In Rainbows, the seventh studio album from the group fronted by singer Thom Yorke, has been out since October, available exclusively on the band’s official website. Its price is voluntary, meaning that fans can pay whatever they want to download it. Radiohead has decided to bypass the usual distribution channels with this unusual independent distribution formula after their contract with EMI ended without the band signing another one.

Record labels have held power due to their role as crucial intermediaries between the artists and the general public, but this role is now changing as a result of the Internet. In this crossroads, the move by Radiohead has been jolting for these companies, since it raises further questions as to the validity of their traditional business model.

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Title: OPA Europe Publishes Results of “At Work” Media Consumption Study for 6 European Countries
Source: OPA Europe
Abstract: Internet is the information channel most frequently consulted at work. This is the finding of the second study by OPA Europe, the European Online Publishers Association, which analyzes at-work media consumption in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and the UK. Based on its comparison of data from newspapers, magazines, radio, television and the Internet, the study concludes that 82% of those surveyed turn to the Internet for seeking news and information while at work and 73% of them do so on a daily basis. The OPA says that access to informational websites is the main reason European users go online while at work. It also highlights the progress made by the Internet over the past three years, as well as the significance this has for advertisers.

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Title: Fourth Community Innovation Survey (CIS 4) and European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS)
2006
Source: Eurostat
Abstract: Technological innovation in Spain remained grounded in the period from 2004-2006 and in fact fell in relation to European average. This according to the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS), a statistical tool launched by the EC in order to evaluate the innovation efforts made by its member states, based on data provided mostly by Eurostat and the fourth Community Innovation Survey (CIS 4).

The Summary innovation index and trends, by country, of the EU-27 (and including the United States and Japan due to their benchmark position worldwide in this area) divides the countries into four categories. The most prominent group includes Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Denmark, Japan and Germany; the second set of countries, referred to as the “innovation followers,” includes the United States, the UK, Iceland, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, and Ireland. The third comprises the countries that, despite below-average results, show positive average growth. These are Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Portugal, Poland, Latvia, Greece and Bulgaria. The last group encompasses the bottom-dwelling countries: Estonia, Spain, Italy, Malta, Hungary, Croatia and Slovakia. The study provides additional data, such as citing that the innovation gap between the European Union and United States continues to decrease (having gone from 0.14 points in 2002 to 0.08 points in 2006) and that the worldwide innovation leaders in 2006 were Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, the United States, Singapore and Israel.

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All over the world, the top fairs for information and communication technologies (ICT) are in a bit of trouble at the moment, due to factors such as the growing competition from specialized events. Even the well-established CeBIT fair of Hanover is going through tough times, and the SIMO TCI fair is no exception. The preeminent, long-running annual event that brings together the Spanish ICT sector still has a pulse - something that a number of similar events cannot say - but its drawing power continues to diminish.

At this year’s event, to be held November 6-11 in Madrid, visitors will see far fewer companies having their own stands, as well as less exhibition space than what SIMO TCI had for its better years. This situation has forced the organizers to reorient their activity, spreading it out into a series of related sectorial events. These include: SIMO del conocimiento; Vivero, a space dedicated to promoting young and innovative companies; the space devoted to Web 2.0; DOCUSIMO, a fair related to digital documentation; and e-life, an environment geared entirely toward end consumers.

News in Tuexperto.com and Elpais.com
Article in Financial Times

United avatars shall never be defeated. IBM last year announced its $10 million investment in the development of ideas, technological solutions and projects for 3D virtual environments, which they do not see as mere gaming platforms but as the prelude to the 3D Internet of the future.

With the creation of pilot projects, spaces devoted to innovation, training and periodic virtual meetings in Second Life, "Big Blue" has revealed its intention to capitalize on the opportunities created by these kinds of 3D virtual worlds, such as the highly popular Second Life. This opinion is shared by trade unionists from the Italian company, which on September 27 of this year started the first-ever in-world labor protest in Second Life. Over the ensuing weeks, with IBM employees going about their work as usual and their avatars continuing their protests in Second Life, this 21st-century union battle was quickly causing repercussions in the physical world. RSU, the trade union representing IBM Italia employees, has announced the resignation of Andrea Pontremoli, the company’s chief executive in Italy, and the European headquarters has criticized the Italian executives for a strategy that has ended up hurting the company’s image. The RSU website also says that on November 5th, the employees will have to decide whether or not they will accept the draft agreement that has been reached with management. If they ratify it, the first union conflict to take place in a 3D virtual stage will have concluded in what RSU calls “a major victory.” Basically for its pioneering nature having attracted media attention around the world.

Websites of RSU and UNI Global Union
Article in The Register

Technorati has registered over 84 million blogs, 10-12% of which are corporate, meaning they are published with the organization’s support. Nevertheless, despite being useful for companies, given that they are easy to create and inexpensive to keep up, and the fact that they help improve rankings in search engine results, allow for dialogue with customers, and are instantaneous and noninvasive… just 6 percent of the Fortune 500 companies have one, according to Socialtext’s Fortune 500 Blogging Wiki. Why is this? If blogging is still not widespread among companies, it is basically because they are afraid to lose control of their messages, they fear the transparency effect and are not altogether convinced of the legal limits of this medium.

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Search engines have become the gateway to the Internet. If the information
exists in cyberspace, a search engine will find it. In the last 10 years, search
engines have become almost as indispensable as the computer itself. Because of search technology, information has become much more accessible to anyone with a computer. Small-to-medium sized businesses can reach consumers almost anywhere in the world at little or no cost and consumers can enjoy all the added value of having the answers to their enquiries at their fingertips.

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Mobility transforms both consumer and corporate habits, while also driving economic growth, given that it makes communication possible anytime, anywhere. As a technical innovation, it can boost a country’s economic growth. In order to do so, however, companies must adopt it at the heart of their business.

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