A year ago, the Boston Globe wrote about how hedge funds are beginning to poach on venture firm’s traditional turf by financing early stage companies. I suppose a certain amount of “mission drift” is normal, but today’s move seems wacky.

But what is creativity?

The best answer I’ve recently heard comes from Sir Ken Robinson. If you haven’t seen his talk from TED, available here, I recommend you check it out when you have a free 20 minutes.

In a nutshell, Robinson defines creativity as the process of generating original ideas that have value–and typically, these ideas come through the interaction of different disciplinary ways of looking at the world. Robinson argues that our current educational systems look for and cultivate a narrow set of skills–typically related to mathematics and language–at the expense of many others. As a result, he believes, we aren’t fully preparing ourselves for the future.

Robinson’s ideas (which deserve a much fuller explanation–check out the video) have significant implications for managers and policy makers. At a macro level, what is the right composition for functional teams tasked with key projects? What are the right metrics to track, measure, and change? How can different ways of thinking be effectively synthesized into a coherent plan?

At a micro level, what do you do to foster creativity? If you’re a software engineer, would it be helpful (not to mention fun) to visit an exhibit on Dada-inspired art? If you’re a painter, would you gain from building your own TiVo?

While Kiko’s functionality was solid (and improving, especially with recent releases), the team apparently wasn’t able to develop a viable business model to compete with the many other free alternatives (30Boxes, CalendarHub, Airset, and–oh yeah–Google Calendar).

I suggest keeping an eye on company founders Justin Kan and Emmet Shear–they’ve no doubt learned lessons here and will go on to bigger and better projects…

My take is that this is a smart move for Microsoft as they get free feedback. Of course, one could ask how relevant Office will be going forward as free web-based alternatives continue to improve, but that’s another topic…

The chart shows that 416,139 “wikipedians” have made 29,580,205 edits to various articles (there are currently 1,306,883 articles in total). That’s a lot of edits, but what’s more interesting is how an extremely small number of people account for the overwhelming majority of edit activity: just 5 individuals were responsible for more than 850,000 edits, and only 5.7% of all active users provided 88.5% of all completed edits.

Clearly, there are interesting implications for so-called user-generated content sites. In particular, capturing and retaining the interest of the most-hyperactive editors/contributers is key (at least it is for Wikipedia).

Update: Christopher points out that some of the most active “wikipedians” are, in fact, bots (automated or semi-automated accounts for making repetitive edits that would be extremely tedious to do manually). Important clarification…

Unclear how many visitors will convert into regular readers, but for an advertising-focused business, traffic=$.

Below is a long snippet from Google’s 10-K describing the company’s current product portfolio. My reaction: impressive diversity, but I wonder if there is a coherent product strategy–or if they are simply throwing new applications against the virtual wall to see what sticks?

Google.com

Google WebSearch. In addition to providing easy access to billions of web pages, we have integrated special features into Google WebSearch to help people find exactly what they are looking for on the web. The Google.com search experience also includes:

• Advanced Search Functionality—enables users to construct more complex queries, for example by using Boolean logic or restricting results to languages, countries or web sites.
• Spell Checker—suggests alternate search terms when a search appears to contain misspellings or typing errors.
• Web Page Translation—automatically translates web pages published in French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish into English, or vice versa.
• Stock Quotes—provides links to stock and mutual fund information.
• Street Maps—provides links to street maps and directions.
• Calculator—solves math problems involving basic arithmetic, complicated math or physical constants and converts between units of measure.
• Currency Conversion—provides conversions among international currencies.
• Definitions—provides definitions for words or phrases based on content we have indexed.
• PhoneBook—provides U.S. street addresses and phone numbers for U.S. businesses and residences.
• Search by Number—enables people to conduct quick searches by entering FedEx, UPS and USPS package tracking numbers, vehicle ID numbers, product codes, telephone area codes, patent numbers, FAA airplane registration numbers and FCC equipment ID numbers.
• Travel Information—enables people to search for airline flights and see delays and weather conditions at U.S. airports.
• Cached Links—provides snapshots of web pages taken when the pages were indexed, enabling web users to view web pages that are no longer available.
• Movie Information—enables people to quickly and easily find movie reviews and showtimes for U.S. theatres.
• Music Information—enables people to find information about artists, songs, albums and places to legally purchase music.
• Weather—provides weather conditions and a four-day forecast for U.S. locations
• News, Product, Local, Image, Book and Groups Information—when relevant, we also display results from Google News, Froogle, Google Local, Google Image Search, Google Book Search and Google Groups.
• Q&A—provides quick answers to fact-based questions, with links to information sources.

Google Image Search. Google Image Search is our searchable index of images found across the web. To extend the usefulness of Google Image Search, we offer advanced features, such as searching by image size, format and coloration and restricting searches to specific web sites or domains.

Google Groups. The original Google Groups enabled easy participation in Internet discussion groups by providing users with tools to search, read and browse these groups and to post messages of their own. Google Groups now contains more than 1 billion messages from Usenet Internet discussion groups dating back to 1981. The discussions in these groups cover a broad range of discourse and provide a comprehensive look at evolving viewpoints, debate and advice on many subjects.

Google News. Google News gathers information from thousands of news sources worldwide and presents news stories in a searchable format within minutes of their publication on the web. The leading stories are presented as headlines on the user-customizable Google News home page. These headlines are selected for display entirely by a computer algorithm, without regard to political viewpoint or ideology. Google News uses an automated process to pull together related headlines, which enables people to see many different viewpoints on the same story. Because topics are updated continuously throughout the day, people generally see new stories each time they check Google News. We currently provide our Google News service in 11 languages, tailored to 34 international audiences. Google News is also available on mobile devices through Google News for Mobile.

Froogle. Froogle is Google’s shopping search engine. Using Google search technology, Froogle can help shoppers find the items they want, both online and in nearby stores. Users can sort results by price or store location, see product and merchant reviews, specify a desired price range, and view photos. Froogle accepts data feeds directly from merchants to ensure that product information is up-to-date and accurate. Because we do not charge merchants for inclusion in Froogle, users can browse categories or conduct searches with confidence that the results we provide are relevant and unbiased. As with many Google products, Froogle displays relevant advertising separately from search results.

Google Local. Google Local, which merged with Google Maps in 2005, enables users to find driving directions and relevant local businesses near a city, postal code, or specific address. This service combines telephone directory listings with information found on web pages, and plots their locations on interactive user-friendly maps. We display relevant targeted ads for searches done through Google Local.

Google Desktop. Google Desktop enables users to perform a full text search on the contents of their own computer —including email, files, instant messenger chats, and web browser history — without manual organization. Users can use this service to view web pages they have visited even when they are not online. Google Desktop now includes an enhanced, customizable Sidebar for modules such as weather, stock tickers, and news.

Web and content search

Google Scholar. Google Scholar provides a simple way to do a broad search for relevant scholarly literature including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts, and articles. Content in Google Scholar is taken from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities, and other scholarly organizations.

Google Book Search. Google Book Search brings print information online that had previously not been available to web searchers. Under this program, we enable a number of publishers to host their content and show their publications at the top of our search results. We also work closely with several libraries to digitize all or part of their collections to create a full-text searchable online card catalog. Google Book Search links bring users to pages containing bibliographic information and several sentences of the search term in context, sample book pages, or full text, depending on author and publisher permissions and book copyright status. On Google Book Search pages, we also provide links to book sellers that may offer the full versions of these publications for sale, and we show content-targeted ads that are served through the Google AdSense program.

Google Base. Google Base allows users to upload, store and describe online or offline content for free. Google stores and indexes this information and makes it easily searchable and accessible. We believe Google Base will help preserve information that might previously have only been transient, and will extend the power of the web and search to content that was previously not part of the online world.

Google Video. Google Video allows the exchange of video content between consumers and producers. Any user can upload a video to our service, and consumers can buy, rent or download for free a wide range of video content, including popular television shows, independent films and historic and educational videos.

Google Personalized Search. Personalized Search provides search results for web, images, and music that are relevant to users’ interests based on what they have searched for in the past. Users can also view and manage their history of past searches and the results they have clicked on and create bookmarks with labels and notes.

Google Personalized Homepage. Google Personalized Homepage brings together several Google properties such as Google News and Gmail on a user-customizable page, and is part of our efforts to make personalized information more easily accessible and useful.

Google Alerts. Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results based on the user’s choice of query or topic. Typical uses include monitoring a developing news story, keeping current on a competitor or industry, getting the latest on a celebrity or event, or keeping tabs on a favorite sports team. Google Alerts is now available in eight languages.

Google Web Directory. Google Web Directory enables people to browse and search through web sites that have been organized into categories. Our directory combines Google’s search technology with the categorization developed by the Open Directory Project, a third-party human edited directory of the Internet, and has content in over 70 languages.

Google Music Search. Google Music Search offers users a quick way to search for a wide range of U.S. music information, including artists, albums, song titles, links to music reviews, and places to legally purchase music.

Communication and collaboration

Gmail. Gmail is a free email service that offers over 2GB of free storage and incorporates Google search technology to help users find their email messages. Gmail contains no pop-up ads or untargeted banners, but rather contains only relevant text ads and links.

orkut. orkut enables users to search and connect to other users through networks of trusted friends. Users can create, join, or manage online communities, personal mailboxes, photos, and a profile.

Blogger. Blogger is a web-based publishing tool that gives people the ability to publish to the web instantly using weblogs, or “blogs.” Blogs are web pages usually made up of short, informal, frequently updated posts that are arranged chronologically. Blogs can facilitate communications among small groups or to a worldwide audience in a way that is simpler and easier to follow than traditional email or discussion forums. Blogger now features improved spam protection and is available in nine languages.

Downloadable applications

Google Toolbar. The Google Toolbar makes our search technology constantly and easily available as people browse the web. The Google Toolbar is available as a free, fast download and improves people’s web experience through several innovative features, including:

• Pop-up Blocker—blocks pop-up advertising while people use the web.
• PageRank Indicator—displays Google’s ranking of any page on the web.
• AutoFill—completes web forms with information saved securely on a user’s own computer.
• Highlight—highlights search terms where they appear on a web page, with each term marked in a different color.
• Word Find—finds search terms wherever they appear on a web page.
• AutoLink— turns street addresses into links to online maps.
• WordTranslator—translates English words into other languages.
• SpellCheck—checks spelling when typing in web forms.
• Custom buttons—allow users to search their favorite websites, stay updated on their favorite feeds, and more. A Custom Button API is also available for developers.
• Link sharing— allows users to share web pages easily through Gmail, SMS, or blogs.

Google Earth. Google Earth enables PC and Macintosh users to see and explore the world from their desktop. Users can fly virtually to a specific location and learn about that area through detailed satellite and aerial images, 3D topography, street maps and millions of data points describing the location of businesses, schools, parks, and other points of interest around the globe. Google Earth also provides access to Local search from the Google web index in a highly-interactive 3D environment.

Picasa. Picasa is a downloadable client application that helps users find, edit and share all the pictures on their computers. It streamlines the digital photography experience, allowing pictures to be easily transferred from digital cameras, organized, manipulated, and shared over email. Picasa’s “hello” service also lets users share pictures with others and chat about them in real-time, or post them to blogs. Picasa integrates with other Google services—including Gmail, Blogger, and Froogle—and is available in 38 languages on 133 domains.

Google Pack. Google Pack is a free collection of software from Google and other companies. It includes the Google Updater, a tool that intelligently downloads, installs, and maintains all the software in the Google Pack.

Mobile

Google Mobile. Google Mobile offers people the ability to search and view both the “mobile web,” consisting of pages created specifically for wireless devices, and the entire Google index, including popular products like Image Search and Froogle. Google Mobile works on a wide range of devices that support WML, XHTML, WAP, WAP 2.0, i-mode or j-sky mobile Internet protocols. In addition, users can access a variety of information using Google SMS by typing a query to the Google shortcode, and check their email using Gmail Mobile. Google Mobile is available through many wireless and mobile phone services worldwide, including the BlackBerry.

Google Local for Mobile. Google Local for Mobile is a downloadable Java client application that enables users to view maps and satellite imagery, find local businesses and obtain driving directions on mobile devices. Local for Mobile offers many of the same functions as Google Local—such as draggable maps combined with satellite imagery—for free, and is supported on over 40 mobile devices, including the BlackBerry.

Labs

Google Labs is our test bed for our engineers and for adventurous Google users. On Google Labs, we post product prototypes and solicit feedback on how the technology could be used or improved. Current Google Labs examples include:

• Froogle Wireless—gives people the ability to search for product information from their mobile phones and other wireless devices.
• Google Suggest—guesses what you’re typing and offers suggestions in real time. This is similar to Google’s “Did you mean?” feature that offers alternative spellings for your query after you search, except that it works in real time.
• Google Transit—enables users to plan trips using public transportation (currently in Portland, Oregon only).
• Google Ridefinder—enables users to find a taxi, limousine or shuttle using real time position of vehicles.
• Google Extensions for Firefox—includes Safe Browsing, Blogger Web Comments, and Google Send to Phone.
• Froogle Mobile US and UK—enables users to search for product information from their mobile phones and other wireless devices.
• Google Compute—allows users to donate computer idle time to scientific research.
• Google Reader—a web-based feed reader with enhanced support for photo feeds and podcasts that aims to make information more relevant and useful to users by combining Google functionality with personalized content.
• Google Web Accelerator—a downloadable client application that uses Google’s global computer network to enhance user web experience by enabling faster loading of web pages.

• Podcastdirectory.com: $30-40K/year run rate.
• FreeWebLayouts.com (designs for use on MySpace): $10-20K/month.
• SeatGuru.com (info on plane configurations): $20-40K/month, including direct ad sales.

But the biggest winner of all is Google (surprise). In Q2 2006, they collected almost $1 billion (41% of their total revenue) from their network of AdSense customers.

Update from the comments… Peter Hershberg, managing partner of Reprise Media, says:

No question that AdSense has become a legitimate revenue stream for a significant number of small web publishers. That said, there is a distinction between AdSense for Publishers (examples of which you’ve pointed to above) and AdSense for Search. The overwhelming majority of Google’s AdSense revenue is generated from search partners, including AOL and Ask.com. They still don’t make very much much money on the content side.

Frankly, it was a little strange of the Awards Verification Center to notify me that I had won thousands of dollars in prizes with a cheap postcard with perforated edges that might make a cynical person suspect that they had sent out hundreds or thousands of similar postcards to other potential suckers. The Clearing House Sweepstakes people have the decency to send Ed McMahon in person, bearing a really big check. Awards Verification Center, why be so schlocky?

For kicks, I decided to call the toll-free number to get a taste of the scam in action. Unsurprisingly, the company sells timeshares in vacation properties. The award notices are their lame way of getting people to visit their properties so they can trap you in a room and relentlessly urge you to buy in. When I called, the operator badgered me for my phone number claiming that she needed it to “access the record” of my winnings (never mind that she also asked for the “record locator number” on the postcard I received. I hope that the fake number I provided doesn’t have a real life person on the end.) The operator then informed me that in order to receive my prizes, I had to visit a property in Massachusetts–about a 2 hour drive from NYC–and then participate in a 90-minute site tour. Yeah, right.

It’s hard for me to imagine that people actually fall for this crap, but clearly they do since the Awards Verification Center is actually a public company called Silverleaf Resorts which generated ~$200 million in revenue last year. Still, I suspect that the Internet has put a cramp in the Awards Verification Center’s style and may eventually force them to change their ways. After finishing my phone call with their operator, a quick Google search produced the following tidbits:

• The company goes by several names other than Awards Verification Center and Silverleaf Resorts. Look out for Hill Country Resorts, Holly Lake Ranch, Lake O’ the Woods, and Piney Shores Resorts.
• The Better Business Bureau has a detailed report on the company. In the past 36 months, the Bureau processed 145 customer complaints regarding Silverleaf’s advertising, contracts, billing, sales practices, and service, among other things. Most of these issues are still unresolved.
• The Bureau’s report also states that “if you have received an award letter from this company, it does not mean that you have won a contest. You will receive a free gift if you attend the sales presentation, but the chances that you will receive a major prize such as a car or cash are very slim. Most consumers receive the ten one-day holiday package, which allows use of resort facilities during the daytime only. Overnight accommodations and transportation are not included. The company can not say which award you will receive until you attend the sales presentation.”

My Google search also turned up a few postings by other bloggers detailing their experiences with the Awards Verification Center–a couple of which are pretty amusing. The posts detail the company’s over-the-top hardsell tactics and warn that the “guaranteed” free trip referred to in the postcard they sent out actually requires an advance cash payment.

10 years ago, it would have been difficult for a recipient of a postcard like the one I received to easily confirm a lurking suspicion that it was all too good to be true. That in mind, I wonder how many people have actually subjected themselves to a site visit and prepaid for “free” trips?

It will be interesting to see how companies like the Awards Verification Center deal with the viral alerting system that the Internet provides–my guess is that potential customers will become increasingly savvy and decline “prizes” like those described above. Still, as Nigerian email scams prove, technology hasn’t yet altered PT Barnum’s timeless observation about basic human gullibility and the allure of freebies. Perhaps Google should add a “sucker alert” feature?