As online information services have evolved, the conventional wisdom has been that human resources are bad because they impede a high valuation for the firm. Slowly but surely, however, this perception is being relegated to a historical footnote and new information services are embracing the unique filtering, analysis, responsiveness, and insight that only human beings can offer. We’ve being saying this for a long time at IEI (we see automation and human resources as complimentary, not contradictory) so it was gratifying to hear Russell Perkins at the DataContent conference talking about the “inevitability” of the human dimension to data-driven information services and to see services like First Stop Health emerge. First Stop, brought to you by serial info-entrepreneurs Patrick Spain and Ken Anderson, uses humans to navigate the complex world of medical services for subscribers to ensure that they get the care they need and save money while they do so. Selling expert advice by the slice is also re-emerging as an online service across multiple verticals, which is both gratifying and frustrating for those of us once on board Internet start-ups such as Intellifact, which crashed and burned a decade ago while trying to get that business model to fly. In the end, highly targeted expert advice is really an information commodity ideally suited to the immediacy and targeting of the medium that is the Internet.
Austin
1601 E. 5th St. #109
Austin, Texas 78702
United States
Coimbatore
Module 002/2, Ground Floor, Tidel Park
Elcosez, Aerodome Post
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641014 India
Coonoor
138G Grays Hill
Opp. BSNL GM Office, Sims Park
Coonoor, Tamil Nadu 643101 India
Laguna
Block 7, Lot 5,
Camella Homes Bermuda,
Phase 2B, Brgy. Banlic,
City of Cabuyao, Laguna,
Philippines
San Jose
Escazu Village
Calle 118B, San Rafael
San Jose, SJ 10203
Costa Rica