POSCO using Google's cloud-based solutions!

Some years ago I recall touring the POSCO steel plant in Pohang and learning that it was highly computerized and the most efficient plant of its type in the world.   Today I read in The Korea Times that the company has recently taken steps to strengthen its IT systems and further improve efficiency.
What really jumped off the page when I read the article was the following section.

"On Dec. 10, 2012, the company launched its Smart Workplace program, partnering with Google and other technology providers. To facilitate communication among employees at various POSCO plants and offices, the company has implemented Google+ Hangouts, a video conferencing app and one of the U.S. Internet giant’s smart workplace solutions. Google+ Hangouts allows employees to access other Google products such as Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive, enabling employees to collaborate more frequently and achieve better results."

Half of Korean elementary students and about 84% of secondary students own smartphones

South Korea's Ministry of Education yesterday released the results of a nationwide survey of smartphone ownership by students in elementary, middle and high schools.  Overall, 69 percent of all the students surveyed owned smartphones.  While the survey did not indicate what portion of the phones were LTE models, it seems a reasonable assumption that the vast majority are, given the rapid uptake of LTE nationwide here in Korea.  As shown in the accompanying graphic (click for a larger version) the survey showed that middle and high school students were most likely to own a smartphone, with 83-85% of those surveyed reporting ownership.  However, almost half of elementary students reported owning one.

Ascendance and decline: the brand power of Sony vs. Samsung

I saw a report a few days ago that Samsung had finally broken into the top ten in Interbrand's annual "Best Global Brands" survey.  The Interbrand website includes a data visualization tool that allows comparison of any two of the brands they studied.  The graphic published here (click to see a larger version) is a screen capture of the results when one compares Sony with Samsung.  It clearly depicts the decline of Sony and the ascendance of Samsung over the period from 2001-2012.

My experience on the Interbrand website prompted me to do a comparison using Google Trends.  The second graphic (again, click to see a full sized version) shows worldwide web search activitity for Sony, Samsung and Apple.  This graphic illustrates not only the relative decline of Sony versus Samsung, but also the apparent sweeping impact of smartphones and tablets, starting with Apple's iPhone, launched in 2007.

Invitation to a World Technopolis Association international conference in September

A few weeks ago I received an invitation to give a panel speech at the forthcoming Preparatory Conference for the Daejeon Global Innovation Forum, a meeting to be held on September 25 and 26 in Daejon.  It is being organized by Daejeon Metropolitan City, the World Technopolis Association and UNESCO.  My panel session is on the topic of "innovation clusters in the creative economy."   The invitation is most interesting to me for several reasons.  One is that I did my graduate work at Stanford where Silicon Valley grew up alongside and in interaction with the university.  Another, of course, is that the Daedok Innopolis is far and away South Korea's largest and leading technopolis, and is about to become even as it forms the center of a much larger "global science belt."  I was fortunate to visit the Daejon Expo twice back in 1993, and that event gave a measurable impetus to the development of Daejon and the Daedok Innopolis as Korea's premier science city.   It is a welcome opportunity to do some reading and reflection on the role of urban technology clusters in fostering the "creative economy" that is a central goal of the Park Geun-hye administration.

Cloud-based "webhard" services show increased copyright violations

As reported in The Joongang Daily today, cloud-based file sharing services referred to in Korea as "webhards" (for web hard drives) have increased in popularity in recent years.   Consequently, as shown in the accompanying graphic, (click to see a full-sized version) there was a significant increase in copyright violations.  As reported in the article,"Webhards are fast becoming a breeding ground for transfers of illegal stuff like porn and copyright-protected files. In Korea, 1.8 billion illegal files were circulated last year, according to the Copyright Protection Center. Of those, 664 million were found to have been uploaded through webhards, or 36.1 percent. Between April and May, the Cyber Terror Response center at the National Police Agency found that 75 percent of pornographic materials accessed online had been uploaded through webhards."