...os t 9-806-105 REV: NOVEMBER 9, 2006 THOMAS R. EISENMANN rP KERRY HERMAN Google Inc. Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. — Google’s mission statement yo In December 2005, Google paid $1 billion for a 5% stake in Time Warner’s America Online (AOL) unit. The implied $20 billion valuation for AOL came as a surprise; JPMorgan had recently valued the unit at $13.7 billion.1 However, the partnership was important to Google, which had signed a fiveyear deal to continue providing web search results and search-based advertising to AOL, as it had done since 2002. Google was expected to earn about $600 million in gross advertising revenue from AOL searches in 2005.2 The share of ad revenue that Google would pay to AOL was not disclosed, but seemed likely to exceed the 85-90% estimated for the prior deal.3 No tC op In addition to its $1 billion equity investment, Google would provide a $300 million credit for ads on Google promoting Time Warner products and would showcase Time Warner content in a special box on some Google search results pages. Critics complained about reports that Google would provide Time Warner with information about its search algorithms in order to help its partner’s pages secure higher positions in search results. Commenting on Google’s accommodations to AOL, author John Battelle said: “Each of them represents a step closer to a slippery slope. What they...
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...os t 9-806-105 REV: NOVEMBER 9, 2006 THOMAS R. EISENMANN rP KERRY HERMAN Google Inc. Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. — Google’s mission statement yo In December 2005, Google paid $1 billion for a 5% stake in Time Warner’s America Online (AOL) unit. The implied $20 billion valuation for AOL came as a surprise; JPMorgan had recently valued the unit at $13.7 billion.1 However, the partnership was important to Google, which had signed a fiveyear deal to continue providing web search results and search-based advertising to AOL, as it had done since 2002. Google was expected to earn about $600 million in gross advertising revenue from AOL searches in 2005.2 The share of ad revenue that Google would pay to AOL was not disclosed, but seemed likely to exceed the 85-90% estimated for the prior deal.3 No tC op In addition to its $1 billion equity investment, Google would provide a $300 million credit for ads on Google promoting Time Warner products and would showcase Time Warner content in a special box on some Google search results pages. Critics complained about reports that Google would provide Time Warner with information about its search algorithms in order to help its partner’s pages secure higher positions in search results. Commenting on Google’s accommodations to AOL, author John Battelle said: “Each of them represents a step closer to a slippery slope. What they...
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...Note from the Authors: “Creative Entrepreneurship” was born out of the desire, want and curiosity of kbs+’s staff to understand the crazy world of entrepreneurship. “Creative Entrepreneurship” curates the perspectives of leading entrepreneurs and venture capitalists as a guide for people interested in learning more. Each writer graciously contributed their work to create a curated resource for creative entrepreneurs. This book is the teaching and inspirational aid for our kbs+ Ventures Fellows – a highly select group of kbs+ staffers from all levels and areas of the agency – who go through a six-month educational program to immerse themselves in the startup and venture capital world. Share this entrepreneurial inspiration with friends using @kbspvc or #kbspvcbook. If you would like to share any inspiration, thoughts or feedback, please contact us at @kbspvc anytime – we look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for downloading our book! Darren Herman Taylor Davidson Creative Entrepreneurship Darren Herman Taylor Davidson a kbs+ partner We have received explicit permission from all authors of the works found in this book. Unless otherwise stated, we do not claim to have written or own any of this work. We are purely aggregating it into a simple book format for the education of anyone who picks up this book. The price of this book is free; if anyone tries to sell this book to you, please report them to us. Hopefully this book inspires you as much as it does...
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...Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction 1 BRAIN POWER Myth #1 Most People Use Only 10% of Their Brain Power Myth #2 Some People Are Left-Brained, Others Are Right-Brained Myth #3 Extrasensory Perception (ESP) Is a Well-Established Scientific Phenomenon Myth #4 Visual Perceptions Are Accompanied by Tiny Emissions from the Eyes Myth #5 Subliminal Messages Can Persuade People to Purchase Products 2 FROM WOMB TO TOMB Myth #6 Playing Mozart’s Music to Infants Boosts Their Intelligence Myth #7 Adolescence Is Inevitably a Time of Psychological Turmoil Myth #8 Most People Experience a Midlife Crisis in | 8 Their 40s or Early 50s Myth #9 Old Age Is Typically Associated with Increased Dissatisfaction and Senility Myth #10 When Dying, People Pass through a Universal Series of Psychological Stages 3 A REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST Myth #11 Human Memory Works like a Tape Recorder or Video Camera, and Accurate Events We’ve Experienced Myth #12 Hypnosis Is Useful for Retrieving Memories of Forgotten Events Myth #13 Individuals Commonly Repress the Memories of Traumatic Experiences Myth #14 Most People with Amnesia Forget All Details of Their Earlier Lives 4 TEACHING OLD DOGS NEW TRICKS Myth #15 Intelligence (IQ) Tests Are Biased against Certain Groups of People My th #16 If You’re Unsure of Your Answer When Taking a Test, It’s Best to Stick with Your Initial Hunch Myth #17 The Defining Feature of Dyslexia Is Reversing Letters Myth #18 Students Learn Best When Teaching Styles Are Matched to...
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...THE PLAYER Good game design is player-centric. That means that above all else, the player and her desires are truly considered. Rather than demanding that she do something via the rules, the gameplay itself should inherently motivate the player in the direction the designer wants her to go. Telling players they must travel around the board or advance to the next level is one thing. If they don’t have a reason and a desire to do it, then it becomes torture. In creating a game, designers take a step back and think from the player’s viewpoint: What’s this game about? How do I play? How do I win? Why do I want to play? What things do I need to do? MEANINGFUL DECISIONS Distilled down to its essence, game design is about creating opportunities for players to make meaningful decisions that affect the outcome of the game. Consider a game like a boxing match. So many decisions lead up to the ultimate victory. How long will I train? Will I block or will I swing? What is my opponent going to do? Where is his weakness? Jab left or right? Even those few, brief questions don’t come close to the myriad decisions a fighter must make as he progresses through a match. Games invite players into similar mental spaces. Games like Tetris and Chess keep our minds busy by forcing us to consider which one of several possible moves we want to take next. In taking these paths, we know that we may be prolonging or completely screwing up our entire game. The Sims games and those in...
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