Googleers and Yahooers!
[Full disclosure: This weblog is published by a service provided by Yahoo]
You may think this is an odd title for a weblog supposedly talking about data comm and automation. So, let me explain.
When I left my former employer more than a year ago and started my own company, I was always thinking about the best strategy that the company can grow with. Like any other classic case, you start by figuring out your strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats. But before then, you may want to define yourself and see what is the business you are in. Are you a product developer? A service company? A consultant? ….
Once you are through the identity crisis , you need to answer other questions like:
Who are your clients: are you willing to work in the automation industry per say or electric market as your niche?
What about your cash flow, how the money comes in? A venture capital? Or, you want to bootstrap the company?
What is your growth path? Do you see yourself as a large firm with 1000 employees in 10 years or a small core with very talented people that only tackles top of the line technologies?
And yes, I am sure that you may have seen similar texts in your textbook, internet etc. But these are real questions. The good thing is that we are living is an era that data is abundant. If I erect a wall around what I know or can do, I am only fooling myself. So this abundance of information can be applied to answering business questions too, right? The way you do it, you share it with the right community of people and see what other people have experienced. And besides, whatever comes out of it becomes a part of the public domain and strengthens the same community that helped you.
This is the model that I think Google follows. Google to me is only a facilator that allows the communities to form around its platform. To some extend Facebook and LinkedIn do the same thing. Community gives you something and you give back and through this vicious cycle everybody benefits. On the other hand, Yahoos of industry have positioned themselves at some corner and tell people: come to me I have something great form you. They do not realize that your value can only be to facilitate people to exchange their own great things.
Now, here come how all these things are related to the topic of automation. I posted a set of questions couple of days ago on Control.com that is supposedly one the most famous forums for automation. Please find the link here:
http://www.control.com/thread/1237082739#1237240408
I got two responses: one from a gentleman that was obviously editor of one of the online automation sites and the other from an individual that I respect for his prior posts and seems to be a knowledgeable person. Both were insisting that you need to spend some money and one was suggesting you need to hire a market research consultant. While I do not dispute the idea that you need to spend money to make money and run your business, but I think they both were missing the point. The point is sites like control.com can be the back-bone of a community. Instead of killing the effort right there, try to promote it. You will benefit too, hey, it is public domain, everybody benefits.
I really believe that the days of Yahho-ers are numbered. The days of I have something great in my box, pay me to open it for you are gone. Put the information on the table, get people to your site, give to community and be sure that the community returns your favor.
Take care for now, Rod
