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March 29, 2007
Sorry, No Internet Today
There is a national turn off your TV week. There is a national walk/bike to work day (Friday, May 18th for those keeping score at home). There are all kinds of national days or months to promote "heart health" or "read a book" etc. However, there is no "Internet free" day. Why? Because it would be impossible.
The internet is now the platform for all of life's experiences. We bank online. We communicate through IP voice, data and video. The internet is now mobile. Our financial markets are managed and operated online. Our news is gathered and produced online. We game online. We book travel online. We collaborate online. At this point, certainly from a work standpont, we couldn't do our jobs without utilizing the Internet.
Sure, when you go on vacation, you may "unplug" for a few days...or even a week...in order to recharge the batteries, but my guess is that you're checking the Blackberry or Treo (or coming soon to a store near you, the Apple iPhone) at least a couple times a day. If you aren't, good for you, but you know that as soon as you come back to work you have to slog through all the e-mails and catch up on what has been going on while you are away. The internet doesn't stop, so a National Internet Free Day just wouldn't work.
I'm all for turning off the television and reading a book* (with apologies to the National Association of Broadcasters, my former employer), but you can get by without television for a day or so. The Internet is now engrained in our lifes and I, for one, don't know what I would do without it. Clearly, Ted Kaczynzki didn't think this way, but what do you think? Could everybody NOT use the internet on the same day for the entire day? What would the implications be? My best guess is that it physically cannot and could not be done. As I've said many times before, I really think this Internet thing is here to stay. And (commercial alert!!), which networking company invented the router and is changing the way we work, live, play and learn? Hint: it's name is in this blog's URL.
*Book tip: If you are a fan of John Kennedy Toole's "Confederacy of Dunces," then you might also enjoy "Absurdistan" by Gary Shteyngart. I did.
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March 28, 2007
Financial Times: "Cisco has Best Website for Customers and Media"
The Financial Times Digital Business today published its survey on corporate web sites. Cisco's online pressroom was listed #1 for serving media and our homepage Cisco.com was #1 for serving customers. From being a member of the corporate communications team, I'm obviously very happy that my colleagues on the News@Cisco team got the recognition for News@Cisco, however from a Cisco shareholder perspective I'm very pleased that we are #1 for serving customers.
The survey was conducted by Bowen Craggs, a corporate website advisory firm that benchmarks company websites. Companies included in the Index are taken from the 2006 FT Global 500, ranked by market capitalization...or "capitalisation" if you are the FT.
On the customer front, the FT states, "For some companies this is the most important metric..." For Cisco, yes, yes, and yes. The story continues, "Cisco’s product demonstrations, discussion areas and videos are impressive..." Thank you very much. It turns out that our products actually enable discussion areas and videos on the web (among other collaborative things), so a win-win for us.
On the media front, the FT says, "Many of the biggest companies do not use their websites seriously to serve journalists – perhaps a function of the traditional press officer mentality. The few that do show how sites can be used to help the media and the press team...The Cisco Newsroom goes well beyond information provision: podcasts, videos and blogs are used to engage the company’s media audience. It would not be right for all companies, but if your audience is high-tech, serve it in a high-tech way."
So, clearly, we don't have any employees that rate on PC World's most important people on the web, while we do rate #8 on Wired Magazine's most innovative companies list, however I think having a website that is rated as #1 in both serving customers and the media more than makes up for both of these. Customers are #1 with Cisco and, in my world, the Media is my customer, so it is great to be #1 there too. Hearty congratulations to my Cisco colleagues for this recognition...and focus.
Read the full FT story here.
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March 26, 2007
"Wired" Magazine: Most Innovative Companies
So, I did my best sour-grapes impression when I lamented the fact that nobody from Cisco was on PC World's "Most Important People on the Web" but that Perez Hilton and others, in the eyes of PC World, are more important than anybody at Cisco.
Wired magazine this month came out with their 10th Annual Top 40 Most Innovative Companies in the World and Cisco, naturally, is on the list. We are #8 (up from #12 last year) and while I may disagree, of course, with the fact that we are not #1...not everybody can be the #1 on every list. They write: "As the petabits surge, Cisco keeps outflanking cut-rate competitors and surfing the flood of online video. VoIP gear and set-top boxes contribute to '90s-style earnings growth. Now CEO John Chambers hopes to sell the world on wall-size, hi-def telepresence." For more on TelePresence, see my previous blog entry...or see here.
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Holographic Visits to the Workplace
My seven-week old son, Jack, is scheduled to visit me at work today. I'm excited to show him off and I know he's excited to see where his dear ol' dad works. It made me think, however, if this time-honored tradition of the kid visiting the parents workplace will still be with us when Jack has kids. With technology advancing like it is...video, chips, broadband, storage, etc....will Jack even have a physical office...or will his office be virtual using holographics?
Jack Earnhardt - one month old
I'm personally very skeptical of "Second Life." And, yes, to a degree, I mock what I don't understand. However, I do think that at some point in the future, the virtual world will be as useful and important to the workplace as the real world. Will Jack's kids visit him in a physical workplace where he joins with colleagues to collaborate? Or, will his office only exist in a virtual world where the holographic Jack brings his holographic kid to visit his holographic colleagues? I'm thinking that this isn't too far off from what it may be like.
Cisco announced our TelePresence solution late last year...it allows you to sit across from a high-definition video colleague, customer, client or whomever WHEREVER they are and talk real-time just like you really are sitting across the table from them...when, in reality, you are in San Jose and they are in London. (And, yes, I have seen people try to reach into the TelePresence video screen to "shake hands" after a meeting.) My best guess is that this will evolve so that your holographic self will sit down in a meeting room with your holographic customer, client or colleague. It will be huge for saving the environment as business trips will be drastically cut...it will not, however, be huge for the airlines.
So, I'm pretty bullish on this collaborative Internet technology thing. And, I'm bullish on Jack as well, but mostly I'm just looking forward to his visit today.
UPDATE: Jack slept the whole time he was here...and, he's very popular with the ladies.
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March 21, 2007
Blogging and the Media Capital of the World
NEW YORK, NY - I'm in New York this week having some very interesting meetings with some very interesting media outlets. Many of the conversations I have had over the past two days with some of the leading business, wire and consumer outlets have included the topic of blogs. On the topic of blogs, I'm generally not into navel gazing, but when some of the most influential publications in the U.S. (and, arguably the world) ask you about blogs or talk about their online or blogging efforts as much as their off-line efforts, then you know that blogs are having an impact on "the conversation."
All the talk about Web 2.0 is about collaboration and interaction and "the conversation" that is going on, on x, y, or z topics. Because blogs, by their nature, are conversational and interactive, newspapers and magazines are looking to them as an outlet to handle "overflow" of their reporters string or thoughts that don't meet the threshold of "story." They are also about helping the brand of the publication be more involved in the blogosphere. Some publications are even requesting (aka requiring) their reporters to blog as a part of their job. I would argue that tracking your stories in the blogosphere and participating as the bylined reporter in the conversation is more important than authoring your own blog as a reporter, but far be it from me to suggest what a major media outlet should have their employees doing...or not doing.
Nobody does more research on their audience than media and the fact that they are paying attention to blogs and implementing them on their online personas shows me that the research shows that blogs are important...which I know at this point is akin to saying, "I think this Internet thing is here to stay." The blogosphere is growing in popularity and impact every day and this was exhibited during my stay in NYC... and as Technorati says "5 Million Blogs, Some of them Have to Be Good." Happy blogging.
Also, I would be remiss if I didn't give a shout out to the BlogHer Business '07 conference taking place tomorrow and Friday here where some of my colleagues will be attending and Jeanette Gibson of Cisco will be dropping some knowledge on the conference.
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March 15, 2007
Cisco Chief Development Officer Giancarlo on WebEx Acquisition
Charlie Giancarlo is Cisco’s Chief Development Officer and President, Linksys. His full bio here. (.pdf document)
Today, we announced Cisco’s agreement to acquire WebEx Communications, Inc. We feel strongly that network-based collaboration is a large part of our future and believe that WebEx is an excellent platform to build on.
Whether for students using the web to collaborate on research projects or for medical specialists to work together to make the best medical decisions, collaborative technologies are growing in sophistication and use because people want to work or play with other people regardless of physical proximity.
Many pundits are trying to define Web 2.0 or even predict Web 3.0. What Web 2.0 means to me is straightforward: Web 2.0 technologies allow users to collaborate directly over the open platform of the Internet …collaborating with video, voice and information 24 hours a day, 24 time zones around the world. Web 2.0 is perhaps most evident in the consumer marketplace with social networking sites, mash-ups and video sharing services. This is the “play” part of Web 2.0.
But this collaborative technology will make huge advances in the business effectiveness with online collaborative tools like WebEx’s. WebEx was one of the early leaders in this market and remains a leader 10 years later, making intercompany collaboration accessible and easy for their customers.
Cisco is an innovation company and the philosophy at the core of our innovation strategy is to use the “network as a platform” for the next explosion in business and consumer applications. WebEx fits this philosophy exactly, as their technology is network- based and hides complexity from not only users, but from their IT organizations as well.
Clearly, our view is that most forms of communications and collaboration will be provided by the IP network. Cisco is at the forefront of evolving the network from pure connectivity to a reliable, sophisticated platform for communications and IT services, and WebEx will now be our partner on this journey.
WebEx shares our vision as well as our culture. We believe we can help each other to drive greater success for our customers, and to reach more customers around the world. I am very enthusiastic that WebEx is joining the Cisco team, our mission and our passion
About WebEx: WebEx is a leading provider of on-demand Web-based applications. It provides a network-based solution for delivering value-added intercompany collaboration with a focus on SMB. This is an extension of Cisco’s vision for Unified Communications and collaboration. WebEx is driving the next wave of business communications with rich media meetings that liberate users from time and geographical constraints. Please visit WebEx’s website to learn more about their solutions and technologies.
Cisco note: Since this blog entry is required to be filed with the SEC, our lawyers want to make sure you know the following.
Securities Law Disclosure
The tender offer for the outstanding common stock of WebEx Communications, Inc. has not yet commenced. This filing is for informational purposes only and is not an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell any securities. The solicitation and the offer to buy shares of WebEx common stock will be made only pursuant to an offer to purchase and related materials that Cisco Systems, Inc. intends to file with the SEC on Schedule TO. WebEx also intends to file a solicitation/recommendation statement on Schedule 14D-9 with respect to the offer. WebEx stockholders and other investors should read these materials carefully because they contain important information, including the terms and conditions of the offer. WebEx stockholders and other investors will be able to obtain copies of these materials without charge from the SEC through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, from Georgeson Inc., the information agent for the offer, toll-free at (888) 264-7052, banks and brokers call (212) 440-9800, from Cisco (with respect to documents filed by Cisco with the SEC) by going to Cisco’s Investor Relations Website at http://www.cisco.com/go/investors, or from WebEx (with respect to documents filed by WebEx with the SEC) by going to WebEx’s Investor Relations Website at http://www.WebEx.com. Stockholders and other investors are urged to read carefully those materials prior to making any decisions with respect to the offer.
Forward Looking Statements
This blog contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the growth in Cisco’s markets and the future of Cisco’s industry. These statements are only predictions. Actual events or results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Please see Cisco’s filings with the SEC, including its most recent filings on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q for a discussion of important risk factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.
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March 12, 2007
MTVu and Cisco Sponsored UCLA Site Garners Award at SXSW
Last year, Cisco teamed up with MTVU - the broadband and college oriented cable network of MTV - to create the Digital Incubator project - a national grant program with the aim of discovering and supporting new digital media broadband innovators.
We are excited to report that a winning team from the first year of MTVU's and Cisco's Digital Incubator project won the student "Web Award" at the SXSW Interactive Festival. The UCLA student web project known as "How Do I Say This" is the winner of the SXSW Interactive student web award!!!! SXSW, of course, is South by Southwest Interactive, Film and Music Festivals and conference that takes place each year in Austin, Texas.
Cisco is obvlously proud to be a partner with MTVU and to help give a platform for all of the creativity at the Digital Incubator project, but, clearly, we're most pleased for the team at UCLA and their "How Do I Say This?" project. Great job, UCLA team.
Now, if Arron Afflalo can just get hot in the NCAA tournament and bring home another bit of recognition to UCLA in the form of another NCAA basketball championship!!! (And, with apologies to an un-named Cisco executive who went to Duke, I'd be quite happy with my home-state Tar Heels bringing home some hardware as well.)
ABOUT "HOW DO I SAY THIS?":
"How Do I Say This" is a community-based, interactive media website developed by students at UCLA with support from MTVU and Cisco. Inspired by gossip columns and sites such as PostSecret.com, "How Do I Say This" encourages visitors to submit problems they don't know how to handle to the community at large found on the web site. Users of the "How Do I Say This" website post suggestions on how other users should deal with their problems (in the form of e-mails, drawings, and short videos). User submissions are posted on the site on an ongoing basis, and are voted on by members. Using the site submissions as inspiration, the UCLA student team writes and produces a video tackling the original problem, effectively speaking for the submitter.
Click on the "About Us" tab at the bottom of the "How Do I Say This?" website to see who created this site and to send congratulations to the team.
Can I link to the "How Do I Say This?" site one more time, so that if you haven't checked it out already you can do so now? Yes, I can.
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March 07, 2007
PC World's 50 Most Important People on the Web
Many of you have likely already seen PC World's "50 Most Important People on the Web" article that came out this Monday. I just came across it thanks to the Fake Steve Jobs blog, which is back online after a brief hiatus.
Lists always leave someone out who think they should be on it. "Am I on the list?" "Did I make the list?" "Who's on the list?" My comment on the PC World list is this: (And, yes, this is Sour Grapes 101)...Cisco is not on the list that is self-entitled, "Here's who's shaping what you read, watch, hear, write, buy, sell, befriend, flame, and otherwise do online." To be sure, this list is focused on social media and web policy, etc. However, the list says it includes what you "otherwise do online"...i.e. what enables your online experience.
IMHO, I would argue that it is Cisco gear that is enabling all of this interaction and social media to take place. (Of course, we are not service providers, but our gear enables service providers (cable, telecom, etc.) to give the world "dial-tone" to the internet.) Fake Steve Jobs blogs sub-head says, "Dude, I invented the frigging iPod. Have you heard of it?" I think the sub-head of this blog should be "We invented the friggin network router. Have you heard of it?"
In bandwidth (i.e. enabling ALL of this social media and activity to take place), Cisco has the CRS-1 Carrier Routing System, the world’s highest capacity Internet router, as certified by the Guinness Book of World Records. The CRS-1 can carry up to 92 terabits per second. That’s enough bandwidth to support the world population of 6.4 billion people on a simultaneous IP phone call; or a billion people playing an online game using real-time voice and chat features, among many other "otherwise online" things.
Please disagree with me if you must, but the network is the platform for all of "what you read, watch, hear, write, buy, sell, befriend, flame, and otherwise do online." And, I'm not even mentioning the business processes that get streamlined that make us all more efficient and productive...or the IP technology that enables IM's, IP calling, video and data transfer at all levels, etc. Are we enablers? Yes we are. And proud of it.
So, all due respect to Perez Hilton and the other distinguished "most important" ladies and gentleman on the web on this list, but to suggest that he or they are more important than any engineer (or executive or employee) at Cisco is missing the mark. Again, sour grapes, but someone has to say it.
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March 02, 2007
Thomas Friedman Reconfirmed
Wow, it's March already. What the heck happened to January and February? And, as the old yarn tell us, March starts like a lion and ends like a lamb. And, if there was any doubt in anybody's mind that we're now in a global economy, one need look no further than what happened on Wednesday with the Chinese stock market that then had the ripple effect on the world markets.
My out of work focus of late has been on one Mr. Jack Earnhardt. One month old this coming Monday. He's going to live and grow up in a world very different from the one that we all live in today. With the collaborative tools that are being built and the solutions that are being offered and will be offered (over the network, of course) he's going to be able to have experiences and opportunities that you and I could never dream of.
And, I may be drinking the Kool-Aid here, but without Cisco and our gear, most of these experiences and opportunities would not and will not exist. Our new advertising tagline is about "The Human Network." While I was at first skeptical about the ads (I'll be honest, I didn't fully understand what we were trying to accomplish), I have since come full circle and now think we are actually right on. Cisco is about connecting everyone, everwhere to everything. At its face, that sounds like a business proposition, but if you really think about it, it changes everything. There is an RSS feeder for this site. I think about the future of the human network as being able to subscribe to people (does that makes sense?). If Jack Earnhardt can access and collaborate with the best and the brightest as he grows and learns regardless if he is in Menlo Park or in Bangalore, then he is going to be playing at a much higher level than I or my wife ever could simply because we didn't have the same "access."
Let me put it another way, I played tennis in high school and a few years in college. I always got better playing better players and losing, then playing weaker players and winning. Playing against someone better than yourself enables you to improve. In the future, through the Human Network, Jack and his peers will be able to collaborate and work with and learn from the best in the world, all over the world...making the world smaller and smaller and, as Friedman says, flatter and flatter. Because of this, the problems of today will slowly, but surely, disappear. Through collaboration on the network, we will live in a much better, safer world in the future than the one we live in today.
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