Google Sites has Altered the Landscape for Wikis

Google Sites is the most exciting product I've seen from the Googleplex in quite some time. I recently started using Google Sites to manage information between a small team I'm managing. I've used dozens of Wiki products in the past and have never been so initially impressed by a Wiki than I recently was with Google Sites.

When I think back on all the Wikis I've used, the first thing I remember is having to learn an overly complex markup language specific to the Wiki. Just take a look at TWiki or PBwiki, both of which have complicated markup languages, reserved wiki words and so on. Google Sites implements simplicity with its rich text editor and html editor. Google Sites also offers a free Wiki giving Google Sites a huge leg up on the competition. And lets no forget Google Sites' User Interface which is a huge leg up on the competition. 

Google Sites offers a simplistic wiki solution and reminds me of the pre-iPod days. Before the iPod, dozen of companies were making overly complicated MP3 players with bad interfaces and an absurd number of unnecessary features. That is how I see existing Wikis solutions, over complicated, bad interfaces, and more features than the majority of users will ever need. Google has done for Wikis what Apple did for MP3s players. 

Carl Icahn & Followers Control 31 Percent of Yahoo!

News broke today that Carl Icahn and his growing group of followers now control roughly 31 percent of Yahoo. Notables in the list include billion dollar hedge fund Third Point, which held 1 million shares in Yahoo as of March 31, and may build a stake of up to 10 million shares in the internet company. Paulson & Co, another hedge fund, disclosed it recently built up a stake of 50 million shares in Yahoo and is supporting Icahn. And lets not forget the growing list of billionaire money celebrities including Boone Pickens and Mark Cuban.

Needless to say, its been an interesting trail of events, especially since Icahn doesn't usea personal computer and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer won't take Icahn's phone calls.

The Real Yahoo! Board Members

By now you've probably heard that Carl Icahn is launching a proxy fight in a move to replace 10 seats on Yahoo!'s board of directors. Icahn's nominees include himself, Keith Meister of Icahn Enterprises, Mark Cuban (Dallas Mavericks owner), former Viacom CEO Frank Biondi Jr., Adam Dell, Lucian Bebcuk, John Chapple, Edward Meyer, Brian Posner and Robert Shaye. 

While Icahn's list is interesting, there has been little talk on who is currently on Yahoo!'s board. Read below and you'll find out.

Roy Bostock Chairman, Yahoo! Inc. Roy Bostock has served as a member of the board of directors since May 2003 and as Chairman of the Board since January 2008. Mr. Bostock served as Chairman of BCom3 Group, Inc., a global advertising agency group, from January 2000 to mid-2001. From July 1990 to January 2000, Mr. Bostock served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles and its successor company, The MacManus Group, Inc., an advertising and marketing services firm. Mr. Bostock is Chairman of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America; he also serves on the board of Morgan Stanley and is currently the chairman of the board of directors of Northwest Airlines Corporation. Mr. Bostock holds a Bachelor's degree from Duke University and an M.B.A. from Harvard University.	Ron Burkle Founder and Managing Partner, The Yucaipa Companies Ron Burkle has served as a member of the board of directors since November 2001. Mr. Burkle is managing partner of The Yucaipa Companies, a private investment firm, which he co-founded in 1986. Mr. Burkle also serves as a director of Yucaipa Equity Partners, L.P., Occidental Petroleum Corp. and KB Home Corporation.
Eric Hippeau Managing Partner, SOFTBANK Capital A Yahoo! board member since 1996, Eric Hippeau is managing partner of Softbank Capital Partners, a technology oriented venture capital firm. Before joining SOFTBANK Capital Partners, from 1993-2000, Mr. Hippeau served as Chairman and CEO of Ziff-Davis, Inc., an integrated media & marketing services company serving the technology community. Mr. Hippeau joined Ziff-Davis in 1989 as Publisher of PC Magazine, was named executive vice president of Ziff-Davis in 1990 and chief operating officer in 1991. During his career at Ziff-Davis, Mr. Hippeau established himself as a true visionary, recognizing the trend toward the Internet long before others. Prior to joining Ziff-Davis, Mr. Hippeau held a number of positions with IDG, including vice president of computer publications in Latin America and publisher of IDG's InfoWorld magazine. In addition to Yahoo!, Mr. Hippeau sits on a number of Boards of Directors, including Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc.	Vyomesh Joshi Executive Vice President, Imaging and Printing Group, Hewlett Packard Vyomesh Joshi has served as a member of the board of directors since July 2005. Mr. Joshi was elected Executive Vice President of the Imaging and Printing Group at Hewlett-Packard in 2002 after serving as Vice President since January 2001. Mr. Joshi also served as Chairman of Phogenix Imaging LLC, a joint venture between HP and Kodak, from 2000 until May 2003. Prior to that Mr. Joshi was Vice President and General Manager of Inkjet Systems. Mr. Joshi holds a master's degree in electrical engineering from Ohio State University.
Arthur Kern Founder and Chairman, American Media Arthur Kern has served as a member of the board of directors since January 1996. Mr. Kern is an investor in several media and marketing companies. Prior to that, Mr. Kern was co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of American Media, a group owner of commercial radio stations sold to AMFM (now part of Clear Channel Communications, Inc.) in October 1994. Mr. Kern is a graduate of Yale University.	Robert Kotick Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Activision, Inc. Robert Kotick has been a member of the board since March 2003. Since February 1991, Mr. Kotick has been the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Activision, Inc., a publisher of interactive entertainment software products.
Ed Kozel Chairman, Skyrider, Inc. Edward Kozel has served as a member of the board of directors since October 2000. He has served as the chairman of Skyrider, Inc. since December 2007, and was its Chief Executive Officer from March 2006 until December 2007. Mr. Kozel was also a managing member of Open Range Ventures, a venture capital firm, from January 2000 until December 2006. Between January 2004 and December 2004, Mr. Kozel was a managing director of Integrated Finance, Ltd., a private advisory services firm. Until 2002 he was a member of the Board of Directors of Cisco Systems, Inc., where he worked for 11 years in a variety of roles, including chief technology officer and senior vice president of business development. During his tenure at Cisco, he founded the business development group which, under his direction, was responsible for more than 22 technology acquisitions and 25 minority investments. Mr. Kozel is an industry innovator who previously worked at Boeing, McDonnell Douglas and SRI International, where he participated in the early design and development of the Internetwork Protocol (IP) model and TCP/IP, packet radio networks and highly distributed information systems. In addition to Yahoo!, Mr. Kozel served as a director of Reuters Group PLC from March 2000 to April 2007 and is currently a director of Network Appliance, Inc. He graduated from the University of California, Davis with a degree in electrical engineering.	Gary Wilson Chairman Emeritus, Northwest Airlines Corporation Gary Wilson has served as a member of the board of directors since November 2001. Mr. Wilson also served as Chairman of the board of directors of Northwest Airlines Corporation, the parent of Northwest Airlines, Inc. from 1997 - 2007. Mr. Wilson also serves as a director of CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. Mr. Wilson holds a Bachelor's degree from Duke University and an M.B.A. from Wharton Graduate School of Business.
Jerry Yang CEO and Chief Yahoo Jerry Yang, a Taiwanese native raised in San Jose, Calif., co-created the Yahoo! Internet navigational guide in April 1994 with David Filo and co-founded Yahoo! Inc. in April 1995. He was appointed chief executive officer of the company in June 2007. Mr. Yang, a leading force in the Internet media industry, has been instrumental in building Yahoo! into the world's most highly trafficked Web site and one of the world's most recognized brands. Since the company's founding, Mr. Yang has been a key member of the executive management team. His focus at Yahoo! over the years has included corporate strategy, Yahoo!'s technology vision, strategic business partnerships and international joint ventures, and recruiting key talent. In addition to serving on the Yahoo! Board of Directors, Mr. Yang currently serves on the board of directors of Cisco Systems, Yahoo! Japan, and Alibaba, and is also on the Stanford University Board of Trustees. Mr. Yang holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University and is currently on a leave of absence from Stanford's electrical engineering Ph.D. program.	Maggie Wilderotter Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Citizens Communications Company Maggie Wilderotter has served as a member of the Board of Directors since July 2007. She has been chairman of the Board of Directors and chief executive officer of Citizens Communications (NYSE: CZN) since January 2006. She joined Citizens as president, chief executive officer and a member of the Board of Directors in November 2004. Prior to this, Ms. Wilderotter was senior vice president of Worldwide Public Sector at Microsoft Corporation and was president, chief executive officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Wink Communications, Inc. and held senior leadership positions in other communications companies. Ms. Wilderotter also serves on the Board of Directors of The Xerox Corporation and The Tribune Company. She holds a bachelor's degree in Economics and Business Administration from The College of the Holy Cross.

For more information on Microsoft, Yahoo!, Carl Icahn, or Jerry Yang visit nobosh. 

Special thanks to Y! for the board member content on their corporate site. 

Digg Sharing is Flawed

Ever since Digg launched profiles, the usefulness, quality, and reputation of Digg has been on the decline. What's moving up is SPAM. If you disagree with that statement, Google it - You'll find nearly a million links with a similar opinion. 

After the profiles launch, Digg became littered with bosh (nonsense) and became a spam breeding ground. Take a look at the Digg sharing feature below. Note how incredibly easy it is to instantly send a shout (story message share) to all your friends. Its SPAM friendly features like this that are hurting Digg. Removing the "Shout to All" button would go a long way to restore Digg's quality. 

Below is a perfect example how story sharing should be. The image below was taken from nobosh.com. Notice how the sharing feature has no one-click share to all your friends button. This UI decision has gone a long way to keep spam out of nobosh and leave nobosh with no nonsense, no bosh, nobosh community.

Starbucks to Experience the iPhone Effect

Earlier this week, Starbucks switched on AT&T for internet access. Starbuck's move from T-Mobile to AT&T will result in over 12 million AT&T DSL and iPhone users having free Wi-Fi access at Starbucks, compared to T-Mobile's previous pay-per-user service.

Hundreds of stories have been written claiming the deal would benefit iPhone users, well what about Starbucks? I predict this new in-store offering at Starbucks will allow Starbucks to begin experiencing the iPhone Effect. Expect Starbucks to see an increase in store traffic and greater sales. Steve Jobs and his iPhone could help save Starbucks. After all, Howard Schultz can use all the help he can get. This is an example of the kind of strategic decisions Starbucks needs to make. The coffee company needs to stay away from brand damaging moves such as the in-store vending machine or even a Starbucks branded energy drink. 

You can find me at the Starbucks on Wilshire and Highland in Los Angeles. 

For more information on Starbucks, AT&T, T-Mobile, the iPhone, Steve Jobs, or even Howard Schultz, visit nobosh.com.