Oklahoma Technology Commerce Network
Internet Newsletter
Issue #4
1st May 2003
Dear Oklahoma Technology Commerce Networker,
Welcome to the fourth issue of Oklahoma Technology Commerce Network News!
If “Time is Money”, aren’t the two tenets below colliding and collapsing into one another?
1. Parkinson’s First Law: Work expands to fill the time available.
2. Information is the currency of commerce.
Thanks to Jim McGuinness and Clark Jermain with the Francis Tuttle eSolutions Group at the Francis Tuttle Technology Center, the Edmond Chamber of Commerce and the Edmond Economic Development Authority for sponsoring my presentation yesterday on Search Engine Optimization and Marketing at the Bruce Gray Center.
Also, thanks to Mark Klein and Terri Nash-Marchant officers with the local chapter of the Association of Information Technology Professionals for having me speak to their group on Search Engine Optimization and Marketing at the Association of Oklahoma County Commissioners of Oklahoma headquarters and to Carl Foster for use of OKACCO’s auditorium.
A new and improved version of www.oklahomatechnology.com is up and running and includes a survey on Oklahoma Technology Commerce related topics. Past issues of the Oklahoma Technology Commerce Network News are also now available online.
Oklahoma Technology Commerce News
New Television Station Hitting Airwaves
Urban America Television Network is expanding into the Oklahoma City market with plans to launch Channel 17 and Channel 70 on Cox Cable. The Urban America Television Network competes with BET, which is owned by Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA -News ), for the urban market niche that the company believes is under served at this time. The network has approximately 70 affiliates with a household coverage of approximately 22 million households.
Urban America Television Network
Oklahoma INETA Group Forms
When Microsoft released their new Dot Net Software Development Kit (SDK), Edmond based ACCUDAQ was one of the first 600 to download the SDK.
Using the architect documents, ACCUDAQ created one of the first KM Portals and delivered the beta to the client less than 6 weeks later, about 10% of the estimated timeline. As a result, ACCUDAQ was invited to become a Charter Member of the INETA Group and to establish a users group for Oklahoma.
The International .NET Association (INETA) provides structured, peer-based organizational, educational, and promotional support to the growing worldwide community of Microsoft® .NET user groups. INETA’s mission is to offer assistance and resources to community groups that promote and educate their membership in Microsoft’s .NET technologies.
Francis Tuttle recently partnered with ACCUDAQ to provide structure and facilitate growth of the new Oklahoma INETA users group. The group is currently seeking sponsors and interested parties for board seats.
OU Leading Development of Next Generation Open Source Virtual Campus
SINAPSE a free, open source technology written in PHP is being developed by students at the University of Oklahoma along with several partner schools.
With SINAPSE a university can produce an internal, customizable and interactive online student community facilitating campus wide communication and collaboration among students and faculty.
SINAPSE has roughly 35 adopting universities supporting and contributing to the project including Oklahoma State University, Texas A&M University, The University of Texas, Duke University, American University and Purdue
University.
“SINAPSE is an innovative collaboration of students and universities from across the United States that is revolutionizing the way that students, faculty and staff interact on campus. The new virtual campuses that have
been created from the SINAPSE project are bringing more efficient and effective services to all partnering universities. I am proud of the
forethought and ingenuity shown by these student technology teams and I could not be more excited to be a part of something that is improving the lives of tens of thousands of individuals on campuses across America.”
- Dr. Dennis Aebersold, V.P. of Technology at the University of Oklahoma
Web Based Interface Application Development
A group of experienced Oklahoma City based online application developers has formed E Beyond. E Beyond focuses on custom development of web based, data driven applications that generate revenue, build client relationships or increase internal productivity. The E Beyond team can build linear and non linear job flow systems, client management extranets, sales lead tools, and robust online commerce and catalog systems.
Contact: Charley Schmitz - 405-627-4257
Oklahoma Technology Commerce Commentary
“Is Germany the next Japan?”
• Last 3 years: Dow Jones Industrials fell 24%
• Last 3 years: Frankfurt Dax fell 69%
• The Dow would be at 3220 if it fell that much
In the US, banks are nervous about lending if a company has less than 20% of its own funds on its balance sheet. 15% is a no-go refusal.
Not so in Germany! Deutsche Bank and others are not just lenders, but are also majority owners of companies.
It’s a Ponzi Scheme. The German banking rules are… it can loan to companies whose capital structure has only 8%to 10% equity… and when the company is in danger of breach, the German government allows companies to issue stock to pay the bank back.
Japan did this and now has 5% equity capital structure.
This could be a Federal Reserve nightmare: A deflating Dollar will not generate U.S. sales from decimated foreign economies.
Can we export our deflation with a cheaper Dollar and have foreign countries buying our products again like the old days?
An eye opener: GDP to public debt ratios as measured by the Federal Reserve.
U.S.40%
Germany 70%
Japan 140%
Bush Giveth Tax Cuts and States Taketh Away
As mentioned in the last issue of Oklahoma Technology Network News, state government debt levels are now approaching 12% of our entire nation’s GDP.
After state elections are over later this year, it’s likely governors are going to start pushing for tax hikes in attempts to stem their budget deficits.
If they don’t raise taxes their state bond ratings will tank.
Otherwise, their options are:
1. Cut spending and layoff state employees across the entire U.S. which would have a negative impact and slow down the US economy.
2. Do some creative financing… which is unlikely as it will lower Bond Ratings and increase their debts to worse levels.
If the overall economy starts heading in a positive direction, the likelihood of state tax hikes could stall or reverse the engines later this year or early next…
Oklahoma Technology Commerce Resources
Internet Privacy Browser
San Francisco Bay area community site
Recommended reading: Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point.
The previous three resources are from David Bailey of San Francisco, CA. The Tipping Point is an excellent read for anyone who is looking to sell more product or services.
DOT Net Nuke Developer: Dennis Bottjer Active iNet Services.
We Love The Iraqi Information Minister
This site is just too good to let pass unmentioned and thus is an example of The Tipping Point in action - my favorite quote from the Iraqi Information Minister:
“I triple guarantee you, there are no American soldiers in Baghdad.”
Oklahoma Technology Commerce Spotlight
The Oklahoma Technology Network’s featured technology business is: Perimeter Technology Center
Why does any Oklahoma based business export their data storage and hard earned dollars out of state when there is a “Tier 1″ Data Center right here in our own backyard?
The formation of a joint venture in Oklahoma City between John Parsons, Terry Morrison, and Anodyne Technologies is giving Oklahoma based companies more than a few reasons not to export their data and dollars.
Perimeter Technology Center, LLC (PTC) has a fully redundant, high availability data center facility centrally located in Oklahoma City and offers a full array of data center products and services including co-location, application hosting, back-up storage, disaster recovery, satellite down link and streaming media.
How did PTC come about? PTC recently assumed control of the OKC facility that supported the worldwide media streaming efforts for clients of Webcasts.com, iBeam and Williams Communications. The facility and team have a history of supporting Fortune 500 endeavors and they are capable of providing leading edge network technology to customers demanding complete redundancy, survivability and 24×7 access of their data network. They can also help organizations build, optimize, secure and manage their network infrastructures.
Contact: John Parsons - 405-917-3710
Contact: Stan Chase - 405-917-3715
Remembering Edward L. Gaylord 1919-2003
Although not where you might expect to see a memorial to Mr. Gaylord, to a degree, the success I have enjoyed in my business career is attributable to the experience and habits I developed while working for his family’s company - OPUBCO.
In 1972 at the age of 10, I started my first paper route with the Oklahoma Publishing Company (OPUBCO). At the time, E.K. Gaylord, Edward L. Gaylord’s father, was still running the paper. As you probably know, OPUBCO is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year which by Oklahoma business standards is an eternity. I met E.K. during a “subscription sales rally” and at the time I didn’t think too much of it other than the man was obviously older than anyone I had ever met before. I learned later he was nearly 100 years old when we met. E.K. Gaylord died in 1974. Edward L. Gaylord then took over the business. I became Edward L. Gaylord’s neighbor a few years ago and although I had the opportunity to briefly describe to him how working for his company had positively impacted my life, I’m afraid I wasn’t able to truly convey to him just how valuable the experience had been to me.
I worked for the Oklahoman first as an independent contractor, then “spotter” and finally as an assistant district manager from 1972 through 1980. I left OPUBCO when I graduated high school and moved away to attend college. I came back to Oklahoma City in 1984 and again worked for OPUBCO until shortly after the stock market crashed in 1987 at which point I became the marketing consultant I am today.
How can my having been a newspaper carrier possibly be a memorial to Mr. Gaylord?
Nearly everything I learned about general business including serving customers, buying, selling and producing profit - I first learned at the Oklahoman. By the time I was 12 years old, I had a checking account and a business phone line. If a customer didn’t get their paper just where they wanted it, they insisted on being able to reach me directly at my office. My “office” in this case was my bed and calls from customers if any, usually came between 6:00 and 7:00 AM. Getting a call from let’s say a “senior citizen” at 6:00 AM who wanted her paper on the porch instead of the sidewalk enriched me in countless ways!
As an independent contractor, my economic success or failure depended on my having bought product wisely and produced services efficiently. I had to collect accounts receivables and pay my supplier - OPUBCO. If I was organized and efficient in operating my enterprise, I would earn profits. If my operations were disorganized or inefficient, I would suffer losses.
…. and thus the most important gift I received from “throwing newspapers” for what seemed like an eternity was that if I was going to get up at 4:00 AM and work my tail off in every imaginable kind of weather - I was darn sure going to make a profit…
Thank you Edward L. Gaylord
Feel free to contact me with any Oklahoma technology news, resources, suggestions or ideas you think would be of interest or benefit to the Oklahoma Technology Community.
Sincerely,
Tim Cohn
The Oklahoma Technology Commerce Network
www.oklahomatechnology.com
405-842-0163
P.S. Marketing Strategy Consulting by Tim Cohn.
For online marketing contact Tim Cohn, Direct Marketing Consultant and Google Advertising Professional.
