a leading global provider...

Did you ever notice that every company, as small and insignificant as it may be, is always a "leading global provider" in some area? Kind of takes the sting out of being the real leading global provider.

In fact, if you need to tell everyone that you are a leading global provider, then it's most likely you are not one. I wanted to research this point a bit, so I went on the AT&T website and looked for the word "provider". Sure enough I found that AT&T are a leading worldwide provider of IP-based communications. Now, I knew that AT&T are global leading providers of telephony, cellular and many other things, but IP-based communication? That's not what I had in mind.

This kind of brought me to the conclusion that "global leading provider" is actually a synonym for "the PR department was instructed to push us in this field, since we really need to become a significant player in this market"

My new Idol

I just lost a bet to my wife. We were watching TV the other night, and I was telling her that something (can't remember what it was) reminds me of Shai Agassi. She asked me who it was, and I was shocked that she had never heard of him. I then told her that he is the center of he buzz around green technology, and that he is probably as famous as Brad Pitt, and that everyone know who he is.
My wife started laughing and made a quick round of phone calls to friends and family only to prove me dead wrong. None of the women knew who he was. A few of the men knew that he was a famous entrepreneur. One guy actually knew that he working on the electrical car vision.

So, please, if you already know who Brad Pitt is, and the name Shai Agassi kind of rings a bell but not really, go check out his wonderful performance on the Brookings institute panel. You'll learn that if you buy a car today in Israel or Denemark, you're likely to have to dump it in the trash in 2011, because everyone would be driving electrical vehicles for free by then. God willing.