Technically Speaking

While there is talk and evidence of a pending recession in the United States, Seagate’s CEO William Watkins is not worried. His main sticking point in this CNET interview is the fact that even though the markets are going to hell in a handbasket, people are still getting online. New companies are still forming, and as we saw late yesterday, a company that’s main bread and butter is a blogging platform secured another round of financing.

So where is the great divide that seems to be reality of Wall Street and the reality that the economy online is doing just fine? Most financial analysts only see the facts at hand such as the credit crunch, billion dollar write downs by companies such as Bank of America, Countrywide Lending, Wachovia, Merrill Lynch and other major financial mainstays. Financial analysts don’t seem to see the millions that are being dropped on new companies via angel and venture capital funding.

While the world’s markets are falling, companies with new innovating technologies that work such as the Swedish startup Polar Rose will continue to forge forward. From what I have seen of it, being invited to the Alpha months ago, the technology they are putting out there works. Face recognition is something that Wall Street should get excited about.

In this day and age of watch out for the boogie man that might lurk around the corner in the form of Al Bundy, there couldn’t be a more perfect time for this to have evolved. Companies online realize that the world economy is in a slowdown, but continue full steam ahead. The reason is that great divide that seems to be in place with reality and reality online.

Companies online are doing just fine. Now the other day I made a note here about Yahoo and pending layoffs, but that is an online entity such as IBM is in the real world. Companies that are huge are taking hits. Now above you are reading that Seagate’s CEO isn’t worried, but again his company is one that is providing a real world product while still investing in the online world.

A great divide does exist between Wall Street and the online companies. Yet in this divide I believe there is a common ground. The operations of these companies still keep driving forward, and VC’s bite once again as shown by the Automattic second round of financing.

Technically Speaking, companies such as Lookery and Lending Club are driving the new economy with innovative ideas that just work.

Full Disclosure: Rex Dixon works for both Lookery and Lending Club.

NEW: This came in moments after I posted this, but it seems that Mr Business Golf (Scot Duke) made the WSJ this morning. Also you can digg the article. As many of you know, his site is located here. performance management