five Qs on tech

Mark Cuban joins CivicScience Advisory Board; NBA says it won’t fine him

robharalson — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 16:31:01 +0000

Here’s proof that not all the tech news today is coming from Las Vegas and CES. CivicScience, the Pittsburgh, PA-based startup company that has been featured on this site (and that I help out with PR activities from time to time) announced today that heavyweight Mark Cuban is joining its Advisory Board. It’s a huge win for the company and a great addition to its already stellar list of advisors that includes Kevin McClatchy, Chairman of McClatchy Newspaper Company.

CivicScience is a next-generation, consumer survey and data mining company and they are doing some really cool things. Check out the video interview its CEO John Dick did with Five Qs in 2012.

In the meantime, enjoy reading the latest non-traditional press release (linked and below) announcing the addition of Cuban.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 10, 2013

Mark Cuban to Join CivicScience Board
Company Probably Jockeying to be on Shark Tank, Sing National Anthem at Mavs Game, or Something

Pittsburgh, PA – 1/10/13 – Polling and data mining company CivicScience today announced that media titan and Dancing with the Stars juggernaut Mark Cuban has agreed to take a formal position on the company’s Advisory Board. The celebrity-gawking company is hoping to tap Cuban’s extensive rolodex of reality TV stars and pro basketball players.

“I initially reached out to Mark to score some Mavs tickets on a recent trip to Dallas,” said CivicScience CEO John Dick, who first learned of Cuban during his appearance on last April’s episode of Khloe and Lamar. “I knew he was from Pittsburgh and thought maybe he’d throw us a bone. Next thing I know, he’s grilling me about our company like I was a contestant on one of his shows.”

Cuban, noted for his riveting appearances on WWE Raw, agreed to the four-year position beginning in January 2013. He will advise CivicScience in its marketing and product development activities, with a specific focus on the music, sports, and finance verticals, while also providing ongoing mentoring, brow-beating, and profanity-laden motivational speeches.

“CivicScience is one of the most exciting young companies I have seen in a long time,” said Cuban, star of the History Channel’s The Men Who Built America docudrama. “Their ability to use large-scale data to predict consumer behavior has truly limitless potential. I’m fired up to join the team.”

CivicScience relies on partnerships with major media companies to collect polling data from consumers as they peruse content online. The company will lean on Cuban, known for his Emmy-snubbed performances on Arli$$ and Walker, Texas Ranger, to help grow these media relationships.

“We’re talking about a dude that was on like five episodes of Entourage and was even a character on the Simpsons, for God’s sake,” gushed CivicScience CTO Will Oberman. “If he could even just hook us up with an autographed picture of Kym Johnson for the office, that would be worth its weight in gold.” For the official, stodgy announcement, click here.

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What is to come next?

robharalson — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 01:18:31 +0000

After five years (minus one very short sabbatical), I will be stepping away from my role as Managing Director at CLS at the end of January. This is a decision I made months ago and my departure has been closely coordinated with the higher ups.

I still haven’t decided what is next for me – be it here in DC or maybe elsewhere – but I can promise you I am going to enjoy every single minute while figuring it out.

Thankfully, this now gives me more time to concentrate on this awesome blog. Sweet.

My two cents on the Google-FTC case

robharalson — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:06:00 +0000

It is expected that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) nearly 20-month antitrust investigation of Google will finally coming to a close – sometime in early January – with the announcement of a settlement agreement.

Just before Christmas, an agreement in this case seemed all but certain. However, immediately after the framework of a settlement leaked, Google’s competitors went into full attack mode, and we quickly saw an onslaught of public criticism, not just against Google, but also the FTC, questioning the credibility of the agency and its commissioners and even suggesting the DOJ take over the investigation.

The FTC has devoted countless hours and resources on an incredibly broad and thorough inquiry into Google’s business practices. In the end, it’s clear there just isn’t a strong case. Not all investigations by any regulatory agency end with a lawsuit or some debilitating consent decree – nor should they. To the contrary of what some would have us all believe, a collaborative agreement between Google and the FTC would further demonstrate that the agency as an institution is as strong as ever and that the process works.

It is not the role of the FTC to punish companies for the sake of justifying its investigation; its charge is to protect consumers and to enforce the law when a violation if found. To seek a settlement with Google, rather than pursue a destined-to-fail lawsuit, is a signal of strength, not weakness.

And, more importantly, regardless of the outcome, this case won’t define the FTC anymore than it will define Google.

*Disclosure: Google is a client of my employer.

Five Qs on Tech is Currently on Hiatus

robharalson — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 21:45:50 +0000

Five Qs on Tech is on hiatus. We will be back later in the year.

-Rob

No Statement of Objections in Google’s EU antitrust investigation; FTC says, “Uh, oh…”

robharalson — Mon, 21 May 2012 15:20:01 +0000

Joaquín Almunia, Vice President of the European Commission division responsible for Competition Policy released a statement today updating the world on the Commission’s one+ year-long antitrust investigation into Google.

The statement notes that the Commission has identified four areas of concern after completing it’s lengthy investigation – all related to search. Nothing on mobile. Almunia acknowledged Google’s willingness to work with the EC to allevate any concerns, and it looks like a settlement could be in the works.

But what is the most interesting party of this story is that the Commission will not be releasing a formal Statement of Objections against the company. This is huge news for Google and comes only weeks after the Federal Trade Commission announced that it hired famed litigator Beth Wilkinson to help in its own case against the company.

Apple posts its Q2 earnings, crushes estimates

robharalson — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:41:51 +0000

TechCrunch: Apple’s Q2 2012: $11.6B In Profit, $39.2B In Revenue, 35.1M iPhones Sold

BGR: Apple crushes estimates in Q2, reports profit of $11.6 billion on $39.2 billion in revenue

Twitter reveals new pale ale. No, wait. It’s a patent agreement.

robharalson — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:12:36 +0000

Twitter today unveiled its newly established approach to technology patents that is rightfully getting a significant amount of praise industry insiders and technology pundits. In a blog post, Adam Messinger, VP of Engineering, outlined the company’s Innovator’s Patent Agreement (IPA) which is essentially a promise to only use patents developed from Twitter for defensive purposes only. This means when Facebook (or any other social platform) releases a product with a similar function or process, Twitter won’t sue them in court.

“It is a commitment from Twitter to our employees that patents can only be used for defensive purposes. We will not use the patents from employees’ inventions in offensive litigation without their permission. What’s more, this control flows with the patents, so if we sold them to others, they could only use them as the inventor intended…This is a significant departure from the current state of affairs in the industry.”

Messinger also states, “One of the great things about Twitter is working with so many talented folks who dream up and build incredible products day in and day out. Like many companies, we apply for patents on a bunch of these inventions. However, we also think a lot about how those patents may be used in the future; we sometimes worry that they may be used to impede the innovation of others.

Bravo, Twitter. Bravo.

So, stop me if you’ve heard this one: Google, Facebook and Apple walk into a bar…

robharalson — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:18:24 +0000

Over the weekend, the UK’s Guardian newspaper published an interview article with Google cofounder Sergey Brin where he slammed Facbook and Apple for creating ”restrictive” walled gardens that limit sharing of data and software running on the companies’ respective platforms.

From the article:

“[Brin] said he was most concerned by the efforts of countries such as China, Saudi Arabia and Iran to censor and restrict use of the internet, but warned that the rise of Facebook and Apple, which have their own proprietary platforms and control access to their users, risked stifling innovation and balkanising the web.”

Record labels, publishers, digital music services sit in a room; actually get along

robharalson — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 01:13:53 +0000

Record labels, publishers and digital music services today announced they reached an agreement regarding royalties for distribution of digital music. This agreement, in theory, will make offering music over the Internet much easier for everyone (and potentially create new avenues). The deal still requires government approval.

Check out today’s Wall Street Journal article that outlines the details of the agreement.

SOPA, PIPA revisited

robharalson — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 01:05:26 +0000

Earlier this year, we witnessed a one-day blackout of popular web sites like Wikipedia to protest the House and Senate’s controversial anti-piracy bills that brought an unprecedented tidal wave of constituent participation and near-deafening opposition to a single issue. As a result, support for the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) waned and voting in both chambers was delayed indefinitely. It was an incredible example of democracy in action and demonstrated not only the power of Internet, but also the power of individuals participating in the political process. And with thousands of calls, emails and letters to Members’ offices, as well as millions of signatures on petitions opposing the two pieces of legislation, Congress heard the will of the people loud and clear.

So, why did individuals so passionately inject themselves into the anti-piracy debate? It’s probably not because they favored Hollywood or the technology industry, the two competing sides in this debate. They were reacting to protect the freedom and ability to access and share information on some of the most popular websites and social platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. They understood and were clearly concerned that these platforms could potentially be shut down through direct government intervention if these bills, as written, were passed into law.

The vast majority of the public and probably every single Member of Congress will agree that copyrighted material should be protected, and that piracy is a serious problem. And this debate will one day reemerge and other important tech issues like privacy, security and competition that could have a significant impact on the Internet will also be addressed. But as we learned with SOPA and PIPA, the public made clear their belief that Congress must approach this and other issues affecting the Internet with great care in order to minimize unintended burdens.