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Nortel: Messy ‘Til the Bitter End

By Mark Evans in M&A 2 Comments Tags: , , , ,

If Nortel was a movie, it might be called “The Company That Couldn’t Shoot Straight”.

Two years after filing for bankruptcy protection, Nortel is still on life support but refuses to go away quietly even as it divests its last assets – a patent portfolio chock-a-block with all kinds of wireless goodies.

Yesterday, Nortel unveiled plans to sell 6,000 patents to Google for $900-million. The deal, however, is structured so competitive bids can surface. Among the parties rumoured to be interested are Research in Motion, which covets Nortel’s LTE assets.

If it was as simple as an auction happening, that would be one thing. But in the whacky world of Nortel, nothing is that simple. According to GeekWire, Microsoft says it has a “worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free license to all of Nortel’s patents that covers all Microsoft products and services, resulting from the patent cross-license signed with Nortel in 2006.”

What it means is the sale of Nortel’s patent portfolio could become a complicated and messy situation, which could not only see competitive bids but a legal battle over who owns or controls the patents.

Seemingly lost within the shuffle is that the patents are the last chapter in Nortel’s disappointing demise from tier-one telecom equipment supplier to non-entity. What was once the star of Canada’s high-tech industry is going to disappear into the history books.

Hammered by hubris, a series of strategic and tactical mistakes, weak senior management and, finally, an unwillingness to fight until the bitter end, Nortel will soon disappear, although the battle over the patents could see the “patient” hang on for a few more months.

The Value of Organic SEO

By Mark Evans in Google 1 Comment Tags: , , ,

Search is a funny game; whenever you’ve figured out all the rules, they change them on you….or, at least, Google likes to change the rules just to keep everything interesting.

The latest switch-a-roo happened this week when Google unveiled a new algorithmic improvement that impacts nearly 12% of its search results. In the scheme of things, this is major change that will no doubt disappoint many people who no longer rank among the top results.

Given the power and importance of search, it is fascinating to see how Google can be so nonchalant in not only upgrading its algorithm but how it impacts the digital presence of so many companies.

In my consulting business, search rankings are not surprisingly something that’s important to every client. At some point, they get around to “SEO” and what can be done to make sure they at least rank on the first page. I’m not an SEO practitioner but I suggest the best way to approach search is to focus on organic SEO rather than looking to somehow game the system.

This means a few things, including the value of having a corporate blog given how Google loves the kind of fresh content that blogs generate. As well, blogs can be a valuable tool to attract inbound links, which is at the core of how Google’s PageRank algorithm works.

As someone who believes that content is king, I believe strong content is among the powerful SEO tools because it has the potential to attract attention and, as important, continues to work for you on a long-term basis.

Another important consideration for SEO is making sure your Web site is properly meta-tagged. It means having the most appropriate and relevant keywords embedded into the “guts” of your Web site so that when search engine spider it, they extract words that best reflect the products or services you offer.

There are lots of organic search tools and tricks that can and should be embraced as a way to make sure that your Web site is as search-friendly as possible. These are things you can control so it makes sense to be as pro-active as possible.

For people looking to do more, there thousands of SEO experts happy to come to your rescue for price. But before doing that, make sure you organic SEO efforts have been maximized.

Is Quora the Next Twitter or Foursquare?

By Mark Evans in Social Media 20 Comments Tags: , , ,

Is it just me or has Quora become the hottest thing in social media? All of a sudden, the cool kids have joined Quora, a social-fueled Q&A service that has the pedigree of being started by ex-Facebook employees.

So what’s the appeal? It’s not that a Q&A service is new. Yahoo Answers, anyone? But for whatever reason, Quora has captured the imagination of many people, including the digitally engage,d who were early users of Twitter and Foursquare.

The big question is whether Quora’s the real deal or whether it’s just the newest shiny toy to appear on the scene. You have to remember the high-tech world is always looking for the next thing so perhaps Quora has just become the latest obsession in the wake of anything else emerging.

Keep in mind that Facebook has gone mainstream, Twitter is getting there, Tumblr is wavering between niche and edging towards mainstream, and Foursquare is social media’s emperor with no clothes even though many people really want to believe it has potential to be something – whatever that something is.

This brings us to Quora, which has seen a spike in traffic over the past few months. As a Q&A service, Quora is interesting, although I wouldn’t describe it as compelling. I think a big part of Quora’s appeal is how it blatantly leverages social media – everything from pretty much forcing you register using Twitter or Facebook to offering suggestions about other people you could follow who are also on Quora.

The follow tool is brilliant because once you see familiar faces on Quora, the service is validated. When you follow someone, Quora is validated in the eyes of the person you just followed….and around and around we go.

Don’t get me wrong, Quora could be a very interesting service. Heck, Ev Williams apparently answered a question about launching a start-up at SXSW. The biggest danger facing Quora could be the amount of hype that it could attract now that it appears to be anointed as social media’s Next Big Thing. The hype could suddenly make Quora less cool because it will have been discovered by people beyond the leading edge.

At the same time, Quora could start to face unrealistic expectations about how the service provides value and – here it comes – how it’s going to make money. Sometimes, be careful what you wish for.

Let’s just say I’m not completely jumping on the Quora bandwagon. Despite my earlier pledge to not dive into new services, Quora is difficult to ignore but my interest will be pragmatic as opposed to enthusiastic.

My 2011 Social Media Wish List

By Mark Evans in Social Media 5 Comments Tags: , , , ,

As we turn the page on 2010, it looks like 2011 will be another exciting year for social media given the flurry of new services hitting the market and the growing number of people climbing on the bandwagon.

Here’s my wish list of things I’d like to see happen:

1. Twitter stumbles upon or discovers a business model so we can finally stop talking about Twitter not having a way to make money. Maybe it will be advertising based on the $200-million of venture capital the company now has to hire an army of salespeople.

2. Twitter is acquired by Yahoo. No, that would be a nightmare that I wouldn’t want to wish on my biggest enemy. Twitter is acquired by someone other than Yahoo for several billion dollars so we don’t have to talk about Twitter being acquired by someone again. The new owner immediately rolls out a business model and a menu of premium services to an enthusiastic reaction, and also buys HootSuite, TwitPic, TweetDeck and TwitterCounter.

3. Privacy thrusts itself into the spotlight after being pretty much ignored by millions of people happily talking about the details of their personal and professional lives. It suddenly dawns on many of them that what happens on the Web, stays on the Web forever, and there’s no “delete” button for anything. This causes Facebook to finally get serious about privacy by launching new and user-friendly privacy options that feature a default of “private”.

4. Another social media network emerges to take on Facebook, whose amazing growth has much to do with the fact there’s little competition. Maybe it’s the new and improved MySpace, which is purchased and then overhauled by Google. Maybe Diaspora goes from novelty to tour de force, or perhaps it’s a completely new social network that offers the utility of Facebook and the privacy that consumers increasingly realize they need.

5. Quality starts to become more important than quality as individuals and companies realize it’s not the number of tweets, Likes, followers, friends, RSS subscribers or Diggs that really matter. Instead, it’s about effectively leveraging social media in a smart, efficient and focused way. This eliminates a lot of social noise now polluting the landscape, including all tweets about visits to Starbucks, sick pets or cute children.

6. Google mashes together Blogger, Picasa, Google Images, YouTube, FeedBurner, Google Maps and Google News to create a kick-ass, super-duper blogging platform that becomes a strong rival to WordPress. In response, WordPress’ Matt Mullenweg rolls out an aggressive anti-Google strategy in which WordPress makes a series of acquisitions, including Tumblr and Squarespace.

Now, that’s what I call a wish list! What’s on your wish list?

More: Here’s a list of social media predications from Mashable.

Is the Desktop Really Dying?

By Mark Evans in Google, Microsoft, Uncategorized 5 Comments Tags: , ,

Everything is going into the cloud. Or is it?

If you listen to Google, the Web browser is becoming everything when it comes to how people use their computers. With the Chrome OS hitting the market soon, Google is ramping up its efforts to convince consumers that the need for desktop applications is disappearing because anything you want to do with a computer can happen online. This quote from Linus Upson, Google’s v.p. of engineering, makes this belief clear as a bell:

“Everything’s happening on the Web. All of the companies and all of the services that people are using — Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, eBay — all of the applications and services that people are using are Web-based. The desktop ecosystem has basically stopped.”

If you’re Google, this is a no-brainer approach given the major growth of the Chrome browser and Google’s the number of online services such as Google Docs, Picasa, Google Calendar and GMail. In the Google world, there are fewer reasons to use desktop applications and, of course, reduced need for Microsoft’s operating system.

The question is whether the desktop is actually dying amid the tsumani of cloud computing. As more applications going to be online will there be little use for desktop applications, or has the enthusiasm about cloud computing become over-heated and frothy?

There is little doubt that cloud computing is becoming more common but I don’t think it means desktop applications are going to disappear.

There may, in fact, be some users who can and will rely exclusively on online services but, at the same time, there will be many people who will continue to rely on using software that is off the grid. Yes, Virginia, there are people who aren’t online all the time and/or don’t want to use an application that stores all their data in the cloud.

Personally, I continue to use desktop applications. This includes Microsoft Office, Tweetdeck, DayLite, iTunes and 1Password. At the same time, I’m an enthusiastic user of Google Docs, GMail, Dropbox and WordPress.

What it means is I marry the best of what both worlds – the cloud and the desktop – have to offer. For some activities such as working with clients, cloud computing makes a lot of sense. For other activities, a desktop application works really well. It’s just a matter of picking the right application for the right job.

Are you still using desktop applications? Could use see giving them up completely?

Why Multi-Billion Dollar Deals Are Rejected

By Mark Evans in Google, M&A No Comments Tags: , , ,

The Web was abuzz last week amid news that Groupon apparently dismissed a $5.3-billion offer from Google. That’s an awful lot of cabbage for a two-year-old company that has taken the world by storm and, in the process, attracted a slew of competition.

While Groupon hasn’t said anything, the speculation is it’s either holding out for a better offer, going to raise some more venture capital to continue its explosive growth, or intent on doing an IPO next year.

The other scenario is Groupon’s founders aren’t ready to sell. With explosive growth, it must be a thrilling and fascinating time to be at the helm. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ride a tremendous wave to see how far it can go. Why bail just when things are getting really, really interesting?

This is the approach embraced by Mark Zuckerberg, who has maintained control of Facebook despite offers that would make him an instant billionaire. At some point, Zuckerberg is going to take the money and run, but there’s no need to do it while he’s still enjoying the experience of running a company taking the world by storm.

While there are, of course, pressures from investors who want to realize a major return on their investment, entrepreneurs have a different on the world. Whether they make $1-billion or $2-billion or even $100-million, they’ll be rich beyond their wildest dreams. To them, it becomes something that is not about the money; it’s more about the experience and the excitement of being at the right place at the right time, and basking in the spotlight that comes along with it.

Once someone sells a business, the party is over. Sure, an entrepreneur can stick around for a a couple of years to manage the transition or complete an earn-out agreement. At some point, however, most entrepreneurs get told to take a hike, or they decide to leave because being the head of a corporate unit isn’t what they like doing.

While many entrepreneurs may go on to another success ventures, very few of them ever get to enjoy the same thrill that comes with starting and running a mega-success. It’s a magical and magical existence that you don’t want to end because it’s so exciting and fun. If they can pull it off, some entrepreneurs want the ride to last rather than simply taking the highest bid.

Let’s see how long Groupon can hold out and, at the same time, hold on to their dreams.

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