But like most IT start ups, they still haven’t found the right business model to make substitutional revenue from. Google had the same problem in the beginning, but finally developed one which is now one of the standards when it comes to web advertising and marketing (CPC). For Google it came natural, complementing with their basic service. For Twitter its a different ball game.

Discussion online have been when and if Twitter will file for a IPO. Rumors about this have been shot down time and time again by the company. Still, before going public you need a steady revenue stream. As my interest in private stock investment have been increasing lately I am interested to see how they develop and if a IPO opportunity will show it self within a couple of years.

And it looks like Twitter is investigating different business models and which could work for them. Nothing revolutionary. One model is a classic ad-driven model, selling sponsored/promoted Tweets. Also opening for third-party applications to be connected to their service. Another model copies the Free vs Preimum model, such as Spotify. Were everyone get to access and use the service for Free, but if you want to follow special twitter accounts/people, you have to pay a premium fee. Quite a risky model, but could work good for the more confidential business 2 business users.

Its great that they are actively looking at different business model, cause revenue needs to come from somewhere. I can imagine that hosting and running one of the biggest services online isn’t by any means cheap. But at the same time its a tricky question. Ideally you want to follow the Google concept, were the revenue source won’t interfere or distract to much for the regular users. And like Facebook its a social platform, were people come to communicate with friends, follow conversations and news. I mainly use it for getting all news feeds collected in one place. On Google, Adwords/Sponsored Ads works and complements the vital Search function. And people would be furious if a payment requirement were implemented. I think selling premiums have its limited potential, and ads will struggle the same way as one Facebook. Looking forward to see what more business models they will come up with.

And they have also launched a new service for everyone without a Twitter accounts, Fast Follow. Its like the Facebook public setting were everyone can see and follow tweets, by using your cell phone. I think this is one part in their strategy to attract more people and bind them up for a real Twitter account. Get them interested, and when they want to join the conversation, then a registration is needed and you are there. From a business prespection (using Twitter to communicate to potential customers) this is a great idea! If, by some chance, we get the option to talk not only with the ones following our Twitter feed, but others as well through the same medium, its a win-win. Will be interesting to see if this service will be a success or not. Not totally convinced myself.

Click here to view the embedded video.

But an education can be many things, not simply an MBA. Its not always easy to get an MBA, but the more people getting them, more pressure to stand out. And often society / business evolves faster than the school text books. So basically, some educations are outdated when the students finish.Personally I felt that my real education started when I ended University.  MBA might be the start, but its not everything. The best teacher is life and learning by your self, by trying.

As David is speaking at the Entrepreneur Thought Leader Lecture he is directed to Entrepreneurs, and being that is not something you can read your way to. Not in my mind at least. I think its just part of you as a person. You might not have it from birth but it can come to you when ever. Many of the biggest Entrepreneurs of today (specially in the IT-era) were drop out. Even if they sort of finished their degrees afterwards. Like Steve Jobs and Bill Clinton. Some times the creating spirit is more important and powerful than your reading mind. Its always good to create a good foundation and basic understanding. But simply a degree won’t take you all the way. Its what you do besides that. I even got a couple of  jobs, not for my degree but because of all the things I did around by education. So I try to recommend everyone I meet to do as much as possible outside of just going to a program / class. Though its hard for many to early find their interested and what they want do and focus on it. And not all areas of work really require this type of thinking and devotion. But if you want to, push yourself to the limits and reach the skies!

At the same time I feel that people take it to light what they post. And that I mean for online generally. Looking through my own Facebook feeds I see people posting tons of strange things and links. What botther me most are everyone who post pictures of their children. Its okey with 1 or 2, but all the time and constant updates on that their kids are doing. In some way I can understand some who want to post for family and relatives to get a view into the small ones life, but in my mind I would like my children chose them-self when and how they want to be posted. Some for of “Posting ethics and moral” need to be teached. People seems to still be suppriced when they loose a job, or don’t get a job cause the employer Googles the employee and find al lot of strange comments and images posted. Think before you post. It might come back and haunt you.

One thing I really must point out is the incredible package that is the Collectors Edition. I really feel I got value for my money. Not only the most cool looking Collectors box, but it included:

• Art Book
• Soundtrack CD
• Comic book
• USB with Starcraft 1 + BroodWar
• And Starcraft 2 of cause!

So far I have only had time to play about 4-5 missions, and I thing they won’t be getting any shorter going forward. But what I have played so far is really impressive. Of cause its like Starcraft 1 with some new units, graphic and story. But some new features is here as well. Will probably spend many hours playing Starcraft 2. But only Single player, don’t have the time or patience to play multiplayer for a title like this. Althoug I must say that one neat feature for the social part was how the game can create a Friends list for you by simply scaning your Facebook account. Maybe a bit scary, but I believe it works great and we will probably see more similar features in not only games but other softwares and sites.

My Starcraft 2 Collectors Edition unpacked

And it seems that the success continues, even increases. The third and final book just recently got release in English and I recall reading somewhere people stood in line outside of book stores in the US when it was released! In the same league as a Harry Potter release.

So it don’t seems like that a big of surprise when reading that Stieg Larsson is the first author to sell a million copies… for the Kindle! The hugely successful e-book reader from Amazon (now rivalled by the iPad) have changed about reading and getting books. And to be the first to sell 1 million copies is something big! The best part is that its a Swedish author! Kindle and similar book platforms are here to stay, and its a privilege to have the biggest seller to be Stieg Larsson. So they made him the first member of their Kindle Million Club. Feels good to be patriotic sometimes! The only sad thing about this Stiegs passing and that he isn’t here to enjoy the success.

I am kindla interested in a Kindle, as a big book consumer myself. I wouldn’t want an iPad for reading, don’t really feel that it is biggest potential. With the screen and everything.

Amazon Kindle

It is the first time for me at E3! Last year I would have gone, but smaller sisters only graduate once in life so had no choice. So I am really excited to see what its all about what I have only read and heard about. Just so much to prepare for all the meetings and then the travel half around the world that is… not so fun. But I hope it will be a fun and productive business trip.

God of War 3

Its finally here! The biggest release of 2010 for me, so far… Kratos came, he fought, he conquered!

Since the second instalment in 2007 I have been pumped for the third and final one in this trilogy.

Starting playing the third game it picks up right were the second ends. The beginning was the most intenced moment in the whole serie. Fighting poseidon was not only a great intro, but also felt like a tech demo on what the PS3 can perfrom. Well, can probably say that for the whole game! Some times during my play through my PS3 literary screamed from working so hard. But as with God of War, graphic isn’t everything.

The combat is definitely God of War. As stated before, the guys behind Dantes Inferno copied the control scheme from God of War, but it wasn’t even near as good. Dantes Inferno was hard but only frustrating. God of War 3 is as always hard, but it feels more like a challenge. The controls are tight and responsive.

One of the biggest improvements on the third instalment was the weapons. In the previous games I tended to just stick with the first blades. The new weapons was similar to the Chaos blades and more fun to play with. For the first time I frequently switches weapons. Specially the The Nemean Cestus was fun to play with.

This was the biggest release for me this year, and the wait was well worth! I am happy but feel a bit sad that the series have ended. Definitely the game of the year so far!

As for the story it was okey, part from the end. God of War is mainly about slaughtering hordes of enemy’s and big monsters. Towards the end the story start to pick up. It felt like a worthy end for one of the biggest game series in my library. Will miss Kratos but hope they will continue to make God of War games, even if this trilogy has ended.

Just want to try out the Beta. Although I will probably not play the multiplayer part very much when the game is released. But what a heck =)

StarCraft 2 Collectors Edition

Battlefield Bad Company 2

From the Swedish developer DICE comes the game that is suppose to give Modern Warfare 2 a fight. Of cause I am talking about Battlefield Bad Company 2!

A couple of month ago I recieved a Beta code for the PS3 as they were the first to have a Beta. Later as part of our pre-order those who reserved a copy got a Beta access code for PC. I joined that one and was very disappointed. The biggest thing was the mouse controlling, it almost felt like steering a tank. The other thing was (probably as the Battlefield formula is) that playing online was very different from MW2. Its as slower, bigger and harder to aim and get kills. With this to start with I had my doubts.

Now when the game finally is out it seems that DICE have improved many things and made a hell of a game. The aiming is what I wanted, smooth and fast. The opposition when playing online is still hard if not harder, but thats just part of the experience.

The singleplayer campaign was in line with the first game. Corky, just a bit interesting and just enough. Some interesting elements and some nice hints at the Modern Warfare 2 game. Burned through it in about 10 hours and had a blast playing it.

Then comes the big part of this game, multiplayer.The problem for me to talk about this is how little I have played online. To begin with was the release a disaster. I just couldn’t play online some days after release. For me it was okey because I had singleplayer. But I can just imagine how pisted the fans who bought it just for the online part.

Dispite the problem with multiplayer I will give it some time an try it out more. But it seems like DICE really pulled it of and game Modern Warfare 2 some competition. I recommend it definitely.