Portfolio.com - Big-Picture Site, for Big-Picture Thinkers

I was glancing through Venturebeat, and came across this new startup thats been rolled out called the beta version of Portfolio.com. Nah, its not a social networking site, or a mindless review site, its much more interesting than that. Launched by Condé Nast, the New York publisher, it strives to capture the intrigue, excitement, and power that attract people to the business world.
Its not the regular run of the mill business news site, which would put up any breaking news on its portal. Rather, it goes deeper than that. The ultimate aims seems to select the stories which are likely to make an impact, and to dig deep to come out with a solid S.W.O.T analysis including the implications in the longer run. Salient features -
- Top 5: Top 5 keeps track of what you need to know
- Market Brief: Dynamic snapshots of key market and economic data.
- Hype Report: A roundup of the most-talked-about companies and executives.
- Profiles: More than 500,000 in-depth profiles of public and private companies.
- Infographics: Dynamic graphs, data visualization, and interactive charts.

A very interesting bunch of stories have been rolled out, with the genres ranging from art, fashion, technology to as diverse as geography - with the common thread of business implications tying them. It is bound to create waves if it continues to come out with the sort of stories they have listed right now, and would be very interesting to see if they can hold on with such captivating stuff in due time. For example, we all know about the scientists, political leaders and environmentalists crying about Global Warming and its effects in the long run - Portfolio tries to bring an entire new perspective to this issue - How can Global Warming be good? Intriguing analysis.. Hang on, you've got read yourself to know that.

Google Earth simulating Darfur

"When the Janjawid arrived, I took my daughter in my arms and ran away but I was shot in the leg and had to slow down. That is when my daughter Husna was shot."

--BB, the father of the three-year-old girl who was killed

Its not difficult to locate a path from one location to another using Google Earth. However, now Google is using its popular online mapping service to call attention to atrocities in the Darfur region of Sudan. With assistance from United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), Google Earth would now also focus on the atrocities caused in the Darfur which the United Nations estimates that more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced in four years of carnage. If you focus over Darfur using Google Earth, the image will now be overlayed with icons indicating the extent to which a village has been destroyed. Further, details concerning the number of people displaced and refugees have also been mapped. More details in the form of downloads are available on per click basis. Sara Bloomfield, the museum's director, said museum staff members had approached Google about the project as they sought ways to highlight what they believe is genocide to many people who remain unaware. In Google Earth, which the company says has been downloaded by 200 million people worldwide, they found an ideal medium. Meanwhile, Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir continues to deny of any such atrocities. United Nations has officially termed it as a genocide, but sadly other international organizations and nations have still failed to recognize the gravity of the situation. Here are a few snapshots regarding the same..

DoubleClick Deal - Twist in the Making?

Less than 2 days since Google bought off the Web ad supplier firm DoubleClick Inc. for $3.1 Billion, Microsoft has called regulators to closely scrutinize the deal. It is pretty evident that this deal would add substantially to further elevate the kingpin status that Google enjoys in this arena. Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, said the deal would allow Google to corner the online advertising market and provide them access to a huge amount of information on consumer behavior on the Internet."This proposed acquisition raises serious competition and privacy concerns," said Brad Smith, Microsoft senior vice president and general counsel in an e-mail statement.

Shortly after announcing the deal on Friday, Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said in a news conference he expected the deal to be approved by regulators. "This is a very, very competitive market in terms of the number of choices," Schmidt said.
The big question however lingers on. With Google enjoying a massive 64.1% of all US searches, what is the future of the search division of Microsoft and Yahoo? Some analysts have already started predicting a merger between the 2 giants which would put them in a better position. I am not so sure about this, but considering the amount of 'increasing' pressure that Google is subjecting on its rivals, Gates and Co. might just have to consider that option. The stats (from Hitwise) are here for the reference.

Awesome catches.. brilliance personified!

Here comes another video. Yeah, you can accuse me of doing a bit of You-tubin' off late, but then there's always some awesome stuff tugged in. Check out some of the best catches you'd ever see in the game of cricket. I have seen a lot of cricket (loads of it), but few of these catches have been a surprise. The dude who's uploaded this has done a brilliant summation. Check this out..

P.S: Yeah, he's a Collingwood fan, so what..But am still wonderin' what's a Creed (Higher) single doing with this video??

From Inside the Googleplex..

A lot has has been written about Google, this has perhaps not only been the biggest buzzword since the last 5 odd years, but has been extremely consistent at maitaining the top spot as well. Currently standing at $150 Billion, it has attracted the top talent (read geeks) from everywhere to work for them. But IPO has long gone, and with the share price soaring high at almost $500, there's more thats attracting people to work for them. Food at every 100 feet et al.. yeah, we have all read 'Google Story'. Now here's the clip I got hold of, from inside the GooglePlex.. Watch on..

And if that does not satisfy your appetite, have a look at this..