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02/22/2006: "Understanding why Google invested in FON"

This is just wrong, on so many levels, but does help explain the idiotic investment in FON made by Google and others.


GOOGLE NAMES HEAD OF PHILANTHROPY

Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Kevin Delaney

Google has named Larry Brilliant, a former high-tech executive and doctor specialized in global health issues, to head its Google.org philanthropic arm. The Web search company has pledged 1% of its annual profit and 1% of its stock, currently valued at around $1 billion, to Google.org. Dr. Brilliant's current activities include serving as a director of the Seva Foundation in Berkeley, Calif., which he founded in 1979 to combat blindness in the developing world.


Here's a link to the WSJ story.

For those of you who don't recognize the name, "Dr. Brilliant" (say it like you're in a bad sci-fi movie) was previously the CEO of Cometa Networks. One of the most dramatic dot-com flameouts.

Prior to that, he was the CEO of SoftNet Systems, another dot-com flameout. SoftNet was once considered a competitor to Wayport and STSN. Unlike Wayport and STSN, (both of which are still operating), both Cometa and SoftNet Systems died early deaths, having run through the entirety of their substantial respective investments. Having not once, but twice proven his prowess at managing large sums of money, Dr. Brilliant is now in-charge of nearly one billion dollars.

Here is the Google release.