Visited the Google Campus the other day and met with the GrandCentral product manager, what an awesome place. First when arriving you see the employees riding the Google baby blue beach cruisers. When you sign in there is a screen that asks for your name and who you are there to see and it prints out your nametag sticker...ahh...makes you feel official.
The campus is only a few minutes from Ipevo's office but it felt like being on the movie set of Toys (that corky 80's movie with Robin Williams). The culture that they've created is one that all startups envy. Before going into the meeting conference room my colleague Ed and I pass through the cafeteria which is fully stocked with all the beverages and snacks you'll ever need to work 24/7...
Meeting was very interesting and crossing fingers for future integrations with IPEVO and Google...needless to say- I am an official Grandcentral member call me to test it out anytime: (408) 922-9933
Monday, March 31, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
MySpace Cancelled...
I cancelled my "MySpace" account today...It felt so liberating. I never used it so it was pretty easy to do so. I realized that it is a cause of a lot of drama in my domestic life and felt too much like high school with no end. I have kept in touch with my best friend since were were 12 and for the last 20 years we managed to keep in touch even without myspace.
Maslow's Hierarchy of needs is changing...it has gone from Self-Actualization as the pinnacle of needs to something needed as food and shelter. Many will deny it but it is a proven fact that people who are on social networks are spending more time on social networks than in real life networks replacing real friendships, family and/or even real sexual intimacy. It is a causing a false sense of "Self-actualization", a false sense of "Esteem" (reputation), a false sense of "Love/Belonging" and sadly a false sense of "Safety" to the ruin of many who are addicted to such websites like MySpace.
Facebook is also becoming much more like this and its initial purpose no longer exists. I will likely cancel that account soon too. Linkedin has provided me with support for my basic need- a network to help me find work in order to support my "Physiological" needs. Beyond that -most of the professionals that I am networked with I have met at functions or in business settings so it does not feel like another social network. Recruiters and Offshore engineers are starting to make it a bit concerning at times.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
The Best Document Social Network Site
So as of late I've been finding some great resources via the web (go figure). I was on google searching for key word terms: "Common Stock Option Agreements" and it came up with a few listings.
1. www.slideshare.net
and
2. www.docstoc.com
I am a member of Slideshare and enjoy their powerpoint presentations and PDF exchange forum, but last night i found myself downloading about 15 documents from docstoc.com and really enjoyed the search function on it which was very accurate, resourceful and fast.
I recommend any startup entrepreneur who is in need of documents to visit both of these sites to gather their needed templates for startup work.
I would totally invest in these sites if they were interested in taking investors.
1. www.slideshare.net
and
2. www.docstoc.com
I am a member of Slideshare and enjoy their powerpoint presentations and PDF exchange forum, but last night i found myself downloading about 15 documents from docstoc.com and really enjoyed the search function on it which was very accurate, resourceful and fast.
I recommend any startup entrepreneur who is in need of documents to visit both of these sites to gather their needed templates for startup work.
I would totally invest in these sites if they were interested in taking investors.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Jason Calcanis on Affiliate Spam
Jason Calcanis is in my direct connection on Linkedin and yesterday was the first time I have heard his voice via Webmasterworld radio. His passion for the web and the conviction in his tone reminds me of Christian evangelists on the radio. His speech at Affiliate Summit reads like the books out of the old testament to the new testament too.
"In the beginning...there was Usenet..."
It was very entertainning listening to his speech- don't take my word for it- just listen below:
"In the beginning...there was Usenet..."
It was very entertainning listening to his speech- don't take my word for it- just listen below:
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Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Taxes, Debts and other fun things due by April 15th!
So aside from having to deal with dissolution fees & taxes from my prior startup Viabuzz LLC. - I have to deal with other debts that are coming out of the woodworks...
When my wife and I moved to Denver we didn't have insurance kick in right away and our son got so sick due to weather changes that we incurred an emergency hospital bill because he needed an IV injection.
We got insurance for a few months and shortly after we decided to shop for another carrier- wouldn't you know it- our daughter falls on a corner of a side lamp table and receives 5 stitches over her eyebrow at 18 months of age- whammo another hospital bill...
Here I am trying to pull off being an entrepreneur, a consultant, a husband and a dad...cold harsh lesson that I'm learning is that things happen for a reason and often times it is not for any reason that you completely understand or are always immediately able to understand due to human nature or man's nature of fighting against nature and the laws that bind us (such as sleep, proper diet, socialization, etc.).
Next to worrying about taxes this year I had a project that went extremely sour in 2007- I was a consultant for one project called GenBB.com and I hired a team of guys in India called Wiantech to produce a php based social network for me. I had the wireframes all layed out and it was an extreme disaster for me personally and professionally. My client and I lost a total of $55,000 to this firm. Around the same time I was going to have develop my corp site which was amusingly done in less than one night and they wanted to bill me $400.
This happened around August last year and as of a few nights ago I receive this email from 2 guys in India threatening me to pay $300 or else...
"Or else what???"...needless to say- I would not recommend anyone working with this firm Wiantech ever if you are in the market to outsource your web development work or for anything.
I am working on a project now with a group called V2Solutions for another project that is Microsoft Windows based and the owner Vijay is in Silicon Valley and these guys I would recommend for all their professionalism, process and level of communication. You get exactly what you pay for and then more with this team.
Now I just need to find a good creative accountant:)
When my wife and I moved to Denver we didn't have insurance kick in right away and our son got so sick due to weather changes that we incurred an emergency hospital bill because he needed an IV injection.
We got insurance for a few months and shortly after we decided to shop for another carrier- wouldn't you know it- our daughter falls on a corner of a side lamp table and receives 5 stitches over her eyebrow at 18 months of age- whammo another hospital bill...
Here I am trying to pull off being an entrepreneur, a consultant, a husband and a dad...cold harsh lesson that I'm learning is that things happen for a reason and often times it is not for any reason that you completely understand or are always immediately able to understand due to human nature or man's nature of fighting against nature and the laws that bind us (such as sleep, proper diet, socialization, etc.).
Next to worrying about taxes this year I had a project that went extremely sour in 2007- I was a consultant for one project called GenBB.com and I hired a team of guys in India called Wiantech to produce a php based social network for me. I had the wireframes all layed out and it was an extreme disaster for me personally and professionally. My client and I lost a total of $55,000 to this firm. Around the same time I was going to have develop my corp site which was amusingly done in less than one night and they wanted to bill me $400.
This happened around August last year and as of a few nights ago I receive this email from 2 guys in India threatening me to pay $300 or else...
"Or else what???"...needless to say- I would not recommend anyone working with this firm Wiantech ever if you are in the market to outsource your web development work or for anything.
I am working on a project now with a group called V2Solutions for another project that is Microsoft Windows based and the owner Vijay is in Silicon Valley and these guys I would recommend for all their professionalism, process and level of communication. You get exactly what you pay for and then more with this team.
Now I just need to find a good creative accountant:)
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Not MiHoo! but NewsHoo!
News Corp./Yahoo Combo Would Yield Display-Ad Powerhouse
$50 Billion Price Tag Puts Pressure on Microsoft to Up Its Bid for Portal
By Abbey Klaassen
Published: February 14, 2008
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Want to talk about massive display share? Forget Yahoo and Microsoft -- it's Yahoo and News Corp. that could shake up that world.
The two companies are discussing a deal that would make News Corp.'s Fox Interactive Media assets part of Yahoo in exchange for a 20% stake in the newly combined entity, according to a person familiar with discussions.
Right now the key for this deal is for management to test the idea with a few key shareholders to see how they would react to a potential merger -- and whether they would value the combination at $50 billion, which is the value News Corp. and Yahoo assign the deal. It's unclear at this point whether shareholders would share management's valuation estimate.
Best case, worst case
In the best case scenario, the market agrees that a Yahoo-Fox Interactive combination is worth $50 billion. In the worst case scenario, the talks put pressure on Microsoft to raise its bid to acquire Yahoo from $44.6 billion. News Corp.'s deal was first reported on blogs Silicon Alley Insider and TechCrunch and confirmed yesterday by The Wall Street Journal, which is part of News Corp.
What would such a combined entity look like? It would be a display-ad giant. According to ComScore, Yahoo has 18.8% of total display-ad impressions online, while News Corp.'s Fox Interactive, which includes MySpace, has 16.3%. Microsoft, meanwhile, serves up 6.7%. Yahoo-Fox Interactive would, however, lack the search scale of a Microsoft-Yahoo combo. According to ComScore, in December 2007, Microsoft sites accounted for 984 million U.S. searches while MySpace accounted for 342 million U.S. searches. Fox Interactive already has an ad deal with Google to provide search and other ads on MySpace; it's unclear whether a change of ownership would allow Google or Fox Interactive to end that partnership.
Yahoo desperately wants to stay independent and doing a deal with News Corp. could stave off the takeover proposed by Microsoft. Yahoo management believes it has not yet had time to prove out the strategy it has employed over the past year, as CEO Jerry Yang reiterated in a letter sent to shareholders today.
Grow its ad network
"We have a huge market opportunity -- and are uniquely positioned to capitalize on it," he wrote. "The global online advertising market is projected to grow from $45 billion in 2007 to $75 billion in 2010." He said Yahoo aims to grow its "starting points," such as e-mail and the home page, by 15% in 2007. He also emphasized the company's plans to grow its ad network, create a more friction-less marketplace through ad exchanges and open its platform to third-party developers.
On person familiar with the Yahoo-News Corp. discussions said the integration challenges that critics of a Microsoft-Yahoo merger have raised are less of a concern with a Yahoo-Fox Interactive combo. Whereas Microsoft and Yahoo have their own robust ad platforms -- and would likely fight over whose gets used if the two were combined -- Fox Interactive would be easier to plug into Yahoo's ad platform. This person said the combination of MySpace's targeting and Yahoo's behavioral data could be a huge boon.
The hand News Corp. is lending to Yahoo appears to be a reversal of CEO Rupert Murdoch's position on his Feb. 4 earnings call in which he said News Corp. is "definitely not going to make a bid for Yahoo." However, when asked of a possible linkup between the two companies, he added: "I think that has passed, but you never know."
Yahoo and News Corp. face challenges convincing shareholders that their combination is worth $50 billion. But Tim Hanlon, exec VP at Publicis Groupe's Denuo, is bullish: "For Yahoo, [it] would add a key component that Microsoft can't -- content," he said. "For News Corp., [it would add] immediate access to a wealth of web services that neither MySpace alone nor ten digital acquisitions could ever get them."
$50 Billion Price Tag Puts Pressure on Microsoft to Up Its Bid for Portal
By Abbey Klaassen
Published: February 14, 2008
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Want to talk about massive display share? Forget Yahoo and Microsoft -- it's Yahoo and News Corp. that could shake up that world.
The two companies are discussing a deal that would make News Corp.'s Fox Interactive Media assets part of Yahoo in exchange for a 20% stake in the newly combined entity, according to a person familiar with discussions.
Right now the key for this deal is for management to test the idea with a few key shareholders to see how they would react to a potential merger -- and whether they would value the combination at $50 billion, which is the value News Corp. and Yahoo assign the deal. It's unclear at this point whether shareholders would share management's valuation estimate.
Best case, worst case
In the best case scenario, the market agrees that a Yahoo-Fox Interactive combination is worth $50 billion. In the worst case scenario, the talks put pressure on Microsoft to raise its bid to acquire Yahoo from $44.6 billion. News Corp.'s deal was first reported on blogs Silicon Alley Insider and TechCrunch and confirmed yesterday by The Wall Street Journal, which is part of News Corp.
What would such a combined entity look like? It would be a display-ad giant. According to ComScore, Yahoo has 18.8% of total display-ad impressions online, while News Corp.'s Fox Interactive, which includes MySpace, has 16.3%. Microsoft, meanwhile, serves up 6.7%. Yahoo-Fox Interactive would, however, lack the search scale of a Microsoft-Yahoo combo. According to ComScore, in December 2007, Microsoft sites accounted for 984 million U.S. searches while MySpace accounted for 342 million U.S. searches. Fox Interactive already has an ad deal with Google to provide search and other ads on MySpace; it's unclear whether a change of ownership would allow Google or Fox Interactive to end that partnership.
Yahoo desperately wants to stay independent and doing a deal with News Corp. could stave off the takeover proposed by Microsoft. Yahoo management believes it has not yet had time to prove out the strategy it has employed over the past year, as CEO Jerry Yang reiterated in a letter sent to shareholders today.
Grow its ad network
"We have a huge market opportunity -- and are uniquely positioned to capitalize on it," he wrote. "The global online advertising market is projected to grow from $45 billion in 2007 to $75 billion in 2010." He said Yahoo aims to grow its "starting points," such as e-mail and the home page, by 15% in 2007. He also emphasized the company's plans to grow its ad network, create a more friction-less marketplace through ad exchanges and open its platform to third-party developers.
On person familiar with the Yahoo-News Corp. discussions said the integration challenges that critics of a Microsoft-Yahoo merger have raised are less of a concern with a Yahoo-Fox Interactive combo. Whereas Microsoft and Yahoo have their own robust ad platforms -- and would likely fight over whose gets used if the two were combined -- Fox Interactive would be easier to plug into Yahoo's ad platform. This person said the combination of MySpace's targeting and Yahoo's behavioral data could be a huge boon.
The hand News Corp. is lending to Yahoo appears to be a reversal of CEO Rupert Murdoch's position on his Feb. 4 earnings call in which he said News Corp. is "definitely not going to make a bid for Yahoo." However, when asked of a possible linkup between the two companies, he added: "I think that has passed, but you never know."
Yahoo and News Corp. face challenges convincing shareholders that their combination is worth $50 billion. But Tim Hanlon, exec VP at Publicis Groupe's Denuo, is bullish: "For Yahoo, [it] would add a key component that Microsoft can't -- content," he said. "For News Corp., [it would add] immediate access to a wealth of web services that neither MySpace alone nor ten digital acquisitions could ever get them."
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Reasons why Linkedin + Plaxo = Plinxo or is it Plaxedin
I've been getting a ton of Plaxo invites from my business connections. Its been very interesting to see the overlap between what Plaxo is doing and where Linkedin should eventually be.
A few reasons why I believe they should merge:
1. It would make for an interesting Valentines Day merger
2. I like how the tech industry is utilizing entertainment celebrity marriage slang such as the recent (MiHoo) name generated from Microsoft + Yahoo! acquisition talks, but in this case it would be Plinxo or Plaxedin! (quick someone buy those domains!)
3. When i started using Linkedin I already had over 2700 business contacts in my Plaxo address book. To this day I only have around 1500 linkedin connections. Linkedin could greatly benefit from the amount of varied users who are on Plaxo.
4. Plaxo has a much more Facebook "like" user interface which lends it to be more useful to a mass population. Don't get me wrong- Linkedin is profitable because of its focus in the executive level players currently using it- I wonder how much longer that is going to be until that changes...(my guess is less than 12 months)
5. It would relieve me from having to go to an extra site just to add the same business contact (and all the Web2.0 brethren sayeth...AMEN)
A few reasons why I believe they should merge:
1. It would make for an interesting Valentines Day merger
2. I like how the tech industry is utilizing entertainment celebrity marriage slang such as the recent (MiHoo) name generated from Microsoft + Yahoo! acquisition talks, but in this case it would be Plinxo or Plaxedin! (quick someone buy those domains!)
3. When i started using Linkedin I already had over 2700 business contacts in my Plaxo address book. To this day I only have around 1500 linkedin connections. Linkedin could greatly benefit from the amount of varied users who are on Plaxo.
4. Plaxo has a much more Facebook "like" user interface which lends it to be more useful to a mass population. Don't get me wrong- Linkedin is profitable because of its focus in the executive level players currently using it- I wonder how much longer that is going to be until that changes...(my guess is less than 12 months)
5. It would relieve me from having to go to an extra site just to add the same business contact (and all the Web2.0 brethren sayeth...AMEN)
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