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It’s Yahoo Week

Posted on January 17, 2007 ·

Finally, the iPod Week is gone, Techmeme becomes Techmeme again.  Unless… it’s becoming Yahoo week.

Wired’s How Yahoo Blew It piece is in the top  spot for now, and I expect within hours blog  reactions to it will  take up half of Techmeme.  Perhaps Gabe needs to develop some sort of overload safety valve to prevent one subject from overtaking the entire site…

Anyway, mine may be perhaps the shortest summary of the article – actually, it’s not even mine, Wired’s Fred Vogelstein sums it up for us:

“At Yahoo, the marketers rule, and at Google the engineers rule. And for that, Yahoo is finally paying the price.”

OK, that’s the conclusion, but read the story for the juicy bits.

smile_wink

Finally, a “contrarian” take from Brad Feld, who reminds us Yahoo isn’t dead yet and may just have a real shot with Panama.

 

Filed Under: Blogging, Business, Software, Technology ·
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SVASE VC Breakfast in San Francisco

Posted on January 16, 2007 ·

I’ll be moderating another SVASE VC Breakfast Club meeting this Thursday, Jan 18th in San Francisco.  As usual, it’s an informal round-table where 10 entrepreneurs get to deliver a pitch, then answer questions and get critiqued by a VC Partner. We’ve had VC’s from Draper Fisher, Hummer Winblad, Kleiner Perkins, Mayfield, Mohr Davidow, Emergence Capital …etc.

These sessions are a valuable opportunity for Entrepreneurs, most of whom would probably have a hard time getting through the door to VC Partners. Since I’ve been through quite a few of these sessions, both as Entrepreneur and Moderator, let me share a few thoughts:

  • It’s a pressure-free environment, with no Powerpoint presentations, Business Plans…etc, just casual conversation; but it does not mean you should come unprepared!
  • Follow a structure, don’t just roam about what you would like to do, or even worse, spend all your time describing the problem, without addressing what your solution is.
  • Don’t forget “small things” like the Team, Product, Market..etc.
  • It would not hurt to mention how much you are looking for, and how you would use the funds…
  • Write down and practice your pitch, and prepare to deliver a compelling story in 3 minutes. You will have about 5, but believe me, whatever your practice time was, when you are on the spot, you will likely take twice as long to deliver your story. The second half of your time-slot is Q&A with the VC.
  • Bring an Executive Summary; some VC’s like it, others don’t.
  • Last, but not least, please be on time! I am not kidding… some of you know why I even have to bring this up. (Arriving an hour late to a one-and-a-half-hour meeting is NOT acceptable.)

Thursday’s featured VC is Steve Reale, Principal, Levensohn Venture Partners. For details and registration please see the SVASE site. 

Here’s a participating Entrepreneur’s feedback about a previous event.

 

See you in San Francisco!

 

Filed Under: Bay Area, Business, Social Networking, Startups, Technology ·
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Google Killing the Picasa Brand, Round II.

Posted on January 11, 2007 ·

A few weeks ago I noticed that Google was in the process of slowly killing the Picasa brand. You can still download the program, in fact it is still called Picasa, but Google ads now refer to Google’s Photo Software:

 

I guess I was partly right: Google now advertises Picasa as part of Google Pack.  Although  it’s possible to opt out, users who don’t pay attention end up with a bundle of apps they did not want:  by deafult they get Google Earth, Google Screensaver, Google Desktop, Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox with Google Toolbar, Ad-Aware SE Personal, Norton AntiVirus 2005 Special Edition, Adobe Reader 7.  Nice “gift” from the company that wants to do “no evil”.

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Filed Under: Marketing / PR, Software, Technology ·
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Let’s Not Spam MyBlogLog

Posted on January 9, 2007 ·

It  certainly  feels  like  every  single  blog  is  talking  about  MyBlogBlog’s  acquisition  by  Yahoo.  I think TechCrunch gets the “Best Title” award: Yahoo Buys MyBlogLog. No, They Didn’t. Wait, Yes.

Well, I am the exception, I am NOT writing about the deal

smile_speedy

When I first installed it on my blog, I thought this was all about providing useful outbound stats (who clicked what..etc).  Then the faceroll showed up, and before we noticed, MyBlogLog transformed itself into a social networking tool for bloggers.   That’s all fine, I like it and use it. 

But recently I am starting to get spammed.  Probably not “bad” spam, just a network’s growing pains – contact notifications from people I’ve never before heard about.  I went through this with LinkedIn, until I established my own “less is more” ground rules.   Now, let’s recognize that LinkedIn is primarily for business, and by definition is more restrictive  – online contacts there should really reflect one’s real-live network.  I feel MyBlogLog is more open, there is room for creating new “friendships” online – yet I think it would be helpful to establish some protocol before contact-hunting escalates to far. 

Making someone a contact is not the only way to network, and if we don’t already know each other, it’s certainly not the right initial step.   That’s what joining each other’s blog communities and sending messages are for.  But frankly, “interesting read!” is not a message – if this was a blog-comment, it would be borderline spam.  Which brings up the other point – if you join someone’s blog community, supposedly you’re interested in actually reading the blog itself, will likely engage in a conversation through comments or trackbacks, and soon you will really know each other – that’s the right time to add them as a contact.

By following this simple protocol, we can keep MyBlogLog spam-free.  What to you think?

 

Filed Under: Blogging, Social Networking, Software, Startups, Technology ·
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TechCrunch Did Not Build it; It Can’t Knock it Down Either

Posted on January 7, 2007 ·

(Updated)

Fred Wilson doesn’t like Mike Arrington’s deadpool:

“So I have to shake my head at the resurrection of the dead pool, which was made popular last time around by Fucked Company. Do we really need to celebrate when companies fail?”

No, we don’t, and I don’t think TechCrunch does.  Let’s be realistic: TechCrunch did not build this boom. Yes, a well-timed review helps a startup gain initial traction, but Mike does not make those companies successful: whether they make it or not, they do so on their own. And when they fail, they fail own their own merits, too.  Failures are part of business reality, and reporting on them only makes TechCrunch balanced. Without it Mike would be just a biased cheerleader (something he was accused of in the past).

In fact Arrington’s latest post, Bubble, Bubble, Bubble is optimistic, despite the title:

“But this doesn’t mean we’re in a bubble. In fact, I think the exact opposite. I think a few failures are direct evidence that we are not in a bubble and that the private venture markets are actually in the process of letting off a little steam to keep things rational…

…I also disagree that too much money is chasing too few good ideas … Remember that VC’s business models are designed to fail most of the time – the majority of their investments are expected to go belly up, and they hope that just one or two out of ten have a big return…

…So every time a startup dies, I don’t think it’s evidence of a bubble about to burst. I think it’s evidence of a market that is working exactly as it should. Most companies fail, but enough win to keep the whole ecosystem healthy.”

This does not sound like deadpool celebration to me. Au contraire, it sounds like realistic, but still positive market assessment. 

Most companies in the “deadpool” are/were way overfunded for what they do. They, and their investors did not follow the model outlined in Fred Wilson’s excellent article, Web 2.0 Is A Gift, Not A Threat, To VCs. A must-read, IMHO.

Update (1/8):  Our little discussion made it to The New York Times.  

Filed Under: Blogging, Business, Software, Startups, Technology ·
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Under the Radar Office 2.0 Conference – Call for Companies

Posted on January 7, 2007 ·

I agreed to be on the Selection Committee for the next full-day Under the Radar event by IBDNetwork. The focus will be Office 2.0  and 32 emerging startups will present on March 23, 2007, at the Microsoft campus in Mountain View, CA.  The categories are being finalized, but they likely are:

  • Organize – Tasks, Database, Project, Notes, Bookmarks
  • Collaborate – Groups, Wiki’s, Spreadsheets, Word Processing, File Sending, Document Mgmt
  • Track – Time, Expenses, Budgets, Accounting, HR
  • Publish – Blog platforms, Web publishing, Feeds/RSS, Content Management
  • Communicate – Email, IM, VOIP, Voice, web conferencing
  • Create – Presentation Mngr, music, photo edit/manage
  • Personalize – Desktop, Calendar, personal organizers
  • Search – vertical, social, create your own.

Although I’m a bit late (what a surprisesmile_embaressed) there are still a few days left for new submissions, so if you know a startup in the above categories, please recommend them either in a comment below or by emailing me. 

IBDNetwork’s criteria for selection:

  • Unique value proposition
  • Ability to monetize product/business
  • Must be solving a problem
  • Market opportunity
  • Must still be considered “under the radar”
  • Company must be a actual startup – not a new product from a large company.
  • Series A or less in funding
  • Beta and beyond – must have customers/users testing and/or using the product in the market

Thanks for your contribution!

 

Filed Under: Bay Area, Business, SaaS, Social Networking, Software, Startups, Technology ·
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More Excuses for Not Doing a PC Backup

Posted on January 4, 2007 ·

We now have Fewer Excuses for Not Doing a PC Backup  says the New York Times.   Do we?  I really don’t want to do a backup.  Which does not mean I don’t want my data safely backed up – I just don’t want to have to *do*  it. smile_wink   I want it to happen without me ever worrying about – that’s exactly what some of the online backup services offer.

 I think the NYT is a bit harsh on Mozy, (my life-saver) by saying:

“Mozy offers dozens of novice-hostile options like “Enable Bandwidth Throttle” and “Don’t back up if the CPU is over this % busy.””

Novice-hostile?  Wow… let me try to translate it to really simple English: these are the best features, which allow someone to use the service without having to leave their computer on overnight.  You don’t need to have a fixed backup schedule anymore, Mozy runs in the background, uses your computer’s idle cycles, but slows down when you are using your machine.  It doesn’t get any better, IMHO: you’re always backing up, yet you never *know* about it. Invisible helper.

Not mentioning  ProtectMyPhotos is a glaring omission, IMHO, especially as the author makes the point of not including “Web sites that are exclusively dedicated to sharing photos or videos, like Flickr and MediaFire.”   ProtectMyPhotos is an interesting hybrid, offering many of Mozy’s features, yet allowing users to share, browse, manipulate photos online – see my review here.

Last but not least, TechCrunch has a good (albeit somewhat old) review of the online storage space.

 

Filed Under: SaaS, Software, Technology ·
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What’s Hot And What’s Not For 2007 – SVASE Panel in Palo Alto

Posted on January 2, 2007 ·

 • How much money is sitting on the sidelines, waiting to be invested?
• Where in the world will it go – Silicon Valley, India, China, somewhere else?
• How much will be available for seed and early stage investments?
• What will be the Hot market segments?
• What will be the Hot applications within these segments?
• Where will your money be going?

For answers to these and many other questions,  join us at a lively panel discussion moderated by VentureBeat‘s Matt Marshall this Thursday evening in Palo Alto.

The Panel:
• Ken Elefant, General Partner, Opus Capital
• Rob Rueckert, Senior Investment Manager, Intel Capital
• John Steuart, Managing Director, Claremont Creek Ventures
• Erik Straser, General Partner, Mohr Davidow Ventures
• Ann Winblad, Partner, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners

Schedule:

6.00-7.00 pm: Networking and Hors d’oeuvres
7.00-8:30 pm: Panel discussion and Q/A

For additional details and registration, see the SVASE site.  See you there! smile_regular

 

Filed Under: Bay Area, Business, Social Networking, Startups, Technology ·
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The Official Google Blog is NOT a Blog

Posted on December 31, 2006 ·

  (Updated)

“The definition of “googol” is a number, and Google lives by numbers. So how else should we look back over the year but with numerical bits?”

That’s the opening line of A year in Google blogging, then it lists the number of posts, products unveiled, acquisitions ..etc.  There is one number remarkably missing: the number of comments.  I wanted to ask about this in a comment, but I couldn’t.   The Google Blog does not allow commenting. smile_sad.

They claim they love feedback: but the only way to leave feedback is by emailing them.  Hm, not much of “love” here, if you ask me.

Whatever happened to “conversation”?

I’m sorry, Google, you have Blogger, but until you open up commenting, you don’t have a Google Blog. 

Update #1:  Scoble is right, Matt Cutts does a better job for Google PR than this…

Update #2:  Mike at TechCrunch agrees, in fact he’s running a poll on the issue – worth checking a little later.

Update #3: The TechCrunch post drew a lot of attention to the subject, all of a sudden.  Quite a few commenters don’t feel comments are necessary – and ironically they make that observation in … yes, that’s right, comments.  In the meantime I re-read the Google post, and found this towards the end:

“And before long, perhaps you can begin leaving comments directly. We’re working on that.”

Hm.. that makes me feel a bit silly … am I pounding the table for something Google has already agreed to? I don’t remember having read this originally, but it could very well have been my mistake.  A quick check on Google cache finds a more explicit statement:

“Meanwhile, we really appreciate your interest and feedback, now visible through “Links to this post.” We know some of you would like to offer comments directly, and we would like that too, when we can add resources to the blog crew.”

 The cached version is time-stamped 5:18pm, while the current blog post has 4:23pm, so the earlier version appears to be live … go figure.  In the end, it really does not matter, what’s important is that the Googlers agree to bring the conversation on.

[Update to the update:  I was blind, sorry. The cached version is from the end of 2005.  Thanks to Ionut for pointing this out.  It’s pretty sad though… if commenting was already on the agenda in Dec 2005, and it still is, it tells us just how seriously Google takes this “promise”. ]

And as for the lack of resources, well, perhaps the solution isn’t formally hiring more “blogging crew”, but embracing Matt Cutts’s idea:

“- Each project at Google should monitor the blogosphere for issues. Reduce the disconnect to reduce the danger.

– Get more Googlers talking online. There will be some mistakes, but the conversations will be worth it.”

Blogging crew or not, let Googlers volunteer on the Google Blog.  I’m sure we’ll have a lively conversation.  

Update (01/02):  Amazingly this is the third day in a row this discussion  lives  on  TechMeme ….

Update (7/11/07):  Fred Wilson brings the subject up again:

“You can’t turn off the comments and have a truly interactive blog with a community. Comments are where it’s at in blogging. If I turned off comments, I’d quit blogging.

… A blog without comments is a one way medium. And that’s not as good as a conversation.”

I couldn’t agree more.  Unfortunately we’re seeing examples of just the opposite, like Marc Andreessen whose otherwise excellent blog is now commentless, or Zooomr, who simply turned off comments to redirect the conversation to their internal groups. 

 

Filed Under: Blogging, Marketing / PR, Technology ·
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ProfileLinker – Just the Opposite of What I Need

Posted on December 28, 2006 ·

ProfileLinker is a new service profiled on TechCrunch today:

“ProfileLinker wants to aggregate your social networking experience….You tell ProfileLinker your site credentials and it pulls your bio, friends and other information from those sites and centralizes it. You then use ProfileLinker to manage your activity on those networks: aggregate and manage multiple social profiles; discover new social networks and communities of interest within social networks; and receive notification of messages and friend requests from multiple networks.”

I am probably not the right target customer for ProfileLinker, I admit I don’t even have a MySpace of Facebook profile.  But I do have one on LinkedIn, and was invited to several networks whose function I’d find useful, except that I won’t take the time to create a profile from scratch again and again.  What I (and I suspect most networkers) badly need is a way to leverage the already existing profile and network (friends) information on other sites – probably by using a “central depository” of such information.

Who cares about ProfileLinker, give me ProfileCentral!

 

Filed Under: Collaboration, SaaS, Social Networking, Software, Technology ·
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