· Who have been some influential leaders (Founders, CEOs) in the IT industry over the past 20 years?

Akash Garg is the co-founder of hi5 Networks, Inc. and he is the Chief Technology Officer in the company. Eight years ago, Grag helped with launching the hi5 networks all over the world. Now, Hi5 is one of the most popular social networks in the world; it’s ranked in the top twenty websites in the globe, and people around the world can use hi5 networks with more than 20 languages. “More than 80 million individuals in over 200 nations are registered for hi5.” Garg is working with the company to develop hi5 through upgrading hi5 software and infrastructure. He also developed the core product concept and underlying technology. “hi5 Networks is a key member of Google’s Open Social platform alliance.”

Akash Garg has done many issues that improved the IT industry in general and social networks in particular. Also Garg helped with starting up the technology direction and strategies, and he also helped with developing major portions of “Reactivity’s flagship product.” He graduated from Stanford University with a degree in computer science.

http://whdb.com/2008/top-25-most-influential-people-in-the-web-hosting-industry/

http://www.hi5networks.com/

Who have been some influential leaders (Founders, CEOs) in the industry over the past 20 years?

Who have been some influential leaders (Founders, CEOs) in the industry over the past 20 years?

Over the past 20 years, the IT industry has been rapidly evolving and transforming thanks to the will power of their founders and CEOs. Mark Zuckerberg is the founder of the now famous facebook, the newest social network website that has completely changed our lives. Thanks to his determination, he managed to create the most famous and wanted websites of all, surpassing even Google.

Right now facebook is a private limited company, which means that it is only privately owned and does not sell their shares on the stock market but they do sell the shares within the company. Facebook was first founded in 2003 and it was created only for college students at Harvard to be in touch, share pictures and know what was going on in the school. However, since it became so successful, Mark decided to expand this network in a worldwide scale. I am sure that he has been a great inspiration for everyone and a lot of people who tried to come up with similar ideas tried to make it similar to the facebook network.

I personally think that Mark Zuckemberg has been one of the most inflectional people that there is been in the past 20 years along with Bill Gates who introduced the Personal Computer and completely revolutionized the way we live.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-20004853-36.html

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?sid=a8WKOckNML3k&pid=newsarchive

Google Gets Smart

            Last Thursday the most widely used search engine, Google, announced that they had changed the algorithm that renders searches and processes results. Basically, they changed which websites show up. The change was based on the notion that spammers were luring web traffic to “small content pages loaded with advertisements.” The system has been cracked. Google recreated an algorithm that removes low quality WebPages from its top searches. Ultimately Google hopes to take down this Internet jungle and provide better higher quality search results for Google users.  However, recent speculation by both U.S and European governments has led multiple investigations into the new algorithm, cautious of possible “anticompetitive behavior.”

This seems great; we all know the mess of searching Google for a piece of information and coming up with hundreds of insignificant results. Hopefully this new formula will allow easier navigation of the Internet jungle that we face every day.  It is possible though that the new formula is anticompetitive, for years Google has shared profits with spammers who loaded WebPages with Google sponsored advertisements. A change in the formula will cut down in overall revenue. In doing so, Google has to either make a sacrifice for higher quality of product to its consumer or offset the cost in some other way. Hopefully it’s not by providing those same spammers with means to profit. I do have bright hopes for this new formula, after all, consumers are positively effected by it.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704150604576166390281747136.html?mod=WSJ_Tech_LEADTop

Visionaries

The internet has only been around for a little more than twenty years. Although today, there are many IT companies, the IT industry still has a semi-short history of entrepreneurship and leadership. Here I will discuss a few influential leaders in the IT industry. I will discuss Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google.

Page and Brin met at Stanford University in 1995. Google was first called BackRub, a search engine that operated on Stanford’s servers. By 1998, Page and Brin had a startup fund that was provided by Andy Bechtolsheim. Page and Brin formed the most easygoing informal but productive work environment. In 2004 Larry Page was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering (“Management Team”). Also in 2004 both Page and Brin received the Marconi Prize, which is annually awarded to individuals who make great achievements in the technology industry (Mosman). These two men provided a foundation for their company and watched it grow into the top search engine used globally.

"Management Team · Corporate Information · About." Google. Web. 26 Feb. 2011. .

Mosman, Michelle. "The Marconi Society Fellows." The Marconi Society. Web. 26 Feb. 2011. .

Stiff Competition

The IT industry is a cut-throat business when it comes to competition and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs directly affect the competition landscape because consumers may trust the innovator or he or she may bring new ideas that work well with the company and market. Entrepreneurs can also negatively affect the competition landscape because consumers may lack trust or he or she brings ideas that does not correlate with the company.

In the last several years, the competition of the IT industry has become more intense and elongated. For instance, in January Google co-founder, Larry Page announced that he would be replacing Eric Schmidt as chief executive. This was done because Page was needed to “combat the threat from Facebook.” As of 2010 Facebook surpassed Google as the most visited website in the U.S. The objective for each company is to become “the point of entry” for web users. Page’s job is to manage with clarity and efficiency; though his real position is speculated to be to re-establish the entrepreneur drive of Google to match that of Facebook.

Google and Facebook have and will be in constant competition until the objective is completed. Google’s action of replacing Eric Schmidt with Larry Page is a prime example of how entrepreneurs can alter the competition landscape.

Stewart, James B. "Common Sense: Will Google Survive Facebook? - WSJ.com." Business News & Financial News - The Wall Street Journal - Wsj.com. 29 Jan. 2011. Web. 20 Feb. 2011

Supply and Demand

Supply and demand trends are very important for any industry. Of course both trends affect each other; if only a small amount of products are produced throughout the industry, a company can hike the prices because there is not much competition. However, if there are various types of the product, the consumer will be looking for the lowest price which will cause companies to compete to produce an inexpensive but quality product. This blog will not specify one corporation but the information technology (IT) industry as a whole and various factors that affect the supply and demand curve.

Information Technology’s supply and demand curves probably have the most fluctuation due to competition, technology advancements, and consumer probability. “Expanding power and declining costs enable new and more extensive applications of IT, which makes it possible for organizations to improve their efficiency and effectiveness” (Turban). In recent years the supply curve has shifted to the left while the demand curve has shifted to the right. This shift has occurred because of the accessibility of the technology and the various brands.

There are several large corporations that rule the IT industry such as: Google, Apple, Yahoo, and Microsoft to name a few. Corporations such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft has merged into different markets; making the supply and demand curve shift. These corporations produce many similar products making them either substitution or complimentary products; which in turn also affects the supply and demand curve. Due to the economy, consumers’ incomes have changed drastically in different directions. Some consumers may not be able to afford luxury items that companies like Apple produces; however, some consumers may and it is considered a normal good. The income factor affects the demand curve the most.

As stated before, the supply and demand curve is very essential for any industry. There are many other factors that affect the curves that were not discussed in this blog; however, these are the most common factors.

Google's Mission: Short, Sweet and to the Point

Which companies in the industry stand out in regards to their view and actions in CSR?

Both Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and a mission statement are very important for any company; CSR is a company’s obligation to aid the progression of social, economic, and environmental development. A company’s mission statement is a formal document that states the company’s objectives. This blog will focus on the actions of Google, as well as its’ mission statement.

Google is a major company in the IT industry thus making it extremely vital that the corporation stands out on its’ views on CSR. Google.org is the “umbrella” for Google's philanthropic efforts, which includes the work of the Google Foundation and some of Google's internal corporate philanthropy. The organization focuses on several areas including global poverty, health, energy and the environment.

What are some interesting mission statements or values statements of some of the companies in your industry? What does this represent about them?

Google’s mission statement is short, sweet, and straight to the point. “Google’s mission is to organize the world‘s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” Google has lived up to the mission and continue to expand its’ database. This short statement displays the efficiency, quickness, and accessibility of Google’s database.

"Corporate Information · About." Google. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. .

Donoghue, Andrew. "CSR, Google and Philanthropy." Web log post. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Web. 30 Jan. 2011. .