Tech, Telecom: The Energy is Back

Communications, wireless, consumer electronics, cloud computing, virtualization -- in a turbulent market, it is good to be in technology.

Monster.com was one of the companies I considered to have a natural monopoly in the U.S. job search market a decade ago. Amazingly, social media sites like LinkedIn and Craigslist are making job sites less relevant and, as a result, Monster just picked up HotJobs for $225 million in cash to shore up its decreasing market share.

A decade or so ago it was common knowledge that satellite radio would eventually make a huge dent in the business of traditional radio companies. While this was certainly the case, the rise of iPods and streaming radio stations like Pandora (News - Alert) have changed the game, adding pressure to not only legacy radio stations but those of the satellite variety as well.

The success of Pandora shows how rapidly a smart idea with excellent execution can disrupt markets with billions of dollars of investments - virtually overnight. It is pretty well known that Pandora has had problems in past years because of its success and the amount it had to pay in licensing of the music it streams. So to me it is fascinating to read how the company is generating tens of millions of dollars in traditional advertising from large companies and is now reaching out to smaller advertisers as well.

Technology disrupts. It allows anyone with an idea and a dream to change almost instantly customer behavior. It is this fact that adds massive excitement to the industry. Keeping up with the changes in media, communications and tech can be exhausting, but at the same time if you aren't up to date on the competitive landscape you can be wiped out by a company you never heard of.

Recently Nick Bilton over at The New York Times devoted time and energy to beat up George Packer at The New Yorker for bashing Twitter without actually using it. Here’s an excerpt: “Most importantly, Twitter is transforming the nature of news, the industry from which Mr. Packer reaps his paycheck. The news media are going through their most robust transformation since the dawn of the printing press, in large part due to the Internet and services like Twitter. After this metamorphosis takes place, everyone will benefit from the information moving swiftly around the globe.”

I agree with Packer that the obsession with the service is excessive. But, then again, it has changed my business overnight. If TMC (News - Alert), a leading communications and technology media company, didn't not only embrace Twitter but become an expert in social media, it risked being drummed out of existence.

Feeding into this theme of innovation in communications, the excitement and energy of tech was evident at the recent ITEXPO EAST 2010, at which TMC hosted the world's first ever Startup Camp Telephony with Larry Lisser (News - Alert). Many people commented the conference was like Silicon Valley recreated in Miami.

Thanks to people like you this launch event was a grand success. IT

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