Three rules for not failing in the technology business

Today news came from one of the geomatics communities announcing its closure; it's about Kamezeta, a style effort “Mename me” for promoting kml/kmz file sharing. Faced with such news, and after only one year of operation, we wonder if this is due to the omens due to the collapse of the current trend (Web 2.0) or if it is the result of a poorly planned project.

In this sense, if we are going to tear our clothes for the death of this community, we will at least rescue something that will serve us for profit in the technological business, old concepts such as technology, although new because of our little dedication towards systematization.

Everyone knows that the three pillars of the 2.0 website were defined as: Technology, Business and Community, and many people quickly associated this with the basic concepts of technological marketing that are Development, Research and Innovation (D + I + I); but surely that is not a secret formula for success in a venture.

To smoke on this topic so coarse for many, I hope that by forgiving my obligation for the simplicity to which we condemn the 700 words of patience blogger, at least we rescue the three basic rules so as not to fail in the technological business:

1 Technology is not a computer concept.

There is no difference between the technological vanguard of the Egyptians three thousand years ago with what we now call technology. Always fulfilled its role, solve the immediate problems of society and that in our case is known as information technology.

But understanding technology as simply computer development is as dangerous as believing that ArcView's painted maps are cartography, history has shown that the more accelerated a technological revolution, the greater the danger exists in the sustainability of knowledge. This is the reason why we are concerned about the path that cartography is taking as a science, given much confusion due to the implementation of information technology and the oblivion of what we systematized thirty years ago; If not, ask the Google mapping specialist if the GPS station network replaces the planimetric triangulation arcs and the altimetric control lines.

2 Innovation is not an academic skill

This is exemplified in hundreds of applications that are born every day, but with little novelty and more with the practice of copying the success of others. Unfortunately, innovation is not a well-paid skill, I am sure that if some companies that work in the geospatial world in Latin America were in California they would have a lot of money. However, let's conclude that having money is not a guarantee of intelligence, and perhaps this was one of the reasons that our friends in Kamezeta (not having money) gave up after a year of trying to do what others had already achieved (with more success ) for having been the innovators. Anyway, it is possible that our innovative capacity grows as we spend time practicing failure in the attempt to achieve success ... jolin, that sounded deep profundo

2 Business models are a necessary specialty

I remember that when I was going to start this blog, I told a friend who had hired a market study and took me as a publican. He told me that to launch a blog, what you occupy is writing, writing, answering comments, seeing statistics and getting into communities ... blah blah blah. It's not that I think that geomatics are not business experts, it's that it is not our specialty (accepting that there are exceptions) ... in the end I learned interesting things that I thought I didn't need to know.

As we understand that lawyers do not understand coordinates and require our technical support, in the same way we should not feel offended if we accept that business science has much to offer us. Although I admit that I expected things like the design of the top banner because some of their recommendations seemed unpurchased to me like accepting payment for some postings when there is an opportunity, monetize the effort to think and insist on a disciplined dedication to do what we are passionate about but based on planning.

In the end, it seems that the discipline it has brought me greater benefits before the loss that the monetization of thought supposes.

So, as long as we can insist on consulting business experts, seek to innovate and not confuse the concept of technology, we would hope not to have to say this one day:

Kamezeta.com will close the website in the coming days. It has been almost 1 year running, where we have received and shared interesting locations. The principles were relatively successful but the interest has been falling little by little to the point that very few visit the web. We appreciate the interest you have had during this time.
Your accounts, emails, all kmz and comments collected will be deleted along with the web.
Thank you and always.