Keith's Web Blog RSS Feed en-us http://www.keithwatanabe.net/index.php Keith Watanabe's Website Disney Refuses Comcast http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2004/2/18/76a215c95e2e22b42977551382b792f6.html Wed, 18 Feb 2004 00:03:34 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2004/2/18/76a215c95e2e22b42977551382b792f6.html Martha Stewart Guilty http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2004/3/6/e399b6965c1b4ad750c7c089ce2e415a.html Sat, 06 Mar 2004 11:06:01 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2004/3/6/e399b6965c1b4ad750c7c089ce2e415a.html McDonald's CEO Passing Away from Heart Attack http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2004/4/19/adf4e4ddcda06ac0b60d8e857bf306af.html Mon, 19 Apr 2004 22:19:23 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2004/4/19/adf4e4ddcda06ac0b60d8e857bf306af.html Haliburton http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2004/4/23/f928eac90bcfe4d9ff94f8c348a07732.html Fri, 23 Apr 2004 10:48:01 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2004/4/23/f928eac90bcfe4d9ff94f8c348a07732.html Florida: A new hope? http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2004/8/17/64f172461efa600ffbb950bfdfe682a6.html Tue, 17 Aug 2004 01:35:28 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2004/8/17/64f172461efa600ffbb950bfdfe682a6.html Google IPO http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2004/8/21/5d22bec82e4b386d5b78e03200a2e457.html Sat, 21 Aug 2004 11:32:17 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2004/8/21/5d22bec82e4b386d5b78e03200a2e457.html Delta Cuts 6-7k worth of jobs http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2004/9/9/8a7f875e558e1756a14866b9039b00c8.html Thu, 09 Sep 2004 00:48:21 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2004/9/9/8a7f875e558e1756a14866b9039b00c8.html Greenspan and Duct Tape http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2004/9/9/6a0afe205fefde826aa189a0b254fc33.html Thu, 09 Sep 2004 00:50:57 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2004/9/9/6a0afe205fefde826aa189a0b254fc33.html Curfew Teens At Malls http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2004/9/18/f0dbac39e2200e59a99d372e9d861b74.html Sat, 18 Sep 2004 01:39:15 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2004/9/18/f0dbac39e2200e59a99d372e9d861b74.html buy.com interesting.... http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/1/25/7bacaa5c38998e7239ef5e1eaee1b13b.html Tue, 25 Jan 2005 16:55:11 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/1/25/7bacaa5c38998e7239ef5e1eaee1b13b.html Citigroup Problems http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/1/25/7545d9396287f27aa298755e8664694c.html bow. Is this going to stop them? This company has so much money that they seem to have a private fund just for this type of settlement. But it goes in the nature of their business. At this point, they're going to continue growing. It's hard to ignore such a huge and influential entity. However, either the government will force to break them up or they'll continue to enlarge. I think though that companies shouldn't be allowed to grow this large; it's just too large to manage and far too bureaucratic.]]> Tue, 25 Jan 2005 17:15:31 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/1/25/7545d9396287f27aa298755e8664694c.html Blogs and Censorship http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/2/13/3d1c2e6fa94c22049feb0a60f142c287.html Sun, 13 Feb 2005 11:33:27 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/2/13/3d1c2e6fa94c22049feb0a60f142c287.html More Citigroup Problems http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/2/13/e435dc08d43ea6676f3d836a8deed154.html Sun, 13 Feb 2005 11:39:58 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/2/13/e435dc08d43ea6676f3d836a8deed154.html ebay http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/2/19/82f8b49f8fac0a0b521f796c9c713b2d.html Sat, 19 Feb 2005 11:07:49 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/2/19/82f8b49f8fac0a0b521f796c9c713b2d.html Rough Times Ahead http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/2/28/f9bef4fb75ff0fefcbaad091f799d5b4.html Mon, 28 Feb 2005 01:22:09 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/2/28/f9bef4fb75ff0fefcbaad091f799d5b4.html Shitigroup and Ethics http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/3/5/0a242e70d36acb6be08c278e451de1aa.html Sat, 05 Mar 2005 00:39:09 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/3/5/0a242e70d36acb6be08c278e451de1aa.html stop using credit cards http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/3/5/adae981a032c542acdaae07dc38519ba.html Sat, 05 Mar 2005 00:52:31 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/3/5/adae981a032c542acdaae07dc38519ba.html SUV sales getting nailed by Bush http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/3/12/3b694b15108f275464a6faf8bfa27f8b.html Sat, 12 Mar 2005 12:19:18 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/3/12/3b694b15108f275464a6faf8bfa27f8b.html two more years of high oil prices http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/3/19/383d22e18f89cac649142eef7361f923.html Sat, 19 Mar 2005 11:34:58 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/3/19/383d22e18f89cac649142eef7361f923.html ASKJ Bought Out By IACI http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/3/21/30fc3d7363a00897d086dc7c2b2f3a61.html Mon, 21 Mar 2005 22:50:16 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/3/21/30fc3d7363a00897d086dc7c2b2f3a61.html Oh the beauty of Irony http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/3/28/691baa436dbbcce8aeb9afc1c466e1b6.html Mon, 28 Mar 2005 01:15:43 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/3/28/691baa436dbbcce8aeb9afc1c466e1b6.html Google Founders Make A Buck http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/4/14/bdac31017d4aedbe08f574a0d2b650b7.html Thu, 14 Apr 2005 01:02:25 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/4/14/bdac31017d4aedbe08f574a0d2b650b7.html Amazon + Netflix or Blockbuster http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/4/16/0862d578c929839cbfe2ff4e9db4670a.html Sat, 16 Apr 2005 01:52:09 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/4/16/0862d578c929839cbfe2ff4e9db4670a.html Finger Lickin' Good http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/4/16/c8d31f952619a129e91d742bf55628d9.html Sat, 16 Apr 2005 11:20:33 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/4/16/c8d31f952619a129e91d742bf55628d9.html Adobe + Macromedia http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/4/19/d318114a76cc64139436d16ba9b93b2e.html Tue, 19 Apr 2005 00:12:09 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/4/19/d318114a76cc64139436d16ba9b93b2e.html Boycott Credit Cards! http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/4/20/be20a93f2927132d3e123f660e538068.html Wed, 20 Apr 2005 00:51:56 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/4/20/be20a93f2927132d3e123f660e538068.html GM, Ford Down!!! http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/5/8/8c38e66afd75e6818d3716daddf5cc75.html Sun, 08 May 2005 23:15:41 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/5/8/8c38e66afd75e6818d3716daddf5cc75.html Netflix Surviving Walmart http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/6/1/b2d18dfd9c0f7336f47dae03de58eefb.html Wed, 01 Jun 2005 13:30:57 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/6/1/b2d18dfd9c0f7336f47dae03de58eefb.html ebay snags shopping.com http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/6/1/f69f86ac43d8d3d43bb7c3a0a945fa1d.html Wed, 01 Jun 2005 22:22:41 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/6/1/f69f86ac43d8d3d43bb7c3a0a945fa1d.html sun buys storagetek http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/6/3/9ae20e8ef3c285245cfcfb3d490fbae3.html Fri, 03 Jun 2005 00:32:53 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/6/3/9ae20e8ef3c285245cfcfb3d490fbae3.html American Businesses Becoming Supremely Ruthless http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/6/3/9cd2207af81d2a7a1ab62ac98046b8dc.html Fri, 03 Jun 2005 02:33:30 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/6/3/9cd2207af81d2a7a1ab62ac98046b8dc.html Scripps Buys Out Shopzilla http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/6/7/966528fd9f548fba01c0faf26d360620.html Tue, 07 Jun 2005 00:18:29 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/6/7/966528fd9f548fba01c0faf26d360620.html Losers! http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/6/7/4e5342dc1ebfd1da420cdab982bfbc9a.html Tue, 07 Jun 2005 00:23:22 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/6/7/4e5342dc1ebfd1da420cdab982bfbc9a.html Violating Privacy http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/6/8/d3607db78184e63f1f32354bcd5be7ee.html Wed, 08 Jun 2005 03:59:56 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/6/8/d3607db78184e63f1f32354bcd5be7ee.html Morgan Stanley Receives Some Austin 3:16 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/6/13/c4177e647952dec6dde96e8fe01770e2.html Mon, 13 Jun 2005 23:49:40 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/6/13/c4177e647952dec6dde96e8fe01770e2.html Harrah's Gobbles Up Caesars http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/6/13/da16f771efa0d1be0aa2604417491b4d.html Mon, 13 Jun 2005 23:53:50 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/6/13/da16f771efa0d1be0aa2604417491b4d.html One of Us! Google Gobble http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/6/15/51f10721f8d36ce12d82d48e70cf4349.html Wed, 15 Jun 2005 02:36:57 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/6/15/51f10721f8d36ce12d82d48e70cf4349.html Ford Cutting 1700 and more than that http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/6/22/d89136be8843815d57789092482fe9b2.html Wed, 22 Jun 2005 13:54:51 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/6/22/d89136be8843815d57789092482fe9b2.html American Car Price Wars http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/7/6/b34a3db9272b95eeb2ede001a3e4aa91.html Wed, 06 Jul 2005 11:08:37 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/7/6/b34a3db9272b95eeb2ede001a3e4aa91.html Some Good News Today http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/8/1/c2766ce2f81cbdadb69e4a9c5f2487e8.html Mon, 01 Aug 2005 22:10:42 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/8/1/c2766ce2f81cbdadb69e4a9c5f2487e8.html fuck publishers http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/8/12/d675818fb78e3329075dfb63456366a8.html Fri, 12 Aug 2005 11:48:02 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/8/12/d675818fb78e3329075dfb63456366a8.html continuing GM discounts http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/8/25/7f528b2b44cdd9b88e321287aeabcc41.html Thu, 25 Aug 2005 10:54:34 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/8/25/7f528b2b44cdd9b88e321287aeabcc41.html ebay buys verisign http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/10/11/a7cd9c350aa8c178678a6c813ba70197.html Tue, 11 Oct 2005 18:26:11 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/10/11/a7cd9c350aa8c178678a6c813ba70197.html Arizona...the next tech haven? http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/11/6/d4929c086cd7d889301dd4ec2caa2ace.html Sun, 06 Nov 2005 10:30:02 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/11/6/d4929c086cd7d889301dd4ec2caa2ace.html gas prices dropping http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/11/6/91f1c0d7778003bdb6d90d984545b9c6.html Sun, 06 Nov 2005 23:38:24 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/11/6/91f1c0d7778003bdb6d90d984545b9c6.html GM laying off 30000 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/11/21/986108c0b871479b314ae3da6540a1ed.html Mon, 21 Nov 2005 13:34:13 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2005/11/21/986108c0b871479b314ae3da6540a1ed.html definitely glad i'm not working there http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/1/5/088ae8a09e7a32afb7f4cf2922756b8c.html Thu, 05 Jan 2006 03:21:34 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/1/5/088ae8a09e7a32afb7f4cf2922756b8c.html Livedoor Scandal http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/1/21/dbc7d799b3582c53f2262b80d144362c.html Sat, 21 Jan 2006 23:16:55 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/1/21/dbc7d799b3582c53f2262b80d144362c.html Sun getting bought out by Google http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/3/18/7edad5c787a60141dc1bca54c7a1c69a.html Sat, 18 Mar 2006 12:11:41 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/3/18/7edad5c787a60141dc1bca54c7a1c69a.html why i continue to hate and boycott apple http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/3/23/303afabf8dc1365a8e7e82ac6a26d2eb.html Thu, 23 Mar 2006 04:40:02 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/3/23/303afabf8dc1365a8e7e82ac6a26d2eb.html where M$'s money should be http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/3/26/6e001558cc4c0611af5b19ef7b0c5f60.html Sun, 26 Mar 2006 03:12:12 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/3/26/6e001558cc4c0611af5b19ef7b0c5f60.html Ballmer with Hoof in Mouth http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/3/30/c316b1ec3b3ee6c2354761864d7d9746.html Thu, 30 Mar 2006 18:04:01 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/3/30/c316b1ec3b3ee6c2354761864d7d9746.html my favorite takes over Sun http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/4/26/31fe696e24610ee36364f2c686e80ee0.html Wed, 26 Apr 2006 10:49:02 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/4/26/31fe696e24610ee36364f2c686e80ee0.html Kenneth Lay dies of heart attack http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/7/5/db350ad3e3aa1da30fa1489bd9574d82.html Wed, 05 Jul 2006 12:58:33 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/7/5/db350ad3e3aa1da30fa1489bd9574d82.html toyota overtakes ford http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/8/2/01abd6e4762f118b8239026e470ec030.html Wed, 02 Aug 2006 09:48:33 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/8/2/01abd6e4762f118b8239026e470ec030.html Amazon's unbox http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/9/8/6596b608d372928bd93142bd80855f19.html Fri, 08 Sep 2006 21:16:42 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/9/8/6596b608d372928bd93142bd80855f19.html Microsoft to Everyone: Let's Do EVERYTHING http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/9/24/92ed783b6b8c1a6600d1085ae6d2ac60.html Sun, 24 Sep 2006 09:04:59 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/9/24/92ed783b6b8c1a6600d1085ae6d2ac60.html another word to Microsoft http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/9/24/667723c5dfeee051091202983be7570a.html Sun, 24 Sep 2006 09:18:54 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/9/24/667723c5dfeee051091202983be7570a.html google's rumored youtube bid http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/10/7/f3711e057b5ba3ac101d775d392a9362.html Sat, 07 Oct 2006 10:09:03 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/10/7/f3711e057b5ba3ac101d775d392a9362.html so google did and youtube is now OWNED http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/10/9/a209c48748981a82d5c5733ea10b300f.html Mon, 09 Oct 2006 18:06:52 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/10/9/a209c48748981a82d5c5733ea10b300f.html google's next strategic move http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/10/12/e82a57c2f966ce73a2b996ca145ff395.html Thu, 12 Oct 2006 08:16:13 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/10/12/e82a57c2f966ce73a2b996ca145ff395.html yahoo pisses me off http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/11/8/fd519ad026197f34e6987a10158fd1ee.html Wed, 08 Nov 2006 09:59:07 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2006/11/8/fd519ad026197f34e6987a10158fd1ee.html 2007 - a short look at a few companies http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2007/1/1/c2d547128f2aa0ca3e47664ebd8b2432.html Mon, 01 Jan 2007 10:45:07 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2007/1/1/c2d547128f2aa0ca3e47664ebd8b2432.html Google vs Viacom http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2007/3/13/f980937691dce1b9884e211ae46f89b6.html Tue, 13 Mar 2007 09:10:08 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2007/3/13/f980937691dce1b9884e211ae46f89b6.html Oracle Doesn't Win BEA http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2007/10/12/3d506f994325d5269a5bf3de78e80963.html
On the other hand, if people are going to do acquisitions, I'd like to see RedHat go after companies providing services and solutions for Postgres and/or Mysql. Also, I'd like to see RedHat put more investments into desktop solutions. RedHat has a nice position in the server software market, but I'd like to see the Linux desktop make more headways for the desktop in companies. However, it's Ubuntu who has a stronger position here. Nonetheless, it would be nice to see RedHat form stronger partnerships with companies like HP, Dell and even Gateway to get more desktop versions of Linux.]]> Fri, 12 Oct 2007 21:08:40 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2007/10/12/3d506f994325d5269a5bf3de78e80963.html Limits To Growth http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2007/10/13/38d5bd277513852e7d4f92a9dfe3acf2.html
I see too many acquisitions that often times don't make sense. For instance, ebay's acquisition of skype, meetup and stumbleupon made zero sense considering that their core business is auctions. Their other acquisitions such as shopping.com, rent.com, and even PayPal made some sense because there was somewhat of a clear relationship to ebay's business model (which is essentially online shopping). However, it's obvious that ebay is only making acquisitions to show some sort of growth.

To an investor though, just buying up companies like these in truth probably doesn't make a lot of sense. A company can have a portfolio of products, but one must ask what business focus does it have overall? IAC figured this out when they spun off Expedia into its own stock ticker. Still to do it for the sake of growing and showing some sort of return to investors seems silly to me.

Okay, maybe making more money to people is common sense, but what I'm saying is that how big is too big? How is it that Toyota can create a few models of cars every now and then with cosmetic improvements yet not be forced to acquire other companies that do keychains while ebay needs to purchase things that only relate through being online?

Maybe this isn't really a 100% investor related question but one of business saavy that I don't understand. Or maybe what I'm really looking at is the greed of a company to bloat itself to unbelievable levels. Or maybe it's that one of these three business models really does well and the others survive mostly through leechdom.

Regardless, I think there comes a point where a business like an ebay or BEA need to stop thinking of massive growth and focus on their improving their core business. BEA's systems aren't rock solid. They have flaws and are unwieldly. I don't see enough add-in products that make development of J2EE that much easier. Why not focus on those areas rather than trying to simply get more buys? If the product was better quality, more people would want to buy it. Yet for the headaches and cost, a person is better off with a LAMP application stack.

Or in ebay's case, why not improve their search and real time auctions? Or create APIs for more 3rd party tools to create something useful that relates to ebay's core business model?

Anyway, I doubt my idea would get through because all of this is just capitalism.]]> Sat, 13 Oct 2007 22:10:57 -0600 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2007/10/13/38d5bd277513852e7d4f92a9dfe3acf2.html Google's Achilles' Heel http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2008/1/2/6e2091393f15b8454dc35f95637ba0b8.html I like Google and admire what they do. But whenever I look at them, I always see something missing that scares me. Web 2.0 has been mostly an eco system supported via Google's advertisements. I explained before how Google handles their success (at least I think I did). But to me it's a real frail environment and once someone figures out how to pull the plug from Google, many companies will fall hard.

Of course, there's a lot of things plugged into Google. They figured out how to be needed. So in another way, they won't be gone so quickly. They are kinda like a new OS forming through their APIs. And with things like OpenSocial and Android, it's clear that they want to be more like a crack dealer in getting people addicted to their drug of OSS.

But that's the ting to me. They try to not only be the crack dealer, but the alcohol shop, the vending machine for tobacco and the old Everclear song "Everything to Everyone." If Ads is their biggest single point of failure, their other Achilles' Heel would be spreading themselves too thin. I like what they've done for things like office applications and their charity arm. But in the end, how do these things fit Google? When you go up to someone in Google and attempt to have them answer, "What is Google's purpose as a business?" I don't think anyone could provide a clear answer. They used to be search. But what has creating a spreadsheet or powerpoint slide have to do with search?

Then you have them entering the mobile market in many ways like getting into the 700Mhz bid and their Android platform. I understand the marketing plausibility of it, but again what has that to do with search?

So I see a paradox going on, or maybe even an oxymoron: being everything to everyone or having no sense of identity whatsoever. I remember reading about how Larry Page grew angry at Google employees for not spending enough time on search. Is that because Google is supposed to be search?

Honestly, for myself, I don't care whether or not Google as a business model is supposed to be search. I just want them to answer it for themselves. They need to, in 2008, finally declare who and what Google is. They cannot make the claim, "They are not Evil" because Evil is too subjective of a word. And it simply is not a business model since business models are about making money through products and services. Once they've answered this question, I hope that they can focus their efforts on whatever model they pick.]]> Wed, 02 Jan 2008 01:28:40 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2008/1/2/6e2091393f15b8454dc35f95637ba0b8.html Google and Yahoo in 2008 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2008/1/2/2a85ded9a6471b256aef75886510d7f8.html You can't talk about Google without talking about Yahoo in some way. I think MSN should be made irrelevant as it is truly a 3rd rate copy of copies. But the big question should be how these two behemoths focus their energies for this year?

While Google looks mobile bound, Yahoo might be moving towards social. I really hate looking at these two companies in these terms because I think these terms are passe. I think there is another picture to look at, something bigger than just mobile and social (while these two are big, to me, it's just marketing's current buzz).

I think Google needs to become something like the engine of the internet. I guess you could call it the Web OS. It will form the basis of all internet related aspects. APIs, links to websites, data relation, etc. In other words, Google will become more of the foundation for how the internet runs. You have all of their open APIs like Base, Maps, Ads, Android, even OpenSocial to a degree.

Yahoo should focus on becoming The content provider/creator. If I were to refocus Yahoo, it would be to first get rid of all the useless things that it bought or things that doesn't do it any real good. For instance, I'd kill Yahoo's search. Just let Google power it. I don't see any difference anyway (which is a huge problem in my book).

Next I'd kill Yahoo's notion of it being a portal. A portal for what? What a stupid term that got a lot of companies in trouble for forcing people to try to do everything, but doing everything in a sloppy, disorganized, unfocused, and low quality manner. Yahoo shouldn't even have a "front" page anymore. They should get people to move towards "My Yahoo" or something more useful. Help people build their own page. I'm not talking about another shitty "let's share my stupid page with my friends" type of deal. I'm talking about going through their troves of content and letting users filter out all of their crap which makes their front page so confusing.

Yahoo should then focus on purely content APIs. News, weather, movies, music, TV, etc. Content, content, content, content. Let Yahoo be this middle man of content, a content distributor and even creator. Google will then find ways of mining it. It's a nice symbiotic relationship that they could build.

Also, Yahoo should be a front end service. If Yahoo is to be a content provider/creator, it must also figure out how to make such services presentable. In other words, make them look nice, make it easy for people to create more services, make it easy to access and figure out what's available for them. If you go to Yahoo's homepage, you'll see a bunch of junk floating around. You got some news items, a ton of confusing ads, this horrible sidebar in which my eye hardly glances, and a TINY search bar. Oh not to mention that stupid appearing menu for my email that enlarges and shrinks the page in annoying ways. What the hell is this? Yahoo is trying to push a ton of garbage onto me without figuring out what I want at first. It's almost like going to a generic buffet in Vegas. Going along the analogy of buffets, Google is more like the Wynn buffet, where you have smaller quantities of food, but the stuff is done well. On the other hand, Yahoo would be the Main Street of buffets, where you get tons of choices, but the preparation is done in a mediocre manner.

If I were re-designing Yahoo's pages, I would start with a blank page and just ask questions about what a user wants and slowly build up a page with all the content available for them. I suggest anyone with some authority at Yahoo to read my rant about Linux on the desktop. Yahoo needs a similar strategy. While Yahoo has the marketshare due to their long reign, I can easily imagine them losing it or at least pieces of it slowly to competitors who simply have more focused capabilities and better marketing.

Along those lines I'd also make Yahoo a single point of sign on for the internet. There should be some trusted crossover between Google and Yahoo to allow people to reutilize their email addresses as the same login between platforms. If that happens, then they should also get rid of the stupid page that forces people to re-login everytime and put everything into some framed version so that people don't have to go between various pages and have all their main applications and links centralized from a logical point.

Finally, Yahoo needs to return partly to their roots on what made them successful: a directory. While Yahoo as a pure directory is impossible because of the sheer number of services out there, Yahoo needs to re-invent itself in terms of marketing its applications in the form of a directory structure. Or something that bears resemblance to a directory to make sense of the hundreds of things within Yahoo. Having that sad little strip on the left side just doesn't cut it and I'm certain more services could potentially see the light of day if people weren't obstinate and realized how horrible of a front page that they have.

Google and mobile/wireless are combos people are going to start murmuring about since, well, it's Google trying to get in. While it'll be interesting to see their plans if they can get the bid, I'm more afraid of them failing in getting it. Probably if they make the bid, they'll open it up for everyone. I don't think that would be a great business decision. The infrastructure cost in that would be insane. But let's say that they don't get the duke. My alternative plan is for them to buyout AOL, kill dialup, improve LAN connectivity through installing fiber in major cities and lowering rates and selling that. Personally, I'd love to see that happen more than Google getting the wireless bid. I mean, it just makes more sense from a business perspective. The customers are already known, all you're doing is just upgrading lines, you destroy that evil faction of sales that AOL has, you get rid of the old dialups, move everyone to IPv6 so everyone will have a static IP and you can give the cable monopoly a real run for their money (i'm not sure if Time Warner still has a part in AOL, probably do so that'll make this deal even sweeter). Not to mention you'll make M$ shit in their pants because you end up controlling the other side of infrastructure.n The other major thing is that Google will finally have a new form of business to earn continuous revenue from. It will be a natural fit and a good way for the internet to finally evolve.

Yahoo should NOT make a purchase or investment in Facebook. I just think the whole SNS is passe. Yahoo should focus on improving what they have rather than continuously broaden themselves out. Let some other company like M$ make the mistake of investing in a piece of junk like Facebook. Have you seen Myspace recently? It still sucks even with the interface change! People just migrated over to Facebook! So is Murdoch's $650 million still worth it?

Both of these companies need to realize what they have and make better utilization of their resources. I think Google has a lot of momentum and brilliance while Yahoo has the legacy. But both simply lack focus to improve on what they have.

Anyway, if anyone wants to hire me as a strategist for either company, go to my profile page here and contact me through my linkedin account or facebook account.]]> Wed, 02 Jan 2008 02:22:15 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2008/1/2/2a85ded9a6471b256aef75886510d7f8.html Las Vegas Home Sales http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2008/1/4/b05c8268b1f1d2f13fa4a3abae659283.html
However, I hesitate on the grounds that as a short term investment vehicle, it would be a horrible idea. For a long term strategy, I like the idea. But one thing worries me: the lack of jobs. Or rather the fact that most jobs out there consist of catering to the casinos. There's a danger to me in purchasing a piece of land where my type of market does not exist. For myself, I don't see much of a tech industry compared to say, Arizona. I don't know why this is, but it's kinda sad in some way considering that a lot of Vegas is growing massively into a thriving city.

I do believe that for housing to succeed one key ingredient is a proliferation of good jobs. Not gas attendants, grocery checkout, sales, or used cars. I mean jobs that earn people money. You could consider gambling a job for certain professionals, but I see that being rather limited. In the end, I guess what I would consider a good job might be more along the lines of a tech industry. Of course, Vegas probably has their share of lawyers, doctors, business moguls, etc. but those positions are more limited compared to something like the tech industry where you can get highly skilled professionals that can afford the housing.

Either way, I think for Vegas to succeed it needs to offer businesses outside of gambling tax break incentives to start up offices and allow other industries to become involved. That along with more universities to build up a reputation beyond a gambling/entertainment city that seems to stigmatize it.]]> Fri, 04 Jan 2008 08:45:12 -0700 http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2008/1/4/b05c8268b1f1d2f13fa4a3abae659283.html Finding Good Programmers http://www.keithwatanabe.net/blogs/2008/1/12/d9778707d626db8b2f0af670ee926d7e.html mentioned. On top of development, i've had a lot of recruitment experience. I've given many interviews in trying to find the best candidates for development jobs. And I've worked with a lot of people in IT, so I can generalize a lot my statements about programming towards those who work in IT. My advice here goes to those who recruit, not just recruiters, but HR people and interviewers at companies:

Passion For Technology

The best programmers I've known do not necessarily have degrees or certifications. Matter of fact, degrees and certifications can be extremely misleading. But great programmers love what they do. As the article suggests, this is a key in finding great programmers.

I never considered myself a "great" programmer. Maybe "decent" or even "good" at best, but never "great." "Great" programmers are some of the kids I met up at UC Berkeley in the computer labs, who often talked about obscure algorithms and found problem solving to be something similar to those who might pick up a crossword puzzle magazine at a store. "Great" programmers are like my second roommate in college who programmed on his little Commodore 64 and is now working as a game developer doing interfaces. "Great" programmers is my close friend who helped get my start in the industry. This guy, like my old roommate, would program on some archaic machine, doing things like porting a bmp to jpg converter on an Apple GS. "Great" programmers are like these two guys I knew over at New.net. One guy who practically gave me the vision for building a scalable web application and is now working over at Yahoo as a senior engineering manager. While the other "great" programmer was this guy who went and grabbed his Bioinfomatics Phd at UCSD and is now working for Google to be intellectually stimulated. All of these people cared about what they were doing, which is why I consider them "great."

Then I've met people who just suck because they put together a PC at their home and called themselves "real IT" (using a deep bass voice). Just because you build a PC at home, doesn't mean you're suddenly IT. Adding a keyboard is simple that only the most novice of computer users could never do. But I'll get to these people in a minute.

Continual Learning

Part of having passion for what you do is that you're always at competition with yourself to improve what you know. While I hate to brag that I'm a good programmer, one of my goals as a developer/IT person is to constantly update my knowledge. I've worked with people whose skills stagnate because they lose their interest in updating their knowledge. My dad was that way and eventually it killed him (literally).

The thing is that technology is constantly an evolving thing. There's always new formats, new techniques, new servers, new hardware, new languages, etc. coming out. It's almost frustrating because it's impossible these days to know everything. Heck, my university split the computer field into three distinct parts. These days, it's no longer meaningful just to be some webmaster. Now, you have to specialize to get good at anything. Still, the better people in IT tend to make attempts at going beyond just what they know and this is the critical point. This doesn't necessarily mean paying for a certification, but if you talk to anyone in the industry, once they start talking about trends and what they do and even how they do it, it's quite obvious that something good is there.

Problem Solving

This is one I think that most of the traditionalists in the industry will find to be a critical skill. While I do agree, I sometimes feel that like technology, this area is multi-faceted and that you can't make assumptions or generalizations on someone. To test a programmer, you have to give them a variety of tests to figure out what area of problem solving they are competent at. For instance, there are logical areas like the prototypical google tests or math quizzes. However, there's more practical problems where people like myself excel in. Giving a theoretical example works for people used to the abstract world. For someone like myself, I work in the real world and find application in what's available to me and how I can make use of it. I call the former type the Steve Wozniac type while I'm more of the "practical" problem solver.

Focus on Skills

I've told everyone in this industry and have been told by veterans in this industry that your core strength are your skills. The article mentions that a person with a variety of skills is probably more valuable than the person who exactly matches for a job description for a particular skill. I think in theory this is true because the person who has a lot of skills can perform and learn quickly. Or at least that's what this situation tells me on average.

For myself at my stage in my career, when it comes to programming or application setup, it's not a hard thing to do. Learning a new programming language takes me approximately one to two weeks since most are the same. Mastering a programming language would take a month in terms of feeling comfortable while I work on projects to get me practical experience. I think good programmers are similar in this regard because they have enough fundamental background in knowing how programming languages work. In the case of application setup, a lot of it is simply reading a lot of documentation and doing it a couple of times. For instance, just recently I learned how to make an rpm spec file as well as teaching myself ffmpeg. The hardest thing was simply sitting down and spending the time to understand how each of these things worked, then having enough patience to work with both.

Note that this is a little dangerous because you don't want to exclusively rely on a person's resume for what they know. I've seen many people put down anything just to get a job but could never back up what they know during an interview.

Companies and Project Reputations

This is another debatable issue. But the main thing is that I think really good programmers must work for companies or projects with hailed reputations. I mean, if you suddenly for whatever reason got a google, yahoo, Blizzard, EA employee at your doorstep, you probably should realize that this person is one of the best in the industry. At the same time, you should check to see if the person has good projects that they were able to do on their resume. You could always get a person from such a company who just went along for the ride but never innovated. But at least that person should have been on a project to give them enough experience and exposure to a broader range of thinking and led to some professional growth.

Good Programmers Do

My high school physics teacher used to joke about the difference between math and physics. He would say that in physics, the numbers actually meant something. But he has a point: there is a dividing line between theoretical knowledge and real/practical knowledge and usage.

Many of the good programmers that I know compliment their theoretical knowledge with having practical knowledge. These people are in the trenches, buildin