My Notes from @D9 - Eric Schmidt
I always enjoy listening to Eric - my third time in the past 3 years. As usual, he was insightful and very crisp with his thoughts. At D, he talked about the simultaneous rise of 4 large technology platforms (Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon) creating significant technology opportunities. Walt and Kara teased others (Microsoft, Twitter, etc.) throughout the conference for not being on Eric's list. This is a very different environment than the days when a single large platform (first from IBM and then Microsoft) dominated the market. Each of the four platforms are orthogonal and offer different capabilities and features.

He also talked about the world moving from the days of information concentrated with a few people to ubiquitous access to vast amounts of information at a global scale. Just a couple of decades ago, the average person had practically no access to information. I personally believe that information is empowering the weak and the oppressed across the globe.

He also demonstrated Google Payments - NFC (Near Field Communication) based payment system for the Android platform.

In Eric's view, the next big opportunity is in products that will integrate mobile, local and social capabilities.

I found it interesting how frequently he talked about the need to allow customers to manage their privacy. He is very concerned about the openness of the internet being affected by regulations.

pic: spring in our backyard