardust? What has wine to do with technology? I think quite a lot.

While I admit wine itself is not necessarily about technology, it is not mutually exclusive either.

How many times do you sit down with a glass of wine and chat at the computer? Or pay bills? What about while using your mobile devices? Ken and I do this a lot. You all hear about it, mostly.

Who reading this knows Hugh Macleod of Gapingvoid fame? Have you heard of Stormhoek? Check out the links provided and you may begin to understand. Go see what Hugh has done to promote Stormhoek.

What Ken and I realized is that wine is a social outlet for friendships, but beyond that, it’s used with growing frequency as a social backdrop for geek dinners and conferences. It’s a part of who how we relate to one another, and the truth of the matter is, the line between the social and technological world is blurring at an exponential rate. We no longer go exclusively off to work which means we may bring our work home to us. That is more likely to allow for a glass of Chardonnay, or in this case Syrah, hey Doug?

 

Many aspects to technology reach into the wine makers life, whether it’s recognized or not. The machines used to crush, the computerized programs that keep track of sugars and yeast, fermentation and so on.

Still, there is much more. What about the website? For a small company like McCrea who isn’t spending a ton of money on advertizing how do they reach the people? How do they stand a chance without word of mouth? Well, isn’t it true the internet makes small work of that potentially? Can’t it create a scenario where millions of people now have access to knowledge about a wine or product they had no idea of prior?

We think wine is a great example of the way our world is changing due to technology. More than that it’s a great example of how we can both be impacted, and share in the impacting of others.

Technorati Tags: wine, socialmedia, technology, doug mccrea, ken camp, sheryl breuker

Last year the O’Reilly ETel event was perhaps the most exciting conference venue in the industry. O’Reilly wasn’t able to continue the event, but that’s not enough to let something so exciting and powerful fade away. Thanks to the tireless efforts of Lee Dryburgh, this year we’ll see the kickoff of eComm2008. It’s what I believe will be the first of a revitalized, high-energy conference that will set the industry aflame with passion and innovation.

The conference takes place at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA from March 12th-14th.

Established in 1996, the Computer History Museum is a public benefit organization dedicated to the preservation and celebration of computing history. It is home to one of the largest collections of computing artifacts in the world, a collection comprising over 13,000 objects, 20,000 images, 5,000 moving images, 4,000 linear feet of cataloged documentation and 5,000 titles or several hundred gigabytes of software. The mission of the Computer History Museum is to preserve and present for posterity the artifacts and stories of the information age. As such, the Museum plays a unique role in the history of the computing revolution and its worldwide impact on the human experience.

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Here’s just a small sampling of speakers on the agenda. These are just a few that are my personal highlights. Check the speakers page for a complete list.

Bob Frankston

Frankston Innovating, Achieving connectivity from the edge.

Bob Frankston may be best known for writing VisiCalc. He has been working on online services and networks since 1966 and while at Microsoft initiated the home networking effort. Since then he’s focus his attention on a post-telecom model that builds on the Internet dynamic to achieve connectivity from the edge rather than the center.

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Brough Turner

NMS Communications, SVP and CTO

Brough Turner is SVP, CTO and co-founder of NMS Communications wherehe oversees evolution of technology and product architectures andworks on business strategy and new market development. Brough writesand is quoted widely on telecommunications topics in trade and generalbusiness publications and he is a frequent speaker at telecom industryevents around the world. His current interests include mobilewireless access, broadband policy, mobile video, and user createdcontent and communities. Brough blogs athttp://blogs.nmss.com/communications/ on the technology, economic andsocial issues of communications at the intersection of telecom,mobility and the Internet.

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David Isenberg

Awaiting…, Founder

David S. Isenberg spent 12 years at AT&T Bell Labs until his 1997 essay,”The Rise of the Stupid Network,” was received with acclaim everywhere in the global telecommunications community with one exception — at AT&T itself! So Isenberg left AT&T in 1998 to found isen.com, LLC (an independent telecom analysis firm based in Cos Cob, Connecticut) and to publish The SMART Letter, an open-minded commentary on the communications revolution and its enemies.

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Jeff Bonforte

Yahoo! Inc., Vice President, Product Management

Jeff has founded a few startups including i-drive, an online storage pioneer, in 1998. He served as President for SIPphone, where he lead the development and release of Gizmo Project (www.gizmo5.com). He began working at Yahoo! in 2005, where he initially lead Voice. Shortly after, he was promoted to run Messenger, Voice and Chat. He was promoted to Vice President in 2007. Today he works in early product development in Search.

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Lee S Dryburgh

SS7 Networks Limited, Director

Lee S. Dryburgh is a person-to-person communications technologist. He is an engineering doctoral candidate at UCL (with sponsorship from Cisco), SS7 consulting engineer via his company SS7 Networks and the initiator of the Emerging Communications (eComm) conference. He has performed work for numerous operators including British Telecom, O2, Sprint, T-Mobile, Orange, Verisign, Hutchinson, as well as vendors including Marconi, Nokia, Alcatel-Lucent, Nortel, and Cisco. He is an acknowledged expert in the telecommunication protocol suite Signaling System #7 and lead-authored the bestselling book on the topic. His research focus is the future of telephony and enabling conversation between relevant strangers.

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Martin Geddes

STL, Chief Analyst

Martin Geddes is author of the popular telecom strategy blog Telepocalypse, as well as chief analyst at STL and co-instigator of the Telco 2.0 initiative (www.telco2.net) — helping network operators and vendors make money in an all-IP world.

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Thomas McCarthy-Howe

The Thomas Howe Company, CEO

Thomas McCarthy-Howe has nineteen years of experience in telecommunications product development. He is currently an independent consultant to service providers, enterprises and equipment vendors in the design and development of next generation communications equipment and services. Thomas has held senior management and engineering positions at industry leaders such as Comverse, Versatel Networks, PictureTel and Aware. As a member of the PictureTel engineering team, Mr. Howe designed audio and video software of the first PC-based video conferencing system, as well as software for the original version of NetMeeting, and as Aware Inc.’s software architect for the first commercially available ADSL chipset. In 2007, Thomas won the O’Reilly Emerging Telephony Mashup Contest. In addition to his writing and teaching, he currently serves on several technical advisory boards and boards of directors.

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That list is just a few of the fabulous speakers on the eComm agenda. Yes, those were chosen because they represent some personal friends we look foward to spending time with, but they’re also trusted colleagues who represent the voice of wisdom in the industry. The speaker’s list for this event is incomparable with that of many conferences.

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Looking over the agenda yields such a depth and breadth of conversations that this is truly an even not to be missed.My partner Sheryl and I are making sure we won’t miss it. We’ll be there, and expect to be presenting one of the lightning talks on the last day. We’ll be talking about why enabling a hyperconnected state with voice and data services is one of the most vital competitive differentiators in the industry.

We’re also lined up to speak should schedules change or anyone’s travel plans go awry. We will definitely be there blogging, interviewing, podcasting, doing video, and sharing the excitement and frenzy of action from the conference.

We hope you’ll look for us and come say hello. We want to meet and talk with as many of you as possible.

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Special BonusThe cost of this conference is already low, one of the lowest cost conferences in the industry. Early bird registration is still in effect right now, for another $300 off.

As a special bonus if you email either Sheryl or Ken, we’ll provide a special discount code that will get an additional 15% discount. The early bird registration will end soon, so make your plans now.

Drop us an email to let us know if you’re going to be there so we can set aside time to meet in person.

Technorati Tags: eComm, Lee Dryburgh, Ken Camp, Sheryl Breuker

As Sheryl and I move into our planning for work ahead in 2008, it’s time for us to get serious about our business efforts ahead. We’re doing conference planning, talking with some potential new clients, and laying out our roadmap.

One of the things we think is important for anyone in business is how we’re perceived by the face we present. Our good friend Pat Phelan recently referred to us as the first couple of voice. That moniker was something we both took as a huge honor, and something we want to really do justice to. And we took the idea to heart when we laid out our new business cards.

We also chose to do something that’s very different. Since we are probably the most hyperconnected couple any of you will ever meet, we chose to share our business card that way as well. We’re curious what you all think.

We’d hoped to make it to Geneva for Lift08, but it looks like that just can’t come to fruition. Cost and travel logistics make that one just a bit more than we can take on.

We’re in talks now to do something at Ecomm in March at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. If we can work those details out, we’ll surely be posting more here about that. Watch this space for an update. Either way, we’re planning to be there to spend some face-to-face time with good friends and colleagues in the industry.

We’re also talking with our friend David Isenberg about F2C: Freedom to Connect in Washington, DC on
March 31 and April 1, 2008. We’re really hoping to be actively involved in helping David make this F2C conference the most successful ever.

We’d like to ask your input too. If there’s a conference that might not be on our radar – one you think is in our focal areas, or that you’d like to see us at, please let us know. Drop an email to Sheryl or Ken any time.

Technorati Tags: Ken Camp, Sheryl Breuker, hyperconnected couple, first couple of voice, Ecomm, F2c, Freedom2Connect, David Isenberg, LIFT08