01-The New Interopolis

“If we did not have online organizing tools, it would be much harder to be where we are now.” Chris Hughes, Founder of Facebook | New York Times, 7 July 2008

“One of my fundamental beliefs from my days as a community organizer is that real change comes from the bottom up…and there’s no more powerful tool for grassroots organizing than the Internet.” Barack Obama, Democratic Presidential Nominee | New York Times, 7 July 2008

“The handset makers are on a treadmill, trying to turn out hardware every six months that’s innovative and thinner, with bigger displays and lower costs, all having to do the systems integration. The net result is no innovation. They do not have time. And you know what? We make really good software. We can take on all that work.” Andy Rubin, Director, Mobile Computing, Google | Wired, July 2008

“Symbian…will indisputably be the most attractive platform for mobile innovation…Nokia is strongly positioned to realize the benefits of open innovation, as well as accelerating time to market, enabling us to meet and exceed customer expectations for leading converged devices and experiences”. Olli-Pekka Kallusvo, CEO, Nokia | Financial Times, 25 June 2008

“That phone you’re carrying around, we think of it as a phone, but it’s really a computer, right? We’ve learned from computers that its really nice to have complete connectivity, to be able to connect anything in a kind of open way, we’ve also learned that it’s really nice to be able to run any application you want to run, also in an open way. For a lot of people and a lot of time during your life, the phone is your main computing platform. We look at those technologies and say wow, we can do a whole lot more.” Larry Page, Co-Founder, Google | Wired, July 2008

“You have a significant challenge in mobile, in that the screens are much smaller, so you can’t display nearly as much advertising, or take as much space. On the other hand, you have much more relevant and timely information, like what location the person may be in, so on balance, that leaves me quite optimistic.” Sergey Brin, Co-Founder, Google | Wired, July 2008

“The goal [of Android, Google's mobile phone software platform] to build a killer app, then monetize it later.” Andy Rubin, Director, Mobile Computing , Google | Wired, July 2008

“People can debate how long it will take us, but I have a hundred percent confidence that we will eventually get there”. Larry Page, Co-Founder, Google | Wired, July 2008

“We have to get rid of the idea that graffiti is a form of vandalism…Graffiti artists are crusaders.” Frank Esselink, author, Vandals and Crusaders | International Herald Tribune, 31 May 2008

“This is the most culturally significant art movement of the second half of the 20th century, since Cubism and Surrealism…This art is very powerful, engaged and direct. After all these years I am still moved by its strength, and passion.” Henk Pijnenburg, Dutch art collector | International Herald Tribune, 31 May 2008

“This art is new and fresh, and has brought a lot more players into the auction houses.” Arnaud Olivier, Artcurial | International Herald Tribune, 31 May 2008

“The source of Google’s competitive advantage is learning by doing”
Hal R. Varian, Google’s chief Economist | New York Times, 7 July 2008

“In the Internet marketplace, users can easily switch to another search engine by typing in another Web address, so there is no tight technology control, as there is with proprietary PC software. Similarly, advertisers and publishers can switch fairly easily to rival ad networks operated by Yahoo, Microsoft and others.” Hal R. Varian, Google’s chief Economist | New York Times, 7 July 2008

“The system is constantly evolving to optimize efficiency, improve ad quality and make the pricing smarter, so you don’t want set rules that say we do X and we don’t do Y”. Hal R. Varian, Google’s chief Economist | New York Times, 7 July 2008

“Google looks at what’s happened to Microsoft, and we’re going to follow the rules…If you’re really successful, you need to know about antitrust. That goes with the territory.” Hal R. Varian, Google’s chief Economist | New York Times, 7 July 2008

“We certainly expect to go on with this…Corporate sponsors are interested in whatever works for their commercial interests and their shareholders. Long-term preservation is not something you can look to the commercial sector to provide. It is what research libraries have always done.” Carole Moore, Chief Librarian, University of Toronto | New York Times, 24 May 2008

“Given the evolution of the Web and our strategy, we believe the next generation of search is about the development of an underlying, sustainable business model for the search engine, consumer and content partner.” Satya Nadella, Senior VP, Search, Microsoft | New York Times, 24 May 2008

“We are extremely committed to Google Book Search, Google Scholar and other initiatives to bring more content online”. Adam Smith, Product Management Director, Google | New York Times, 24 May 2008

“Unlike the traditional approach, Nexon makes its games free to download to personal computers and to play. The company makes money by charging customers anywhere from 30 cents to $25 each for virtual “items” to enhance their game experiences, including everything from souped-up vehicles to wacky hairstyles for in-game characters.” Nick Wingfield, journalist | Wall St. Journal, 23 May 2008

“Nexon’s biggest hit in the U.S. so far is MapleStory, an online role-playing game popular with teenagers in which players assume the identities of warriors, magicians and thieves and collectively fight monsters. The game has 85 million users globally, of which 5.9 million are registered in the U.S.” Nick Wingfield | Wall St. Journal, 23 May 2008

“The in-game purchases add up to a big, fast-growing business. Prepaid cards used to buy Nexon game items are now the second best-selling entertainment gift card at Target Corp. stores in the U.S., after cards for Apple Inc.’s iTunes Store, Target says.” Nick Wingfield, journalist | Wall St. Journal, 23 May 2008

“These games are as much Facebook as they are raw video games.” Evan Wilson, Analyst, Pacific Crest Securities | Wall St. Journal, 23 May 2008

“We sell social experiences, not packaged products.” Min Kim, VP Marketing, Nexus | Wall St. Journal, 23 May 2008

“I think we’re going to become television to their film…there will always be room for big blockbusters, but there will be less and less of them. I think we’ll reach a much, much broader audience.” Steve Rechtschaffner, CCO, Nexon Publishing North America | Wall St. Journal, 23 May 2008

“There’s a conversation going on now about your company, good, bad, or otherwise. A company like ours, poolcenter.com, is trying to gently steer it in a positive direction. And when members need a product, they’re just a couple of clicks away.” Rob Cox, Founder of the Pool Community at PoolCenter.com | Inc Magazine, July 2008

“You have to work on your identity today. If styles are enormously diverse, we have to choose who it is we’re going to be.” Anthony Giddens, Distinguished Sociologist, in the symposium, “Humanizing Work”, held at the Lehman Brothers Center for Women in Business | Financial Times, 17 June 2008

“The median ages of the broadcast networks keep rising, as traditional television is no longer the first screen for the younger set.” Research Magna Global, a media services firm owned by Interpublic Group | Wall Street Journal, 30 June 2008

“One of the biggest challenges that Sharper Image faced in the past five years [going bankrupt] was that the Apple Store took over as the place to hang out and play with gadgets at the mall.” Richard Thalheimer, Founder of Sharper Image | Wired, July, 2008

“I think the most interesting thing on the label side is being able to combine the merchandise with the music. I think Hot Topic is reinventing themselves as a one-stop shop for artists.” John Jannick, Founder of Fueled by Ramen, Independent Label affiliated with Atlantic Records | New York Times 30 June 2008

“For us, music merchandise is where profit is. The reason we carry CDs in the stores is that, to be in a music-centered business and not to have music, would be a contradiction. And you can’t be in an online music store and not have MP3s.” Jerry Cook, President, Hot Topics | New York Times 30 June 2008

“A lot of their demographic probably has MP3 players but it’s possible they already established relationships with an existing online retailer like Apple or Amazon. They’re going to have to convince their customers that their online store is more compelling than all the others.” Mike McGuire, Vice President, Gartner Research | New York Times 30 June 2008

“The Internet is not only a great place to reach web sites, but it’s also a great way to delivery conventional content. And at the end of the day, it’s about getting entertainment back into the living room.” Robert Wiesenthal, EVP, CFO, Sony Corporation of North America | | New York Times 30 June 2008

“I think you have to chalk everything studios are doing now with digital delivery to be experimentation. No one knows what the business model will be.” Stephen Prow, Founder, Salem Partners, LA based investment bank with a focus on entertainment | New York Times 30 June 2008

“The ethos of the Net is fundamentally respectful of and invested in the idea of COLLECTIVE WISDOM, and in some sense is hostile to the idea that power and authority should belong to a select few…[However,] it has historically been unusual for change to bubble up from below on its own.” James Surowieki, author of The Wisdom of Crowds

“If you want to be a leader, then find a parade and get out in front of it.” Jim Barksdale, former CEO of Netscape and venture capitalist