May 31st, 2012 § Comments Off on programming the web. this time for real. repeat after me: ifttt… § permalink
ifttt is like programming language of the internet
it’s what bash and perl were for unix,
it’s what ubiquity was for browser
it’s like pipemania and the incredible machine all over again…
San Francisco-based startup ifttt (If This Then That) has built a framework that lets you harness the full potential of the Internet and your web-connected devices. By “listening” to various channels (weather, stock prices, RSS feeds, SMS messages, and many more) ifttt can carry out actions when certain criteria are met.
via: www.businessinsider.com
May 30th, 2012 § Comments Off on ‘The Golden Age of Silicon Valley Is Over, and We’re Dancing on its Grave’ § permalink
Memory is a Golden Sieve (Photo credit: kern.justin)
… following a point from yesterday, it seems US economy is catching up with Europe:
BLANK: I teach science and engineering. I see my students trying to commercialize really hard stuff. But the VCs are only going to be interested in chasing the billions on their smart phones. Thank God we have small business research grants from the federal government, otherwise the Chinese would just grab them.
via: www.theatlantic.com
May 29th, 2012 § § permalink
Secret denunciations against anyone who will conceal favors and services or will collude to hide the true revenue from them. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Crowdfunding is a great but frightening development.
It’s great, and necessary, and obvious, just like democracy and freedom of speech.
But it’s not frightening because it threatens the VC‘s. I’m worried because the first wave of crowd ‘investors’ will inevitably do mistakes that VC’s have learned to avoid, this might cause much capital being allocated in wrong places, causing rouge behavior from ‘startups’ and render huge disappointments, amplified by media, making entrepreneurship a bad word.
there, i’ve said it. funding startups is a serious thing, not a game of tax evasion.
Venture capitalists have been getting a black eye to go with their blue shirts. A recent report from the Kauffman Foundation slammed VCs for “shortchanging” investors, pointing out that public markets deliver better returns.
via: www.readwriteweb.com
somehow all this reminds me of elaborate public grants infrastructure in Europe, that’s causing half of economy to focus on filling out checkboxes rather than listening to customers. not sure why, but it feels like the same instrument in different clothes.
May 26th, 2012 § Comments Off on White House taps private sector to help feed world’s hungry § permalink
White House taps private sector to help feed world’s hungry By Christopher Doering, Gannett Comments WASHINGTON – President Obama vowed Friday to accelerate efforts to relieve hunger and malnutrition in Africa and unveiled as part of his plan a $3 billion commitment from multinational companies to make it easier for small farmers to grow their…
via: www.usatoday.com
this is a hard topic. here’s why:
- they are trying to raise $3B, which is arguably a lot of money. however…
- semi-random college startup just IPO‘d at $104B market cap, Apple has $10B cash reserves, Microsoft $10B cash reserves …
- also, USA yearly defense budget is over $500B, the new fancy UK aircraft carrier will cost $12B, war in Afganistan cost $500B so far.
- … and in the end, the hard problem is not cash to buy food, but how to actually distribute it in the end. if they have a good plan for that, the cash should be easier to find.
May 25th, 2012 § Comments Off on #1 natural limit of web economy? Land! § permalink
Geeks live their lives peacefully in the online world most of the time, but every now and then reality hits us on our heads – this article beautifully outlines how old-fashioned housing legislation in silicon valley is limiting the ability of online business to grow.
THE financial press went ape this week over the highly anticipated IPO of one Facebook, the Harvard social network turned $100 billion phenomenon. Facebook’s soaring valuation has focused attention on a Silicon Valley that is once again booming, and it has led many to wonder whether social networking isn’t inflating into yet another tech bubble.
via: www.economist.com
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
May 24th, 2012 § Comments Off on is it a feature or a business? § permalink
YouTube business model canvas sketch by Alexander Osterwalder (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
this article hits on a very important distinction but their point so short-sighted:
It’s almost comical to say there is a new business reality at play. This is because there are so many forces at work lately, that it seems as though new realities are created and killed almost every quarter. Opportunistic turbulence is probably the best term for it. I’d like to call one out for review Features can be business models.
via: www.cruc.es
‘feature’ is just a different way of calling the product’, or maybe, a ‘small product’. but to make it a business, you have to build the business infrastructure around the ‘feature’ – user acquisition, sales, financial controlling, hr, etc…
the only thing that changes is, that you can start with a ‘feature’ and build the rest later. but you better be prepared to do that, or you’ll miss your opportunity.
May 23rd, 2012 § § permalink
iceland (Photo credit: osmium)
Iceland has a unique opportunity to lead the world by defining a Internet Enterprise Zone, Brad Burnham of Union Square Ventures defined this term to me while he was in Iceland. What do we mean by this IEZ? We mean a Policy framework focused on allowing innovation in the Internet space.
via: blog.startupiceland.com
I recently visited Iceland (again) and had a privilege to meet some of young entrepreneurs there. The amount of startups and interest in
entrepreneurship is amazing, specially if you consider that the whole country is the size of Ljubljana, Slovenia Capital.
The locals told me that the financial crisis hit everyday people pretty badly, specially because they actually weren’t doing anything wrong –
normal people were as scrappy as you’d expect from a scandinavian. They have also been very resourceful throughout history, probably a result of
harsh weather and soil conditions.
Oh, and every citizen has Facebook profile, which makes them super efficient at forming a new constitution. The rest of us should observe and learn.
May 22nd, 2012 § Comments Off on Online ‘dating service’ for tech jobs § permalink
An example of one of True’s online ads. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I’m not surprised by this approach:
In today’s tech scene, matching professionals to job openings may be more of a mating dance than a business transaction. Online dating services such as eHarmony and Match.com employ algorithms to match the compatibility of users, and then facilitates a way for them to connect.
via: www.zdnet.com
… however, I believe that what is essential for a successful match is not better algorithms, but teaching both parties to become aware and dare to spell out requirements and expectations. After you know what you are really looking for, and write it down in appropriate voice, the other party will recognize itself and apply, and everyone else who is not appropriate will look away.
embrace your quirkiness is what i’m trying to say. it will help you. with recruiting and with personal life.
this attitude helped many people find more rewarding jobs, like this community manager story. know what you want from your life, or take vacation / sabbatical.
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May 21st, 2012 § Comments Off on and the geeks shall change the world… of politics § permalink
Springfield, Illinois, USA. Barack Obama, his wife Michelle, and daughters. “The Future First Family Waves. Senator Obama’s family was on hand for the announcement, and he invited them on stage to wave to the crowd before he began his speech.” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Everyone around the world remembers Obama‘s superb grassroots campaign nostalgically, knowing that something so organized won’t happen anywhere else anytime soon.
Well, now at least we are getting a proper campaign management system:
Joe Green and Jim Gilliam, the founders of a new software platform called NationBuilder, envision a world where any campaign — from local school board to issue-based protest movement, without regard to ideology — could access the same versatile, inexpensive suite of software and instantly have at its fingertips the ability to connect with voters and donors online, a capacity that was supposed to reshape American politics in the age of the Internet, but has yet to be fully realized.
Via The Atlantic
next step? NationDashboard.
May 19th, 2012 § Comments Off on putting instagram into perspective § permalink
it’s always wise to check and keep in mind data from the wider field, not just the outlier. everyone fascinated by instagram and facebook should know all these other acquisitions by heart before talking about ‘the bubble’:
Instagram’s billion-dollar sale to Facebook raised eyebrows yesterday, renewing cries of a new bubble. But relative to other major acquisitions of the past, how does it measure up? I crunched the numbers, pulling together data from a selection of 30 notable internet acquisitions over the last ten years, from Broadcast.
via: waxy.org