The King of Technology

So who is the most powerful man in the world of consumer technology? Bill Gates has over $50 billion in the bank and wants to turn your home into a digital dream house. Steve Jobs has helped transform the music industry in a legal way. The men running Sony hope to marry content and devices to shape the future of entertainment. Yet all of these people have less power than Walt Mossberg, the personal technology columnist from the Wall Street Journal. Walt's reviews of products can have a serious impact on the fate of not only the product, but also the company. Take a look at what Wired Magazine calls "The Mossberg Effect":

The Mossberg Effect
Walt said	What happened
"CNET is the real deal, a serious, scrappy online news organization." (1996)	CNET's stock climbed 33 percent in the five days after the review.
"This is simply the most gorgeous personal computer I've ever seen or used." (2000)	Apple's stock price jumped 10 percent the day after his Cube review hit stands.
"The initial radios are poorly designed & Navigation is a nightmare." (2002)	XM's stock dropped nearly 9 percent the day Mossberg panned its radios.
"Overall, we like Vialta's idea of incorporating your television into a videophone." (2003)	Vialta's stock rose 15 percent the day the column ran.
"Try it. You may never go back to Internet Explorer again." (2004)	Installations of Stilesoft's Web browser jumped 371 percent the day of his rave.
"Mailblocks is a very good system for eliminating spam. And it will only get better." (2004)	Mailblocks' daily sales tripled the day after Mossberg's endorsement.

The full article can be found here: Wired 12.05: The Kingmaker