What is it with all the "seasoned" people and the Internet? Larry King has never "done" the Internet, President George Bush has used "the Google" and Senator Ted Stevens, who believes the Internet is "a series of tubes". Obviously, I'm taking a tongue in cheek approach given what these three gentlemen have in common is they are more than 50-years-old and far from Web savvy. That said, this is the reality for many senior executives in the media industry (music, movies, newspapers, television, radio) who are trying to make strategic decisions to deal with the Internet's growing influence. How can someone make an intelligent move or understand what smart underlings are telling them if they don't have an intimate understanding of the Internet and/or use it regularly? It's like getting into a car and hoping you can make your way home along the super-highway if you've never seen a car before or taken lessons. You could make a good case there's a serious leadership void when it comes to the media and the Internet because the people in charge are ill-equiped to act effectively. Now, you know why the music industry has been flailing for years while hoping to use a traditional tool - lawsuits - to blunt the Internet's affect on business. For more insight on this fascinating issue, check out On Disruption, which always offer excellent insight, and Deep Jive Interests, who talks about how offering free television programming on the Web is driving people back to TV programs.

With a stock now trading at more than $500, a market capitalization of more than $150-billion, a cash-cow advertising business, billions of cash in the bank, the world's leading search engine, and ambitions to get into other markets, there is really no limit to how large or powerful Google can become. But is Google's dominance and its aggressive plans good for the Internet? Is it healthy for one player to have so much power and influence? The San Jose Mercury has an article that asks the question whether Google 2.0 is a friend or foe. Among the critics quoted is Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, who says "Google has this imperial digital ambition that frightens me." For a take on Google's OS plans, check out Read/WriteWeb.

There's a lot to be said for Skype, e-mail, instant-messaging, Webcasts and video conferences but nothing beats talking to someone in the same room. We (most of the b5media management team) just wrapped up five days of strategic planning and operations meetings in Toronto, and covered a tremendous amount of ground that would not have been possible if we hadn't been together. It's the ability to brainstorm, propose new ideas, discuss and even argue while being able to read another person's body language is what makes real-life meetings so much more productive. Of course, it also helps to have several whiteboards to help people visualize and capture all the ideas being tossed around. As a virtual company, b5media lives and breathes Skype but nothing beats getting together. Note: Being together also let me tap Darren Rowse for blogging tips, including the use of my new, favourite blog publishing tool, ecto.