September 25, 2007
Thinking big at DEMO
It’s good to see that there are still some internet visionaries out there with really big, outlandish ambitions.
The Demo, which has just started in San Diego, looks like being a great showcase for a wide range of practical businesses being built on today’s internet technologies: online video delivery networks, "wisdom of crowds" marketing systems, workplace social networks, mobile search engines.
Fair enough: these are all technologies that will no doubt support blockbuster new businesses. Some of those company may even be here. But where are the out-sized ideas that will really change the world, to borrow a line from Google’s founders?
Maybe Earthmine will provide the answer. John Ristevski and Anthony Fassero, two graduate students from the University of California at Berkeley, say they are out to "index reality". Their ambition puts even Google Earth in the shade: they want to create an online replica of just about everything. With exact representations of the world, they reckon they will be able to revolutionise things like urban planning. Do they have a chance? Who knows, but you have to admire their chutzpa.
My colleague Paul Taylor and I will be rooting around at DEMO for the next couple of days looking for the next ideas that have a chance of making a difference, both big and small.
