October 2008
55 posts
1 tag
Independent Street : Five Common Myths of Angel... →
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“Well, there is no doubt that fear is running rampant through the streets. This...”
– VC Confidential: If Larry and Sergey Asked for a Loan …
“The company was founded on defiance. Coco Chanel took women out of corsets and...”
– The challenge for Chanel’s Maureen Chiquet | Coco futures | The Economist
1 tag
“Experiment with different narratives.”
– Venture Hacks — Why startup pitches fail
bijan:
Troublemaker - Weezer
Just a fun song....
Investing during a downturn
bijan:
It’s amazing that Apple has more cash that Microsoft right now.
Say what you will about the two companies prospects but the cash speaks to the different strategies between Cupertino and Redmond.
Microsoft is using cash to acquire companies and provide dividends to shareholders.
Apple is accumlating cash while making big bets on new R&D projects - just like they did with iPod in the...
Optimism versus Overconfidence
continuations:
A little while ago during Web 2.0 in New York, I expressed my sense of deja vu about being at a large Internet conference while the markets were imploding. If anything, this sense has deepened over the last couple of weeks. Not so much because there has been more volatility in the markets than ever before, but because there is such a wide range of attitudes among startups about the...
5 Bookmarklets I can't live without
danw:
I use a ridiculous amount of bookmarklets throughout the day, so I thought I’d share my absolute must haves. Hopefully some of you might also find these useful:
Instapaper Read Later - Save a web page to read later in a single click, then read them either online or offline through the nifty iPhone app. Pre-Instapaper I used to have 50+ tabs open of pages I intended to read later, now I...
iPhone vs BlackBerry: Apple sees crazy growth,... →
Maybe Yahoo Shouldn't Have Bought All This Shit →
marco:
(thanks, azspot)
The goal of Web 2.0 was to get users first, then figure out how to make money off of them. Well, at least that’s what you tell your investors. In reality, the goal is more like “get users, and hope to get acquired and become somebody else’s problem”. For Silicon Valley, this really is self-destructive behavior, with Yahoo being the enabling friend who brings us clean...
“I enjoy dealing with [Facebook] alot more than Google. Because they are really...”
– Scott Rafer, from Facebook Developer Garage ‘08 in Berlin, Germany. Here (via betaworks)
1 tag
VC Confidential: "Why aren't VCs freaking out as... →
Cell Phones Have Become Central Components of... →
The internet and cell phones have become central components of modern family life. Among all household types, the traditional nuclear family has the highest rate of technology usage and ownership. A…
1 tag
“Hundreds of startups counting on advertising as a business model will be...”
– Let’s Be Serious: Online Display Ads Will Fall Sharply In 2009
“Sessions at FB Developer Garage have been more marketing than anything else. At...”
– Twitter / Lori Grosland: Sessions at FB Developer G …
Rafer sez: I’m the one giving the tech talk. Now we’re in trouble.
(via rafer)
What I Learned in Greece: Hyper-Multi-Tasking With... →
It feels great stepping away from a connected device once in a while.
“We were surprised to see that lots of families treat the Internet as a place for...”
– The Internet is no 21st-century boob tube | News - Digital Media - CNET News
WatchJason Fried of 37Signals talks about ideas in implementing successful and powerful code.
“I lived through this during the dotcom bubble. There are some VCs and bankers...”
– Brad Feld (via gregnews) (via msg) (via kevintwohy) (via mikehudack) (via davemorin)
SEOmoz | The Internet Marketing Handbook →
“VCs aren’t ‘giving’ you money. They’re buying your stock. Don’t tolerate them...”
– Chris Sacca (via entrepreneurwisdom) (via mikehudack) (via betaworks)
“One of the major pitfalls in digital marketing is the me-too-ism syndrom....”
– No Man’s Blog - I heart context
Statbrain.com - Tells you how many visitors any... →
“Girls: Are you registered to vote locally or absentee ballot? We continue to get...”
– Anonymous.
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In Praise of Heuristics
continuations:
Entrepreneurs sometimes wonder why VCs are so bent on owning a 20% stake in the companies they invest in. The answer is surprisingly simple: It’s a successful heuristic. Heuristics are “rules of thumb” and they turn out to be really useful whenever you deal with a lot of uncertainty. As an investor, one might be tempted to try to optimize the ownership percentage on a...
UCLA study finds that searching the Internet... →
(via azspot)
Dear Google... with love
thillythenny:
Google,
I believe in you, and I believe that I would deliver 110% as your Chief Marketing Officer… err… you don’t have a CMO? Really? Well, let me get right back to ya on the specific title, all righty?
You embody the right philosophy, and your employees deserve praise for their innovation and dedication. Together, we can make a better internet. We can kick Yahoo’s ass and...
textually.org: 84.5 mln Chinese uses mobile phones... →
According to China View, “nearly 84.5 million Chinese use their mobile phone to log onto the Internet, which accounts for nearly 30 percent of the country’s total netizens. China’s mobile phone user…
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“I am not suggesting that we will be returning to the Dark Ages, or that there...”
– Is Web 2.0 Living on Thin Air? - Tom Davenport
Whiner Jerkins All Hands 10/13/08 →
“I ask you, then, to rise up to the challenge again. Education, health care,...”
– An S.O.S. To Silicon Valley - Forbes.com
“Mr. Heebner expects world economies to contract over the next year. But he said...”
– Those Knowing History May Find It’s Time to Invest - NYTimes.com
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“and while we’re at it, let me take on this issue of “conserving...”
– Master of 500 Hats: Fear is the Mind Killer of the Silicon Valley Entrepreneur (we must be Muad’Dib, not Clark Kent)
Another Shot
continuations:
I bought GOOG at the IPO and have owned it since. I simply did not but nearly enough of it. Now I believe all of us who made that mistake will get another shot at buying into GOOG at a reasonable price (that is assuming you have some cash around). I am not suggesting anyone go all in right now, but I have started to buy and will continue to do so over the coming months. I also think...
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“They want the companies to cut costs, to figure out way to survive and emerge at...”
– Sequoia Rings the Alarm Bell: Silicon Valley Is in Trouble - GigaOM
The Ergonomics of Peeing →