Connecting the dots ...
Pranks seem to become the new trend in advertising. A few days ago I fell for the Alltel Spoof on Guy Kawasaki’s blog. (read more in the Wall Street Journal).
The viral video du jour is Agency.com’s prank, in which they broadcast their pitch process, including fake employment at their Client (prospect). Will it work? I don’t know. Steve Rubel dislikes it, other think it’s most effective… time will tell.
Everyone knows Google’s ploy is to get us off the desktop and into the cloud… a key argument why this will be a good move is getting rid of all the bloated buggy software on our machines, the never-ending aggressive updates from Microsoft that wreck our PC’s requiring more and more patches…. so the last thing I expect from Google is to release buggy client software that need constant patches.
That’s exactly what’s been happening to previously rock-solid Picasa. Ever since the Web Albums version of Picasa was released, it’s been constant trouble. On two separate computers I’ve received countless update notifications, the updates fail to properly install, I end up running multiple instances of Picasa, having to reboot multiple times, Picasa indices and thumbnails totally messed up – it got to the point that I am really worried keeping all my photos in Picasa now.
Sounds familiar? It sure does to me, but so far I’ve only experienced it here. Google has become Microsoft.
Update (8/3): Ironically, after posting this, Picasa is telling me to download yet another update.
(Updated)
The Blog-ad to the right is from Guy Kawasaki’s blog. I don’t really understand why Guy runs it – in fact I wonder if he paid attention to what this really is. Don’t get me wrong, this is not an “anti-Guy” rant, what I dislike is Class Action Suits, and stupid advertising in general.
I don’t think I am alone thinking that class action lawsuit are controversial, to say the least. Sure, they provide a way to curtail companies “evil” behavior – but provide little to no benefit to individual “class members”. In fact it’s widely known that the only party benefiting from settlements are the lawyers. For everyone else involved it’s a lot of hoopla for nothing.
As for the particular case, I admit I don’t know Alltel and their “My Circle” program: for all I know they may truly be evil, but this class action suit solicitation provides a link to them anyway, potentially boosting their business – not very smart, if you ask me.
Another link reveals the lead plaintiff’s background: he spent his life representing us, the “little man” against “bad industries”. Here’s a typical case:
“In 1998 a crossed leg, revealing a slouchy, wrinkled sock, falsely identified me as an untrustworthy loafer to other members of an important real estate consortium, costing me my seat on the board. After suing the sock company for damages, new industry standards were put in place, ensuring that the same fate won’t happen to you..”
Hm… personally, I would not want to be in a board where I can lose membership due to wrinkled socks 🙂 Seriously, Guy, do you really want to promote this angry man’s next tirade?
Update: While typing this up, I’ve just received an email solicitation to join (start?) another class action lawsuit, against Panda Software for their spam. I politely declined. I found my own creative way to stop Panda’s spam, and it worked. Case closed. I’m not interested in spending my life fighting.
Update: (7/30). OK, I bought it.
It’s a spoof .. or viral ad, whatever you want to call it. There is no class action lawsuit, only the campaign bu Alltel. Thanks to Thatedeguy for being doubtful enough .. (see his comment below). I digged further and I think he is right.
Update #3 (7/30): Guy Kawasaki confirms it’s a spoof, an ad run by Alltel. I’m glad to see we’re on the same page as far as the “class action lawsuit” is concerned, i.e. he rejected it when he thought it was real. Thanks, for coming over to comment, Guy!
Dell is offering a free skin with the purchase of an Inspiron or XP notebook. Clearly targeting the back-to-school crowd they have University-themes, as well as a range of other designs, one of them being Flaming Hot.
Hm… considering the two recent accidents of exploding Dell laptops, is offering a Flaming Hot skin such a good idea?
Hummer Winblad was the #1 search term on Technorati most of last Saturday and Sunday. I couldn’t find anything significant. Go figure …
Rick Segal is trying to place a half-a-million order but the company, a six-month-old startup is hiding:
“Click on contact us.
Web form. We’ll get back to you with 2 -3 business days. WTF?
Hmm. Click on about us. Long dribble about why they exist, a founders message and nothing about the people.
Okay, let’s re-cap. We have a 6 month old start up making it as hard and as impersonal as possible to take an order while the founder drones on about Web 2.0, being innovative, blaah blaah blaah.”
You want to be successful in business? You need to be available.
Jason Wood raises his eyebrows on Jobster’s recent $18M funding, which he considers a sign of access Venture Capital:
“I don’t know if Jobster will end up a winning company or not, but I do know enough to raise a skeptical eyebrow when I read that they’ve now raised $50 million and carry a $100mm post-money valuation. This in a market that is CROWDED with startups (Simply Hired, Indeed), established online companies (Monster, CareerBuilders) and plenty of adjunct job-related resources (e.g., craigslist, LinkedIn).”
Calling in rich … well, this one certainly isn’t about me 
“One of the best lines I have heard in a long time was uttered by an entrepreneur we know. He was talking about one of his co-founders who one day decided he didn’t want to work anymore. He said about his co-founder, “he called in rich“. I laughed so hard I almost cried.”
Funny as it sounds, it’s a potentially serious situation for a startup, says Fred Wilson, proposing a way to handle the situation when you just ost your motivation and are too wealthy to work. My personal experience is from the other side: when I interviewed for a VP position in a startup, the Founder/CEO was releived that my previous startup had not been financially successful – he only wanted team-mates who were still “hungry”.
The Business Model diagram below by Peter Rip reminds me of my previous life in Big 6 consulting 🙂
Of course the analytical approach helps understand a business, but clearly there are times when the entrepreneur still needs the 30-second summary… like those in our SVASE VC Breakfast sessions. Or the Office 2.0 Under the Radar event by IBDNetwork, where Peter will be a panelist.
Talk about Panel Discussions, here are a few more, all of them next week, in the SF Bay Area:
Jeff Clavier will moderate a discussion on Web 2.0 in the Enterprise by IBDNetwork. I heard Jeff and fellow “Irregular” Jeff Nolan discuss this meme a few times, it will be interesting to see/hear how it evolves. (I wrote about related issues here and here).
Web 2.0 Forum and Amidzad Summer Party. VC Panelists: Accel’s Kevin Efrusy, Opus Capital’s Ken Elefant, Partech’s David Welsh and David Lane from Diamondhead.
Raising Capital For Early Stage Tech Companies – The Definitive Crash Course by SVASE, with Lightspeed’s Jake Seid, DFJ’s Warren Packard, Garage’s Bill Reichert and former SVASE President Laura Roden from The Angels Forum.
Rick Segal always points to interesting stories, so I wanted to click throgh this post:
“And I thought the US was getting conservative
Check out this commercial that got pulled in New Zealand for being a bit much. This is racy? Hmm…”
… but this is what I got:
To use this product, you need to install free software
This product requires Microsoft© Internet Explorer 6, Microsoft© Media Player 10, and Macromedia Flash 6. To download these free software applications, click the links below and follow the on-screen instructions.
Step 1: Download Microsoft© Internet Explorer 6
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 is free to download.
Damn, Microsoft, I have all the stuff you want on my PC, I just happen to browse in Firefox 
And no, I don’t care to switch browsers….
(Updated with special offer)
SVASE will host a Networking Dinner and lively Panel Discussion next Thursday (Aug 3rd) in Palo Alto on what it takes to create the winning funding pitch for startups. 
Panelists will explore current trends and subjects like:
• What types of startups are getting funded? – Technology? Social? Web 2.0? or …?
• What are VCs looking for from startups – a long term company, or a quick flip to Google?
• What are the most attractive markets – 5 Million free members to the next Flagr/Fligr/Flikr or the Fortune 500?
• What’s the value of patentable IP, and other technology innovations?
• What old business models are looking shaky?
• What new models are you seeing emerging, and which ones look like they’re working?
The Panel is made up of 4 experienced, outspoken & opinionated early stage investors:
• Jake Seid, General Partner, Lightspeed Venture Partners
• Warren Packard, Managing Director, DFJ
• Bill Reichert, Managing Director, Garage Technology Ventures (Guy Kawasaki’s firm)
• Laura Roden, Managing Director, The Angels Forum
Moderator: John Beck, VP, The Brenner Group
For details and registration please visit the SVASE site. While walk-ins are allowed (add $10 to the price), the last SVASE event had a a huge turnout and about 30 people could not get in for fire safety reasons – so advance registration is a good idea.
Update: Special offer to my readers: buy one, get one free through this special registration link.
Update (7/29): See HotfromSiliconValley on the event.
So true. And so wrong (a real banner ad from YAHOO)
If I were GM, I’d fire the Agency though…
Update (7/23): Check out Rick Segal’s post on outright stupid advertising.
(updated)
For a second I thought I was seeing yet-another-upgrade, Zooomr 2.0 only lasted a few days, and we’re in Zooomr 3.0.
Then it hit me: this isn’t Zooomr, but a classic case of typosquatting. This has to be one of the most frequent typos. In fact as much as I like making fun of Web 2.0 names, I haven’t even realized there were 3 “o”-s in Zooomr until I signed up.
Kris and co. should have registered Zoomr.com while it was available: now it is owned by Getdomainsiwant.ca, a domain name registrar who sends traffic to Zooomr’s competitors. The moral of the story to all entrepreneurs: buy all possible variations, including typos of your domain before you become a brand.
Update (7/23): Kris just posted this: “Great news everyone! It seems that a search for “Zooomr OR Zoomr” on Google displays over one million results.” Great, Congratulations! But it also means that Kris and team are aware of just how typical the Zoomr typo is, which further empahsizes that they must own the domain…..
Related posts:
Mike Arrington is throwing another TechCrunch Party. These events are legendary, and while his house is a great venue, this time it will be hosted/sponsored by August Capital.
“There will be a bunch of announcements at the party, including some very big surprises,
and plenty to eat and drink. We’ll announce more details as the date
approaches. Also, a limited number of demo stations should will
available for companies to show off their new products.
These parties normally “sell out” (the are free) within hours of announcement, so if you wanna bet, why not do it right here, while you’re waiting for the locked wiki to free up 
Update (7/21): Wow, I am #100 
Update #2: The votes are not coming in, and the registration wiki isn’t quite growing either, but that’s not for lack of interest. Comments at TecCrunch and my own IM flow indicate the wiki is permanently locked up. A single user can lock it up for 15 or so minutes. 
Tags: techcrunch, techcrunch party, startups, networking, zoho polls
I generally like Small Business Trends , sometimes even quote their material, but I can’t help but wonder what Jack Yoest (second from left on this 1978 photo) is doing there.
He seems to think that there is a new trend in small businesses, the desire to run a company like a military unit. Wow… I don’t know where he observes this “trend” – I for one tend to believe (small) businesses are better off with a team of partners and collaborators than a military organization. In fact not only smalls ones, but reality is that the collaborative model is a lot more difficult to maintain in a large organization. In fact it’s no wonder that several army commanders make it to the management ranks of the Fortune 1000. (On a personal note, I had the misfortune to “serve” under a Navy Captain turned into Corporate VP who resorted to shuffling around his management team every 6 months or so, and was a master of alienating customers…)
This is not the first time Jack mixes the corporate world with small businesses: 10 Reminders for Effective Management is supposed to be advice to small business owners, but it sounds to me like the typical 80’s corporate mid-manager’s survival guide, as in “how to BS your way through your career, looking busy while doing nothing“. Back then I was wondering if it was a serious article or a satirical piece. Apparently not. Too bad for small businesses. At least for those that buy his teaching.
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