Innovation is Accelerating

Is it just me? Or are you seeing innovation accelerating too?

Over the last several weeks, I’ve been emailed, called and have read and experienced announcements and heads-up on new and exciting technologies and offerings. There is lots of discussion about Web 2.0 and the internet-as-a-platform, and I’m seeing numerous releases from companies that are taking advantage of the shifts occurring due to increased critical mass of enabling technologies, new approaches and an increase in bandwidth driving consumption.

Here are just a few items from just the past few days:

• EBay buys Skype. This has been all over the ‘net and everyone is talking about it since Skype was and is cool. But Skype is based on a set of proprietary protocols and not the open SIP format. Michael Robertson (of mp3.com and Linspire fame) has SIPPhone and the Gizmo project (think Skype on open protocols). After EBay announces the acquisition of Skype, Robertson announces “SIPphone is partnering with FreeConferenceCall to let any U.S. telephone and any PC user worldwide participate in high-quality conference calls with up to 10 participants per call and a maximum of 6 hours per call. This service is available with no monthly fees, no setup fees, no per minute charges – no charges whatsoever.“

• Google announces blog search. This has *got* to annoy Dave Sifry at Technorati but is additional validation to bloggers and this new medium.

• Microsoft unveils web site and design tools. Though available for years with Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver and other tools, Microsoft was notably absent from the game.

• Yahoo mail is coming. I wrote last Friday about Writely (web browser-based Microsoft Word-like offering) that is really cool…but now *another* company works on snagging a piece of the Microsoft value proposition…Outlook.

• NerdTV debuts. Now you may be wondering, “So what?”. It’s IPTV…that’s what. There aren’t a lot of great examples out there yet, but most of the smart podcasters — that are mini-celebrities or have something people would like to see — are simultaneously podcasting and shooting video (many in high definition…just in case). Read an article about a new report here.

• Hybrid cars are all over the Frankfurt Auto Show. Big incentive with the price of gasoline.

• Lots of buzz about a new web browser called Flock that will embrace Web 2.0 standards.