The Next Disruptors

by · Published · Updated

I’ve been a fan of Business 2.0 magazine since inception, and the October edition was another reminder why this monthly periodical is a must-read for entrepreneurs and technophiles. While the cover story points to 11 companies "whose breakthroughs will change everything," I’m not convinced that they focused on the right companies. In fact, some folks have been quite vocal in disagreeing with their selections. But within the pages were three additional stories which I thought were very important:

  • Hype Machine and its founder Anthony Volodkin points to the new trend of sites that capitalize on the content and products of other sites to generate revenue. While the total revenue being generated is small, I agree with Business 2.0 that this concept is very important. It’s why I jumped onboard Squidoo when it launched (created by Seth Godin) and created a couple dozen "lenses" to promote my latest book, my favorite author, and other topics that interest me. As with Hype Machine, the content is drawn from other sources, and links are provided to various stores like Amazon and eBay. Anything purchased through my lens earns me a piece of the transaction. Hype Machine also interests me because of my passion for music, and how sites like this further fuel the long tail of music distribution.
  • Business Intelligence systems are one of the most important areas of recent advances in technology innovation. Business 2.0 highlights one company, Spotfire, and their efforts to "process massive amounts of data and display it in clickable graphs." (some history here) Why is this important? Spotfire founder and CEO Christopher Ahlberg summed it up best, "We make it so lots of information doesn’t feel like lots of information." In other words, they present your complex data in a simplified format, allowing you to make better decisions.
  • Finally, an MP3 player that meets my music consumption and sharing needs. Business 2.0 highlights the MusicGremlin, but I am talking about the forthcoming Microsoft Zune. Wi-Fi, file sharing, FM tuner, USB, XBOX compatible, social networking capable, PC compatible. What sold me is the ability to send someone a song or entire album at the click of a button. Music can be a very social activity, and this has been a major peeve of mine with the iPod. This new device is going to be huge.

Christian Buckley

Christian is a Microsoft Regional Director and M365 Apps & Services MVP, and an award-winning product marketer and technology evangelist, based in Silicon Slopes (Lehi), Utah. He is a startup advisor and investor, and an independent consultant providing fractional marketing and channel development services for Microsoft partners. He hosts the weekly #CollabTalk Podcast, weekly #ProjectFailureFiles series, monthly Guardians of M365 Governance (#GoM365gov) series, and the Microsoft 365 Ask-Me-Anything (#M365AMA) series.