Tim Bauer’s Running Thoughts

When you talk to most people about social commerce the converation is typically product focused (e.g. shoes, apparel, jewelery, autos, pc’s, etc). However, Khris Loux (CEO of JS-Kit), wants you to ask a broader question:

Could/Should social commerce really be an elixir for all things sold?

Interesting point and early in the webcast … two points for Khris. So, as usual, I got to running to see if he could bring to light other points off the beaten path.

.

After watching this 2 days back I thought it was must watch but in hindsight I think it’s more of a perhaps. JS-Kit is a nice bolt on for your sites if you want to easily add Web2.0 features but Khris didn’t weave in many (any?) ground breaking points. More of a great refresher on nuances of web strategy around social commerce. For example, he does get you thinking about how Web2.0 can be applied to service industries (i.e. doctors, etc) but that was a brief point … so if you have time … it might be worth a watch.

Would be curious on your thoughts … as always.

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5/27/2008, 6:13 AM
…………….○ NextWeb 2008
…………………………..§ Distribute lightweight apps via widgets
…………………………………………□ Ratings, comments, reviews, etc
…………………………………………□ Bauer Comment - Interesting lower tier of services versus AMZN’s tack which requires a huge commitment out of the gate
…………………………..§ Web 3.0 - Consumers becoming part of the product lifecycle
…………………………………………□ 1.0 - publishers pushing content
…………………………………………□ 2.0 - Bloggers countering mass voice of publishers
…………………………..§ Would you rather buy from an online retailer ….
…………………………………………□ Which crowd comments reviews
…………………………………………□ One w/ just a nice sizzle to it
…………………………………………□ Bauer Comment - Interesting thought. Most see this as part of consumer product sales. What about other verticles? Services (largest sector in US)?
…………………………..§ 5/27/2008, 6:18 AM
…………………………..§ Shows how this model drives the presentation
…………………………………………□ Rating topics drives what he talks about it
…………………………………………□ Comments that are really good fly by on one part of overhead … good ones facilitator calls out
…………………………..§ His vision for the web … 3D web
…………………………………………□ Connecting a large web
…………………………………………□ Bauer Comment - Like my commentary on XYZ … it shows up where it is relevant … it doesn’t lay where I wrote it. Right now discussions are the primary debate (comments) but think about all elements surrounding a product or offering. Word press does similar w/ its supporting angle
…………………………..§ 5/27/2008, 6:22 AM
…………………………..§ His recommendation … smash your website
…………………………………………□ Drop SEO war
…………………………………………□ Drop ad investment
…………………………………………□ Take true value of product and extend it out
……………………………………………………….® Build a widget … deposit in directory services … yahoo, google
……………………………………………………….® Usually directory services are rated by Google or Ads
……………………………………………………….® Now see ratings in search, roll over you see all the elements of that service provider
……………………………………………………….® Look for doctor
……………………………………………………….® Bauer Comment - Interesting. Helping companies have a more robust initial search result listing … a blow out javascript item
…………………………..§ Credibility Gap
…………………………..§ 5/27/2008, 6:25 AM
…………………………………………□ Marketing drives comment “Buyer Beware”
…………………………………………□ Switch to “Buyer Being Aware”
…………………………………………□ Bauer Comment - Nice.
…………………………..§ 5/27/2008, 6:26 AM
…………………………..§ Q&A
…………………………………………□ Comments are valuable. But risky
……………………………………………………….® Two companies … open and closed
……………………………………………………….® Consumers will gravitate to the truth on there
……………………………………………………….® Bauer Comment - Think of resumes … Linked in is trying to do it. But why don’t people trust it. People feel the items are solicited. Too personal to attack … comment on an individual.
…………………………………………□ 5/27/2008, 6:28 AM
…………………………………………□ Bauer Comment - The use of the comments on the screen is disrupting the flow … but maybe that is ok
…………………………………………□ Does the internet have a collective ego
……………………………………………………….® Vistors wind up acting like sites … they have comments, reviews, reputation, etc
……………………………………………………….® See a person … see his comments … posts … etc
……………………………………………………….® People don’t ask for resumes they look at linked in
……………………………………………………….® Bauer Comment - problem w/ linked is can’t know what % truth we are hearing in recommendations.
…………………………………………□ Their comment technology
……………………………………………………….® Terms of service - Filter not delete, modify but flags the change
……………………………………………………….® Visitor has same rights and responsibilities
…………………………………………□ What about economic rights of reader
……………………………………………………….® Facebook - IP around creating social network … then they trap the content … then the value is their framework + your content
……………………………………………………….® Bauer Comment - So that is the lack of rights … what is his offered rights … he skipped that
……………………………………………………….® Right up terms of service so visitor owns the content (at minimum shared)
……………………………………………………….® Creative commons style of content
…………………………………………□ Someone stands up and fires in a question … can’t connect to the local wifi
……………………………………………………….® Bauer Comment - Another problem w/ a large group that can all talk … group waits while one raises issue … the need to listen to Spock (Needs of the Many, Outweigh Needs of the Few, Or One)
…………………………………………□ 5/27/2008, 6:35 AM
…………………………………………□ Standards for Open - Demanding It
……………………………………………………….® IBM owned everything
……………………………………………………….® As400 did 14B a year
……………………………………………………….® Then someone blew it … gave standard on PC platform to MSFT (IBM did)
……………………………………………………….® Then MSFT started acting like MSFT (tweaked API to kill competitors)
……………………………………………………….® We are about ready to do it again. Guy from Harvard.
……………………………………………………………………..◊ Google (API on search)?
……………………………………………………….® Push big companies to open up
……………………………………………………….® Open Social - It isn’t … he wasn’t invited. It isn’t in the public domain. So are they (Google) lying?
……………………………………………………….® If we succeed … Long tail … typically drawn skinny … will get fatter as the revenue will flow out of the centralized players
…………………………………………□ 5/27/2008, 6:39 AM
…………………………………………□ Open Standard Talk Tommorow (Chris Sod)
…………………………………………□ What is in it for the business. Why open up. Can’t build a business.
……………………………………………………….® Bauer Comment - Return to localization? What drives success of a grocery or retail store brick and motar? Convience. Quality of Service. Not ownership of data. Web 2.0 startups are addited to user data perhaps.
……………………………………………………….® Easier to get Google to adopt Open API as a leverage point
……………………………………………………….® Surround and cut out the kings then they are forced
…………………………………………□ 5/27/2008, 6:42 AM
…………………………………………□ Users drive valuation today … if data portability is accepted … valuation model needs to change … to what
……………………………………………………….® 3B profit google made last quarter is shattered into a lot of companies
……………………………………………………….® That is a good thing
……………………………………………………….® Diversification
……………………………………………………….® The next facebook … (it will die)
……………………………………………………………………..◊ Bauer Comment - Social networks go away .. Peer to Peer Arrives. Perhaps your ‘peer’ is a small social network that allows you to tie in w/ basic functions to various other islands
…………………………………………□ Feeders
……………………………………………………….® Comments.yourdomain.com
……………………………………………………….® Crawlers contributes feedss to your domain
……………………………………………………….® Customization tip #10
……………………………………………………….® So your search engine juice … goes to you
…………………………………………□ 5/27/2008, 6:45 AM
…………………………………………□ How long for mass adoption, do users (general) care,
……………………………………………………….® World now (new deal for html) … owns 200 newspapers … local readers get these web 2.0 services

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As I watched Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, speak on this webcast visions of Barney (the dinosaur version of Mr. Rogers) singing I Love You, You Love Me, We’re A Happy Family kept running through my head. So much stroking was going on between IBM and Google I couldn’t tell who was courting who.

Amused and curious on what this relationship was all about, I hit slapped on the headsets and started to listen.

I could go on but this webcast was full of fluffy thoughts that didn’t always jive so well together or were overly oiled. I was hoping for more of a detail analysis of their current product stack in the cloud space. Oh well, perhaps next time.

Would be curious on your thoughts … as always.

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• http://www.johnmwillis.com/other/eric-schmidt-ibm-and-clouds/
• Via RedMonk
• 5/1/2008
• IBM Business Partners Leadership Conf
• 5/21/2008, 6:00 AM
• Eric Schmidt
………………..○ Love in w/ the arch / tech team @ IBM
………………..○ Thoughts on distributed computing
………………..○ IBM is ahead of Google on Cloud issues
………………………………….§ Bauer thought - interesting statement … ponder that if they are ahead … why isn’t that shown in other ways
………………..○ 5/21/2008, 6:02 AM
………………..○ Models of Innovation (4 in the world)
………………………………….§ Europe, China, India, US
………………………………….§ All share success based on Internet
………………..○ RICE supply, Fish supply by mobile connections … short … due to pressing middlemen
………………………………….§ IBM figured out the platform of cloud
……………………………………………………□ Bauer Comment - isn’t IBM a middleman on their primary revenue (Services?)
………………..○ 5/21/2008, 6:05 AM
………………..○ Internet growth
………………..○ Moore’s law … creightors (sp?) law on disk capacity doubling every 12 months
………………………………….§ Bauer Comment - notice how he doesn’t acknowledge AMZN
………………..○ Open approach to internet … drives scaling (centralized)
………………………………….§ Bauer Comment - amusing … IBM is NOT open in many ways
………………..○ 3 tops books in Japan delivered 1st on mobile devices … then printed later
………………..○ 5/21/2008, 6:08 AM
………………..○ Shift from desktop to network centric (centralized)
………………………………….§ Bauer — Why should anyone be surprised by IBM backing centralized (that is their model - Big Iron). What is strange(but reality) is that Google is a centralized backer. Is the battle between peer-to-peer and centralized? Is MSFT the new robin hood w/ Mesh (allowing control to stay local)
………………..○ 5/21/2008, 6:09 AM
………………..○ Convergence isn’t about one device - its one server in client … access point by user can differ
………………………………….§ Bauer Comment - if computing becomes so critical and centralized in cloud … why wouldn’t you regulate and have the government take it on to insure cost control
………………..○ Big Switch Book reference (no reference directly)
………………..○ 5/21/2008, 6:12 AM
………………..○ Cost of Innovation is lower … Consumers drive this … Corporations not quick enough … caught
………………………………….§ IBM good job in app space doing this
………………..○ 70M blogs … average blog has one reader …
………………..○ 7M photos uploaded per day to Picaso
………………..○ 10 hours of video to YouTube every minute
………………..○ Drives integrated story telling
………………..○ 5/21/2008, 6:14 AM
………………..○ Cloud computing does matter to enterprise
………………………………….§ Virtualize
………………………………….§ VMWare good leader
………………………………….§ Email
………………..○ Google collaborative meetings … real time edits to shared doc
………………..○ You can ask customers thing you couldn’t before
………………………………….§ Trial a product
………………………………….§ Not a 3 yr / 1yr plan
………………………………….§ Changes on Fly
………………..○ 5/21/2008, 6:17 AM
………………..○ Talk of Google apps … Integration of Stuff into it
………………………………….§ Docs
………………………………….§ Calendars (cross link, search and cross update)
……………………………………………………□ Bauer Comment - he keeps saying ‘my point is’ but I think he is moving around w/o a central theme … more like a adhoc talk than a planned message
………………..○ 5/21/2008, 6:18 AM
………………..○ Talk of Google Android
………………………………….§ GPS, Phone, Camera, IM … those 4 apps intertwined
………………………………….§ Friend finder … helps you get to them quickly
………………………………….§ Example of cloud computing in summary
………………..○ IBM doing infra (linux / java)
………………………………….§ Got the headstart
………………………………….§ WPS … embed … into applications
……………………………………………………□ Business context of collaboration between google gadgets and IBM customers
………………..○ “The point here is”
………………………………….§ Challenge for developer
………………………………….§ Wifi enablement of devices
……………………………………………………□ Bauer Comment - consumer focus largest play
………………………………….§ Dev must anticipate large data sets … video etc
………………………………….§ Distributed data storage
………………..○ 5/21/2008, 6:23 AM
………………..○ Flip back to intro point … “Sam calling him”
………………………………….§ What Google and IBM needs to do
………………………………….§ No one understand cloud computing … google, IBM, university
………………………………….§ Build a version of this architecture … give to Universities
……………………………………………………□ Bauer Comment … seeding the next generation …
………………………………….§ Announced Open Source Cloud Computing for public in Oct 07
……………………………………………………□ Did @ Univ Wash, MIT, Berkley, Maryland, Bejing, Global, etc
……………………………………………………□ IBM gear, Tivoli, Google Apps
………………………………….§ 19 year old physics … modelled big bang on it
………………………………….§ European developed largest collection of prime #’s every
………………………………….§ Out of control … hand off to national science foundation on who gets CPU time
……………………………………………………□ Bauer Comment - making a big deal out of a capped infrastructure being donated to public … really many do this … probably at higher investment rates
………………..○ 5/21/2008, 6:26 AM
………………..○ “key Idea here”
………………..○ Computers are not alone, You can build these cloud platforms and get great value
………………..○ End of keynote … switch to panel Q&A
………………..○ 5/21/2008, 6:28 AM
………………………………….§ Panel Q&A - Eric / Sam
………………………………….§ How do Google / IBM collaborate given differences
……………………………………………………□ Sam - Business vs Research … debate on cloud (face to face, counter eric’s point of collaborative doc change)
……………………………………………………………………..® Bauer Comment - interesting .. I have always thought meetings are useless unless some asset is created or evolved (just talk … nets to little)
……………………………………………………□ Sam (still) - Who is the best partner .. .standards .. Aligned with strategy … culture of teams .. Committed to open source … google idea to go to academic community (eric said it was theirs)
……………………………………………………………………..® Bauer Comment - interesting … as I think going to the university can be a sticky wicket (bad PR) if perceived wrong
……………………………………………………□ 5/21/2008, 6:32 AM
……………………………………………………□ Eric - All innovation comes from bottom up … compatible culture
……………………………………………………………………..® Culture was similar
……………………………………………………………………..® Other companies were top down … too legal
……………………………………………………………………..® Sam - IBM has a lot of lawyers
………………………………….§ 5/21/2008, 6:35 AM
………………………………….§ Tangent - Love in On Why IBM is champion on focusing on University Arch Spend
……………………………………………………□ Eric - Always has built specialized gear / solutions for University
……………………………………………………………………..® No idea why good business to do so
……………………………………………………………………………………….◊ Bauer Comment - come on. No idea? Eric? No idea? Why don’t you ask Jobs why he focused on schools … easy … hook em early … you get em later
……………………………………………………□ Sam - Somewhat admitted true goal
………………………………….§ How you tactically make the two teams work
……………………………………………………□ Sam - Eric challenged two teams on mapping and shopping solutions. 8 weeks. Created prototypes.
……………………………………………………□ Eric - Show the future. Talking to people. People tend to agree but not back. Tries to use stuff even if he hates it. Immerse in it. Use the product. Sit next to it.
……………………………………………………………………..® Bauer Comment - Howard Hughes flash back.
………………………………….§ How does intersecting worlds of Enterprise and Consumer work
……………………………………………………□ Sam - Most things start in consumer space … lower risk of deployment. Tech view … is there a logical way to scale and get virtualization … while protecting the transaction … place to learn and then apply elsewhere
……………………………………………………………………..® Bauer Comment - Good point … shared gear … higher risk of breach in cloud
……………………………………………………□ Eric - Not much difference between consumer and enterprise … 1 key … enterprise will pay for some features … enterprise will pay for security and up time … traditional data centers offsite … IBM specialized … Google mini-me free for unsupported use
………………………………….§ 5/21/2008, 6:42 AM
………………………………….§ Local relevance … versus centralized
……………………………………………………□ Sam - Create cloud of business product … ERP .. HR .. Procurement … Not by region at IBM .. So they run in cloud … so it allows the business to focus on
……………………………………………………………………..® Bauer Comment - He isn’t answering how they stay locally relevant (sales relationships … delivery people on floor). I think this an even bigger problem for Google
……………………………………………………………………..® Eric - Doing Accntg and Payables (IBM is) for them
……………………………………………………□ Sam - Still - Have to deal w/ countries differently … China Out, MiddleEast Out, etc … basis of that … IBM tries to connect “IN” … start w/ societial model then embed in economic expansion … Leneuvo (sp?) deal in china … example
……………………………………………………□ Eric - Simple rule … people around the world want same stuff … family, material items, safety, healthy … only difference is language and culture (smaller factor)
……………………………………………………………………..® Bauer Comment - They also want to remove the middleman … which Google and IBM are in many situations
………………………………….§ 5/21/2008, 6:48 AM
………………………………….§ Social Network differences
……………………………………………………□ Eric - Impact business. Still too closed. Need to be more open.
……………………………………………………………………..® Bauer Comment - A ding on Facebook there
……………………………………………………□ Eric - Still - Real phenomena … this isn’t kids online in college … a large demographic is shaping relationships in this model
………………………………….§ Close

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Who doesn’t like this song from Barenaked Ladies:

If I Had A Million Dollars.

Well for Ron Conway its “I Have More Than A Million”. And this webcast by him caught my eye initially as I was curious on his take on startup funding process (he has participated in some of the larger startup financing plays in the valley). But, as life goes, the talk was to other people with millions and how to give away all that ’spare change’ (philanthropy). He also commented that his process of philanthropy was the same as his investment selection models.

Curious, and already running, I started scribbling.

So, a tangent in my usual flow but I was amused by the detail behind McDonald’s and their investment in the Ronald McDonald houses. Hard core (but smart and fair). Wouldn’t make for good PR though.

Would be curious on your thoughts … as always.

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• http://blip.tv/file/796929
• Full Circle Fund (www.fullcirclefund.org)
• Recap of event - http://www.fullcirclefund.org/event.php?id=383
• 5/2/2008, 6:02 AM
……………..○ Intro - Corporate Partner . Legal.
……………..○ Pro Bono Work
• 6m — Still Intro
• Ron Conway
• 5/2/2008, 6:06 AM
……………..○ How they can be evangelists and see the light to help others … be philanthropic
……………..○ More that realize the better
• Evaluate charities like you evaluate startups
• His background
……………..○ SF born, bred
• Review his background
……………..○ Entrepreneur … he wasn’t afraid to ask for things
……………..○ These are same skills in philanthropy
……………..○ Joined national semiconductor in 70’s
……………..○ Found Altos computer systems (public in 82)
…………………………….§ Big IPO in 82
……………..○ Found Personal training systems … sold to CBT systems in 90’s
……………..○ In 90’s Periodic angel investments 2-3 a year
……………..○ Team up w/ Ben Rosen (chairman of compaq)
…………………………….§ Ben Rosen is 100% philanthropy
• 5/2/2008, 6:11 AM
• 1 new company a month … then started a fund … syndicating the deals easier w/ a venture fund … don’t have to syndicate every one …
……………..○ Angel II fund $150M 1999 … Paypal, Google, etc … its was a hit business
……………..○ Each investment cycle need a hit
……………..○ This investment cycle its facebook and zappos are his hits
• 5/2/2008, 6:13 AM
• Backup when did he start looking at philanthropy
……………..○ Raffle ticket sales
……………..○ Bauer Comment - disseminate wealth after you have it … or build companies to do it as they go?
……………..○ Ronald McDonald house asked him for a computer when at Alto Computer … instead he called Jobs to get Macs sent in there instead
…………………………….§ McD’s put in $50k per house then the owner operator has to get $ flow from local community
……………..○ Bauer Comment - philanthropy to cure the symptom or the disease … give a fish … or teach them to fish
• Find a dynamic in philanthropy
• 5/2/2008, 6:18 AM
• CEO @ Altos was not philanthropic
……………..○ Time of roadshow before IPO
……………..○ Everyone was lit (drunk)
……………..○ Jackson was worth $250M at the time … wealthiest guy in US (CEO) … tightwad … not give a nickel away
……………..○ Made a bet … he followed through … built Altos foundation … has given $20M away in SF
…………………………….§ Abused women and children
…………………………….§ Bauer Comment - that is a far more complex riddle. Why are they in the environment, how do you get them out, how do you enable them to stay out. The latter is where businesses built to ‘make fisher people’ (people that fish) is key.
……………..○ Keep turning on lightbulbs in valley where there is so much wealth (google, vmWare, etc)
……………..○ Netscape founder … got sick (Mike Homer) … catalyst for a group of people to invest in larger issues (like disease)
• 5/2/2008, 6:22 AM
• Raise 1.2B … ask him to be on committee … wrong role for him … right role is asking for $
……………..○ Use the gift if you are unafraid to ask
• 5/2/2008, 6:25 AM
• Analogies of talking to entrepreneur and philanthropic cause
……………..○ In early days he got to interview people who wanted $ … prior to knowing they are great
……………..○ 1st thing he does … look for chemistry w/ the founders
……………..○ 2nd … great idea
……………..○ 3rd … monetizable
……………..○ Charity same thing
…………………………….§ chemistry … fun/enjoyable … if not … don’t do
…………………………….§ Great idea … is it working and effective
…………………………….§ Monetizable … not direct tie … but is the service provided have solid intangible benefits to YOU
• 5/2/2008, 6:27 AM
• Charities he is involved with
……………..○ McDonald House
……………..○ College Track (tutor)
……………..○ UCSF
……………..○ Tiger Woods foundation
…………………………….§ 2nd year of playing … he decided he would accumulate $ and give it away
…………………………….§ Tiger woods learning centers
• 5/2/2008, 6:28 AM
• Technology helping philanthropy
……………..○ Social entreprenuerisp
……………..○ BringLight - quasi social network for giving (he is a part of)
• 5/2/2008, 6:29 AM
• Q&A
……………..○ Choke points in process of philanthropy … what needs optimization
…………………………….§ The process of raising $
…………………………….§ Efficient at 1:1 unless prospect is extremely well qualified
…………………………….§ A lot of websites today raise $ for millions
…………………………….§ Web helps make 1:Many possible (but early)
…………………………….§ When raising $ … its all about qualifying the prospect … don’t waste your time on non-qualified prospects … do research that they do contribute
…………………………….§ How to match your charity to the bias of individual contributor
……………..○ Daniel … SF Connect - Discover magazine … 80% of activity is individual … 20% is corporations … Canada doesn’t have a culture of philanthropy … 2/3 of a Trillion a year … human hormone tied to philanthropy … why people don’t give … admin costs of non-profits … $ doesn’t make it to the people … reframe that narrative … class A stock at the start … not later
…………………………….§ There is an org that approach all startups … EntrepreunersFoundation … capture the heart and soul of company … Friday afternoon beer bus
…………………………….§ Each department appoints representatives
…………………………….§ What about the non-givers? How turn on? Track them for an event in their life that is a catalyst for giving.
…………………………….§ He has done that .. Help them w/ a problem … for them … then expand the discussion
……………..○ 5/2/2008, 6:36 AM
……………..○ Over focus on expenses of charity … how get them over that?
…………………………….§ Reality is they are a bad prospect.
…………………………….§ If you are a bad prospect …they you confront them w/ that trust is the key … do they trust or not
……………..○ Compare margins charity to margin of their business
…………………………….§ Most cases it is double (so charity making margin)
…………………………….§ Alfred - Lead by example …
……………………………………………□ Bauer Comment - applies to your kids as well … like school work … do you work with them (on your stuff) at night
……………..○ What is his legacy
…………………………….§ Not Ronald McDonald house
…………………………….§ Or Hospitals
…………………………….§ He was generous … forget what / where he gave … but more importantly he was an agent of change w/ high net worth people … turn on the light bulb for them
……………………………………………□ Bauer Comment - another good question for startups … what is your legacy … how do you create value for businesses but more importantly your clients … that they will honor / remember you for

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If you believe in this adage:

It’s not what you do, it’s what you DON’T that matters.

Then this post is for you. Either learn from my side steps or chastise my lack of vision … its up to you. Here is what I looked at briefly and chose not to pursue:

1. Ross Mayfield. Leveraging Social Software. Looked like leftovers (old concepts) reheated.
2. Radian6. Influence and discussion tracking. I was tempted but couldn’t get a sense of how this player separated itself from the variety of options out in the space. In addition, I think this is a tool segment that will take standardization to succeed. Buyers want a single definition of influence before they standardize on a model. Bloggers (who need to typically implement XYZ to gather the data) want to know buyers are using it. Hello catch 22.
3. Semantic Web - 302 Videos/Podcasts. I want to get all up on Semantic web but my little voice keeps saying .. too soon … TOO SOON. This time I listened.
4. Tim O’Reilly on Web 2.0.  I cheated on this one.  I said it was out (due to rehash of the web 2.0 expo in SF), then I listened to it while i typed this.  He did intrigue me on one point.  He said “Companies need to define what data they are stewarding” … which is something I have pondered in the past but had lost top of mind on.   Now it is back in play.  His example was how the telephone companies had Facebook in their hands due to the call history of their customers (better social network).  They just never realized the value of the contextual data of their customers and their activity (call) stream.   They still don’t.
5. Disney’sVirtual Worlds- Raising Kids in Social Networks.   I live this everyday with my boys and their various online games (currently Roblox).   I keep it on my ‘watch next’ list for awhile but it never trumped other items that were on it.
6. Powered - Social Capabilities on the Web.  This one might be of interest if you aren’t familiar with Powered’s Social Commerce platform.  It is rather impressive … just not enough to watch twice (and I couldn’t see a unique angle in this discussion from the prior).

Hope it helps.

O.k. It wasn’t a battle of the bands. More like the battle of the startups. But if you are curious what the top 6 startups out of a field of around ~150 you should take a gander at this … factoring in, of course, that:

1. This is just those startups that think competitions for exposure is good use of their time

2. The selection was crowd based so it may not reflect true enterprise value (more like consumer)

Anyway, the format was a 5 minute pitch to a panel of VC’s at SF’s Web 2.0 Expo followed by 3 questions (1 per VC) by the top six finalists. Then the crowd voted. All they were missing was an encore of School of Rock from Jack Black (the best movie IMHO around battles of the bands).

Here’s my thoughts and scribble …

My parting thought was … how did these six became the six startups featured? When you track other channels of startups like Scoble or RedMonk you get a different sense of the field and what is more intriguing to the consumer and enterprise. Still, these six beat out 150 others … so it made them interesting enough to ponder … for awhile. However, a few days later … I am not pumped on any of the topics so it wasn’t eye opening.

FYI, eventual winner was Trigget.

As always interested in your thoughts.

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• Hosts
………………..○ Facilitator - John Battelle - Federated Media Publishing
………………..○ Panel
………………………………….§ Michael Jung - Panorama Capital
………………………………….§ Maha Ibrahim - Canaan Partners
………………………………….§ David Hornik - August Capital
• Companies
………………..○ TradeVibes
………………………………….§ Founder Overview
…………………………………………………… David Lee
…………………………………………………… Startup Sharing Ideas — Products Ideas
…………………………………………………… Community based
…………………………………………………… All six of launch pad are there
…………………………………………………… 5/13/2008, 6:21 AM
…………………………………………………… Like / Dislike … show similar
…………………………………………………… Wikipedia for Startups meets Yolk (sp?) … facts and opinions on startups
…………………………………………………… Show which are hot and not
…………………………………………………… See … team, funding, products, bio of team
…………………………………………………… News
…………………………………………………… Traffic comparison
……………………………………………………Bauer Comment- why would I put research I did in online for competitors I am trying to beat? I guess to poison the water.
…………………………………………………… Company profile widgets
………………………………….§ Q&A From Judges (VC)
…………………………………………………… What is in it for the user?
…………………………………………………………………….. Stake in company, fan of company.
……………………………………………………………………..Bauer Comment- so big fan boy site
…………………………………………………… User base too small … challenge is will become a sales tool w/o counter model
…………………………………………………… Lead generation business ($ on traffic or close rate)
…………………………………………………… Add the valuation feature … allows it to replace VC
………………..○ JobScore
………………………………….§ 5/7/2008, 6:11 AM
…………………………………………………… In Luanch pad
…………………………………………………… JobScore
…………………………………………………… http://blip.tv/file/856717
…………………………………………………… Recruiter focus for FTE
…………………………………………………… Employers to work collaboratively
…………………………………………………… Build, See, Source, Share
…………………………………………………………………….. Build, See were out since Nov
…………………………………………………………………….. Source, Share (recommendation)
…………………………………………………………………….. See top people in a shared resume database
…………………………………………………… Qualified, take the job
…………………………………………………… 5/7/2008, 6:14 AM
…………………………………………………… Run campaigns
…………………………………………………………………….. Takes your job
…………………………………………………………………….. Tracks views by source
…………………………………………………………………….. Share component … candidate has to opt in
…………………………………………………………………….. If you decline and candidate is ok … they are put in pool
…………………………………………………………………….. Set status to screening
…………………………………………………………………….. Candidates on demand
…………………………………………………… Stats
…………………………………………………………………….. 50 active customers
…………………………………………………………………….. 4000 resumes
…………………………………………………… Recruit cooperatively w/ JobScore
…………………………………………………… LaunchPad (Q&A)
…………………………………………………………………….. You charge people money .. That is your crazy talk
…………………………………………………………………….. Accrue a ton of credit … get 50 resumes …. Can you trade?
………………………………………………………………………………………. Only a credit for a NEW resume
………………………………………………………………………………………. 90 day expiration on credits
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………Bauer Comment- FLAW
…………………………………………………………………….. Motivation for candidate to share (resume)
………………………………………………………………………………………. Less than 20% have opt’d out
………………..○ Triggit
………………………………….§ Overview
……………………………………………………○ 5/13/2008, 6:34 AM
……………………………………………………○ Zachery Coelius
……………………………………………………○ Focus - How easy it is to write about the web
……………………………………………………○ Problem - Monetizing websites is hard
……………………………………………………………………..® Negotiate w/ ad networks
……………………………………………………………………..® Put code in to display ads
……………………………………………………………………..® Show analytics
……………………………………………………○ Their app … web app … 1 line of javascript
……………………………………………………………………..® Turns any word in their page … to a link to a buy area
……………………………………………………………………..® Graphic ads too (have banner adds)
……………………………………………………………………..® Drag and drop of any content (not just ads)
……………………………………………………………………..® Soon adding widgets … enable publishers
……………………………………………………………………..® Easier to interact w/ 3rd party datasources and add to page
……………………………………………………○ Drag and Drop Google Ads
……………………………………………………………………..® In page edit … drag drop … refresh
……………………………………………………○ Overview
……………………………………………………………………..® 4 people - Pre Series A
……………………………………………………………………..® 10million page views a month
……………………………………………………………………..® 2 years in development
……………………………………………………………………..® 35 people using it (companies)
………………………………….§ Q&A from VCs
……………………………………………………○ Why not join Drupal (another launchpad player)
……………………………………………………………………..® They do any website. Existing platfrom. Drupal wants you to switch.
……………………………………………………○ Compete w/ content platforms?
……………………………………………………………………..® No, helping w/ monetization and widget on 3rd party content
……………………………………………………○ Big issues is distribution … why not merge … how scale?
……………………………………………………○ Not writing to hosting server …
……………………………………………………………………..® Triggit dynamically edits a page from wordpress (ie) after render
………………..○ Chirp
………………………………….§ Overview
……………………………………………………□ Eve Pillips
……………………………………………………□ Sites are designed for publish not consumption
……………………………………………………□ Chirp screen … screensaver … desktop widget .
……………………………………………………□ Enables discovery
……………………………………………………□Bauer Comment- Someone else built this based on APPL
……………………………………………………□ Channels
……………………………………………………………………..® Friend … Facebook …
……………………………………………………………………..® Non-Friend … flickr … keyword selection
……………………………………………………………………..® Shopping ebay
……………………………………………………□ Content in screen save … interactive … show meta … share …
……………………………………………………□ Share via … email … facebook messaging
……………………………………………………□ Can block / unblock
……………………………………………………□ Screen Saver … Great for conf call .. Idle
……………………………………………………□ Desktop viewer … small slice of screen …
……………………………………………………□ 5/13/2008, 6:45 AM
……………………………………………………□ Launching MacViewer version today
……………………………………………………□ Final comments
……………………………………………………………………..® Distribution - Via feature of share
……………………………………………………………………..® Channels - Create personal channels and 3rd Party Channels
………………………………….§ Q&A from VCs
……………………………………………………□ Pointcast (dead) was a screen saver product … how will they make $?
……………………………………………………………………..® Ads. Can’t block. Part of channels
……………………………………………………………………..® Affiliate payments. Shopping aspects.
……………………………………………………………………..® Download. Bundle downloads … know business model.
……………………………………………………□ Twist is you can share. Creating your channel. Otherwise its just random photo display. If she was to steer in one direction … focus on sharing. Lost in photo upload site (pointcast as well, another died last year)
……………………………………………………………………..® Channels concept
……………………………………………………□ Labor vs. Capital Dodge Ball … you were on VC team … Kickball you were on labor team
………………..○ Acquia
………………………………….§ Overview
……………………………………………………□ Jeff Whatcott
……………………………………………………□ Build communities around product, content, causes
……………………………………………………□ Not easy
……………………………………………………………………..® CMS, Feed, Tags, Blogs, Wikis, Community, Social Networks, Dev
……………………………………………………□ Hosted solutions not cheap
……………………………………………………□ Drupal … 2M downloads
……………………………………………………□ Opensource project
……………………………………………………□ Backed by global community
……………………………………………………□ Top brands use it (MTV, Yahoo, more power)
……………………………………………………□ Demo - Cyclists Focus
……………………………………………………………………..® Create Template … Fields Of Input. Enables Users to Submit rides and View pages
……………………………………………………………………..® Enable users to vote … enable another module
……………………………………………………………………..® Home page …
……………………………………………………………………………………….◊ show top rated rides (submissions)
……………………………………………………………………………………….◊ One list … internal and external content
……………………………………………………………………………………….◊ Interweave ride maps … change from list view to map view
……………………………………………………………………………………….◊ Real time drag drop of page layout
……………………………………………………………………………………….◊ Vertical
……………………………………………………□ Point 1000’s of modules … assemble to what you want
……………………………………………………□ Focus is assembly not code
……………………………………………………□ Their role is a software support to Drupal
………………………………….§ Q&A from VC’s
……………………………………………………□ ORCL is probably interested (Open Source). Support model is valid. Will support model be fun enough versus software dev?
……………………………………………………………………..® Yes, same thing
……………………………………………………………………..® SixApart … VC board … no comment
……………………………………………………□ WordPress / SixApart … how compete?
……………………………………………………………………..® More functionality than them
……………………………………………………………………..® Blog, Wiki, Forums
……………………………………………………………………..®Bauer Comment- Jive Competitor?
……………………………………………………□ Largest value add
……………………………………………………………………..® Support …
……………………………………………………………………..® Keep site up to date (upgrades)
……………………………………………………………………..® Askizmit like … filter on comments … since people are submitting content
……………………………………………………□ Scale
……………………………………………………………………..® TheOnion runs on it
……………………………………………………………………..® New York Observer
……………………………………………………………………..® Millions of Drupal nodes .. Hits
……………………………………………………………………..® LAMP stack … some skill to tune but they will work on that
………………..○ Oortel
………………………………….○ Overview
……………………………………………………® 5/13/2008, 6:58 AM
……………………………………………………® Andy Stack
……………………………………………………® What is social about sitting in front of PC looking at picture
……………………………………………………® Goal is to make it real time
……………………………………………………® 1st product is photo flow …
……………………………………………………® Photo @ Right is Synch’d for all viewers so conversation can happen
……………………………………………………®Bauer Comment… That is interesting …. Similar to comment bubbles synched to keynote presentations that popup later … isn’t that better? The timing of people isn’t synch’d
……………………………………………………® Announcing video flow
……………………………………………………® Demo
……………………………………………………………………..◊ Goto Video Flow .com
……………………………………………………………………..◊ Select video
……………………………………………………………………..◊ Share through a variety of channels
……………………………………………………………………………………….► Send an email
……………………………………………………………………………………….► Then wait for them to respond … launch browser window in private viewing space … wait for him to enter … or watch alone ..
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………}Bauer Commentthat seems dumb
……………………………………………………………………..◊ Shared video interaction (fast forward, search, tagging) in the room
……………………………………………………………………..◊Bauer Comment- I still think the offline is core (timing issues, herding cats)
……………………………………………………………………..◊ Ability to throw tomatos
……………………………………………………® Margin for them is higher since they don’t host
……………………………………………………® Lightweight webex for digital media
………………………………….○ Q&A from VCs
……………………………………………………® Don’t get this one. Market will go down … timing issues … sharing …
……………………………………………………………………..◊ Synch isn’t the way to go … just one use case
……………………………………………………………………..◊ Get benefit of feedback of watching … that might be enough
……………………………………………………………………..◊ Could jump and share … onramp
……………………………………………………………………..◊ Find people start interacting … in their room
……………………………………………………………………..◊ 1/3 of YouTube video … is from sharing
……………………………………………………® Porno Flow. Sexual angle
……………………………………………………………………..◊ Reach like slide
……………………………………………………………………..◊ Engagement like Meebo
……………………………………………………® Facebook … 100’s of Friends … Very few are on at the same time
……………………………………………………………………..◊ Could be older generation
• Final Voting
………………..○ Last recommendation — Wear T-Shirts (Pro Schwag)
………………..○ Demonstrate value of business in 5 minutes
………………..○ Simplification theme was key for all startups
………………..○ People’s choice winner - Triggit
………………..○ People from Launchpad are typically acquired for a tidy sum
** END RAW SCRIBBLE TAKEN WHILE RUNNING **

This quote resonate with you?

“What we got here is… failure to communicate.” (link is to a audio snippet)

If so, you are either Paul Newman re-incarnated from his excellent role in Cool Hand Luke … or … you work, as I do, on your fair share of complex project teams. I thought of this movie when I watched a few webcasts around the product Mylyn (a nice add-on for Eclipse that allows you to take a task concept in development — like you think — versus compilation the way people that wrote Eclipse thought).

Why did this pop into my head while running along?

Read on …

Note, while I am suggesting you manage in your master plan at the discrete units of work that the technical team commits from (JIRA items) … you need to force them to make JIRA items worth tracking. Say nothing less than 80 hours. Otherwise you get into a tasklist style of delivery … and that is not good either (lose sight of forest view).

Would be curious on your thoughts … as always.

* START OF RAW SCRIBBLE TAKEN WHILE RUNNING **

……………..○ 5/16/2008, 5:57 AM
……………..○ Interview By Michael Cote (Redmonk)
……………..○ Speaker is “Mik” http://www.tasktop.com/blog/
……………..○ Mylyn - Used to be Mylar
…………………………….§ http://www.redmonk.com/cote/2006/12/06/more-on-mylar-tasks-picking-agile-alm/
…………………………….§ www.eclipse.org/mylyn
……………..○ 5/16/2008, 6:02 AM
……………..○ Overview
…………………………….○ Overview
……………………………………………□ http://www.redmonk.com/cote/2007/07/05/mylyn-conversation-and-demo/
……………………………………………□ Refer to it at Mylar at that point
……………………………………………□ Bring tasks to the IDE
…………………………………………………………..® Issue tracker like JIRA, Bugzilla … single place
……………………………………………□ Once tasks in Eclipse … single click indicate what task working on … auto tag content you work on w/ that task
……………………………………………□ Then you filter (auto) in IDE to objects relative to task
……………………………………………□ One click toggle between tasks and filter of artifacts, inheritance
……………………………………………□ 5/16/2008, 6:08 AM
……