Ireland Taoiseach (Prime Minister) makes his 1st trip to USA a trip to GAFAM

Yesterday I was at a luncheon for Ireland's Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar at the Chiluly garden and glass. http://chihulygardenandglass.com

https://twitter.com/AilbheConneely/status/925813069074145280/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rte.ie%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2F2017%2F1101%2F916850-leo-varadkar-seattle%2F

Here is a picture of the Taoiseach from my seat.

At my table was Microsoft and Amazon. And next on the Taoiseach was Menlo Park.

When looking at where the Taoiseach went his list comprised the GAFAM - Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft.

Apple. https://twitter.com/DanMulhall/status/926232751925108738

Google https://twitter.com/eob/status/926220221278576641

Facebook https://twitter.com/theirishpost/status/926212058483392512

amazon. https://twitter.com/DanMulhall/status/925798675216863232  Sorry no picture

Microsoft https://twitter.com/bcollins241/status/925774687942066176

As one of the attendees to the Seattle event said I don't know why I am here, but must be because I am Irish. I think I snuck in because they saw my name and thought i was Irish.

Here is the O'Hara family crest on a coffee mug in my office.

;-). Here is my name in Japanese in the center of my Aikido black belt certificate with the way my ancestors wrote Ohara.

There was many more little things I learned from the event, but given I didn't disclose I would write about anything I don't have permission to say more than above. Maybe next time I go to a Taoiseach event I will attend under a media role and I have been granted permission and what is shared is "on the record."

Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google openness to failure

Here is a video on Business Insider that explains the secret of these four. 

“Scott Galloway, professor of marketing at NYU Stern and the author of “The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google” shows how some of the biggest successes in tech have also had major public failures. He explains why failure is an important aspect of success. Following is a transcript of the video.

Scott Galloway: So there’s a famous chart that shows, it says, what people think success is and it has a straight upward line and then what success really is and it’s a jagged, multi-art adventure. And that is accurate.

Scott Galloway, professor of marketing NYU Stern and the author of “The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google.””

— http://www.businessinsider.com/scott-galloway-amazon-facebook-apple-google-failure-success-tech-2017-10

What is kind of sad is Microsoft has many failures, but is not considered part of these 4. Why?

The DNA (values) of Facebook #5 of the Big 5

Facebook is the youngest of the Big 5 Internet Companies. Apple, Microsoft, Google and Amazon are all older. Facebook being the youngest has grown the fastest to be a presence in the data center industry. My earliest interaction with Facebook was through the Open Compute Project and over time I have made friends at Facebook and other friends have joined Facebook.

I have been diving into technical details like Facebook's social graph. the Graph API is one area.

Now I understand a bit more on how Facebook's Internet systems work and are designed.

Another question is how is Facebook different than the other 4 of the Big 5.

I had a chance to talk to some executives who have worked with Facebook for years and I presented this slide as part of what we think is the Facebook way.

One construction friend who I was chatting I shared my perspective. This video I used afterwards to let FB employees explain their vision of graph search.

The other big 5 I am more familiar with especially since I worked at two of them (Microsoft and Apple).

The Big 5 are Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook

Today the Big 5 Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook are now the largest market cap companies. Exxon Mobile is now #6.

These companies are making more investment in data centers than others. Are these 5 combined over 50% of the industry's capacity? If not now, when will they be.

Everyone in the information industry needs to keep an eye on this group. If not you may miss the changes that will make things more difficult for your business.  Or miss opportunities created by movements by the Big 5.

China's version of GAFAM is BAT - Baidu Alibaba Tencent

I started to write about GAFAM - Google Apple Facebook Amazon Microsoft.

In China there is BAT - Baidu Alibaba Tencent

WSJ covers these three. http://www.wsj.com/articles/kingmakers-of-chinas-internet-baidu-alibaba-and-tencent-1445451143

“By LI YUAN
Oct. 21, 2015 2:12 p.m. ET
1 COMMENTS
“Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” one of the classical novels of Chinese literature, describes wars among three power blocs to replace the dwindling Han Dynasty some 1,800 years ago.

China’s Internet world is now dominated by three kingdoms— Baidu Inc., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. The companies have the power to pick winners and losers among Chinese startups.

The three are so dominant in China that they are widely known as BAT. Baidu, sometimes called the Google of China, holds commanding market share over search. Alibaba holds a similar power over e-commerce. Tencent is the dominant player in social media.

The companies are spending billions of dollars to help them capture China’s rapid shift to smartphones and other mobile devices. That makes them virtual kingmakers among startups.

Their deep pockets and powerful presence in everyday Chinese life have made them both loved and feared by startups. Some see monsters that crush innovative startups, while others see saviors offering lucrative exit options.”

— http://www.wsj.com/articles/kingmakers-of-chinas-internet-baidu-alibaba-and-tencent-1445451143