How We Spend Our Time – Tweet of the Week

August 7, 2009 – 11:20 AM

My Tweet of the Week:

Very cool graphic! RT @dbarrowcliff How do you spend your day? This is how Americans spend their’s (sic): http://snurl.com/ors6w
12:53 PM Aug 5th from web Read More »

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Ideas | Comments (1)

Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Hire Bob Eastman

August 4, 2009 – 8:56 AM

10.  What the hell else do you have to do today, really?

In Which I Schedule a Series.

9.  What a gas it will be knowing that when your competitors get back from vacation and they are trying to reach Bob, they will only get his answering machine.

threesixtyfive | day 244 by Sybren A. Stüvel

Read More »

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Business, Technology | Comments (1)

Boston Red Sox on Twitter

August 3, 2009 – 8:28 AM

The Boston Red Sox may have gotten the better of the Baltimore Orioles this weekend, but the twitter bird is doing our beloved Boston Red Sox no favors. Read More »

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Culture | Leave a Comment

Tweet of the Week – “How big is the internet?”

July 31, 2009 – 1:00 PM

We owe our thanks for this week’s Tweet of the Week to Forrester‘s Jeremiah Owyang:

Visutalization (sic): Only 23% of earth’s 6 billion citizens are on the Internet http://bit.ly/viqmi
9:18 AM Jul 30th from web Read More »

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Technology | Leave a Comment

Customer Satisfaction is All About the Context

July 27, 2009 – 4:00 PM

Let me state right from the start, in the spirit of full disclosure, that I know there are some pretty smart folks who spend a lot of time thinking about customer satisfaction.

I have had a working theory for awhile, which I am constantly revisiting, that it is extraordinarily difficult to (1) accurately measure ‘customer satisfaction’ (however you define it), and to (2) effectively report on customer satisfaction. Read More »

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Business, Ideas | Comments (1)

Tweet of the Week – from Mumbai, India

July 25, 2009 – 9:54 AM

My pick for Tweet of the Week, from Naeem Chudawala who tweets under @naeem151287 from Mumbai, India: Read More »

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Ideas | Comments (1)

Aspen Ideas Festival – A Look Back

July 22, 2009 – 4:28 PM

I have been trying for a few days to try to bring you some follow-up from the Aspen Ideas Festival that Netting It Out wrote about a couple of weeks ago.  The Aspen Institute has done yeoman’s work in providing us with a rich set of videos and other materials from this week long event.  You can see what any reporter/blogger is up against, with this a line up like this: Read More »

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Culture | Leave a Comment

The View from Sun Valley

July 8, 2009 – 3:55 PM

If you aren’t on the exclusive invitee list for Herb Allen’s annual super-secret annual gathering in Sun Valley, Idaho, then Reuters MediaFile blog is probably the next best place to be visit. Read More »

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Business, Ideas | Leave a Comment

Some Thoughts on High(er) Education

July 7, 2009 – 9:23 PM

I have been thinking about higher education, and the higher education industry, lately. After having had two parents in the education industry (grammar, high school level) for a total of some 50 years, having gone myself to several different colleges in the past 20+ years, I am now in the midst of putting my two kids into/through college. Read More »

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Culture, Ideas | Leave a Comment

The 4th of July

July 3, 2009 – 12:33 PM

Hardly a 4th of July passes that I do not think of the circumstances that most amaze me about the 4th of July.

No one tells it better than Joseph Ellis in his 2000 book, Founding Brothers (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000):

“On the evening of July 3, 1826, [Thomas] Jefferson fell into a coma.  His last discernible words, uttered to the physician and family gathered around the bedside, indicated that he was hoping to time his exit in dramatic fashion: ‘Is it the Fourth?’ It was not, but he lingered in a semiconscious condition until shortly after noon on the magic day.  That same morning, [John] Adams collapsed in his favorite reading chair.  He lapsed into unconsciousness at almost the exact moment Jefferson died.  The end came quickly, at about five-thirty that afternoon.  He wakened for a brief moment, indicated that nothing more should be done to prolong the inevitable, then, with obvious effort, gave a final salute to his old friend with this last words: ‘Thomas Jefferson survives’, or, by another account, ‘Thomas Jefferson still lives.’  Whatever the version, he was wrong for the moment but right for the ages.”

copyright© 2000, by Joseph J. Ellis

Share

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Culture | Leave a Comment

Conferences of Ideas

July 2, 2009 – 12:48 PM

First we had the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, apparently in its 39th year, then Herb Allen’s annual super-secret confab in Sun Valley, TED, SXSW (which is not to say that that these are all equal), and now we apparently have the Aspen Ideas Festival underway. Read More »

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Ideas | Leave a Comment

Enterprise 2.0, Boston, June 22-25th

June 29, 2009 – 5:02 PM

I should have known that something was up when I walked in to my first Enterprise 2.0 session on Tuesday morning to the sounds of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy”.  Was this just someone’s good taste for wake-em-up ambient music first thing in the morning (I concur!), or was someone sending a not-so-subtle message to attendees for a conference on emerging social media? Read More »

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Technology | Comments (2)

Enterprise 2.0 Conference

June 23, 2009 – 5:56 AM

Enterprise 2.0 header-BIG

I will be attending the Enterprise 2.0 conference at the Westin Boston Waterfront for the next day or two, and will be collecting and posting the best insights and take-aways that I can gather from this event.

TechWeb, no novices to putting on events, seem to have really mastered the art of the registration process and the integration of the social media into the registration process.  Planning an event?  You could do worse than to walk yourself through the Enterprise 2.0 conference registration process to see how to do it right.

While I am at the conference, look for periodic postings from the event on twitter, at http://twitter.com/reastman.  And if that does not get you to finally make the plunge into twitter, what will?

Share

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Technology | Comments (1)

Happy Bloomsday.

June 16, 2009 – 1:27 PM

Another Bloomsday has snuck up on me, as it does every year.  This most famous of literary days – celebrating the single day in the life of Leopold Bloom wandering around Dublin depicted in James Joyce’s book, Ulysses – has special meaning for me.

James Joyce Statue

When my wife, Nancy, and I were married and planning our honeymoon in Ireland, we each committed ourselves to reading Ulysses before we married.  It was not so much that we felt that Ulysses would provide any special guide to our honeymoon in Ireland. Rather, I think we felt that as much as our getting married was (and has proven to be) a turning point in each of our lives, that committing ourselves to some Irish literature, and one of the more challenging reads that there possibly can be – before we were to meet Irish relatives of mine that we had never met – was an appropriate complement.

So, if you are looking for something really special to do, here is one suggestion.  Commit to reading Ulysses, then Richard Ellman’s biography of the same name, James Joyce, and, finally, perhaps, NORA: The Real Life of Molly Bloom, Brenda Maddox’s biography of James Joyce’s wife, Nora.

Or, if you prefer, just lift a Guinness somewhere, sometime today (preferably after 12 Noon wherever you are) to one of the greatest writers who ever lived.

Happy anniversary, too, to Ron and Nina, special friends for as long as I can remember, and who made a special commitment to each other 30 years ago today.  I think of them every Bloomsday.  Happy Bloomsday to all.

Share

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Culture, Ideas | Tags: | Comments (3)

Data Domain, NetApp, EMC, and Deduplication – Where to Go To Know

June 16, 2009 – 12:33 PM

Are you trying to make sense of all of the recent news on Data Domain, NetApp, EMC, and something called deduplication?

To understand what is going on, you could do worse than to check out these articles, references, blogs, and twitterers: Read More »

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Technology | Comments (1)

LinkedIn Needs To Do Something With Groups

June 14, 2009 – 10:38 PM

Of all the things that there are to like about LinkedIn (and there are many), LinkedIn’s groups and group discussions are not near the top.  I won’t pretend to know what is going on behind the scenes at LinkedIn, but I sincerely hope that someone there is looking at figuring out what LinkedIn users really want, and how to make groups and group discussions more attractive to and inviting to LinkedIn users. Read More »

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Business | Comments (2)

google5168ddffac825fcb.html

June 13, 2009 – 6:44 PM

My title

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Xconomy XSITE 2009 on June 24th

May 26, 2009 – 1:56 PM

xsiteheader

After Bruce Richardson turned me on to Xconomy a couple of years ago, I have been an ardent, if not constant, follower. Xconomy is a website and blog that seems to be playing an ever-stronger role in talking locally about trends, the players, and leading technologies in several technology segments, notably, life sciences, energy, and technology. On June 24th, Xconomy and Boston University will host a one-day conference, XSITE 2009, to “celebrate” and “showcase the panorama of transformative efforts underway in the region”.

While this is looks to be yet another show-and-tell for leading and start-up local technology companies, Xconomy’s sponsorship is reason enough to give this a special look. After looking through the line-up of speakers, three companies stand out in particular for me. You have already seen me mention lithium ion battery supplier A123Systems in a previous posting. Another participant, KIVA Systems, is doing some very interesting things with its “wireless robotic fulfillment system”.

Last, but not least, Terrafugia (which may be one of the more interesting new aviation companies I have seen since Eclipse Aviation) provides the most intriguing option yet for getting to and home from the airport (and points in between). The traffic to and from Boston has been horrendous for the past couple of weeks, and my son was recently heard to wish that there was a way to be lifted vertically out of, and to then fly over, the traffic. Well, we are not there yet, but Terrafugia keeps the dream alive with its Transition® Roadable Aircraft.

Xconomy promises presentations by a couple of “stealth companies”, yet to be named (if indeed they will be), there are additional companies to be named to another session, and the life sciences and energy industry will be well-represented as well. So you are well advised to go here to see all of the companies participating in the conference.

Tweet This Blog Post!

:: post to facebook :: add to del.icio.us :: Add to Blinkslist :: add to furl :: Digg it :: add to ma.gnolia :: Stumble It! :: add to simpy :: seed the vine :: :: TailRank

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Business, Technology | Comments (1)

New Feature: Tweet of the Week

May 22, 2009 – 7:42 AM

Tweet of the Week:

“You can’t really throw anything away, because there is no ‘away’”, @nelderini.(Thank you, Chris Nelder.)  You can read more of Chris Nelder at http://www.getreallist.com/.

And here you were worrying that this blog might never go existential on you.

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Ideas | Leave a Comment

David vs. Goliath

May 20, 2009 – 8:22 PM

In the latest article by Malcolm Gladwell in the New Yorker, How David Beats Goliath , in the May 11th issue, Gladwell once again offers up some pithy observations and insights, this time on the sometimes advantage of effort over ability. Much of the article talks about how TIBCO‘s Vivek Ranadivé used the full court press strategy with his daughter’s basketball team to overcome many more skilled opponents. Read More »

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Business, Ideas, Technology | Leave a Comment

On Company Names

May 20, 2009 – 5:41 PM

What is it with company names?

At the analyst firm where I most recently spent a lot of time, we engaged with literally thousands of companies, and I found myself bemused (or confused) by more than a few company names that I encountered. marchFIRST? Then for awhile, you had both EnteGreat, Inc., the process manufacturing solutions and system integration company, and En’tegrate Software, until En’tegrate was mercifully acquired by Avanade in 2005. Read More »

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Business | Leave a Comment

Welcome.

May 20, 2009 – 4:43 AM

Welcome to Netting It Out, a new blog by Bob Eastman. The goal of this blog will be to offer up and comment on the best of the ideas and new insights circulating in the blogosphere, the social and traditional media, and anywhere else that an intriguing, fresh (or freshly stated) idea or interesting insight can be found.Look for your news elsewhere – Netting It Out holds no ambitions to being a news portal. Rather, Netting It Out will be on the look-out for the story-behind-the-story, the new idea, the article, the trend, the new piece of research, resource or link that compels you to want to think, and to read more.

Netting It Out will not ask a lot of time from you – we will not be assaulting, beating, and trampling the proverbial “dead horse”. We will however try to give you a nugget of an idea or insight that we hope might just make you stop somewhere in your day, and think just a little bit.

Many of the ideas and models discussed here will come from the the value chain, supply chain, business, and technology realms, that permeate so much of life today and where there are so many interesting emerging innovations and ideas. Our primary mission however will be to be interesting and compelling wherever the idea or construct or model or story comes from.

Netting It Out hopes that you find the content compelling, and that you feel invited to contribute and discuss. Netting It Out will not, of course, be perfect, or always right, and for that I will apologize in advance, and beg your assistance in setting Netting It Out and the record straight. Game on.
Tweet This Blog Post!
 :: post to facebook :: add to del.icio.us :: Add to Blinkslist :: add to furl :: Digg it :: add to ma.gnolia :: Stumble It! :: add to simpy :: seed the vine :: :: TailRank

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Arts & Entertainment, Business, Culture, Ideas, Technology | Comments (1)

April 13, 2009 – 6:40 PM

My title

page contents

By Robert Eastman | Posted in Arts & Entertainment, Business, Culture, Ideas, Technology, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.