Is he an industry shill or an Obama crackdown artist? We’ve waited six months for Thomas Wheeler to show his true colors as the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. He had spent two decades at the lobbying trade groups of the cable-TV business and the wireless industry, so some were hoping for a […]
Break Up AT&T–Again!
AT&T’s bold bid of $49 billion in cash and stock to acquire DirecTV would lash together the two distribution giants to contend with the mammoth media combo of Comcast and Time Warner Cable, but here’s what it really means for AT&T: It is time to stage another massive break-up. AT&T should split itself into two […]
Surfing the Next Wave
First of three parts In the next wave of the technology revolution, will your company or industry adapt to survive and even thrive—or get disrupted and swept away? Three smart guys have some keen insights on what it takes to surf the wave, and why so many incumbent giants fail. Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff, AOL […]
Three Smart Guys… and Me
As Vivek Wadhwa just tweeted, it was indeed a riveting panel yesterday at the Milken Global Conference. Here’s the entire session, skim it for some great insights from three very smart guys: Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff, AOL Time Warner survivor Steve Case, and academic soothsayer Vivek himself. Among the highlights: Benioff says we always overestimate […]
A New Message of Hope
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.—As the rich, the powerful and the merely brilliant gather here this week for the renowned Milken Global Conference, a surprising message of hope may emerge: That America’s best days are far from over, that a new revolution in technology is at hand—bigger and more sweeping and also more destructive than anything before […]
Indiscriminate Destruction
Ah creative destruction, ain’t it grand? We have seen this economic force, championed almost a centruy ago by the Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter, chew up dozens if not hundreds of industries and shake up, realign or otherwise wipe out millions of jobs in recent decades. The Internet wave and Moore’s Law of computing power have accelerated, […]
So How am I Doin’?
Ten Rules for How to be Unemployed: http://bit.ly/1i2hdyE Ten More Rules: http://bit.ly/1neiIRF Hey guys. Now in Week 11 of Unemployment, I have posted 20 rules to live by, thus far. Here’s an update on how I have fared in following that first batch of 10 Rules for How to be Unemployed. Rule #1: Stick to […]
Aereo and The Supremes
At 11 o’clock this morning the nine Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are set to hear arguments in a case that could determine whether content remains king—or loses a cornerstone of copyright protection, toppling an economic underpinning of the entire entertainment business. The case is American Broadcasting Cos. vs. Aereo Inc. […]
How to be Jobless, Part 2
Hi guys, I now am in Week 10 of my first-ever stint among The Unemployed. And it could run quite a while longer. Recent data show more than two million people over age 50 now are unemployed. Among workers 55 and older, half have been jobless for six months or more, compared with only 37% […]
Is This Bull Run Done?
Is it really over? Are we really done with one of the best bull markets in the history of stocks? Not quite, and certainly not yet. Markets climb a wall of worry, the old saying goes, and Russia’s bullying in Ukraine is reason enough to startle the gazelles of Wall Street. Neither bulls nor bears, […]