This year’s World Economic Forum in Davos once again gave a prominent role to technology and electronic content. And not just as the main theme of a few sessions: the Forum itself has endorsed tools such as webcasts, podcasts and vodcasts, and even the online videogame Second Life. The virtual world of Second Life, which took center stage in one of the recent sessions in Davos, allows registered users to interact with one another via Internet as they take on the 3D appearance of their choosing. The inhabitants of Second Life can have a date or do business. They can even watch the interview that the director of the Reuters office in Second Life, Adam Reuters (digital alter ego of journalist Adam Pasick), conducted in the digital realm with the founder of Kazaa, Niklas Zennstrom, during the recent World Economic Forum.

Second Life seems to have become a successful marketing tool. Companies such as Nissan, Pontiac, Adidas or American Express already have a presence in this virtual world. Even though the president and founder of the Davos forum, Klaus Schwab, has an alter ego in the digital realm. With 3.5 million users Second Life has become an interesting market to explore.

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Title: Innovation Reinvented: A More Open Approach. The World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers 2007.
Source: World Economic Forum (WEF)
Date: January 10, 2007
Abstract: Forty-seven companies from around the world have been selected by the WEF experts as being on the cutting edge of the fields of biotechnology, IT and energy. According to the WEF, the United States is the country with the highest number of companies in all areas. In terms of new technologies, comScore Networks, Mozilla and Technorati are among the companies featured in the report, which has been an annual publication since 2000. Also mentioned in this category is Drishtee, an Indian company that has devised a network of electronic kiosks to deliver information to the country’s inaccessible rural areas.
The report also discusses the new form of innovation that is making headway towards replacing the traditional model. It is known as “open innovation” and it calls for collaboration between different organizations to codevelop new products and services. IBM is among the companies that have found ways to benefit from this, generating millions of dollars through the licensing of their innovative ideas to third parties.

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Title: La Sociedad de la Información en España 2006
Source: Telefónica Foundation
Date: February 1, 2007
Abstract: Leisure is one of the main draws for Spaniards connecting to the Web. In fact, 41% of new Internet users go online to enjoy the offerings in digital entertainment. Meanwhile, more than 40% of Internet users download films, software or tools such as antivirus programs, and over 20% watch videos online or use the Web to download ringtones for their cell phones.
Another trend highlighted in the report is the increasing importance of users as content creators, a phenomenon related to the popularization of social networking sites such as MySpace, as well as the video-sharing site YouTube and projects like Wikipedia.
The study prepared by the Telefónica Foundation also includes positive findings on broadband deployment in Spain. As of late January, there were seven million existing broadband connections, 40% more than there were as of the same period in 2006, which places Spain tenth in the world for this type of connection.
Electronic commerce remains one of Spain’s weak points. According to Eurostat data included in the report, in 2005 just 10% of Internet users made purchases online, 11% under the EU average and considerably behind countries like Norway and Sweden, whose percentage of online buyers is approximately 40%.

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Companies involved with Web 2.0, such as YouTube and MySpace, are signing deals with operators such as Vodafone to carry the services they offer on the Internet over to telephones and other mobile devices. Telefónica and Vodafone are also working on an instant messaging alternative to Microsoft’s famous MSN Messenger, to be offered on mobile devices.
The field of online searches on mobile devices is also a market niche waiting to be tapped into, one where Yahoo! is looking to win one against Google. With that, the company unveiled in Barcelona its Yahoo! oneSearch, a mobile-specific application that shows only the most relevant search results, unlike Google's which merely sends mobile devices the same results appearing on the web.
The latest 3GSM World Congress also served as evidence that mobile TV will soon be a reality. In the case of Spain, the technology is already available, though government approval is pending for companies to be able to launch the service.
In short, mobile phones are no longer used solely for voice transmission: they are truly multifunction devices, capable of providing a mass base of users with an authentic multimedia experience.

News in Cinco Días
Articles in New York Times, El País and  La Vanguardia

Creating content and receiving compensation in return is the proposal put forth by one of the cofounders of YouTube during the recent WEF in Davos. This business model is nothing new —companies such as Revver and eefoof have been tapping into it for quite some time— but the arrival of YouTube could shake up the alignment of forces in this segment of the market.
Among the notable formulas used for handling the sharing of revenues with users is that of Revver, which splits 50% of ad proceeds with its users. On the video-sharing site eefoof, users earn income for the contents they post according to the number of hits produced. A less transparent model is that of PayPerPost, which pays its bloggers to post on specific products, with no requirement that they check the truthfulness of their statements.
The strategy of splitting profits with users poses certain problems. For instance, users could steal content from somewhere else and with all the eagerness to earn money from this vehicle, the Web could end up getting flooded by dubious content. 

News in Navegante
Articles in New York Times, BusinessWeek and El País

Internet’s entry into the music industry has revolutionized the business. New business models are appearing along with shifting marketing strategies for record companies in order to stay profitable amidst shrinking sales. In “ Digital Technologies and the Internet: The Impact on the Music Industry”, IESE professor Bruno Cassiman closely examines the current situation in this sector and the challenges it will have to face, including piracy.

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Decisions regarding information systems are now strategically tied to business progress, and thus it is vital to know whether ICT spending is generating adequate returns. Therefore, the goal of this program is to help managers make ICT decisions that are consistent with their organizations’ strategic objectives while achieving satisfactory implementation. The focused program “Information Technology as a Strategic and Competitive Weapon” will be held at the IESE campus in Barcelona from April 24-26. Participants will include IESE professors Rafael Andreu and Sandra Sieber.

More information (In Spanish)