| " Cork-born Tim O�Reilly is the founder and CEO of O�Reilly Media, one of the most successful computer book publishers in the world. He coined the phrase �Web 2.0� and refers to his publishing empire as a �technology transfer company� that bases its success on spotting emerging trends." "He says of his success: �In any company, after a while you look at a history of what you have done and you try to understand what ties it all together. You know, if railroads had realised they were transportation companies, they�d be airlines today.�" "Although he graduated from Harvard in 1975 with a Classics degree, he began writing technical manuals and it all took off from there. His company philosophy is to change the world by spreading the knowledge of innovators." "He is known for the famous �O�Reilly radar�, the ability to spot exciting new technologies before anyone else. �Back in 1992 we were able to say: �Wow! This worldwide web thing is going to be huge,� and there were only a couple of hundred people doing websites at the time,� he recalls." "�I use this phrase: �Watching the alphageeks.� I look at people who are ahead of the curve. I like to use this wonderful William Gibson quote: �The future is here, it�s just not evenly distributed yet.� So typically, if you find the people who are most adept at a technology they are going to be ahead of their time. They can do something today that one day everybody will do.�" "O�Reilly believes that the secret to a successful industry begins with people having fun. He cites the home computing industry, pointing out that the first home computer, the Apple 1, was made by a hobbyist in a woodshop." "�These guys were not people who said they were going to become titans of industry, they were just having fun. After enough people are having fun with it then other people start to realise that there�s really an opportunity here.�" "Today he predicts a change in manufacturing due to what he calls �crowd sourcing�. Small companies can put their product ideas on a website and based on feedback and votes by visitors they can decide what to manufacture based on demand." "�We�re looking at floating concepts so you can understand demand before you spend a penny. All these things point to a world in which the manufacturing supply chain is going to be democratised profoundly.�" "Many people have heard of Web 2.0 and most don�t understand the term or think it�s just a nebulous buzzword. O�Reilly says it�s all about harnessing the internet in new ways to build useful applications. " "The term came about in a brainstorming session between O�Reilly
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