The 463: Inside Tech

The CEO of Germany

Angela Merkel, Germany's new Chancellor, gave a popular speech to kick off the WEF last night.  It was popular because, as BusinessWeek said, the keynote called for a "harder working, less bureaucratic Europe."

But, what struck us, was the number of times that Merkel used the word "innovation" (or, at least, the German version of the word).  In fact, she seemed to speak to the needs for Germany to value innovation as much as she discussed Germany inherent issues with its social safety net.

Talking like a new CEO in charge of a major overhaul, she said that Germany needed to stop fixating on the risks of change and focus on the opportunities.  And, regardless, Merkel said that the shift from an industrial to a knowledge-based economic system combined with the emergence of India and China meant that change wasn't optional.

Davos Glances

The Hotel Belvedere is a Davos focal point for parties, sessions and lobby schmoozing.
(more photos follow)

Davos Flavor

Davos is like going to an exclusive prep-school reunion for a school that you didn’t attend – provided that the prep school admitted future Buddhist monks, African leaders, Indian titans of industry, academics, hundreds of investment bank money men and, of course, (and incongruously) a zillion journalists....

The P Word

In tech policy land, 2004 and 2005 were all about piracy.  In 2006, attention will be locked on the other big "P" word.  Yep, we're kicking it old school.  Privacy is back in a big way.

It's a simple equation.  You add NSA spying with cellphone record selling with RFID concerns with iTunes customer tracking issues with data security legislation and you get persistent daily news on privacy.  Then, you throw in a battle royal between the DOJ and Google, and, friend, you might get the cover of Time Magazine...

Tabitha Meets the Wonkette; Worlds Collide

What happens when you bring together icons of the two most recent seminal transformations in media?

You get polite chit chat about Medicare reform, the White Stripes and, of course, anal sex.

Only, of course, because one of the icons is Ana Marie Cox of Wonkette fame.  The other was Tabitha Soren --the former MTV News media maven who represented all Generation Xers in the White House press pool and famously enabled the "boxers or briefs" question to candidate Clinton.

The two witty red heads who each spawned a million crushes talked last night in a San Francisco Commonwealth Club forum.  Soren interviewed Cox about Wonkette and her new book "Dog Days." 

What knocked us back on our heels was...

Doing Davos

The 463 will be at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos next week.  We will be busy with client work, but plan on sending reports back on the village that morphs into a cross between the UN, Aspen and Nobu on a Friday night.  We will be well-embedded in a flock of Davos veterans, but still would greatly appreciate any recommendations and suggestions.

The official Davos blog is here. 

News from the Meeting can be found here.

What's Good for the iPod is Good for the Country

A contrarian view on CES from National Journal's "Off Message" column by William Powers (via Paul Holmes):

"Being extremely modern, we journalists like to think our craft has moved beyond the bad old days when business got a soft ride from the press, and the business pages read a bit like the old quotation from former General Motors President Charles E. Wilson: "What's good for the country is good for General Motors, and vice versa." ...

"Except that Microsoft, Apple, and Google are pretty much the General Motorses of today, and an awful lot of the coverage they get is right out of the Charles E. Wilson school. This is especially true of the general establishment outlets, while, in a small irony, the technology trade press has a lot of serious, critical fare. To read the pop coverage of these trade shows -- news flash! amazing iMacs shipping soon! -- it's as if these aren't companies at all. We cheer them as if they were disinterested do-gooders or beloved folk heroes, not profit-driven powerhouses with legions of lobbyists in D.C." ....>

Really, Really Tiny Regulations

Pacific Research Institute's Sonia Arrison argues against calls for nanotechnology regulation.  Snip:

"Nanotechnology holds much promise for advances in a number of areas such as material science and medicine, but the nascent industry faces threats from those who believe government should solve problems before they occur. Nanotech scientists must be free to develop their products, as well as the rules that govern their development, in order to reap the rewards and protect society from potential pitfalls. The best approach is the light regulation that already exists, combined with a strong scientific culture of self-regulation."

Arrison was reacting to a report that came out last week from the Project on Emerging Nanotechologies (part of the Woodrow Wilson Institute for International Scholars).  The report says that applications of the technology could overwhelm the existing government regulatory system. The New Republic argues for the Project's approach:

YouTube's "Dark Side"

We avoided discussing YouTube's (and Google Video's) copyright issues here.  Helpfully, Om Malik introduces the problems today. A snip:

"Google Video, thanks to its massive infrastructure has become a repository for all sort of foreign films. I have personally watched dozens of Bollywood movies, many of them released recently. Here is a little sampling. Since the time I got in touch with Google last week, a lot of material has been taken off their site, but some Bollywood songs etc still remain. I guess, this is going to be a policing issue going forward for Google and everyone else. You Tube still features a lot of Bollywood content like this and this. Its not just fare from overseas markets, but I found a lot of music videos and television show clips, which make me wonder about how these video sharing services are going to protect against copy right infringements...."

Bush Plans New eHealth Push

President Bush is readying a major push to computerize the nation's medical records, including what is expected to be between $100 million and $200 million in funding for the program in the federal budget he will propose next month.  (New York Sun)