A recent article on the Financial Times about a lack of skills and experience within the web advertsiment sector got me thinking about how the challenge is part of a wider picture in 2.0.

In a nutshell there seems to be a gap between 2.0 "real-time" and the sources of information that are meant to provide relevant players with the needed information and insights, if these are delayed then ultimately so is the development of skills and experience. I have been tracking data for a while, and noticed a widening gap as the information deepens. I believe the trend is integral to the very nature of the source and "information providers":

Yesterday I came across an interesting  piece on GigaOM about the "Fat Belly" (original piece linked here), that added on to Chris Anderson's Long Tail theory (read about it here). In a nutshell: Anderson's theory divides the power law distribution curve into two segments, a big head, a tall peak that represents things like top search queries, main current news issues, a blockbuster film, mass products etc... and rapidly drops and extends into a long tail, all the niche searches, stories, products, indie-music, B-movies etc... to put it simply, people search/buy/consume/are intereseted in "less of more". The GigaOM piece adds to the equation a middle bit, the fat belly, that gathers social networks, online communities, aggregators (like digg) etc...

A very interesting post on Web 2.0 and Globalisation.

Google, Microsoft, AskJeeves and Yahoo! are supporting through their technology recently launched Goodtree.com a search engine that at each query donates profits to a charitable cause a user chooses (environment, health, poverty, etc...). The site also enables to invite friends and keep track of growing network of users (aka charity tree) and homepage customization. Charities are selected by independent third-party groups (their about page) and users can select the benificiaries of their searching.
A brilliant example of social enterprise.

Hey Everyone,

 

An interesting opportunity for young people running projects in the UK or who are interested in social issues and affecting change:

 

 

Wanted….

Activists and Social Entrepreneurs

who are making a difference in their community,

Hi Everyone,

 

http://thepurplebubble.blogspot.com/2006/08/why-google-is-innovative-and-has.html This is an abstract from a paper I'm writing on Google and socialimpact, it's specifically around its merits over the $100 laptop.. Would love to know your thoughts on it and more broadely on Google and itsimpact on development. Feel free to email them to me and I would ofcourse recognize any contributions in the papers merits.