Dreamforce 2011: Marc Benioff seems to be a Larry Ellison "mini me" to me...

...he should plough his own furrow.

Dreamforce 2011 has taken over downtown San Francisco, closing down streets just like Larry Ellison's Oracle World.

This year Mr Benioff's conference attracted record attendance primarily by giving away tickets to as many people as possible and investing heavily in a great experience for Salesforce customers, developers, and users.

Metallica was a great coup for Salesforce, their first corporate gig. But Larry does it better. Oracle World takes over Treasure Island, plants a carnival with Ferris wheels, candy floss, popcorn, and fills three stages with names like Aerosmith, Black Eyed Peas, Steve Miller Band, and more.

I'm a big fan of Mr Benioff, he is one of very few Silicon Valley leaders that we have left. He would make a great replacement for Larry Ellison at Oracle. And he is young enough, and driven enough, to carve a unique place for himself in Silicon Valley.

Plus, he looks great, he's half the man he used to be.

Being a Larry Ellison "mini me" is not easy, he can do it, and I can't think of anyone else that could. But I'm looking for Mr Benioff to plough his own furrow, to create his own unique mark. I don't know what that looks like but I'm looking forward to finding out.